Collecting Heart Rocks

Jacob says. This is the best heart shaped rock
I have ever found.

                                                                Esther 4:14

The Everyday of the Joy

Be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead. 

                                                        1 Peter 1:6

 If you are observant, there is joy in the every day.

 Holly decorated this cake. 

The plate is thrift loot found at the Ventura Goodwill. 
For under a dollar it provides a reminder of 70s earthiness.

2016 Ash Wednesday, Lenten Time

The Lenten Season has always been my favorite
time in the Church.
A time to reflect and  to contemplate.
A time for sacrificial giving, for being thoughtful,
kinder, and fruitful. In a world so full of hate (grieving)
try to spread love.
Remember to say Please and Thank you.
Pray for the Poor.
Pray for Peace.
Pray for Forgiveness.

Jesus Christ says that we all must come as children,
no matter what our age, social standing,
or intellectual background.

                                     Corrie Ten Boom
                                      In My Father's House

2He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 
3And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become
 like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
 4Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is
 the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 
5And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.
                                                                  Matthew 18:2-5

Heavenly Vintage Nursery

Christmas Hospitality

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, 

for by so doing some people 

have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 

                             Hebrews 13:2 NIV

One of our Christmas traditions

is to visit my hometown cemetery.
We try to visit prior to the ushering in
of each new year. One year,
we arrived just before midnight
and jumped the gate with flashlights.

Old cemeteries are beautiful.
Our loved ones are laid to rest in a
beautiful peaceful place.

There is only joy in our visits.

Aileen, my friend of over 40 years, walks down the hill with
me to visit  Mrs. Dale, another friend's mother's resting place.

After visiting, our tradition, includes a drive up and down
the U-shaped cemetery road before leaving.

Here's the top:

Descending. Look close, we have visitors.

Turkey hens, out for a December walk in the cemetery sunshine. 

Recuperating in Prayer

So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
            Psalm 90:12

During this holy season, I am trying to stay
focused on recuperating in prayer.
Nights are still hard, I can't seem
to stay asleep. My mind isn't racing,
I just wake up from a sound sleep. 
I'd like to busy my hands but apparently
enough pharmaceuticals
have not been flushed from my system.  

It's so hard to stay optimist in a
world so cold.


As part of my personal effort to be
a light of compassion, one of the gifts
I collected to give our daughter is
Pollyanna, the Glad Book by 
Eleanor Porter.

The little book's premise is to
find gladness in all circumstances. 
For me,  this means leaning into
discomfort. To give of my time
and resources, to exhibit
courage and open my heart.

In Thanksgiving

Colossians 3:17
 
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, 
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

To our extended family and friends
our deepest gratitude for all you've done
to support our little family. 
 

Do Good in Any Season

Let us not grow
weary in doing good,
for in due season we shall
reap if we do not lose heart.

               Galatians 6:9

Day 5: Proverbs 24:3-4

Hand work is meditative and elevates pain.

Sampler from ClementinePatterns.
One of my favorite readings.

Day 6: Pain is a Buzzitch

But the Lord
stood with me
& gave me strength.

                    2 Timothy 4:17

For my friend's 60th Birthday.

The 60 glows in the dark (Sublime thread).

Day 7, Count Down

God has a reason
for allowing things to happen
we may never understand his wisdom
but we simple have to
Trust His will.

                                          Psalm 37:5


Here's my constant companion, Clovis.

God Speaks - I am hard of hearing

²⁰ The Lord is in his holy temple;
    let all the earth be silent before him.

                                        Habakkuk 2:20

God speaks to me all the time.
My hearing is bionic but with
God it's like there are cotton balls
shoved into my ear drums.

I hear but have more
difficulty listening. 

He sets up the perfect time and
circumstances. Allowing me to know
there are no coincidences.

This moment I have prepared for you, PAY
attention.  

Pumpkin Cottage uses old bowling balls

It's looking a little haggard.

"I have set up the perfect time 
and circumstance. Listen dimwit."

Saturday morning, Mr. Lee says,
Get ready you have a hair appointment. "


Not, I think.  "It's on Sunday,"  I say.

Mr. Lee:  I don't think so.  It's on my
calendar and yours.

Me: Okay, I will text Stephanie.

Yes, my appointment is in about an hour.

So I go, there is one other customer there,
I have seen him many times before.  He is
on the right and I on the left of politics so
I usually stay quiet.

My beauty time is the best therapy
and I don't squander a single moment.

Stephanie and I start chatting about
my fast approaching surgery.  The guy says,
"I just had hip surgery. Where you having your
surgery?"

Me: Just at Kaiser (HMO). (Minimizing - Like,  I couldn't
possibility have anything as good as he has.  What
it that about?)

Guy: Me, too.  Who's your doctor?

Me: Dr. Yu

Guy: Me, too.  He's the best.  This
will change your life.  It's not bad at all.
All the people with knee surgeries have a lot
of pain but not the hip.

Guy:  You will be so happy.

Me: Oh, I am already very happy.

Guy; This will make it even better.
Good luck, I can't wait to hear how
well you are doing.

There you have it.  That's how
God speaks to me.  And if you listen
and pay attention, God will speak to you, too.

Amen.

Chronic Fatigue

My heating pad blanket is wrapped
around my shoulders.
My body is an open ache.
Damning attention, hampering
focus, and impeding my joyful
progress.  

Right now I am negotiating how
long I will allow myself to stay in bed. 
Strategically placing the heat down
the right side of my body.

I have plans this morning, so I have to get up,
and get out of the house.  On work days,
I just go, no thought just get up and get
out.  But on days off, I want to be
kind and considerate of my limitations.


Mr. Lee left me a thermos of
black coffee. A treat during my contemplation.

To feel content in all circumstances.
See how the child snuggles into
a safe place.

When I can't tolerate the pain,
I pray, as my mother taught me.
Prayer is a lullaby more powerful
than any drug.

John 10:9
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.
They will come in and go out, and find pasture. NIV

Pasture, a place of rest.

2015 One Little Word journey with Ali Edwards

Seed: my one little word.

Oh, what a journey my little word has taken me on.
Working on the assignment for July.
Seeking songs with my word in the lyrics, title or the band.

I discovered the Stella Sisters' song The Seed.
Lyrics that took my breathe away.

When you left your memory
And flew off into the stars
You know what that meant to me
Now I look with my heart 

 

Pumpkin Cottage's Garden

Kathy Mattea's Seeds 

We're all just seeds
In God's hands
We start the same
But where we land
Is sometimes fertile soil
And sometimes sand
We're all just seeds
In god's hands

Verses from the Bible

Mark 4:2-8 NIV

2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
3“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, 
and the birds came and ate it up.  
5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. 
It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, 
and they withered because they had no root.
7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, 
so that they did not bear grain.
8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and 
produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.


A blog to visit and ponder:  Seeds and Stitches 

On MANTRA making.  

Bible Journaling

Marginalia - Marginal notes or embellishments (as in a book)

How cute is her hair?

For as long as I can remember, I have been
writing in the margins of
Bibles and in textbooks. 
It appalls some of my friends but I can't
resist: it helps me retain what I learn.
It's a way to deepen my understanding,
to easily recall poignant concepts,
related history, and definitions of words.

I am a auditory and visual learner. 
Listen and rewriting
verses ensures they stay with me.
Simply rewriting notes/verses deepens the experience of study.

So when I learned of the journaling Bible it was love at first
sight.  Right now I am taking an online course with Stephanie Ackerman,
Bible doodler extraordinaire.  The Illustrated Faith blog link is
on my blog roll.

This morning I found my first Bible verse,
isn't is amazing how the
perfect verse always presents itself?

You have taken up my cause, O Lord;
you have redeemed my life.  You have seen the wrong 
done to me.  Uphold my cause.   Lamentations  3:58-59 NIV

What's Keeping You Up?

The most beautiful people we have known
are those who have known defeat, known suffering,
known struggle, known loss,
and have found their way out of those depths.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Reading Elizabeth Kubler-Ross'
On Death and Dying
changed my life for the better.

Just recently, Uncle Joe and I were
considering all the people who really want to live
and die too soon.  We also considered others
who would easily trade places because
they are ready to go. Life is a mystery of ironies.

We were raised to consider these things, to not
be scared of death, to understand death
is the normal course of life. 

4Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,

burst into jubilant song with music;

5make music to the Lord with the harp,

with the harp and the sound of singing,

6with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—

shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

                                     Psalm 98:4-6

For me, there is still a lot to be done, 

God willing.  Chronic pain ignored.

As long as I can watch my children 

bloom and hold my husband's hand.  

As long, as there is an ocean, 

a foggy day, dew in the morning, 

thrift stores to wander, 

vintage and antique venues to visit, 

crafts to make, 

or a seeds to plant, I am good.

Creative Soul Day Trip

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way
which thou shalt go:
I will guide thee with mine eye.

                                        Psalms 32:8

 

Oh yes, we are blessed.

 
 Vintage Marketplace

The Get-Along has been attending since
the beginning.  Eight-one vendors this month.

Find the two at back counter.

Lovely venue, something for every taste. and loads of creative
souls.

Be blessed.