Postcards

 I've been doing quite a bit

of this lately...

Kind of Like Me

Noticed yesterday in opening my journal to write that there was a weakness in the binding.  Still holding together though...(Kind of like ME these days!)
Perhaps more accurate to say
"held together"!

This robin is building a nest.

Every time I open the door,

it flies to the branches of this nearby tree...

reminding me of MY "branch"...

There is a place of quiet rest,

Near to the heart of God;

A place where sin cannot molest,

Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of comfort sweet,

Near to the heart of God;

A place where we our Savior meet,

Near to the heart of God.

There is a place of full release,

Neart to the heart of God;

A place where all is joy and peace

Near to the heart of God.

O Jesus, blest Redeemer,

Sent from the heart of God;

Hold us, who wait before Thee,

Near to the heart of God.

(Cleland B. McAfee)

The Highlighting

A friend posted this on her Facebook page this morning.

The responses followed.

I was interested to observe that the majority

commented and inquired about the beverage.

Only one referred to the

highlighting.

This, I believe, may be indicative of the fact

that we still have lessons to learn from the current crisis.

Maybe I'm wrong...

Listen

 What an unexpected privilege!

A quintet from the Fort Wayne Philharmonic playing at a 

local retirement home.

 The audience was most appreciative!

I had gone to visit a friend

when I learned of this opportunity. 

I happily attended.

(I don't believe that it was 

a coincidence that my word-of-the-

day was "listen"...)

Ending Well

The sun making a 

valient attempt to

shine at its setting...

May I do so as well.

This Winter of Words

This winter I've found myself occupied with words.

 They fascinate me!  What can I say?

One of the candidates for presidency of the United States

has been "caught" in a tangle of words

that someone described as "fruit salad". 

That is an interesting description, I think...

I've been thinking about the complexity of words--

even single words.

So many are used 

so variously,

so loosely,

so ill-defined.

Words like faith, hope, love, forgive, believe, Christian, evangelical.

And the list goes on.

I've sort of struggled in this winter of words.

Anyone else?

It's Time

Seriously!

Does anyone else do this?

I think it's time to sort,

evaluate, discard,

and record if necessary.

Relieved!

After discovering a hole in the sleeve of my favorite and very old, vintage jacket,
I decided to apply a patch to extend its use a little while longer...

I'm relieved and delighted to be able to wear this jacket again.
(I have NO idea how long this patch will hold...
I'm no stitcher!)

Living and Giving (Up)

Sometimes you get to live the dream... 

sometimes you give up the dream and pass it on to another...

Today, when I transport my friend to the beauty salon,

I will pack these two books

to give to her hairdresser

who I've come to learn lives in an old house in the country.

As much as I have enjoyed the "dream",

I realize it is not realistic at this stage of my life.

And so, I pass on the "fuel" to another.

***

This is a HUGE life lesson for me.

Something that I am slowly learning

and beginning to put into motion

in quiet, simple ways.

Pottery-loving People

On Fridays, I drive a friend to her hair appointment.

The salon is just up the street from one of my favorite thrift stores.

Yesterday, realizing I had very little cash in my billfold,

I almost read a magazine instead of checking out the shop.

I'm glad I went anyway.

I found this mug and spent twenty-seven cents for it!

"I have a hard time passing up pottery at bargain prices,"

I wrote on my Facebook page this morning.

Soon, comments were added to my post.

"Earthy, natural beauty."

"...something so 'real' about pottery."

'Midst the stream, I noted,

"It's interesting how pottery-loving people find each other!"

***

I'm thinking it's similar to genuine Christ-followers

and how they "find" each other...

Fun at the Farm Show

 We went to the Farm Show at our local coliseum yesterday!

Both my 93 year old father and husband had farming roots...

 There were over 1,000 exhibitors!

 On the way out, I noticed this large, Lego exhibit--

kind of out of the way of the main halls.

Sure hope it was seen and appreciated in proportion to the time spent

assembling it!

 As for me, my free treasures included these pens, several pieces of candy

(a couple of small Reeces peanut butter cups and a Wurther or two), the fine tote bag,

a yard stick and a notebook.

Everything was free except the parking!

Our outing was educational AND enjoyable--

a great break in our winter days.

Attention!

I chose a vintage recipe box to hold my hastily labeled dividers--

using the back side of some old alphabet ones.

A number and a word for 31 days.

I'll be using this system to gather quotes, notes and Scripture verses

throughout the year.

By the end of the year, this practice which I began during Advent 2019

just may be material for a book.

Maybe!

Here's my journal entrance for the 11th of January

which corresponds to the word "ATTENTION"

"Pay it!" I tell myself,

and proceeded to plan accordingly this morning.

How is YOUR new year unfolding?

A Paint-Over

Many moons ago I took an

unfinished painting I'd found at a thrift store to a painter friend.

I asked her to paint over it--probably

asking for flowers...

I'd forgotten about it.

Then just before Christmas

she called me to come over and presented

me with the finished product!

I'm  SO enjoying the cheerful and bold colors.  It reminds me to live cheerfully and boldly...

It also reminds me of Another who

skillfully paints over the unfinished canvas of my imperfect life.  

So thankful am I.

But That's Another Story

You may remember (I did!)

when I posted this photo a few days ago and drew attention to the 25A 

on the bottom left hand page of my journal.

I concluded that particular post with the words,

but that's another story.

I'd been selecting words for each day of Advent--

SPONTANEITY being one for the 25th.

Well, I've decided to add three to the 28

and try to focus on one to correspond to each day

of each month on 2020.

The words I selected in 2019 were

Hospitality, Beauty, Listen, Patience, Peace, Longing,

Availability, Vigilance, Intentionality, Obedience,

Attention, Simplicity, Humility, Silence,

Discernment, Moderation, Courage, Confidence, Compassion, 

Purity, Faithfulness, Clarity,

Dignity, Generosity, Spontaneity, Emptiness,

Serenity, Joy.

While typing these out just now,

I've already selected #29.

Authenticity.

***

So, it begins.

Today?  The first day of the new year.

The new decade!

And THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.

***

Hospitality.

All Together

For a couple of days, we were--

All Together.

As one family was leaving,

someone had the idea that we ought to take a family photo!

(Wish we'd thought of this in advance so as to clean up/dress up, etc.)

Hastily we gathered, handed a phone to a relative, and this is the result.

Of the four of us siblings, 

our family was the one 100% present.

Wonder when that will happen again?!?

Going on Seventy-Two

 Seventy-one.

 A portrait.   

(I turned 71 on Christmas Day.)

A long-time birthday tradition for me has been listing

blessings of the past year to match the number of that birthday.

Since my years are adding up,

I chose to begin on Christmas Eve

and complete the list on Christmas Day.

You might notice the 25A SPONTANEITY note

on the bottom of this photo.

I have been selecting and concentrating

on a word for each day of Advent.

I'm actually going to continue for three more days

since Advent can vary from 22 to 28 days--

but that's another story.

Christmas is not a Mood

Me, texting a friend:  "Good morning, Gail!  Happy Christmas Eve Eve!
Friend, responding:    "Good morning, Rebecca!  Sounds like you're in the MOOD!"
Me, texting back:       "Not one bit!  Thankful that 'Christmas' is not a mood!"

(To be continued...)

From the Lips of Children

Ollie:  “Look!  I’m making a train!”
Me:  “Be careful!  You’re going to fall over!”
Ollie:  “Umma!  Don’t make it not fun!”

This shared by my Facebook friend.  I couldn't help thinking of how many times God's Holy Spirit has cautioned me, and how many times I have thought He was squelching my "fun"...

Thanks, Eileen and Ollie.

It's Relative

(No.  This is NOT a Christmas post.)

He sat at the puzzle table and said,

"Boy!  It's hard finding all these border pieces..."

Meanwhile, I was at the kitchen counter

perusing a favorite cookbook in search of something to make for dinner.

"It's hard coming up with meals all the time," I said.

Then, under my breath--

"Hard is relative."

(Very relative!)