10/1/25
9/30/25
BIRTHDAY BRUNCH
My daughter made a delicious brunch of baked scrambled eggs, crispy home fries (roasted in the oven), homemade sourdough bread, brioche, sausage patties, sourdough cinnamon buns, hot apple cider, and an assortment of fruit.
These are my two granddaughters who live in the area...
I had lots of help opening birthday presents and blowing out the candle on my cupcake.
Some pretty flowers from one granddaughter's garden.
A wonderful grandson-in-law who detailed my car for me. He did an amazing job.
The two great-granddaughters made me homemade birthday cards.
The 9-year-old made a tiny one in a tiny envelope.
I was very impressed with the envelope. But maybe that's just me being a biased great-granny.
We all got a kick out of her younger sister's card because there is a story behind it.
Years ago, before there were any great-grandkids, I started a tradition where my grandchildren would measure themselves against me in front of a mirror when I came to visit, to see how close to being as tall as me they were.
When they were all way taller and had gotten married and had children of their own, we continued the tradition with them.
My oldest granddaughter, who is only nine, is already taller than I am, but her younger sister who made this card only comes up to my shoulder. However, in the picture, she is the tall girl with the long blonde hair, and I am the short little lady with hardly any hair, standing next to her. It makes me chuckle now, but I'm sure it won't be long before she really is that much taller than I am.
9/28/25
SPARK
Word prompt--SPARK
Five minutes to free-write about it
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It's funny how God can use one thought to spark another, and bring about the insight He wants us to see.
I have been attending a 12-week class on learning to hear the voice of God and finding freedom from the lies and strongholds that hold us back by replacing them with His truth. It involves a lot of journaling and prayer.
We are now about halfway through. Homework has centered on uncovering lies that have taken root in our heart; unhealed wounds that are still affecting us today and contributing to our personal struggles; and learning how to release the past so we can enjoy the healing and freedom that comes when we choose to forgive and live an unoffendable life.
One of the things that is hardest for me to release and let go of is the guilt I feel over the emtional pain I caused my children when they were growing up. So when one of the group members shared the pain and remorse she still feels over some physical issues one of her daughters is dealing with that might have been averted if she had not been too wrapped up in other things to notice the early signs, I could totally relate.
Days later, the thought that came to me when I was thinking of my friend and her daughter, was that God had been in control even back then, and it was part of His plan. He had allowed everything that happened, to mold and shape them into who they are today.
I thought of the words of Psalm 139:16 -- You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed (NLT).
Today both mother and daughter are anointed women of God who are being used in powerful ways that would most likely not have been possible without the hard tests that preceded the ministries they are involved in now. From that perspective, there is no reason to feel remorse or guilt.
That sparked a thought that this insight was not just for her. It was for me as well. It was what enabled me to finally release not only my own guilt over the pain I had caused my daughter, in particular, but also be healed of the lies I had bought into as a result of my own unhealed wounds, and that were still affecting the way I respond to life today.
9/24/25
9/19/25
AFFECTION
This post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--AFFECTION
Five minutes to free-write about it
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This week's prompt has not sparked any thoughts at all. My brain feels numb.
I don't have much to say except that in this world where hate and dissension seem to be snowballing at an alarming rate, it warms my heart to see the affection these two boys have for their baby brother.
Come Jesus, come!
9/17/25
9/14/25
PICK A LIE
Word prompt--PICK
Five minutes to free-write about it
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I'm still picking perfect little tomatoes off the tomato plant on my balcony, despite it already being mid-September, and the hordes of lanternflies that are continuing to swarm--not just all over the plants on the balcony, but all over my windows as well. 
The lie I believed in late spring when I put it out on the balcony and the plague of lanternflies arrived and devoured most of its leaves, was that there was no way it would survive--let alone bear any tomatoes. And yet it did.
I'd been thinking about that as I struggled to complete my homework for one of my Bible studies on the topic of recognizing and breaking free from the lies we believe, and had been grappling to discern what on my list really was a lie, and what I wish was a lie but really wasn't.
And then I saw this week's prompt, and the first thing that popped into my mind was, "pick a lie." So the lie I am picking is that I've messed up my life and missed out on God's good plan for it due to the poor choices I've made, and now it's too late.
It's easy for me to beat myself up when I think of the squandered time, talents, and opportunities that led me to where I am today. However, the truth is that "[God] saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in [His] book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed" (Psalm 139:16, NLT). None of it came as a surprise to Him.
The truth is that each one of us is a Divine original, created by God for a special purpose that no one else can fulfill, and I am exactly what and where I need to be for this particular moment in His plan. The very things I feel most remorseful about are the very things that led me to Jesus.
Another truth is that God does not measure success in numbers. If I reach that one person He intended for me to reach, allow Him to use me to bring hope to that one discouraged heart, or lead that one soul out of the darkness and point him or her to Jesus, then my purpose will have been accomplished and my life not lived in vain after all.
9/10/25
9/9/25
LEGACY
This post was written for Five Minute Friday
Word prompt--LEGACY
Five minutes to free-write about it
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One of the legacies I think I may have handed down to my children, and they to theirs, is a love of doing puzzles, and also of playing games, which is usually how we end up most visits.
The puzzle (on the left) was given to me by one of my granddaughters. It has to be one of the most difficult puzzles I have ever done. My daughter and I have been working on it for months. Finally, in desperation, I sorted the remaining pieces by shape, thinking it would make it easier.
Today I learned a very important and timely lesson from it that was just perfect for the bible study homework I have been working on, which is about recognizing and breaking free from the lies we believe and replacing them with God's truth.
Five minutes is not long enough to go into details. (I will do that on my other blog--At The Foot Of The Cross--when I'm done with this post.)
In short though, there was one puzzle piece I had been searching for, for a couple of days, and was convinced must be missing, because there were only two small sections of shapes that could fit it and I had looked through both of them multiple times. At this point I was convinced the piece must have fallen off the table and gotten vacuumed up or something, but decided to look through those pieces one last time, and voilà , there it was.
9/8/25
YESTERDAY'S MOON
Last night's eclipse was not visible in my neck of the woods, but the moon itself looked amazing. A gigantic, perfectly round, ball of light. At first I could not fnd it because it was so close to the horizon rather than higher up in the sky where I expected it to be. But then, just as I was about to turn around and head back into my building, I caught a glimpse of it that took my breath away. It was the biggest, brightest full moon I have ever seen.
Unfortunately, neither my cell phone nor my camera captured any of the detail on its surface, but I did wind up with some interesting, unexpected effects, such as this shot on the right that looks as though there are several other small "moons" below the real one.
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