Isaac's Miracles

My youngest, Isaac, spent his hard-earned cash this past week at the local garden center on a container of marigolds.  He quickly came home and planted them in the front of our flowerbed; squashing up the roots with his still small five-year-old hands, free of age or wear.  He patted the warm soil gently around his little flowers  and followed it all up with a good dousing from his metal watering can.

Source:  Bing Images

Every day he proudly points to his "miracles" and shows us how they are growing. 

Yes, we've told him a hundred thousand times they are "marigolds", not "miracles"; but really, do I really want him to stop calling them miracles?  I don't think so.  Maybe he sees something we don't.

Today is a possible day.

Anything is possible.

Isaac knows this.  Every young child knows this.

You used to know it.  Do you still?

When you were 5, 10, 15; you knew it.  What did life look like then?  What did you dream of?

I'll tell you a few of mine.  I saw myself grown as a woman married to a handsome man who loves Jesus.  Together we would have a passel of beautiful children full of life.  I dreamed of gardens:  flowers, veggies, birds and life flourishing.  I imagined laughter abounding and love overflowing.  I saw learning taking place in every moment, every day; basking in the glorious love and care of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Easter Sunday

Today, on this day ripe with possibility, why not live as you once dreamed?

Why not laugh from your belly, let your smiles grow wide and not quickly fade; and love fully?

Why not receive love with an open heart today?  Resist the urge to cloak yourself in protective armor;  let your soft underbelly show.  (This is figurative, people.  Important note for the more literal among us.)

Why not give away more things, and hold people more tightly?


Why not lose yourself in the Word of God?

Why not comfort and sit with the broken-hearted?

Today is a possible day, full of miracles.  See them.

Enjoy today,

P.S.  You are welcome here!  Thank you for stopping by for a visit.  Please join the conversation by leaving a comment and sharing your thoughts.

History Repeating

"Dad, not again!" 

"Seriously?!!"

"Ohhhhhhhhh....please hurry.  Please, before someone sees!"

We groaned from the sticky vinyl seats in our maroon-colored Station Wagon with the faux wood- grain paneling.  He was at it again.  This time on a road trip. 

He pulled over, called my big brother Jamie to follow him, and quickly began hoisting the ancient paint-smattered oak dresser atop our vehicle, securing it with bungee cords. 

This was a common scene in my childhood.  As children we just didn't get it.  From our perspective we were picking up someone's trash.  But my dad saw the beauty underneath the tarnished finishes and just couldn't bear the thought of all that goodness rotting away in a city dump somewhere.  

As is often the case, history repeats itself.  I, now, at the ripe old age of 33, have a habit of rescuing the crumbling, the worn, the tired pieces I see with some potential still left.  


Yesterday I gave our front porch a quick makeover with these gathered bits and pieces.  The chair you see?  It was green and had seen much better days.  A quick coat of spray paint freshened it up.  The pillow is an old one I've had that I sewed a new cover for from a thrift store sheet ~ $1.50.  

That brings us to the table, my favorite by far.  Josh hauled it home for me from a curbside rescue.  Yes, I've converted him over the years and he now picks things up and drops them on my doorstep of his own accord in a sweet act of love.  That man knows what makes my heart sing! 

This little table is certainly a fossil of past times:  paint peeling, the works.  A quick spray paint of the base with an almond-colored hue, and then a few coats of spray-on chalkboard paint on the top made this baby brand-spankin' new! 

I picked up the seashell dish at a flea market for $2.00.  The terra cotta pots are thrifted as well, at $.78  apiece, then filled with some nice shade-loving impatiens (on sale, of course!). 

My man and I now have a nice new-to-us area to drink our morning coffee while we read the Bible together and watch the birds on our bird feeder.  This is one of the delights of our day.  

Decorating doesn't have to be costly or mind-consuming.  Simple things can make a big difference and bring a bit of inspiration and zest to your day.

How have you spruced up your home this spring?

Enjoy today,

P.S.  You are welcome here!  Thank you for stopping by for a visit.  Please join the conversation by leaving a comment and sharing your thoughts.

Unquenchable Love

Daddy & Daughter before the play:  Daddy ready to welcome people into the kingdom, and our sweet daughter ready to hold a banner high for the King

This past weekend our family participated in our church's annual Easter production.  We all eagerly look forward to it every year, our children especially.  They anxiously await the coming of the new year after Christmas when practices begin each weekend for this labor of love.  Their zeal and joy is absolutely contagious!  It is the deepest desires of our hearts to share the story and love of Christ with others.

Even at their young ages, they have felt the need for a relationship with the Lord; that God-shaped vacuum that is intrinsic to each human's heart.  They see Him everywhere:  in rainbows, gardens, babies, sunshine, puppies and relationships.  Even in the short span of a child's living, they can absolutely understand the need for humility, forgiveness and grace in the business of loving people.


Because God our Father has so loved us, He sent His only son, Jesus, to be the final sacrifice for all of our sins, that we might be washed clean for eternity.  It is done.  

And because our Father loves us so very tenderly and fiercely, it is only natural that once we glimpse even the fringe of this love, our hearts respond in like.  

One of my favorite current songs is "You Won't Relent" sung by Jesus Culture.  This is the very heartbeat of God our Father.  He loves us, and His pursuit of our hearts knows no end.  For this, I am eternally grateful.

"Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal  upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the LORD.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised."  ~Song Of Solomon 8:6-7

Enjoy today,

P.S.  You are welcome here!  Thank you for stopping by for a visit.  Please join the conversation by leaving a comment and sharing your thoughts.