Boojoyful

March 31 The plan was for our son, who lives in Minnesota, to fly in for four nights over Easter with his 1 and 3 year olds.  His wife was on call that weekend.  The day before the flight the three year old fell backwards in a chair at Day Care and sustained a severe concussion.  Determined to make a go of it, they headed to the airport the next day in hopes the complications had subsided, but on the way he became actively sick and had to stay behind.  So, Daddy and daughter embarked on a five day excursion to Virginia alone!  We enjoyed watching the love these two share and having the opportunity to get to know this precious little personality a bit better.  (Like Mama Boo....this little girl LOVES to create!) Yesterday morning I awakened to an empty house for the first time in eight days.  My thought was...I'm all alone.  Immediately the thought shifted and I felt God say, "You are never alone. Today we are having a "Daddy Daugh...

A Lenten Rose March 30 Cleaning up before our Easter crowd arrived, I came across a small book published in 1928, which had been given to my grandmother by her best friend on Christmas 1951.  The title Life's Extras , by Archibald Rutledge. He wrote, "...Creation supplies us with only two kinds of things: necessities and extras.  Sunlight, air, water, food, shelter-these are month the bare necessities. With them we can exist.  But moonlight and starlight are distinctly extras; so are music, the perfumes, flowers...The fascinating part about all this is not the tabulating of life's necessities and life's extras; it is rather the question, Who put them here, and for what purpose?" "God made two great lights -the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars." Genesis 1:16 Spring is popping out overnight.  The trees will be shaking their tale feathers before we know it. What do we ...

March 29 Ok, so maybe this is a not a news flash, but...I love to create! Whether it's taking an old wagon and using it as an end table, mixing up some magic flavors in the kitchen, clacking knitting needles together or getting crafty with a flurry of materials, I find it relaxing and fulfilling.  (If I'm totally honest, I'll confess it takes a whole lot longer and has to be done in smaller increments in this post stroke body, but the desire is still in there.) Building on yesterday's entry on Life's Extras , I looked up the dictionary definition of create. "...to bring into existence.   ...to make or produce (something): to cause (something new) to exist using your talents and       imagination.  ...to cause a particular situation to exist"  God obviously loves to bring things into existence!  One of my favorite things to do is cuddle up, one on one, with the grands and talk about the day God decided to create them an...

March 28 I made this matching bunny game for our grandchildren.  The tails are velcroed on so they can pull off and be matched up to the corresponding bunny.  The object lesson will be on how we are to live in a manner that matches us up with Jesus.  Living in a way that others know we go with Jesus. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

Not sure if you can see the three wooden crosses in the planter on the left. This was such a simple decoration, but it tells such a powerful story. March 27 Happy Easter The Tomb is Empty Jesus overcame death! Sing Alleluia all day long! Tell of His amazing love to another!

March 26 Six of the eight grands arrived at Shiloh yesterday as the temperatures topped out around 75 degrees.  Shoes came off and feet joyfully splashed along the shoreline. Please pray for the two children who weren't able to fly in.  One took a fall backwards out of a chair at school and has a concussion; the other one has a fever. Just before dinner the adult children banished me to my bedroom for a little quiet time.  After about 2 minutes the grands joined me..sans the quiet. Pulling out books, crayons and coloring books, quiet play with one another ensued. Laying on the bed, with my husband beside me, watching the exchanges going on between these cousins, I told my man, "I could die happy right here in this setting!"  My joy was complete. Scripture recall came into play as I thought of the phrase:  my joy is complete.   This passage  below from Philippians 2 makes my heart sing! For a parent, seeing your children and grandchildren love o...

March 25 Felted eggs! Let's look at the words expressing how Jesus felt in the Garden of Gethsemane. "Then Jesus went with them to a garden called Gethsemane and told his disciples, 'Stay here while I go over there and pray.' Taking along Peter and two of the sons of Zebedee, he plunged into an agonizing sorrow.  Then he said, 'This sorrow is crushing my life out. Stay here and keep vigil with me.' Going a little ahead, he fell on his face, praying, 'My Father, if there is any way, get me out of this. But please, not what I want. You, what do you want? When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep.  He said to Peter,  'Can't you stick it out with me a single hour?  Stay alert; be in prayer so you don't wander into temptation without even knowing you're in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there's another part that's as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire....