They said write a book…so I did!

Coming soon to Amazon, Kindle, and a bookstore near you!

Stay tuned….♥️

The last blast of the winter cold gave way to warmer winds and the tiniest ever, green leaves pushed happily from their tiny buds. The fields transformed into carpets of bright green lush… the birds who found their way back after the winter, sang a happy song to each other from tree top to tree top… and to me I had decided.

The earth smelled so fresh as the dirt and gravel roads were washed with the first of many rains to come in the season. Spring had come again… all seemed new again.

I was ten. I was happy.

The new meant rides on Grandpa’s red truck in the back box sitting on the pokey bales of straw that pinched my bare little legs just enough to keep me aware of my surroundings.

The new meant the sweet smell of the freshly mowed grass at our small home on Hanover St., my dad pushing the older model mower still in his blue work clothes, his name marked clearly on an oval patch on his right pocket.

The new meant the overload of the large bush of lilacs blanketing the yard with a wonderful aroma on the same Hanover St.

The new meant the neighborhood kids gathered on the corner empty lot for some stickball, tag, and teaching each other to ride.. sometimes, or most of the time… second hand banana seat bikes…well past dark as the evenings grew longer.

The new meant my mom’s large plot of black dirt in the backyard still on Hanover St., would soon be sprouting rows upon rows of new colors representing our food for the year in mom’s pantry, and years later the new meant weekly trips to the local farmers’ market as a new season in life left her large garden behind.

Their Spring had changed and had become new.

When I was growing up the new meant Spring jackets came out of the storage closet, no longer big, bulky heavy coats… a freedom of sorts when playing outside was experienced.

The new meant Grandma’s farmhouse windows were opened wide to let the fresh Spring air fill every corner of the house.

And yet the new wasn’t always a time of excitement and joy. The new needed some practical steps. The piles of soft white winter snow had melted revealing all that needed to be cleaned. Stones on the grass where they didn’t belong, garbage that had found its home on the yards as opposed to the garbage cans. And pets and their daily “duties” left behind.

Not all had to be dealt with all at once, yet this was all something that was expected in one shape or form in all its similarities from Spring to Spring.. new to new.

Then one year..Spring brought a very different new.

A new that wouldn’t repeat itself the same way ever again year after year.

My mom died.

A very different new. One that I have never experienced before…because we only have one mom.

She died in early April just as some of the new of Spring was aching to come alive.. and so it did like yearly clockwork.

Some things just carry on whether our hearts are ready for it or not. Life really does go on in some shape or form without our permission.

Fast forward decades later…the green leaves still bright, fresh and new to the landscape and first time freshly mowed grass of the season awakened the senses. My little grandchildren peddled their bikes in there less bulky Spring jackets through the mud puddles.

My daughter’s gardens started in their homes on their window sills, grew wonderfully. My windows were open for the first time in the season to invite wholeheartedly the Spring air with no bugs.

Some of the old new…some familiarity…now decades later.

There will be times in everyone’s life the old new will become simply the new . The old new will blow in the wind surrounding your new. It will smack of some familiarity but the new will be center stage. And it may seem like forever for a very long time…or forever… always.

Each Spring will bring some familiarity but the journey through each year will take on a brand new… new.

Just as the new fresh green leaves push happily out of the buds never to inhabitat that space again, so too will the new I have experienced never be able to go back… only forward.

So what will you.. I.. do with the new Spring in our lives that will never again look the same from year to year?

Some things familiar will undoubtedly blow in the wind but the new Spring has forever changed.

Will I get stuck in the why?

Or will I be able to move into the what can I do with it from here?

The first new Spring is still very fresh and I’m still sailing through the emotions and memories of it. Yet in the midst of it all…I smell the fresh grass…I see the buds bloom…I hear the birds sing their sweet song…I can still enjoy and experience some of the old new.

So when Spring comes again in this new and a year of seasons has passed and nothing may look the same from the smells of the fresh air, the birds singing, the buds blooming, the freshly cut grass.. etc. from year to year… I will hope to keep choosing the what over the why..It will be my new Spring for years to come…

The new leaves of choosing every Spring to ask the what and not the why. And sometimes the practical steps are needed to clean out the things the Winter season has left behind.

All part of the healing journey when I choose to sit on the bench daily with my God in order to navigate the what as opposed to the why…in every season and in every year of the new Spring.

We all have or will have different life altering moments that will last our lifetimes that will be the new Spring in our lives.

So the question is…

What will I do with the new?…

What will YOU do with your new?

Continue to embrace your new…enjoy the familiar old new surrounding it and know that your new Spring from year to year can bring the sweet aroma of healing and memories of Spring times past.

And just for today…I will be content in knowing she can be found…

in the ultimate Garden in HER new Spring ♥️

One of my grandkids favorite things to do is dot-to-dot drawing.

The satisfaction of the simple picture that emerges when they’re little fists grab their pencil so tight and just followed the numbers 1 2 3 4 etc. Their squeals of excitement when the pictures come to life is pure satisfaction for their little hearts.

Their picture completed once all the numbers were connected.

The events of this past month reminded me that our God is the master of the ultimate dot to dot . He is a God of order yes… But not our order in orchestrating our life. The way we would see it happening would meticulously be created by following the order 1 2 3 4 etc. Yet when God creates a dot-to-dot… It looks nothing like we could have ever imagined and it’s a complete masterpiece under the direction of his order.

My mama left her earthly home for her forever home in Heaven 4 weeks ago. The week we knew she was leaving was nothing short of a dot-to-dot masterpiece.

The day my Mom was admitted to the ER she was fading fast. The doctor’s prognosis was palliative care and sure death in the imminent future. As the family gathered that day, there seemed a spirit of healing taking place already…hearts were softening from years of hurt. It was like a pure refreshing continuous waterfall over all present. And then within hours the doctor said to my mom…

“This morning you were dying… and now you are not. It’s nothing short of a miracle. This was not how it was happening.”

He leaned in close to my mom at her bedside in the most gentlest of ways and asked, “What does Erna love to do?”

She then proceeded to tell him she loved raising her family and enjoyed her nursing career immensely and everything in between like her passions of gardening, canning, knitting, and so much more. but she felt she still had some more living to do.

As we all stood there hanging on her every word knowing this was a special moment in time.. he asked one more question ..” What does Erna want right now?”

She looked at him and said clearly, “I want to go home. I want to live and I want to go on a Gaither Cruise.”

We all stood there listening to all that was being said in that moment, tears glistening in all our eyes as to what we were witnessing in that moment.

The doctor took her hand and said, “Well then go home. We all don’t know how much time we have to live, so go live.”

From dying in the morning…to going home and wanting to live by the evening… it surely was a miracle in the moment for all of us.

The next five days was another sort of miracle with my mom getting a window of opportunity to go home and live for a few more days and in that time prayers that had been prayed for 20 years or more by my mom and others were answered as much healing of relationships happened in what seemed to happen in one moment.

As we wandered in and out of her hospital room with people and family that hadn’t been there for years, it was a journey like no other for many of us.

A cold cloth on my mom’s head to calm her fever met with a beautiful smile of relief tied many years of hurts and healing all into one beautiful gift of hearts just loving one another. A piece of the dot-to-dot.

The day mom left, the picture God had created in his ultimate masterpiece of dot to dot.. the order definitely not being 1 2 3 and 4.. and more like 15289 etc, was complete in that moment and it was more beautiful than any of us could have created ourselves.

Mom never did get to go on a Gaither Cruise on this Earth but I believe that I believe she is at an amazing Gaither concert in heaven as some of the gaithers have moved on to that home with her too over the years. She still got her wish…and so much more.

Don’t lose hope. The picture being painted in your life may not look as beautiful as you may like it to be in this moment, but let God be the master of the ultimate dot-to-dot and know He has a masterpiece in mind you may have never imagined. And undoubtedly more beautiful.

His ultimate dot- to- dot♥️

“Gamma! Gamma!..see the birdies??!” My two-year-old granddaughter exclaimed excitedly looking out the window at the feeder hosting a beautiful tiny bird enjoying it’s daily nourishment.

I love birds.

I haven’t always, but there is something about the simple lives they lead that draw my heart to them.

The ultimate minimalists.

Our rustic backyard feeder attracts an array of different types of colorful birds throughout the year. Some large, some small, some tame, some wild. But all come for the same thing…

To be fed.

They instinctively know they cannot build their nests, feed their young…or just simply fly without their nourishment. And sometimes one trip isn’t enough in a day. They need to come to the feeder regularly… Not just to survive but live.

Our lives are so much more complex than the life of a bird, yet because it is just that, complex, we forget that in order to”fly”and truly live… We need to get to the “feeder” daily.

The birds seem to know it..

But we don’t.

You can’t give what you don’t have.. literally. The need to nourish our mind, soul, and body for us and for those around us, is absolutely necessary to carry out a life we are each called to live out on this planet.

Our world is spinning “faster” then it ever has in the time we are living in now. Yet we have 24 hours in a day… No more no less than the first people ever on the planet thousands of years ago. Their focus would have absolutely been to feed themselves and their offsprings before anything else. Nothing of value could have been accomplished if that was not the order. It was crucial to survival. their mental daytimers would have scheduled this piece in the very first thing.. always.

Today we tend to live a life believing that everything else is more important. Our day timers, phones are filled with “to-dos”, appointments… Lists. Yet how often do we schedule in

“**Feed body, soul, and Spirit**”

Oh yes, we may eat on the run but we can’t feed our soul and Spirit on the run.. not for long anyways. We need to get back to the “feeder”.. our God.. and sit a while, perhaps a couple of times a day just like the birdies know they need to.

Our God is the source of everything we need to live this abundant Life He has for us. In his word God says he sees every Sparrow fall and he takes care of all the birds even though they don’t store up from season to season.

How much more does he care for us?

They need their nourishment daily for that reason. We can’t store up our strength, our spiritual nourishment etc. We need it daily like the Manna from Heaven. He longs to meet you daily at His feeder.

Stop. Slow down…

And learn from the simplicity of their lives and get back to the “feeder”…

And see the birdies♥️…

They got it.

It was one of my favorite times on my grandma and grandpa’s farm back when I was a little girl.

Firefly catching.

Grandma’s clear glass mason jar with holes punched in the tin lid was a temporary house we would catch them in and set them on the stone porch long after the sun had gone down into the dark of the night .

The stars on a clear warm summer night where the only other sparkle in competition with the Wonder of these dancing flies.

Some nights the show was nothing short of magical it seemed, like a sea of lights shining intermittently in the black of the summer night. One never knew where or when the next night diamond would show up.

We all carry a light whether we aware of it or not. Everyone of us. Going about our day we have no idea who may need our light. It may be as simple as a smile, a kind word, a phone call, your influence or your gift of your prayers.

Some days you may not feel like you are a light in any way. Yet if you are a mom or a dad you are a constant light. If you work at a job outside the home you are a constant light, and yet on some days you will also need someone’s else’s light.

The gift of prayers.

They may seem invisible but they shine brightly through the lives you lift up in your prayers. I believe those who have gone on to Heaven have prayed prayers here on Earth over the years that still shine brightly in our lives.

Prayers transcend time.

We never run out of time with prayers for those we love. They are an investment that travel through time and continue into Eternity I believe.

So no matter if you feel like you haven’t ever mattered in the way your life shines to those around you… if you’ve ever whispered a prayer… You’ve been a night diamond.

My mom went to her forever home a few weeks ago way too soon. We weren’t finished with her yet here on this Earth. But I know that although she is not physically here with us anymore, her spirit is more alive now then it’s ever been and I know that all the prayers she has prayed during her lifetime still shine and will continue to.

You are one of these lights.

Become aware of the influence you are in the midnight sky of a hurting world and know you carry the light of a night diamond.

Settling in on her favorite chair on her back porch, she slowly slipped on her shades letting her eyes adjust. As she did, the sun in all its warmth and brightness enveloped her and seemed to warm her deep down through all her layers right down to her soul it seemed.

She made herself more comfortable as the day went on… and she stayed some more.

The longer she sat, the deeper the rays of the sun and all its nourishing warmth seemed to soak. How wonderful it felt.

As the day moved along, the bright orange sun sunk swiftly it seemed behind the trees. She sensed her day in the sun was more than just a day in the sun.

Then she heard it. In her heart.

“I hope to start the day with you everyday and warm you from the inside out with my love, wisdom, thoughts about you, and Truths… All the Truths and so much more… I want to write all this on your heart and more”.

“As you may have noticed the longer you sit in the Sun with me), the deeper I can reach into your soul and the more I can change you from the inside out with the rays of My incredible love for you.

The longer you sit, the more you will be able to face the day with your newfound strength and wisdom in every moment of every day and my Words and thoughts and Truth will warm your heart… and I will be your guide.”

She blinked back the tear that was forming in the corner of her eye. She looked around as if someone may be hearing what she had heard in her heart…because it had been so real.

She was so loved.

Uniquely, unequivocally, extravagantly.. by the One who created the sun and everything else.. and her.

“I want to heal you… from the inside out.”

“So when something scratches your heart it will only be superficial, and you will be able to march on with your day, head held high… knowing”.

In that moment, she felt the sun kiss her warmly on her cheek as her thoughts brought her back to the moment. She collected herself and made her way inside.

The day had been so much more than a back porch lounge in the sun. It had gone so much deeper, for God had made it clear, her visits in the sun with Him would change her forever if she but came to stay awhile.

No agenda… no works… just soak in His rays.

He wanted her not for what she could give… not for what she could do…not for what she could be…

He loved her already…

every layer…

from the inside out..☀️♥️

Dropping an eclectic armful of suitcases on the brown patterned linoleum in the kitchen of our first home, I hooked the front door behind me with the edge of my shoe the best I could to close it.

Home.

My heart was full. I had just married my best friend seven days before and now ended a honeymoon at a cozy cabin in our favorite family spot of many years, Clearlake.

The next chapter of the married life was all ahead of me… and I was excited.

I was ready to set up house and live out my dreams that I’d had so many many times over the years since I had been a little girl. From the colors of paint…the pale yellows and greens to robin egg blue… to the black and white checkered floors or perhaps neatly pattern linoleum as was popular, I’d always loved from the 50s decor.

The curtains throughout the house were to give a light airy feeling with white sheers to let in all the possible light, really defeating the purpose but sending a message of Welcome.

The sofas where to be large and soft, covered in warm colors, the kind in which I could get lost in when I sank my whole self into it, and of course be positioned to be inviting to anyone and everyone who might stop in or be invited. It made my relational heart so happy just envisioning it.. I wanted my home to speak welcome.

The kitchen would have a large wooden farmhouse table with scratch marks already in it as if it had lived a hundred years already, to start a tradition of when the kids would add their initials and everyday life. It would have more than enough chairs to accommodate much family and friends. A basket of fruit and muffins would always sit in the welcoming center of the table along with ready floral tea cups or coffee cups, waiting to be filled at a given moment.

Hot meals waiting at the end of every day cooked with much delight found in the many Company’s Coming recipe books I loved, was my heart.

The bathroom would have warm vanilla candles like the many many magazine pages I owned along with so many books in my bookshelves, to set the mood for relaxing in the nightly soaks in the tub.

And once the babies would start coming, the nursery would be filled with many many wonderful children’s books from Dr. Seuss to children’s Bible stories with brightly colored pages and words depicting warm family stories and faraway places to get lost in.

The stacks of cozy handmade baby blankets from my mom and grandma would have they’re home strategically placed through the room and in the crib. The vintage dressers would be a home for many beautiful sleepers, dresses, tiny socks and so much more along with all the baby necessities tucked neatly in a basket on the floor.

The light airy curtains would let in just enough light to paint the room with the soft air of home for a baby, and soft rug warmed any little bare toes. And of course the timeless rocker to rock away the time with my little ones that I could never get back.

The laundry room would have a shiny new white washer and dryer set with shelves neatly built above to house all that was needed along with three… only three bins… neatly placed in a row with only a few pieces of laundry in it…just like the magazines depicted.

The floors would be black and white checkered as my kitchen might be as I’d seen in one of my many Woman’s World magazines, my favorite. A large Hand stenciled laundry sign would hang above all this like a banner simply saying LAUNDRY in big letters.

My bedroom would have a large bed sitting in the middle of the room covered in billowing White blankets with what would seem like a million pillows topping the blankets, all neatly made and straightened daily.

It would be perfect… or would it?

My dreams were as tall as they were wide.

What was to be an exciting dream of family, friends, children and marriage became something I wanted to wake up from most days.

I really loved being a wife and mom and a friend and family lover, but the pieces just didn’t seem to fit all together far too irregularly… the price seemed too high some days, maybe even most days.

The curtains, the couches, the bed, the books, the paint, the candles… the baby blankets, all existed and we’re all part of the original dream, but the ever present feeling of never getting it all right weighed heavier than I could take most days.

I wore a smile often, though my heart was often heavy. My walk with my God was the only thing that kept me going most days.

The daily laundry piled up, the dishes in the sink piled up, the perfectly made bed I envisioned was seldom made, the daily hot meals that were part of the original dream we’re not measured by the same ruler. The baby room, although filled with lovely books and beautiful blankets and curtains, were filled with things that didn’t belong. My home became a place of uncertainty in all my efforts to measure up. My identity was tainted as the dust not detectable if not moved, surrounded the oh so many knick knacks that the 80s were made of, but once moved gave way to my ever waning skills.

Why was my dream of my childhood days not coming to pass?

My need for family, fellowship and just being loved for who I was, not how I performed in all these areas of my life was an overbearing monster at times leaving me immobilized physically and mentally for days on end adding to the physical and mental chaos of my life.

Life was dark some days but I needed to perform. I did because it seemed the key to being loved, and loved I wanted to be.

It was a vicious circle for many years with no end in sight it seemed.

My heart was always full of love, much love, but the never ending saga of just missing the numbers on the measuring stick weighed hopelessly on my heart.

I believe so many lies during those years and they changed the course of my childhood dreams. “Frozen” some days, sinking with quicksand lead in my feet.

Then 10 years ago my heart said “no more”.

My life still “frozen” but wanting desperately to warm the frozen edges of my life, and my own ways of just moving the lies I was living in, around in my heart was needing to come to an end.

My God had way more for me than I was experiencing and my heart was beginning to open to walking a new path realizing the old one was so worn from the regular figure eight… getting me nowhere…finding no real answers. This was it.

I didn’t want to do this anymore.

The lies started to become more clear and Truth started replacing them slowly one by one. The more they started being replaced, the more my frozen identity started to thaw.

I was loved yes, but learning to know now I was never meant to earn it, moved me onto a different path on my journey. Finding the Truth in the Word about what my God really thought about me was the ultimate beginning.

His Word said I did not have to perform and get it all right to have Him love me. Every verse I hungrily absorbed over the next few years I read through this filter. Earthly relationships were not so easy and clear, still needing to earn love somewhat, still painted my heart with strokes of Grey, threatening to block out the sunshine my God had placed there.

Still frozen at times to do nothing, I couldn’t bear the thought of feeling and not finding the love I just wanted. I wanted to be loved just for me… just like we all do.

The more I absorbed the Truth of His love and knowing I didn’t need to earn it, the more it warmed my heart, my identity, and I could breathe. And the more free I got to start living life, becoming more and more mobilized just to do everyday simple tasks that needed to be done for me, for my marriage, my children, and it spilled into my friends and my family.

The picture that had been painted in my heart so many years ago started to take shape, but the perfect picture has never been attained to this day, and I don’t want it to be now.

The original picture had a price tag that would come at a cost I wasn’t willing to pay. The original picture unbeknownst to me then, left no room whatsoever for my relational personality, the personality that was fueled by people and relationships. The coffee’s… the deep experiences that made up the person I was created for and needed to be for the purpose that was placed in my life to complete.

Fast forward many years later, baby stage is long gone, empty nest for a number of years now. My home now has an addition to accommodate my seventeen members and counting. My laundry piles are a fraction of the size and the baby rooms have been converted for the grandkids sleepovers.

The kitchen sink still has some dishes living in them daily but the hot meals are now more frequent and the homemade buns and large pots of soups and muffins and cookies are all made with a heart fueled by relationships first, but most of all knowing I’m loved whether I get it all done or not. It’s a freedom of the heart knowing I’m loved “just because” by the One who is the ultimate creator of my identity.

My Frozen identity created by the imposter.

Raising my girls over the years I know I did through my frozen identity. I definitely didn’t do it all right but by the Grace of God, they are not only my daughters but my friends now too. What a gift He gave me despite my “frozen” years.

It has been a walk that has taken many different paths that brought me to today in finding the Truth…

The freedom to move about in my personality has been a journey of walking away from the lies of unworthiness and performance among many other things.

Life now on the other side of those many years has taught me to learn to dance a dance in love in a quest of leaving my “frozen” identity behind.

We all have believed lies in our journeys… not one is excused. It may have looked different for each person… childhood dreams that have never looked the way they were dreamed originally.

Today look to the One who is the author of the Truth who will replace the lies that have kept you hostage and living in a frozen identity all these years, and start breathing as I did, and continue to on this life journey…

and start truly living…and walk free…

from your frozen identity.

The spectacular panoramic view of the rugged majestic Rocky mountains seemed to go on forever through the Gothic revival architecture of the hundred and twenty year old looming windows sprawling across the stoic Banff springs Hotel.

The view was matched only by the sparkling Jewel of the valley, the majestic blue waters of Lake Louise.

Wedding day.

The deep purple tone-on-tone textured handmade bridesmaid dresses fit each attendant perfectly having been been lovingly sewn two provinces away in the home province of the bride… My sister.

The families had gathered in the Heritage stateroom bearing roots from as far away as Europe.

Personal handwritten vows were promised…

The message was delivered.

Forever pictures were taken and the elegant reception had begun. Palate cleansers at each table refreshed us all in between each of the seven delicious courses.

Speeches were delivered… tears were shed.

The day was officially marked on the calendar as having happened.

Ending the evening, stories were shared and songs were sung. One such well-rehearsed song was to be sung by me, the Maid of Honor.. my sister’s only sister.

Having gone through the motions of practicing many a time for this special moment it seemed that I could deliver this piece of the program without a hitch… Or so I thought.

As I took my place behind the looming microphone stand at the front of the room, my foot caught the base of the stand and sent it leaning dangerously to one side. In an instant my foot instinctively stepped on the base of the stand to bring it back to its rightful stand at attention.

POP!!

Some wedding guests at the front tables let out a gasp, but not to be out done by one of my aunts who thought I had been electrocuted.

Nope.

Just” kissed” viciously by the microphone still cradled in the stand as it swung mercilessly at my face. I jumped back in an instant and let out an emphatic UGH!! as I promptly rubbed my throbbing forehead.

The gun-metal grey microphone and stand found its way back home standing just as tall as ever as if nothing had ever happened. I however did not feel like I was standing tall in that moment just having had my head cracked with the very thing that was to be my partner in delivering my song in front of a sea of elegantly dressed wedding guests still staring incredulously at what had just taken place.

Standing there with my three little girls at my side dressed in their matching pretty little purple dresses, waiting for their mommy to start the song on cue so they could join in… time seemed to stand still and race a million miles an hour at the same time it seemed.

And then…

I sang.

I just… sang.

So many options rather than singing raced through my head in what felt like an eternity as I made the split-second decision. I don’t remember if I sang all the right notes or even all the right words for that matter, but what I do know is that in my decision in that moment… I just sang.

For me… for my 3 little girls… and for all the eyes on me now sitting at the eloquently set tables.

Some days in life we may be surrounded by all that is beautiful, everything fitting into place running along smoothly and then… it happens.

POP!!

UGH!!

Something happens in a split second that leaves you second-guessing your next move and screams to immobilize you. But you’ve come too far… I had come too far.

I had traveled from many provinces away, 22 very long hours on a Greyhound with my three little girls and had rehearsed my song many many times.

So in that moment I made a choice despite all that had just happened to not throw it all away but to just SING!

Life doesn’t fit a script perfectly no matter how much we practice and how beautiful the surroundings maybe.

There may be things that are happening in your life today that may just make you want to quit despite all the preparation that has been done on the journey we call life.

But today, don’t let the POP! distract you.

Look up…

Stand tall…

Know the ONE who stands with you will never leave you or forsake you…

And just SING!!

Home decor… living space… it excites me. Furniture placement, paint colors, flooring, textiles, textures, plants, lighting, and so much more.

What does this have to do with anything spiritual you ask? EVERYTHING. The world that we relate to… what we know and have…and excites us.

What excites me is to sit down for a while amidst neatly placed comfortable furniture I can just fall into and feel at home.

What keeps me there?

Colors, textures, plants, lighting, WINDOWS! Love my windows!

But all that would be nothing to me with no one to share it with and experience it with at some point.

So if I know this is my draw to the natural things in life what is my draw to the spiritual… my God?

In my relationship with Jesus, the initiator of all intimate relationships, I relate this to comfortable, well placed couple of sofas conducive to intimacy, my spot in the moment that already drives me to Him.

I want to know more.

Me knowing He knows the number of hairs on my head and how He not only knows me by name from the beginning of time but has my name tattooed on his hand…keeps me there.

Him telling me through his letters to me that He is the foundation of the world, the cornerstone, I see the flooring in our visit as a wonderful, immovable addition to my experiences. Something I crave from Him in my life…a solid cornerstone… immovable.

A sense of security being in His presence.

Strategically-placed plants and trees remind me of his original plan in the Garden of Eden and His heart/ love for mankind, the world. His desire to know us personally. Intimate yet illuminating, the light reminds me of being in the presence of the Light of the world, having a personal relationship with me.

And windows.. oh my.. HOW I love the WINDOWS!

They remind me of the sights and sounds of the world outside my home and the endless possibilities I can imagine. A world right in front of me that stretches way beyond what I can see and hear and how the possibilities for me, for you, somewhere out there beyond my windows can in your own unique God-given gifts to inspire, encourage the world, near or far around you.

And lastly I enjoy the rustic, wooden handmade family table, my most favourite experience and enjoyment in all of the house.

It is where my family gathers, eats, laughs… cries. It reminds me of the rustic wooden cross my Jesus bore to save us so He could gather with us, His children, as He provides the Bread of Life and sits with us in our joys and sorrows, around His ultimate table.

So as much as I love home decor and the material things within it represents, my experience in the moment of home decor is the draw not only in the natural but the spiritual.

Find your draw to the ONE who loves you so so incredibly much.

He is the Master of the home decor of our lives. He creates a home in our hearts so individual to each of us no matter what that looks like.

He loves you, He loves me,

as far as the East is from the West…deeper than any ocean.

Find what makes your draw… home for you and Him.

Your daily walk in nature He created…

Your quiet moments after the children are finally tucked in their beds for the last time…

Your weekly spot on the pew surrounded by all those worshipping together with you…

That album that takes you to a place nothing else will…

The journaling that transports you to anywhere you may choose…

Or just simply that place you find when you simply close your eyes…and meet him in the quiet of your heart and mind.

What do you know about Him? What do you WANT to know?

Today, find your draw,

and enjoy your time, with Him.

The most intimate, satisfying relationship you will ever experience♥️

If it were possible to wear out Alexa… it would have happened already.

Alexa the Amazon Home System, joined our family a number of months ago after being won on a sunny golf weekend. I would dare to say she’s been on call 24/7 ever since for young and not quite so young in our family.

From Country Classics such as Alabama to the sounds of April Wine’s Classic Rock, 80’s..90’s and whatever to inspiration and Praise and Worship. But none has been repeated as much as Baby Shark!

Oh if Alexa could speak her mind! I think she’d say…Take me back!…:)

Many a Sunday afternoon a small head pops up by the island ledge and enthusiastically barks into the speaker; “Alexa…PLAY BABY SHARK!!” assuming Alexa is deaf.

Alexa then proceeds to comply again… and again as their tiny but persistent voices command Alexa…”PLAY IT AGAIN!!”

Alexa than dutifully croons, “I’ll repeat the song” in her steady, soothing voice.

So why again and again??

Because it makes their little hearts happy as they chime along.

How often do we repeat the things in our hearts and minds that don’t make our hearts happy, trying to come up with answers that always seem so far away?

We all have those favourite “songs”.

Today, remember the “songs”…

times in life,

promises from God,

prayers answered,

or just the things you are blessed with today, and command those things… that “song”… to play again and again to give our heart and our mind a foundation from which we can manage the things, “songs” that don’t make our hearts happy in the moment.

Today…fill your day with the song that makes your heart smile and say; Alexa…PLAY AGAIN!!