Blank Pages Can Be Intimidating

Greetings from the bower on Church St.

Yes, blank pages can be intimidating sometimes.

I sat looking at this one for quite some time thinking about what to say and thinking that I don't have anything to say today. But then...

Hasn't life taken a strange turn lately? I feel like I'm in a B-rated movie at best and a nightmare on bad days. What happened to my somewhat orderly life? Oh yeah, a little, teeny, tiny virus raised its ugly head and roared the world over. Dang. Sometimes even the tiniest among us can raise such havoc! Some days it feels a little surreal, doesn't it?

I may have mentioned before, I don't remember, but I lean toward hermit tendencies so staying at home isn't such a problem for me when it's my choice. I'm finding now that I have to I can feel a mite rebellious about it. Of course I'm being a good citizen and only going out for essentials and an occasional ride in the county to keep my sanity in check. That doesn't keep me from dreaming about running away to see my children and grandchildren or my favorite aunt who lives a little over an hour away and friends still living in my hometown. I ache to see them and hug them. Share a meal or two. Shop in the stores without seeing a mask.

I am confident I will be able to again. This won't last forever, even though some days it feels like it will.

I'm finding joy and gratitude in the daffodils and hyacinth blooming my garden,
the little buds on the maples,
the blue skies,
the warm days.

Look for the joy in nature, in the earth waking from its winter slumber.
It will okay.
God is in His heaven and all will be right with the world again.

Blessings,
Deborah

The Lord Has Risen Indeed!

Hallelujah from the bower on Church St!!

Happy Easter!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC1Nvn4Bk0Y

Blessings,
Deborah

Virus Boredom Busters

Blessings from the bower on Church St.

How are you holding up? Are you finding enough to keep your mind and hands busy?

I decided it was time to do some crafts today, so I finally opened the "Bless His Name," kit. I shared the kit a few posts back. Beautiful tags and a study of the names of Jesus.

I'm putting it in a Traveler's Notebook instead of my Bible or putting the cards on a key chain of some kind like others are doing.

I covered the notebook in purple paper.

Title page.

First name in the study is Almighty.

I would appreciate your prayers for two people.
1. My 92 year old MIL, Mary took a little tumble on Saturday and has a mild sprain in her right ankle. Thank you, Lord it wasn't worse! No trip to the doctor needed or the hospital for x-rays.
2. A dear friend, Darrel found out he has intestinal cancer.
Thanking you in advance for your prayers.

Gratitude:
1. A beautiful day in the mountains
2. My family and friends are still safe and well from the virus
3. God's grace and mercy

Blessings,
Deborah

Revelation 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega,"
says the Lord,
"who is, and who was,
and who is to come,
the Almighty."

A New Way of Living

Welcome from the bower on Church St.

"What day is this?"

That is the most commonly asked question in our house these days and not only by my 92 year old MIL.

I've lost my anchor. Tuesdays I'm normally at the church with my Covenant Group in the morning, lunch with the Community Lunch group at noon followed by our afternoon Christian Book Club. It's a wonderful day full of fellowship, laughter and studies. Wednesday the housekeeper/caregiver comes for four hours so hubby and I can enjoy lunch together at some restaurant in the bigger town over the hill and then do the weekly shopping. That is all gone now. My life was ordered and because I had those anchors in my week, I usually knew what day it was.

I don't like this befuddled mind I am now living with. I'm the organized one. Everything is not always in its place, but I have files in my drawers and on my computer. I know where things are and everyone else's calendar of events. I'm the go to person if you can't remember, because I've got you covered and I've got your back. Or, at least I used to be.

Tuesday nights at our house is Taco Tuesday. I only use a 1/2lb of hamburger, because MIL and I only eat one each, hubby has two and that is plenty of meat. I opened a new taco seasoning packet and dumped the whole thing in. I usually get three nights of tacos out of packet. It was way too much seasoning and tasted...not so good. Hubby just smiled at me. He understood.

I just had to share what this little invisible virus is doing to my mind. In comparison to the people out there who are sick and dying, this is nothing. No one in my family has it yet. I know I lead a blessed life and thank God everyday for it.

But I miss my life.
I miss my brain.
I'm scared for all us.
I'm grieving the tremendous loss of life this virus is causing.
Can you imagine the grieving that is happening in Italy with over 10,000 dead? If the person who died only has two relatives that is 20,000 people grieving at once! I can only imagine the gut wrenching sobbing that is happening there and in heaven.

We have a lot of introverts in our family on both sides, including myself. One of them said the other day, "I'm an introvert and I find myself wanting to hug strangers."

I've always loved the quote, "Out of everything bad, something good always happens."

There is a lot of good happening out there. Look for it. It will help your sanity.

Gratitude:
1. A sunny day with the Son
2. My family's health
3. Books to read

May the peace of Christ be always with you.
God Bless you.
Stay safe.
Deborah

Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His face toward you
and give you peace.

Gratitude is Everything

Grateful in the bower on Church St.

 There are teeny, tiny snowflakes falling outside my window. They are coming down in a frenzy; like they can't quite decide which way to fall. Snowflakes in March. It's a good thing and I'm grateful. California needs more snow and rain or we will be facing another draught. That would not be good.

"To stay strong in crisis, you have to exercise your gratitude muscle. Flex your gratitude muscle to fight off fear."  Ann Voskamp

Ann Voskamp's blog today was full of gratitude and very inspiring.
https://annvoskamp.com/2020/03/the-secret-muscle-you-need-to-crush-fear-seize-joy-be-strong-in-a-crisis/

The thing I like the most about her article is being thankful for the little things and taking pictures of those things.
Here's the three things I'm grateful for today:

The teapot elephant from my son and girlfriend. It makes me think of them every morning when I see it on my kitchen counter.

The daffodils in my yard. They are my favorite flower and always make me smile.

My Willow Tree angels. This is one of several I own. I'm sure you'll see more of them in days to come. 

We will get through this crisis with God's help. Be assured He is here in the midst of things. All around us and in us. 

Blessings,

Deborah

God, I long to dance again.

My desire is to move my feet in heaven's rhythm.

I have been stuck for so long in this valley;

Feeling lost and alone.

Would you grant me heaven's song today and the ears to hear?

So that my feet might move and I once again

Begin to dance along with Your love song for me.  Amen

(Sue Johnson)

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day from the bower on Church St.

The corned beef is in the crock pot as we speak.
Didn't seem to be a run on them, thank heaven.

Just a small 3lb roast for the three of us. Plenty of left overs for a sandwich or two or three. Even grabbed some hoagie rolls for the sammies tomorrow.

I must say, I was a little overwhelmed after shopping yesterday. We last shopped 5 days ago and although I was prepared for a lack of paper products, I wasn't quite prepared for how Walmart's shelves were so bare. We have a super store, not a humongous one, but a fairly good sized store and the flour, oatmeal and pasta were gutted, among other things. Seriously? I went to four stores to find flour. None. Now why that bothers me more than toilet paper I have no idea. I guess I can improvise if I run out of that, but when you're out of flour there is no substitute. The whole thing just came crashing down on me last night while I was preparing dinner. I was almost in tears. "This is insane," I thought to myself. The media has terrified us to this point. I'm not even thinking of the virus, I'm thinking of the people and how they are feeling! We should be cautious, but for heaven's sake, did you need to scare us this bad?!! I'm sorry, but I don't think so. Last year 38,000 people died in the US from influenza A and no one panicked like this. People die every year by the thousands from the flu. I know this one is a little different, but still. Again, we should be very careful, I'm not saying we shouldn't, I'm just thinking we didn't need to take it to this degree. My opinion. Sorry if I've offended you.

Just needed to share that. I'm feeling sad and afraid, but hopeful. Never let go of your hope. Like I said yesterday, God is here and He's got this.

Gratitude:
1. Family and friends who love me
2. His word for comfort
3. Corned beef, potatoes and cabbage

Be safe out there.
Blessings,
Deborah

Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.

Hopeful

Hopeful at the bower on Church St.

Trying and scary times. And now we've added a virus.
No reported cases in my county yet. I'm so thankful for that and praying for others.
Those with stock in toilet paper must doing well financially. :)
We'll tell our future generations that 2020 was the year of the toilet paper crisis. I don't mean to make light of the situation, but it seems so silly how people react to any given situation. Terror makes us do funny things.
I'm turning to scripture for strength and hope. One that comes to mind is:

Psalm 34:19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous, 
But the Lord delivers him out of all of them. 

Here are more Psalms of thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving: 30; 32; 34; 40; 65;67;75;92;107;124;92;116;118

Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Some situations are hard to be thankful for, but we can always thank God for being there with us. He never leaves us. Nothing, no thing, or person can separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:31-39)

I'm continuing my Lenten studies, just not sharing them daily with you. Today's verse in the Lenten cards devo is Matthew 7:7-11. I also was given Matthew 7:7 to read in my "Jesus Calling," devo. Think God is trying to tell something?

Matthew 7:7-11 New International Version (NIV)

Ask, Seek, Knock

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

(copied from biblegateway.com)

The other Lenten study kit I haven't started yet is called "Bless His Name," by Beloved Society through Illustrated Faith. I meant to share this earlier and forgot, but it's not just for Lent. You can study the names of Jesus anytime. I love the tags!! The colors are just what I like. Here's a peek at the kit.

All kinds of great things to create with! My lighting isn't the greatest this morning, but I think you get the idea of what is included. If I have time later, I want to do a Bible journaling page. I haven't done one of those in over a year. Where has the time gone?

Gratitude:
1. A God who sticks to me like glue!
2. Crafts to keep me occupied in trying times and keep me focused on God.
3. Bible verses to comfort me.

I'm praying for you.
Blessings,
Deborah

Eleventh Day of Lent

Thankful in the bower on Church St.

Day 10's word was testify and today's is saved. They go together nicely, don't they? I will testify that I am saved. So grateful to my Lord for that.

A few of us have a Covenant Group at church where we hold each other accountable to pray and study scripture each day. It's a time to share how our journey was with the Lord the past week and testify to our faith. Some of us read the Bible, others share inspirational books they are reading, and sometimes life happens and studies don't get done. We hold each other up during those times. We've all been there where the good intentions get lost among day to day existence of trying to survive any given day. Life is hard, but the Lord is in each moment in every day and every breath we take.

I try to remember to use the name Yahweh as a breath prayer to calm me when I'm stressed.
       Yah - deep breath in
       Weh - breathe out slowly

Can you feel the calmness coming over you?

Gratitude:
1. I am saved
2. For a blessed life
3. My crazy, goofy cat, Harrison

Blessings,
Deborah

Psalm 65:8
The whole earth is filled with awe of Your wonders;
where morning dawns,
where evening fades,
You call forth songs of joy.

Catching Up Here

Welcome from the bower on Church St.

The only place I need to catch up is here. I've been keeping up with morning studies and my Lenten notebook, just been a little busy to post here.

Time keeps marching on and the hours in a day don't seem to be enough some days. The important thing is keeping up with my studies and coming here is just icing on the cake. Some days the cake doesn't get frosted. :)

I'm loving these crisp mornings and warm, almost spring days. Makes me long to dig in the dirt. Probably won't get that veggie garden in this year, but there are flower boxes to tend to and transplanting to do. That will satisfy me for this year.

Let's see, looks like I need to post days 7-9. Here is what I did.

Day 7 - Rethink Church WOTD was Enter.
Psalm 100:4
Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

Day 8 - Rethink Church WOTD was Spirit.

Day 9 -  Rethink Church WOTD is Teacher.
Matthew 8:19
Then the scribe came and said, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."

Gratitude:
1. My husband
2. My children
3. Lenten studies

Thanks for stopping by today.
Blessings,
Deborah

Matthew 5:16
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Day 5 & 6 of Lent and 65

Celebrating in the bower on Church St.

Now that I'm 65 I feel like I have to grow up. Can't deny I'm an adult any longer. lol
Today is the day. 65. Geesh. How the heck did that happen? In some ways it feels like I was just 25 yesterday and in other ways, maybe not so much. It's been a good journey all in all. I'm normal in that I have a few regrets, but I try not to dwell on them. Can't go back and change them and I have apologized to those I've hurt. I'm going to go forward from today and make it a happy life. That is what I choose. We always have a choice. It's just a matter of attitude and gratitude. So, Happy Birthday to me and anyone else who shares my day! Dr. Seuss does! I feel honored to share my day with him.

Days 5 & 6 of Lent.

Day 5 - Rethink Church Challenge - WOTD was Celebrate.

My thought for today is:
I celebrate, because my God is faithful!! Amen!

Day 6 - Rethink Church Challenge - WOTD is Signs.

I created a page in my Lenten notebook.

Click on the photo for a larger view.
You will never be lost if you go God's way.

Gratitude:
1. Having another birthday
2. Peace in my soul
3. Family and friends to celebrate with!

Blessings,
Deborah

Jeremiah 29:11-13
"For I know the plans I have for you,"
declares the Lord,
"plans to prosper you and not harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future,
you will seek me and find me
when you seek me with all your heart."

Day 4 of the Lenten Challenge

Blessings from the bower on Church St.

Happy February 29th!!

Yesterday normally would have been the last day of February, but we have an extra day in this Leap Year. Do you have something special planned? A party? Out to dinner, maybe? How will you spend your extra day?  I meant to mention it in my post yesterday and forgot. Welcome to being almost 65. Yeah. The brain function ain't what it used to be. lol.

I have a meeting early this morning in the next town. I think when I am done I will take the long way home and look for pictures for this challenge. There are lots of old barns and ranches along that way. Lots of open spaces, too. Could be a great place for gathering some unique photos.

Day 4 - Rethink Church Photo/Poetry Challenge WOTD is Serve.

The first thing that came to my mind was
Psalm 100:2
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing!

Besides a photo or poetry, you also have the choice of a simple thought. I think I'll keep this Psalm close to my heart today.

Maybe I'll just share a photo, too.

My Pastor serving the day I recently became a member of our church.

Gratitude:
1 An extra day for rejoicing
2. An extra day for giving thanks
3. Gathering with friends

Blessings,
Deborah

2Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves,
but our competence comes from God.

Day 3 of Lent 2020

Good morning from the bower on Church St.

Day 3 of Rethink Church's Lenten Photo/Poetry Challenge.

The word for today is command.  I immediately thought of the two great commandments Jesus gave us in Matthew to love the Lord your God with all you heart, mind, strength and soul and the second to love each other. This photo of my grandsons summed up "love one another" perfectly for me.

I'm also keeping track of this challenge in my little Lenten book I'm making with the cards I talked about on Day 1.

I'm really enjoying this journey as I write out the scripture for each day and add things that are meaningful to me, like the lyrics to the song, "The Summons" I shared yesterday.

You can click on each photo for a closer view.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I havent been gardening in a couple of years and I'm really feeling the dirt calling to me this year. I'd like to have a vegetable/flower garden. I want to grow things again. The force is strong in me to be one with the earth. I've always felt close to God when I work in the garden. Life began in a garden way back when. There really is nothing like eating something you grew with your own two hands. Vine ripe tomatoes. I can almost taste their sweetness. Now, if I can just talk hubby into helping me....

Gratitude:
1. Dirt
2. Flowers
3. Fruit and veggies

Blessings,
Deborah

Genesis 1:29
Then God said, "I give you every seed- bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

Lenten Challenge

Blessings from the bower on Church St.

I didn't get a chance to come on here yesterday, so I will share Day 1 & 2 of Rethink Church's challenge. The challenge is to post a picture, poem or simple thought from the word they give you for the day.

Day 1 - Led - I wrote a poem

Led

An infant led to God by Mom.
A teenager confirmed.
A grownup led to Christ by Christ,
And finally feels at home.

(copywrite 2/2020 by Deborah Panos Meyer)

Day 2 - Wilderness

Family of ducks on a lake we camped by a few years ago.

Last Sunday we sang the song, "The Summons," at church and yesterday my Pastor said the words at our Ash Wednesday service. The song moves me very deeply. It is Jesus speaking to us. I hope it moves you as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o469PRLdbHU

Gratitude:
1. Wilderness
2. Inspiring music
3. Being led to Jesus

Blessings,
Deborah

Colossians 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer,
being watchful and thankful.

Lent Equals Waiting

Welcome from the bower on Church St.

My favorite quote for today:
   " Thanksgiving is the evidence that we are staying in love with God."
                                                             (by Steve Harper)

Lent is coming tomorrow! I'm getting ready. I have a few things planned and one of them is to study The Lord's Prayer using a kit I got from Illustrated Faith. I love this company! The kit is called, "Thy Kingdom Come," and includes over 40 little cards, a free printable and printables you can buy to go with the set. You can use these in many different ways and this how I chose to use them.

They've broken the prayer into ten stanzas and spend four days on each stanza studying companion scriptures and being creative with the cards. There are blank cards for journaling decorated with pretty florals and some with sayings.
I chose to add them to a small spiral bound notebook. I'll add the cards as I go along, using pages in between for journaling and art.
I'm also planning on doing the challenge I shared the other day and I also purchased another kit I'll share tomorrow.
I haven't been creative with art in this way for over a year and it feels wonderful to be inspired to take this up again.
Stay tuned. :)

Gratitude:
1. Creative inspiration
2. Time with the Lord
3. Bible classes today!

Blessings,
Deborah

Psalm 18:36
You enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.

Fasting

Blessings from the bower on Church St.

Being diabetic, I'm not supposed to do a full day's fast. It is a suggestion in "The Lord's Table," to fast for 9 different days out of the 60. But, I can do a partial fast. So, every 3 days I am fasting from chocolate. Partial fasts are okay with God. Daniel did in the Book of Daniel eating only vegetables and water. It must have pleased the Lord as Daniel and his friends grew stronger than any others. I don't expect to gain any physical strength from abstaining from chocolate, but I do feel stronger spiritually. I'm putting my focus on the Lord for strength to get me through the cravings and it seems to be working. I usually give up chocolate and/or sweets for Lent and will probably do so again this year.

Speaking of Lent, I've been looking for things to do during Lent this year and have found a few things I may try. Here is one that has me really intrigued:

Hmmm. The server won't upload the picture. Interesting. Anyway, it is a "Photo a Day" challenge from Rethink Church that gives a topic each day. Sounds interesting and I think I'd like to take that challenge. And if you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know how I love a good challenge! I rarely can say no! lol

Here is the link to the challenge if you are interested in reading about it. You will be able to download the picture there.

https://www.umc.org/en/content/lent-photo-a-day-2020?fbclid=IwAR23uaLfIR_oziBpLYZnS_VyyyN6G01YXOWGhEjpZSJUo2pRTewRB-2IH8o

                                                       (click on photo for larger view.)


There's the picture! Had to do it another way.
Leave me a comment to let me know if you'd like to join me in this creative way to journey through Lent.

Gratitude:
1. New ways to make this journey
2. Beautiful, sunny February day
3. Time spent with God

Blessings,
Deborah

Psalm 34:8
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

Dieting and Other Stuff

Good morning from the bower on Church St.

I receive a Word of the Day in my email each morning. A while back "bower" was the word for that particular day. It means a ladies private apartment in a castle. I fell in love with the word and started including the above message at the end of all my emails. My house is far from likeness to any castle I know, but the old saying about your home being your castle just sits well with me, so I grabbed onto the word bower and hugged it tight. I have a love for words and keep a long list of my favorites.

In the dieting department, I was given an early birthday present from my SIL. A book called, "The Lord's Table," by Mike Cleveland. Oh, my. Just what I needed. It is filled with scripture and questions to guide you on your journey to substitute your cravings for food to the love of Jesus. It is filling me up spiritually and taking me to new places on this journey. Like I said, just what I needed. Something different and something focused on God. It's a win/win. Here is one nugget of goodness that filled my heart: "No food will satisfy my heart nor fill the emptiness in my soul. That is what Jesus Christ is for. He is "real meat" and the "bread of life" and I am to feed on Him." Now there is something to think about. I eat out of loneliness sometimes, but I can fill myself up with reading my Bible or other spiritual books instead of reaching for chocolate. I'm just skimming the surface here. The book goes much deeper than this. I highly recommend it if you're like me and have tried diet after diet with some success, but not the results you really want. I'm not getting any compensation for this review. Just wanted to share a good find.

Gratitude:
1. Help with dieting
2. Spiritual deepening
3. You, dear reader

Blessings,
Deborah

1Corinthians 10:31
Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God.

New Book Release

My sister has a new book out. You can get it for free on your Kindle or download it for you PC.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082XHMN6J

It's called, "Buried Secrets," by J. E. Grace.

Blessings,
Deborah

It's One of Those

Good morning and welcome to my little corner!

I read an article this morning by Ann Voskamp that gave me that little flick to the forehead and maybe even gobsmacked me at times. She is so darn good at that! It was one of those articles.

She talks about our thoughts and introduces a book written by Jennie Allen called "Get Out of Your Head," subtitled "Stop the spiral of toxic thoughts." Man, I have been there. I've worked very hard this past year to stop sinning through my toxic thoughts, so this article drew me right in.

https://annvoskamp.com/2020/01/you-have-a-choice/ 

One thing Ann didn't talk about, but maybe it is addressed in the book (which I have ordered) is that the thoughts are usually lies planted by you-know-who! At least I have realized that is true for me.

You can get the link for the book in Ann's article if it looks like something that might appeal to you. I'm not pushing the book. I haven't read it yet, but I loved the title. I'll let you know what I think.

This sweet cat, Dusty, is one of our 8 ferals we care for. They have all been spayed/neutered and live outside. Their choice not ours. We would gladly share our home with them, but they are too afraid to come in. Miss Dusty loves to grab one of the beds, drag it off the porch to the patio, turn it upside down and then lay in it. Yes, she is a strange cat indeed.
Here is her brother, Chen.  Gorgeous boy! He's weird, too. lol

Gratitude
1. Cats of all kinds
2. Dogs of all kinds
3. All animals we share this earth with

Enjoy your day!
Blessings,
Deborah

Psalm 73:25-26
...God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Another One of Those Moments

Welcome!

I know I've talked about those serendipity moments before, but I just seem to keep having them and I feel so blessed. They make me smile and feel like God is close.

This morning I thought that today was the day to take that first step...again. Like they say, "Everyday is a new day to begin again." I wasn't liking my diet routine. This may sound funny, but it was making food feel like it was too much up in my face. It was all I thought about when it was the last thing I wanted to think about. I don't want to think about food that much. I don't want track it. I don't want to weigh it. I just want to eat healthy, lose the weight I need to lose and be done with it. I know how to lose weight. I want to do my plan, not someone else's.

So, I'm on a new journey. It's almost a new month. This one's goals are over. Time to start new ones. I love this month by month goals instead those new year's resolutions, like I talked about the first of the year. This is so much better!

February's goals:
1. Continue to lose weight
2. Continue to exercise
3. Continue to study
4. Send a card to friend

My serendipity moment this morning was getting a quote in an email by Henry Ford.

     Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."

Although I really don't feel like a failure, since I lost 5 pounds, it was more about the starting again part that made me smile. And doing it more intelligently. :)

I loved this spot by a lake we camped near a couple of years ago. Such a great place to sit and commune with God.

Gratitude:
1. Lakes to camp near
2. New beginnings
3. Sun on a crisp winter morning

Blessings,
Deborah

Ephesians 3:16
I pray out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being.

One Step at a Time

Good morning!

I made it through yesterday and today looks a little brighter.

I began 2020 with some old left-over goals and made some new ones. I like the new idea of making goals for one month at a time instead of for the whole year. Very few of us achieve the goals we make for the whole year and this just seems a better way. I don't like feeling like a failure. None of us need those extra burdens. Life throws enough of them at us; we don't need to pile more on ourselves.

One old goal I carried through to 2020 is to take off the rest of the weight I wanted to lose last year. I managed to take off 25lbs., put 10lbs. back on and now, since the 1st, I've taken 5 of those back off. Yay, me! I want to lose a total of 20lbs. this year. When I reach that goal I will see if I need to lose more. I'm sticking with Weight Watchers, as that diet works for me. I am riding my exercise bicycle 3x a day for 30 minutes each time. I love to read a good novel while I'm pedaling and that seems to make the time fly. I got discouraged yesterday, thinking I was working so hard and the weight wasn't coming off as fast I'd like it to. That was part of the funk yesterday, too. Then this morning as I was reading Psalm 18 and then my devotional, "Jesus Calling," both gave me the same message. It says in

 Psalm 18:33 He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places.

Then in "Jesus Calling," today I read in

Habkkuk 3:19 The Lord is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places. 

Don't you love those serendipitous moments when you get gobsmacked with an answer?!! In "Jesus Calling," I also read we have to walk the path with Him and not try to run to the high places alone. I'm not going to wake up tomorrow 20lbs lighter. I have to take each step each day to get there. I have to do the work, slog through the deep water, climb step by step up my mountain of weight loss with Him cheering me on! And He is.

I can do this!
I'm also doing a 45 day sugar fast. I'm sailing through this one. I've got this!

Blessing, Deborah

Psalm 18:36
You enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.

Must Be Cabin Fever?

Welcome and blessings!

It's only been two days since I was out and about, so the fact that I feel like I have cabin fever makes no sense to me. Here is my backyard today and my driveway.

Even though I've lived here for 13 years, I still don't like driving in this stuff and stay home when it looks like this. Yes, retirement is nice. I'm usually so excited when it snows and can't figure out what this funk is all about. I do have a sick friend I wanted to visit and finally exchange Christmas presents with, so that is part of it, but I can't figure out the rest. Oh well, this to shall pass. It won't last forever. Eventually it will melt. 

I'm working on a winter scarf for my oldest son in his favorite color. Whenever I make something for someone I always pray for them while I create the item. Makes me feel close to them. My son lives about 6 hours away. We don't get to see each other very often. I miss him dearly. 

I hope you have a very blessed day,
Deborah

Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His face toward you
and give you peace.

Time flies...

Happy New Year 2020!

Wow! 2020 and over a year since I've been here.
Weren't we just freaking out that it was Y2K and panicking that our computers might not work on January 1, 2000?
That couldn't be 20 years ago? Really?

To catch you up with my life, I've started writing a book (Wow, again) joined a local church and found my deep spirituality again.

Not quite sure what my plans are for this blog. Still pondering that one. Lots of thoughts on the subject, just can't quite pin it down yet. But I do have a love for writing and sharing with you.

My favorite quote I recently read somewhere and I'm sorry that I don't know who said it is:

                     "I'm about to walk into the greatest year of my life!"

That's my plan.
May it be the same for you, too.

Blessings,
Deborah

He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it.
Philippians 1:6