Friday, July 13, 2012


Songs in the Storm

Thunder peals, in terrifying echoes, bang across the heavens, chasing each other.  Wind lashes the trees as hail and rain beat against my windows.  I confess I am not a huge fan of storms.  I understand why they happen and that they are necessary to vacuum clean the atmosphere.  I know that BUT I also know how powerful they are and what destruction can result.  It’s the not knowing that strikes fear in my heart.  And I am alone!  I pray for protection and for the God of the storm to quiet my fearful heart.  Then I wait.

I am finally able to lay in bed as the storm moves eastward.  And then I hear it.  I hear the music- music created by the storm.  The wind chimes outside my bedroom window were playing a deep Key-of-D melody for me; and it was only because of the storm.  I listened and was quieted.

In life, storms hit, expected and unexpected.  I need to let the God of the storms quiet me and I need to choose to listen for the music.  If I don’t, my focus will be on what is happening around me.  It’s certainly not easy to hear the music; it takes a refocusing on the God of the storm.

I have a feeling there is a song in every storm but I have to CHOOSE to quiet my fearful heart and listen for it.

Friday, July 6, 2012


5:45 am. Its already 80 degrees.  I’ve just come in from setting the soaker hoses.  The boney, dry ground soaks up the meager watering almost before it is out of the hose.

I am reminded of Ps. 63:1 which I read earlier this morning.

O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.

I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain Ps. 143:6


David expresses how much he longed for God- like a dry and weary land, a parched land, without water. Did he feel dry and weary spiritually?  Or was he just hungry for more of God than he was experiencing at the time?

It got me to thinking; am I hungrily seeking God as much as my bone-dry garden seeks moisture?  That is a whole lot of thirst! Am I satisfied with just getting by? Or do I really want more?  What does my hunger really look like?  What keeps me from seeking God that earnestly?  Is it busyness, offenses, pleasure, “stuff”, relationships?  Or is it a laziness, selfishness, or callousness?

This much I do know, if I don’t seek God I will become like that dry and weary land.  So, just as I water my dependent plants daily, I need to go to God for daily living water so that I become a well-watered garden (Is 58:11).  I don’t want to be just any garden; I want to be a lush, thriving one.

Thursday, June 28, 2012


Sometimes life happens so fast, its hard to keep up. So I apologize to you if you have been wondering if the “to be continued” would ever be continue.  Today our   precious little girl with the big brown eyes, Semira Joy, has her first birthday.  And she weighs over 16 lbs.  God is so good.

It wasn’t too long after we sent the first batch of special formula that we were    informed that the supply was depleted.  Even though it had been designated for her and we had sent plenty, we are sure the other babies benefitted from it as well,    especially when we found out that formula was in short supply.

So we were back to finding a way to send more formula.  This time God provided a mother in California to carry it when she went to bring her adopted child home. By this time we had been informed that she had gained some weight..  We waited through February,  March and part of April, praying daily that God would move the case quickly since we knew that she was not thriving.  In the midst of this, her mama had to have emergency surgery.  We are sure God delayed the process in   order to give her enough time to heal, but it still didn’t keep us from praying “hurry". Then God moved!!  Normally, once a case is submitted to embassy, it takes weeks or even months.  Ours took 6 days.  So travel plans were made and tickets purchased.  A few days before my two daughter-in-laws were to leave, the one going along came down with a bad case of the flu.  So unexpectedly, I found myself once again going to Ethiopia, but this time to help bring our little one home.

When I arrived and saw her, I was amazed at how much she had changed in the 3 months since I had last seen her.  We spent a few days getting acclimated.  After a long trip home (and she did really well), Semira  landed at Columbus International Airport, an American citizen.  Tears of joy!! and thankfulness that God had brought her home!!  Our miracle.

So, our precious miracle from the Lord has a story that is still being written and we are excited to see the plans and purposes God has for her life.

Thursday, April 5, 2012




My wounds and scars are
windows through which people see
Love and Grace revealed



 HAVE A BLESSED EASTER!

Tuesday, February 7, 2012


Give praise to the LORD, proclaim His name;
   make known among the nations what He has done Ps. 105:1


On January 6th I had the privilege of meeting my newest granddaughter for the first time.  What a joy to finally hold her!  Yet it was with great concern that we observed her way-too-tiny frame.  Her big brown eyes captured my heart immediately.
The chances to hold her were few because she was again admitted to the hospital.  When we talked to the pediatrician at the hospital, he guessed her age to be about 4 1/2 -5 months.  She weighed about 8 lbs.  The basic diagnosis- failure to thrive. We felt so helpless.  Needless to say when we left that hospital room, our hearts were very heavy with concern for her health.  We had to put her in God’s hands.
We returned home, my daughter-in-law tried to find a family that was going to Ethiopia to take special formula for her but there was no one going for a couple of weeks.  She checked into a shipping company who told her they could ship it for a few hundred dollars.  However they were honest with her, telling her it would most likely sit in customs until some government official decided to release it- no guarantees!
The thought crossed her mind, “I wonder if God wants to do something special here?”  My verse to her was that our God was a God who can do more than we can even imagine. I think He really wanted to show usJ
So “randomly” she Googled “sending formula to Ethiopia”, having no idea of what she would find.   Up pops a website, www.intothestreetsofethiopia.com, a Christian organization that sends formula to Ethiopia.  Jodi called them and they immediately put out an urgent email and FB message asking if anyone was going to Ethiopia.  Within 24 hours an attorney from Arkansas was on his way with $525 worth of formula donated by his family’s pediatrician.  You have to understand this formula is special and comes with a hefty price tag.
The next hurdle was finding someone over there that could go to the airport to meet him rather late at night and get the formula; he was only passing through.  Again God answered prayer!  God faithfully worked out all the details and she has been getting the formula for 2 weeks.
God is so amazing!  While we were there, we met a young mom who is patiently- probably impatiently by now- waiting for her embassy appointment.  Chrissy has graciously gone out of her way many times to visit our little girl and make sure she is getting her special formula and that everything is being done properly.  Even though her appointment has been delayed, she has been a God-send to our family! Please pray that she gets her appointment soon and that everything goes smoothly for her.  She has blessed us so much.
 
What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows”.  Matt 10:29-31

Somehow, when I think of what God has been doing for our special little one, I am reminded of the sparrow.  In the eyes of the world, she is just a little girl that really doesn’t matter.  BUT to God and our family she is special and He knows every hair on that small head with the big brown eyes and He is taking care of her until we can bring her home.
We just received a weight report and she is now 10.5 lbs!!

To be continued....

Monday, January 2, 2012



2012… anew year… I wonder what adventure waits us?  Only God know… and since He’s already been there, that should be a source of peace, knowing He has it all under control. 

This new day, this new year holds so much possibility.  I pray you       cooperate with Him as He inscribes on the new pages of this new year  of your life.

Below are 2 haiku that I wrote reflecting these thoughts:

New Year, a fresh start
God has been there
no need for unease.


A new day, a fresh page
waiting for inscription
for revelation.