Praying for Sarah-Grace

We have a beautiful new grandson who was born early on a Saturday morning.

Because of Covid-19, he went home with his mama and daddy on Sunday.

On Monday, his mama Sarah couldn't get her body to do what she wanted it to do.  The headache that she had had for days became more severe. She was sent by ambulance to IU Methodist hospital and it was determined that she has multiple blood clots and bleeds all over her brain.

We have been praying and asking everyone who knows the Lord to also pray.

We had a special prayer service for her tonight on Facebook Live.


I wanted to add this original song for Sarah because it is how I communicate in the deepest part of my heart... it is rough but it does not matter.... I'm adding it here as a way for her to hear it... I'm not up on how to do all of those things.

Please pray for our daughter-in-law, Sarah-Grace and our son Thomas.

  Click here to play the song.

NOW THAT WE ARE SIX MONTHS INTO 2018...

So much has changed this year.    Scratch that.....

Change the name of the post from "This Year...2017" to.....

"Now That We Are Six Months Into 2018...".  Ahem.  Okay. Let's do this.

The last time I visited you from here, I'd taken leaves out of the table.  Since then, we've had graduations, relocations, job changes, medical emergencies, life emergencies.......tears, laughter, fear, hope, exhaustion, retreats, doubts, struggles, and bewilderment.

Any of that sound familiar?

My routine completely altered

with the end of a 25 year career as a home educator.

My expectations have constantly been realigning

 to the new realities within our circumstances.

My eyes are often faltering and struggling 

to be focused above on the Lord.

But.  He.  Is.  Faithful.

He. Is. Kind.

When the doubt and darkness overwhelm, remember this dear Christian...

He.  Is.  Good.

Everyone in my house goes to work these days.  

No, that's not exactly right since the "downsizing".....hmm.....oh well......

 I'm still trying to find my way and use the gifts and talents that God has given me. I've been on a very steep learning curve and have often wanted to give up, but there are some big ideas inside of me and I know for sure that if the Lord leads, it will be accomplished. 

 Repeatedly, I am being humbled by the difficulty I'm having learning things that used to be easy for me. 

But whether it is because of age or stress, I'm determined to keep working at it.

 I'm also stepping out into the community as a volunteer and new business owner.

 I'm being forced out of my comfort zone by having to promote myself as an artist and building my website for my new business, WARM HEARTH STUDIO.

 (Right now there are problems with the website...so keep checking back. Please.)

Eventually, 

I see the merging of 

Mom On Assignment 

into the Studio.....

like I said, I have some big ideas...

but, we must all begin 

right where we are.    

Whatever this year has held for you, remember this:

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

 Hebrews 12:3 (ESV)

From Where I Stand

I took the leaves out of the kitchen table.
Lately, there have only been three of us at dinner.
Usually, during the daytime, 
there are only two of us.


After an extremely hectic summer, 
things are skidding to a slow walk.

There is a new reality being forged this year.

I knew it was coming. 
I've tried to prepare myself. 

Thoughts are still jumbled and clarity is still being sought.  
There have been so many major life events all jammed into small time frames.  
How does one deal with everything that comes with such a rollercoaster of events and emotions?

I'm still trying to figure it out.

I haven't written anything for this blog in a year. I'm not sure why.
 Perhaps, the thoughts won't settle long enough to capture them. 
Or maybe they do, and I don't care for them.

Midlife is not at all what I thought it would be. 
I was sure I'd be more sure of what I was doing by now. I suppose with every new season, there are expectations and some of them surprise us.

When reality crashes headlong into 
expectations we sometimes get knocked down.
 I've been watching some folks get knocked down with some
 very serious life-altering situations
 and yet they get back up with the help of others and a stronger faith and deeper knowledge of God and His infinite lovingkindness.

Along with contemplating the results of my life's work, I am trying to develop new discipline in long neglected areas of health and fitness.  

I'm looking back at some favorite hobbies and realizing that I will have time to develop them into more than just hobbies. 

No matter where you are on your Life Journey, some things do not change.
 Each of us is given one life. 

Each life impacts and influences others 
...for good or ill. 
Learning from the past but living in the moment is the healthiest way to live. 
Each breath from God is a gift and He deserves the glory. 

When It's Autumn in Montana....

... it is time to make a visit to meet the newest addition to the family.

And while there, visit a lovely park and photograph the autumn leaves.

It's That Day Again...

Okay, Okay, Okay...

I haven't written anything since June...

it is now September...

And since I have proved that I can read a calendar, I had planned to come over here and cheat by just using this post from five years ago.

Because, today is "that day".

shhhhh...

It Feels Like Treading Water, Only More Exhausting

The theme of this summer seems to be,

"Planning for the Future".

Just Keep Swimming....

The past three months have been very busy.

The past week has been crazy.

The past three days have been.....

Around and Around and Around

When I was a child, our county fair was the highlight of the summer. It was typically the largest event for our rural community, and every kid I knew looked forward to the rides and the cotton candy and the 4-H ribbons. 

Do Three Things

I've been thinking about changes, lately.

My kids are nearly all grown up and are facing decisions about their futures.

My husband and I have some important decisions to make this year regarding the future of our special needs child.

This stuff is hard.

Even the good, happy, growing up stuff like college and careers is chaotic at times.

The grown up kids around here are busy as bees and our driveway is often the scene of

The Dance of the Automobiles.

Dollar Tree Therapy

I bet you think I'm going to write about shopping.

That only proves
you don't know me very well.  
Um....no.

I'm not a happy shopper.

That is, unless I'm finding some great stuff 

in a thrift store.

Which goes back to Dollar Tree. 

In this store, everything is only one dollar.

But...therapy?

Yes.

Behold, All Things are Made New

Why does this happen every new year?  

Everyone is all eager to plan things.....

to set goals.....to improve themselves.....

Like.....

Housekeeping

I've recently been blessed by some wonderful friends who have been sharing my blog.  

It has been a little while since I changed the format of my blog to a magazine style.  

I am still not very tech savvy, but I do realize that some of the older style posts do not translate well in the newer format.

So......if you take a notion to go to the old part of the house, you might find some cobwebs and broken bits lying around. 

The Promise Was...

For unto us a Child is born. 

 Unto us a Son is given.

Words of the prophet Isaiah.  

Words sung in Handel's Messiah. 

Words printed on Christmas cards.

Words for a Nation in darkness.....

Promise to a World in despair......

What can the Past tell you about the Future?

I have always loved stories from the past.
 Even as a kid, I had a wild imagination and
 loved to imagine people who had
 great or terrible adventures.....
all from things such as an unpaid electric bill stuck in the bricks of a fireplace mantle.....
or a letter left unanswered.

I was absolutely sure,
 back when I was eleven or twelve, 
that some poor relation of mine had met his demise at the hands of a ruthless 
kidnapper or somesuch.  

the love thing...again

You know, it is relatively easy for humans to believe that since we are a sinful race, 
God can't truly understand our pain.

  Intellectually, we may know it to be true,
 but sometimes we discover it
 on a visceral level...
and it is liable to be in a place where we are not quite prepared to be undone.  

Behold the Brave and the Mighty

The Brave One is not the biggest, 

nor the strongest, 

nor the greatest.

Dying to Love Someone

Human beings never seem to be at a loss in searching for a good love story. 

The Seed of the Church

How can we continue in our every day, superficial living, when we have continual 
24/7 news coverage and 
Facebook and Twitter and Whatnot Updates showing us the excessive evil 
 that is being set loose upon the 
weakest of the the World's population?

What can we do?

Death Sentence Commuted

I am currently doing genealogy research 

for a cousin. 

 He wanted to find out two things:

Was his grandfather murdered in 1922 

as he'd always been told?

The Perils of Procrastination

Well, I promised this post to my

 friends on Facebook.

Back in May.