“May the blessing of the rain be on you—
the soft sweet rain.
May it fall upon your spirit
so that all the little flowers may spring up,
and shed their sweetness on the air.
May the blessing of the great rains be on you,
may they beat upon your spirit
and wash it fair and clean,
and leave there many a shining pool
where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.”
(how wonderful that I KNOW You are always near
no matter how busy my days become)
*Thank you for bird song this morning.
*Thank you for sunlight spilling into the living room
to warm the back of my head,
as the soft, cool breeze flirts in the open window.
*Thank you for the hum of bees and the delicate scent
of macadamia blossoms in the air.
Thank you for “Pandora” on my computer playing
worship instrumentals
on the station “Holy, Holy, Holy God”
***
Please send more rain to California.
Please help Spence, Brianna and I be gentle and kind
and tenderhearted to one another today.
Bind the spirit of strife and miscommunication.
In Jesus’ name I gratefully pray.
Amen
Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of your unfailing love,
for you are merciful, O LORD.
The LORD is good and does what is right;
He shows the proper path to those who go astray.
He leads the humble in doing right,
teaching them his way.
The LORD leads with unfailing love and faithfulness
all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.”
Psalm 25:6-10
G.K.Chesterton had offered: ‘Thanks is the highest form of thought‘…
And Romans 1 concurs and expresses how non-thanks is the lowest form of thought — of life:
“When we don’t give Him all thanks, all our thinking become futile.”
~Ann Voskamp
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My List of Thanksgiving
24. I have happy feet because I invested in new tennis shoes…
everything is better because there is no pain!
Thank you Lord for technology that helps my aging body.
25. I love that our souls stay young;
that waking brings joy and anticipation
even though the body grows weaker with time.
26. Thank you for Loren and Virigina’s faithfulness in serving You
and the healing found in the ministry You gave them.
27. Thank you for yesterday’s soaking rain.
Please send more to our thirsty land
and may people not gripe when it changes their plans
but appreciate the necessary cycles of nature.
28. Thank you for the unexpected presence of our daughter yesterday;
the easy conversation, the time for Bri and Spence to plan a hike,
her help in the kitchen and with cooking dinner.
29. Lord, please bless the young man who will one day be Brianna’s husband.
Bless him with good health and heal any injuries.
Bless the work of his hands.
Bless his emotions with Your love, joy and peace.
Bless his relationships with family and friends.
And most of all
Bless his relationship with YOU!
Thank You in Jesus name.
Amen
A Wood’s Cove Estate for sale
but once upon a time…
My Grandparent’s Home
It’s been over 25 years since I’ve seen this beautiful old house,
but the memories from my childhood are strong.
The lush, green driveway leads up to a large parking area with a three car garage.
I remember my mom washing our cars here, plus playing tether ball and riding our bikes.
A small studio/gym now resides in the place the all-glass green house once stood.
I dreamed of having my stained glass studio there,
now it would make an awesome Portrait Studio…alas just a lovely thought.
The home is now on the market for $4 million!
An original lantern still hangs on the garage
and the brick ramp up to the house is framed with hedges
that were growing there when I was born.
The brick patio on top of the garages has always been inviting…
my grandmother had a grand, swinging couch we loved to play on there.
And even dimmer memory is my grandfather wearing a white polo shirt and khaki pants
relaxing in a patio chair and smiling down at me.
The graceful old Pepper tree that used to shade the patio has died,
but the current owner could not bear to cut it down.
The House.
Built sometime in the late 20′s with a Mediterranean influence.
I remember 3 bedrooms with walk in closets, 2 black tiled bathrooms, a cedar closet,
wood floors and stairs, thick walls and leaded stained glass windows.
A living room with am impressive fireplace next to a wood-paneled library.
The entry had a walk through closet for coats and built in desk for the telephone.
There was a huge formal dinning room and a butler’s pantry with wavy, glass cupboards.
A cozy, all white kitchen with a red linoleum floor, then a maid’s room and bath.
And down a steep staircase, the musty, dark, scary basement and furnace.
Before going in, I wander behind the house and the steep hillside.
The leaded, amber windows look as beautiful as ever.
Oh dear the back patio has been torn up by tree roots,
but the back stairs still lead up the hill…
to a new wall? Once this was our childhood domain, a wild garden of rock bordered paths,
a tree house (more of a deck) and a rope swing hung from the branch of sweeping Crown Pine.
Now the paths are buried and overgrown,
barely discernible.
poignant memories tug at my heart
The “front stairs”
Taken so many times in our youth!
Down to ride our bikes and up carrying our schoolbooks…
forgot to mention my parents built a home above my grandparent’s house.
Our wild garden was been the two houses 
The front yard used to be all brick and baby tears,
I like the grass lawn that has been put in.
Another look at the stairs that led to our childhood home…
those jade plants have always been there!
Walkway to the front entry with more ancient hedges.
Porch to the right where are grandmother, Maeme, let us store our bikes.
Look at that view AND thick walls!
Original lamp is still in the entry hall,
my mom kept the one that used to hang in the dinning room.
The dinning/sun room.
The interior of the house has been extensively remodeled,
unfortunately with inferior materials and craftsmanship,
so I won’t be sharing many photos, just the things that remind me of the past.
The only original thing left in the kitchen are the windows,
they seemed so high up, but then I was a child.
The memories are all about food, the smell of toast, salt and pepper,
the roasts and gravy of my German/French cooking grandmother.
Upstairs the stately, classic bathroom are gone…but the views are still marvelous!
Best of all, the window seats were kept in the large bedroom.
I took these glass knobs for granted,
now I see them and appreciate how well they were made.
The balcony off the master bedroom…
when my mom was a young bride, she threw her bouquet from here.
The living room, good bones and well made hardware.
This room’s strongest memories
are watching TV with Maeme when she was babysitting us…
Lawrence Welk, Ed Sullivan and Lassie.
Original cast iron…
I know how to build a good fire. My grandmother did not,
her wood smoldered and smoked.
But to this day, a certain wood smoke will remind me of her home.
The Library, my favorite room in the house because of the view,
paneling and book shelves. This was also my grandfather, Papa’s home office.
My memories of him are dim because I was so young when he died…
just a large, jolly presence in the house and that we were adored.
Furnace Vents
An hour and half have passed…I linger, sharing stories with the realtors.
I walk down these stone and cement stairs to the driveway.
Remnants from the former brick garden patio
So blessed, so grateful for the childhood we were given.
How good to see it again.
http://545diamond.com/
Remember When You Could FLY!
“Without thinking too much about it in specific terms,
I was showing the America I knew and observed
to others who might not have noticed.
My fundamental purpose is to interpret the typical American.
I am a story teller.“
~Norman Rockwell
I graduated with my Art degree, then took a stained glass class for fun and FELL IN LOVE. I had found my medium, rich with color and light. I begged a glass studio to take me on as an apprentice, where for two years I learned my new craft and eventually taught classes.
When I returned to my hometown of Laguna Beach, my parents let me set up a studio in their garage and loaned me $3,000 (when I got into the Sawdust Art Festival with a low lottery number ) to buy supplies and build a booth. Guess what I designed? Pretty things! Flowers and birds, hearts and stars, dolphins and sea shells. For twenty-eight years I was true to my love for the simple things in life, the things we tend to take for granted,the things God created. AND people liked my art! They bought my “pretty” art glass and put it in their homes, and then came back for more.
Now, I have a new medium to explore my passion for color and light…and I take Pretty Pictures. I want to remind people what is still good, and pure, and lovely. That there is hope and joy yet in this dark world.
Blessings:
19. Our family moved to Laguna Beach when I was 5 years old…
50 years later, I still call it my hometown.
20. Learning to sail as a child, taught me a love for the wind.
When I had rebelled against the Church and Christ as a teen,
God used the sea wind to draw me back to Him.
I could not see the wind, but I could feel it…just like the Holy Spirit.
21. A walk along the beach, breathing in the salty air, always restores and refreshes.
22. The utter abandon of diving into the ocean, opening my eyes
in the green world where I seem to fly.
23. I met my husband Spence
because of our mutual love of sailing
and the sea.
Ongoing List of Blessings~
13. You have filled me up Lord and I am satisfied. Thank you Jesus.
14. This season of true change, relying on God for my comfort
with gratitude for awesome food and new tools, I’ve lost 10 lbs!
15. Spending four hours on a beautiful golf course yesterday
with my beloved and only cousin John
16. The unexpected favor of a new car that’s a blast to drive
and makes people smile when they see it’s bright blue paint job.
17. The promise of rain after many dry days.
18. The fun and fellowship found on Facebook!
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