One Step at a Time

This post is just a look at what I saw and experienced on the trails on several days in late May; mostly so I can see this in a year or two or five and see how I was doing in May of 2025.

The last few weeks have been full of ups and downs, both in the weather and in my emotional state. The exercise and sunshine have done me good and yet I still have bouts of feeling almost depressed. I have managed to push through, but it has been tough at times. I think the key for me has been to keep going whether I feel like it or not. I'm not saying this is the answer, I'm just saying what has been my experience. I truly believe that God put the desire in me to do a daily walk for my health, and HE has given me the physical strength to do it. It's the only explanation, because I'm by nature a couch potato.

Before you start to tell me that in a state of depression a person sometimes is literally too tired to do anything, I know. I have been that person. That has been addressed in some of my earlier blogposts when I was just coming out of depression. It's a real thing, and I'm posting because God has brought me out of that state. I took antidepressants for many years and also had counseling. If you are suffering with depression, I get it. It is a real battle. Hang in there and keep on going. Pray, and God will help you.  

I've mostly been walking the path which goes under the bypass and eventually over to a small lake. I had not been going that far, though, until very recently. A couple of weeks ago I finally made it all the way to the lake, and it was 2.33 miles round trip (I turn around at some point when I walk this path; most times I don't go nearly this far before I turn around).

Love Birds

Small lake

The next day I thought I might be ready to do the "through the woods" trail (not really woods, but a substantial stand of mature trees), which is longer, so I set off for it by going up through the part of the campus where all the buildings are first and entering the woods through the entrance off Hwy. 62. I've included some pictures mixed in with the text. 

Entering the "woods"

Very hilly woods trail

This trail is a LOT of hills, up and down, both ways. According to the report from my watch, I climbed up and down 70 feet in elevation on this day. I wasn't really ready for this walk; it was an exhausting 1.76 miles.

I took pictures most days to keep track of how high the creek still was, because I'm a nerd and that fascinates me. On the May 21st walk, the creek was very robust, but the video won't post to the blog. Here is a photo of how it looked on May 25; still high.

Dodd Creek

I'm comfortably (somewhat) walking 1.5 miles a day as of the last couple of weeks. Occasionally I'll walk 1.6 or 1.7, but I'm not ready to commit to doing more than 1.5 for the next little while. I do intend to try the more elevated path again when I'm more conditioned to my current walking distance. In my defense, 1.5 miles a day is about 3 or 4 times what I used to walk in a day.

The problem now is, it is summer, darn it, which is not my favorite at all! I'm bathed in sweat no matter if I walk early morning or wait until almost sunset. I hate sweating, which is why I hate summer and am counting the days until fall. Only 2 weeks until the longest day, then we start getting shorter (and eventually cooler) days again, finally!

I have tried morning and evening, and I will try to walk in the morning whenever possible. It is much hotter and more humid in the evenings, and the mosquitoes have me on their menu as their favorite appetizer as sunset approaches.

So, that is how it is going. I'm trying to learn contentment, so I can enjoy all the seasons whether they are my favorite or not. I'm aiming for what Paul said: "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." Philippians 4:11 NASB. 

Notice I said "trying." I have not achieved it, but I want to be content. It's a lifelong process. Maybe this is not an entirely encouraging post; maybe it's more of a progress report. I'm improving, slowly. One step at a time.

Blessings, my friends.

The Art Trail

It was 69 degrees when I hit the trail this morning at about 7:30. The sun was shining, even though clouds were trying to cover it up, and it looked like it was going to be a nice day. 

I missed walking yesterday, due first to rain and then thunderstorms. I'm not afraid of rain, but I'm not going to chance being struck by lightning. So, I was determined to get out there today. I decided today I would take pictures of the artwork along the trail. I've posted some of them, but today I hoped to get them all, and I did, except for one that was too far off the trail to get a good picture. They are at the end of the blog and posted with the text on Facebook. 

It took a little longer to get to the end of the trail because I was stopping here and there to take a quick photo along the way, but today I got there! From where I generally start, by the north end of the parking lots off South College, I discovered that it is 1.1 miles to the little park and small lake, and apparently, the end of the trail. Then, I turn around and go back the way I came. There is another path that splits off the main one and seems to go to the other side of the lake. I will try that path next time.

There are other trails to take, too. I can walk up around the college buildings and through a wooded area as an alternative walking path. Getting to the end of the art trail was a goal for me, though.

Today, a new record for me: 2.2 miles! I was not even out of breath. 

As I have said before, I'm writing this to encourage others and to give the glory to God!  I'm NOT trying to brag on myself. If He had not enabled me, I would not have been able to start this walking journey. In fact, He even put the determination in me to do this! Back in March, when I was so defeated because I couldn't walk more than maybe a quarter mile without sitting down due to back spasms, something shifted in my thought processes. I suddenly knew that I had to change my habits of vegging out in my recliner if I had any hopes of retaining my mobility and independence as I age.

The clouds finally won and now we are expecting strong thunderstorms this afternoon and evening. I really do hate Spring because of the possibility of tornados. I'm praying we all stay safe today.

As promised, the pictures are posted here. I tried to caption them all, on Facebook, at least. It's harder and more time-consuming on Blogspot.

Be blessed, my friends!

"Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul." Psalm 54:4 NASB*

*Maybe the psalmist didn't have getting help from God to take care of his health better, but I think the Lord cares about my health, and He does help me.

Early Walking is Nice

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would address walking, or any kind of outdoor activity at all, but here we are.

All my life I have been a night owl. Even through the years and circumstances that caused me to have to get up early, I did it by necessity, not because I enjoyed it. I would say that is still true today, with one observation: early morning can have its benefits.

Last week I got up early a few days to get my grandkids to school and decided I would walk right after I dropped them off, since I was up anyway. I discovered (or perhaps, just remembered...I have actually been up before 7:00 am in my 70 years), that it is quite lovely outside on a spring morning. 

It is May, and the "beast of scorching heat" that comes upon this area in the summer is still slumbering, but right now the mornings are actually nice. I found that walking about 8:00 am was perfect weather, since I prefer it to be on the cooler side. I thoroughly enjoyed my morning walks last week. My thoughts were, "well, I'll walk in the mornings this week because I'm already up, but next week I'm sleeping in!"

This morning I woke up at 6:20. Yes, in the A.M.

Normally I'd be thinking "seriously? I can sleep as late as I want, and I wake up early?" Instead, my first thought was "I should check the weather and go ahead and walk if it's not raining."

What?!?

So I did just that. I saw on the weather app that we could have showers off and on all day, with a greater chance in the afternoon. My old self would have rejoiced that I might get out of walking, but this "loves to walk" version is planning ways to get my walk in around the weather.

I am not writing this to brag. I'm not "patting myself on the back" for finally doing what I should have been doing all along. I'm writing it to encourage someone out there that whatever it is that you know deep down that you want and need to do, you can do it. 

Look, if I, a lifelong couch potato and overall sedentary lifestyle advocate can start going on a daily walk at the age of 70, anything is possible. I wouldn't have believed it 3 months ago. But now, I know I can not only do what I need to do for my health, I actually enjoy it and look forward to it.

This isn't just about walking. This is a "fill in the blank" encouragement. Only YOU know what it is that you wish you could do, but you think you can't. You CAN. 

It was 7:34 am when I hit the trail this morning, and the threat of rain was looming all around, as the photos I attached will show. I walked 1.5 miles and wasn't even really tired, but I did want some coffee. 

Oh, and I'm still a night owl at heart. I'm not saying I will always walk before 8 am.  But I can and will get up early when the need arises.

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13 NASB

Looking Up When Down

I try to be positive online, but it's not been easy lately. Life can sometimes get you down in spite of your best intentions to rise above it. I was really down this afternoon when I went for my daily walk on the ASU campus trails. I love walking there. I was hoping that some exercise and sunshine would lift my mood.

Sometimes to be an encourager, I have found I have to share little, seemingly trivial things along the way. I have to look for the good, the glimpses of God at work to boost my dark mood. In sharing how I have found light in the low places, it is my hope that someone will read this and be uplifted.

I can't elaborate, but currently there are things out of my control that have me upset. On my walk, I listened to an encouraging podcast by a Christian author, and I kept walking after it was over, praying about the issue that has me down.

It's not solved yet, but I have no doubt that God will work it all out. He always has my back. He doesn't always act as quickly as I would like, and sometimes the answer is different than expected, but He will take care of me; I am sure of it.

Meanwhile, I did find some things on my walk to be happy about. 

First, the scenery was beautiful. Not only the trees and landscaping, but there are art sculptures along the trail.  The sun was peeking through the clouds, and for some reason I found this encouraging. I've added some photos of these.

Secondly, I also enjoyed that the creek was merrily running along, vibrant and full from the recent rains we have had. Something about the sight and sound of a babbling brook is so therapeutic to me.

Finally, on my way back to the car, after I had turned around (because I still haven't gone to the end of the art trail. I'm thinking it's maybe at least 2 miles one way?) I was passing a couple with the most adorable puppy. He looked kind of like a cocker spaniel. He was so cute! I actually asked to pet him, which they agreed to, and he was very happy about that. This little dog, probably under a year old, was so sweet and friendly. It made me smile in spite of my troubles.

Bonus: I walked 1.71 miles, and I realized as I neared the car that my back didn't hurt! Usually when I have attempted to walk more than 1.25 miles, I start having spasms in my mid-back and have to sit down. This didn't happen on this walk!

God has my situation. I know He will take care of me. And He gave me some things to smile about as I walked along talking to Him about it all.

"Blessed be the Lord, Because He has heard the sound of my pleading. The Lord is my strength and my shield; 
My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; 
Therefore, my heart triumphs, And with my song I shall thank Him."

Psalm 28:6-7

Busy But Great Christmas

It was a busy Christmas season this year; it seemed shorter. Some have attributed it to Thanksgiving being so late in November. Whatever the cause, the weeks flew by.

It was a good Christmas. I didn’t see my son Jeff but we had a nice phone conversation today. I also didn’t see Jeremy, at least not technically at Christmas, but he did come in for a whole week at Thanksgiving, plus we also had a nice talk on the phone tonight.

Jennifer, Matt, Zoe, and Rhett came and spent time with me on Christmas Eve (pictures are on my page). We opened presents, snacked on chips, dip, and fudge, and played Uno for quite a while.

I went to their house today for a delicious dinner and more quality family time.

It has been wonderful. I’m so thankful I live in the same town with my daughter and her family. I also love that I can talk on the phone or FaceTime with my sons often.

I am also blessed with friends “back home” that I stay in touch with. I have hesitated to post about my trip to VB because I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to. I just couldn’t make it happen during Christmas. I hope to see the ones I didn’t see this trip in a few months.

There are a few pictures of my VB trip below. They include my friends Debbie and Patty, plus a clip of the awesome VBHS band at the parade. There are pictures of the lights at ASUMH, too. I drive through twice this year because they are so beautiful.

I’m also blessed with friends here in Mountain Home; people I have met and grown to love over the last 3 years.

Most of all I am celebrating the reason for the season: JESUS. God has been good to me in this “most wonderful time of the year.”

“…today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

Merry Christmas to my family and friends!

From the Porch: Why is the Tree There?

Rain kept me inside all last week, but I've been able to get to the porch

for my morning coffee and prayer time for most of this week. Sitting out there, I noticed something.

All the other condos in my neighborhood have very similar landscaping. We all have hedges by the front entrance and some other shrubs that are almost cookie-cutter identical. 

My front area, however, has a cedar tree by the driveway instead of a round shrub. As I sat there a few mornings ago, I was pondering why this is. 

I'm not a fan of bright sunlit rooms in my house. I know that's not typical. I like more of a warm, softly lit vibe. Bright sun hurts my eyes; I'm just very sensitive to bright sunlight. I almost always wear sunglasses on the rare occasion that I am outside on a bright day.

This cedar tree shades my living room perfectly. From afternoon through early evening in the warmer months, the sun hits my house increasingly toward the southwest as the summer wears on. Together with the window treatments and mini-blinds, my living room has a bearable level of afternoon sunlight, filtered so well by the tree.

Some would say I was lucky to get the house with the tree when I was looking for a place to rent. I feel like it's more than that, though. I think God had this place in mind for me long ago, when the tree was just a sapling. 

Laugh if you think it silly. I don't mind. I'm sure lots of people laugh when they read my blog. I'm not sharing content that I think will draw people in. I'm just sharing my heart. I know my God orders my steps. Why wouldn't He give me a tree to shade me from the harsh late afternoon sun? 

One more thing. It's a cedar tree; an evergreen. It's green year round, just like God's love is everlasting. 

I'm counting it as one of my blessings. I thank God for the tree that gives me shade.

Be blessed, my friends!

 "I will exalt You, my God, the King,
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable." Psalm 145:1-3 NASB

From the Porch: Reflections on Bearing Fruit

Those of you who have read my blog for a while may have noticed I hardly ever post "from the patio" anymore. It has become more difficult to beat the sun out there in my east-facing back yard, since in my retirement I hardly get up before 8:00 unless I have an appointment. That's the main reason, and we'll leave it at that. 

So I now have a comfortable, shady little nook by my west-facing front door that is so good, thanks to some chairs I acquired a few weeks ago. It's not really a porch, but we're going to call it that.

Ah, it's good to be back. I didn't realize how much I had missed being outside with the breeze, the birds singing, and the beauty of God's creation.

Recently, as I sat on the front porch in my new plastic chair, I noticed that the petunia in my tiny little garden area is struggling, yet it has managed to bloom anyway. Even though the heavy rains in early August nearly drowned it and the extreme heat that followed the rains threatened to burn it up, still it managed to bloom. 

This caused me to reflect for a moment. When it would appear outwardly that it had become useless and needed to be discarded, it still did what God created it to do: bloom. In doing so, it was providing nectar for bees and beauty for all to see and enjoy.

I meditated on this thought for a while, as I sat outside enjoying nature during my morning prayer and devotions for the first time in many weeks. 

I believe we humans are not entirely dissimilar to my poor little plant. We have storms in life that threaten to destroy us. Sometimes we undergo sickness and pain and we feel we will surely not survive the heat of the trials we are suffering through. Yet we "soldier on" as the British say. 

As long as we have food, water, and health, we remain alive, though age and years of abuse from various types of adversity render us into an older and less than stable-looking version of ourselves. We look in the mirror and scarcely recognize the older, more "mature" face that stares back at us.

Yet if we submit to the hand of the Master Gardener, our Lord Jesus, we can still produce fruit in our lives. Even if we don't think we appear as appealing on the outside as we once did, (this is very subjective, and we are usually more critical of ourselves than others are), we still can do what God has enables us to do, fulfilling our destiny as Christians.

This is the desire of my heart; to be fruitful and useful for all the days God gives me.

Just a few thoughts from the perspective of a retired, "mature" (in age, anyway) woman.

Be blessed, my friends.

"I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing." John 15:5 NASB

Christmas in the Hometown

I went back to my hometown for a Christmas visit last week, but I'm just now posting about it.

It was a good visit; I saw friends and family (sorry, didn't get pictures of everyone I got to see) and visited places in town that are new to me (since I haven't lived there in over 2 years). My oldest son flew in from Atlanta, so we got to hang out for a couple of days.

Interesting perspective: My children visited me lots of times in the many years I lived in Van Buren; I would take them to see new things and they would comment on how much their hometown was changing. Well...this time, my son and I were BOTH seeing our hometown as visitors who hadn't lived there in a while. We were amazed and delighted by visiting some things that hadn't changed, such as Paul's Bakery, Pizza Parlour, and Braums. Thank God those places are there! Neither of us have anything as good or nostalgic in our current homes. (Ok, it's not all about food, but we still have to partake of their goodness when we visit! IYKYK!)

We were also amazed and excited to see things that are different, like Arts on Main, which is delightful, and the beautiful downtown area that is vibrant with glorious color and is so alive with the community gathering there.

Also, finally a Chick-fil-A is coming! About time! Although, the traffic is already terrible in that area. I hope someone can engineer a solution to the traffic problem.

We drove through the City Park one night to see the lights there. It's so fun to see what they have done there; they have added some since last year I believe. We forgot to take pictures of them, though.

We also visited Creekmore Park in Fort Smith. Some of the pictures are from there. The line was extremely long, so we didn't ride the train. We just walked around the walking path.

Saturday night, after Jeremy had to go catch a plane, I watched the Christmas Parade. I thought I was videoing the very awesome VBHS marching band but found that I wasn’t! I hadn't pushed the record button apparently. I almost cried about that. They were magnificent.

So there aren’t many pictures of the parade because I was heartbroken I hadn’t captured the band’s performance.

I also walked around and took some pictures of the area close to the depot where the skating rink and tree are (can’t remember what it’s called). I hadn’t taken pictures of it lit up when Jeremy and I had seen it earlier that evening.

It was a great trip, and I'm pleased that my hometown is doing so well. I miss living there, and I miss lots of people there, but I'm so glad to be living where I am now, 10 minutes from my daughter, son-in-law, and grandkids. I'm also gaining new friends and have a new church family here. I'm so blessed.

I hope you all have some wonderful experiences this Christmas season, and that you remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! ❤️🎄❤️🎄❤️

God is Working on Your Problem

Recently, my daughter and I were talking about my granddaughter, who broke both bones in her leg about mid-shin in late March. It was her first--and last--soccer game of the season. She's still in a cast, although she did finally get a below the knee cast about 3 or 4 weeks ago. We were saying how it had been so long now, almost 4 months, and it seemed like it would always be that way. We can't see any change with our physical eyes.

Of course, we know due to x-rays taken at her most recent doctor appointment that the bones are healing well. We are hopeful that she'll get a walking cast soon. I hope so. She's so tired of crutches, and at times a wheelchair. Not being able to participate in summer activities is getting really old. It's a bummer for anyone, but especially for a 12-year-old girl.

God used this little conversation to remind me that we often doubt He is doing anything about what we pray for. After all, we don't see any changes, so He must have put our request in the file cabinet to revisit later, if at all, right?

Wrong! God is working behind the scenes. In Isaiah 55:8-9 He says:

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, 

Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

So are My ways higher than your ways, 

And My thoughts than your thoughts." 

He doesn't act like we humans do, procrastinating or setting our needs aside. He has a plan for each of our lives. And He hears our prayers. A couple of places this is evident are in the Psalms:

"O Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me." Psalm 30:2 

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

Also, in Philippians we are encouraged to pray and trust God:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 6-7. 

I don't know if anyone else needed this reminder, but I sure did! It's been a long process for my granddaughter. I've also had some other pressing concerns and seemingly unanswered prayers that have made me question why He has delayed in answering. 

I've actually been kind of down. Not exactly depressed, but not joyful either.

So I decided to put this out there, just in case someone else needed to be reminded that God is at work on your problem! 

We're only human, and we get discouraged. But take heart! As Jesus said: 

"In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33 

Weathering Storms

For southerners the weather in the spring is very volatile. It can turn "on a dime" and produce a tornado in seconds. This is the main reason I don't like spring. I've spent a lot of spring and summer days, evenings, and nights hunkered down, since I was a child, mind you, in the lowest point in my home, away from windows, praying for the weather to play nice, if you please. It "doesn't please" sometimes, though. It barrels on through on its mission to terrify and destroy.

Yes, I "may possibly" have PTSD due to tornadic storms.

Even though I don't technically live in fear, because I know that God takes care of me, the triggers have been in place for most of my life. It's something I have struggled with for years and feel I have come a long way towards overcoming the traumatic experiences that caused me to react the way I do.

We had one of those middle of the night severe weather events last week, and I feel like I need to share what I realized that night. First, I need to give a little background, listing 2 times before that I know for a fact that I survived a documented tornado.

In 1996, my family and I survived a F-3 tornado that evidently and miraculously lifted up off the ground as it got near us. Inside the house (we had no time to go anywhere, and nowhere to go), I felt the pressure drop, and fear gripped me in the form of a sickening feeling. Later, when we went outside, we found our outbuildings picked up and scattered and our trees either gone or lying on the ground. Our house, however, a 14 x 70 mobile home, was to our astonishment completely untouched except for one row of shingles at the bottom edge of the roof, all across the back of the house. It was both terrifying and exhilarating to see how God had protected us.

Fast-forward to 2021. There had been multiple severe weather scares over the years, but never anything like 1996. In May of 2021, though, a tornado touched down mere blocks from me. I was in my small, 900 square foot little wood frame house in Van Buren, hiding in my bedroom closet; the only place in my house without an outside wall. As the wind and thunder roared outside, I was keeping track of the tornado's whereabouts on the TV in the bedroom. It was definitely headed in my direction, but I didn't find out until it was too late to run to the tornado shelter at the school a block away. I heard and felt heavy objects hitting the house as I cowered in my closet, praying for God to protect me. The power went out, but the storm raged. Shaking, from inside the closet I pulled up the TV station on my phone. I watched the storm's track on the radar until the noise outside started to diminish somewhat. 

I learned later that this was an EF-1 tornado. It did quite a bit of damage in my area; mostly uprooting trees and tossing them about. The loud heavy objects I heard and felt hitting my house were large branches of a tree in my backyard. One of them took down my powerline to the electrical pole behind my house.

A dear friend of mine called, then came by to see if I was ok and offered to take me to her house. I was shaken, but extremely thankful to be unhurt. There was no visible damage to my house or car from what I could tell in the dark. I accepted her offer of hospitality and left with her to stay in her guest room that night. Air conditioning is important in May in the south! Even though technically I would have been ok in my house, with no AC and no ceiling fan there would be no sleep. I opted not to stay there that night, since I was quite rattled from the storm I'd been through. 

So as you can see, I've lived through some trauma in the past. Unlike the 1996 tornado when I huddled in my living with my family under the couch we had turned over for protection, for the last 25 years I have ridden out the storms alone; at least, with no friend or family member with me. God was always with me, though.

Last week, I was awakened at 2:30 am by the tornado siren. I jumped out of bed, and muttering "great!" under my breath, I grabbed my phone and took shelter in my bathroom. Pulling up a "local" (Springfield, MO) TV station thanks to an app on my phone, I was hoping to see that the actual storm was in another area of the county (the sirens blow in the county where I live now regardless of where in the county the storm cloud is). However, to my dismay, I discovered there was a rotating cloud just west of my neighborhood, headed right over me. Once again, I was hiding from a storm and praying for protection. Praise the Lord, it stayed in the air and passed over me without causing any harm. I went back to bed as soon as it had passed, but it took a while for me to go back to sleep.

As I was attempting to go back to sleep at 3:30 am last Thursday morning, I was thanking God for keeping me safe. It then occurred to me that He has always kept me safe, regardless of the severity of damage that happened outwardly. From the bad storm of '96 to the smaller but still damaging storm 2 years ago and all the way back to my childhood, HE has been with me in every single storm.

I do have a point to make. Not all storms are weather storms. We all have storms of various kinds in life that we go through. God never promised we wouldn't have storms, but He did promise He would protect us in those storms. I am thankful for His protecting hand on me in all the storms of life. That is the point of this long post today. 

If you haven't already, please put your trust in Jesus and you will never weather a storm alone.

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by. Psalm 57:1 ESV

57 

Winter Solstice

8:00 am on winter solstice; the sun rising as far south as it will. Now the days will start being longer and the sun will rise earlier and farther east every day. I wish it could stay like this, late sunrises, but it won’t. I like winter (within reason—not looking forward to the extreme cold we’re going to get). I like being indoors, warm and cozy. I like doing winter things, like reading, working on picture albums, etc.

It’s actually just now really winter. Spring will be here in a couple of months and I dread the heat, the bugs, and the expectation that I need to get outdoors.

I don’t want to. I like indoors.

So for now, I’m still enjoying winter, even if its days are numbered. Drinking my coffee, listening to Christmas music, and preparing for Christmas. 

Have a great day! It will be a heat wave compared to tomorrow. 😀

Embracing the Season: A Post from the Patio

A few years ago I posted a blog, Sitting Beside the Still Waters, published on August 13, 2018, about the things I wanted but had never managed to attain. I strongly desired to see my children and grandchildren more often. I hoped for things like a certain type of patio or deck and various other elements in a house that I hoped to have someday.

One thing has changed; While my sons still live in two other states, I do see my daughter and grandchildren often, because I moved to the town where they live after I retired in the summer of 2021. I'm thankful to be in their lives so much more. My sons and I Facetime and talk and text a whole lot more often than we did pre-pandemic. So, while I still am not physically with them, we are in touch a lot more and that's a definite improvement. The rest of the items on that list are still out of my grasp, but they are just things. It's my family that really matters.

I now live in a duplex in a good neighborhood, and I like it here. While it doesn't have the specific elements I was hoping for (and still hope to have eventually), I have to admit it is a good place for me to live in this season I'm in right now. I was sitting on the patio one morning last week, and it sort of hit me like a ton of bricks that this is as good as it gets for a while. The other things I wanted aren't happening right now. So I decided I would embrace the season in which I find myself now, which includes accepting this duplex as where God wants me to be. I believe He has placed me here.

As duplexes go, it's got a lot going for it. It is situated in a cul-de-sac, so the traffic is minimal. The entire neighborhood of duplexes is surrounded by a perimeter of trees, which muffles the noise of traffic on the nearby highway and allows the residents here some privacy. 

I have a garage, something I have never before had, and I'm loving it! This home has everything else I need, really; an adequate kitchen with a dishwasher, a washer and dryer closet, and a patio. All these things are comparable to what I had in my house I sold, and some are better. I'm really learning to be content here.

The patio is the part I want to focus on for a minute. I had great plans to have my prayer time and coffee out there several times a week this past summer, but it was too blazing hot. It was hottest summer in probably at least 10 years! Also, the patio faces east. Yes, that's right; I have to race the sun and get out there early, before it peeks up over the tops of the fairly dense stand of trees behind my house and bathes everything in my backyard in its brightness. 

It wasn't happening in the summer; the sun comes up too early. But it's starting to happen now that fall is nearly here and the sun comes up a little later every day. The first picture I included, with the steaming coffee cup (don't know if you can see the steam, but it was there!) was taken just about 8:00 am. 

The second picture was 30 minutes later and the picture doesn't do it justice. I couldn't see anything for the glare on the patio table. So I got up and went inside, LOL!

Before the sun made it to the tops of the trees, I had prayer and coffee out there this morning, and it was so nice out. I love fall! It was 57 degrees when I first went out just before 8 am.

So...I'm trying something different with this blog. For at least a little while, in an attempt to embrace where God has placed me in this season and revitalize my blog of 13 years, I'm going to be posting "from the patio." The pictures I take that morning may not actually end up in a blog until later in the day, but it's all a work in progress.

As always, it is my hope to encourage and inspire, while showing you a glimpse of my real life, not sugar-coated at all, as you will see below:

I'm a 67-year-old retiree who moved halfway across the state after retirement to be near family. I won't lie: it's been hard getting used to a different town, and truthfully, I have shed many tears over the town and friends I left behind. The trade off, however, makes it worth it. I am with my grandkids a lot.

Also, I'll admit it; I don't like getting up early. Never have, though I did it my whole working life before retirement. It's not super early, and I'm not looking for approval or expecting any praise. I just find that getting up around 7:30 am seems to be what my body clock likes. 

Finally, I don't consider myself super spiritual; I'm not trying to impress anyone. I love Jesus and I really like my morning coffee. I enjoy having my coffee and talking to Him outside. I don't know what it is about being in nature that makes me feel closer to Him, and I don't go outside every morning. Some mornings I'm just drawn out there, though, and it's proving to be a wonderful start to my day when I make the effort to get outside.

It's just a little patio, nothing fancy at all, but I'm learning to accept with grace what the Lord has blessed me with. Come along with me and maybe you'll be encouraged, maybe you'll have a laugh or two. Maybe you'll just see it's ok to be yourself, like I've decided to do. It's my hope to post weekly some little snippet of encouragement or something to laugh about.

Embrace where God has placed you. He has great plans for you!

Love and hugs, friends! <3

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

Not a Blackout Curtain

My bedroom faces east, and because of this I have blackout curtains so I can sleep past the crack of dawn. Now that I'm retired, I'm blessed that on most days I can allow my body's natural circadian rhythm to decide when I go to bed and when I wake up. Today, sunrise was officially 7:01 am, but of course it starts to get light out way before the sun is actually up. 

I woke up shortly before 8 am this morning, and I noticed that sunlight was peeking out of a couple of places where I didn't get the curtains completely closed last night. Light was also streaming out all around the edges, like sunlight was trying to sneak in any way it could.

Sunlight was breaking through the barrier I had hung to try and keep it out. My curtains looked like they were "bursting at the seams," letting the overpowering sunlight through against their best efforts to stop it. They could not hold back the light completely.

It made me think of how we who are Christians have the light of Jesus within us. The Bible says, "we have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure." (2 Corinthians 4:7, NLT).

Sometimes His light, also known as His love, shines through us to others. It might be as simple as a smile to someone. Or maybe we have a song bubbling up in us and we start singing or humming a tune. Other times it might be shown in another way, such as feeling led to give a stranger in front of you at the store a twenty-dollar bill when it becomes apparent that they are short on the amount needed to make the purchase they were attempting to make.

A smile or a song doesn't cost us anything, but it might make someone's day.  Giving to someone in need could help restore that person's faith. We have no idea what the people we encounter are going through. 

I don't mean to come across "preachy." I was convicted by the Holy Spirit this morning and I wrote about it in my journal. I even snapped a picture to remind myself that I need to let God's light shine through me more often. I couldn't quit thinking about it, so I decided to share it.

Blackout curtains are a wonderful invention for those of us who are night owls with an east-facing bedroom window. But we have the light of Christ within us! I for one feel like I don't let it out nearly often as I need to. I'm not a blackout curtain, and I need to stop acting like one.

"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." Matthew 5:16 NASB

In the last bit of 2021...

We are in the last 2 hours of 2021 as I write this. Until a few minutes ago, I have been sitting alone in my living room and binge-watching the first season of Lost in Space (the new version...though I'm old enough to remember the version that was on TV in the 60s). This version is pretty good. I had watched season 1 and then never got around to watching season 2. Now, there's a season 3 and I didn't remember what happened in season 1. So I started over.

It is worth mentioning that God has done an amazing work in my heart, because I actually prefer being alone tonight watching Netflix. In not too distant years past, FOMO (fear of missing out) would have pulled me out of the house to some event. I so desperately needed to belong for so many years. Now, however, I'm content and happy to be alone on New Year's Eve.

This year that is drawing to a close, 2021, brought a lot of changes to my life. At times I look around and marvel at what God has done in my life.

January through June, I finished out my contract in the office of the school where I had worked since 1995. It still blows my mind that I no longer work there.

That portion of the year flew by, and I found myself among the ranks of the retired on July 1. I sold my house, packed up, and moved to a town that is a 3-and-a-half-hour drive away from my beloved hometown; the only place I had ever lived. I miss it, but I at the same time I am loving retirement and having my family so close by. 

It has been an adjustment, but a good one. In mid-September, I found a duplex in a good neighborhood. I really like it here. I do miss my friends from my hometown, but the trade-off is I get to see my grandkids often; at least once a week. 

There are some things I don't like. I was used to living in a small town which was next door to a bigger town. There were lots of different stores, restaurants, and really great medical care. 

Here, we are in a smaller town in the middle of nowhere:

There is no drive through Starbucks! 

The variety of restaurants and retail stores is very limited.

And I still haven't found a doctor who will take on a new patient, which means that in a couple of weeks, in order to get my prescriptions refilled for the next 6 months, I have to go back to my physician in the larger city that I lived close to previously. 

I tell myself, though, that these are first-world problems. I will survive. I don't need to eat out or shop much anyway, and I found a drive though (though non-Starbucks) coffee place.

When it's all said and done, I would do it all again. I am in the same town with my daughter and her family for the first time. Having family across town is amazing. 

My youngest son and his wife visited me for Christmas, and while we were having dinner at my daughter's house, we zoom called my oldest son. So I was talking to all my children that day. 

This year has had its challenges, but it has had good things too. 

I noticed this entry in my journal, and I want to share it.

"Your lovingkindness, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness reaches to the skies...the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of your delights."  --Psalm 36--

Bottom line: God takes care of us wherever we are. He is good and faithful, and I feel really blessed.

Happy New Year to all my friends and family! May 2022 be a good year filled with Hope and Promise for you all!