Sunshine

Numbers 6:24-26 

“The Lord bless you 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.”

This is one of my favorite Bible verses. The thought of the Lord blessing and keeping me, just warms my heart. Makes me smile. It is physical. I can feel it. 

The Lord make his face shine on you, always makes me think of the sun. The warmth. The brightness. The tingle as my skin warms up. 

I spend a lot of time in my backyard. Sitting in the sun. Reading. Writing. Swimming. Drinking tea. It is quiet time. Time to reflect. Time to think. Time to pray. Time to be thankful. Peaceful. 

I remember so well when the girls were little. If the sun was out in the winter we would rush outside all bundled up. They would ride their bikes up and down the driveway. I would take my coffee and a lawn chair and sit and watch them. As the sun would slide below the horizon the air would begin to chill. My heart would sadden. The warmth from the sun is going - for today. 

The winter is hard for me. I can't be outside as much. The air in the house isn't fresh with the smell of the earth and the leaves. I cling to the hope of warm weather. It is coming. Hopefully sooner rather than later. 

God. Sunshine. Hope. Peace. Blessings. 

Breathe

Genesis 2:7

...breathed into his nostrils the breath of life...

What a picture - God breathing life into Adam. Was it a gentle puff of air or a strong burst? Was it short or long? Did Adam just start breathing or did he sputter and cough? 

I wonder if Adam tried to reject the air. Or did rejection come along with self recognition after the fall? 

I tend to think he just accepted God's breath and turned pink and alive. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

I'm reminded of college. Stress. Studying. Papers due. Presentations to make. Eight hour work days. No money. Stress. 

Along the way, someone told me to breathe. Take a deep breath. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

Graduate from college. Get a job. Meet future husband. Wedding plans. 

God is so good. 

Take a deep breath. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

Marriage. Work days. Travel. Baby plans. Two miscarriages. 

Take a deep breath. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

A little girl. God is so good. 

Another little girl. God is so good. 

Work days. Busy schedules. 

Take a deep breath. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

 

New hobby. Quilting day and night. Stay at home mom. Stress. Busy. Homework. Dinner. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. 

Take a deep breath. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

Girls are grown. College. Expenses. Go back to work. God is so good. 

Deadlines. Meetings. Pets. Yardwork. 

Take a deep breath.  

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

Pass on this advice to my girls. 

It all started with Adam. 

God is so good. 

Take a deep breath. 

Breathe in. Breathe out. 

Evening Came First

Genesis 1:5

And there was evening and there was morning - the first day. 

Evening came before morning. I always think of evening coming at the end of the day but the Bible says evening came first.   

It makes me think differently about the day. If evening is first, maybe the day really starts at noon, goes to evening, goes through the night to morning and ends at noon the next day. 

Should we be energized in the evening? 

Do we spend all of our energy working and then miss out when we get home? 

Are there important things to be seen in the evening? 

What if we looked at the world, God's creation, through wide wake eyes in the evening? Would we see things we didn't notice before because we were tired? Would our appreciation be renewed? 

I am going to try to look at evening in a new way. I'm going to notice the sunset more. I'm going to breath in the cold winter air. I'm going to watch the evening shadows approach. 

I want to appreciate God's creation in the morning and in the evening. 

God bless. 

Beth

Possibilities

2014 is over. It was a pretty good year.

New beginnings for a middle aged woman. I went back to work full time. I got a job as a Program Manager. It was a long 4 month process, but I finally started work in March. It was a bit overwhelming at first but I got my feet under me with some help from my peers. Quentin provided much needed help at home as I adjusted. In 2015, I will support our Enterprise Social program. I'm super excited about that as it includes Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Right up my alley.

Our family embraced the canine persuasion. Ashlyn got a Border Collie mix. His name is Ranger.

Avery got a Great Pyrenees Lab mix. Her name is Ellie.

I got a dog too. Hard to believe, huh? Her name is Jenny. She was at the SPCA in San Antonio. She is 6 years old. She is a Retreiver Great Pyrenees mix. She has the best eyes. She loves me!!!!

We took a beach vacation with the Ward family this year. It was not too stressful, so we may do it again!!!!

Quentin and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We stayed in a church that had been converted to a B&B. Good times.

I'm looking forward to 2015. New challenges at work. Continuing to make small improvements to our house. Seeing Avery and Ashlyn thrive. Living the good life, laughing til I cry, loving more, using my creative talents of painting, quilting and writing more. Here's to the possibilities of 2015. God bless you and yours.