Five Talents More

This is one of my favorite photo’s. It actually makes me laugh and I find myself in awe of our awesome God and creator.

Mike took this picture when we visited Palm Springs a few years ago. At the time I had no idea that bugs could be such happy little creatures. What a sweet smile a dragonfly has. It’s radiant if you ask me. I think I might blow it up and hang it up in my bedroom as a reminder to smile more.

Are you smiling enough? Whether in joy or sorrow? In the ordinary and sometimes tedious tasks of your day?

I am reading a wonderful book right now called Femanine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney. It has been full of grace and very convicting at the same time. I cannot remember the exact details of the story without running to get my book. (that might delay me posting this blog entry for another 2 weeks) But it was basically the impact of a smile and are we smiling enough for our husbands and children. This really landed on my heart greatly because I recalled a time a few months ago where I smiled at Mike one day and he said, I love your smile and basically meant I have missed seeing your smile. With all the health challenges that I was facing, not feeling well and worrying about not having a diagnosis yet to explain what was happening  the stress was weighing on me more than I had realized. I was not smiling as much as I used to. So a word about the impact of a smile in the lives of those we are closest to is a very good word indeed.

That is something that I pray for myself and our family often. That we would be filled with the joy of the Lord and overflow into the lives of others.

I never thought that I would long to be like a dragonfly…just look at that SMILE!

It’s starting, although I know that it’s very premature for Spring to stay in March in Minnesota. We are sure to have more snow and weather below 40 again. We’ve had a beautiful week in the fifties for the most part and people are extra smiley. With the changing of season’s comes renewed hope of warmth and relief from a long hard Winter. I doubt I would appreciate the much anticipated Springtime days without Winter. But now that I have felt the warmth, I know that Spring cometh!

What  joy it brings me to be awakened to the sound of birds  singing outside my window. It is one of the most glorious things about Spring for me. I love it when I am still in bed and the birds wake me up along with the sun.

Don’t jump out of bed and rush into your day without listening for the songbirds or you will miss God’s glory!

Wow, I can hardly believe that 2 months have gone by since we last updated our blog. It feels like we need to re-introduce ourselves.  Much of the delay for me has been our laptop needing to be repaired. It hasn’t been as easily accessible for me to sit down and update our blog.  There certainly has not been a lack of stories and insights to post over these last 2 months. In fact there are almost too many to even know where to begin. Maybe it will be sharing more Joshua stories, highlights from Greta turning 8 years old, great things the Lord has been teaching me through a new book study called Femanine Appeal or tales of a recent getaway for Mike and I to Cabo.

It’s good to be back!