Crown Jewels

I love this time of year in Texas.  The days are finally cooling off enough to turn off the air conditioner and fling open the windows.  The nights are cold enough that the leaves are starting to turn and the pecans are starting to drop.  I love this time of year.

The mornings are perfect for a cup of tea and a slice of friendship bread.  

I have started adding white whole wheat flour to the starter in an attempt to make it a little healthier, and yesterday I replaced the oil with applesauce.  It must have been a hit because there was only one loaf left this morning.

As I opened up God's word to let Him speak to me this morning I came across Zechariah 9:16-The LORD their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people.  For they shall be like the jewels of  a crown, lifted like a banner over His land--Like the jewels of a crown....  I really don't think of myself as a crown jewel.  Do you?  I think a lot of things about myself but they tend to be rather negative.  The idea of being a crown jewel has me considering who I belong to.  I am a daughter of the King.  Am I living like a daughter of the King?
My Father has a lot of work left to do in me.  I hope each moment finds me more willing to be changed by Him into the woman He wants me to be.  I have a lot of letting go to do of the woman I think I am in order for that to happen.
I recently heard a young woman say something to the effect of: "Don't mess with me because my Father rules the world."  I admire her boldness, but more than that, she seems to have a very clear understanding of who she is in Christ. I need that knowledge to move from my head to my heart.  To be more than words but the way I live my life.

Surprise!

So I walked in to clean Matthew's bathroom and there it was.  He had warned me that the bug on the counter was something he was keeping.  Ewww, right?  Well, that is what one gets with an entomologist in the house.  (that is the official name of the field of biology he is into...BUGS.)  So as I clean around this thing I find that it really isn't dead.  I am not sure how high I jumped when it's little legs grabbed a hold of my finger. but it took a while to regain my composure and finish the job.  That was yesterday.  Today the counter is clear, but then I went to get something out of the freezer and there he was again.  My son keeps me on my toes.

Yesterday was a rather slow one, I think the events of the night left me feeling tired and a bit melancholy.  I needed to do something fun and take charge of something so I had a good time in my quilt studio today. 

 This is one of the Petals of My Heart blocks designed by McKenna Ryan.  I have several more yet to do before the quilt is ready to put together.  Certainly a much better way to spend my day than in the bathroom with "mostly dead" bugs.

What it Means to be Held

I snapped this shot at Yosemite in May.  The clouds were moving in, rain was starting to fall, and it was a very peaceful spot.  I had one of those nights where I awoke many times feeling the need to pray for a mother facing what no mother should have to face.  Letting go of her two week old son.  team-ewan.com  Praying with all of my heart that the Lord would grant healing even now.
My morning started with a heavy heart.  So many burdens yesterday--learning another friend has been diagnosed with cancer.  So I opened up my Bible when the house got quiet again and I began to read out of Isaiah.  My heart stopped when I came to Is. 65:17-20.  For behold I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.  But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing and her people for gladness...the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.  No more shall an infant from there live but a few days....In the midst of my heavy heart there is a peace, not because things are any better in the here and now, but because the Lord truly knows and understands this kind of grief and is right here in the midst of it holding us every step of the way.  He gets that things here are not as they should be and He has a plan in place for that day when all shall be made right at last.
The last verse I made note of in my journal this morning was Is. 66:2b-But on this one I will look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.  I trembled at His word today.  How can it be that something written thousands of years ago would speak so precisely to my heart's cry this morning?