Weekend Worship: The Place The Streams Come From

The sun rises and the sun sets,
 and hurries back to where it rises. 

 The wind blows to the south   
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
    ever returning on its course.

All streams flow into the sea,
  yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
    there they return again.

                                              ~ Ecclesiastes 1 vs 5-7

Worshiping with Barbie at The Weekend Brew, Sandra Heska King at Still Saturday,   Lisha Epperson at Give Me Grace   and Janis Cox at Sunday Stillness   Come join us.

Five Minute Friday: Because

 

'Because He lives
I can face tomorrow
Because He lives
All fear is gone
Because I know
He holds the future
And life is worth the living
Just because He lives.'

- 'Because He Lives'

Classic Christian Hymn 

I love the classic hymns of the church. As far as I'm concerned we don't sing them as much as we should in the modern church. This hymn is one of my favorites since I was a little Baptist girl trying to out-sing the adult choir on Sunday mornings. Brought back to memory today by this prompt, it more than resonates with my soul . It reminds me and affirms for me the foundation of my life, the foundation of my faith:  

Because He lives. 

Just because... 

It's as simple as that. I can face tomorrow and whatever it brings with it. I have the peace and comfort that passes all understanding...Because.

 Five Minute Fridays. One Word, Five Minutes. Come Write with Us.

Today's prompt: Because.

Weekend Worship: Rejoice Greatly

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus,  it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.

-Isaiah 35 vs 1-2 

Worshiping with Barbie at The Weekend Brew, Sandra Heska King at Still Saturday,  
Lisha Epperson at Give Me Grace   and Janis Cox at Sunday Stillness  
Come join us.

Best. Mornings. Ever.

Early morning run with Dad to the Horrocks Farmers Market to pick up fresh fruits and veggies. Since I've been back home it's become routine for the two of us to head out every other week to do the grocery shopping. We're both early risers and morning people but he always wins at mornings because he's up at 5:30 am every morning. Every. Morning. I used to do that up-with-the-chickens thing but I grew out of it.

We never go in with a list, just picking up whatever looks good while we enjoy complimentary cups of coffee (or tea for me) as we shop. We take our time, chatting as we go and conversing with other early shoppers. One of them saw me taking a picture of Dad and offered to take one of us together.Yep, that's me, no make-up, no jewelry, hair half combed and eyes still puffy before the allergy meds kick in. I love mornings but nowadays it takes a bit of work before I look like I love mornings.

 In the basket this week we have peaches, pears, nectarines, bananas, sweet purple plums, fresh baked sourdough bread, yams and fingerling potatoes. We also have a box of giant gumdrops which I will do my best to hide from my baby brother before he comes home from work, and a Michigan State Spartan sweatshirt as a special treat. If I haven't mentioned it before, I love Michigan State University like I love no other place on earth. I grew up 'down the road' from that beautiful campus. Cherished memories of MSU are woven through my life like nothing else although I never attended there as a student. I had planned to, but instead I fell in love with and married a tall good-looking MSU medical student, had bunches of babies and...well, that's for another post but it's still at the top of my bucket list to take a degree from State.

Now that everything has been put away and I've taken this short break I'll be heading into the kitchen to begin rattling those pots and pans. Fresh fruits and veggies always put me in the mood to cook so I'm going to use it to my advantage and start preparing dinner early. It's still before noon so I  might even do a bit of cookie baking this afternoon as well. 

Happy Tuesday.

My Front Door

'Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.'

~ Revelation 3:20 

I love this front door. 

Every morning when I come down the stairs I am greeted with this peaceful view and no matter how I feel I experience a moment of pure peace and quiet joy.  I really do love this front  door. Rain or shine (except in winter) it's always opened by the first person up. Growing up, it was almost always Mom. No matter what I had on the agenda for the day, I would head straight for it and step through for a moment to gauge the weather and to say hello to the morning. It's always been a pilgrimage of sorts, a morning devotion. It's a moment where I meet God and say simply, 'Yes Lord' and 'Thank You.'

This is the front door of the home where I grew up, my parents' home, the family house. Whenever any of my sibs or I talk about 'going home' this is where we mean. I live here again,  to stay now with my Dad after my Mother's passing at the end of this last April.  As hard as I thought it would be to move back, I have found it comforting to be back in the house where I was raised, where the foundation of the person I am today first took form.  It has helped me to deal with my grief, to know that I have not 'lost' my Mother because she is in the very fabric of this home she lovingly prepared for us. 

I'll be posting more about this front door, about this home, about my Mother, about  me.  It has taken me a while to come back to the blog  during these last few months. I would sit down to post and my heart was full but the words didn't seem to be enough. I decided not to push it and to wait until the words flowed naturally. When I saw this open door this morning, I knew I was ready to say, 'Thank You' for the place writing has always had in my life. I chose to open my heart's front door, to let the world in again and say 'Yes Lord'.

Joining with Inspire Me Monday, Dwellings, The Weekend Brew,  
Lisha Epperson at Give Me Grace   and Janis Cox at Sunday Stillness 
Come join us.