My favorite holiday ended with leftovers of love, lessons, and learning. December, you rushed in like the unexpected cold front! Soft falling snow summoned my SURRENDER of SELF. December, what I love most about you is the anticipation in the waiting.
Jesus, without complacency, I long to WAIT WELL.
My soul was warmed by the glow of the hope candle on our first Advent Sunday.
Peace, beyond human understanding, possessed me.
HEAVENLY HOPE! HOPE has a NAME! JESUS! Do you know he wants you to have HOPE for ETERNITY?
Are you living IN WAIT of the next holiday? Fad? Outfit?Vacation? Paycheck? Clean bill of health?
My journey of “waiting” began years ago. It is just like the joyful anticipation of a mother for her little ones. Resembles graceful frolic of a majestic deer and buck with their doe. Mirrors the captivating colors in a rainbow after the storm! Yet, the purpose of that wait has transformed, much like the changing seasons. As I WAIT WELL to celebrate Jesus and his glorious return, I will embrace my countless blessings.
HOW DO I WAIT WELL?
I’ll be prepared-NOT panicked. It’s not lame of me to lament this broken world. I will practice generous love while protecting my heart. Scripture and devotions will be dosed daily. Each day I’ll live with an endearing expectation of his return! I’ll walk in wisdom with others living THE WAY. The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit will keep me harnessed in HOPE.
Jesus, I’ll wait in anticipation with expectation.
Active Waiting.
Active Listening.
Active Obedience.
Waiting Well.
What are you waiting for?
Have HOPE, precious friends. Keep the faith. YOU ARE LOVED. 💚
Yesterday was National Hiking Day (or Take a Hike Day). My health hike this last decade has been my hardest trail yet! Cooperation between my bones and bohemian way of living is limited. Strength and stretching help me stroll. I’ll not stop dreaming about future trails and rocky mountainous climbs. It’s unlikely I’ll trek near the Matterhorn in Switzerland or embark on a multi-day adventure along Scotland’s West Highland Way. Maybe in my dreams I’ll tackle the Angel’s Landing in Zion, Clingmans Dome in the Smokies, or the Half Dome in Yosemite! My palms are sweaty just thinking about that one! I’m giggling because my own trail proved tougher than me yesterday!
I’m ok with it. I’ll repeat, “I’m ok with it.” It’s taken many years of surrendering, accepting, and pivoting. Tears and trails are teachers. Reaching a peak won’t bring me any closer to Christ. HE HOLDS me in the valley and comforts me in a crisis. From building up strength to tackle inclines to charging batteries on a scooter. HE’S there when I have energy to move and when I’m flat with fatigue.
Walking in wisdom is my daily workout!
If you ever feel overwhelmed by life, it’s okay to seek a way to ground yourself. Are you caught in a never-ending cycle of responsibilities or living on autopilot? It’s easy to find ourselves merely existing, focused on posting or tweeting. What feels truly REAL for you? I understand how life can change your habits and heart. As Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) approaches, I wish for abundant blessings to fill your lives. When you face a mountain that seems too high to climb, may you find strength in our Savior.
This quote was shared by Pam at Everyday Living (I encourage you to visit their amazing homestead and site)!
“I think that it is a better thing than Thanksgiving: thanks-living. How is this to be done? By a general cheerfulness of manner, by an obedience to the command of Him by whose mercy we live, by a perpetual, constant delighting of ourselves in the Lord, and by a submission of our desires to His will.” -Charles Spurgeon
The gifts of supernatural proportions in peace and God’s presence has prepared me for future mountains. Even if my boots don’t tread the trails at my favorite National Parks, I can stroll the streets of home with Thanks-living in my heart. One day, I’ll hike around heaven and run to Jesus!💚
pigtails…or none…Amateur Cover of “Sometimes it takes a Mountain” KL Hale
Keep the faith, friends. You are loved. ❣
Embracing imperfection with faith, flannel, & fresh air
“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”-Laura Ingalls Wilder
Pigtails and a hat made me feel like…me. Reflect on your style. We all have our own. There was a time I had my “career hair”. Although the color changed at times, the style stayed the same. On weekends, I couldn’t wait to throw on hiking boots, put my hair in pigtails, wear flannel or a t-shirt, and just be…me.
A new color was revealed when my hair started falling out. My twin and B.I.L. took turns with the clippers to reveal the solid white. Since that early day in July there have been times I avoided a mirror. My reflection seemed strange to me.
“I don’t see me!” I exclaimed. “But I do,” Kristy replied.
“For now, we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13: 12
Reflection on hair–it’s not the pigtails that makes me…me!
Speaking of pigtails many of you know I’m a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She happened to wear pigtails as a young girl, too. 😉 After being homebound for quite some time, my twin and a lifetime friend took me to Mansfield to visit Laura and Almanzo’s home. Click here for a post I wrote in 2020 to learn even more of their lives!
“These times are too progressive. Everything has changed too fast. Railroads and telegraphs and kerosene and coal stoves — they’re good to have but the trouble is, folks get to depend on ’em.”-Laura Ingalls Wilder
Rocky Ridge, their 40 acre farm bought for $400.00 in 1894, became their place of hard work, family, faith, and peace.
Glass cases protect the historical treasures in the fascinating museum. My reflections were unavoidable when taking pictures. Rather than be upset, I giggled. Reflecting on Laura and Almanzo’s lives, it amazed me at all they accomplished (and didn’t NEED). Their amazing home didn’t have one treadmill, microwave, or internet router.😊 I crave the simplicity and honor the priorities the couple had in life. Seeing my cracked reflection in the ancient mirrors made me smile. “Did Laura see herself as a young girl with pigtails at 89?” (* Laura died 3 days before her 90th birthday on February 10th, 1957*). Knowing how important her faith was, undoubtedly she, and others, saw Christ in her reflection!
What do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you SEE what God sees? Do you know how precious you are in HIS SIGHT?
As the Holy Spirit continues to work in and through my life, it’s the reflection of Christ I pray others see. When the veil is lifted and you experience KNOWING HIM as HE KNOWS you, a reflection of HIM is all that YOU WILL SEE.
Have faith, my friends. Don’t lose hope. You are loved. 🤍💚
Rocky Ridge FarmMary’s handmade blouse (when she was blind)!Another beautiful view of the farmPerfect denAdmiration! Peace-filled sitting areaOh, the memories!The girls’ schooldaysPa’s Fiddle! Stunning glasswareEach book had its own display!Mary’s braille slateA large teaching certificate!Laura’s .22 A bright and tiny kitchen!Treasured watch & glassesStunning painting of Rose Wilder LaneDining roomThe outside prairie & flowersRose Wilder Lane–an exceptional woman!
MORE REFLECTIONS …
Last month’s moon through my kitchen windowOne happy fan!
Embracing imperfection with faith, flannel, & fresh air
***I’d like to give a shout-out to the ScootNGo company for their amazing new lightweight & foldable mobility scooter. I met a designer by phone who shared about how the creator of this, her name is Angela, has traveled to 30 states and is currently overseas sharing this! They are a small company that designed eBikes originally and decided to create scooters. I can’t lift much, so I was happy at this size. I’ll give up more cushion and baskets for smaller footprint. The two lithium batteries will provide 15 miles of scootering fun. It’s given me a huge part of my life back. Also, in reviewing ways to haul, I decided on a smaller carrier vs. a large cargo rack and ramp. This works for now! Finley loves Skeeter, the scooter, too!***
Have you heard of NET, yet? If you or a loved one is fighting NET cancer, I encourage you to visit the Neuroendocrine Cancer Foundation. Don’t lose hope! 🤍🦓
“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”
Psalms 73:26
“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:35
“Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13
“If we were perfect, we wouldn’t need a Savior. It’s not about perfection-it’s pressing for progression and surrendering to self. When the world can’t satisfy, our Savior can saturate—filling voids and bringing value to the valleys and peace at the peak.”
K.L. Hale
“The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies.”
Laura Ingalls Wilder
“One touch of nature makes all the world kin.”
John Muir
“Peace begins with a smile.”
Mother Teresa
“The wound is a place where the Light enters you.”
Rumi
“There. I’ve done my best. If that won’t do, I shall have to wait till I can do better.”
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
C.S. Lewis
“You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you.”
C.S. Lewis
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“Do one thing every day that scares you.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the heart.”
Helen Keller
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
Oscar Wilde
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”
Abraham Lincoln
“Life is a succession of lesson which must be lived to be understood.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.”
Robert Frost
“Everything you can imagine is real.”
Pablo Picasso
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Maya Angelou
“Courage is grace under pressure.”
Ernest Hemingway
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
Confucius
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover.”
Mark Twain
“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work form beginning to end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
May 2024 bring joy, good health, laughter, and love lessons. Undoubtedly, it will bring the unexpected, too. What gives you hope in the haphazard? Joy in the juggles? Persistence in pain? Faith in the fuzzy? May love light your way.
You are all treasures to me. Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. I look forward to my future with faith, family, friends, flannel, and faith!
While Flannel with Faith is where I share my heart, Finley River Publishing is where you'll find my book and the shop collection. Read the story behind the collection here!
