My Heart Aches

My precious, 19 year old God child died in a fire yesterday at Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina. She was a sophomore at Clemson University along with her twin sister, who was not with her for the beach get away (this is the only blessing that I can see so far). Please pray for her family and the others involved in this tragedy. I will try to get back to blogging when things are more settled. NEWS available here: http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/752517.html

Fantastic Fall Trip

Michigan was a gorgeous mass of fall colors, with a touch of cooler weather to tease me before I had to return to the hot south today. The maple trees were especially colorful, with the crisp blue sky as a background. The colors in NC are delayed, due to the severe drought- this made me appreciate my visit with my sister even more. Fresh markets, antique stores, bountiful boutiques, delicious eateries, soccer games, football games, fall walks, long talks, and precious time with my little sister... a blessing indeed!

Alpha and Omega

This is my mom, 82 years old, holding her precious great granddaughters. She has dementia and can't tell you what day it is or what she ate for lunch... but she remembers how to hold an infant! As you can see from the picture of her hands, she also has severe rheumatoid arthritis but reached out with poise to hold her great grandchild for the first time. She took turns holding the girls and then posed for a picture holding them both. Seeing this brought tears of joy to my eyes. It is a blessing indeed... the circle of life! The beginning and the end. Alpha and Omega!

Coincidence

Instead of using the word coincidence, I prefer to use the word "Godincidence" because I feel that every event in my life (even the pain, struggles, and misfortune) has happened for a purpose and I routinely look around me seeking out "for what purpose have I been placed in this moment of time"? I witnessed a "Godincidence" moment this past Sunday morning. I normally attend the 2nd worship service and I do a children's sermon for this service at least once every 6 weeks. This past Sunday the pastor had me do the children's sermon for the early service because the children would be singing in the 2nd service and there wasn't enough time for the children's sermon in the 2nd service. As the children walked down to the alter for the children's sermon, I was delighted to see a former student attending. She is also the student that I tutor each Wednesday in our church after school program for at risk children. When I taught her in public school she often talked about church, so it never occurred to me to invite her to my church- but there she was with her family attending my church. I think the two of us hugged for at least 10 minutes and I spent extra time after the service letting her parents know how much I appreciated them visiting our church. I truly believe that God had all of this planned (even down to a way to get me to the first service) and that I was just his vessel. Now that is what I call a "Godincidence" and that is a blessing indeed!

Welcome Home Twins

My twin nieces are home and that is a blessing indeed! Ella on the left weighs 5 lbs and Mattie on the right weighs 4 lbs! They are precious miracles from God and every one's prayers were answered, as they are coming home one month earlier than originally predicted. My day each week to care for them will be on Thursdays and I just can't wait. What an honor for me even if I have to drive 30 minutes to get there! God is good.

A Summer to Remember

Hot, hot, hot... yes that is 109 degrees on my porch and the humidity was also high that day! It was August 3rd and thankfully weeks after the wedding. As I have said before, God blessed us in so many ways during the wedding weekend but one of the biggest blessings was the weather. The high was in the mid 80's, low humidity, and Carolina blue skies... just perfect! Then after the wedding the heat started, the drought came, and there was no relief at all, until this weekend. We had 70 degree days and cool 50 degree nights. The drought continues but this cooler weather is a blessing indeed. It is a perfect way to start October in North Carolina... maybe the rain will arrive soon!