Clap Your Hands!

Published on by Joan Category: Lessons Learned From My Grandchildren

I love talking about my grandchildren.  Every other grandparent I know is the same way.  We can stand and tell story after story of the things they do, laughing with joy at their sweet sayings and rambunctious antics.  The only difference between me and the way my grandparents bragged is that they would pull out their wallets to show pictures of their grandchildren, but I just pull out my phone!  Hundreds of pictures and videos to show to anyone who will look!

One thing I love about my two and a half year old grandson is the excitement he shows over everything. 

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Big Feet

Published on by Joan Category: Devotions

Do you have big feet?  I was looking at shoe sizes and saw that the size for men went up to an 18!  That size is for a foot which is over 13” long.  A size 12 for a woman is for those whose feet are 11” long.  My grandmother had small feet.  She wore a size 5.  I knew another lady who had even smaller feet and sometimes had to shop in the selection of shoes for girls.  On the other hand, I have a nephew who has large feet.  He is tall for his age and by age 13, he was already wearing sizes 13 and 14 in the men’s section.  I guess you could say he has a firm foundation!

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First Things First

Published on by Joan Category: Devotions

We all experience “firsts.”  Our first breath.  First steps.  First scraped knees.  First bicycle ride.  The list goes on and on.  Some of our firsts we cannot remember.  Small children are learning new things every day, often every moment.  Although we may not remember many of those personal “firsts” we experienced as children, some people around us will remember.  Some of those first times can later come back to haunt us when a parent relays particularly embarrassing experiences we went through.  I enjoy telling stories to my children of things they did when they were young.  Some of those things at the time were trying to me as a young parent, but now are warm and amusing memories.

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Vacation Pleasures

Published on by Joan Category: Poems

Our bags are packed,

The mail has been forwarded,

The lawn is mowed,

The dog has been boarded.

 

All appliances are unplugged

And the house is secure.

I walked through the rooms

One more time to be sure.

 

The car’s filled with gas,

The oil has been checked,

Everyone’s gone to potty,

And now we’re all set.

 

With maps in hand

And smiles on all faces

We pull out of the drive

Ready to see interesting places.

 

The anticipation we have for our four hour trek,

Falls to our feet when we hear from the back,

“I’m thirsty.”, “I’m hungry.”, and “Are we there yet?”

Godly Counsel

Published on by Joan Category: Devotions

Decisions Have To Be Made

Have you ever had times in your life when you were not sure of what you should do?   I daresay, ever person at some point or another has felt this way.  I know I have many times.  There have been times when I have faced decisions and the answer to the dilemma seemed very elusive.  At other times, I have been going about my own business and was confronted with the fact that what I was doing was, simply stated, dumb.

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Beautiful Hands

Published on by Joan Category: Stories

          She settled into the porch swing with a sigh.  She had forgotten how tiring a day of canning vegetables in a hot kitchen could be.  She had left her daughter to finish the last of the cleaning up so she could rest.

          She looked down at her hands, tired from a day of tightening rings and lids on the jars and from them being in and out of hot water.  Her hands had aged. 

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What Every Woman Wants

Published on by Joan Category: Devotions

God And A Piece Of Chocolate

I was listening to the radio once and a woman said she relies on God but that she needs chocolate.  I bet there are many women (maybe some men) who feel this way.  Even though it was said jokingly, there is also some truth in it.

I love and desire chocolate.  Sweet, bitter, dark chocolate.  It satisfies a craving.  Indulging in it gives pleasure, joy, even satisfaction.  It improves my mental status and my moods.  And just what everyone wants to hear, there are even health benefits of dark chocolate. Yeah! 

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Fast Moving Train

Published on by Joan Category: Devotions

So, do you ever have racing thoughts? All the time?  Sometimes it feels like my thoughts are like a fast moving train.  The thoughts keep coming and coming.  Many of them are the same thoughts over and over, repeating like they are searching for the end.  Then another random thought inserts itself between the fast moving ones like the wayward boxcar that is seemingly out of place.

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Silence Is Golden

Published on by Joan Category: Poems

“Silence is golden,”

I’ve heard people say

When the noise of the world

All passes away

Those moments of quiet

Brings rest for my soul

The blessed peace that follows

Has more value than gold

 

In those moments of silence

I open Your Word

Your Spirit can teach me

And Your voice can be heard

I cherish those moments

When with You I’m alone

Yes, those moments of silence

Have more value than gold

 

But then there are times

When Your voice I can’t hear

I reach for Your Word

But I don’t feel You near

I go through the fire

And feel nothing but pain

I wonder why I keep going

If there’s nothing to gain

But as the fire begins to die down

Darkness turns back to day

All dross from my life

Has been burned all away

The silence I went through

When I felt You were gone

Has left nothing within me

Except the refined, purest gold.

 

Help me still listen even when You don’t speak

Help me keep believing and Your presence still seek

Though testing by fire is not what I’d choose

Lord, let it be if it brings me closer to You.

 

Yes, silence is golden

When it draws me to You

My faith grows stronger

And of Your strength I am sure

So when the silence is over

And Your face I behold

May what’s left in my life

Be of more value than gold.

Giving Our Firstfruits

Published on by Joan Category: Lessons Learned From Gardening

With the coming of spring and summer, we begin planning for the garden we will plant and I start anticipating that first tomato we will pull off the vine.  There is nothing like the taste of the first produce pulled from the garden.  The first meal fixed with fresh corn and green beans feels like a real feast.  Fried squash and okra can be a meal all by itself.  The later into the growing season it gets though, it’s not as welcomed.  The freezer is as full as I can get it, I’ve canned more than we need and it seems that no one within 50 miles needs another tomato.

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