Real life

 I’m grateful for something April Shepherd shared from Phyllis Shirer (?). 

I’m also grateful for this post from Stephanie Ihbe: 

Do you ever wake up questioning your purpose in this world? That seems to be me a lot lately. 

My reply: I do & the answer I finally accepted is one I hope you will find for yourself: It is to receive God’s love & to share it with others. 

And you — precious beloved child of God Stephanie Ihbe — are doing that, day in & day out, in so many important ways!! 

Taking Proverbs 3:5-6 to heart, planting it in my soul, has been transformational. Trust God & not my own thinking & understanding.  When I look around & into the past, I see God is faithful to keep His promises. I truly have to let go of my own thinking every time I find it standing between me & trusting God! (And that was almost always until about a year ago.)

I pray in faith & with thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6-7) that you will receive the answers you need & that you will experience God’s peace that surpasses your ability to understand, to guard your heart & mind & life in Christ. 

You are amazing & it breaks my heart to see you continue to doubt yourself. 

❤️🙏😊👍

I think the Shirer quote gave me courage to respond from the heart to Stephanie. I thank God & pray that He be glorified  

This is what it means to trust God. Do what is right in the moment. Put love of God & others before worrying about how Gene will react. Trust God to take care of Gene. And trust God to take care of me. 

Blogworthy revelation

 In reply to Chris Wells’ FB post of an “Inconvenient Truth” (“We are quick to condemn preachers who make the gospel too easy but hardly say anything about those who make the gospel too hard.”) and someone’s comment (Salvation is easy, sanctification is hard/work process. But if you never attempt sanctification are you saved?): 

My experience is that I’m continually “attempting sanctification,” falling short, & being saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It’s beyond my ability to understand. Not giving up on God is harder work than one might think. So many do give up. I’ve come to believe God is in & honors the struggle some face in simply not turning away.

Milestone (minor, still meaningful)

 I just noticed I topped my original Wordle streak as of yesterday, as solving to word FLUFF put my streak at 78. The previous streak ended at 77 on April 19 when I couldn’t come up with FOYER in six tries. 

A hot start?

Not really. Good enough. Bring it on. 

Not catching up tonight

Many things happened in June that were worth writing about. I just didn’t get it done. This placeholder post comes from my hope that springs eternal that in the coming days I’ll have a moment & want to look back & fill in the blanks about great moments that included sunsets, walks, singing, laughing & hanging out with family & friends. Also some moments where the benefits of praying & then being patient were experienced. So much gratitude for each step of faith & progress. 

Too close for comfort — but not for gratitude

 Whew!! I feel like I dodged 2 bullets today, coming too close for comfort to highly distressing situations.

This morning, as I was walking on the sidewalk toward Robinson at the light after dropping off the truck at Firestone, I stumbled & was falling forward several steps until I finally regained my balance. Until the very last minute I was sure I would end up sliding along the sidewalk on my knees & hands, which I’ve done a time or two in the past with painful & ugly results. I was grateful to be able to catch myself. I doubt it was pretty. I’m just glad it was effective. I sang praises all the way home!!

Later, when I got home after seeing chiropractor for the first time & shopping at Sam’s, I couldn’t find my iphone. I didn’t hear it ring or buzz when I called my number in the house or in my car. I called Sam’s to see if a phone had been turned in. No. So I drafted an email to Gene. I decided to look again in the house & car & call the number. This time I heard it ring in my car. Again, I was grateful & relieved to avoid having to deal with a lost phone.

Too close to calamity for comfort — but moments of distress & discomfort are perfect opportunities to practice my faith, continuing to pray & trust God. And when the dreaded situations resolved without incident, all the glory, honor, thanks & praise goes to God!

Way behind on blogging

It’s one of those months where I’ve been busy living & haven’t taken time to blog. Highlights I may want to write more about include the event at Pickwick Lake; Gene’s birthday; vacation Bible school at Whaley; and the Siegmund family reunion. Maybe this little placeholder post will help me not forget.