Seeing Red

The Japanese Maple is SOOO REEEDDD.  

 It really almost looks fake-- thought I had better get a photo -- 

it will be gone when we return from Iowa

 after the gathering there for a nephew's wedding.

Some garden things still cling to leaves

 like gathering a warm scarf against the cold.

The lovely red glow of sedum in the fall.

And a spirea falls into a chaotic riot of color.

The rose shifts to open looking for sunlight.

Flying High Sabbath

With a quick yes, I replied that I would love to go for a ride in a glider.....

in the sky,  that's "no engine",

way up high.

So on a beautiful and sunny November day
 in the Shenandoah Valley

we drove a few miles to the air strip
 and some friends had arranged
a "time in flight"

And we spent the afternoon watching these gliders take off and land

And then it was my turn.....
 and why was he telling me about all the instruments....
the guy behind me was flying this plane.... right??   right???

And suddenly I had the excitement of AMELIA

Just about cleared for take off

The small plane with an engine takes off pulling the glider with a rope.
 At 5000 ft they drop the tow rope.
 and we are on our own...  Flying high.  Wright brother style.
And I am thinking Kitty Hawk.
We flew the valley between the Allegheny Mountains
 and the Blue Ridge Mountains, right over Waynesboro, VA.

And then the pilot says, "You want to fly it?"
And I mumble, "You are kidding, right?"
And he says, "Nope, I'll talk you through it."
And so we turn left and glide right and dip down and lift up.

The plane that DH got to ride in 
was styling German engineering and a
$90,000 price tag.

I was airborne when he took off.

 But I got to see him land.
A quick shot as they were almost
 out of the plane before I could get close enough.

Soon sunset came quickly to the valley.
And later, on our drive back home I asked him,
"Did you pray before you took off?"

"Ya"

  "Me too."

and we decided that even though

 we don't have a bucket list 

that maybe we could start one-

 with one thing already crossed off the list.

Fullest Thanksgiving

We may quickly agree that family is at the top of our Thanksgiving list-
 but then we sit back and think about just how that is fulfilled in our lives....

It really is about the fullness of Christ- that makes family life work and grow and blossom into something that is not really of us-- because without Him, our feeble attempts of rightness and wholeness are just smudges on the line. It gets filled in boldly when we release ourselves to be filled up.

Can't say it any better than Ann Voskamp---

“Thanksgiving–giving thanks in everything–prepares the way that God might show us His fullest salvation in Christ. The act of sacrificing thank offerings to God–even for the bread and cup of cost, for cancer and crucifixion–this prepares the way for God to show us His fullest salvation from bitter, angry, resentful lives and from all sin that estranges us from Him. At the Eucharist, Christ breaks His heart to heal ours–” (Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts).

And as we approach the Lord's supper- we know that He meets us there - fully.
And His light makes all things new and we reflect that Light around us.  Christlike qualities in  humble humans will draw others into the Light. And I dare say that might even add some sparkle to our lives.

Lake Mead- Boulder City, Nevada at sunset

Burlap Bubble Wreath

A little bit of Fall Texture

Burlap Bubble Wreath
 with Fall Floral Picks

While visiting middle daughter Laura and her husband Joshua in Las Vegas, got into a little crafty mood.

Perfect Timing

Kind of away from managing photos this week.....  sometimes a good thing....



But wanted to mark the moment of meeting the fine young baby- Judah- yesterday.

For this child I have prayed for over a year.......  and in God's good and perfect timing--

he was a gift to his parents Julie and Jay.

And as I sat and saw the sparkle in the brilliant blue eyes of Judah-

I wondered what had been arranged in the universe 

and put in place and moved around for his arrival. 

Not the carefully planned timing of mom and dad -- but the perfect timing for Judah.

What had to be learned, felt, mastered and lost for mom and dad ---

for the perfect timing for Judah.

And the beaming face of a mom in love, in love with all there is of mothering... 

the diapers, the life disruptions, the constant rearrangements of priorities,

the feedings,

the standing up and rocking back and forth and jiggling at the same time.

And in God's perfect timing for Judah-

are parents learning to -

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."  Colossians 4:2

That in the perfect timing for Judah they will see the perfect timing-

for two parents to understand and begin to see the universe opened to them in 

living their eternal life now,

and the joy of bringing that relationship- because of Jesus- 

to the one they love so dearly.

So at the outdoor table of the coffee shop- 

God gave me a glimpse of eternity in brilliant blue eyes.

Thank you Lord!