Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 30

"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." Psalms 91:11

Happiness---and comfort---is found in knowing there are angels watching over us night and day.

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 22

Happiness is finding a quote such as this:

“Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says, “Oh no, she’s awake.” -–author unknown

I love this!

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 21

Happiness is knowing that on Sunday I will go to the house of the Lord. The unmeasurable comfort envelopes me before I even step one foot into the vestibule. There's nothing quite like standing on holy ground.

Thou has turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness.
To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. Psalms 30:11-2

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 19

Happiness is knowing God is always there. When you can't see Him...He's there. When you can't feel Him...He's there. When you can't hear Him...He's there. Always there, ready to mend, heal and fill.

Montana sunset, May 3, 2008


When we walk to the edge
of all the light we have
and take the step into the
darkness of the unknown,
we must believe that
one of two things will happen....
There will be something
solid for us to stand
or we will be taught to fly.

~Patrick Overton

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 13

'...for the battle is the Lord's...' I Samuel 17:47

Happiness is seeing my statue of young David with his sling. A daily reminder that the bigger the 'giants' in my life get, the harder they will fall. Have faith!

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 12

"There is no drop of water in the ocean, not even in the deepest parts of the abyss, that does not know and respond to the mysterious forces that create the tide." Rachel Carson

Happiness can be found in enjoying a work of art when I have the blues. I felt like I was all alone on a big, big sea this day. But the sun still shines and GOD IS, therefore, all is well.

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 8

Bubba's bible, with one of my favorites--I John 4:15--circled in red

In his glory days the packed stadium always cheered, "Kill, Bubba, kill!" "Man, I didn't know white girls could cook like this!" Comment by Bubba Smith after the first of many meals he had in my home-- smothered steak & gravy, rice, speckled butter beans, fried okra, sliced tomatoes & cornbread with REAL butter....with sweet tea, of course! Oh, and I forgot to mention the fresh strawberry cake with berries from my garden.

Happiness is reading the notes in the Bible of my friend, Bubba Smith--a real, tried and true Christian. Bubba, former Baltimore Colt and two time Super Bowl star, really knows the word! His mother, Georgia, was my homaking teacher in high school and was truly a mentor for me.

More Than One Side To A Mountain

"Little did I know that as I faced a mountain of insurmountable sorrow, and during the days and weeks and months I spent grieving beneath the weight of my monumental grief, God was bringing up joy on the other side." excerpt from Rex Johnson, With A Palm And A Willow

There is more than one side to a mountain. The same side of the mountain that shrouds us in darkness prematurely is also the side that first welcomes the sun. God works as well with darkness as He does with light.

Thirty Days of Happiness: Day 3

'...the adversary does everything he can to exxagerate the feeling that things have changed. If we are not careful our closest friends will become strangers to us.'
excerpt from With A Palm And A Willow--authored by my friend, Rex Johnson, regarding the untimely fatal accident of his wife, and my friend, Denise

Happiness is looking at pictures which hold precious memories.

Real Love

a gorgeous Montana sunset, April 30, '08

...real love is like God, you can depend on it to always be there. You may not always see it or be able to touch it or feel it, but it’s still there, unchanging and unmovable, just like God. Waiting patiently, interceding for His favor, hoping, trusting, believing, loving.
excerpt from an old love letter

When Life Throws You a Curve...pray, without ceasing, pray.

...if we know that He hears us---whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of Him. I John 4:14

Looking Ahead...With Anticipation

In light of the many times I am tagged with requests to let others know my feelings and assorted details of my life by answering a list of questions- I've devised one that I hope may be interesting.... not that you need to answer anything here but, what would your answers be to these questions?

I'm learning that, sometimes, there are no seemingly right or wrong answers in life- that each decision leads to the here and now, where there are always more questions and answers holding everything needed for the moment. I wish you a blessed New Year, a safe New Year...and a New Year filled with Love and Peace and most of all, filled with Jesus.


1. In one word describe your expectation for the year 2008.

Favor---the God kind. I believe and expect that God will bless the relationship I have with the man He sent my way and shower us with His favor.

2. If you won the lottery tomorrow, who would you give the first dollar to?

I would give God the first ten percent. He can do more with the remaining ninety percent than I can do with the whole.

3. If you had to choose fame or fortune, which would you choose and why?

Fortune. Fame comes with too many pitfalls. Fortune would allow me to bless others who come my way.

4. What three words would you want associated with your name in memorial?

Faithful, loyal, loving

5. What does the word “time” mean to you?

Time is an illusion we use for our benefit when it suits us least.

6. What three guests (anyone) would you invite to a dinner party?

Assuming my significant other is already present, of course....my mother, my friend Mike Hayes and author Mark Hanson, a phenomenal man whom I had the pleasure to meet in 1983 while in Napa Valley.

7. Name one work of art or literature you wish you would have created.

Proverbs. My absolute, all time favorite of the favorites.

8. What is your one weakest point of character? Your strongest?

My weakest is probably patience; my strongest is definitely loyalty, hands down, no doubt.

9. What one quality would you most like to give to your significant other?

His qualities are overwhelming and abundant so anything I could offer would be but an extra portion. But, perhaps a little extra patience wouldn't hurt. After all, he may need it with me along!

10. If a life affects all others, who would you say yours least affects? Most affects?

Least affects: I believe one cannot say, not knowing which of our actions has the most rippling effect. I believe a simple smile to someone can and does change the world.

Most affects: My beautiful grandaughter, Savannah and, of course, my patients.

11. BONUS: Are you where you thought you would be when, ten years ago, you thought of your future?

Yes and no. I have changed, the world has changed and like John Lennon said, "life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." I am happy even though I feel I have much to discover, create, and more to experience in love. I am healthy, gainfully employed and have a roof over my head... all is well; all is getting better. I'm favored of God and, yes, all is truly getting better--one sweet day at a time....

Dreaming and Creating

So, if you can't be where you really want to be, with whom you really want to be with, doing what you'd really love to be doing on a cold and rainy afternoon, being creative is the next best thing. I guess. So, with a $4.00 pair of Goodwill jeans and a fabric remnant from the craft closet, I created a funky little full length skirt that will be the admired by many. I saw some that were similar, but not quite as cute, at the Levi's store in Chicago a little while back and even the plainest ones started at over $100.00. I love thrifting and creating and keeping my hands busy, busy, busy. Guess it's part of that nesting gene.

Faith and Promises

Though the Master's methods may fluctuate, His promises ultimately remain the same. God promised Abraham that He was going to bless his seed, and He did. When God makes a promise He always keeps His word. Our faith is the activator that moves God but, it is often required that we lay hold on the promise by acting on it in an aggressive way. We must go after it with total abandonment and commitment, armed with the knowledge that God's blessings don't necessarily come through the kindness or responsiveness of others. In fact, it is often in spite of a lack of others' kindness toward us that God performs the most mighty deeds. The miracle begins when we remove the training wheels of dependency on others and lean on Him, trusting that, regardless of how the situation appears, the impossible, unimaginable and incredible are going to happen in His time, because of our faith. It is then that we begin to see mountains move and seas part and the dead awaken.

God knows when my heart is broken and my spirit is crushed but, thankfully, He's taught me to develop an appetite for manna. I've learned to believe God for sustenance to survive the land of drought and famine that precedes the land of miracles. God supernaturally provided strength for the journey that He ordained the children of Israel to make and He will provide the same strength I need to make it from the valley to the mountain-top. Prosperity begins with strength for the journey. It goes far beyond surviving to thriving. But it starts with strength for the day. And just as He delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, so will He deliver us out of our current situation and into the land of promise, one day at a time---in His time. What a God. What a wonderful, merciful God.