My phone’s camera is with me nearly all the time.  If you had looked through my lens this week, this is some of what you would have seen:

My dad has a hook up on the pergola with a rope attached so you can keep the hammock swinging.  Genius!

Time with my parents is always special.  Their quiet natures and lovely home make for the perfect place to visit and rest.

Dad in Garage

That’s my week!  What was your favorite view here?

Have a lovely weekend celebrating our country’s birthday!

Stay refreshed,

Recently while weeding flower beds at my parent’s home, I was tugging at some stubborn roots.  The weeds had grown tall and strong.  I put my hand around the base of the stems, planted my feet firmly and gave a yank.  Finally, the roots gave way and I had to steady myself lest I fall backward!  As my gaze fell back on the soil, I saw a beautiful plant that had been hidden under the weeds.  It wasn’t even visible before.  It almost seemed to stretch out in its now roomy quarters, with the weed removed. We would’ve never known that plant was there if we hadn’t removed the weeds!

Roots…removal…hmmm, a passage of Scripture came to my mind at that moment!

Hebrews 12:15

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the gace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.

The picture of the weeds and the stubborn roots before me is exactly what bitterness will do in my life.  It anchors itself down deep.  It destroys.  It blocks out the beauty of walking uder the control of the Spirit of God.  It keeps relationships from being loving and grace-filled.

First I must search diligently.  Then at first sight of that weed of bitterness, I must snatch it up – not from the top where it will break off and continue to grow, but at the root – where it started.  I must go to its source and rip it from my heart.  Confession will do that.  I must admit it’s there and call it what it is.  That means no finger pointing or blaming, but admision of my own sin.

The next part is the flinging out of that weed to the trash pile.  That happens when I let go of the issue that caused the bitterness.

Just. Let. It. Go.

After my weeding job was done, I washed my hands throughly, ridding myself of the mess it caused.  Looking back on the freshly manicured garden, I could smile at the sight of the growth that was showing itself proudly.  So, too, the place where my bitterness was is a clean, fresh spot in my life now.

Do you have a bitternessthat is growing and defiling you?  Ask the Lord to forgive you, and then look for the new growth that will appear in its place!

From the garden,

If you’re planning a special anniversary or birthday it’s a great idea to first come up with a theme.  The theme for our day of celebrating our 35th was, “Our Favorite Things.”  Our day was full and overflowing with just that!  Let me tell you about it and share a few pictures.

I  am blessed to have a husband who is a romantic at heart.  He loves to surprise me with thoughtful and romantic rendezvous!  He is the best at planning fantastic events to create memories for special days.  Even after 35 years he still comes up with ideas and trips that blow me away!  Our 35th anniversary was no exception!

We decided that we’d just like to go away for the day and come home that night.  Beautiful places to stay the night are great, but when you love home as much as we do, you don’t care about spending a fortune on the luxury you don’t feel you need. Home is our favorite place, so with that much being decided, we planned to have a really special supper out in the evening in a favorite nearby city – Asheville.

We started out from home before 10:00 in the morning and headed to Wheeler’s Bagels for breakfast.  We ate at a table outside – which is our favorite thing to do!

From there we headed towards Asheville.  We went to another favorite place – Grove Park Inn and went inside the inn and simply  sat and enjoyed the view and enjoyed time to chat and relax.

Next came the Biltmore Gardens.   We sat in the shade on a favorite bench and were amazed at the quiet and the beauty.

Late in the afternoon, we changed into our dinner clothes and made our way to the Inn at Biltmore where we would enjoy a scrumptious meal!

I wish I could describe our meal, but it was all so unique, I’ll just sum it up by saying, there was nothing we didn’t love about it!  We each chose different items for each of the three courses, so we could sample one another’s choice!  The salad pictured above was the chef’s take on the Caesar Salad – really different, but it was outstanding!

The dessert I chose was Raspberry Lemon and Mint – there was a shortbread cookie, lemon curd, sponge cake, Raspberry sorbet and blackberries and fresh mint.  I couldn’t finish it, but it was heavenly.

Through the day we also shared favorite memories, using 35 words I’d written down. Oh, to think back on our 35 years and the wonderful times we’ve shared.  We also talked about some hard things, and how the Lord brought us through those as well.

It was a day of tears, laughter, remembering and creating new memories at all of our favorite places, enjoying all of our favorite things – the greatest being time together!

If you could use a theme for your next special date with your spouse, what theme would you choose?

Thanks for coming by to read and share in our celebration!

With love,