Final Blessings of a Beautiful October

Paul and his nephew Justin came by last night en route to Seneca, SC, for a Clemson football game this afternoon. God has so richly blessed us by sending wonderful guests throughout this month. We've always wanted our home to be used for our friends and family. We are so thankful to have shared this place with those we love so dearly....

Pictures of an Autumn Afternoon

My soul does magnify the Lord and my spirit will rejoice in God, my Savior, for He who is mighty has done great things, and Holy is His Name.....
I lift up my eyes to the hills...
This is indeed a time of harvest....of seeds sown in tears that are now reaped in joy!

Autumn Leaves on Ft. Mountain

There is a Season....

And a time for every purpose under Heaven.....

Some autumn quotes for a rainy day's musings....

"Come to us, Lord of Harvest and teach us to be thankful for the gifts you bring us...."

"You can't hide your true colours as you approach the autumn of your life."

Autumn is the mellower season, and what we lose in flowers we more than gain in fruits." Samuel Butler

"October's poplars are flaming torches lighting the way to winter" Nova Bair

These were sights that accompanied me on my school visits Friday. I ended up near Eton and couldn't resist the call of the mountains. As my day ended, I drove to the top of Ft. Mountain.... The leaves were flaming and the quiet stillness that surrounded me once again sang praises to my God.... My heart and soul are quiet and at peace.....

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower."

Beauty from Ashes

Thank you, Elizabeth, for taking us to this special, holy place. Brother Joseph Zoettl's work speaks so beautifully to my heart that NO ONE is beyond God's redemption. Brother Joseph spent his life creating beauty from the ash heaps of what man had used or broken and thrown away. What a fitting picture of salvation!

And from these gardens I also saw with new eyes the fact that no THING is beyond His redemption, as well. So many moments of my own life, that I would now so readily discard, have been saved and USED by my loving God for His higher plan. I see more every day that salvation is not merely about going to heaven some day but about the redeeming of TIME -- the moments and hours and days of a broken life--even time so regretfully squandered or spoiled or thrown away. God will, I am totally convinced, use ALL of my own spoiled lifetime....some how, some way....for His glory. My responsibility today is to place all of the broken pieces and moments into His hands and His care.

The Ava Maria Grotto

"The Heavens declare the Glory of God and the Earth shows forth His handiwork...."
My favorite Saints of the Church have to include St. Therese and St. Francis. How at home they would have felt at the Benedictine Monastery's Ava Maria Grotto in Alabama! Elizabeth was excited about showing us the beautiful and tranquil place. My heart was so much at peace there.

St. Francis, with his uncluttered life of devotion and his love of God's creatures, has always inspired me. The gardens around his statue reflected his character. The ordered and simple beauty of the landscape created a setting that was both soothing and uplifting.

I thought it beautiful, also, that so many flowers surrounded the statue of the Little Flower herself (St. Therese) and that a solitary pink rose, in my eyes the single most beautiful flower in the entire monastery, grew next to her statue. My heart smiled when remembering her appreciation of the minute handiwork of our Heavenly Father and her total dedication to Him in the most simple of earthly tasks.

May I be reminded by this time of quiet reflection to constantly guard my own heart and to realize anew the necessity of setting apart times of solitude and stillness in this mad, mad world. May I be grounded in what is truly essential. May I run with patience the race that is set before me, "setting aside the sin and the weights that so easily ensnare" me. May I rid my heart, not only of its sinful leanings, but of its propensity to be weighted down by whatever would take my eyes off His face.....

I think of The Little Prince's reflection, "It only with the heart that one can see rightly....for the things which are essential are invisible to the eye." How much easier it was to truly "see with my heart" in this lovely, God-blessed place.

Refiner of Gold

Oh Lord, may You use whatever pain or loss or separation or trial or any means necessary, to comform me to Your image. May all dross be cleared away so that my humble life may indeed show the reflection of Your love and grace and joy..... May my life become as gold refined in the crucible that becomes your mirror....and as water, still and quiet, that reflects Your face.....

Malachi 3:2-4 (New International Version)
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.

Autumn Splendor

My soul will never tire of this place. What a loving and merciful gift from a loving Heavenly Father. What a gift, as well, to have been able to share these hills that are now "home" with friends and family from places now far away.

Dad and Bea's Visit

What a wonderful weekend with my dad and his wife! It was such a joy to share our world with them. Bea really appreciates nature and was so upbeat and positive about our treks through the mountains, and Dad seemed to love sharing the mountains with all of us, as well. They were a blessing to my heart!

Lynn and Aubria's Visit

What a delightful time with dear friends!
One of my favorite verses declares that "God sets the lonely in families".....and the Sanders are just that to our little clan. Lynn has been such a faithful mentor and friend since the death of my mother, and has remained faithful and supportive through so many difficult stretches of life's highways during the last seven years. I understand from such a deeper viewpoint just why my mother loved her so....
Aubria has been on the sidelines as a strong prayer supporter of us and has voiced sage and encouraging words so many times during this phase of our life's marathon.
The past week has been such a beautiful respite for us. During the past few days, we were able to fellowship with these dear friends on a whole new level.... To be able to laugh and cry, to truly communicate from the heart and mind, to share our very world and souls, and to realize acutely that the Lord Himself is the basis for our friendship.....This is indeed the stuff of which heaven is made. And this visit was a taste of what awaits us all some day...
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you...."
We love you, Lynn and Aubria!

I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy!

To quote Nellie Forbush in South Pacific:

Loudly I'll sing about flowers in spring,

Flatly I'll stand on my flat feet and say

Love is a grand and a beautiful thing!

I'm not ashamed to reveal

The world famous feelin' I feel.

I'm in love with a wonderful guy!

I am in a conventional dither,

With a conventional star in my eye.

And you will note there's a lump in my throat

When I speak of that wonderful guy!

I'm as corny as Kansas in August,

High as a flag on the Fourth of July!

If you'll excuse an expression I use,

I'm in love, I'm in love

I'm in love, I'm in love,

I'm in love with a wonderful guy!

Baby, Just Look at You Now

I know heaven will be better than this....intellectually......
But my heart simply cannot fathom it.
What absolute bliss! A whole weekend with little Neil! (and of course A and P, too:) This has honestly been one of the happiest moments of my life! Thanks to each of you for the memories that will flood my heart forever! I love you guys!