Love from far away.........

Love to all my peeps,

far and near, ever close and dear.

Although not breaking bread together face to face,

know there is always space.

Raise a glass, voice a toast for the ones I love the most.

Run, jump, give a shout, the ones I love are not without.

Turn the corners of your mouth up, part your lips for a cheer,

for you are my peeps far and near.

Prairies, peach butter....

Seasons...it's a good time of year to ponder this topic. September seems to be a funny time

of year to start a new season. In the world around me, leaves are turning colors, the harvest is almost over, and hopefully the weather will start to cool off. Doesn't really seem like the time to start something new, but none the less that is what we have done. Start something new. Peter is in school, three of the kids are in a Christian school, and Isaiah and I are on our own. Really different life for us compared to the last few years. Quite quiet actually.

This time in my life leaves me with lots of time to think, ponder, and reflect. I have tried to figure out the best way to describe the season that I personally am in. Sometimes I feel like what pioneers a long time ago must have felt when they saw the open prairies. Huge open land, nothing for miles except the opportunity to make something new. Whatever they could envision and then build was possible. That sort of explains some of how I feel. I look out and sense opportunities, I don't really "see" them, but I can faintly hear, smell, and touch them. Overwhelming and exhilarating all at the same time. What I can imagine is possible, what I can create with God is endless.... The pioneers had to have a plan, a building strategy, a way to make it happen. I guess sometimes that is also where I am at. I'm in the planning stages of something, what that something is I am not entirely sure of yet, but it will be something. Do you ever get the feeling that you are made for something, you just have to figure out what that something is? I do all the time right now. Huge open land, lots of potential, and probably a lot of hard work.

While sometimes I feel like a pioneer, there are lots of times right now when I also feel like a bottle of corked wine, aging to perfection, sitting on a back shelf waiting for the right time. I feel like a jar of peach butter, jarred, waiting for the right settling to happen and the right food to accompany. Or maybe a batch of Italian spices; adding all the different flavors, getting the right mixture and then being bottled and then the wait. Mostly I feel like I am waiting, resting or trying to rest, and thinking. I am trying not to "fight" my  season, but rather enjoy it, revel in it, get the most out of it. I'm trying to embrace the place God has me in, He knows better than me what I need right now. Good thing to remind myself, He knows me better than I know myself most of the time. 

On the  shelf is an interesting place. Sometimes it is dark and sometimes the sun shines so brightly I can barely hold it together. Maybe it is that combination of light and darkness that makes us who we are. If we didn't sit in the dark maybe we would never know what light is. Maybe just the right amount of darkness reminds me how good it is to be in the light, how intense the light can be. I don't know for sure but these are some thoughts for me and maybe you to consider. If you have any thoughts let me know.

Anyhow, prairies, shelves, peach butter, darkness, resting, waiting; they all add up to my season right now. Funny combinations, random pieces to a puzzle I can't quite see yet, but I know is out there.

Puzzles and leaves seem to occupy my mind lately. The leaves are starting to change colors and they are beautiful. The variety of colors are amazing; red, yellow, orange, green, and every shade thereof. Makes me think of God and His different shades of grace and mercy. It seems that in every season of my life there is a different shade of God. Sometimes I need barrels of patience to endure the day. Other times I need wagons full of understanding to get the point. Right now it seems that I am receiving a small stream of creativity with just enough confidence or stupidity to try something new. Shades  of color evoke so many different feeling, thoughts, and emotions. I see the color purple and my world is fine even if it is actually turning upside down. Yes folks, purple in all shades is my favorite. I often wonder why I am drawn to purple, but I have never come up with a reason, just one of those things I guess. 

Back to the leaves. Leaves in all shades remind me that God exists in all shades. Good reminders when the day gets long and the road dry. I see a leaf and know that God cares for me, not just about me, but for me. What I like and don't like, what will make me smile and laugh. Good reminders that I will be fed and clothed and that I will have a place to lay my head.

Leaves remind me that my family will be cared for and that the kids will have what they need, maybe not always what they want or what I want, but what we need. I learned a long time ago that there is a definite difference between a need and a want. Even in this difference though, we still tend to get at times what we want too. 

Leaves also inspire me to dream, to think about my life and what I want to be when I grow up. This seems to be the point for me right now, what do I want to be when I grow up? So many good things to do and be, but what am I made for? That is the question dear Watson, what am I made for? At least in the midst of this question I have a lot of leaves to look at and ponder and feel somewhat at peace about the question. So for today,, go find some leaves, imagine what shade of God is in that pile, and throw a few in the air for me.

The first sentence is always the hardest. I've wanted to start this for quite a while, but the first sentence has eluded me, so I figured I would just start and see what happens. Here it is. Not sure where to start, so if it sounds jumbled just sit back and relax and hopefully in the end it will make sense. 

I chose my title because it seems that my life is like that, one piece at a time, not sure where the next twist and turn will take me. If you know me at all, you know I have this fascination with puzzles. One piece connected to another, connected to another, until an image starts to appear and then viola, the whole the beautiful picture is revealed. I think life is like that too. One month leads to another, leads to a year, leads to three, and pretty soon a decade has flown by. Then before you know it you look back and it seems to make some sort of sense. Anyway the title reflects some of my fascination with puzzles, i will probably come back to this theme over and over again.

Well for now I have started and it wasn't as hard as I thought. I can see myself doing this.