I have something I certainly shouldn't have. I mean, I really shouldn't have this in my possession.

{No, I didn't take anything.}

It was given to me, free and clear.

By the world's estimation, I should be down right discouraged. My father has been out of well-paying job for two years, our house is in foreclosure, my mother has been battling breast cancer for four...and the list doesn't end there. Things have been rough, to say the least.

But I have peace. My parents have peace. We have peace.

It doesn't make any sense. It really doesn't.

There is hardly any worry about how the bills will get covered each month, if mom's cancer will get worse, or how our tummies will be filled from week to week. There's just this peace. A peace that completely overwhelms us and leaves little room for anything else.

It's true, the peace of God really does "surpass all comprehension" as confidently stated by Paul in his letter to the Philippians. Paul would know first-hand. The guy went through so many trials, it makes anything that I might encounter on this side of heaven seem pretty trivial {review Acts 21}.

But when I run back over the obstacles that my family faces day to day, I just have to shake my head in bewilderment. Such peace defies worldly logic at every turn, the quantity is never lacking and it's readily accessible to those who, in faith in Christ, trust Him.

"Faith leads to joy and peace. Paul has found - and if we only put it to the proof, we shall also find - that the simple exercise of simple faith fills the soul with "all joy and peace." Gladness in all its variety, and in full measure, calm repose in every kind, and abundant in its still depth, will pour into my heart as water does into a vessel on condition of my taking away the barrier and opening my heart through faith. Trust, and thou shalt be calm. In the measure of thy trust shall be the measure of thy joy and peace." - Alexander Maclaren

I simply can't get over it. And nor do I want to.

God is so good.

As Christmas came and went this year, somehow the realization of how marvelous the Prince of Peace's birth is comes into focus a bit more clearly.

Thank you, Lord for the peace You give that never ends. {And for the circumstances that made the supply so much more evident.}

I've got a top-rate annoyance that just won't buzz off. This one is a real doozy. Nails on the chalk board type. Scale of 1 to 10...an 11. Every time I come within ear-shot, it takes just about everything within me to not knock it about in hopes of the racket ceasing. A good shake wouldn't hurt, right? If anything, it would relieve the tension it's causing...or I think it's causing. {But, you'll be glad to know that those years of intense "gentle and quiet spirit" training is paying off and I refrain because I know full well that it won't do any good.} But I digress.

It just won't stop. It's constant. A real irritant.

{You'll laugh when you find out what it is.}

My toilet won't stop drip-dripping. There's obviously some kind of leak going on, and instead of taking the time to figure out the problem and then a solution, I find myself getting increasingly annoyed by it. I've focused on it to such a degree that the noise just rings in my ears and I can hardly brush my teeth from the distraction. Sad, I know.

While sitting in my quiet, peaceful office earlier today all the now-apparent spiritual applications from such pesky thorn flooded my mind. I've had plenty of what the world would call "true crisis" come my way over the past month. Real downers. For example, my mother spending close to two weeks in the hospital with a nasty infection. These "big" issues are handled easily, with grace. Trusting the Lord that He has everything in control. And then there's this leaky toilet. I can hardly keep my temper under wraps...and all due to a silly little annoyance.

In some ways, it's in those silly "little" problems that we find out what we're really made of...our finiteness becomes glaringly real. Oswald Chambers wraps it up perfectly, "It is one thing to go through a crisis grandly, but another thing to go through every day glorifying God when there is no witness, no limelight, no one paying the remotest attention." (and there's certainly no one with me in the bathroom lol) It's the mean, trivial things in this world that mark our character, and to a degree, reveal our walk with Christ.

A healthy evaluation of one's self is often beneficial. Thanks, leaky toilet.  :)

Ireland.

How I will miss thee.

You have charmed me through and through.

Your green is of such a shade that words do not do it justice.

Your people have a knack for making perfect strangers fast friends.

Your love for a good laugh brightens even the dreariest of days.

Your roads are crazy. {Corkscrew Hill road, anyone?!}

Your eggs are awful.

......But your shepherds pie, soups and tea are delightful.



Someday I will return.

{pictures coming soon}

This is a friendly public service announcement to not forget or neglect old books.

They usually date back seventy-five years or so. The pages are yellowed with age, dog-eared and the inside cover is usually lovingly dedicated to so-and-so.

They're well written. Contain wholesome story plots and superb vocabulary. There's an abundance of delightful works of fiction to be found, but the real jewels are those that point you to Christ.

It's safe to say that I have a mild obsession with collecting books that are at least a hundred years older than I...and then reading them.

I've never been disappointed.

Case in point...

{Copyright 1898}

Mr. Moody is taking me through the nitty-gritty of the ten commandments like I've never quite experienced before. :)



Soft, steady rain. Check.

Hot tea. Check.

Cozy corner to curl up in? Not so much.

It's one of those days that I fancy myself tucked away somewhere with the option of reading my Bible, writing in my journal or watching movie (it has to be a movie I've seen a hundred times...pure, mindless entertainment). That somewhere could be a nook at a cafe, my room or even the library. I'm not too picky. Just a place of quiet where the soft, soothing melodies of Adele, Priscilla Ahn and Robert Schumann can work their magic on my tired self.

But, alas! there's no escaping today, nor what it holds. Thus I find myself cleverly fabricating a sense of coziness right here in my dreary little office space. Thankful for my tea, music, rain and a little corner...even if it's not quite the real thing. 

I've heard Ireland boasts cozy little spots.

{I don't look too happy in this picture...but that's probably due to lack of sleep and a nagging cough.}

Soon I'll be leaving in one of these...

For this country...

Two crazy American girls + teeny rental car + 8 days = adventures galore!

We'll be zig-zagging all over Ireland in hopes of experiencing as much of the sights and sounds that Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, and Kilarney (and who knows what else in between) will afford us.

And the beautiful thing about this trip is that we're going simply because we can. It doesn't get much better than that.

Just twenty-five more days.

Scenario: it's another church pot-luck with the usual display of food, and young and old are eager to get in line and dig in. Ooh! Is that Mrs. Thomas' famous three-cheese lasagna?! Score! And I'll take another one of those Hawaiian rolls, please and thank you.

Situated behind the buffet counter is Rachel. She's just doing her thing. Servin' up food and chatting with each person that makes their way down the table. Rachel is quick to ask if she can get you anything else. Perhaps a drink? or a few extra napkins?

Her heart is pulled to just serve with her hands. Christ has done quite a work in her, just as He looks to do in each of us, and she is very content serving you. Not the least bit worried if there will be enough eats when everyone has made it through, or if she'll get to have that purposeful conversation with so and so. Nor is she mindful of her throbbing lower back. Meeting immediate needs is her thing.

While Rachel generously portions out food, did one of the believers turn and quietly thank her for being like Christ? My fictional character tries very hard to not desire gratitude. Pride has tripped her up one too many times and so she desires to accomplish whatever comes her way for Christ alone. Did it strike anyone that Rachel's behavior and actions exhibited the Savior?

What if we acknowledge the choices, reactions, words, and behavior that clearly reflected Christ's work in another believer's life? A little positive re-enforcement never hurt anyone. In fact, studies have clearly documented that.

Sometimes it's hard to see just how someone else might be exhibiting Christ. Let's face it, there are those in the body of believers that can be down right difficult to work with, or even be around for that matter.  Green and seasoned Christians alike. 

I was listening to a sermon earlier this week and a pastor commented that whenever one of his kids exemplifies Christ, his wife calls him and he then gets a chance reinforce that right behavior with a simple, "Heard you did this or that today. Do you know who that reminds me of?" The child always responds with, "Who, Dad?" "Christ! Good job, keep it up."

I had to stop and ask myself if I look to be such an encouragement. Do I seek out opportunities to acknowledge that Christ is shining through another believer?

Hmmm. What a concept.

Expect a report!