The Glory of the Lord

The heavens declare the glory of God;

The skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Psalm 19:1

Gone Fishing!

A few days ago my sweetheart bought a new-to-him little fishing boat from one of his co-workers. This has long been a dream. A little boat so he can get away from his routine schedule occasionally, relax and enjoy fishing. He has been very busy over the past few days making things 'just right' for the first excursion in his boat. Supplies have been gathered, the license has been purchased, and plans are made. We will leave today to travel about an hour and a half from our home to a lake where my sweetheart hears the fishing is good. We will travel up Mt. Hood a ways and camp beside the lake in our trailer.My sweetheart will be out on the lake early each morning in search of hungry fish. Around breakfast time he will return to the trailer where I will be waiting to hear of his early-morning adventures.
I am considering whether or not I want to buy a fishing license and join him throughout the day. He has installed a comfortable seat for each of us in the boat. I might drop my line over the side of the boat, sit back and enjoy a good book. Until my pole begins bobbing with activity that requires my full attention.Could it be that I will catch the most fish and have the best fish stories by the time we return home? No matter what happens I'm sure I will have much to tell in a few days.

A Man With A Perfect Heart

Let me be a man

With a perfect heart

Let me be a son

Who will please You Father

Let me be a child who reveals

Your will in all I do and say

Fill me with Your Spirit

Lord I pray

That Jesus will be seen

In all of my life

Let me be a man

With a perfect heart

This Father's Day post is dedicated to my sweetheart and my father, the two most important men in my life. These words reflect their lives. Men with a heart after God. My sweetheart lives each day to please the Father. My dear father was an example of a Godly man until the moment God called him home to Heaven.

(The photo of my sweetheart and my dad was taken in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2001. They both preached at a conference for Mexican pastors and their wives. Most of the pastors and their wives were from remote mountain villages. Many of them suffered for their faith.)

Song: "A Man With A Perfect Heart"

Written by: Jack Hayford

You Light Up My Life

Not long ago I found a new blog that soon became a favorite of mine. Marilyn lives in my state, not far from some of our family. One of these days we hope to meet when my sweetheart and I visit our family. In the meantime we read each other's blogs and often comment and email.

Marilyn makes the most wonderful lampshades, often using vintage materials. I enjoy seeing pictures of her beautiful work. She recently announced a give-away and I didn't waste a minute signing up. This morning she announced the winner. It's ME!! And here is what I won.To read more details, check here. This little lamp is just perfect for me! The man is playing a violin and the lady is holding flowers. Now you already know I love flowers. But did you know I took violin lessons for a few years? I'm sure you can imagine why I am thrilled to win this sweet little lamp. What makes it so special is that it is one of Marilyn's fantastic creations. The lace and buttons and every part of the shade are just perfect. Just like she made specially for me. (I think she did!)

I have a special place in mind for this new treasure. When it arrives and is in place I'll share it with you. You can be sure I can't wait for you to see it!

Help!

I need help with something that is puzzling me. I haven't been able to figure it out on my own. I need someone to help me!! Where can I go to ask someone to share their expertise and thoughts? Right here. Here where my dear friends have been so kind and helpful in the past.

When I started my blog I noticed that some blogs have music playing in the background. I did some research and soon discovered Sonific.com and immediately added it to my blog. I changed the music from time-to-time and loved checking in to read comments that you leave for me. During that time the music would play and I enjoyed every minute of it. Then Sonific had to go offline in order to avoid some type of litigation. Suddenly, the music died! I was perplexed and when I learned the reason I decided to join Playlist, as some of you have done. When I read your blogs you have such wonderful music and there are a lot of choices. I have tried and tried to sign up for Playlist. With no success. I registered and was promised an email with my password so I could participate. No email arrived. I checked my spam and quarantine site. Nothing from Playlist. I tried again and received the message that I was registered and only needed to enter my password to use their service. Nothing worked. I followed that with an email for help. They responsed that a password had been sent to me. They offered no help. I was told to check my spam service. I responded and told them I had already done that, to which they replied that my computer must be blocking them for some reason. Now I ask you - what to I do to figure this out and get music on my blog once again? Do you know?

I'm a musician. Music is my life. I was born singing! Well, not really, but I started singing very young. I play the piano and keyboard. I'm involved in music in my church and community. This is just not right. I need to have music playing. I can't stand the silence. Can you help me figure it out? I'll be forever grateful if you can tell me what to do to get the music started again. Help me bring the music back to life. Please!

Edited to add: I have tried setting up an account on Playlist with a different user name and password of my choosing. Now it tells me that my email address is already 'taken' so I can't set up an account. I think I'm going to have to give up and you may have to do what Lady Jane suggested - hum while reading my blog!

Yard Art

While walking through my dear little mother's back yard a few days ago with camera in hand I decided to capture some of her yard art to share with you. Her backyard is a park-like setting that is currently undergoing some changes. My sweetheart is completing an underground sprinkler system there. A few pipes must be put in place and trenches closed before her yard returns to normal once again. Even though her deck is being refinished and installation of the sprinkler system continues she has some wonderful treasures hidden in among her flowers and plants, as usual. Please join me for a tour.

As you come through the gate you will see a sweet little garden sign.Just ahead, some old tools hanging on the shed.The sweetest little girl with her raincoat and umbrella waits at the corner of the shed and watches over the little birds as they come to eat.Around the corner a tall church hangs in the big rose bush that grows on the side of the shed. Below, on a cute little wooden bench, is a home for rent. Waiting for the perfect family to move in. At the far corner of the shed you will see a sweet vintage window and a few old garden tools. If you look closely you will see the reflection of my dear mother as she looks at another piece of art in her garden. Oh, that's my sweetheart! He was busy removing limbs from a beautiful old tree that is falling over and will soon need to be removed. Just around the corner from this tree you will find a wonderful perennial garden filled with all kinds of flowers. These little blooms caught my eye. Nestled into the perennial garden - a sweet little water baby. Tucked under some tall flowering shrubs, just around the corner, this little chair holds a bright-colored planter that will soon be filled with pretty flowers. A little farther in the same flower bed, this cute little dutch couple spends time together in the garden. Sometimes they are closer than today. At times they kiss but just before I took this picture he was turned sideways as if he were trying to run away! I think they worked through their disagreement and will soon be kissing once again. Nearby there is a huge, old maple tree. At the base of the tree my dear mother planted a rock garden many years ago. It changes constantly through the seasons and is home to more treasures. A duck. . . A squirrel. . .

And another little garden sign.

It looks like Bigfoot has been walking between the big tree and my dear mother's Hosta garden. He has left a few footprints!

A sweet little boy loves to lie in the Hosta garden and read. He seems to read a lot of books through the summer. He will be there for a long time. Until the first signs of winter.
Near the corner of the house and the garden gate there are two more things you must see. This sweet Dutch Iris. . .And my dear little mother's 'rain bug'. She has bells on her toes. (The rain bug, not my mother!) She dances in the rain and the wind and her little bells ring. My dear mother collects cobalt blue glass. When I saw this sweet little bug I knew she needed to live with my sweet mother. We will spend time in my mother's garden again this summer. Soon the projects will be completed and things will return to normal. More garden art will be placed among the pretty blooms, the deck will be open for guests and, hopefully, we will have sunshine. You can be sure you will be the first to be invited to join me then.

Play Sublimely

I praise you because you made me

in an amazing and wonderful way.

Psalm 139.14

Antonio Stradivari was a seventeenth-century violin maker whose name in its Latin form, Stradivarious, has become synonymous with excellence. He once said that to make a violin less than his best would be to rob God, who could not make Antonio Stradivari's violins without Antonio.

He was right. God could not make Stradivarious violins without Antonio Stradivari. Certain gifts were given to that craftsman that no other violin maker possessed.

In the same vein, there are certain things you can do that no one else can. Perhaps it is parenting, or constructing houses, or encouraging the discouraged. There are things that only you can do, and you are alive to do them. In the great orchestra we call life, you have an instrument and a song, and you owe it to God to play them both sublimely.

from "The Applause of Heaven"
by Max Lucado