so many lives to live.

and Jesus is the foundation of them all. When everything is stripped away, He remains the constant, the center, the inside out and the outside in. The precious, living Word of God defines my life. I am constantly reaching and growing and learning how to be more like Him. Every day.

rabbit run was home the minute we drove up in the dark driveway on a cool June evening in 2018 and startled the Rabbit Family playing under the window. It shelters us. It has been a sanctuary for our little family, and healing balm has seeped from the walls and flowed down the halls. (Yes, it had to flow over a mouse or two, but what is a rodent between friends, right?) If you are ever close enough to hear, I will tell you the story of how God saved the house for us.

the woods behind the house surely hide angels in their branches. We have watched it evolve through multiple seasons now. God paints us a new masterpiece as each new season rolls around. I prayed for woods. I love how He hears the smallest details.

so these are listed in random order and though books fall lower on the list, they are most definitely there. Hundreds of them. Still not all are unboxed because of no room. But there are still stacks and stacks and stacks in all of the rooms. They are my friends. They bring me joy. Yes, yes, I know Kindles are more economical and the minimalists in my life shake their head in despair at my book obsession, but that’s the beauty of growing up. You can have as many books as you want.

not enough room to talk about my family. The world’s best husband for over three decades. The world’s best daughter and best son. The world’s best son-in-law. (Don’t even try to argue.) If you are blessed with a great family, you know. If you aren’t, then make one. Family doesn’t have to be kin to you to be family. Find your tribe and establish permanent residence.

the dogs are my children with fur. The 15-year-old Schnauzer girl and the 6-year-old Goldendoodle are without question the best. I don’t want to get in any arguments with non-animal lovers, so let’s just not start nothing and there won’t be nothing. 🙂 [EDIT: The Schnauzer left us on 10/30/22. We are unspeakably heartbroken.]

the music which has been part of my life since birth went silent for a long time, but returned a few years ago. Funny how we push things we love away when we walk through valleys. I love how the music still played in the background and the minute I opened the window it came flooding back into my soul like a river. Give me some good ole Julia Kent on volume 10 so I can hear it wafting through the branches as I walk through the woods.

from this vantage point of age, I see so much beauty as I look back and around me right here and down the road as far as I can see. Lots of messiness along the way. Many shades of gray and black and lots of fog and shadows. But the red of the cardinal against the black deck railing shows me the beauty of resurrection through my tears of mourning loss. The flash of sky blue through the bare brown trees reminds me of the promise beyond these borders. The laughter, the noise, the barking, the knock of the neighbor, the music of the praise singers, even the silence of despair all swirls together in such a heavenly cadence it takes my breath away. A well-placed vase. Rainbow light reflecting off the many facets of Mom’s crystal. The delicate flower bloom which only lasts half a day on the kitchen table. The beauty all around us is painfully amazing.

I don’t want to miss a minute of any of it. Let’s talk.