Dream Come True

Even though it was built in 1920, we couldn't be more excited to finally find the house that my husband and I will be calling our new home.  With extra bedrooms for family and friends to spend the night, a week-end, or even a week, I now feel that we are truly putting down roots.  Holiday dinners and parties are a new possibility that we really didn't have before.  We will also be closer to town, and our walk to the beach will be shortened by more than a few minutes.  And a garage!  Oh, it's been a long time since our cars have nestled comfortably in a shelter against Michigan winters.  We are more than thankful for this answer to our prayers.

Wrapped in a blanket of gratitude, I've chosen this flipped and merged photo of beach glass for today's entry.  It reminds me of a long, comfy beach towel, and I'm hoping to see many of them hang from our hooks outside!

Let Them Eat Cake

Tomorrow is inspection day on house number four.  Our offers were turned down on houses one and two, so they didn't make it to the all-telling, nit-picky, fine tooth comb stage.  Number three did make it that far, but didn't pass.  And now, as our grandson would say, "after one more sleep", we will know if our most favorite house is going to be our forever house.

Not usually knowing what I'm going to write about until I actually sit down to do it, I'm pretty sure that tomorrow's post will be on the outcome of the inspection.  In staying positive, I think I'll save the details of the house for tomorrow.   Let me just say that it does have enough room for that big round table that I wrote about in July 22nd's entry.  Everything else is icing on the cake.  Oh, please let us eat cake!

One doesn't usually eat a whole cake.  A piece of cake is more likely the way to go, so today's beach glass photo is called, "Favorite Pieces".  I do pray that tomorrow's inspection is a "piece of cake".

Freedom

AGLOW International began in 1967 with just four women.  Today, 46 years later it spans the globe.  The regional conference that I attended over the week-end included members from four states: Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky.  Having been before, and knowing what to expect, I was more than excited.  I was needy.  You see, AGLOW's goal is to restore people to a radiant relationship with God.  It may be difficult to picture what that looks like, and may even sound a little scarey to some people, but once you've experienced the pure warmth and joy that comes from praising and learning about Jesus, you want more.  You want the holes in your soul, from past hurts and mistakes, to be filled, because a patched-up "soul hole" no longer needs to be tempered by things that bring us down.

While the world would have us believe that belief in Jesus is confining, the truth is, we become empowered!  We are free.  We are no longer captives of anxiety, depression, hurt, and unforgiveness.  We're free to give our troubles to God, instead of being imprisoned by trying to figure out what to do.  Another incredibly liberating feeling comes from hearing how much God loves each one of us individually.  He knows our thoughts and our dreams.  He understands us.  He knows how we have sinned and are going to sin. Yet, when we ask Him to forgive us, He does, and then He totally forgets the sins.  However large or small, they are gone from His thoughts.  Wow.  Who else do you know who can do that?

As I was leaving the conference yesterday, my thoughts went to my blog.  I knew I wouldn't be able to say everything there is to say about AGLOW, because I try to keep my daily posts short.  So here is where I'll close for now, but as I continue to chew on what I've been fed, look for future nuggets on how to be free in Christ and aglow with His love.

 

Aglow

There are just two more things to do: take my vitamins and write today's post.  Then, I'm off to Indianapolis for the regional AGLOW International conference!  The Bible says to go out into the world and be aglow for the Lord, thus, the name of this awesome Christian ministry.  I'll have more to say when I get back.  Have a blessed weekend.

My selection for today is called, "Sand Script", but I chose it for the glow.

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Maybe this shows how old I am, but whenever I'm tempted to do something out of curiosity, the equally old saying comes to mind, "Curiosity killed the cat."  Even not knowing what killed the cat, makes me curious!  So when someone e-mails me with just the initials, P.G., and nothing in the subject box, I do worry about the cat getting hurt.  The cat, in this instance, might be my computer, my identity information, or just my feelings, so I don't think I'll open that correspondence.   Would you?

This picture titled, "Pickles" starts with the letter "P".  I don't have a "P.G." sea glass photo.  
Okay, now I'm not curious, but I am hungry.

Jeans and a T-shirt

The birds didn't wake me up today.  It wasn't because I slept more soundly than usual, nor did the neighborhood cat scare them away.  Instead, for the first time this summer, it was actually too cold outside to keep the windows open all night.  I simply didn't hear the birds.  So when I woke up totally rested at 7:00 a.m., I poured my coffee and joined my husband on the deck.  But before my first sip, I had to turn around and go back in.  My usual deck-sitting, caffeine-sipping attire for this particular morning was not going to keep me warm enough.  What followed, though, felt like a hug from an old friend.  Ahhh...........jeans and a t-shirt.  After a couple of sweltering hot months without them, getting reacquainted made my day.  Know what I mean?

Even though there are a couple of store-bought pieces in this composition, it is still one of my favorites, and that is why it is called, "Best Blue" (just like blue jeans).

Someone's Granny

Are you someone's Granny?  Or Grandma, or Memaw, or Nanna?  Maybe you're a Geepa, Grandpa, or Papa.  Did your name come from a child's inability to pronounce the intended title correctly, or is it a name that has been used throughout the generations of your family?  I'm curious.  Did the other grandparents want that name?  How did you end up with it?  Did you flip a coin?  Draw straws?  Whatever name you've grown into over the years of grandparenting, doesn't it melt your insides into a  lovey-dovey goo whenever you hear it?  

To my grandson, I'm Granny.  I could hear him say it a million jillion times, and it would still have the same effect on me.  I love him, and he loves me.  It's that simple, and in a world where nothing else is simple, the privilege of being his Granny is priceless.

 
For as long as I can remember, my grandson has been fascinated by rocks.  This photo of beach rocks and glass from South Haven, Michigan is called, "Count the Hearts".  I used the dry-brush filter to give it a painted look.

The Big Round Table

Certain things you want to remember, and some, you don't.  Yesterday was a day of "do's".  I will forever want to remember how it felt to go to bed knowing that my daughter and her husband were sleeping comfortably in our guestroom.  Wine tasting and dinner downtown, as well as the walk there and back, with some shopping in between, sealed a smile on my brain.  But as I'm going through my day with yesterday on my mind, I keep coming back to the image of a big round table.  You see, on my daughter's second day of her visit, we were joined by her childhood friend, who only gets to see her during one of these priceless journeys home from Tennessee.  A few hours later, my son came with his wife and son to join us for lunch.  Here's where the big table comes in.  It was the first time we have ever sat together for a meal at the same table.  That may not seem like a big deal to most people, but it has sunk deeply into my heart as a top priority in our search for a new home.  I don't want the "big table feeling" to just be a memory.  If you have already read last Friday's blog, you know that my husband and I are house hunting.  Well, this new "must-have" will probably narrow our search, and that's okay.  Fond memories can be revisited, but I'm looking forward to making new ones.

The title of this photo is, "Beach Blessings".   Family and blessings are synonymous.

Easy? What's That?

Why can't anything be easy?  The offer we made on our dream house had been accepted.  Our current home is now listed with a "For Sale" sign in the front yard.  And we've already seen several people slow down as they pass by in their cars.  So far so good, but today, as excited as I was about going inside our new house again, something inside of me was uneasy.  For one thing, I'm using the word, "new" as in, "new to us".  The actual structure is over 100 years old, so if you're thinking there may be a few things wrong with it, you're right.  The question is, who should pay to have those things fixed?  Will we lose the house if we don't accept it as it is?  On the other hand, should we just admit that we are not up to the challenge, and let it go?  How does anyone know the true value of a house with that much history?  Well, I wanted us to make some history of our own in that house, and now, I'm not sure it's going to happen.  Hopefully, it will, and this whole experience will be one more tally of proof that nothing worthwhile is easy. 

This is a flipped and merged picture of my photo called, "South Haven Sea Glass".  It reminds me of the stained glass windows in our dream house.

Beat the Heat

As a resident of a beach community, it would seem reasonable and probable that my way to beat the heat would be to, literally, jump in the lake.  Sounds good, doesn't it?  But, oh my, until the day comes that I actually live on my own parcel of sandy shoreline, I must weigh the journey against the outcome.  Whether I choose to ride my bike, walk, or drive has everything to do with what I pack and carry.  And what about my feet?  Support and comfort are must-haves for a long walk.  Slippery shoes won't do for bike riding.  Score one for the car.  These doggies are too hot to smother with sturdy shoes. 

Packing.  No matter how I get to the lake, once I'm there, will I wish that I had remembered to bring an umbrella?  Some lotion?  A chair, snack, hat, something to put my hair up with, some water, hand sanitizer, and sunglasses?  And how nice it will be if I actually bring a pencil to go with my Sudoku book. 

Winning the battle against the unbearable heat isn't easy.  Sometimes, we get hotter just by preparing to get cooler, but if you could see what I see when I finally arrive at my favorite beach in South Haven, Michigan, you'd probably agree it's worth it.  

 
This one is called, "Hot Day in August".  I know it's only July, but it still seemed like a good choice for today.  Stay cool.

Time

Ah, the one-word title.  It puts a lot of pressure on the writer to stay on topic, especially when there isn't much time left in the night to write.  How often do we wonder, where did the day go?  Is it really that late?  Do I have enough time to do this?  And for those young ones who often hear their elders say, "The older I get, the more quickly time flies", it's true.  It's only 10:14 pm, and I feel as though I was just doing my morning e-mail check.  That's strange, because my day contained so many hoops to jump through that I'd swear there had not been enough hours, minutes, and even seconds to land on my feet.  But I did.  And this is taking less time than I was hoping it would.  I even had a good time doing it.

Since this picture is a little on the busy side, I chose it to accompany my paragraph about time.  It's called, "Crinoids Under Water" (with beach glass).

Test

Have you ever tried to buy a house that you really, really wanted?  Did you pray about it?  Not the "Please help us get this house" prayer, but the kind that asks God to guide you to do what He wants you to do?  My husband and I have been told, "no deal" on two houses this summer, and now, I am beginning to see why.  Circumstances that I'm not going to bore you with have lead us to house number three in our search.  Before our appointment to go through it, though, I read from Psalm 4:4 to "Think about it over night, and remain silent."  The verse was regarding anger, but I felt in my heart that it was talking to me about the house we were about to see.  We should, unlike the previous houses, make no immediate offer.  We should think about it over night.  The house ended up being much better than we could ever have imagined, and we knew that we wanted it, but if this was a test, we intended to pass it with flying colors!  So the only decision we could give was no decision. 

Night came, but sleep did not.  The 9:00 am meeting with our realtor couldn't happen soon enough.  With a new listing, chances are pretty good that other people will see your dream house and make their intentions known if you don't sign right away.  But morning finally arrived, and after a boat load of paperwork, the seller and her realtor knew we wanted the house.  We would receive her answer by 8:00 tonight.

The phone rang.  No one ever calls in the evening, so it had to be about the house.  From here on out, all I have to say is that God is so good, and when He speaks to us, we should listen.  I'm glad we did.  We passed our test.  

Brain Waves

Well, it's Monday, and as much as I love doing it, I forgot to write a post.  Not sure that anyone sees this anyway, but I do want to share another sea glass picture.  When I say I'm going to do something, by golly, I do it!  So here is my choice for today.  I used the "wave" filter on a photo called, "Amber Lights".  It more than adequately represents how my brain is feeling at this late hour.  
Have a blessed night.

Coffee

There's nothing like a good cup of coffee in the morning.  It provides the day's first oxymoron.  After all, isn't coffee a relaxing stimulator?  I've tried drinking it on the run while attempting to save time by multitasking, but it just doesn't compare to sipping in a cozy, stationary position.   Besides, don't you like your coffee hot, I mean, really hot?  If that's the case, drinking it slowly is definitely the way to go.  And as you sit, restfully absorbing the sights and sounds around you, there is that eventual "click" in your brain.  It's like the light on a charger that says everything is ready to go.  It may take another cup before you're ready for overdrive, but either way, the night's stardust has been cleared from your brain for another glorious day.

 

The coffee colors make this a good choice of sea glass today.  Drink slowwwwly.

Simple Pleasures

Picture this:  Three women, ages 57, 70, and 83, cruising along the road that hugs the shoreline of Lake Michigan, in a '95 Mustang convertible.  The top was down, and even though our highest speed barely reached 45 mph, we had to work fast to keep our ice cream cones from turning into dribble down our arms.  The sun was shining and hot when we'd stop, but the free-flowing air as the car was in motion kept us more than comfortable.  It almost seemed as if we had gone back in time.  With nothing over our heads but the clean blue sky, we were released from the normal day-to-day errands that usually take place in a car.  Instead, we enjoyed the company of friends while driving down memory lane.  And the 50 cent ice cream cone didn't hurt, either. 

Need I say more?

It's All Relative

Have you ever heard, "One person's junk is another person's treasure"?  While this saying deals with actual things, I've been noticing how we can also relate this to situations.  I think it was Joyce Meyer (and I may be wrong) who said, "There are a lot of people who would love to have the problems we have".  It's understandable that people who can't find jobs would love to be overworked.  Or how about the kids who have to be constantly rewarded with incentives to do well in school, while around the world there are children who dream of being allowed that precious privilege.  Maybe you'd like some more "alone time", while your neighbor wishes her spouse had more interest in being in her presence.  For me, I wish my kids would call more often.  In fact, that has had me down in the dumps more than just a few times.  Then today, as I listened to a friend's woes about her grown child who still lives with her, and the other one who can't afford medical care without her help, it hit me.  What if my adult children called me constantly to get them out of trouble?  Or to complain about their horrible lives?  The truth is, they are highly respected, well-liked, hard-working adults who still say, "Love you" at the end of our conversations.  And, yes, with busy jobs and commitments, those conversations don't occur often, but they do happen.  So, I guess that's a problem I love having.  It's all relative.

 
I'm thinking today's photo of beach rocks and sea glass is self-explanatory.  Be blessed.

"Like Sea Glass" a poem by Lynda Sharpe

When I wrote this poem in 2010, I was blessed to have an outlet for sharing it in my very own shop.  Since that time, "Like Sea Glass" has remained an outpouring of my soul that's gone to sleep for a while.  Moving to a home that doesn't come with its own beach made early morning walks not quite as convenient as they once were.  But today, I made myself go.  With no make-up on my face, no curling iron or hair spray, I ventured out with one goal in mind:  spend time with God, looking for His peace while finding His treasures.  Ahhhhh.............beach blessings.

Here's the poem:

Like Sea Glass

A glass bowl,

a ship's porthole,

or a bottle emptied of its substance,
is lost and shattered at sea.

In its broken form,

forsaken, separated, and beaten

into the darkness of the ocean floor,

turmoil places each piece where it needs to be,

as the glass is broken even more.

Sharp edges are rounded and smoothed

by the weight of the water

pushing them against the sea's sandy bottom,

until finally, each fragment of what was useful to one,

will bring pleasure to many.

What once touched the life of a single soul,

is multiplied,

as God waits 

for just the right moment 

to wash each newly formed treasure

to the water's edge

where someone is searching 

for a shiny piece of happiness.

Upon that discovery,

the heart beats faster

as the hand rushes to scoop the sea glass jewel

out of the gentle surf.

At last,

the treacherous ordeal is over.

Looking back,

unlike us, the glass had felt no pain.

It had no realization of its journey,

no choices, 

no inner hope, or lack of it.

But we,

when shattered, broken, tossed, or lost,

can choose to use

our God-given will

 to fulfill our purpose,

to find joy in giving joy,

and to be that shiny piece of happiness in someone's day.

We, like sea glass,

can go from used and broken

to more productive and beautiful than ever,

and in a spirit of forgiveness

to others

and ourselves,

celebrate,

and be thankful

for new beginnings.

To purchase an e-book of my poem, complete with pictures, for $1.99, go to http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/460074-like-sea-glass-its-journey-and-ours .  (There are 38 pages, with a free 11-page preview.)

Imperfections

Does your mind ever get so full of information that to say you're confused would be an understatement?  After spending yet another day attempting to teach myself about domains, hosting, and ranking; a scream seems appropriate, but I haven't got the strength.  Hidden fees and extra steps have pooped me out!  I'm going to bed.

   Nobody's perfect, and I experienced that today.  This photo called, "Imperfections in Sea Glass" fits perfectly with my mood.  
   Sleep tight.

Out There

Okay.  I admit it.  On a scale of 1-100, with 100 being the most experienced in setting up a professional blog, my score would be somewhere under five.  But I enjoy writing, and I feel good about sharing my photos.  So spending the fourth of July indoors, on a clear and sunny 75 degree day, to work on getting my blog "out there" was just fine.  Apparently, though, while I was pretending to be familiar with some very confusing site jargon, I must have done something wrong.  At the end of the day, with an aching neck and blurry vision, my application for Google Ad Sense was denied.  I was crushed.  Even if I knew what I had done wrong, I wouldn't know how to fix it.  Can anybody "out there" help me?  I suppose that since I'm the only one seeing this, the answer would be "no".

Today's selection is called, "All Colors".  This photo of beach glass is definitely a little "out there" because I used a filter called, wave, before printing it.

South Haven Fireworks

In my small resort town of South Haven, Michigan, you could tell something big was about to happen.  As "Parking for $5" and "No Parking" signs magically appeared like unwanted weeds in a garden, I felt sorry for the visitors who would find parking difficult.  The goal was to park as close to Lake Michigan as possible and, hopefully, in a direction that would provide an easy late-night escape.  

The third of July fireworks extravaganza always brings thousands of tourists and residents to the shoreline, and last night was no different.  It didn't matter that we celebrate a day early.  People around here know where to go for the absolute best sky show.  Even though the $33,000 worth of 200 mortars and rockets were shot over the lake, you could swear they were right over your head.  And with each "Boom!" and the display that followed, you hoped that it wasn't the last one.  But 28 minutes flew by, and it was time to go home.  

As for my daily sharing of a beach glass photo, I hope you will enjoy one from my "flipped and merged" collection called, "Green Chips".  I chose it for its fireworks-like symmetry.

Tears

Looking through my sea glass photos for something sad, depicted by title, color, or composition, I knew I wouldn't have much luck.  For none of my pictures were taken in the presence of a foul mood.  Sea glass, to me, represents victory, strength, and beauty.  Its tumultuous journey from whole, to broken, to whole again is a reminder to never give up.  But today, the world is losing one of its bright spots.  A praise and worship leader is leaving Earth for her real home in Heaven, and my heart feels heavy.  So I'm sharing with you my photo called, "Heart of Glass".  You may notice what looks like an eye.  What I never noticed, until now, were the spots below it that look like tears.

Sea Glass or Beach Glass?

Sea glass or beach glass?  Which is it?  Let's just say that if the glass was found in salt water, it's sea glass.  But when you hear someone say about their fresh water pieces how excited they are to have found "sea" glass, take heart, have pity, join the club, and please don't correct them.  It's like calling a tissue a "Kleenex".  No one seems to care about that, so let's just agree to treat "sea glass" the same way, okay? 

Here is one of my favorite photos of some down-home "sea"glass.  Enjoy!