On a recent walk after the rain, I was dazzled by the drops on the tangles. The shimmer, the reflections, and the colors. I thanked God and took more pictures. When this one came into focus, I took an internal detour. I heard myself say, “Wow! That one looks like a human heart except I can see through it.” At first,…
Read More
This stump being worked on by a diligent pileated woodpecker got to me. I tried to ignore it the first time I saw it but went back the next day to ponder its effect on me. A lump rose in my throat looking at the rugged beauty carved into what is left of a once strong, vibrant tree that has been…
Read More
The sun was warm on my shoulders as I stepped into the woods and my heart beat a little faster because I knew there would be loveliness sightings all along the way. And right there was this trout lily which is maybe my all time favorite woodland wildflower. It was a thank You Lord kind of moment. Seeing it, I felt loved. Not by…
Read More
Lilac Buds On my morning walk, I saw the gentle emerging of spring all around me and felt the hope (expectant confidence) that comes from believing in Jesus welling up in my heart. Within each beautiful moment, His Word tenderly brought this Friday into focus. Forsynthia Buds Lately, I’ve been stressed and at times overwhelmed by the stuff of life….
Read More
“Wildflowers are the stuff of my heart!” ― Lady Bird Johnson It’s only March and I’m walking the wildflower fields as often as I can. The plants are still mostly dormant (there is a bit of green here and there at ground level) and crunchy and brown. Still, I can’t help myself because their beauty draws me in. Sometimes when the…
Read More
A few weeks ago, the wind blew the way it does in a summer storm except that it was February. My photo fort ended up in a tangle in the dogwood bush the birds like the best. And their favorite feeder landed on the path where the deer usually walk. Since that day, the birds have been cautious and rarely…
Read More
Many of you know that I find great pleasure in feeding, watching, and photographing the birds from my photo fort Jon bought me for my birthday. When this guy, the red-bellied woodpecker, first came to the feeders, he was vocal while he flew back and forth over my enclosure. I giggled from inside when his wing sometimes brushed the…
Read More
I was in my photo fort hoping for a stellar picture. It was cold, but the shiver in my heart wasn’t from the wind. A recent hurt rumbled around in my mind. Sitting there, I questioned myself and the calling I had been so sure of and now doubted. I wanted to hide and take my purpose in life with…
Read More
A few years ago, I was on a solo writing retreat in a local Minnesota river town when this series was born in my heart. Although I spent most of my time away writing in my hotel room, one morning I walked down the street to the local coffee shop. With my hot dark roast in hand, I fired up…
Read More
When I was little, people told me I was precocious. Funny. Silly. Stubborn. Beautiful. Plain. A chatterbox. Naughty. Boisterous. Sweet. Loud. Stupid. Smart. Talented. Average. Quiet. Tender. Brash. Shy. Bold. Odd. Average. Normal. Bright. Ordinary. Extraordinary. Full of sparkle. Boring. Dependent. Independent. Graceful. Clumsy. Sometimes these opposing views came from different people on the same days. Being a literal kind…
Read More
The poetry has been gone from my heart for awhile now. I missed it, but couldn’t force the words to come. I waited and sometimes prayed because it felt like part of me had been erased. Then, while walking in the wildflower garden I saw beauty where I might not have before. And the words damsels in distress whispered across my heart….
Read More