Spring florals

Good afternoon! Although it is rainy here today, again....I am drawn to the beauty of spring.

I love spring time and all the new flower blossoms. The only problem is that most of the flowers don't last long enough for me.

I am reminded of Isaiah 40:7,8.

"The grass withers, and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people. The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever."

My life is like a flower ~ here for a time, then gone from this earth, but I know I will live again. My eternal home is in heaven.

The other promise is that God's Word will last forever! No matter how we may be persecuted, or how our freedoms may be removed, God promises that He will safeguard His word.

Still, I do wish the blossoms would last longer. They are so pretty and make me forget about everyday stresses. To hold on to the memories longer, I take photos. I have posted many at

http://naturespeaking.shutterfly.com/

I hope you will visit me there, too, and leave a comment.

Spring time!

I promise to write more later.... I have been focusing on getting through illnesses and the school year for the past two and a half months.... Health is much better and only 1 more day of school. Yippee! I have been busy taking some photos of the flowers in my gardens and hope to post those soon.

After a week of rain and cool weather, it's a glorious warm, sunny day here today and I am going to go finish planting my garden.

Home from Haiti

I have so many thoughts and memories - it's hard to put into words, so I will share some of the 900 photos I took. LOL!!
We visited Terrier Rouge, Ouvray, Danda, Juchereau, Roche Platte, Paulette, and Phaeton.


daily life in Terrier Rouge


beautiful scenery


I just love this little guy and hope to sponsor him.


road near Danda


measuring students - one part of our job there - to update their records for sponsors


a cobbler we met a couple times


some of the school children we worked with


having fun blowing bubbles


on the road to Ouvray (the truck broke down)


loving on the kids - they are both sound asleep!


the Saturday feeding program - many hungry children. 150 were fed one Sat. and 162 the next.


meeting my mom's sponsored girl


they are so cute!


singing with the girls

so content - both of us!

Winter to Summer!

Before heading to a land of sun and heat tomorrow, I thought I would share some photos of some ice sculptures we saw in Bethel, ME. It was fun. I'd never seen any before. It was fascinating to see all the details!












Hope you enjoyed them! I'll be back in touch in a couple of weeks.
J-ME

10 Days...

Lord willing, in 10 days, I will be flying to Orlando to meet all of the team I will be traveling with. In 11 days, I will be setting foot on a land that became part of my heart 9 years ago - Haiti. I am excited as I will be seeing a different part of the country and meeting new people, but I know some things will be the same. Poverty. Dust. Children yelling,"Blan! Blan!" ("White" or "Foreigner"). Dirt roads. Crowded vehicles. Mud and stick homes. A different language.

It probably doesn't sound too appealing to most of us. If I could, I would have every American high schooler take a trip to a third world county before graduating. It would be an eye-opening experience. Perhaps one that would help them realize how many blessings they have in the US.

Perhaps they would move beyond the generally held "me first" mentality and realize what an impact they could have on another life. Perhaps they would come to realize that it isn't material things than mean the most. Perhaps....

This is how you do your laundry where I went before - you go to the nearest river or steam, scrub your clothes, and then hang them to dry on cactus. It's hard to see, but the white is clothing hung over the cactus rows. Don't we take our washers and dryers for granted? Even clotheslines if that's what we use.

I wonder if I will see the same sight this time...

Out of Barrenness..... Hope

I never expected to have the opportunity before me, at least not right now. I am returning to Haiti in 3 weeks. I have been there twice before, flying into Port au Prince and then flying to Pignon. This time I will be going to northeast Haiti with His Hands for Haiti.
When I was first asked the end of December, I thought I wouldn't be able to go, but I made a list of all the reasons why I didn't think I could, and by this past Monday night, the Lord had cleared the way.... all except finances. I was not even listing that as a reason why because I have seen God provide in the past and I have no doubt that He will do it again.
The difference is that I need it in 2 weeks!

When I went before, one things really struck me. The hope that the Haitian Christians have. Their land is so poor. Their homes are sometimes only shacks They may not have enough food to eat or many clothes to wear. But, they have hope. Hope in Jesus and eternal life.

The picture above is a scrapbook page I made, with a photo of beautiful pink blossoms on a tree (hard to see since it is a photo of a photo) between 2 very poor homes. It spoke hope to me, and it was a lesson I brought home with me.

What is your hope in? Who is your hope in? My hope is in the Lord.

January Musings

Happy 2009. May you be blessed this year. When you think of being blessed, do you think of only good things coming your way? That would be nice, wouldn't it?

I will be teaching a ladies Bible study on James beginning this week.

As I was preparing for the first lesson, I thought, "I really don't have any trials in my life right now other than my mother and her health issues." Little did I know..... within days, I was being tested. Was it an attack of the enemy? Was it a physical/chemical imbalance/ emotional issue??? It doesn't really matter. The fact is, I was thrown into depression and tears. Frustrated with myself, I thought, "How can I be joyful when depressed????"

After visiting my doctor who has seen me for a couple of years, he said I am affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, as well as other stressors in my life . I never would have believed it, but when I took a look at the symptoms, I had to agree. So, armed with God's Word and, as much as I hate to, with meds, I am now ready to face James!

Count it all joy. That's a hard one, isn't it? We want to ask, "Why? Why me? Why now?" But being a Christian doesn't give us an exemption from pain, suffering, trials, etc. If we didn't face challenges, our faith wouldn't grow. Our relationship with God wouldn't grow and change. We would remain baby Christians, having tantrums when faced with difficulties leading to anger and bitterness.

If we accept those challenges and trials, and allow God to develop patience and endurance in us, we will be better prepared to to face future difficulties. As a former pastor used to say, "It's good for your character!"

So, I hope you will be blessed as you face whatever this new year brings, by finding joy and growing in your walk with the Lord.

Although I have not felt like doing many of the things I generally enjoy, I have recently done some knitting and sewing. Check out my projects here: Stamp Stitch Scrap for JOY

Blessings 2 U ~ J-ME