You Dance

You step, you twirl.  You glide and you dance. You move across the floor of life and another year floats by.

 

I hold you close these days.  Take every opportunity to snuggle.  I breathe in deep the scent of you, burying my face in your hair or wiggling my nose into your neck until you erupt into giggles.  I know these moments are fleeting.  Before long you won’t be sitting in my lap, asking for more snuggles.
It makes me laugh to think about it, but just a few months ago I quit picking up.  I just couldn’t let go of holding you on my hip. 

And yet you aren’t spoiled. You don’t act like a baby.  You are just completely loved and you know it!

 

You are my girl!  I look at you sometimes and I am astounded by your beauty.  It takes my breath away and tears jump to my eyes.  What a precious gift you are to me! 

You have a heart for Jesus and others.  Whenever you hear of someone in need you want to help.  You are willing to give of your time and money to help ease their discomfort or misfortune.  Jesus is going to use that compassion in big ways.  He has amazing plans for you!  He is going to use you to touch the lives of hundreds, even thousands.  You will use the boldness He has given you to share the love of Jesus and His magnificent gift of salvation with every one you meet.

As we journey through this ninth year together.  I am excited to see the Lord working in your life.  He loves you!  You are His daughter, His princess.  Hold your head high because you have an amazing, powerful Daddy who cares for you far beyond what you could ever think or imagine.

Lauren,  I love you!  Those three words cannot even begin to encompass the emotions that bubble within me when I say them.  You bring me such joy and laughter.  Life would not be the same without you to brighten my days.  I love to listen to you throughout the day.  When you are playing, you sing, you dialogue and your little voice fills the air with a beautiful sweetness. 

These days are precious to me, you are precious to me!

You have my heart baby girl… completely!

Momma loves you to the moon and back 100 trillion times!

Summer's Bounty

One of my raised beds is abundantly happy, with Red Russian Kale, Siberian Dwarf Kale, Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach, Romaine, Oakleaf lettuce and Freckles leaf lettuce. So much so, that I can’t keep up with it. 
I am picking every other day and giving away bags upon bags of lettuce and eating HUGE salads for both lunch and dinner.
And this, this makes me extremely happy!  My first fruits from the garden are like a kiss from my glorious Father.  They grab hold of my soul and remind me of what an amazing provider He is!

One of my favorite salads right now is this strawberry salad with assorted greens, almonds, feta cheese and topped with homemade Poppy Seed Vinaigrette.  It makes a perfect, refreshing lunch.

Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons honey

1/2 Tablespoons poppy seeds

2 pinches of dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Wisk above ingredients until combined- gradually add 1/2 cup of olive oil until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate any leftovers.

We have also been enjoying some strawberry preserves I made last week.
OH MY GOODNESS!!!
Shockingly in all my years of canning I have never made preserves.  Well that long neglected canning experience has been rectified!
I had some left over berries from heaping flats that my children and I picked.
I searched the internet for something to make with them and found this recipe.   It is now on my list of must can items!  I can’t go back.  My family still loves the freezer jam I make, but the preserves are top of the list for me.

And on top of toasted homemade buttermilk bread— it can’t be beat!

In a Moment

Isaac,

How do I capture the last eighteen years in black strokes that appear on a white screen?  How do I express all the emotions and thoughts I have for you with mere words?
I’m in over my head.  The words tumble in my head and jumble up in my heart.
In a moment you went from my little boy to a man.  

The years flew and transformed us all.
And here we are…

Here you are…

A young man ready for adventure and independence, ready to stand on your own two feet, to become the man God has called you to be.   A soldier, a warrior called by God to demolish strongholds and chains.  God calls you a freedom giver, a comforter for the oppressed, a hope bringer and LIFE giver.  You are His light.  Where you go, wherever your foot falls you bring His light.  Darkness cannot stand where Jesus is and so it will not stand where you are for you are a reflection of Him.  You are illumination, shining brilliantly, startling rays that change the very atmosphere around you. 

Stand strong, my son, in what He says about you.  You are His son.  He has created you with His perfection and when He looks at you He sees this perfection.  He does not look down at you with consternation or disappointment. No!  He looks at you on the level, eye to eye, face to face.  And He sees your heart.  He sees your drive, your love, your questions, your convictions, your struggles, your strengths and He loves you completely.  You are called His royal priest, created to rock this world with the love of Jesus. 

My love for you is intense and it swells up within me until the tears start to flow.  I am so proud of you!  You are an amazing man with a heart to change this world.  One moment I am reminiscing about my sweet boy, getting a bit emotional; the next I am bubbling with excitement and expectation, because I know God has amazing, astounding, awesome plans for you.

It’s time!
Time for a brand new journey.
Pack your bags, baby.  God’s gonna take you far and wide. 
Keep your heart open to His. Listen to His voice.  Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.
It’s going to be a ride (and maybe, just maybe, you’ll need a sidekick now and then)!
So, go forth!  Bring the Light!  Storm the Gates!
I’m with you!  Fighting this fight for our Savior! 

Love,

Your Momma

My Randi Girl

 

I remember the first day I saw you, just in passing, in the fellowship hall at church.  Four years ago our eyes met.  I stared.  My heart leapt and immediately I knew God had a plan for us.

I had to get to know you! I had to know what was behind those beautiful blue eyes that pulled at my heart so desperately. I must have seemed like a stalker at first, finding every opportunity to talk to you and find out more about you.  I was pretty relentless, for two years!  But, there was a drive far beyond myself pushing me to invade your space.

How was I to know that I would get to breathe LIFE into your soul.  That God would use me to initiate a healing process that would transform you.

Tears are pouring down my face as I think back over the past couple of years.  Words fall short.

You are my girl!  My love.  You have my heart, a part of me belongs to you— a connection that is interwoven with no beginning or end.  

I love you with a momma’s love, a friend’s love, a fellow warrior’s love.  I have been so blessed to be able to walk alongside you.  Seeking God, fighting the enemy, falling into our Savior’s arms, picking each other up and brushing off the dust when we have fallen.

The words are tangled in my emotions.  I want to grab you and never let go. 

I want to tell you that you are amazing.  That my heart breaks to think that time and place may separate us.  I need you to know that you are loved by me, but even more by Jesus who bought you with His life. What perfect love!  I want to fling my arms around you and hold you close (fighting the urge to call you this very minute in tears telling you how much I love you).

I need you to know what God says about you, who He calls you, how He adores you.  And you need to grab a hold of His love for you and never let go.

I want you to know that you have been called specifically by God to be a world changer.  He has chosen you to bring His LIGHT.  To chase away the darkness, open the blind eyes, free the chained hearts, and bring joy to the joyless.

I need to tell you that His beauty radiates from within you. His Holy Spirit- so evident within you that you are magnetic. 

 

Oh my sweet girl!  I am going to miss our Tuesday over-lunch talks.  Tearing off little bits of our food and attempting to eat while gushing forth all that we have to say— need  to say, pouring forth essential thoughts and words.  Finding more of Jesus, experiencing His healing, being washed with His all encompassing love- it has been tearing down and building up.  Getting rid of what was not of God and soaking up what was.  It has been tears and pent up emotions boiling forth.  And then in the next breath, giggles, hugs and deep understanding of each other.

And so God has blessed us with the beauty of each other.

But, really I think I am the winner.  I gained a beautiful friend and daughter.

I love you completely!

Saturated

 

Today I walked along the path that hugs the edge of our woods.  It’s a little mown trail with wild flowers and a few sneaky brambles. It’s a dividing line between  the laziness of the prairie grasses and the mysteries of the wood.

 

 

It’s May in Michigan and the promise of spring finally holds true.

A deep breath in confirms it.

 

 

The scent of wet soil, sunshine and wild cherry soar straight to my head. I can feel the sunshine in my feet as it warms the earth.  I close my eyes letting the life all around me seep in.

I take it in.  Warmth radiating in waves, spring breeze saturated with scent cooling my cheeks, my toes (free in their flip-flops) tickled by grasses, bird chattering, trilling and rejoicing.

 

 

Spring is here!

God’s glory everywhere- sensory exhilaration!

 

 

(May?!  It’s now June and everything around is changing into summer mode…. Oh well! LOL!)