My Lovely Dwelling Place

Change             In a large family, space is a hot commodity.  Having a bunch of kids in an average house is challenging.  I grew up as an only child.  I had to share my space with dogs, dogs that stole my Barbies because of some secret vendetta.  Dogs that shared my bed and my mom’s affection, I’m pretty sure she liked them more.  I still have dogs, but they sleep on their own pillows and are companions, dearly loved, but not on the same plane as my children.             All my kids have had to share rooms, even my only daughter until about the age of twelve when she got her own room.  This of course meant that there were five boys in another room, and baby rooming with mom and dad.  Life was crowded.  I didn’t mind.  I grew up a lonely kid.  I used to spend my spare time pouring over the Spiegel Christmas catalog nam...

Oh Well This spring and summer has been cooler and wetter than usual.  Folks are complaining that it’s too cold for the pool and always raining.  Rainy days and Mondays isn’t as comforting as Sunshine on my Shoulders.  Oh well, one can’t control the weather.             I made my own baskets of flowers for the yard this year.  Wave petunias, pretty little flowers whose names elude me, and sweet potato vines – well, the petunias look sickly, and the mystery flowers aren’t growing, but the sweet potato vines are burgeoning into the siding of the house and trailing off the deck.  Oh well, one can’t control how a plant grows.             Sometimes I am a sounding board for those who are angry, discontented, and unhappy in their relationships or in life.  Sometimes I know what to say.  Sometimes I just listen.  I tell myself it le...

Loveliness So, a while ago I started memorizing Scripture.  Not for a truly spiritual reason, but because I’m over fifty and can’t remember jack.  But God’s Word has a way of getting to you, drawing you closer to Him, and making you able to hear His voice.  I was hoping it would help me retain my cognitive skills that my kids keep reminding me I seem to be losing.  Instead it gives me comfort and peace – I’ll take it!  One of the first psalms I memorized was Psalm 84: How lovely are Your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts!  My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.  The bird also has found a house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young.  Even Your alters, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.  How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!  They are ever praising You.  How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,...