Through a windshield.

Little snowflakes all over my windshield. That's what I saw as I sat in my freezing cold car this morning. The temperature, 16 degrees! Brrr! Yet, how pretty everything looked through the windshield. I wanted to capture the beauty...so I ran inside to get my camera as my car's heater/freezer attempted to increase the temperature a little. Each snowflake is different and unique. They are transparent with six points. Remarkable! God's creation never ceases to amaze me!

Happy

Valentine's

Day!

my amaryllis

A friend of Mike's gave me this amaryllis bulb in a red pot. I put it next to the kitchen window. It seemed to really like this spot and shot up very tall in a matter of two weeks. I took photo's of this plant as it bloomed. It has a beautiful bloom! It was fun to take a picture each day and watch it open. Do you think God watches us like this and records the ways that his children bloom?

Skippy in the Snow

Skippy and I took a walk in the snow today. He is usually very excited at the word "Walk"! Yet, at the sight of his blue snow sweater, he hid under the table. I dragged him over to put on his sweater and then pulled him out the door. He basically took a quick poddy break and headed back toward the door. So I pulled him over to the side of the house and started walking through the foot or so of snow. I was surprised that he passed me and ran up ahead as you can see in the first picture. He sniffed around for squirrels, foxes and rabbits which live in our yard. I tried to wack some of the snow off of the poor bent trees. Unfortunately, Skippy was in the wrong place and got covered in snow. He shook it off and pulled me back into the warm house.

I love it when everything is so white and covered with a layer of snow. It is so pretty right now because it is still coming down. I also love a sunny and warm day. God created such amazing contrasts in the seasons, day and night, opposite personalities. One helps us understand the other. If we didn't have winter, would we be able to truely appreciate summer?

This snow reminds me of the verse: Psalm 51:7b Wash me and I will be whiter than snow. I can't imagine anything whiter than snow. Possibilites, an egg, a lily, my dog skip (his left side), milk.... I can't seem to come up with anything! Anyway, I suppose that David was referring to God forgiving him for the mistake that he made. I'm thankful for God's forgiveness. Another contrast is God's forgiveness or spiritual darkness. If we don't want or accept His forgiveness, I guess we are in darkness in contrast to the beautiful freedom of grace. Grace, I guess that's whiter than white!

Little Star

Twinkle, twinkle little star,
In the heavens, so very far!
Reminds me of Jesus that special day,
In a manger is where he lay.
He came to bring us hope. Love and life he gave.
For our very sins, he died, to save.
Twinkle, Twinkle little star,
Which brought the wise men from afar,
Bring me now this very day,
Closer to Jesus, this I pray.
by Heidi Johnson

My Pumpkin Painting

Happy Fall Ya'll !

I can't hear you!

I wonder how often God is talking and we just can't hear him. My husband Mike has had an ear infection for a few weeks and he is constantly saying," huh, What did you say?" I am wondering how often I say the same thing to God and then just ignore HIS response. Sometimes I am just too busy to even hear him in the first place.

Mike has an appointment with an ENT doctor on Tuesday. I am curious to find out what is wrong and how his hearing will be restored. The doctor will probably clear out some gunk in his ear. I wonder what kind of gunk needs to be cleared out of my life so that I can better hear God?

I think He tries to speak to us through our thoughts. Kind of like the image of the angel and devil sitting on your right and left shoulders. However, it isn't an angel speaking, it's God. Sometimes, He wakes me up in the middle of the night to bring something to my attention. Sometimes He gives me a verse from the Bible that speaks to a need that I have. Sometimes He shows me something beautiful in nature that he created to make Himself real to me. Sometimes He is silent. He is usually silent when I ask Him a question and expect an immediate response. I often ask God, "What is your will in this situation?" This is when I am really listening because I am not sure what to do. However, I have found that sometimes God just wants us to ask and pray and seek him for a while before we get an answer. This meditation draws us closer to Him and prepares our heart to accept the answer. Lately, I have asked God several questions but haven't heard any clear answers yet. I guess I need to keep asking, praying, reading his word and listening. Huh? God is that what you said?