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His Love Rushes In: Fall Beach Lesson 2021
Can you handle just (maybe) one more beach lesson from our trip in September? If not, just shut this post down! So, the last couple of days we were at the beach, it was misty some days, and socked in at times with clouds. But we decided even without perfect beach weather, we really enjoyed just being by the water, hearing the waves, and reading. So we got on the beach for at least for part of those days. I interrupted my reading at times just to watch the waves continue to hit the shore time after time after time. I’ve shared previously about the constant wave action reminding me…
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The Vastness of God: Fall Beach Lesson 2021
As I sat on the beach or balcony this beach trip, my eyes continually look at the horizon. As far as I could see was water. And more water! This is one of the repeated reminders I get when we are here: the vastness of the water is like the vastness of God. At this stage of life, the older I get, the more I realize I don’t know…about life, ministry, relationships and so many things, but certainly about the Lord. I know now more than I ever have, yet I understand how very much I still don’t know. That is what keeps me coming back again and again to…
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Broken: Fall Beach Lesson 2021
A day or so after arriving at our favorite beach spot, I got up really early to hunt shells. (Read Beach Lesson #2 from our July beach trip to see why I was encouraged to get up earlier than I like to, just to find shells!) As I walked a distance I was passing up lots of large broken shells, looking for that one that was whole. Then I came across this one…palm sized, and brightly colored, yet broken. So I picked it up and added it to the other whole and unusual shells I had collected. I also began thinking about how many other broken shells I had left…
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Beach Lesson #2
As I shared my beach lesson on mentoring with Amanda (please read that post first, Beach Lesson on Mentoring) , she told me she got something totally different from that experience of finding shells. So this is her take on it. Amanda’s thoughts are in italics and my comments follow. 1 Our lives are like shells. How many come to the shore completely shattered. Only a few come whole. Most have broken pieces. Perhaps you are a broken shell yourself. Can you trust God for your healing? Maybe you know broken people, can you be a source of encouragement and healing for them? 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 Blessed be the God…
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Beach Lesson on Mentoring
This summer we took our first ever “adult only parents/twin daughters and their hubbys” beach trip. We were celebrating our 50th anniversary and their birthday. We had an amazing week and some great weather. But, not a lot of shells. If you’ve read earlier “beach lessons” blog posts, you may remember my love for shell hunting! One morning our daughter Amanda (who set up the Ninja tent each morning bright and early to get a great spot) was gone about an hour longer than it takes to set up the tent so we began to get a little worried. Then she walked in with a handful of the most beautiful…
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Hold Loosely
Hold what loosely? I’ll get to that! God has taught me SO much over the last year. Retirement 4 years ago gave me more time with the Lord each morning than I’ve ever had before…and I have LOVED it! Retirement also has taught me how to live with my husband of 50 years full time…and it’s not all been pretty since it’s the first time we’ve ever lived together 24/7! You can read about that here in this post, Retired Together…3 Issues and 7 Tips. During pandemic, it’s as though retirement has gone to whole other level. Although we have made so much progress in learning to live together well,…
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More Lessons From Hurricane Sally
I’m till processing and learning from our experience of riding out Hurricane Sally. This is the third, and probably (although I’m not promising) the last post on this. I’d encourage you to read the first two posts (Part 1: Peace Over the Storms, here and Part 2: My Cornerstone here) before you start this third post. Sometimes it takes a while to process an experience and see God’s hand in it all. I believe with all my heart God is sovereign and not one thing happens without His permission as well as His purpose. So I’m warning you, this is not a short post since I process God’s lessons partially…
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MY Cornerstone!
Photo by Joel Filipe on Unsplash As I write this series following Hurricane Sally, I’d love to encourage you to read the first post, Peace Over the Storms, here before you start this second post. When a building is constructed, it has what is called a cornerstone to make it secure and give direction to the building. It unites two masonry walls and is the starting place for construction. It’s absolutely essential, or indispensable, to the building. Personally, I am so grateful for the cornerstone in the 18 floor (we were on 16) condominium we were in while on vacation in Perdido Key when Hurricane Sally chose make landfall in…
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Peace Over the Storms
Normally, by now, during our extended time at the beach each fall, I’ve had a number of “beach lessons”. Until today (September 14, the day I began this post), this year I’d not had what I consider a beach lesson, although I’ve had lots of balcony Jesus time. This morning, this was the scene I watched as tropical storm Sally was about to become hurricane Sally. This is the third coastal hurricane we’ve experienced, but it’s not something we ever look forward to by any means! Waves were crashing and, yet, I felt safe sitting on the 16th floor balcony of our condo looking down at the churning water. All…
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Grab It While You Can
During our annual month long beach trip this year we had more cold, stormy, and windy days than normal for this time of year. But the last two days were especially beautiful and sunny. The water finally cleared up so we could see sharks and rays in the water from our balcony. And, as I walked on the beach those days, I could see the shells that were in the water. When there were strong winds blowing, the waves were crashing harder, and, of course, the water was much murkier. I’d not had many days of combing the shallow water for shells this trip, so, even though it was chilly,…
