Rain...Finally!

We have needed rain so badly and we finally got it last night! I could have done without the 4am thunderstorm, but I was thankful none-the-less! I had fun this morning snapping shots of happy blooms!

I found a song that spoke to what I was witnessing and a portion of it goes like this...

T’was just a garden in the rain

Close to a little leafy lane

A touch of color ’neath skies of gray

The raindrops kissed the flowerbeds

The blossoms raised their leafy heads

A perfumed thank you

They seemed to say

(Garden in the Rain by Diana Krall)

The sun will soon be out and the ground will again get parched, but for now I will enjoy the sight of raindrop kissed blossoms!!

Championship Bound!!

Benji goes to a Christian school in our town and plays on the varsity baseball team. They didn't used to have a team because there were not enough boys to make one up but now, after many years of hard work and perseverance, the Hebron Lions are playing for the Class A championship!

To say these boys are excited is an understatement! To say that it has been thrilling and nerve-wracking as a parent is equally understating it! Adrenaline is running high and we are getting ready to host the game at our field on Saturday!!

Whatever the outcome, I am so proud of Benji Cash I can hardly stand it! He has worked hard, kept a good attitude and been a leader on and off the field. He had the best 2 games of his career in Savannah and played some amazing ball! Baseball is huge in our family and to see him excel in such a way is amazing! Character is even bigger in our family and to hear his coaches speak to the high level of this that he possesses is even more exciting as a parent!

Benji, I am so proud of the young man you have become! I pray you get to experience the sweet thrill of victory this weekend! Whatever happens, though, continue to walk as a passionate follower of Jesus Christ! That road always leads to victory in the end!!

Love you, Mama XOXO

I think he's happy...what do you think?!

Praying after the victory that sends them to the championship game!

The 3 amigos! So thankful Benji has friends like these!!!

Blogged...Er...Bogged Down!

I seem to be rather bogged down and finding myself without much to say lately in the blog world. Nothing in particular is wrong, but life is full and so is my brain. Usually it helps me to put some of those thoughts down, but they seem to be jammed up in there...unable to spill out as normal.

Our transition to the church has been a good one so far! I am thankful to be able to see my husband loving his new job! After doing something for 21 years, there is a little apprehension and wonder whether this new venture will go as well. 6 months down and he is loving it! Even our one child who resists change has had to admit that Daddy is in his element!!

Baseball is still going strong! Benji is a sophomore playing varsity and they have made it to the Final 4 in the Class A state tournament! He has had such a good year and we are so excited to see the discipline and determination he has shown! We head to Savannah this weekend and play Monday afternoon! How exciting it would be to actually win state! We have 8 players graduating this year and it would be an awesome way to go out!!

We have had an unusually cool spring and I have been loving it!! Today is charted to be the last cool day it seems for a while and I am trying not to panic! Oh how I dread the GA heat of summer! I love living here 9 months out of the year, but June, July and August make me question my sanity when, as a Canadian girl, I said "I do!" to a southern boy! Wouldn't change it for anything, though! I still have trouble wrapping my mind around the fact that Papa loved me so much He allowed me to have such an amazing marriage! So thankful for that redneck man of mine!!

Well, I think we'll seize the day and the low temps and go pick strawberries! They have been exceptionally sweet this year and I have been loving all my jam making and such! Might have to make one more batch of chocolate covered strawberries before the season winds down!

I pray you all finish out May strong! Much love and many blessings!!

Heart Talk

Someone I know is hurting a lot right now. She is experiencing pain that is in part due to circumstances she created herself. That aside, it is a painful time for her and I am praying for her.

My friend has tended to have a hard heart over the years and now is no exception. In an attempt to protect herself, she is making decisions for someone else that affects a lot of other people. I wrote to my friend today and appealed to her out of love and care for her and her heart.

Please join me in praying that my friend will respond in humility and change her mind. In my flesh I don't think it is likely to happen, but I know the Lord can do exceedingly abundantly more than I could ask or think! Please make that your prayer, too!!

Lord, please allow my friend to have a softened heart and do the right thing!!

ETA: Well, she told me to get a life and stay out of hers! Prayers obviously still needed!! :O(

Ack!!!

I have jacked up the look of my blog and am having trouble fixing it! Hope I'll look normal soon!!!

P.S. Somehow I got it fixed and am so thankful!! I am so technically challenged!!!

Happy Mother's Day

May our hearts bleed with thankfulness for the gifts we have in our precious children!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Intoxicating!

This is a repost because I am experiencing the exact same smells and thoughts!!

The view of the jasmine winding up the porch!

It's no secret, if you have read my blog at all, that my back porch is my sanctuary! I have a sign over the bed out here that says, "Come away to a secret place and rest for a while." As I sit out here this morning, the smell of the jasmine winding it's way up the steps is intoxicating! It hits you as soon as you walk out the door or around the corner of the house and it fills me with great joy and leaves me wanting more as I go throughout the day.

2 Corinthians 2:15 says ~ "Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life."

That is the ability we have if we are grafted into His vine...the ability to give off a scent that draws others to Him and leaves them wanting more! Casting Crowns wrote a song and these are some of the words...

Your love is extravagant

Your friendship, it is intimate

I feel I'm moving to the rhythm of Your grace

Your fragrance is intoxicating in the secret place

Cause Your love is extravagant

It is in the secret place with Him that we take on the fragrance of Christ. As I sat here this morning contemplating Him and singing to Him, I become a little more fragrant to those I will come into contact with. Some, who are unfamiliar with the fragrance, will not be able to identify what it is, but they will be forced to acknowledge it none-the-less.

Thank you, Papa, for creating within me a desire and an awareness of the fragrance that comes from spending time with You in the secret place. Would my life always be a fragrant offering that draws others to You...

Can you smell it?