Childhood Home

My friend told me today that I'm stuck in the past.
That got me thinking more and more of ...... the past.
How far back can I remember?
I pulled up this photo and stared at it until I could almost picture my large, lively and beautiful family filling all the rooms with love, laughter and sometimes fighting. There is my little self running up and down the wooden front steps.
 I like to gather the tiniest flowers to decorate my dollhouse. I designed it from a cardboard box. The wrap around porch is perfect for hours of enjoyment. Sometimes on rainy days, I may climb all the way up to the old Victorian attic and have a bird's eye view. It was a fun place for a child to explore.
Such happy memories of those long gone cherished days of my childhood.
Time is so fleeting. I'm not really stuck in the past as my friend thinks.
I'm right here and now very much in the present. I'm aware that the Lord makes each moment new.
But with such a grand history.... ah the memories.

Roadside Find

The set of drawers.

The bottom drawer was smashed.

It was raining and snowing...

actually that's called sleet.

It was sleeting that day.

My friend Doug helped me lug it home.

He was worried that it might not be free.

But, I assured him this is common.

I find enough things free on the roadside to know it's ok.

That's what people do.

I also have left things by the side of the road...FREE.

The thing is, most things I see free are not for me.

Anybody who knows me well and is with me while I drive.

Well, they know that I will stop for yard sales and free things.

But even though I may stop and look...

I have no trouble knowing when an item is not right for me.

So anyway....

With a screwdriver - boom boom bottom runners off.

Now there's nice deep storage 

for a couple of blankets and pillows.

That thing is heavy.

I'm so grateful to the one who put it out.

I'm thankful to have been with a friend 

who could help me lift it.

And of course I thank- My Lord,

God knew I needed a place for my art supplies.

***

One early morning.....

I woke up at the break of dawn. 

The most beautiful light filled my front room.

A sight I don't normally see because I'm usually asleep.

Young Folks

There is one less of these in the world today.
....it hit the floor and broke.

............sigh...............

Jesus blew me a kiss. 

It happened last year but I think of it often. I really want to share it with you. 

There's a famous quote that Jesus made on the night before He was crucified.  It had to do with all His close friends falling asleep during His time of need. It was that lonely Holy Thursday night when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Well, o.k. I don't have the exact quote but it was something like... Hey come on people wake up! It's crunch time. Won't you keep me company for at least an hour? But anyway, as it turned out they didn't. They were tired and oblivious. So because of that night we have a tradition to go to the church and spend at least one hour of  undivided attention in front of the exposed Blessed Sacrament. A time to reflect and pray.

So last year I went to the church to pay my respect and sadly I just could not concentrate. My mind was bouncing all over the place. I even felt myself getting drowsy. So after only a very short time I decided this is crazy. I might as well go home because at least when I was home I had my mind on the Lord. Here at church I have my mind on everything else.  I felt very guilty but ....with reverence, still I turned and walked away. I opened the door to leave. But before I left I turned around and assured Jesus that I know when I leave His house that He will still be with me. I understand You are in my heart Dear Lord. Right?  Right then- I kissed my hand and blew the kiss up to the Monstrance sitting on the altar.

This kiss thing is not what I have ever done while leaving church.

The next day was Good Friday. That's the day Jesus hung on the cross....for sinners like me. 

He is the Lamb of God.

 So generally we fast and abstain from meat. Later, at suppertime I was with my oldest daughter and the grandchildren were hungry. I took us all out to eat. We went to Seafood Sam's down by the water. I let the family decide where to sit and I just followed along. A little girl saw us enter the room and she got pretty excited. That was cute. She was such a little child, but very aware. She looked about 2 years old. She was with her Mother. As they were getting up to leave, we were coming in the room. So we had to pass each other. And as we meet, the little girl kisses her hand and blows it right up in the air in front of me. I reach out, catch it with my hand and press it gently on my cheek in a soft, tiny little circular motion. As soon as I do ....tears well up in my eyes.

I suddenly KNOW in my soul that was JESUS!

The Mother smiled and they were gone from my view.

Think about how many times we see Jesus and don't know.

Thinking about Computers, Minds and God

hi,
     Thank-you for visiting my blog.
 That picture up above is my latest artwork.
 ( Inspired by the Holy Family)
        It's over in my etsy shop.

                                                                        
     One of the reasons I have a blog, besides shamelessly trying to promote my own art.... is that I
have ideas I would like to share with someone. But, I don't know who in the world would like to listen.
     Would you listen for awhile?
      You're still here so thank-you.

     So here's the thing. I've heard that God knows every detail about us. So much as how many hairs are upon our head. The devil also has quite a lot of information about us too. Because he has been around learning all about us from the moment of our conception. God on the other hand has known us since before our conception. It's hard to understand so I try to wrap my head around the idea of it.
     A computer knows a lot. It's been fed information. Our DNA feeds data too. Okay ... so our brains are like computers. With that analogy in mind I imagine the devil being like a back ground malware or virus. And isn't it true how that evil tracks us and is always lurking upon us and waiting for a vulnerable time that would be worthwhile to cause trouble. Hmm....
 But yet God's system of operation is so almighty that He has us very well protected. He is our manufacturer. We are the administrators. The devil can't access our hearts. The data of our hearts is so well encrypted that only God Himself can access that information. It's so amazing.

Oh and one more thing....When I go to church it's as if I have many tabs open in my head. Someone calls over the loudspeaker to please silence your cell phones. I have to make an effort to silence my head too. That means closing all tabs and leaving only the one open that is right in front of my face.
                Know what I mean?

 
Well...time for you to close this tab. Thank-you so much for visiting. bye for now ~Elaine

2017-2018

 Noel

   I feel like bringing this blog back to life.