Our shared brokenness... as the fertile place

Love this quote from Wild in the Hollows, by Amber C. Haines, "My desire was to see Jesus from the floor up, from the root, to see us recognize our shared brokenness as the fertile place, how we are an outgrowth of life from a seed that died before it produced fruit. I longed to see the church know how desired she is, to see the beautiful gift of paradox, the broken whole of us."

The broken whole of us...I just love that!

living loved by His grace and mercy,
sammie jean 💞

spending time...the only spending that will ever make me rich

We went fishing with our grandchildren on the creek that runs on the edge of our property. It was late winter, early spring. Cool enough to wear a jacket still.  Trudging through the uncleared woods; both grandsons pole in hand, granddaughter in wading boots, my husband with machete clearing the way, tackle box equipped with every thing we needed, even green worms that we bought at the little local store down the road, and me with picnic basket full of snacks that we didn't even eat. Whew! Felt like  we were moving but have to be prepared (you know.)  Everyone had to show their strength a long the way; chopping down dead trees and limbs from our path. Finally, the creek bank was in sight.  My grandsons immediately on the look-out for the hardest place to get to. "That's where the fish are." You know it's not fishing if you don't climb a tree and go out on the longest limb. My granddaughter, husband and I had our perfect spot in view; a little slew on down the creek. As we took our places, I prayed "Lord, please help us catch fish." Didn't say it but was sure thinking it pretty hard, "We have sure gone to a lot of trouble to not catch any fish." Almost as quick as I finished that prayer, I heard a commotion up the creek. Our grandson had caught a large warmouth bass. Not long after, the other grandson caught a good-eating hand size bass. I guess it was the "perfect spot" after all.  The next thing I knew, my granddaughter was right on top of a bed and started catching fish as quick as she could throw her hook in. Such a trooper; taking her fish off her line, baiting her hook with those green slimy worms; a little tomboy. The perfect afternoon... well almost. A few mishaps; fishing in the trees, losing the line, snags in the water, losing the hook. And oh yeah, "These fish aren't biting anymore." Famous last words.  Oh, well,  Paradise doesn't last forever. We came back. The same scene all over again. Cutting limbs, karate kicking dead trees, dragging poles, tackle box, picnic basket, not to mention tired, hot and sweaty bodies. Pawpaw cleaned and fried the fish. Good 'ole fried fish right out of the creek! What a way to end this adventure. Calm chaos! I came across something the other day about a pearl and how it grows inside an oyster. It is actually an irritation to the oyster.  A grain of sand works his way into the shell as an intruder and then over time...well, you know the story, a treasure is created.  Isn't it ironic how a beautiful pearl is first an irritant to the oyster?  Relationships are like that. It takes some planning. It takes a little effort. Sometimes it feels like hard work. There is always going to be a little "snag in the water." Relationships can only be made by spending time. It's the only spending that I know of that will make me rich.

making memories that will last a lifetime (maybe for eternity),
sammie jean

Forsake not...

 God tells us to forsake not our "assembling together." My whole life I have heard that referred to as one of the reasons that we should attend church. I'm not saying it isn't. But, just consider this. When two are gathered in my name I am there. Oh my! Have I really listened to the conversations that I have had when I am gathered with others? Have I allowed Holy Spirit to penetrate my heart with the words of my brothers and sisters? Is this time really important to me? Have I allowed myself to glean from the conversation? Have I been misled to think that only the pastor, teacher, evangelist, preacher can speak into my life at church on Sunday morning? I've asked myself all these questions.  I've always heard it said that communication is very difficult mainly because we are doing one of two things; we are thinking about what we want to say or we are judging what the other person is saying. Either way, We Aren't Listening (really). Holy Spirit has been speaking to my heart recently of how important conversations are when I'm talking to others. I have become very aware of how important this time is. It is an ordained time (if I believe my steps are ordered of God) for me. If I really believe this then I will listen to conversations and I will guard what I say to others. With Christ living in me, I should have something to say of importance. We are all messengers. What will our message be?  I had a conversation with my brother-in-law and sister recently and I listened; I really listened. Holy Spirit continued to speak to my heart after the conversation. Even days after. Thank you for making yourself available to me.

Thank you Father for loving me,

it's just a little something...

My husband, is very creative in building things. Before we moved, he spent days tearing out old boards to re-purpose them from an old schoolhouse that had been moved across the road from our house. It was probably built in the 1930's and moved from a nearby town in our county. They were going to tear it down so he jumped on the opportunity to get the wood. I was not home at the time. He called me and said, "I have a little something I think that you will like." I did. It was a window from the old schoolhouse. It took me a while to complete the project but I finally did. It was fun to make. I like it.

Thank you Father for creating us to enjoy life,
sammie jean

Just a "little thing" brings lots of joy 

HIS MERCIES ARE NEW EVERY MORNING

dear friends

Our trip to the cabin in Georgia was refreshing. Our trip to the beach was a blast. I didn't think about that on my walk this morning. All I could think about was how precious these women are to me. My high school girlfriends. We've known each other for a very long time. Since kindergarten days. We didn't stay in contact for all those years but when we finally got back together it was like we had never been apart. We're different. Yet alike. Our places in life are not identical.  But, we're on the same path. We're blunt. Yet tender. We're serious but silly too.We have been broken. Made mistakes. Been misunderstood. But, our common ground is our love for Jesus, family and each other. We are soul mates. A precious gift from God...

Dear friends, I am so proud to call each one of you my dear friend. I cherish the beautiful, gifted, loving women that each one of you are. You are successful in the worlds eyes but the thing that I'm most impressed with and aspire to be like is the heart of love that I see in each one of you. I have never known any women with more perseverance, passion, and potential as you. You are pearl's of great price.

With much love  ❤
sammie jean

 

cute little footprints

Quickly my little dears, we have fish to catch before daybreak. I can just hear mama raccoon say to her little ones, as they scurried along the dirt road early this morning. Or wife skunk as she told husband skunk, "It's such a great night out tonight." The cutest little foot prints caught my eye during my walk this morning. I smiled as I stopped to take a pic. Life's little simple pleasures. Bring much joy. 

Don't let "it" steal your joy today!

Much love,

sammie jean