Looking out my window
The Blue Mist flower in the top right grows like a weed – it’s invasive – but it invites the butterflies from all across the neighborhood. It is a magnet for the Queen and Monarch butterflies! The ubiquitous yellow lantana returns every year and overflows the garden. Last the Red Yucca is fun to have but it will get swallowed in the summer by the Mist Flower. I really need to replant it.
I am thinking
I’ve been thinking most about women’s ministry for the past few weeks. How do we engage women who feel relationally disconnected? Are the rhythms we have in place meeting needs? Are they producing disciples who make disciples?
I am thankful
I’m grateful for all things green today—
Rain waking the earth and calling up new grass
Tender leaves unfolding again on familiar trees
Small shoots pressing bravely through dark soil
The bright shine of limes gathered in a bowl
Houseplants reaching quietly toward the window light
The scent of stems and wet earth after a storm
Gardens beginning again where winter once lingered
The deep comfort of life returning in a thousand small ways
The way certain colors speak of renewal before words ever can
One of my favorite things
Shared laughter with friends I don’t see often!
I am creating
Recently I explored creating collages from magazines and junk mail.
I’ve been writing a series on hospitality on Thursdays – check out this post.
I am listening to
I have a few favorite podcasts. One is Carey Nieuwhof’s Leadership Podcast. I enjoyed his interview of Preston Sprinkle and also his interview with Christine Caine – both about women in the church. Recently Knowing Faith Podcast explored should women wear head coverings in church. Our youth pastor preached an excellent sermon on the household codes in Colossians 3:18 – 4:1.
I am wearing
I’m not wearing it right now, but recently I shortened the sleeves of my jeans jacket. I created folds in the sleeve, then stitched them down with a double row of stitches. It worked out well!
I am reading
Our community group is reading through the New Testament in a semester.
We have just a few books left and it has been great fun!
I’m reading Humility: the joy of self-forgetfulness by Gavin Ortlund.
I am hoping
I am hoping for extra time for rest and beauty in May as we will be traveling – absorbing God’s grandeur.
In my kitchen
I haven’t done much cooking lately. In fact, I’ve used a charcuterie plan for meals lately. I love this charcuterie board with a lid! (That’s not a picture of the charcuterie I created LOL).
Usually … in my garden … But today … highlighting the Little Library
About the time that I was retiring from teaching, I asked my husband if we could sponsor a “Little Library” on our property. I saw it as a way to serve the neighborhood, to encourage literacy, to engage young children out on walks with their moms. So my husband built our library and I began to fill it. Over the years, it has taken on a life of its own. Neighbors borrow books, but they also fill the library with books. And I’m grateful!
Check out your neighborhood for a Little Library or find a registered library on the World Map!
Quote
“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to?
The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
— C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book IV, Chapter 9 (“Counting the Cost”)
A moment from my day
This past month included dinners with friends, weekly walks and conversations, coffee chats, ministry visits, team meetings, and more. Sometimes people ask about retirement. I’m enjoying it, but to me retirement is not withdrawal from the world, and certainly not disengagement from people or purpose. It is the reorientation of my days—creating margin for one-on-one conversations, unexpected ministry opportunities, and white space to pursue life-giving hobbies and interests.
Closing Thought
May is arriving quietly, carrying green leaves, longer light, and the reminder that a meaningful life is often built in ordinary days. This past month held conversations, small joys, steady rhythms, and space to notice what matters. God meets us in the repeated grace of ordinary days.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22 – 23
