Embrace the New Day with Joy and Prayer

I’m a “wannabe” morning person. How about you? Do you bounce up early, eager to get started? Or are you sliding under the comforter after midnight? By nature I’m a night owl who’s trying hard to convert. I’d like to see more of God’s glorious colors painted across the eastern sky when a new day begins. Three hundred and sixty-five times per year, God wraps a new day with fresh air and promises. Whether the package includes the sun’s rays streaming through the trees or rumbling thunder in an ominous sky, each twenty-four-hour period represents a gift. When I wake…

Sharing Joy in January

She plodded down the hall of the rehab hospital with the help of a walker, head bent downward, each step an effort. When she passed me, she looked up with a radiant smile and answered my greeting with a cheery “Good morning! How are you?” As my family would predict, I couldn’t leave it at that and go my merry way. You see, my “hobby” is meeting new people. Each person has a story, and I love to hear those tidbits tucked away in the memory banks of strangers. When spontaneous visits include a conversation about God, they are even…

Finding Joy in the Mud Puddles of Life

What can you see in a mud puddle? Maybe the answer depends on the angle of your view. Following suggested activities in Soul Care for Writers by Edie Melson1 I took pictures of various nature scenes including reflections in water. The only water available at the time I chose to snap pictures was a mud puddle. (My husband’s truck creates a depression in the ground when he turns his truck around to position it on the driveway.) Recent rainwater filled the crater and offered clear reflections. I took a picture, then walked around the puddle and snapped photos from different…