- Summer has officially arrived here!!! It's summer-break for my kids and for me! Northwest Ohio endured an especially brutal winter. Since I've been about 10 years old, I have been "allergic to the cold" (I know sounds like I made it up, but it's a true condition,
- called Cold Urticaria). I break out in hives with cold, wet, windy weather, and as I've gotten older I've also developed asthma in the cold air. Winters are not fun for me!
- I love summer, warmth, the sunshine, and any southern ocean shore!
- The past several months have been a roller coaster ride around here! There's been sadness, as we lost my 91 year old Grandma, an aunt (my husband's Godmother), an uncle, and a friend lost her young adult son tragically. We celebrated each of their beautiful and meaningful lives, and know they will be each be missed by many.
- A true reminder on how fragile life is.
- Someone may be here one day, and gone the next.
- Do we live in the moment with the ones around us?
- Do we give them our full attention, our assistance, our love?
- Do we live without regrets? Do we forgive?
- Is there more we should be doing to assure these things?
- If "So-and So" passed away tomorrow,
- what would my last words/kindness to them have been?
- These are all things loss of people in our lives may have us contemplating.
- A football-sized mass was found in my nephews abdomen, and was determined to be kidney cancer. Doctors were able to remove the mass & his kidney. He needed no further treatments,
- and the power of prayer was truly felt throughout his ordeal.
- A true reminder on the phenomenal power of prayer.
- Miracles do happen.
- Do we spend time on prayer for our loved ones each day?
- Do we Thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on us?
- Do we place our complete Trust in Him?
- All questions that trials and difficulties may have us contemplating.
- Our youngest son had his First Communion recently, our middle son got his drivers license, and our daughter graduated from High School. Such important milestones in their lives! We are blessed!
- My youngest recently broke his arm when he "accidentally"
- fell off the slide; yet he is grateful that he didn't break both of them
- (like a young boy he heard recently did).
- He is always looking at life in a positive light!
- Life with children goes fast. Everyone told me that when mine were little. Now with their ages of 20, 18, 16, 13, and 8, I am really feeling it.
- As they've gotten older, (or is it me?!) I've learned
- to pray more deeply, more specifically for them and to trust in God.
- I thank Him for their lives, their talents.
- I pray for their future spouses.
- I pray for their safety, their decisions, their faith, their success, their relationships with one another, their friends...
- the list seems endless. Yet, anxiety will creep in, and it's best to recall the verse above & place them in HIS hands and to trust Him.
- He loves them immensely (even more than I do--although we as parents wonder how that could be?!)
- and He has amazing wonderful plans for their lives!
ENJOY the summer, make time to "be still",
& find a Peace-filled place (in spirit & in sunshine) to soak it all in!
God's Peace, Love, & Joy~ Amy