Fight, Love, Live (FILOLI)

On Wednesday Charles and I and our friends Carol and Don visited the beautiful FILOLI Mansion and Gardens built in 1917 about 30 miles south of San Francisco. The estate has a fascinating history and the grounds are exceptional. So if you're ever out this way, I recommend putting it on your list. The highlight for me was dancing with my honey in the stately ballroom. We didn't have our dancing shoes on but we pretended! We did just as well in our Nikes.

Heaven-bound

Today, my neighbor Shirley died of brain cancer. I will miss her. She welcomed me to this neighborhood when my husband and I moved here and she was always a source of encouraging words and ready prayers. She will not receive the press that Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson will, (who also died today). But all of us who loved Shirley will celebrate her life in our hearts and memories.

So today, I thank God for Shirley, her legacy, and the blessing she was in my life--one that made my life beautiful in many ways.

Writing and Baking

Spent a week in Ohio with my daughter Julie (a writer, speaker, teacher) and her children. Julie and I worked at the kitchen table clicking away while 12-year-old granddaughter Caitrin prepared the dough for vegan cinnamon rolls. Then she and I pounded and rolled and filled and cut and baked and enjoyed them for breakfast the next morning. All that work and they disappeared in seconds. Caitrin and her older sister and one of her brothers are committed vegans. This recipe is to die for, as they say. Check it out for yourself at veganyumyum.com.

How does your garden grow?

I spent part of this week gardening, tending roses in particular. They are magnificent this year. When I look at them I could weep. They are so pretty, so humble, so who they are. I want to be like them--blooming where I'm planted and giving glory to God by simply being. I also appreciate the wild flowers in the hills above the Pacific Ocean near our home. I went hiking on Friday with my friend Sherry and we enjoyed looking at fields of colorful blooms high above the rocky cliffs. In the water below the seals and their pups frolicked in the waves or sunned themselves on the rocks. Nature is so healing. I want to return to this place often.

A Day in the Garden

Sunday is a day of worship and rest--and today, gardening, as well. Charles and I are preparing our yard for summer. What a pleasure it is. We both got our hands in the dirt and loved it. We are planting purple, pink, yellow and red flowers, dressing up my prayer garden and speaking encouragement to every little root, leaf, and bloom. Each plant is now a part of our family and we welcome them. As I stood back and admired the colors and textures and shapes I burst into prayer. How great is our God to surround us with such beauty and humility. These little ones have just one job--bloom where they are planted, thereby worshiping the God who made them. Can I do any less?

Signing Books at Mount Hermon

I look tired, don't I, even though I had a wonderful time over the Palm Sunday weekend mentoring at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. The campus, tucked in the redwoods just north of Santa Cruz, California is a beautiful and inspiring haven for rest, learning, and inspiration. On the last night we had an autograph party. Here I am signing books along with friends Brandilyn Collins and Deborah Raney. Brandilyn planted a fake snake in the center of one of Deb's books. You can imagine her surprise when she opened it and the wiggly creature popped up!

Happy Easter! He is Risen.

Thank you to my author friend, Mary E. DeMuth, for this beautiful photo taken at Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center over the Palm Sunday weekend. As a child Easter was all about clothes and candy and Easter eggs and a new straw hat. Today it is about being clothed in righteousness--not because of anything I did but because of what Jesus did on the Cross and through His resurrection from the dead. I am new--in Him--as is anyone who calls upon His name and receives His forgiveness and the gift of life everlasting. Blessings to each of you and to your families, from our house to yours.