For quite a while now, I’ve not felt I had words to give my thoughts about many things. Clarity has been elusive. My prayers have been cries to God over everything from war in the Middle East to people being persecuted by the very church they’ve served faithfully for years to the challenges being faced by people all over the world due to race, gender, orientation, cultures, religious views, and so forth to my own very personal spiritual questions that have arisen as I studied the Bible solely through the lens of its cultural context. In the midst of all of this that has caused me so much internal searching, there has been a very external challenge added to the life of our family the last six months that has also brought me to crying out to God with groans at times that only the Spirit could understand and interpret.

I can now safely say, though, that God answered my prayers for clarity by means of a podcast and the details of the external circumstances are now finding resolution. Once again in my life, I’ve been brought back to the basic truth and my most firm foundation in Christ. Love over all, in all situations, for all people is what my heart knows above all else. Christ’s life and words interpret everything, including the difficult parts of the Bible that don’t make sense, and guide my choices everyday, in all things.

That doesn’t mean all choices are easy, nor does it mean that my choices make sense to others, but ultimately, God’s opinions of me are all that matter to me. I am at peace in Him.

So, I missed posting yesterday, Saturday. It’s been a full weekend, though, and maybe I should only do one post on busy weekends.

I’m so thankful for favorite things. My favorite color is green, with purple running a very close second. Green captures my eye without fail, pretty much any shade of it except for minty seafoam green. I’m glad for green in this world. Thank you God!

Coke and Dr. Pepper are my favorite drinks, after water. I thank the Lord for clean water to drink. I’d be lost without it, and my kidneys would have produced more stones and I would have had a lot more pain and medical bills.

Sunrises and sunsets, fall and spring, regions where there are 4 seasons, white Christmases, noticing when the forsythia blooms, squirrels running around my yard and birds eating from the feeder all winter long, the beach and ocean water, being in the waves, walking through the woods after a rain in the fall, finding wildflowers in the spring and remembering their names, quiet times for solitude, the laughter of children running around my home, hugs (especially from friends who hug tight and hang on long), times when my whole family is together, WV hills…all favorites for which I am so grateful to God for being blessed with in my life.