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The LORD will prefect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.

Psalm 138:8

When I don’t write consistently here on the blog, stray gifts and updates pile up, and I find it difficult to know how to start a new post. Where do I begin? How far back do I go? How much do I even share? I stay off social media except for my cardmaking Instagram site, so my posts here can lean toward the lengthy side at times. I haven’t made any new cards in a few months, so there are no updates since April. If you have followed along here on the blog for some time, you know that John’s journey to health as a disabled veteran has been challenging. We have had to rethink our life plans and pivot in many areas. To keep the update short, five years ago, John was barely able to walk and couldn’t drive. Migraines and chronic pain kept him secluded and unable to work. Since then, he has filed for and was granted full disability. Also, since then, through physical therapy and various medical treatments, he is able to walk without assistance and can drive. Slowly, but surely, with determination and with a lot of prayer, his mobility has progressed, and his mind is clearer. So much so that we were able to recently buy a house! There have been moments of doubt whether or not God sees and hears, but we always come back to knowing that our life does concern Him and He is working through us. Through it all, I have kept up with documenting stray gifts. Friends and family who have been following along with this scavenger hunt are still sharing their great finds with me. Here are just a few of the latest. A description of each photo is below the collage.

Top Row (left to right): The first two photos were taken around the Grants, NM area. Between 1998 and 2001, we lived there and worked in a church with youth, music, and bus ministry. It was there that we met our friend Carolyn. Throughout the years and our many moves, we kept in touch and stayed close friends. In April of this year, she passed away suddenly at the age of 71. It was such a shock. We texted every week, sharing our new crafting obsessions. She was a quilter, and I am a card maker, and we always had a few projects going on at the same time. She loved my handmade cards, and I would send her a package of five every so often to write out for others. “I received your beautiful cards today”, she would text. “I’m going to write and send some out today”. She followed along with the stray gifts, often sharing things she found in a day. She read my blog and would text me that she enjoyed reading my updates. We have a long history – too much to share here. She impacted all three of us deeply in many ways. We traveled to Grants for her memorial service. We drove around to where we lived and the places we would go. We drove up Mt. Taylor, something we never made time to do when we lived there. It was a beautiful drive with bits of rain here and there. Carolyn loved the mountains and enjoyed collecting pinecones. While unpacking the other day, I found the box of pinecones she brought me last October when she came to see us. She was thoughtful in many ways, and we are thankful to have known her.

The third photo is a huge stray gift. When we moved back to Texas to be closer to my dad, we started looking at the possibility of buying. Everything went surprisingly smoothly – from obtaining a VA loan to the location of the house and the house itself. It’s a one-story home, and the layout is easy for John to navigate during the bad days with his health. It’s close to my dad, so we can be a help to him. So far, living here is going well.

Second Row: 1) As we were moving in, John and Jonathan surprised me with fresh flowers for our new home. They even remembered to bring a glass jar to put them in! 2) It’s like Christmas some days as we unwrap items we packed months ago. I found a pink glass jar a good friend had gifted me for my birthday one year and immediately made my favorite True Lime Black Cherry drink. 3) Roses are blooming at my dad’s house. This is a new bush we planted for him in the backyard.

Third Row: 1 and 2) Recently, my Aunt Carol shared a few stray gifts with me. “The deer picture was taken where we work at the day use park. There are 13 of them and some just had babies”, she said. She mentioned that there are 5 of them! We don’t see deer here in our area, so I always love it when others share their neighborhood nature photos. The middle image was taken from her garden. It looks so peaceful! 3) My friend Kara in PA sent me a view from her swimming pool. With triple-digit temps here in Texas, that sure looks refreshing!

I always hope to update the stray gifts more regularly, but a quote comes to mind that my friend Carolyn often said, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans”. So true!

Today, let there be peace within me, trusting that God has planted me right where I am meant to be. -Unknown

The guys are constantly showing me social media memes. Some are super funny and others are just plain corny. They share serious ones and thought-provoking ones, too, which make for interesting conversations. Jonathan sent one to me recently that I thought was cute and would make a great blog post! It’s in line with the “stray gifts” theme I have throughout the website.

I think of throwing confetti often now when I see stray gifts pop up! Stray gifts are bits of good news in the day that God sees me and places things in my path so that I see Him. That’s worth celebrating, even if the confetti is imaginary, isn’t it? Here is the latest record of graces to share! A description is shared below the photo collage.

Top Row: 1) In January, a friend of mine in Texas shared this little snowman she made. She gave him an acorn shell hat and named him, “Pierre”. Isn’t he adorable? 2) I meant it this time when I told Jonathan I was ok with the day lilies not making it this year. Well, here they are again. Every year, I am so surprised when they come back! One day, there are no signs of life and the next, we see green leaves that have pushed their way through the soil! This photo was taken in January and right now, they are filling the pot! Last year, Jonathan and I separated them into several flower pots because they had grown so much. I’ll share a photo of them in their current state soon. I say this every year, but these are the flowers I bought on clearance for $3.00 a few years ago – definitely a stray gift! 3) We pass by this tree every time we go for a walk. When the breeze is blowing through the leaves, it sounds like a small waterfall. It’s such a lovely sound.

Middle Row: This row is all about a few cards made this year. In January, I sent out sixteen winter-themed cards similar to these. The same amount of cards were mailed in February. These were fun to make! The third card is one of the few cards I’ve made for March. In total, forty-two cards were sent out in the last three months! I’m thankful for this encouragement ministry.

Bottom Row: 1) Jonathan made a breakfast casserole one day before I even got out of bed. It smelled so good with the coffee brewing in the kitchen at the same time. I pretended to throw confetti at him and we both had a good laugh over it. 2) “Back porch sitting doing Bible study listening to birds and hearing geese fly over”, a friend sent along with this photo. I so love when others share their stray gifts!! 3) Signs of spring are everywhere. This tree is in front of the church we have been attending. I have loved watching this bloom from the very first signs over the last few weeks. It keeps me looking to see what else might be waking up this season.

When one has tasted watermelon, he knows what the angels eat.

Mark Twain

Something tasty: “We should get a watermelon before the end of the season”, I told John a few weeks ago. This was on a Saturday. After church the next day, I saw Jonathan carrying a large, bulky bag. Our friends had driven to a little tent produce market a few blocks from the church and surprised us with a watermelon and a canteloupe! We hadn’t mentioned wanting a watermelon to anyone! We could smell the melons right away and oh, they were so sweet. They couldn’t have been more perfect. “Watermelon is a memory”, John commented as he was cutting it open. As a child, he used to eat watermelon in the backyard with his grandparents listening to a Texas Rangers game on the radio. I have a special memory of adding salt to watermelon for the first time at my Aunt Madeline’s house. It forever changed how I eat it! I was probably around 10 years old at the time. The watermelon was so good, that John stopped at the tent and bought one a week later. We saw the tent was still up the other day while we were out, and we just might get another one! Both melons were so good. What stray gifts! Disclaimer: Now I don’t know if angels eat watermelon, but I thought the opening quote was cute. There are no photos of the melons to share, but I do have a few others I’ve collected. Comments about the photos are below the collage.

Also tasty was the chicken soup I made from rotisserie chicken. We love Sam’s Club chicken, but nearly every time we go, there is a long line of people waiting for the chickens to be ready. One of the days we were at Sam’s, the chickens were hot and ready and there was no line! We couldn’t believe it, so we bought two because it was rare to not have to wait. We used the chicken for tacos, chicken salad, and soup! Pictured next to the soup are green beans a friend of mine sent me. “Enjoying snipping beans on the back porch”, she shared.

Something beautiful: Another friend sent me this photo of a peony in her yard- one of many. I love it when friends and family send me their stray gifts! The first photo in the second row – Clouds in the desert always bring hope of rain. We did get some rain and it was such a blessing!

Something creative: The card in the middle of the collage was one I made for Jonathan who turned 28 years old this month. The patriotic card is part of a collection of cards I made for military and veterans. Overall, I have 45 cards to send to a charity organization that will send them out to the right places. I will have more photos posted on my Instagram account soon.

The first two photos in the last row are cards made from new templates I’ve been working with lately. There have been several occasions I’ve made cards for – get well, birthday, sympathy. And now with Autumn coming, it’s time to get my fall paper out to see what I can make with them. The last photo is of a card I sent a while ago to a friend to use. She sent me this photo and said, “I used this card today….so grateful to have beautiful cards like this one to send. Thank you!” I always hope the cards I make will be a blessing and her text was an encouragement.

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psalm 38:4

I may not be there yet, but I’m closer than I was yesterday.

-Unknown

It is a new year with new opportunities for our family. We made a big decision last year to move from a big two-story home to a much smaller one-story. My husband John, a disabled veteran, has had eight surgeries in ten years. Through those years, he hauled himself up the stairs with crutches and casts, and his body is worn. His pain management doctor mentioned a possible back surgery in the coming years, and the thought of climbing stairs through another surgery recovery was not something John felt he could do. The house we are renting now is much more manageable for John’s needs. The quieter neighborhood and smaller town are better for his chronic migraines as well. It has been quite the process to simplify all our stuff as we transition into a different house with less space. After caring for him through all the surgeries, fetching water and food, and helping him up and down the stairs, I don’t think I want to “do” stairs anymore, either! The layout of the rental home is much easier for us. It gets John closer to being more mobile and hopefully will aid in him feeling better than he has in years.

We have been able to do some exploring since we moved to New Mexico last month and I am still recording the graces, still capturing the stray gifts in the day. Here is the latest! Photo descriptions will be shared below the collage.

Top Row (left to right) – 1) This was the view from our dining room when we moved in. Our next-door neighbor has a big, beautiful tree in their yard and I love to open the blinds in the morning to see it. 2) We love taking leisurely drives on back roads to see what we can see. The mountains are beautiful here. 3) Cows roam freely on open-range roads – such a neat thing to see after living in the city!

Center Row –1) A sunset over the mountains is such a beautiful scene. 2) and 3) On one of our days exploring, we stopped at this free-admission Space Murals Museum and enjoyed the space program’s artifacts.

Bottom Row – 1) Before we moved, I was able to complete a Christmas card order I had received. I made more than these six, but these were my favorites of them all. 2) I squeezed in enough time to make Christmas cards for me to send out and used an embossing technique to make poinsettia cards. Time to create is always a gift to me! 3) Lastly, here is the container we used to pack our belongings. We hired a company that specializes in moving. They delivered the empty pod and we loaded it with the help of my dad. The company then picked up the pod when we were ready and carried it to the new address. This way of moving was such a blessing and help! We are still in the process of unpacking and figuring out where to put our belongings in a much smaller home. We have been simplifying over the last few years and we’ve made some progress. We aren’t where we’d like to be, but living in a smaller space will help define our priorities as we find balance with John’s health needs.

Where there is patience and humility, there is neither anger nor vexation.

Francis of Assisi

Recently, my husband and I were watching an extreme adventure challenge through the internet. There were over sixty teams with four members in each one. They all had to find their way through the jungle, through rivers, through darkness, through freezing rain, through mud and they needed to work together to endure to the finish line. The challenge was grueling. Putting themselves down or putting others down did not allow for effective teamwork. Team members offered constructive criticism when needed and provided compliments and encouragement often. To succeed, the teams had to know their strengths and their weaknesses and adjust their mindset accordingly. When questioned in an interview on how their team was doing, one member commented, “Why be angry? When there is a solution, there is no need for anger or frustration”. What patience! What humility! “What wisdom!”, I thought.

When I feel frustrated with myself or with another ‘team member’, I know where to find the solution. God gives wisdom to endure to the end. The only way to make it through life’s grueling challenges with patience and humility and without anger is to seek the solution through Him in all things.

James 1: 4-5, “But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

The best doctors in the world are Doctor Diet, Dr. Quiet, and Dr. Merryman.

Jonathan Swift

There are days when I struggle to keep up – even though I have a small family. There are moments when everything seems urgent and I feel overwhelmed – even over small tasks that need to be done. I then need to do a check-up and ask myself a few questions. Have I been drinking enough water? Have I eaten a healthy breakfast to start the day? Should I go to bed earlier to get enough rest? Could I use a bit of quiet time today to reset? Did I do something today that brought me joy? These questions help me take inventory of things I tend to neglect because I usually am taking care of others first. If I do not take care of myself, the lack of nutrition, the lack of sleep, and the lack of purposely looking for the “stray gifts” in a day will catch up. The older I get, the longer it takes to recover. When I notice I have had too many days in a row that were rough, I know I can ask God for wisdom to uncover what my body and soul need to lift the burden and to make the necessary adjustments.

Matthew 11:28-30, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

Katie and I met seventeen years ago in a church in Oklahoma. My husband was in Bible college at the time and we were working in a small church there in the music and bus ministry. Our son Jonathan was seven years old and her two oldest girls were around the same age. After we surrendered to go to the mission field and were on deputation, their home was a refuge for us in between church meetings. We brought ourselves through their doors carrying laundry, tired bodies, and sometimes sick-with-a-cold-bodies, too. They let us sleep and wash clothes, and they fed us well. They took care of us and Jonathan had a place to run around and be a kid. He fed goats, rode horses, jumped on the trampoline with their six kids and we adults visited til way late in the night. Her husband is a professional electrician and came down with a mission group to Mexico one time and helped my dad rewire his church building. The kids still keep in touch here and there. The older ones are in college like Jonathan and busy with classes or work. Katie and I keep in touch regularly.

Recently, one of Katie’s daughters was in a car accident and wrecked the mini van she was driving. The man she bumped into had a heavy duty truck and bumper so no damage was done. He made sure she was okay, that she had help coming, and he didn’t want to file a report. Katie and her husband were trying to figure out the value of repairing the van versus purchasing another vehicle when they heard about a couple who was selling their mini van. Katie never really liked mini vans in the first place. Theirs had issues with the sliding door, the seat adjustments and other things. If ever they were to get another mini van, she had a long wish list of features she would like to have. This mini van that was for sale was four years older than the one that was in the wreck. There were a few things that needed to be fixed, but nothing like a bent-in radiator and fan, though. After the couple had heard about the accident and that Katie and her husband were debating about what to do, they offered their mini van – for free. What did Katie think of the mini van? “It was a major upgrade!”, she said. All the things she had on here wish list? Granted.

Isn’t that amazing? It is so good to hear stories of God’s provisions.

Other Tell Me Something Good stories: Sheilia Michelle MaLinda

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

W. James

The day might start with a bad night’s sleep and then continue on to a hurried morning, troubles with traffic and construction, more bad news on the radio. When I lived in the city, it could take less than one block of driving before frustration would already conquer my day and my attitude. With that frame of mind, an impatient spirit followed closely on my heels in the hours to come. Small annoyances became a bigger problem than they needed to be. It is then easy to overlook my own faults and difficult to overlook those of others. Before my feet touch the floor in the morning, I want to aim for a peaceful day, a gentle spirit, and above all- mercy.

James 3: 17-18, …”the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.”