what do you run to?

 

Who do you run to?

Where do you run

when your heart hurts

and your soul is restless and seeking....

When there is a great big empty space in your heart

that hurts and won't be still?

 

This world that we live in

 has nothing to satisfy our craving for 

 peace

in our innermost being. 

alcohol

eating

sports

politics

internet

drugs

shopping

television

travel

novels

None of these work....

their pursuit may bring temporary relief

but the hurting heart remains,

the pain rising once again to the surface

when the panacea is over.

 

The God of heaven created us for Himself.

He knows the frame of mankind.

He knows that we are happiest and most content

when we are seeking Him.

 

For myself,

and I have learned this in the

 "Life School of Very Hard Knocks,"

the only way I can

quiet my soul and bring peace to my heart is in

His Word.

I run to it and let it soothe

as nothing else on this earth can do.

 

Read God's word....

It fills the empty void with truth.

You will know God's plans

and why things are as they are in this world.

The believer's life will still be difficult

because this earth is not our permanent home,

but your life will be filled with

the joy of the Lord

 which is utterly indescribable.

 

 

 

 

 

gathering my thoughts

 

You guys are so great to keep checking my blog.

 

When I fell

all of my thoughts

tumbled out of my head

and I am just now starting to be able

to gather them up again.

 

Working on getting the blog going again...

Thanks for your patience.

 

"The principal prayer

and aim

of all Christians should be that ...

'We walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,

 being fruitful in every good work,

and increasing in the

knowledge of God.' "

AW Pink ~ Colossians 1:10 

 

Working on that verse as it applies to my life.

 

bleach it girl!

 

This is for

Amanda and Erika and myself

and all you other girls out there who

couldn't keep house without

Clorox Bleach.

 

This is also to all of the new

and nearly new outfits

that have been ruined in some form or another

 by this same substance.

 

Bubba's Aunt Dottie

always complimented me

on having the whitest whites

she had ever seen.

I did share my secret with her and now all of you.

 

I just love this picture and had to share.

happy first day of fall

 

There has been a lot of talk about "fall" lately.

 

The seasons they have changed once again.

Where did summer go?

Seems like it went by in a flash.

 

Fall is nice if summer has to go.

Lovely weather for the most part,

but the days are getting shorter and shorter

and winter is coming.

It makes me shiver just to think about it.

They,

whoever they are,

say it's going to be a really cold one this year.

 

I posted the picture above as a haunting reminder of

"the other fall."

The bike and the scattering of fall leaves....

fitting I would say.

Bubba is trying to encourage me to get

back on my bike.

 

"Not yet," I said.

I want the goose egg on my forehead to go away....

I want to be able to eat right

and walk without feeling like I'm going to stumble over.

I want all of those things that were

shook up in my head

to be quiet and still for awhile.

I want to feel normal again.

 

One day real soon I will,

but not right now....thank you.

 

"For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again....."

Proverbs 24:16

 

The above verse is speaking of another kind of "fall,"

falling into sin.

When we fall into sin,

we are able to "rise again"

because of the shed blood of our

Savior,

Jesus Christ.

(needed to clarify that verse.)

 

 

 

love & light

 

Once upon a time,

when I was a little girl,

I had a playhouse out in the backyard.

Every day it was my job

to go out and care for my babies.

Most days

my friend Loucinda joined me

 and the two of us played

"mommy"

 until the sun went down and

we couldn't play any more.

 

Isn't it funny that we never played

"grandmother?"

I guess it was too far ahead

 for a couple of eight, nine, ten year old girls

to imagine themselves with

gray hair and,

grown children,

who had their own kids.

 

I say all of that to say this....

Earlier in the week I got this in an e-mail from Lou.

I hope you don't mine if I share.

I want it here on my blog for posterity.

It touched me in a way few thing do.....

 

"Dearest Girlfriend Grammy.....

I had been waiting for that photo of the Fab Five

(referring to the picture of the children I posted a few days ago.)

I knew you would post a picture of those kids together....

Those babies/children,

those beautiful,

different,

utterly unique

Cleland grandkids.

I laughed out loud and felt in my heart when I saw those faces......

My friend Cathy's beautiful babies....

they will always be our babies."

 

I love this and I love you dear friend.

Why do you think we never played

grandmother?

 

(both pictures taken by Erika....can't you tell?)

weaving an intricate web

 

The light was brighter than any I'd ever seen.

The doctor had on a pink shirt and a tie

with tiny ballerinas all over it.

Later he told me that it was his daughter.

Standing over me,

with the light creating an aura, 

it looked as if he was weaving an intricate web.

 

Over and under...

to this side and that,

back and forth

and then up and down.

 

Actually,

he was sewing my lip back in place.

The impact when I hit the ground

split my bottom lip wide open.

Even with numbing,

it hurt like crazy.

Bubba

was watching the procedure

from the foot of my bed.

 

Over and over,

silently,

I kept saying to myself,

"Thank You God."

 

"In my distress I called upon the Lord,

and cried out to my God;

He heard my voice from His temple,

and my cry came before Him,

even to His ears."

Psalm 18:6

 

God got me through....He always does!

Thank You God.

 

 

Happy Birthday Harry #5

 

This little boy is as sweet as they come.

He has been a joy in our life for five years now.

At the same time that my mom and Bubba's mom passed on from this earth,

Harry was born and came to be with us.

 

His life has not been without struggles.

None of us can imagine what pain he endures.

He has many hardships to overcome....

but we do know that he lives

 with a smile on his face

and love in his heart

for all of us that hold him dear.

 

Harry had his Spiderman party while we were at

Hilton Head.

He got Legos for the first time.

He and his dad went right to work building them together.

Harry is overcome with joy

when he gets his gifts.

He is in so much awe that he is rendered immobile for a while.

I like that in him...

He savors the moment and holds it dear.

 

Harry is growing tall and strong.

He got rainbow sherbert at the ice-cream shop last night.

He got to sleep in his sleeping bag all week in the same room with his cousins.

 

Harry...

I love you!

You give me hope.

How sweet it was of God to give you to us!

gram

 

 

the fab five

 

For my friends who are not on facebook

I share this photo with you tonight.

Amanda & Erika

had a photo shoot last night

and this was the first shot taken.

Thought you would enjoy!

 

 

the tale of the ill-fated bike ride

 

 

It was an idyllic morning...

very early,

when Lucy and I set out to see the alligator in the lagoon.

Our ride had been pleasant,

uneventful.

 

On the turn to come home,

we were laughing.

I was telling her that Lindsey called alligators

alligingins when she was a little girl.

All of a sudden she turned right in front of me.

She had spotted a circular driveway that looked enticing.

 

When I hit the asphalt with a thud,

I knew it was bad.

I was on my hands and knees

with a huge amount of blood pooling beneath me.

 

Lucy was asking...

"Grammy, are you alright?"

I told her I wasn't sure.

I had not brought my phone.

We were in a secluded area.

 

I knew I had been knocked "ku ku."

I knew I was bleeding profusely,

but there didn't seem to be any broken bones.

A car finally passed,

I rose up to wave,

the driver only waved back and keep driving

even though my hoodie was soaked with blood.

 

It finally dawned on me

that I would have to get

 on my bike and ride back to the beach house.

 

By the grace of God

we made it!

It was truly supernatural strength

that enabled me to get to where help was.

No one could believe I had ridden all the way back home

in that condition.

 

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord,

and He delights in His way.

When he falls he shall not be hurled headlong;

because the Lord is the One who holds his hand."

Psalm 37: 23 & 24

 

holding on a little longer

 

Not letting go of summer quite yet.

Going to go live by the ocean for a week starting on Saturday.

Nice weather is predicted...

still warm enough to swim in the water but

cool enough to ride bikes

 all over the island.

 

As most of you know,

I am a beach girl through and through.

God is magnified in the vastness of His ocean

and His love rolls over me like the waves crashing on the sea.

 

So summer stays on for a little longer......

 

Beach chairs

Umbrellas

buckets & shovels

flip flops

bathing suits

noodles for the water

sun screen

moonbeams shining on the beach

lazy days

sleepful nights

riding on our bikes

 

God is so good to allow us to have this time together.

All glory goes to Him who made the heavens and the earth and all that there is therein.

Praise Him from whom all blessings fall.

 

 

 

for you who are suffering tonight...

 

"When you have lost your health

or your loved ones

or your money,

when everything seems to be taken away from you,

 you are left alone,

paralyzed,

 helpless as it were.

 

There is nothing that you can look forward to in this world,

and that.....

 drives you to look at what God is preparing for you.

What a wonderful thing tribulation is.

 

It worketh for us a far more exceeding

and eternal weight of glory;

It makes us think of the marvel and the glory of heaven

and the certainty of it.

 

Heaven is beyond description!

That place will be life with Christ;

it is a mansion that He is preparing;

it will be glory everlasting.

Even your body will be glorified,

with no defect whatsoever."

martyn l. jones

 

Think of this....

God has not failed to keep even one of His promises to us in His word.

Praise Him! Praise Him!

the new family

 

Mr. & Mrs. Robert Edward O'Quinn

September 1, 2012

with Cameron.

A brand new family.

 

"May the Lord bless you

 and keep you

and cause His face

 to shine upon you,

and be gracious to you.

May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you

and give you peace."

 

Love to you guys.