Bloom with Jesus!

  Change doesn’t always come easy for me. Maybe that is why I worked for the same company for over twenty years. There were good and bad times at that company, but in the end I was always glad that I persevered. Making it through difficult times gave me a sense of purpose and accomplishment. At this point and time in my life, change comes a little easier. Is it easier because of my age, or is it my faith that every change in life works out for the greater good? I am a strong believer that if you pray and ask God for direction, He will lead you through changes. My most recent changes include: Posting on my blog more, and working on a book less. Helping other authors self-publish. A new look for my website. Helping less on the farm, as the next generation takes over. It is like God has laid a path out in front of me that I didn’t know existed. A path that I am struggling to understand, but I continue to follow God’s lead. All of the changes are different, yet somehow interconnected. ...

  Recently I assisted three new authors with the publishing process. From start to finish: formatting, uploading files, book covers, tips of the trade, and being published as an Indie author. They now have digital and paperback books available for purchase. It isn’t that I have great knowledge, or know all the tricks of the trades, but after publishing ten books myself I am able to assist. I didn’t help them because I wanted accolades or payment, but because I wanted to help them each obtain their goals of getting their books in front of others. They all have wonderful devotional books, but their writing styles are different than mine, which is great. It takes different styles of authors to impact different people. Ironically, three of us have one thing in common. Our first name is Mary. I have sent group emails with information to the Marys, because it pertains to them specifically and their goals. When I do this, I call it a 3-way Mary email. Just like a 3-way bulb, different aut...

  There are blood relatives which make up your family, and church families. Close friends are often considered family, and as a nation, we are a family. Families can be full of belly laughs, good times, smiles, and unforgettable memories. There is survival mode through tragedies, and celebrations of great accomplishments. But families also come with a blend of personalities, so there is frustration, the occasional harsh word, and arguments which get out of hand. The key to a close family is always remembering what is important. Unconditional love and forgiveness. When difficulties arise, we need to step back, pray, and consider what Jesus would do. He would always forgive. Grace was the key element to His ministry, and forgiveness should always be a part of our Christian walk, no matter the circumstances. In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, his wife, Erika, publicly announced that she forgave the assassin. I’m sure those words were difficult to utter as she mourned the los...

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) How do you actually increase your knowledge of God, and build the wonderful qualities mentioned in the Fruits of the Spirit? Many people say, “Don’t ever pray for patience, because God will test you!” True, but if you ask God for patience, He is going to give you the ability to grow patience. He doesn’t just give you the Fruits of the Spirit, you have to practice them, by seizing opportunities. Grace is free and God freely gives to His children, but once you have received His wonderful grace, you want more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control . He doesn’t just hand these qualities over to you, you have to put in a little elbow grease and do the necessary work, by watching for opportunities to embellish these gifts. You may ask God to show you how to love mo...

When my niece, Rachel, was growing up, she had two Aunt Marys. She would be talking about Aunt Mary, and her mom would quickly become confused and ask questions trying to decipher the story. In her frustration, Rachel would say, “No, the other Aunt Mary!” Over time, “the other Aunt Mary” stuck with both of us. We refer to one another by the nickname we were given by our niece many years ago. We are from opposite sides of the family, but have been friends for many years. This week I had the privilege of helping the other Aunt Mary, Mary Rogers, self-publish her first book, God’s Magnificent Creatures . Having this opportunity reminds me that God made each of us different. We share the same first name, but we both have different strengths and weaknesses. Yet God brought us together to help spread the Good News about our Savior. Mary’s style of writing is different than mine. She sees nature through God’s eyes, and relates buzzards and stink bugs to our lives and lessons from the Bible. I...

  The man who lives without Jesus is the poorest of the poor, whereas no one is so rich as the man who lives in His grace. ~ Thomas à Kempis I am reminded of the old hymn, Grace Greater Than All Our Sin . God's grace is life changing, and eternity changing. God’s grace gives us the ability to forgive ourselves and others. When we walk in His grace, we are acknowledging our imperfections, and understand that Christ makes us pure. Our lives are scarred by sin, but Jesus’ cleansing grace makes us white as snow. It is His grace that brings us comfort and wisdom in all situations. When we receive God’s free gift of grace, our salvation wipes away all of our sins. But better yet, our salvation writes our name in the Book of Life. As Thomas à Kempis says, God’s grace makes us rich. Are you rich? I pray that you are a child of God and will be living eternally in heaven, praising your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Praise Him today for His amazing Grace! Grace, grace, God’s grace, Grace th...

Do you ever look back and think, “Me and my bright ideas?” Well today was one of those days. When we first arrived in Florida I washed all of the windows that don’t have screens and can be reached from the outside. Unfortunately, the living room windows were not one of those. I hated looking through the dirty windows and asked Jim to help this morning. They are hurricane windows and very heavy, not to mention the windows are extremely wide. It takes two people to release both buttons and lift them. Jim and I struggled to get the bottom window lifted, but were finally successfully and tilted it inward. I washed it and we pulled the top window down. Except it didn’t just pull down—it slammed down, wedging my right hand in the crack! Jim was trying to push it up, I was trying to help one handed. I tried to pull my hand out, but there was no way. As he is shoving upward, I am thinking, “If I scream for help   is there a neighbor outside?” (Screaming would not have been hard to do ...