The weeds had overtaken my beautiful garden! My husband did a great job of watering the flowers and vegetables while I was away on the mission trip to Mexico, but I knew he wouldn’t do anything else. He isn’t a gardener, and that is ok. I had accepted the fact that I had my work cut out for me when I got home and was just thankful I still had a garden to weed.

I grabbed my gardening gloves, clippers, spade, hoe, and trusty little garden wagon. As I stood at the edge of the garden assessing the damage, I was determined…..

As an educator, I am blessed with summers that I don’t have to go into the office and classroom. Although I’m (technically) not under contract, I do still work here and there over the summer preparing for future classes, researching, and other random projects. But for the most part, summer for me is about getting work around my house done. Each summer I create a To Do list that includes a variety of projects I plan to work on while I have time. My list is usually long with the hopes to get everything marked off, but the realization that I won’t get to everything. So I prioritize my list with the most important first and the least important projects that can wait until next summer if absolutely necessary. This is my eighth summer as a professor, and I have yet to mark off every item listed. And that is OK.

Well…. no, it’s not always OK. Actually…. it’s rarely OK that I leave tasks left uncompleted. To be perfectly honest, that drives me nuts! But I have to tell myself that it is OK because I tend to fall into the trap of making a “Do More" list instead of the typical “To Do” list. My Do More lists have morphed into major undertakings during some summers, and I also noticed a growing similarity year-over-year of two primary characteristics which tend to be flaws….

A reminder that sometimes interruptions are actually the very thing we need in the moment.

I was able to see the northern lights from Camp Cowen tonight. Not because I remembered to go look for them. But only because of an “interruption.”

At campfire, when the pastor was giving the evening message, my youngest tapped my arm and whispered, “Mom, I have to go to the bathroom.” I answered, “Do you think you can wait until the message is done? It should be done soon.” She whispered back, “Do you think it will be long? I’ll try to wait.”

Just a few seconds later she whispered, “I can’t wait.”

I like to put together the MMM over the weekend when I have time to pray and think about what to write for a morning devotion. I wasn’t able to accomplish that this weekend. Here it is Monday morning, and I am still struggling to hear the message God wants me to share. I prayed last night before I went to sleep and again this morning. But as I laid there in my bed this morning, the sound of birdsong spilled in my window filled with praises and adoration for their Creator. It was at that moment that God spoke to me with the following message…..

I am located in one of the greatest places in the world to listen to birdsong. That is my opinion, not a proven fact…. But I stand by my conviction with confidence. :) I live up a West Virginia hollow (a.k.a. holler). I’m sure you’re familiar with the term. Our holler is very narrow with hills on both sides leaving only enough room for the “run” or creek and the one-lane country road. All of the houses, barns, and other buildings are built on the sides of the hills. As a result of the landscape, our home is nestled in a sort of natural bowl surrounded on all sides by giant black walnut, sycamore, and various other trees. Multifloral rose proliferates alongside blackberry vines, forest flowers, and ferns. All sorts of creatures can be seen and heard any day (or night) such as deer, bear, coyotes, bobcats, box turtles, squirrel, chipmunks, skunk, fox, and more. There are so many birds in the trees that only God, Himself, could count them all. Just as I’m writing this, a beautiful male cardinal lit on the porch railing near me. I just filled the bird feeders over the weekend, so I believe he was thanking me in his own subtle way.

I wish I could put it into words just how beautiful and soothing it is to be witness to this grand choral performance. Each bird singing its own song yet……

Job is said to have lived sometime between 2100 BC and 1900 BC in the land of Uz. The beginning of the story starts out with God having a meeting with his heavenly beings when Satan suddenly intervenes. After questioning God’s overprotection of Job, God invites Satan to test Job, first by taking his possessions and second by taking his health.

We know, as Christians , we are supposed to be joyful people. And joy is a result of having the Holy Spirit within us. However, there’s this thing called Life that easily can step in and rob you of your joy. Even though you are supposed to be joyful, you can’t because of something that happened that really put a damper on your day.   You don’t feel happy.  Did you know that Happiness is a feeling and Joy is a choice?  You can choose JOY.

Sometimes we start out on the wrong foot. Sometimes our actions don’t  facilitate JOY.  We might begin our day without welcoming God’s presence. We might be so busy we forget our quiet time with God. We realize halfway through our day, when things aren’t going the greatest, oops- we haven’t prayed all day! Or we go to church and act joyful but all the while we are waiting for the other shoe to drop- negativity is creeping into your soul.

The Bible is our basic instruction book before leaving earth.  I want to share some scriptures with you about JOY…..

Over the past week, the world came to life! Did you see it happen? Trees are leafing out, birds are building nests, frogs are singing their nightly love songs, the sweet smells of honeysuckle floats in the warm breeze, and the wildflowers begin to add bits and pieces of color throughout the forest where it was dull browns and grays just a few weeks ago. It is magnificent how God brings the earth back from its winter dormancy to the brilliant sights, sounds, and aromas of spring. It’s the perfect time of year (in my opinion). It’s beginning to warm up but not scorching hot yet. The days are getting longer and the sun is getting brighter. New life is breaking forth!

My prayer is that you can enjoy these beautiful spring days. If you’re exploring nature, you might notice some of those spring wildflowers I mentioned earlier. I found this wonderful resource from the West Virginia Department of Agriculture. The linked PDF provides pictures and information on the wildflowers you may come across. Turn your outing into an adventure to find as many wildflowers you can find and consider the verses from Song of Songs 2:10-13…..

Did you know there is a difference between happiness and joy? Very often, people think that happiness and joy are the same thing. But for Christians, there is a big difference. When we look at how God defines joy, we see something much more powerful than happiness. The only way we can have true Joy is through Jesus Christ.

For National Women’s History Month, we have, so far, reviewed three amazing women as notable protagonists in Biblical history. We looked at the leadership of Deborah, the loyalty of Ruth, and the faith of the Shunammite woman. Each of these women were well-respected and played pivotal roles in God’s work during the Old Testament. For the last Monday in March, though, we move forward to New Testament time and look at a very unique, one-of-a-kind woman… Mary Magdalene.

A dear friend at a local church has put on a Lady’s Day event for a few years now, and I love attending it. This past weekend, about 70 ladies from the community and surrounding area joined together for another amazing walk through scripture, worshiping the Lord in song, and just enjoying each other’s sweet spirits. My friend delivered a message that really touched my heart, so I thought I would share what I learned from her devotion.

Ruth is a timeless story of heartbreak, love, and redemption. There are a lot of lessons one can learn from this short Bible book; however, this devotion will focus on the loyalty of Ruth. She remained loyal to Naomi, her mother-in-law; Jewish tradition and laws; and, most importantly, to God. What is so remarkable about Ruth’s loyalty is the fact that she wasn’t even Jewish… Ruth was a Moabitess from Moab.

Moab was an ancient kingdom that originated from……

And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. Judges 4:5

Jesus called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions act as tyrants over them. It must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:25-28 CSB

"She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet." Proverbs 31:21

“Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10