Pollywog Creek

I {LOVE} Sunday::to proclaim the excellencies of Christ...

2012-05-27T05:00:00.000-04:00

But you are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
a people for his own possession,
that you may proclaim the excellencies of him
who called you out of darkness
into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9 ESV

{Photo: chapel at the Cove}

Linking with Deidra's Sunday community...

Week{ending}...

2012-05-26T09:44:00.001-04:00

I'm in a self-prescribed and self-scheduled writer's conference rehab this weekend. Seriously. Robbi and I flew home late Thursday night, and for most of the day yesterday I either slept or stared off into the distance. Suitcases, bags, books and shoes remain right where I left them Thursday night. One of my {few} goals for today is to get everything moved into the bedroom where I can unpack.

To those of you who prayed for me while I was away - I cannot thank you enough. This trip - navigating airports, cramped airplanes, a beautiful but hilly Ridgecrest campus, and not enough sleep - was undeniably a challenge, but I made adjustments along the way and with Robbi's help and much prayer, I managed {albeit slowly and breathlessly at times} far better than expected.

If you have "friended" me on facebook you already know, but for the rest of you - Robbi and I were humbled, grateful, and thrilled when No Matter What It's a Good Day When placed 3rd in the unpublished non-fiction category at BRMCWC. From the first day Robbi and I began working on this project months ago, we held it close to our hearts but loosely in our hands. We would love for it to be published for those who would benefit from its encouragement, but we trust in God's sovereignty in all things and know that if publication is His plan, then it will happen in His time.

I'll write more about the conference after everything sinks in and settles a bit. For now, we look forward with much joy and excitement to the week ahead when we will gather with family and friends on Monday to celebrate Memorial Day and again on Wednesday for the birth of Nick and Kristin's baby boy.

The LORD is good to me.

What do the days ahead hold for you?

Linking with sweet Sandra's "Still Saturday"...

{Photos - from the trip to Asheville with my point and shoot}

The origin of all things beautiful...

2012-05-24T07:16:00.000-04:00

{Jonathan} Edwards encountered the Creator in his creation. Or, to use the language of the apostle Paul, God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20; cf. also Psalms 19 and 104)

...I’ll never again gaze on a giraffe or a bug or a constellation or a cloud or a valley or a mountain stream or a bird in flight and fail to think of God and marvel at his power and worship him as the “Original” of all things beautiful. ~ Sam Storms The Personal Narrative of Jonathan Edwards - Part III

HT-Ann Voskamp

When you can't...

2012-05-22T07:38:00.000-04:00

When you can't that's when you can watch what God can do through you. Yvonne Lehman

Basking in the worship, fellowship, and teachings of some of the most gifted and creative brothers and sisters in Christ this week at the Blue Ridge Christian Writer's Conference outside Asheville.

Meeting my dear friend across the miles - the delightful, beautiful and amazing, Beth Vogt - has been one of many, many highlights I've experienced in this beautiful place tucked in the North Carolina mountains.

With two and half more days ahead of me, I can only imagine the highlights to come - what God will do through all of us in our places of can't. He is so, so good to His people.

What about you?

Thinking about the quote above from author Yvonne Lehman, last night's keynote speaker, I'd love to hear how you have seen God work through you when you knew you'd been called to do something you couldn't.

I {LOVE} Sunday::to be fully known...

2012-05-20T06:40:00.000-04:00

For now we see in a mirror dimly,
but then face to face.
Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully,
even as I have been fully known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 ESV

{Photo: foggy drive to the airport}

Linking with Deidra's Sunday community...

As the dew...

2012-05-19T02:47:00.001-04:00

May my teaching drop as the rain,
my speech distill as the dew,
like gentle rain upon the tender grass,
and like showers upon the herb.
Deuteronomy 32:2 ESV

{A Friday dawn wandering...}

{I'm flying to Asheville this morning for 6 days and the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. I'll try to write a "weekending" post later.}

Linking with sweet Sandra's "Still Saturday"...

I wonder...

2012-05-16T07:27:00.000-04:00

In our Pollywog Creek pasture, black-eyed susans dance on tall slender stems to early summer's warm breezes, while clumps of common tickseed and tiny southern fleabane push through the sandy ground along rusty fences and fill the shallow ditches by the road.

They're common weeds, and come rainy season and the grass grows too tall, they'll be mowed over...and if I didn't have a camera, I'd hardly notice or care.

It's through the lens of the camera that I see beauty in the ordinary - the common weed - and the unmistakable fingerprints of an orderly, powerful Creator.

And it makes me wonder what beauty I miss in the ordinary lives around me - image-bearers growing in the dry places of every-day life in the trenches.

Lord, open my eyes to the wonder and beauty in every person you bring into my life this day.

My beautiful mother...

2012-05-13T05:56:00.002-04:00

On Mother's Day 2012
Remembering my mother with much love gratitudeMary Eleanor Gardner White
May 10, 1918 - April 19, 2001
{Photo-my paternal grandmother, Lucille White, my mother with me, my dad with my brother, my maternal grandmother, Mary Gardner, 1952}

I {LOVE} Sunday::to know this truth...

2012-05-13T03:00:00.000-04:00

The grass withers,
the flower fades,
but the word of our God
will stand forever.
Isaiah 40:8 ESV

{Photos - blackeyed susans}

Week{ending}...

2012-05-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

Apologies to my readers who are not at all enamored with these not-so-lovely muscovies. I agree with you - more or less. They are large and messy and rather....ugly.

But when I ventured outside into the healing warmth of yesterday's noonday sun and discovered these three waddling about, I couldn't resist trying to capture the beauty of their iridescent plumage.

Today we are off to the east coast to celebrate Austin's third birthday. He's clearly the cutest three year old ever, so you can expect photos to appear here on Pollywog Creek next week, as well as photos of three week old Wyatt and the five year olds, Mason and Gavin, of course. I am one rich mimi.

I'd love to know what you are up to this weekend.

Linking with sweet Sandra's "Still Saturday"...

The goodness of God on a difficult day...

2012-05-11T11:54:00.001-04:00

Whining and feeling sorry for myself is pathetic, unproductive, and sorely lacking in gratitude, but I choose to sit in that sorry place for a moment.

I'm not happy to have sent my Nikon back for repairs - right after UPS finally finds our house and delivers it.

And I'm not happy that I have to increase my RA meds - after working so hard to wean the dosage down.

And I'm certainly not happy that I need handicap parking.

I step outside the garage to soak painful joints and muscles in sunlight and God opens my eyes to the blanket of flowers and buzzing bees at my feet, and I pick up the gift that is my Sony point and shoot and capture a glimpse of the goodness of God on a difficult day.

And whining turns to gratitude when I cultivate an eye for God's multitude of mercies and grace.

Where have you caught a glimpse of the goodness of God on a difficult day? I'd love for you to tell me about it.

{Photos - the blanket of flowers at my feet}

If you feed them...

2012-05-10T06:12:00.001-04:00

...they will come.

To quote Benedick in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing...

"There's a double meaning in that.”

{Photos-from Tuesday morning's sitting in the fresh air and sunshine in my backyard; because I feed them, they do come.}

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday::Into the storm...

2012-05-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

{Photo - this photo is from May 2011, returning home at dusk from celebrating Austin's 2nd birthday, past fields of sugarcane and into a thunderstorm. It's a trip we will take again this weekend to celebrate Austin's 3rd birthday - hopefully without the thunderstorm.}

To do it afraid...

2012-05-08T06:41:00.001-04:00

{The truth in this edited repost from my archives is one I need to be reminded of today.}

For that tiny moth atop that equally tiny flowerhead it's a long way to the ground - but for her wings.

It's a picture of faith,,I think - those wings to launch off into the deep - trusting that God will supply all the wing power needed for the jump.

In his message on Sunday, Pastor Eric reminded us that fear is the number one hindrance to doing what God asks us to do. It was a message meant for me.

My friend Sam added that we don't wait for fear to be overcome before we obey, but we push past our fear and build our faith by just doing it afraid.

I confess an embarrassingly long list of fears that have hindered me - fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of disappointing others, fear of causing others to stumble, fear of saying something stupid, fear of not being good enough - and so on.

In faith I'm wearing my faith-wings to jump out and do what I know God has called me to.

That's my chalkboard message to myself for the week: Do It Afraid.

What about you?

What did you hear in the message from your pastor that was meant for you - and how are you applying it this week?

To be a beggar...

2012-05-07T08:04:00.000-04:00

We sit in a circle and Johnathan tells the story from Luke and I can't get the picture out of my mind - the blind beggar sitting by the side of the road and the crowds waiting for Jesus and him calling out "Son of David, have mercy on me."

The crowds tell him, "Be quiet." But he's a beggar and beggars persist.

"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asks.

"Lord, let me recover my sight." The blind man gets right to the point.

"Restore your sight," Jesus says. "You faith has made you well."

So I ask, "What is the Lord telling me in this?"

Jesus didn't need the beggar to call out to Him to know that the beggar was there or that he was blind - but He responded to the beggar's persistence, and though Jesus must has known the beggar's need, He still asked him to acknowledge it, "What do you want me to do for you?"

And what I wonder is this - was the faith that healed the beggar his belief that Jesus could restore his sight? Many faithful Christians know and believe God can heal them, yet their health has not been restored.

Or maybe the most important lesson in this story is not that God heals and that faith will always bring the healing we ask for in faith, but that the man was a humble beggar and his persistence in ignoring the crowd and calling out for Jesus was the measure of faith to which Jesus responded.

And I think God is telling me I need to be more like that humble beggar - not that I be healed, but that I ignore the shouts from the crowd {the world's solutions to the things I need} and be persistence {not anxious - but trusting that He knows what is best for me} in seeking the Lord in all things - that this will be the measure of my faith that He knows.

What about you? What do you believe about faith and healing and what the Lord is saying in this story from Luke?

{Photos - the beautyberry beginning to blossom in the corner of our backyard}

I {LOVE} Sunday::to think on the lovely and worthy of praise...

2012-05-06T03:30:00.000-04:00

Finally, brothers, whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Philippians 4:8 ESV

Gatering with Deidra's Sunday community...

{Photos - magnolias on my kitchen counter}

Week{ending}...

2012-05-05T08:26:00.001-04:00

Throughout the week I've watched a large crow dip pieces of bread in the bird bath before flying away. One day he landed on the edge of the bath with two ritz crackers in his beak. I laughed out loud - wondering who might have left their kitchen window {or pantry} open.

Hoping to capture his antics, I sat outside yesterday with a basket of books and my point-and-shoot camera. A constant stream of feathery friends stopped by to visit while I waited for the crow who failed to appear. Maybe today.

That's what my weekend appears to hold - more time to be still - to sit outside with a basket of great books and my point-and-shoot camera - fresh air for my lungs and sunshine to warm flared joints. Time to read, write, rest and recover from the bronchitis and ear infection I've battled all week.

God is so, so good to me. His grace and provisions are abundant.

What does the weekend hold for you, dear friends?

{Photos - a few of yesterday's visitors. In a whimsical moment under the influence of a fever, I posted photos of my living room here this week. And because homeschooling mothers never outgrow their love for learning and wonder at God's creation when their children are grown, this is what's happening on my kitchen counter these days.}

Linking with sweet Sandra's "Still Saturday"...

The sweetest things in life...

2012-05-04T10:03:00.002-04:00

"The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life."

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

This "carpe diem in an ordinary life" seems to be a common thought everywhere I look these days. Either others are on the same page, or it's the work the Lord is doing in my heart and it raises my spiritual antennae.

Or maybe it's also because this is the year - the month - that I qualify for social security and I can't for the life of me figure out how I got here so fast.

Wasn't it yesterday that I graduated from nursing school? Was married? Had children?

Did I take the path right before me or did I grasp at the stars?

What did I do with all those flowers at my feet? Did I embrace with joy and gratitude those daily duties and bread?

But more importantly, will I taste of these sweetest things in life in this moment - in this best and ordinary day?

{Photos - one sweet day this week by the honeysuckle - with the Nikon before I had to send it back}

{HT-thank you Vicki for this fabulous quote}

I {LOVE} Sunday::to thank the Lord in song...

2012-04-29T05:30:00.000-04:00

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on the lyre!
Psalm 147:7 ESV

Oh, the Lord's been good to me.
And so I thank the Lord
For giving me the things I need:
The sun, the rain and the apple seed;
Oh, the Lord's been good to me.
Oh, and every seed I sow
Will grow into a tree.
And someday there'll be apples there
For everyone in the world to share.
Oh, the Lord is good to me.

Oh, here I am 'neath the blue, blue sky
Doing as I please.
Singing with my feathered friends
Humming with the bees.

I wake up every day,
As happy as can be,
Because I know that with His care
My apple trees, they will still be there.
The Lord's been good to me.
Words by Kim Gannon and Walter Kent

{Photo - apples and oranges - they're all the same, right?}

Joining Deidra's Sunday community...

Week{ending}...

2012-04-28T06:51:00.000-04:00

My life overflows with grandlittles these days and I couldn't be happier - unless, of course, they all lived with me and I could smooch on them anytime I want. {Sounds like a line from "Sweet Home Alabama" doesn't it?}

Remember Kristin's 3D/4D ultrasound that I missed last Friday because I forgot or didn't know about and couldn't have gone anyway because we headed in the opposite direction for Wyatt's birth? It had to be rescheduled for yesterday because the baby was soundly sleeping and wouldn't show his face. That was great news for me, but not-so-good news for Nick because he had to go back on the ship this past Wednesday. So yesterday I got to see the ultrasound sneak peek of this little one - wide awake, sucking his thumb and exploring his space; and because Nick is military, they are going to stream it to Nick's computer on the ship. Not the same as being there, but very cool none the less.

This morning, we had plans to head back over to the east coast to watch Mason play his last regular season spring t-ball game and to love on our adorable new grandlittle Wyatt and his family, but those plans have changed. Not only does radar this morning show thunderstorms where they live and the game is likely to be cancelled, I had fever and chills last night and have been awake for quite some time this morning with a sore throat and laryngitis. Can you see my sad face across cyberspace?

I'm still taking photos on my Sony point and shoot, but I'll have the Nikon back soon. Nikon extended the warranty on the camera to make the repairs at no cost and shipped it back to me early in the week. It was scheduled to be delivered yesterday. Every day I tracked the package's progress and was excited yesterday morning to see that it was on the vehicle to be delivered that day, but by the end of the day there was no camera. When I checked the tracking information online there was a notice that they couldn't deliver the package because they need a correct address. They have the correct address. UPS has delivered hundreds of packages to us at the address they have. We called them. They are sorry. The package will be redelivered on Monday. I'm guessing it was a new driver, and this must be an opportunity for me to handle disappointment with grace - even though I'd rather pitch a fit.

Despite my disappointments in not being able to see Mason play t-ball, love on that adorable Wyatt and his family, and have my camera back, life is very, very good, isn't it? I have no reason to complain. Which reminds me of a story I read this week that is going to stick with me for a very long time. I do hope you will read it, too, and let me know how it spoke to your heart. Good Things Always Happen To Me.

Linking with sweet Sandra's "Still Saturday"...

{Photos: yesterday's pasture wandering}

Woe to him who is alone when he falls...

2012-04-26T08:45:00.000-04:00

Two are better than one,
because they have a good reward for their toil.
For if they fall,
one will lift up his fellow.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls
and has not another to lift him up!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 ESV

In less than a month, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, Robbi - my critique partner, writing coach, book collaborator, and friend - will be boarding a plane with me headed for Asheville, North Carolina, and the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. For a multitude of reasons, it's a conference I would not be attending without her.

My friendship with Robbi bears witness to God's sovereignty - from how He brought us together to how He manipulates our circumstances and speaks to us individually, giving us glimpses of His purposes for our writing and confirming our plans. Two truly are better than one.

This will be my first major outing since rheumatoid arthritis, and every now and then I worry about how I will manage the conference. There are days when walking from one room to another in my house is a challenge. How will I ever get from one place to the next away from home - in a large conference venue?

Robbi teasingly suggested roller skates. I told her she'd have to push me - that she could use my cane to prod me along...and just like scripture says, she could lift me up if I fall.

Don't tell anyone, but that could be the title of our next book - Two Are Better Than One.

What about you? Do you have a two-are-better-than-one story?

{Photos - two by themselves not-so-great point-and-shoot photos made lovelier when they were combined into one.}

Feed yourself...

2012-04-25T09:15:00.000-04:00

A former pastor told us about a t-shirt he liked with the words Feed Yourself printed across the front.

This pastor wasn't denying his responsibility to feed the sheep in his flock - he knew he would someday answer for how he shepherded and equipped the people God brought to his church. He meant that grown-up, maturing Christians also feed themselves.

Babies need to be fed. Mature Christians don't depend on their pastor to feed them.

It's an indicator of my lack of spiritual growth when I grumble that my pastor - in the church family I've chosen - does not meet all my spiritual needs.

The first thing I should ask myself when my spiritual "tummy" grumbles is am I feeding myself?

What do you think?

How you do to feed yourself?

As far as the eye can see...

2012-04-23T08:06:00.000-04:00

It's one of my favorite drives through this native state of mine - past fields of corn and sugarcane and through a handful of struggling farming communities without shopping malls and overpasses and multiple exits to fantasy lands.

It's where life is real - where we come face to face with the poverty of rural life and where the consequences of sin can be seen in the wandering souls held captive behind prison's coils of razor-wire...

...surrounded by the beauty of Creation in the rich black muck around the Big O where sugarcane flourishes and thick, rain-nourished carpets of green rustle in April's breezes...

...as far as the eye can see.

But more than anything else, it's a drive that leads me to people I love dearly - and the newest sweet miracle in all creation...

Wyatt Michael Orin Hunter{Isn't he perfect?}

And now we thank you, our God,
and praise your glorious name. 1 Chronicles 29:13 ESV

I {LOVE} Sunday::to be the aroma of Christ...

2012-04-22T05:30:00.000-04:00

For we are the aroma of Christ to God
among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15 ESV

Joining Deidra's Sunday community...

{Photo - heavenly scented gardenias from the bushes outside the study windows}

Week{ending}...

2012-04-21T14:41:00.000-04:00

It's been a full week of surprises and I hardly know where to begin.

All week I struggled to know what day it was. Almost everything was out of sync. Robbi and I worked on our book, Emily worked extra hours at the preschool while trying to study for finals, and I forgot a dental appointment (even after they called the day before to remind me) and had to rush into town in grubby clothes and no make-up after the dentist office called wondering where I was.

Louis spent an extra night on CPAP at the sleep center after I met him in the city to have dinner with friends, our dog Jake had surgery to remove a tumor, and I either never knew that Kristin was having a 3-D ultrasound in Ft. Myers yesterday or totally forgot (which Kristin thinks and she's probably right), but I obviously didn't make it.

Which turned out to be a really good thing, because Louis and I dropped everything yesterday afternoon and hustled through thunderstorms to the east coast when Casey called to tell us that the doctor wanted Jessi to have the baby that day.

Needless to say, the very best surprise of the whole week (if not the whole month) was the birth of our beautiful new grandson, Wyatt Michael Orin Hunter, born healthy and hungry and perfectly delightful late yesterday.

On our way out of town yesterday, we stopped to pay the vet for Jake to spend the night, but he's home now - on our back porch - with a large plastic cone around his neck so he doesn't try to bite off the stitches. The cats are quite amused and a bit fearful, as they watch him (from a distance) through the sliding glass doors.

We're staying home as much as possible today. Resting. Taking care of Jake. Watching baseball and hoping the Yankees beat the Red Sox again.

Tomorrow we're driving back to the east coast so we can love on Wyatt, his brothers and his mom and dad.

And you? What surprises did you have this week?

{Photos-the honeysuckle vine on the backyard chain-link fence}

Linking with sweet Sandra's "Still Saturday"...

Links for 2011-09-26 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-27T00:00:00-07:00

Live with Flair: Would You Give Like This?
"I want to be the kind of woman that removes her own necklace because another woman might enjoy it. Might I see my possessions as just baubles to pass around?"

Links for 2011-09-23 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-24T00:00:00-07:00

The Blazing Center » Jumping Spiders, Robber Flies And God’s Glory
AMAZING!!!
Rust: A High Calling Gallery | The High Calling
My "rusty" photo was featured here...and the poem by Roseann is beautiful and worth the click over there....

Links for 2011-09-21 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-22T00:00:00-07:00

Gitz
Beautiful, faithful Sara is going home. If you've never read her blog, I suggest you find a quiet place to do so. Sara is a shining star if there ever was one. Go with God, Sara. You are dearly loved.
Our lives together make the gospel visible | Of First Importance
"Our lives together make the gospel visible." Trevin Wax
“Suffering for Jesus with joy shows his supreme value” – John Piper « The Works of God
And this is exactly what Sara has done...her joy has shown Christ's supreme value...

Links for 2011-09-14 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-15T00:00:00-07:00

Well Hello | E.S. Hunter
My Emily is the real writer....the one with wisdom that far exceeds what I had at her age. "Knowledge of Him is real power."

Links for 2011-09-13 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-14T00:00:00-07:00

Who will you Invite to (in)courage (in)RL? {A giveaway}
Just beautiful...and I'm thinking about hosting a gathering here on my {real} Pollywog Creek.. Want an invitation?

Links for 2011-09-12 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-13T00:00:00-07:00

when you need some peace … » A Holy Experience
"Somedays I am even brave enough to say that I am scared — I wonder if bends in the roads can break things"

Links for 1969-12-31 [del.icio.us]

1970-01-01T00:00:00-08:00

Laughter, the Unstoppable Force | The High Calling
"If you haven’t laughed in a while, what’s keeping you?"