“We love him, because he first loved us.” 1 John :19

A FEW INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS;

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.  ~ Augustine

God is love. He didn’t need us. But he wanted us. And that is the most amazing thing.  ~ Rick Warren

God is love. Therefore love. Without distinction, without calculation, without procrastination, love.  ~ Henry Drummond

Saving us is the greatest and most concrete demonstration of God’s love, the definitive display of His grace throughout time and eternity.  ~ David Jeremiah

God’s unfailing love for us is an objective fact affirmed over and over in the Scriptures. It is true whether we believe it or not. Our doubts do not destroy God’s love, nor does our faith create it. Gods unfailing love originates in the very nature of God, who is love, and it flows to us through our union with His beloved Son, JESUS CHRIST  ~ Jerry Bridges

GOD’S love and  the love He gives us to love others with  as well as  ourselves is  patient, kind;  does not envy or boast; is not arrogant or rude.   It does not insist on its own way;  is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears,  believes,  hopes  and endures ALL THINGS!  Love never ends. God is love !  1st Corinthians 13

I love how Gods grace , (His unmerited Favor ,) is His bestowal to us, birthing from His pure and genuine mercy… It is only because of His great love towards us that  His divine favor and grace are  extended to us 24/7. WOW! That blows me away!  

In reading the passage in Zephaniah 3:17, I am  always  taken  aback  at  just how authentic and irrefutable as well as reassuring  the love of God is for us, His kids.

“The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

I never knew before that the Lord sang over us, rejoicing in His heart. Can you even imagine, the almighty  God  singing  over  us  as  His  heart delights in us?    Its  almost  an  inconceivable thought. But IT IS TRUE, (no matter if its a good day or bad in  our  eyes  or if our  hearts  can believe it or not.) It is  Gods word in which He places above His name.

The very love of  God’s  heart for  us has given us the  precious  honor to be called His children…and so, WE ARE. Not just His kids for a day or week, BUT forever His and He is forever our  Abba daddy.    The greatest way God had to show us His deep love for us was to sacrifice His only son, Jesus, His son that was with him from the beginning of all time.     They had never parted, EVER! But in His love for us, He sent Him from His side, to save us and bring intimacy  between  Himself  and  His  chosen  kids.  I still struggle with being able to truly lay hold upon that great of a love.  I am convinced, it will take a life  time to  even begin to  understand and   then, in  spending  eternity  with the Godhead, we will know His love in ways we will never know on earth.

 No matter how long we have each  walked with the Lord, we all have a “thus far” story. Our novellas, written on paper or upon the pages of our hearts, may be  lengthy or short, but are  assuredly  bound  to  have recollections of  both the elated and blissful seasons as well as the difficult and somber. We all know that in following Jesus there will be growing pains, times of testing, moments of angst and doubt, but we can always look  forward  to  the  seasons  of overflowing joy, colossal  triumph, new intimacy with the Lord and numerous experiences of “walking  with Him in the clouds.”       I  am  always  comforted  as I  see  the  witness  throughout  ALL OF GOD’S CREATION,  that HE is a God of seasons.  It is incredibly heartening  to KNOW  that when we are in a hollow, a dark vale or valley that it is only temporary as God will deliver us ,  bringing  us into  a new place.      (Not just within our spirits with surprising growth, but in the natural realm as well, where we will once again experience new joys.)  He never changes,  but we  will  forever  be changed  by His  truths and faithfulness within our lives.

I am “lovin life” right now!

This especial, “customized by God,” year for Kit and I was one of those extended periods of time that we felt tremendously blessed by God’s favor, love and  sensational grace. It was during this time that He reassured our faith, not   just  in  the many  reminders He brought  to  us  of  His  words  and  the abundance  of  miraculous  works  He had accomplished within our lives thus far, but with all  He  was doing in  the present time.   Kit and I felt like He had given us  a brand new  armor to put on. We were excited and  amenable,  ready to stand strong in all He had promised us, even though we began to see some of our cherished friends and family, (who had stood beside us since day one,) begin to doubt our faith and path as they had grown weary.   It was one of those seasons where we both felt an overflowing of the Lords love in our marriage,  home and lives,   (enjoying every  moment  upon  this mountain top God had placed us upon. )      AND…  I  know  Grantham,  (AKA Mr. intuitive and perceptive) did too. We all know that when we are at rest, filled with joy and  the  peace of  the Lord   is overflowing  within  our homes,  our babies,  (whether canine or human,) also reap Gods blessings as  they to FEEL it within their souls. All  I  can  tell  you is  that  Grahammy  sure did a lot of “tail wagging”  this  year.

Ever since I  can remember,  the phrase “Love eyes,”  has been  a part of  my  daily vocabulary. (And it’s rubbed off on Kit, so now its part of his as well.)     I think for me, it sums up how God sees us and how He desires us to look upon others.  I know  this  expression has a medley of portrayals of what comes to all of us when we hear the words, but I have two that come to my mind that I use most often.  The first one, (and there is no order here,)  is the love of Jesus that God has placed within our hearts for our spouses, (which totally surpasses our own capacity to love.)

Its so easy to tell on any given day or moment, which one we are operating in.

As Kits wife, I am in awe of his ability to see past the very things within  myself  that   make me   feel  loved   if  they  are  all in action... a clean, inviting and romantic home, his favorite home cooked meals, bringing him his morning coffee, groceries in the fridge , staying  on  the  budget  he gave  me and  lastly,  having my makeup and hair done,  and dressing in something he thinks looks nice on me.    Its all the moments that none of these things are actually in the “REALITY” stage , (yet, ,)   that he will look at me and say how beautiful I am, how much he loves me and is so thankful to God that I am his wife. It is not just his  words,  but  the  look in his  eyes  and seeing  his  sincerity  that  boosts  my  self confidence and fills my love tank to FULL.  Seeing His “love eyes“ changes me to the very core.    I know he too  feels   and  sees  my “love  eyes” when  he is going through rough times, doesn’t feel as good about  himself or  when  he  falls  short  of  the  goals he makes, as he sees my actions or   hears   my words of   love, encouragement and edification with  no  conditions attached. It is then he feels the gauge  of  his  love  tank instantaneously  scoot  over to FULL.!  Unconditional love…that is Jesus’ love within us! We are so blessed to have been given a gift so rare , to not only choose to love others with but ourselves as well.

The second scenario is Jesus and his relationship with us.  The only way He  looks at us  is  through love…  He doesn’t  see our flaws, our  infirmities  and insecurities  that have created the feelings within us of loneliness, being an outcast,  or notice when we have a bad hair day or have gained 10 pounds. He is love and  views us  24/7  with  eyes  full  of love  and  adoration, knowing everything  about us  good  and bad, and the great joy here is  we will always be His beloved.

Jesus’ love for us is so great , accomplished and refined. In the  bible,  Paul  actually  uses  four  qualities  of  spacial extensions to try and  describe the love of Jesus.     He encourages us to learn and know the “breadth, length, height and depth,”  of His love for us.     I believe He  is implying  that the fullness of Jesus’ love   is beyond depiction… the riches of His love towards us are unsearchable to the natural mind.  The bible encourages us  to be strengthened to  even begin to  comprehend  the ungraspable proportion of His love. In the beginning, we try so hard to lay hold of it, but it is something we have never known or experienced before.  The wondrous  secret to coming into the knowledge of His love,  (as  much as we are able to contain it within our spiritual yet still human vessels,) is to continually keep growing  in  grace  with  Him, becoming  more  and more  intimate as  we walk in His spirit and truly get to know Him.  It is then,  our cognizance  of His love  changes  us completely.   Whether through arduous times or buoyant, the promise of Jesus is that He will bring us  into a deeper  awareness and knowledge of HIS LOVE for us and WHO HE IS.

During this “suspension of calm,” as we continued to live in our  beautiful home within Delaware, nestled next to the  alluring  and  charming, undomesticated woods  and  deer  filled  meadow,  the  Lord  bestowed  upon  us  a  sundry  of  felicitous  occasions  of celebration  and  continued to  bestow more  of His favor and anointing  upon  our  household.     My  favorite  part of the year is when He took Kit and I on an  elongated  and  cherished  ‘journey  down  memory lane,’ closely walking by His side , exclusively  unabridged the the entire time. (Meaning to say, Jesus had our FULL  attention.)    It  was  a multiplicity of  cherished  ventures  with  Jesus  as  we recollected and reveled  in all the miraculous  things He had done, spoken and revealed to us over the many years of our journey hitherto.  He  also brought us new instructions and promises  through His Rhema word as well as through the prophetic.    He brought us closer to our friends in Delaware, allowed me to still have “the best job ever,”     blessed  us  with a new and eminently welcomed house-guest once a month, and  gifted  us  with  an  abundance  of  heart  felt  comforts, blissful get-togethers coincided with a hushed and calming, REST!

A Joyous time with the Lord, recalling together, all of His glorious works on our journey thus far!

There are so many arresting words , visions, dreams and time spent with the Lord to even begin to write about within this chapter, but I want to share just a  few of our most  cherished  ones  with you!       These  treasures  from  God  not  only  were confirmations, but strengthening and affirmation within Kits and my faith!

 STAR 52

Have you ever awakened after an extraordinary nights sleep to the brilliant rays of the sun, fluently radiating through  your  bedroom  window,  your  body  and  spirit  feeling unusually soothed, tranquil and at perfect peace? To top that off, you have a vivid memory of the dream you were awakened from.      A  dream  where  you remember  every  detail, emotion, color  and spoken word.

This happened  to  us  while  staying at Mark  and Tina’s during our 3  month  respite  at their  home in Delaware.     In this slumber-land bestowal there  was  a captivating  message to us.     IT  TRULY WAS A GIFT FROM GOD.      A heavenly tiding  that He  would  surely  bring interpretation to. This chimera  was not only unique, but  prolific and undoubtedly spiritual.     My heart was  beating in double mode, as  I  could hardl y contain my excitement and wonder.  I wanted to begin seeking God immediately as to what it all meant.  Though the dream was given to me, I know it was given to “us,” as Kit and I are one flesh  in God’s sight and I just happened to be the one of “us” that God gave the dream to.    (But it sure  started kits engine running as he too, eagerly  anticipated its full meaning!)     The crowning touch upon this moment of time  was that this  wondrous dream occurred on Easter morning!

In this spiritual dream, having being given this gift, ‘ somewhat reminding me  of  a present day “Hallmark Card,”  from the Lord Himself , created a  moment in  time  where I actually felt   as if I was in a utopia, euphoria or Nirvana!   This beautiful card looked like a formal invitation, the message was  written  on  only the front as this card did not open up.      I remembered that in my dream Kit and I  were there together  in the Lords presence.   We both  felt His sweet countenance, His smile  and  divine  favor  towards  the  two  of us  as  we  were fellowshipping together.   He then handed me the card  and with a smile said’; “This is for you.”     As I awakened,  Easter  morning, I  still felt his revered presence and  His beloved  peace  that passes  all understanding.    (We all know exactly what that feels like .)  You know the moments in time that  you wish you could hold  on  to, live in  and  savor  for  the  rest  of  your  human  life?   Well, this was definitely one of them!

Now, you can only imagine , without  hearing  from the  Lord Himself,  the interpreter of our spiritual dreams, or through someone He has given the gift of ‘interpreting dreams” to, like Daniel,  we  began to try and  figure  out  this  Godly message ourselves.   (My advice to you is ; “DON’T DO IT!”   Here were  “OUR THOUGHTS, ” ( before I share Gods interpretation.)     I am telling  you  right now, when  we  finished trying  to  use the “human process,”  of  what  this dream  meant,  we both  (subconsciously,) heard  the sound of the disk-shaped percussion instrument that produces a resounding tone when struck with  an  unusually  padded hammer, AKA the GONG SHOW  with Chuck Barris, telling us we were WRONG, off the show and OVER!      We had earnestly  tried to no avail to interpret this message from God. (Though I am sure He got a chuckle with us trying so hard.)

“Hey honey,  what do you think ” Star 52″ means?” I asked Kit  after enthusiastically  explaining the  vivid and colorful card God gave me in my dream.

After minutes of what seemed like being in deep thought , Kit responded:  “Well, maybe something is going to happen with Gods  retreat  and promise to us when we are 52 years old.”

“I replied in a bit of  angst; “Really? You think we are going to have to wait that long?” ( His idea brought me no joy whatsoever.)

I responded back to Kit, trying to forget having to wait until we were 52  before we saw God move , and began to share with him all the research I had done on ‘colors’ and what they mean in the bible.    “The star itself is in gold.     The color gold symbolizes illumination, love, compassion, courage,  passion  as  well  as  wisdom.     It is also associated with wealth, grandeur and prosperity.”

Kit , (miles away, and contemplative,)    answered back with  an elongated ; ” HMMM.”  I immediately KNEW that he liked where I was going with my ideas.) 

“And Kit,  the  message  on  this card is written  in  blue with  a touch of silver.   Blue symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, and heaven. The second  color is silver,  it’s meaning  is  associated  with  high  tech, sleek,   ornate, glamorous, graceful, sophistication, elegance as well as wealth and riches.”    I responded with no clearer vision of what  God was trying to reveal to us. (But still had HOPE and an excitement that there was a very special meaning in all this.)

The wheels in Kits head  were quickly turning, as he  replied with a  notable excitement;  “You know Susan, maybe the gold  star has something to do with the house on Star RD. The house we have been believing for. What do you think?”

A bit persuaded that perhaps Kit had a clue  to our puzzle, I asked him what  he thought the ’52’meant.

“I know,” he said with a tone that was  extremely convincing, “If you take the 5 and add it to the 2, it equals 7 and that number means fulfillment and divine perfection. Maybe it means the promise  of the home in Connecticut will now be fulfilled.”

I too replied with a lengthy “HMMM,”  feeling utterly confused.

(Now it is understandable why the Lord encourages  us not to interpret our own dreams with our human logic or ideas. )

Finally after hours of not getting anywhere that brought us closure or peace, we placed it all upon Gods throne, as well as on a back burner within our life.      We agreed in prayer , asking God to bring forth HIS INTERPRETATION and share  with  us  the meaning of this special and covert  tiding, which would be revealed to us  in the spirit. (As we were convinced by now  it  was  not going  to  be a  “head revelation.”)

Google Image

Easter  Sunday  was a beautiful day. Tina fixed a scrumptious spiral  ham with  the most  delicious  sweet and tangy  glaze, with  fresh  asparagus,  hot breads, and  Melissa, as she did every holiday,   created  her “to  die  for,”   homemade  recipe  of  macaroni and  cheese  with  a tempting sweet indulgence for dessert. After  completing  this  festive, ambrosial meal, we  were all beyond stuffed.       God had blessed the day with   heartening  fellowship, laughter  and  pure joy. Our hearts  were filled with an overflow of gratitude for this day , a celebration of all celebrations  …the day our Lord rose from the dead and  gave  proof  that He is the powerful, almighty son of God, the  very foundation  of our faith!      The evening brought  hot  cups  of  coffee accompanied  by many  enlivening  talks followed  by  a wonderful nights sleep. (No dreams that night!) 

I am not sure how many days, weeks or months  that had  passed  by  when  I  felt the Lord nudge me to look up on the Internet the words “Star 52.”     Knowing it  was  His spirit that prompted me, I had an influx of new hope and with my laptop in hand, began to research.    It did not take me long at all, for it was not like doing a careful and diligent search  for one of Kits clients  or for my own personal writings, for this was  a “Spiritual quest!”

As I got on my computer and typed in the words “Star 52” and clicked on  Images , I was blown away in my spirit by what I beheld. I called kit over to see if he too observed  what I had and  he excitedly responded with a “WOW! and a “yes.”

Both Kit and I immediately had seen the face of God with his arms stretched out wide, as if He were riding the heavens. We could not turn our eyes away. We believe it was a notable fete within the  heavens, with the  Lord of hosts  coming in  power and glory  in the night sky.     Still unsure of how it all applied to  the dream, we were awestruck and both had goosey-bumps as well as  an incredible  hope within as we continued to ‘search on.’

As I saved the photo, I then went back to the website as well as other Internet sites  and this is what was said about this photo and Star 52.

Star 52  is also known as  The  Bridal  Veil Nebula which is considered, (Scientifically,) as a Supernova explosion.  It is a rare celestial phenomenon involving an explosion of a large amount of material within the star,  resulting in an extremely bright, light. It is a short lived object that emits vast amounts of energy.        It is a happening in the heavens that brings one WONDER and AWE.     It is also known as a MARVEL and unaccountable occurrence .  

Kit and I have been taught  that a prophetic word is proven in two ways. One way is that when someone gives you a word, it  will  be   The   first   time  God   is   speaking something to you and  He  will be  faithful at  a later  time to confirm  what was spoken to you, so you will KNOW it was of Him, not something that someone else felt led to tell you, (that was not from the Lord, even if they meant well.)  The other is that GOD HAS ALREADY SPOKEN TO YOU  and will bring a person with a word from Him, or a dream, vision, etc that will only be a confirmation to what He has already showed you.

In the case of Star 52, it was hands down, incontestably a confirmation to a previous  prophetic word from Tina  as  well  as  scriptures  God had given to Kit and  I in  our prayer and worship time together.

In Virgina, during  Worship  at  the  church  we had  met Tina at   months  before,  the pastor began a time of ministry and prayer.  Tina began to prophesy over kit and I . Her words touched the two of us so deeply as well as others, for I heard many a sniffle and saw that  tissues were being passed around.    (Most of the time, my eyes were closed, but I did peak for a moment.)

Tina’s word from the Lord was much needed and Kit and I felt the Lord  was right there with us as we listened, for it was Him speaking , (we believe,) through Tina.

” Kit and Susan, the Lord is showing me in the spirit  the two of you on a long path. It is a  pathway  with  many seasons  and He  is strengthening  you  each  upon  this passageway as your traveling to His destination. He is very delighted and pleased with you both and His heart is full of love for you .   He sees all things, the tears, the disappointments, doubts as well as the glory, triumph, elation and joy…A multitude of eyes are upon you as your traveling…eyes  that  will  one day  see  the GLORY and MAJESTY of  what He is going to do.      He is coming  with  His  reward  and blessing  for you two. Continue to walk in obedience and look only to Him, you’ve still got a ways to travel. Be encouraged from the Lord Himself. ”

****Little  did  we know  at  this  time,  just  how  many  seasons,  not  only  in  the natural, (autumn,  winter, spring and  summer,) but also “seasons within our spirits” we had yet to walk through at this time after hearing from God through Tina’s prophetic word to us.      I always appreciate that God does not show us everything at once…especially time.

After Tina ended her  word  from  the Lord to  us, we  needed  some of those tissues being passed around too.    It was as if the Lord was identifying with every ounce of emotion we had  tucked  away  inside.      We  felt  His love,  encouragement,  hearts  approval and it blessed us immensely that we were pleasing unto Him. I believe  that whenever the Lord speaks to us, whether through His word, a dream, vision, His still small voice or in the prophetic, it changes us and we stand a little taller, are filled with a Godly confidence because the God of all eternity, also our dad, speaks to us, and once again, we know that we are in His care and anything is possible!

This gathering in Virginia was small in number, but eminently monumental in faith. We received many hugs, words of encouragement and were exceedingly blessed.   They served  a scrumptious  buffet  lunch, (with  home  cooked  southern dishes.) Now you know, being raised by a southern woman, I adored all the comfort foods this part of the world  inspires  and because  Kit loved   my moms cooking, he too felt  like he was in heaven.)  Besides eating until our hearts were content,  we all fellow-shipped until late into the afternoon.     We still had a few hours before us in our  drive back to Delaware, so we said our goodbyes and headed home. Kit and I felt renewed,  encouraged  and grounded in the Lords call upon our lives and so blessed that the Lord brought this body of believers as well as Tina into our lives.

The  gift  of  Gods “Star 52” to  us was  not  only  a confirmation of Tina’s  prophetic  word, but also to a scripture God had given Kit and I  years before, when we were in prayer and worship together.      We were in need of a touch from the Lord as  we  were feeling  a  bit “dry” in our faith  as  we  were  continuing  upon  our  journey  with  the  Lord.   We placed everything we believed He had spoken to us thus far on our journey, upon His altar and  reminded  Him what  we  believed He  had  said in the very beginning.      That the home by  the  water  was ours and that  we  would  be the hosts  of this home, the place His kids would come to and be ministered to as  well  as abundantly  refreshed. We also told Him we believed  that He  had said it would all be done by  the  work of His  hands, to His glory and those looking on , would know it was all of Him and nothing to do with man.      The  only  thing He required of us was step by step obedience , just as He had asked of Esther . (And we all know what Glory He received through her obedience to Him . )     The scripture God gave to kit and I, after our requests before Him  at  this time , which  ministered deeply to our hearts and spirits was  Isaiah 40, verse 5.  “AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHALL BE REVEALED AND ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT TOGETHER: FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT.”  

Though I know that Isaiah was not speaking of Kit and I  ,  Kit and I  do believe that the Lord uses His written word in our lives in quickening scriptures to us to encourage, confirm as well as convict, correct or warn us in our present time circumstances in our walk with Him.

I praise God for being a God who wants to encourage, confirm, edify and embolden us to not only follow Him at any cost, but to be obedient to His voice and promptings! This is but one of the many gifts He gave us in our time of recollecting with Him over the years of our journey!

Our second recollection with the Lord

A BIRTHING IN DELAWARE

I know I have written more than a few times  within the pages of  our Journey’s  treatise, about our respite for three months in Delaware with Tina, Mark, Melissa and Carl, but our stay brought so much joy and life changing experiences,  I  never  grow  tired  of revisiting this time in our lives.  The felicity Kit and I experienced in our short stay with this kind , loving and  extraordinary family  was truly one of our  favorite chapters within our journey.        Whether with the scrumptious home cooked meals we shared each evening, long “glory stories” about our favorite subject JESUS with our endless cups of Starbucks coffee on   the much loved back porch  or  the gift  of Tina’s  gatherings and Vito’s Wednesday night studies, Kit and I were in a constant state of rest and refreshing.

As our three month stay with Tina, Mark and the family was coming to an end,   Tina came to Kit and I after spending  a morning with the Lord, a little  anxious,  but  fully persuaded by God that what He  had  put on  her  heart to  share with  us was  very  important. Now, if Tina heard from God and prayed for you, it was a sure thing as she truly is one of the strongest prayer warriors of God I have ever known.  

She began by saying; “I have never been asked by God to do this, but I truly believe this is what He showed me, so in obedience, I am going to do what He has asked..” She then  laid her hands upon my stomach and began to pray in the spirit , followed by the words ” It is now time for the birth of the promise from God  you  two  have stood  upon  and held closely  within the very depths of your hearts to come forth.”   Tina went on to say; ” Though this is for the both of you,  Susan,  God has  asked me  to lay hands upon you as He wants you to go through this birthing and letting go. For so  many years  it has been you  who has carried it deep within your very being. “

At first I was a little a taken back,  but  I was filled with such a wondrous peace as I felt the presence of the Lord so deeply.   It was as if there were 4 of us  standing  together in  our little  room that precious morning.       I had never equated or embraced  the promise God gave us as  “a baby.”    In my spirit as the Lord was supernaturally bringing this part of His promise  into fruition, I felt  both honored and excited. I don’t have to tell you how Kit and I were thinking, as by now, I am sure you already know.   OK, I will share   a short portion of it.  Because of what God had just done, we were mulling over the idea  that  maybe  when  we  left Tina’s ,  and  traveled  back  to Connecticut, we were going to see Gods covenant with us come to life  in the natural.   Perhaps  the home  we  had  been  believing  for  would some how be ours and we could get started on the retreat..)  (Thank the Lord that He loves us so much and doesn’t mind our “human ways ” of thinking, )

As you already know, we did travel back to Connecticut and no, we did not get the house, but instead, were asked by the Lord, to die to our vision… perhaps one of the very reasons, God had done what He had.

In thinking about our promise being likened to a baby, I could see, as well as Kit, the resemblance and a likeness of the two , both being  very  cherished gifts from God.

The conception of a baby is a miracle from God . He chose for a mother to carry and nurture her precious gift for a certain period of time in  which  that  new life was her  first thought every morning and her last, every night. As this new life began  growing within her,  her  heart was  captivated and  enthralled as she felt its every move, saw images of her child changing as their body was developing.  She , by faith took care of her baby believing that one day, she would experience the immeasurable joy of holding that new life in her arms, the precious gift of life from God, now brought into the world , a new life   to begin to mold, love, and adore…One of Gods most cherished gifts .

God definitely opened my spirit and understanding in how He likened the two miraculous happenings.  The difference between an actual baby being born and what God was revealing to us was that the baby we were birthing was a spiritual baby.

Gods heart for our life and His calling was and is  OUR BABY. A home, by the water, ( , I just could not pass up this photo of this newfie,) for His kids to come to, that will be pampering to the soul and spirit, a place of rest, fellowship, delicious entrees and most importantly, the presence of Jesus and His ministry  .

God  implanted  the vision  and  call  within  our hearts, often  times  speaking  to  me personally about  it as I had the time and a husband who was very busy working as well as a man who loves and fears  God and  believed  in  what  God shared with me every step of the way.       (Accompanied by many confirmations from God to Kits heart and spirit.) God filled my heart with a yearning to continuously HEAR about this calling, what His plans were, and it was in the first year He began teaching me so many skills to one day host this sanctuary He had in His mind to one day bring to life. It was a precious gift that I shared with God, pondered over many, (and I mean many) times throughout the years and though I held it ever so closely for more than 9 months, (7 years at this time,)  it was a great  joy  and  brought  me so  close to the Lord  as  well  as kit.  It  became our dream as it was Gods dream. In Him now asking me to let it go to Him, I believed He was saying to me , “Susan, I have other things in mind for you to be doing. I want you to hand this ‘baby’ over to  me to keep it  until  the  time  is  ready.    The promise has  been  brought  to  full term in the spirit ….you no longer have to carry and  nurture it  for that time  is  now over.    I now will be the sole caretaker …trust  in Me for one day, I will place it back in your arms, (as well as Kits,) to experience the joy in its entirety.

Our third recollection; one of my favorites.

A Validation of the HOPE of GOD.

Years later , Kit  and  I received  another dream  from the  Lord  that was  so unique, eminently  vivid and with it came an abundance of HOPE, and a much needed boost within our faith.      Time is a wonderful gift , but with it also comes seasons where we begin longing for  just a little bit of rain, (or perhaps a full on storm,)   upon our fields of faith...    God knows exactly what we need and He is a God of confirmation as well as encouragement.    Whether He sends us a word, brings life to a scripture within our hearts, gives us a dream, vision or talks to us in His still small voice,  He  alone  gives us exactly what we  need  to stay in  the race of our  calling and  steadfastness to His hearts will. He is our hope and the resurrection of our faith.      It amazes me how  God is so explicit and avowed  in the specific dreams He bestows to us. Only the Lord could bring His perfect messages in such a definitive way!

SURPRISINGLY enough, this dream was of a baby. My  older brother Jim and I were standing alone together in a room within a high-rise building. Behind him were several large windows graced with a view of a beautiful, bright  blue,  sunny  sky  accompanied  by several  other grand,  elevated  and towering structures.  Right beside Jim , there was an oblong wooden table that held a very  large  glass  beaker.    Inside this immense translucent vessel was a  newborn baby, surrounded by a clear liquid that seemed to be preserving his life. As Jim took this  baby out of the life sustaining receptacle, the Infant was filled with life, vibrancy and spirit. When Jim placed him within my arms, a joy  like nothing I had ever felt before filled my soul.  He then spoke the words; “Susan this baby is for you. It is now time for you to receive him.” As he handed me this astral miracle,  I  remember  feeling  ecstatic, overflowing with reverie and awe  as I held him tightly within my arms.

Jim then spoke the words; “ His name is Zane two.”

In the dream I remember feeling that God was indeed giving us the baby Kit and I had longed for and dreamed of for so many years of our marriage.     I was not thinking about it being a spiritual baby whatsoever at this time

As I held this  glorious  and sublime  bundle of joy  within  my arms,  I  could not  stop thanking Jim for giving us this beautiful new life. Jim was filled with such a noble and deep joy, as he knew our hearts and could see the awe and felicity beaming upon my face.  In life, Jim too had always wanted a family and as he handed me this amazing gift, he was totally selfless. It was  almost as if  his heart was ardently devoted  in fulfilling this quest for God.

After I awoke from this captivating chimera, my thoughts were fully focused on each intricate part of the dream. I could barely contain the overwhelming excitement as I ran in to Kits study to tell him about my “sleeping vision.”   As I began speaking , conveying the dream to Kit, hearing my own words out loud was  the  first key  to  unlock the  interpretation of this message I knew in my heart was from the Lord.   When I told him about the baby being  kept alive  in a  fluid, and  that he had been   preserved for this exact moment in time , the word preserved stood out to me, constantly coming back to my thoughts until I  just had to ask God about that part of His message. Then I began questioning the  importance  of  why  God  chose  to use  Jim as the  person who was delivering this child to me.

Isaiah 42:9  ⁹ See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare; before they spring into being
 I announce them to you.”

As Kit and  I sought  the  Lord  on  this  dreams interpretation, His answers  amazed me. I placed before Him all of the specific characters within this divine happening.  Firstly the baby, then the baby being  preserved,  Jim as  the  deliverer  of  this miraculous gift, the atmosphere of where this event took place, and the baby boys name. I also shared this dream with someone who not only is a person I trust fully, but they have a wonderful anointing in both the gift of dreams as well as their  interpretations. He has helped me throughout my life and has always been “right on.”

 Right away, the Lord revealed to me that this baby was not representative of a living, breathing newborn.       I felt a sadness , but it did not last as what God was showing us was magnificent.      This precious  new life given to us  represented the promise of God over Kits and my life. His spiritual baby , the child He gave us to carry in faith, then brought to fruition and took away from us,   was  now being given back , no longer on hold. He was brought forth  into the natural for us to embrace. God had preformed HIS WORD.    (We were quickly reminded of what He had spoken years before through Tina, while staying at her home in Delaware.) The Lord truly had been preserving the child, (our ministry) for us all along…” OKAY, one down and a few more to go!   Jim. Why did God choose Him to give me the child? My friend and interpreter helped me with that one. He asked “What does Jim represent to you and Kit?” As we pondered over the  chief  quality  that  depicted  and portrayed JIM in our lives,  it  was  unanimous…  HOPE.    The Lord immediately met me in this realization, confirming its truth,  that it was Hope that blessed   us  with  His promise and again, hope is not a thing, hope is a person. Hope is Jesus. Jim represented Jesus.   When I look back over the beginning years of our promise, there was no one like Jim who stood beside us every step of the way. His faith in God  for us was childlike, he was forever supporting us through phone calls, finances, words of encouragement, along with  prayers and gifts for  our “future  endeavor,” keeping  the  hope  within our hearts alive. My favorite gift from him was a wall hanging ,  that to this day I have kept, (believing it will grace each guest at our retreat home one day.)   (*** Place your mouse upon the photo to see the message.   ) Why was the place the vison took place in a raised , eminent building, yet Jim and I were in an amicable and snug  meeting place?  This, I believe represented our “heightened and escalated emotions,” as well  as an emblematic of a higher, spiritual calling or perspective, yet still intimate and endearing.

His name is Zane “two.”

That left one incredibly   important part of this dream in need of Gods illumination.  His name is Zane “two.”  Now I do not know about you , but I had never even heard that name before so I had more fun looking it up. This chosen name by God in the dream has two origins, American  and  Hebrew.    It’ s meaning , “Gift from God.” (Wow!) This is why I love dreams. God takes all of the analyzing away and that is a wondrous gift if you have a deep, intense mind as some of us posses, always TRYING  to  figure  things  out, (not by choice.) :)      I was so deeply impressed  that  the name of  this bestowal from  God  told  us  all we  needed to know.   I did not ask God for quite some time, that if this child who is  the representation of our ministry to come, is named Zane “two”, what or who is Zane “one”?

After praying and seeking the Lord, I believe that Zane “One”, the first gift of God, could possibly be the Journey itself.   When the Lord led me to begin writing  on our journey, He gave me the title long  before I began its first chapter. The titles name itself has two meanings to kit and I.  The first interpretation being;   Journey to my fathers heart… The physical journey we are on, and its ending, (final destination,)  will be our Fathers heart fulfilled, the dream and calling He implanted within our spirits, the retreat for His kids. 

  And the second meaning  is the journey itself, with each Intricate part, the highs, the lows,  the times of darkness and testing, as well as the triumphs and miracles, have brought us into and intimacy with Jesus and a true KNOWING of  our fathers heart of love for us and His kids. That is a gift that is irrevocable, unfathomable and eternal. 

I have to say at  this  time in  my writing on our journey, in my heart,  I am not  one hundred percent assured in my interpretation of what  Zane one is,  as Kit and I are still sojourning through this time with God and the promise is  undoubtedly here within  in our hearts, but we have not beheld it yet  in the natural. Something else may come about to change what or who Zane  “one” is. So for now, we believe  Zane “one” is  our  journey itself  as well as a  true knowing of the fathers heart of love. I may have more to add one day, so I reserve that right.    

Sometimes He comes in the clouds.

I love the song by Steven Curtis Chapman, “Sometimes He comes in the clouds.” In his lyrics, he is speaking about when we cant hear the voice of God, no matter where we look for him .    He encourages  his  listeners  that  It is  in  those specific moments that He is working mightily  on our situation and the glory of God will be seen when the clouds are lifted.

I totally agree with Steven, yet I also believe that God comes to us  in the clouds literally. (As well as the heavens. )  You know how you meet people who are whale watchers, or those who are captivated by birds, dogs, dolphins, even those who love  to  watch  other  people, well I by nature  am  a  cloud watcher.    I  have  more  joy witnessing the soft, puffy white, ethereal clouds as they  leisurely  glide  upon  the  wings of the wind, continuously   transforming  into  a  medley  of whimsical characters, such  as  chubby cherub angels,  winged  creatures,  renowned  people and all kinds of four-legged animals.     I love to sit on my front porch during Delaware’s early morning dawn, before the sun makes its assent, and the bright morning star is shining so incandescently,  it  undoubtedly can be likened to a UFO.        God many a times,  speaks  to  my  spirit  during  these marvelous performances  in the heavenlies .       Another wondrous show time is  the infamous gloaming hour where the sun has descended and the white clouds recast into a soft pink,  filling the early night sky with a sundry of cotton candy puffs amongst the newly shining twinkling stars.     There is nothing  to  compare  to  the  daunting thunderstorms with their loud claps of thunder, (Grantham does not share my bliss for this one bit.)    God has spoken to me several times through  the   three  majestic  doves   that frequent  the telephone lines directly across  from our front veranda, as I with my coffee on our wicker rocker. Suddenly, out of nowhere,   their wings are immersed in pure gold as the sunlight hits them at just the right moment.  For some reason, there are always 3 doves together. Hmmm?

This one particular evening, about a week after I had the dream of  Zane  two,  while  sitting  on  our  porch, I  observed  an unforgettable  spiritual l extravaganza  within  the  heavens, shortly after the sun  had become  a minute, fiery light, slowly dissipating  at the earths horizon. The enchanting and alluring dusk had arrived, where  only the  moon  and the  sundry of  luminous stars shed their glorious  light above and through the abundance of the of the white diaphanous clouds.    Because  the visions God gives us within our spirits, (whether wide awake or in our slumber,)  can never  really  be  fully  captured through verbal translation, I have found a few photos that bring forth a small likeness to what I saw in my vision within the evening sky.   In this heavenly  presentation, as  I looked  to my left,  I beheld  Jesus . He was filled with a radiant joy and amazement as he held a beautiful little baby in his arms.   I continued watching in awe, as  this  ongoing  vision was  vivid  and  amazingly clear. Gradually as the clouds and lights in  heaven shifted, I  beheld a  woman  standing  close, but across from Jesus. He then handed the baby to her and I  watched in awe, the three of them together. There was such joy in their expressions..      It was more than obvious that this woman cherished this baby with all of her heart. What amazed me most was the Lords pleasure…I believe it topped hers. For me,  this was more than a wondrous vision from God…it  was  a  confirmation  of the dream He had given to me while sleeping. A dream and affirmation of HOPE. To the Lord, there is no time…He speaks things before they happen as if they have already happened,  because they are  already DONE IN HIM. I have never doubted His promise or words to Kit and I again.  Kit and I, we have yet only to behold it in  the natural.

You  can  know  for sure that  all of  the  memories  and recollections  the Lord  has embedded within Kits and my hearts and souls, are written down, but really don’t need to be as they are forever refreshed within our spirits as we pray, share and speak of all God has done. I am so appreciative of this year being a year where God took  us on a trip down memory lane as we were not the same two people any longer …we stood taller, our faith was  resurrected and our “UMPH to keep going, was stronger than ever. Thanks be to the Lord.

 Now, back to the happenings in the earthy realm,  as this  wondrous year continued to blossom.  

Our savored dinners with Vito began to grow…no longer was it just Kit, Graham, Vito and  I,  but  others  began  joining  us  as well, coming early to bible study, so they could break bread together with us and fellowship outside of the study.   So I was cooking larger portions and I loved it.    I knew it was Gods gifting…yes, one day for the retreat, but for now, He was allowing me to feel the pure joy from the desire He had  placed within me to create a delicious meal, hospitable surroundings and  a beautiful atmosphere as we welcomed our new guests.      Vito’s teachings on grace were continuously  challenging  us  as  well  as changing us as the Lord was bringing us into a brand new way of walking in His spirit. Truly, by this time we were “drenched” in the grace of God through His word and spirit. How cool is that?   A time in our lives, Kit and I are so grateful for. (And , needless to say, my repertoire of new dinner entrees was growing  like  crazy, with  our newly , much  welcomed  dinner guests.)

Another  Brobdingnagian blessing for Kit, Grantham and I was getting to spend quite a  bit  of quality time with our niece Jaime.    She had recently relocated to Maryland from Arizona with a top notch job offer and only lived and hour away from us in Delaware.  She would  pack up her car and drive up to stay with us at least once a month. Kit , Graham and I had more fun taking her to all of our favorite places including , the  posh  downtown bakery  and coffee pub, the Georgia House eatery for a delectable home cooked  dinner  and  the  Cold stone creamery in Dover.   (Now  that  was a  real “SWEET INDULGENCE!!)      One of our  “keepsake”  moments was introducing  Jaime to our bestfriends and neighbors, Tina, Mark, Melissa and Carl as we all gathered together for a spectacular bonfire in our back yard.  There is just something about  an open fire, built in the  fresh, brisk  open  air with the  alluring night sky arrayed in a  comingling of  a rich ebony and  dusky  charcoal,  accompanied by thousands of  glistening lights  against its  opulent , tenebrous  backdrop.   Autumns bestowal of nippy and chilling air, along with its soft breeze, created  in all of us a desire to sit as close as possible  to  the dancing, amber,  red  and gold flames.  Delicious hot mulled cider and Kits oatmeal cookies (still semi warm from the oven,)  were also a  wonderful  addition to our cozy  evening.    We thanked God for this wondrous new addition to our lives.

Brobdingnagian –  extremely large , marked by tremendous size. (Also, one of my favorite words.)

Kit has known  Jaime  since  she was a newborn and they have always shared a close  bond.    I  met  her when Kit  and I began  dating,  and she  was one of  the beautiful flower girls in our wedding,  but truly feel I have known her a life time.  She has grown into a lovely lady and someone Kit and I both love to pieces. She lights up a  room  with  her  bright smile and bubbly personality.    She also , besides working her professional job, is a fabulous, eminently creative baker, with many people , including  Kit and myself,  who  would  be  willing to pay  top dollar her for her scrumptious masterpieces. She was forever bringing us cakes and sweet confections,  ambrosial  homemade  crab cakes from Maryland, (the best we have ever tasted,)  and  she  overflowed  our home  with  laughter,  joy and  fellowship. Graham absolutely adored Jaime and her feelings  towards him were mutual.    Every time  we  walked  her to  her   car on Sunday afternoon, after  a  wonderful  weekend together ,( all of us, not wanting to say goodbye, )  welled up with a tear or two. (OK,  Jaime and I welled up, the two guys showed their emotions a different way. )   Even Grantham would do his one special bark, (over and over again as he chased Jaime to her car and continued to circle around her , desperately trying to convey his message ,)  which meant in canine  language, “PLEASE,  AND  I  REALLY  MEAN  IT, PLEASE DON’T GO! ”  We all knew she would return in just a matter of weeks, but we just loved having her with us and did not want our time together to come to an end.

One of Delaware’s richest and most  treasured  gifts  from the Lord to me, (but it was a gift for Kit as well, as it made his “other half”  a  much  happier person,)    was our ladies group get-togethers.  These women were my  east  coast BFF’s,   prayer partners, and many of them  cherished mentors.     This year we had all become knitted so closely together that I cold never pass up a mid day gathering, prayer meeting or an afternoon Tea.     Tina continued to orchestrate an extraordinaire   luncheon for each of the gals for their birthday, and after sharing  our  savory  celebratory meals  together, there was always a time of precious ministry and  worship. Now,  let me tell  you,  anyone who  came  through  her doors with a NEED in their hearts,  did not get to leave Tina’s until their need was met  with a brigade of  prayers and breakthrough from the Lord.   We also  continued to have our “ladies afternoon tea”…a time of  scrumptious scones, gourmet teas, Victorian hats , laughter, pure bliss and pampering to our souls and spirits.  I never knew the Lord had so many blissful and felicitous stops along the way on our elongated journey with Him.

In the glorious time of spring, we celebrated Kits birthday. Now I am not going to tell you what Milestone celebration it was as  Kit is due his privacy, but  he  and  I both,  being only 6 months  apart in age, had the same landmark this year.   Because it was such a “sui generis” occasion,  we  did  not  pull  any  strings  and celebrated big!  This much welcomed season of the year, with all of its grandeur blossoms, sundry of  kaleidoscopic colors , lush grass and cool temperatures is not only the ideal , but an infallible time to celebrate any kind of gala.  The Lord blessed Kit with an absolutely perfect week, weather wise and every other thing you could think of -wise. (I know  that is  not a real saying, just fits what I am trying to say.)

 “sui generis” – incomparable, matchless, unequaled.

We celebrate birthdays in our home for a week, so I had more fun  pampering Kit with a small token of my love every day… some gifts were small, but they all lead up to his big one.  I enjoyed  filling his room with balloons, bringing in  his  especially wrapped gift every morning  with his hazelnut latte, and displaying all the cards on his desk that  he had received  in the mail . On his actual  birthday, we shared a candlelit dinner, with his favorite cake and he got to pick his most cherished   movie of all time for us to enjoy  with our  dinner and  dessert. During his birthday week, I also was honored to make one of his favorite dinners every evening. He was wished  a happy birthday by many and though he does not like to be the  center  of  attention, (except  in a dark movie theatre when no one can see him, a story for a later  time,)   he  thoroughly  enjoyed  his  many friends dropping off a gift, a card in the mail from out of state  friends and family, or the surprise celebration they had for him at our Gym here in town…He received a lot of love  from  all sides. It was a wonderful addition to the year God had bestowed  to  us.     Graham  also demonstrated  an overflow of extra attention and love to Kit.   (Are you kidding me, of  course  he did  as Kit  was  in  such a great mood and Graham had more people treats that one week than he got that entire month.)   When Kits birthday was over,  Graham  did  not understand why he was lacking in all the goodies that were coming his way the week before and that now “Dad” wanted him to play with his ball outside… by himself of al things.    

“ A little summary of Kits week!”

As our year was beginning its descent to the last quarter, (October, November and December,) Ahh,  my  very favorite time of the year,  the Lords hand did not  stop  to  continue to bring us  an  abundance  of peace,  blissful  occasions and   graciously, fill  our home with His presence.   Its funny, I do not know if you are like me, but when you are experiencing such a long extended time of grace, joy, serenity and felicity, it kind  of…(and I  accentuate  the words  “Kind of”,)   makes  you  wonder  if  the  next season arriving  in your life may have some new friends that come a long with it, like Mrs. patience, Mr. trial of testing, cousin worry and its third cousin, fear JR. HMM. I put that little thought away from my mind as it did not belong with our over abundance of joy.

With October  came a surreal realization that  my  days  of writing  peacefully, ( the  hours passing  by so  quickly  they  seemed  more  like expedited  minutes,)  with my beloved  Grantham  sleeping  contentedly  at  my  feet,  along  with  one  of  my favorite  movies  that I’d seen 100 times playing, mainly just to bring me an occasional smile or serve as   comforting background noise,)  was truly my occupation from the Lord.. Yes I still believed that I had the  best job ever!

When I was not working, I enjoyed decorating for the autumn season, bringing a touch of this glorious time of year into our cozy abode. Even though every year, after   finishing up each room with an enchanting  embellishent of the harvest season,  I’d  assure Kit;  “Next year, I don’t need to buy anything else as our house is  100 % complete now with all I have acquired over the years.” Well,  don’t you know I was right back at the shops finding “just one more, no two more things for that year.” Good thing Kit has love eyes for me.

We tried to capture every fall event in our quaint city.   First, a wonderful  fall boutique,  (where we purchased our favorite new Scarecrow, Tobias,)  followed  by  the farmers market for fresh autumn veggies and joyously baked a sundry of scrumptious autumn confections, (pumpkin bread, my famous  sour cream coffee cake with brown sugar and pecans, carrot cake with coconut  crème cheese frosting and Kits  favorite oatmeal cookies.) Though we don’t have a fireplace, I was sure to light a large assortment of  tea light candles and of course always had my long  time autumn partners from Yankee Candles, burning day and night, bringing forth every fall scent you can imagine…each one boasting of itself , one at a time… Otherwise, too many scents in the house tooting their horns,  gives kit a headache.

Graham, Kit and I  loved taking walks amidst the  multicolored, crisp leaves, breathing in the brisk, fresh air.  Forever bringing us smiles of pure joy,  Graham  would entertain himself by blowing his breath into the air, so humorously  surprised to see the fog like vapor coming from his mouth on the chilly days.  He is truly one very intriguing being.   We enjoyed going for a  latte  at  our  favorite coffee  pub,  and  stopping off  at  the  popcorn shop…where they offer every  flavor   one can conjure up in their minds  of freshly popped and bagged corn.  Don’t you just love small town amenities ?

By November, not only were we getting prepared for our favorite holiday , giving thanks to  God for all the many blessings He has placed within our lives, but it was the month that I, like Kit , would celebrate  a big milestone in my life. And as Kit,  I claim my right to privacy , so  the  exact  landmark   I am  talking  about  will  not be  divulged, but is a birthday celebration I will never forget.     (OK, I will tell you that this decade is known as the ” NEW thirties.”)

When all of us gals got together, all bets were off of what God was going to do. We were in love with Jesus, best friends in life and we loved our get togethers. Especially BIRTHDAYS!

Tina put on a fabulous luncheon  for me  where  all  the  ladies  from  our bible  study  as  well  as  Tina’s women’s gathering attended. Her home  was  alluringly  stunning, reminding  me  of  an engaging  photograph  out  of   the acclaimed VICTORIA magazine. Her house  smelled  of  fresh  cut firewood kindling, spicy pumpkin and yummy  cinnamon .    (I am sure coming from her warm, amber candle burning in the living room.)  The ambrosial aroma of fresh, hot bread leisurely baking in the oven, pleasurably  wafted throughout the entire house.     Because my birthday is so close to Christmas, Tina had put a playlist of songs on that included all of my favorite holiday carols. It was one of those moments in life you will remember forever as each talk with my gathered friends was a reciprocal instant in time where our words were both heard and received as well as validated. Blessing and warmth was just in  the  air that  day.      Just as her entire house was eminently captivating, welcoming and riveting, the dining room table was a sight for sore eyes as Tina began lighting  the  candles, putting  our salads  on the  table as well  as  pouring  sweet  iced  tea into  our  crystal glasses. Every entrée was perfect. The butternut squash soup was a “must have recipe” for sure and the grand finale cake that she had baked especially for me every year, was more beautiful than ever.  Rich, dark chocolate cake  iced with a luscious , sweet buttercream frosting.   As we all loosened our waist belts, chose the exact  coffee creamer we wanted, we sat fully content, still a million things left to say to one another, enjoying two, even three cups of hot, freshly brewed Starbuck coffee as we’d  nibble  on  what  was  left  of  our sweet indulgence. Tina always served the best!

With our bodies feeling eminently  pampered,  it was our spirits, being fully motivated with excitement, that got us up from our chairs and  into the  living  room as  we knew what came next. WORSHIP and PRAISE!    Tina quickly popped everyone’s bubbles as she reminded us it was a birthday gathering, thus it was time for gifts.     I tried my fastest to open each bestowal, but it was so hard as some of the gifts made me tear up. I have the most thoughtful, loving group of friends in  the  world  in this  place  that God transported us to. I felt like the luckiest woman in the world.  (Oh yea, I don’t believe in luck…so  I’ll  refer  to a word  I know  I over  use… the most  BLESSED  woman  in  the world.)      I have got to  talk  to Merriam  Webster  about  adding  some  new  words  to  their dictionary.

The worship, praise and ministry was beyond wondrous. Of course  Tina singled me out for a special birthday prayer and word from the Lord.  As the gala died down, Tina drove me home even though we are caddy cornered neighbors, as  I had so many gifts to take with me. Graham and Kit greeted us and Kit, (just the thoughtful guy he is,)  already had one of my birthday dinners in the oven.     Can it get any better. YES! (and believe me It did.) :)      I received plenty of birthday calls from friends and family as well as thoughtful and unexpected  gifts of money in the mail to go out and buy my own gifts. (And believe me I did.)         My favorite calls were from my two best friends from CA.  as well as my five siblings. One of my girlfriend’s Kim,  I have known for over 35  years  and  the  other, Margo 32. They are  what  you call forever friends. My favorite gift that year was  from my younger brother Pat who sent me an entire, (not one piece  missing,)  set  of  exquisite china that  he  bought  for  me at a church auction. Pat was so worried that I may not like it after he purchased the entire  setting for 12 ,  with  all  the bells  and whistles one could dream of. Oh my goodness…I did  not  just  like  it,   I was in unabridged  reverie with it for hours!  First, not being able  to comprehend that a set of china  even  existed  without  having at least  one  piece  broken  after  being used for so many years in one home, but its pattern  had  my name all over it.       I cried  when I opened the boxes and thanked God for such a very  thoughtful  little brother. (Definitely a  stunning and riveting china that we will use in our retreat one day, as well as enjoy along the way! )

Kit treated me like a queen my entire Birthday week, as we celebrated in our home.     A gift  every day, special home cooked dinners every evening, foot rubs, back rubs, and a drive down to Rehoboth beach to see a matinee.    Its what we do every year for  my birthday and its so much fun as the beach is already decorated for Christmas by  this  time.     Our  movie  came with  the accompaniment of a  large  tub  of  buttered popcorn…(and we are not talking margarine, but real butter here.) Because this is only  an annual event, we give ourselves the permission.  Our two hours in the theatre, kits arm around me,  enjoying our buttered  popcorn  and  diet  coke, (LOL)  along  with a wonderful movie on the BIG SCREEN, reminded me of one of our first dates. Where was Grantham?     After his  long walk in the grassy knoll we found by the beach,  he “did his thing,” and quickly retired to his  fluffy, tapestry bed,  where he fell fast asleep  in our jeep, the windows cracked bestowing upon him the cool breeze and  chilly  temps, (in  which  he  adored.) Graham would much rather go with us any where in the world and sleep on his car bed than stay at home, for he knew we would always  be “right back”  to the car and he wanted to be with us as much as possible. (Believe me, it was a mutual feeling.)  And yes, he received an abundance of love during my birthday week as well.

A summary of my special gala.

What better celebrations to end the year with than Thanksgiving and Christmas. We were blessed to have our  sister  in  law, Jaime’s  mom, Michelle,  fly out for the Thanksgiving holidays from Ohio. We had not seen her since we  flew  back  to  Arizona  on Thanksgiving day, in 2001, while working for the Christian news company in Washington DC,  to make our final move to the  east  coast.     Our dinner was five star, warm , inviting and seemed to last the entire evening. Probably because  we sat at the table for endless  hours, ( nibbling  off  the  pies  and  cakes  from  our dessert plates and drinking bottomless cups of our second pot of coffee)  reminiscing over all our many memories we shared together in Arizona.     Yes, who can forget our 9 years in this desert state???    The one state I told God I would never live in.       (Remember…never say never to God.)   When we awoke  on  Friday  morning, Michelle   and Jaime  were  long gone. They had very quietly gotten ready and headed down to Rehoboth beach to the outlets for Black Friday.    We did not see them  again  until dinner  time, where  they  both  walked into   the house  with  an abundance of  fashionable  shopping bags and big smiles upon their faces. (No doubt, Christmas gifts for friends and family in Ohio and Maryland.)  We all enjoyed a wonderful evening out as Michelle took the three of us  to our favorite eatery The Georgia house to end our holidays together.

 We enjoyed our last big celebration for Christmas with our neighbors and bestfriends Tina and her family!  We did not know it at the time, so there was no sadness on this special get-together  at  their  beautiful  home.    Kit, Graham and I always felt their beautiful haven was our second home. Especially Grantham as he loved kisses  and  McPherson so much and could not wait to  “hang out” with  them every chance he got. Kit, Grahammy and I had our own celebration at our  home in the morning, with praising God, lattes and my Christmas specialty, sour cream coffee cake. We  enjoyed  the  nostalgic  and  warm  melodies of  Harry Bellefonte,  Manheim steamroller and thoroughly enjoyed the  ambrosial aroma of one of the gifts  Kit gave me,  the  yummy  Balsam and cedar candle by Yankee.     It truly smelled as if we had gone to a mountain forest and  cut down our own,  living  pine  tree.       After  breakfast ,  we placed  all of our unwrapped  gifts back under  the  tree, and got ready for the day. It was time  for the many phone  calls to began. (No worries, we could have plenty of marathon chats) as I had already made my side  dishes  and  Tina was  making her  delicious spiral ham again, and yes,  the  special  sauce too… It was a perfect day.      As we arrived for dinner, ( their home looking like Christmas  day in  the movie Home Alone 2, as they each  reveled  in the  felicity of  this joyous season,)    there were more gifts to give and to open . (Even for Grahammy.)    One of my favorite parts of Christmas evening was sitting (as close as I possibly could) to their delightful and oh so warming  fire kindling in the hearth. Melissa and Carl had more fun showing us all their gifts, as did Mark…(He was like a little kid at Christmas.) Aren’t we all?      As always the  food and  dessert  was  out of  this  world  and  Kit, Graham and I left happy, jolly and so full, we could have rolled all the way home. (All  five yards of it.)  

As Kit , Grantham and I went to bed on New Years EVE, (always by 9:00 at the latest,) we thanked the Lord for all He had  shown  and  blessed us with  this year, as well as  His faithfulness and unfailing love in our lives.  We were  excited to see  what  the  new  year would bring…or lets say, what God would bring in the new year.      We still felt strong, empowered  and  revved  up  to  go  forward  with  God on our  journey,  for  He  had replenished our souls with all He had brought to our minds and spirits.   We still had no idea of WHEN His promise would be revealed  in the natural,  but  it  was A-OKAY with us, as we knew that we knew it would and until then, we would continue to walk with our Dad, growing in His love and grace. Whether we were on  the mountain top, (which of course we all love to be  and we  certainly  did that year,)  or  a dark  vale, God is forever faithful and the best tour guide one could dream of.

I  truly believe in my heart that the Lord loves us so much and it brings His heart such wonderful delight when He bestows His blessings upon us, His chosen kids. :)

In every season of our lives, Jesus is there, whether one of celebration, the desires of our hearts coming true,  accomplishments, and heightened joy, or when our hearts are broken,  we  are  in mourning,  physical  or emotional pain, He is there to share in our exultation  or our lowest low. What a precious gift God has given us in our savior.

I hope you enjoy this video and song “Come To Jesus.” It truly celebrates Jesus in every season of our lives, for He is FOREVER present and FAITHFUL! God bless You!