Wonderstruck by God

Hello, friends!

Welcome!  I want you to know I’m so glad you are here today. I’m wonderstruck and blessed  so much that you read, share and comment! Mwah!

Brad and I just got back from a little adventure on our anniversary tour. I’m calling any fun things we do this year as a part of our 40th Anniversary Tour because I think it is something to celebrate! And deserves more than 24 hours.

Trying to squeeze in one more trip before farming season begins, we had Plan A, Plan B, Plan C but ended up doing Plan D and had a great time. I checked 3 things from my Bucket List, including Moss Mountain Farm-pics and recipe coming soon- New Orleans and Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Vicksburg and the agriculture of the Mississippi Delta were also highlights, especially for the one of us who stopped numerous times to look at dirt and the odd bit of farm equipment here and there.

We ended up in Florida and had so much fun. It was just the right blend of sightseeing and chill.

These are some of the pictures I took of New Orleans. Trust me, I could show you some that highlight the not-so-pretty side of this interesting city, but I’m choosing not to. Did you realize this area is called the Dirty South? Me, either.  Hope you enjoy them!

 

Our Friday Friends Bible Study began recently and this time we chose to dig into Wonderstruck by Margaret Feinburg. “Fighting Back with Joy,” also by Margaret, was a great study and we enjoyed her calm teaching style. I think we were all ready for calm after our Fall study, Entrusted by Beth Moore. I have learned so much from my sister, Beth, and Entrusted was a good one.

Have you noticed Beth has just a little bit of energy as she teaches?

Understatement. Whoa!

Sidebar: Aren’t you thankful to live at this time in history, when as women we have a huge variety of Bible studies available to us? There isn’t time to complete every one I’d like to dive into. How about you?

Anyhoo, my vacation reading included Margaret’s book Wonderstruck that goes along with her Bible study. I LOVED IT! I’m sure I’ll be sharing things I learn as we go through the next 7 weeks, but one of her “assignments” is to begin asking Father to show us his character through “wonder”.

So, the morning I read the assignment, I prayed for God to sprinkle himself on my day. Guess what? He did.

One Wonderstruck Day

As my head hit the pillow that night, I compiled a quick list of my special moments:

• Merri, a fellow believer and someone whom I’ve never met or had a conversation with, but who administers a blogging Facebook group I’m in, volunteered to do a screenshot tutorial for me about Mailerlite, a new newsletter program I’m trying to teach myself. I was so touched that she would take her valuable time to do that for me.
• Kayaking on a rare coastal dune lake, crazy beautiful!
• Paddling around the corner though the tall marsh grass where the lake opens to the ocean and seeing families playing together, laughing and having fun …..the contrast of sugar sand beach, emerald ocean water, colorful kayaks and brightly hued swimsuits was stunning.
• 100’s of white ocean birds gathered on a sandbar, dancing in unison as they floated up and around and back down as one, sun sparkling off the water, Brad and I the only 2 people on the planet seeing that view from that spot at that time

• Looking up to see a huge bald eagle perched in the pine tree above us, we paddled almost directly under the tree sneaking through tall water grass and watched him for the longest time before he soared off into the distance-how majestic!
• Chatting with other kayakers as they paddled by, also enjoying the beautiful scenery and temperature, everyone happy at the moment-soaking in the healing power of God’s creation
• Going to the grocery store for fresh vegetables and finding perfect little zucchini and fresh red grapes, which have been in short supply for me this winter
• Being recognized by the cashier and having a conversation.
• An invitation to a bonfire on the beach-I’ve always wanted to go to one! A grilled hotdog on the beach tastes fantastic!

• Learning lessons about how hard it is to walk up to a church event when everyone else knows everyone and you don’t…..
• A glimpse into the heart of a couple married for 52 years as they pointed out Venus and Orion’s belt in the beautiful star filled night sky, which even included a full moon….the three bright stars in Orion’s  belt represents to them “I….Love….You….
• A visit to our favorite coffee place, Songwriter Radio Coffeehouse, where I enjoyed my Raspberry Beret Nitro coffee. We were delighted to be part of the audience of a live radio program featuring The Preacher’s Daughter…..loving their music and discovering they are Christians who want to use their secular music on the mission field

Sidebar 2: Enjoying coffee has been important to me in Florida! Read more about it I Miss the Hugger.

• Ending the day watching The Kindness Project, thanking God for the kindness He showed to us that day-have you found the series on Netflix?

Friends, God is such a personal Father! He cares about me and he cares about YOU. He wants to make himself known to us. If I could stand on a mountain top with a megaphone and beg people not to miss out on Jesus,  the best this life has to offer, I would. Since that can’t happen, I’m humbled that I get to remind you, dear reader.

I know God is showing up in big and small ways in your lives, too. Let’s live WONDERSTRUCK and then share with one another what our Creater is up to!