Rollin, rollin, rollin… keep this mower mowin…. mmmhhhhmmmmhhhhhhmmmmmm….
I bet you never knew that Eustace could sing, and quite well, I might add!
Somebody has to mow all this grass, so it might as well be Eustace. He does get to eat all the clippings, so it’s a win win for all of us, don’t cha think?
The law bring only death, and I’ve chosen to follow the One who gives eternal life…
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Cookie?
You didn’t think that I’d forgotten about our missing little ant, did you?
Not a chance! Do try to keep in mind, however, finding an itty bitty little ant in the forest is far from easy. I had all the little ones out searching the woods frequently throughout each day; calling out her name, in the hopes that it might lead her back to the new farm house. I took it upon myself to make another visit to her family, being sure to leave her a message that include directions to our new location. Aside from that, all we could do was wait, and hope.
Even in the darkest of nights, when all seems lost to us, there is always hope!
As I sat the kitchen of our farm house this morning, quietly enjoying my first needed cup of coffee, my thoughts were suddenly disrupted by the distinct smell of cotton candy, floating in through my window. It surprised me so much that I nearly dropped my coffee in my lap! No, I wasn’t surprised that the the air was deliciously fragrant, just because of the candy smell. That would be silly, don’t you think? There are a myriad of glorious smells floating through the forest, at any given moment, and in any given season!
My surprise at the smell of cotton candy goes much deeper than just a yummy breeze, but you may or may not recall the reason, so I’ll explain. For those of you that don’t remember, there was a strong smell of cotton candy in the air, on the very day that miss Lilly first floated into our barn. Now, it probably makes a great deal more sense, as to why I nearly dropped my coffee when I noticed the air… I smelled Lilly!
I don’t know what most people smell when ants are around, but our little girl smells just like cotton candy! I jumped up out of my chair and ran out the back door, as fast as my legs could carry me, scanning the meadow from one side to the other! Seeing nothing with my eyes, I decided to try following my nose.
There, amidst the dandelions in the meadow, sat a strangely familiar looking creature…
Yes, anyone who knew her from the beginning will recognize those beautiful eyes…
Even if I’d been confused about the eyes, when the tiny ant began smiling at me… it removed all doubt from my mind! She may have gone a bit wild ant/bunny on us while out in the wilderness, but it’s still our Lilly! You try braving the wilds all by your onesie’s, and then let’s see what you look like when you finally get home. I know that I’d probably look a mess, to say the least…
I look at my ideal dream home as a part of my journey, yet to be traveled… and I like presents quite a lot! How boring would it be if we knew exactly what was wrapped beneath our tree on Christmas Morning, right?! We love to wonder, speculate, and/or try to peek, though we know we must wait for the big OPEN! That’s what’s so beautiful about gifts, you know?
Besides, I don’t want to paint a picture of a thing that God has been preparing for such a long time, as He will far exceed any description I might offer. Plus, it’ll make the unwrapping of our future place so exciting! I can’t wait to wander from room to room, gratefully discovering all the things God included in the installation process… He’s like that, you know?
Imagine how disappointing it would be for us if we went to all the trouble of making a gift, only to have the recipient send us an add-on list.
I know, I know, this is just a prompt about a dream home, and I get it… really I do!
But, honestly, after being without an actual place to call home for the last few years now… a bed with four walls, along with an actual written address that doesn’t include wheels underneath, would suit me just fine! Unfortunately, that looks very bland in dream home standards, so I’m relying heavily on God’s providence for all the bells and whistles… just sayin!
I did make some dreamy cookies…
It sure has been a journey these last few years, to say the least!
We’ve gone from, losing our home and all we owned during the COVID Shutdown, to living in an RV for three years (the last year had no working toilet or shower, nor any hot water). And here we are now, spending the last four months in a motel room, awaiting a housing voucher. So, ya… it’s been a journey!
Well, guess what?
We’ve been approved!!!
I know this is only the first part of the actual process, but it’s a start!
Now, we must attend a special orientation class, before we can actually be presented with the needed voucher. The class is on the 18th and our last approved night in this motel is the 17th, so it’ll be a little dicey between the time of getting said voucher and getting into an appropriate housing situation. But hey, God’s the one driving this bus, right?!
My job is to simply wait until the bus stops, gather myself together when the door opens, and step out in faith! Why do some folks think that the hard part is walking through the door, or stepping out in faith when you can’t see what’s there? Personally, I’ve learned that the hardest part is the waiting…
Tick tock, tick tock…
The silence of waiting can be deafening, at times.
The thing that I’m learning is, mountains take time to move over, under, around, or through… depending on what God wants you to see, learn, and/or do along the journey.
Anyways, if you are curious how we got here from the top of this post, I’ve brought you thus far, so that I might say thank you! Thank you for loving me, for praying for me, and for sticking with me through the thick of things, if you will. You’ve made this whole excruciating difficult process, a great deal easier! Your comments, laughter, and visits to the lobby have been so vitally instrumental in the encouragement department, if that makes any sense.
It’s funny, the prompt this morning was asking what I’d do with good news? Well, I already did my praying and praising God for his faithful provision. Now’s the part where I share said good news, celebrate, and have a grateful heart!
The first place I wanted to bring my joyful news was here, in this very lobby! I thought to share it with all of you… my family!
The first thing we should be doing when we get some great, amazingly fantastic news, and even down to the smallest of blessings, is to bend a knee to the God who made it possible!
Why is that such a hard thing for us to do, I wonder?
Why can’t God get the first, and most important thank you, before we go patting ourselves on the back for a thing we think we deserve the credit for? It’s rather simple, really! Just stop and thank Him! Then, go do the next thing we do with good news… tell somebody about it, celebrate, and have a glad heart!
At least, that’s what I like to do.
Here, have a cookie…
they might not be great or amazingly fantastic, but they’ll do in a pinch!
May God follow you, bless you, comfort and guide you in all that you do… Hugs
Why would I ever do a thing like that?
Here, grab a cookie before you go…
May your weekend be a peaceful one, my friends. Enjoy your family, your friends and some down time. God Bless!
My nana always had candy, bowls of it, in fact! She always made sure they were freshly filled for our little visiting fingers, whenever we stayed at her home.
They weren’t always the some, though, because she liked variety… and she knew that we would too. Some days she’d have a mix of peppermint, butterscotch, and cinnamon flavored hard candies. My personal favorite were the butterscotch!
On special occasions, there would be bowls all over her home, in sets of three; one bowl with nuts, one with candies, and one with mixed chocolates. I always cleaned out the little candies, specifically the yellow butter mints. You know, for some funny reason, when I ran across them in a store and bought them, the flavor wasn’t the same… how sad, right?!
Honestly, I think it’s the memory of my nana’s house that I fondly recall, more than the candy. Perhaps it’s better to keep the flavor fantasy, just that… a fantasy, a sweet dream of more innocent times.
I still really do love butter mints, and yellow is still my favorite color, and I doubt that will ever change…
Don’t forget to take a cookie…
Journey With Me! 