new blog

I've added another blog to my dashboard. I'm happy to introduce Joyful Life, a ministry site from and for the women's ministry of Calvary Chapel Marysville, but which I hope will enjoy many other visitors. This is a place to share thoughts on marriage, parenting, our devotional lives, sister-to-sister issues, home organization, and, of course, recipes. Lots of recipes. In essence, this is a place to work out Titus 2 in a practical format.

If you have the time and the inclination, I hope you'll come by and add your thoughts to the posts you find there.

tonight's food

Dinner tonight consisted of a dozen fat blueberries, picked straight from the bushes that line our driveway, and one plump peach that whispered, "Pick me." The tree that bore it looks too delicate to hold 31 peaches, but I did the counting myself, and that's the truth.

Dinner tonight consisted of a walk along the woods, with only the fading sun and a merciful breeze for company. The sky above held cottony clouds, with just the barest flicker of gray, which I know God scattered there for me.

Dinner tonight consisted of the happy sight of our puppy, Hunter, who had returned home when I told her not to follow me, and who sat straight and tall waiting in the driveway when I walked back to her an hour later.

Dinner tonight consisted of a stab of pity, when I found a robin who had flown just an inch too close to one of the cats, and who drew her last breath on the green carpet below the apple tree.

Dinner tonight consisted of a sad thought--that while I was dining on blueberries and walking under the clouds, praising Hunter and mourning a lost bird, my son was having his dinner among strangers, 1500 miles away--where he's no doubt scanning those faces for a friendly look, and wondering about this new adventure, and missing home.

We're missing you right back, Zachary.

interview

The last several weeks, I've been editing, writing, editing, cooking, editing, throwing water at my 14 nearly dead tomato plants ... you get the picture. Notice there hasn't been a lot of blogging in there. I miss it. When life slows down a bit, I'll do it again.

For now, here's a quick bit of news. Tomorrow morning at 7:15 (yes, that's a.m.), I'm being interviewed by Michelle Mendoza of KCIS radio's Living Christian program (Seattle) for a piece I wrote for the just-released Chicken Soup for the Soul in Menopause. If you'd like to catch it here in the Seattle area, you can tune in to AM 630. Otherwise, it can be accessed via KCIS's radio site (press the "Listen Live" circle near the top left corner of the page). And if that doesn't work for you, here's a link to their podcast page: Living Christian with Michelle Mendoza.

And on a side note, I'm leaving Saturday to take our son, Zac, down to Murrieta, CA, to get registered and settled in at Calvary Chapel Bible College. If I could ask a favor, please pray that Zac acclimates quickly to the new environment--and that God has His way with this boy I love so much.