There is hope...

Hope amid adversity. I took a picture of this thistle on my hike last year. It reminds me that yes, thorns and thistles might spring up, but there really is beauty tucked away within each of our trials that can make it something beautiful. This past week several people I know have died from cancer. I am personally struggling right now with the ol' mid life crisis - which I thought to be a myth. I spent some time last week on a few hikes, thinking about God and the beauty of His creation. I was looking forward to another wander today, but I ended up spraining my ankle on Saturday in a hole on the lawn, dug by my dog. Not to mention my ongoing gallbladder issue and perimenopause symptoms. Then my son is still going through struggles of manhood vs the kid in him as he is struggling with job issues, and he needs the job for school costs. And of course, I seem to be going no where with writing right now, though I am preparing for a writing conference next week and a job interview for part time employment at a library this week.

Hope can still spring eternal even if adversity may be striking. A beauty in a common thistle. A silver lining in the cloud. If one is patient and does not despair.

A Dear Writer of God Gone to Heaven

A dear writing friend who I had a chance to meet a few years back has gone on to her heavenly home. Kristy Dykes passed from this earth to a place of peace last night. She had been suffering from brain cancer for over eight months. If you have a chance, read the blog her husband maintained about this tremendous woman - her marriage to her wonderful husband Milton, her family, friends, her writing ministry, but above all, her godly life. It will truly inspire you that we can indeed do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

Contemplations and Dreams

I had a very interesting dream last night. As you may have detected from previous posts, I have submitted lots of ideas for books but have not had any bites yet for publishing houses. Well, last night I had a great dream in that I received two contracts for books. How did I find out about them? I discovered them on a web site, actually, where several of my books were slated to be released in the future. I knew they were on the horizon, but the editor had yet to formally give me a contract on them.

Those are great dreams to hold on to, especially when little is happening in the publishing world. The dreams give hope to stay the course. But I did have a bit of good news - the editor at Blue Ridge Outdoors wishes to use an incident with my family hiking in one of his articles in September. While it is not a paying article for me, it gives exposure for my hiking escapades and a boost for the non fiction book I am writing concerning my trail adventure last year. Anything to pump up the resume for the book is good.

So there are little signs that God is still in control of this career of mine. It is all in His timing.

Off I Go, Into the Wild, Blue Yonder...

...To the trail, that is.

No, it is not a repeat of what I did last year - six months of it, along the Appalachian Trail. Actually my hubby and I are planning a three day excursion into the Dolly Sods region of West Virginia beginning tomorrow. The Dolly Sods is a pristine wilderness that reminds us of far northern regions with its scrub brush of mt laurel, blueberries, and vistas. Sometimes it is good to escape the real world for a time and bask in the beauty of God's creation. I have been feeling a little dry as it is in my quiet and prayer time. I know how close I felt to God when in His creation, especially last year on the AT. So I am eager to use this time away for thinking as well as enjoying what He has made.

If your Christian walk is getting dry for you, then slip away into another place, like maybe a walk in the woods. There is nothing more rejuvenating, readying you for whatever else life has waiting in its wings.

Tired...

Well, it was an adventurous trip to NY, then an all day trip with our church teen group to an amusement park yesterday, followed by testing in the hospital early this AM on my gallbladder.

Now I am TIRED. I feel like this cute seal (I think it is). Time for a snooze. Wish I had something profound to share, but right now my brain is as tired as the rest of me, even with the cup of java at my fingertips.

Doesn't Ecclesiastes say there is a time to rest?

So I will pick up my blog next Monday. See you then.