Love Is In Bloom

After over a decade of marriage, and fourteen years of close friendship it came to my attention recently that Logan had not seen Anne of Green Gables. When telling people my middle name is "Blythe" I literally say you know like Gilbert Blythe! He said the first voicemail I sent him he saved and was so confused by my middle name, but did not want to offend me at the time. I, on the other hand, tended to say whatever I thought! And have not lost that quality...he has gained it more and more. :) I love to say my full name in a message, probably from my Anne with an "e" soul. Her name became Anne Blythe when she married the boy that she competed with most/offended her at first, but became her biggest fan and truest friend. Logan never said he did not know who Gilbert was and as time went by I was my own Blythe anyway. He got his own story!  When this truth outed we spent days using spare time to get through all the movies. By the last one I realized I had been ...

A few weeks ago, I pulled off the highway onto an exit that was several lanes wide. There was a car in the lane next to me that had their hazard lights on, and a woman was outside the car looking distressed. I was in the middle lane during a busy hour with seemingly no way to pull out of the way of other cars but turned on my hazards and stopped. I saw there was a child in the backseat looking at me with a scared expression and I asked the woman: “Are you ok?” She in a distressed tone said someone had hit the back of her car and driven off without stopping.  Here I was stopping, but the cars all around me were getting annoyed, honking and I felt the pressure to move. I said to her how awful that was and looked at the child with an expression of “I see you there.” And felt moved for them yet moved on with the honks behind me and green light. I had this knot in my stomach that I should not have driven off and turned around at the next light. I made my game plan to stop on the street ...

I sat down at my desk, overlooking the beautiful rose that I could reach out and touch if a window was not between us. Pages and pages of a paper with the focal point of suffering stood between me and success. A wall hit like this paper was my limit. I had done so much work and studied so hard the past couple years with just one class to go. How is it that the last five minutes on a treadmill seem the longest? I felt as though time was slowly passing in ironic fashion making the ending drawn out and tiring moreso than the other many semesters combined. I felt a bone deep tired feeling take over and the wind in my sails heavier than light. I breathed in deeply and noticed the Arkansas hills, sky, and treetops, along with rooftops that scattered the valley below my new house. There was no window big enough or beautiful enough to make this place Heaven. In a good way, my hope in that was lost. And then, like an unexpected surprise a spider as big as a quarter crawled onto my window. The w...

     Jesus is seen as the suffering servant who was crucified on the cross in a brutal death and betrayed by his closest friends in the later chapters of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Along with the most extreme suffering, there is a polar opposite side of popularity and glory. He was the favorite student at the temple and wise beyond his years. People listened to him and he confidently stayed steady in the praise. His character of being fully God and fully man did not waver in these times of being noticed for his incredible qualities that grew in their site. He also knew he was going to be rejected and suffer betrayal and death, but none of this changed the way he lived in the moment with these teachers, along with those who loved him. Even with the knowledge of the intensity of suffering to come, he was faithful to grow in favor and love authentically the very people that would turn their backs on him. There was a very distinct moment that his rejection ...

My kids went to bed late tonight. After I had a three hour live online class that is usually in person, I had to tell my kids the sad news: "School will not be able to happen in person for the rest of the school year." Tears followed as they lamented their precious teachers that were hand picked by God to be exactly what they needed this year. I feel robbed losing them in person for the final part of this year. This was a blog I started weeks ago and could not write past the grief and frustration in that moment. I know that there are losses much bigger than ours, but leaving for a pandemic takes a toll on everyone. Like a cat in a pillowcase, I spent the first part of being home fighting and squirming and just plain spastic. We get amazon points every few weeks and I had been using them to build up my work attire and I bought a Maxi dress with short sleeves that was going to be so fun to wear! My hair color popped when I tried it on, the fit was perfect, I had shoes with ...