IF I stand?

January 31, 2026

Stayed overnight at the guest house on campus.  The first night alone.  The second night with Donna.  She is coming.  I walked from Vail to the guest house and it was a little scary because I wasn't sure how to walk there.  

I asked directions and stopped at a halfway point to get some warmth.   It was beautiful.  But, it was hard to enjoy the beauty because of fear in the aging cycle.  People always warn you not to slip.  I have on non slip shoes.  They got all wet, soaked, in fact.  But I didn’t slip.  I feel a bit more confident now that I have made it all the way.  I am not going back out there tonight, though.

I did see a few little birdies flitting about the campus and the young people were playing music and acting as though it was a summer day.  They walk at a nice clip and if I were able to go that fast, i guess I wouldn’t feel the cold either.  The fear of the cold is the most dangerous part of the journey.   I know that my Savior walks with me all through my life and I need to make up a song for my soul in this treacherous season of life.  Getting old is alot more treacherous in your faith life.  Jesus is with you.  I feared no man in my youth.  Stood up to father and unbelievers on the subway and in some neighborhoods, that I should have feared, but the fear of falling in the snow, perhaps the shame of needing a helping hand and the silly looking collapse in the snow, was the real fear.  I am not sure.  God got me through it and God is carrying me through all of these seasons.  I love seeing his strong hand holding me in my weakness and not chastening me as much as warning me that the best days of his nearness is yet to come.  HE is the joy of my life.   Husband and children are just a lent treasure.  He is the author and the finisher of my faith and of my life.   If I fall… I didn’t fall, but, had I fallen He is right there to help me with or without assistance.  I do trust HIM.

Is that your serve?

 How’s your serve?

I stood on the baseline of court three and looked over to the service box with the taste of aces on my tongue!  This time the other side of the court had 2 beautifully set tables that had to be served.  How do I reconcile the taste in my tongue to serve the way I have practiced thousands of times into this new and different experience?

Years before, with racquet in hand, an ace would be expected from me.  I took a deep breath as the memory of former service victories and defeats flooded my mind.  In a flash, I was back in the moment, knowing that placing plates and glasses correctly and having the correct demeanor replaced the clocklike movements which were instinctive to that place and position.  The court was covered in ornate carpet and 65 round tables covered courts 2 through 4  and it was my responsibility to serve the first three lines of tables with my team.   

Now it was Hors’dovers and surf and turf and tea and coffee and a huge piece of cheesecake that adorned the tables.  My serve was completing 11000 steps a feat that I am most pleased to have accomplished for myself and I hope that my guests were enjoying the delights that it was my privilege to set before them.

Jesus Loves Me!

 

the Proverbs 31

link to the Book by Charles Bridges

proverbs 31

birthday photos

 

 

Shout Now!

Faith is the Victory that overcomes the world!

Can’t you only imagine, the victory, when we stand with the World as our trophy.  Death, Hell and the grave, behind us to run onward and upward into the arms of our Father and Savior and friend; to know him without the hindrances of pride and sin.

We have run the race, we have spent the fortnight engaged in the conflict, the smell of the can, no longer our motivation, it is behind us.  Can you imagine not having to measure your words and your thoughts by the country and the audience that is in front of you?  

I really can’t imagine that.  I cannot imagine a day of such freedom from the scrutiny of others of my words.  Did you mean this or that?  Was I the villain or the hero in that story?  None of your business.  We are always both, in this world.  Jesus is the only hero in this world, but the day is coming when he will share his victory with his church. In that day the gates of hell will no longer be in the discussion.   I like to imagine that day now.

Don’t wait till the battle is over, SHOUT NOW !