Guardian of Our Home

Here is our dear anonymous dog.  We think his name means Guardian of the home, which is why we picked his name.  He is our constant companion and security.  That is,  until there is a thunderstorm in the area, then we are his protectors as he cowers behind our legs.

I wasn’t going to show pictures in my blog.  But, this is an exception.  He is my dear friend and sometimes my confident.  I can tell him anything and he sits quietly listening.  His only request is a mini carrot to munch on while he pretends to care.

He reminds me often of the presence of our Lord.  He is a constant presence through all seasons of my life.  He will stand between me and any trouble.  He listens and loves me no matter what.  The difference between the dog and God?  The Lord is the awesome creator of those wonderful thunderstorms.  When you listen you can hear His presence. The Lord  does care, without fail and without changing.  Also, the Lord does not sit and beg for carrots.  We do not have to go through the motions of sit, say hello, high-five, down low and house bark.    I can call on His name and He is there, the dog, not so much…

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is this, Matt:28:20b, “And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (New Living Translation)

I have found this to be true.  Throughout all the seasons of my life I have never gone through any of it alone.  The Lord has been my constant companion.  Things that have thrown me to the ground shaking and unstable have not moved Him from His throne of Grace.  Nothing has taken Him by surprise.  When I recover from earth shattering things and am in my right mind, I see this.  I then can open up my hands to receive all He has for me.  It is a wonderful feeling, even better than seeing my little dog come running down the steps, tail wagging and grinning ready to jump up and let me know I’ve been missed.  Or, at least, where are his carrots?

Advertisement

A little background music

Last night we invited a neighborhood couple over for dinner.  It was impromptu and very casual.  I had made a pan of lasagna and I know my dear anonymous husband and I cannot eat a whole pan for dinner.  We will see that same lasagna for the next week.  Really it is worse than Thanksgiving leftovers when I make it.  So, to ward off looking at those noodles for the next week, my solution is to invite someone over to help us eat it!

I mentioned that to mention this.  In order to have some background ambience, I turned the television to the golden oldie music channel and let it play in the background.  No one really noticed it during dinner or during the conversation after dinner.  But it was there.

When we were all settled in for the night, neighbors gone, dirty dishes in the dishwasher and laptops in our perspective laps, my dear anonymous hubby and I sat and listened to the music.  It was wonderful!  He grew up in a very rural area and the music he listened to as a child was country/bluegrass.  I was a “city” girl.  We listened to the radio and all the current music.  I would catch him looking at me as I sang quietly along with the songs.  They took me back to places and events I hadn’t thought of in years.

I could remember the smell of spring coming in through the open windows of our home, dancing like idiots with my sisters, conversations with them also.  I could remember hearing my mother sing songs that were popular.  Wonderful memories.

There were songs that put me back to walking to elementary school in the snow the winter after my mother died.  Hearing my older sister encourage us to sing songs that she hoped would brush the grief away and get us going one more day without our mother’s presence.  It’s funny, but I remember every word of the songs popular that year.  Music did play a part in the healing process, I guess.

There were also songs from my high school years.  I remembered how it felt to dance my first dance.  How it felt to have someone’s arms around me, the thrill of being near to my first summer romance, the glow of his smile and the energy you just had at that moment.

Before we knew it, it was well past midnight and we sat listening and walking down memory lane for several more minutes.

This morning as I was fixing breakfast I heard some familiar strains coming from the living room.  I walked in to find the music channel back on.  I looked at my Sweetie and he smiled.  So, today our home has been filled with nostalgic sounds and our conversation has drifted back and forth from the past and the present.  The mood of the music and house has matched the outdoors today, warm, pleasant.

Often we are not so blessed to have such a relaxed day, there are appointments to keep, cobwebs to sweep and schedules that dictate our every move.  I take this day as a gift.  It was a mini break from the usual hectic pace we too often keep.  I sit as the sun is beginning its descent in the West and I thank my Lord for such a blessing it has been.  He uses any thing that will get our attention to bless us and help  us.  For that I am grateful.

On top of all the blessing today, I was also notified that I had my first “follower” of my blog.  What a brave person!!  We may never meet, but that was the cherry on top of my ice cream sundae day.  So, thank you brave person.  I hope I can bless you as much as you did me.  As always, I am your Dear Anonymous Friend

Just a little background

When I started to think about this blog, I had wonderful ideas and figured I would have at least a month’s worth of writing in one day. Of course as I thought about this blog I was on a road trip alone. The music playing in the car was conducive to thinking great thoughts. I had planned out exactly what I wanted to say and how I would do it.

The road trip ended, and time passed, but still in the back of my mind there lurked those ideas I promised myself I would see happen. Those ideas were sort of like a nagging being living on my shoulder, whispering in my ear of what I promised myself I would do.

I ignored that being for a very long time. I thought I was just in the process of formulating this great idea.

Finally, one sleepless night I listened to that little nagging beast, and thus was born my blog.

Reality stinks. I know without a doubt this is one of those promises to myself that I need to see fulfilled. I have pictured myself a writer for most of my life. My writing life has been filled with excuses and stumbles and now, I am determined I will conquer this. The keyboard frightens me. I know that this is what will produce what is rattling around my head. That in itself is very scary!

Years ago, I thought of a title for a devotional I figured I would write. At the time I was in my late twenties and thought I had squandered most of my life away. Now, some thirty years later, I admire my youthful exuberance and ambition. I also look back and wonder where my enthusiasm has gone. Thus, even more of a challenge to write this blog.

My thoughts on blogging are simple. Say something that will mean something. In reading blogs I see where there is humor, encouragement, and challenges given. I read with wonder and amazement. How do these people get beyond the keyboard and touch people’s hearts? This is my wish. To touch lives of people who are looking for a bright spot in their days. I hope I can do this and more importantly, I hope people will read what I have written.

So, now that I have given a background to this blog, bear with me, if anyone ventures to follow me. I may flounder, stutter and maybe one day I will succeed. All things are possible.

Closing now, as always, your DearAnonymousFriend.

Spring

It’s the middle of February of a very mild winter.  The tree outside my window is starting to blossom with purple blossoms.  It gives me hope against the gray skyline.

Spring can come in many ways to me.  It is the blossoming of trees or the smell of the hedges starting to bloom.

Spring also comes to my heart.  It is in the form of hope.  Hope for a brighter tomorrow, hope for a healthy tomorrow.  Hope from feeling drab and gray like the winter skies that still surround us.

Psalm 103

A psalm of David.

¹ Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.            ² Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.        ³ He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. ⁴ He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. ⁵ He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!