ONE BEATER SHORT OF FLUFFY

 Beat brown sugar, flour and butter mixture until fluffy--it said.

And I tried--then it happened. 

After 60+ years of faithful service, one beater fell off long before the mixture was fluffy.

How often I've felt 'one beater short'. 

You know the feeling: One nickel short of having two to rub together; six inches short of being tall; one ingredient short of having what you need to bake the cake you promised for the school cakewalk; etc., etc., etc. 

But this is what I learned from the one little whirly-thingy holding tight: it kept working. It might have had to work a bit harder, but it stayed 'plugged in', held fast, and continued to work hard at the job it was meant to do without complaining that it had no help, and eventually produced the right amount of 'fluffy'.

I don't think I need to elaborate.

Oh, that I might be so faithful!

DON'T DRINK THE WATER

I've been in a cleaning/rearranging/organizing frenzy

For ten years this wee closet right inside the door we use most has been a catchall! 

You know the kind...open at your own risk! 

Ugly!  Handy!  But REALLY ugly!!

Amazing what a coat or white paint, shelves, tap lights and fun containers can do to lift a woman's spirit--and turn UGLY into USEFUL.

Pockets on inside of the door add space for mixes and fun little surprises!  

HOWEVER--I must add this disclaimer:

In times past, this sort of activity was the first sign of a new pregnancy.

I'm 80

You might not want to drink our water!!  

A Way of Seeing

It stormed last night.

A real, literal storm with thunder, lightning, wind, rain…the works!

But the sun still came up and promises to shine again. As I walked into my office this stained-glass hanging was a great visual reminder that no matter the storms that surround me, the ever-changing unrest, hate and chaos that seems to rule the news of the day 

I have ONE who never changes.

ONE who is still on the throne

ONE who is not at all surprised by what is happening around me.

I CAN and WILL withstand the storms because of the promise each new morning brings.

Different Outlook

For the past ten years, this window has been graced with a blind and a valance.

The blind was NEVER pulled, and the valance was there to cover the blind when it was in the upright position.

The scene outside my kitchen window changes only with the seasons, give or take a few head of cattle. 


But what a difference it made to remove blind and the few inches of fabric that covered it.  

Think there might be a lesson in this? 

Get Ye Straw Where Ye Can Find It

Before you yell at me--I am FULLY aware that the title of this blog is taken completely out of context. But somehow it fit so perfectly.

Can you see her? Mrs. Wren? Last evening I watched this busy little bird build a nest in the firehose wound around the spool of an old hose cart. 

Back and forth she went, one small piece of grass/straw at a time having only her beak to maneuver the stems between the spokes and into her hiding place. She'd drop it, and go after it, time and time again until she finally accomplished the task.

Oh, if only I were so faithful to keep on keeping on. 

SHELTERED IN PLACE

He leads me beside still waters! 

In the midst of all the pandemic hubbub, my Father is faithful to remind me…

HE IS STILL IN CHARGE!! 

MAMA HAS BEEN BUSY!

FOUR! 

AND

FEATHERS!!

Do you think it's too early to plan a shower?

NEWBIE?

Well, we're not sure what is happening with our mama goose. 

She has one egg which is left all by itself for most of the day. 

Mama returns toward evening and seems to mess with the egg and then settles onto the nest for a few minutes then is gone again.

Last night she spent a lot of time pulling the dead petunias from the other pot, but we didn't observe her nesting in it. 

Maybe she's new at this motherhood thing. 

Ordinarily we chase the geese off our dock and out of the yard. They are such messy creatures. But we don't disturb this little family until we know for sure they've abandoned the nest. 

For now, we'll allow them to shelter-in-place.

POTTED GOOSE

This isn't the best picture, but it will do.  The other morning during my usual coffee-on-the-dock break, I noticed that something had disturbed the potting soil in the pot on the corner of the dock.

Hubs said right away it was a goose, but I argued that it was probably a raccoon or squirrel digging for food.

This morning--Hubs proved me wrong! 

We have a mama goose sheltering-in-place!

COVID-19 CAN NOT STEAL MY EASTER!!

STEAL MY EASTER?

NO WAY!! 

SEE THAT CROSS STANDING BETWEEN THE PROMISE THOSE TWO RAINBOWS REPRESENT? 

DO YOU SEE JESUS ON THE CROSS?

OF COURSE NOT.

BECAUSE 

HE HAS RISEN!!

No decree to 'stay at home' can take that away.

And my adherence to that decree does not mean I am less or more!

It just simply means that I can and will celebrate the fact that the cross is empty every day…every day…E.V.E.R.Y. D.A.Y. 

ON THIS TUESDAY, I CHOOSE—

JOY

Today I choose JOY! 

Today I choose to count my BLESSINGS!

Today I choose to focus on LOVE!

The love of family, friends, and most of all, on the indescribable, unconditional, never-changing LOVE of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

And today I choose to LAUGH!

WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE TODAY?

Today I Will…

Just this morning it hit me! 

While I've practiced social distancing, I've also distanced myself from that which is important. 

I've allowed facebook and instagram to become my social life and have therefore distanced myself from community. 

As a believer, I'm called to be 'light', and instead I've allowed negative posts to discourage, anger, bewilder and darken my thoughts and my actions. 

NO MORE

Today, when I'm tempted to allow social media to be my source of community, I will write a note, send an email, call a friend, and pray that God will use me to be one small light in someone's dark corner.

WHAT WILL YOU DO TODAY?

Simply Welcome

Lord, during this time of sheltering in place, remind me often that You are my shelter. 

Though no stranger, friend or family can come through this door right now, remind me that You dwell within. 

And Lord, may I always keep the door of my heart open to You, and the door of my wee cottage open (even figuratively) to others.  

Beyond 30 seconds

Getting tired of singing Happy Birthday? 

Try this. Each of these stanzas (chorus) have been personally timed by me and this one song will get you through 3 rounds of hand washing--more if you sing the chorus every-other-time! 

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,

Just to take Him at His word

Just to rest upon his promise,

Just to know, 'Thus saith the Lord."

(chorus)

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!

How I've proved Him o'er and o'er

Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

Oh, for grace to trust Him more!

I'm so glad I learned to trust Him,

Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend

And I know that He is with me,

Will be with me to the end.

NOW IT'S YOUR TURN! 

LET'S FLOOD SOCIAL MEDIAL WITH SONGS BY WHICH TO WASH OUR HANDS---AND LIFT OUR SPIRITS!!

Sometimes a Gal Has To Do What a Gal Has TO Do

IN A SHAMELESS BOOST TO GET MY BOOK READ!!

Hopes Chance, book #1 of my Another Spring series is now available on Amazon for 99 cents!  It's a fun, easy read (so I've been told), and will help pass some of your lockdown time!  

You're welcome!  (insert smiley face)

https://www.amazon.com/Hopes-Chance-Another-Spring-Trilogy/dp/1944309284/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=julane+hiebert&qid=1584448210&sr=8-5

Final Winners....and such!!

For those who might not be aware, I ran a contest several weeks ago...anyone who found my hubby at a ballgame and took a pic of them together would get a free signed copy of my latest release, Storm's Promise.

Now, this is going to get a bit long--but hang in there with me. 

The first winner was: Sara Meisinger

We have known Sara since she and our youngest son were classmates at Berean Academy, starting in the 7th grade. Sara is also an author with Wings of Hope, the same publishing company that publishes my books. She's a great friend, teaches at BA,  and is no stranger who just happened to find hubby. 

Amy Vogt is another BA friend and longtime friend of the family. We watched her compete as an athlete at BA, and hubby later watched her daughter compete in the same events. Full circle of friendship that will last a lifetime.

 Julie Nelson is family!  Not by blood, but family nonetheless.  Her sister is married to our youngest son and we've shared many Easters, Mother's Days, birthdays, graduations, and many, many other points of fun and celebrations as family together. You will never see Julie without a smile!  

Faith Loomis is another longtime acquaintance. In fact, I was her babysitter while her mom was in nursing school. She was also a BA friend and has remained close to our family through the years. 

AND I FORGOT TO ADD THIS SPECIAL PERSON YESTERDAY.

Kathy Veer was a special friend of our Tammy. When we moved to Windsong Ranch, it was Kathy and her husband who bought our house and it was their daughter KaLisa who claimed Tammy's room. What a blessing Kathy has been to our family over the years, and continues to be a very special person in our lives. 

All of these winners hold a special place in our hearts and will be forever in our "Remember When" book of fond memories. It was fun for Bob to come home from a game and report who approached him for a pic. 

And most of all--I wanted you all to know that my hubby doesn't go around taking pics with strange women!  *grin* 

DOESN'T WORK!!

Monday morning! 

Put an EMPTY coffee cup in the refrigerator and set the timer on the microwave for 45 seconds. *insert dumb face* 

Lesson:
Neither the refrigerator nor the microwave gave me a full cup of hot coffee! 

See--the pot was full and hot. 

My Keurig was full and heated

And I had plenty of choices at my disposal

Yet, I chose the refrigerator (not intentionally, but it does make a great illustration) where once the door was closed it was dark and cold. 

Isn't that just like us? 

We take our empty selves to cold, dark places and expect to come away filled to the brim. 

That's my Monday morning lesson.

Now--I'm ready for a HOT cup of Vanilla Biscotti coffee...

Am I Strange?

I titled this blog entry knowing full well I made myself very vulnerable. 

I asked the question because I've found myself re-reading my own books this week. 


Monday I read 

Tuesday I read

And today I'm reading

At the risk of putting myself in the crosshairs, I'll ask again:

AM I STRANGE? 

If you're an author--please answer me! Do you re-read your own books? 

A Long Night of Waiting

A Long Night of Waiting

Current work in process. Will keep you up to date.