Mary's Heartbeats

Sweat seems to appear with even the slightest exertion.  California is no longer the place for dry heat.  This summer with the monsoon weather backing up to the mountains, has brought a Midwest humidity.  The kind of humidity that requires at least 2 showers a day to get a bit of comfort.  Yes, times have definitely changed since I first came to live here 40 some years ago.   Just another reminder, that time moves on,  with all of the changes it brings.  New homes and shopping centers are built in former quarry pits, dry fields, and old golf courses.  I feel myself mimicking my Father's words when we would drive through his old hometown, and he'd remark on "the baseball field that used to be there before that new building."  Time never stops, just like our earth never stops its spinning. . .  I think the Apostle Paul felt that kind of sentimental yearning, especially when he had to bid farewell to his dear friends from the city of Ephesu...

I don't know why it has taken me so long to write again, you would think with a pandemic and so much time at home that I would be back to writing daily.  But not, and I feel very out of practice.  Sometimes I am not sure why I am not better at accomplishing tasks, I would much rather go for a walk or a hike, or enjoy a swim, anything but doing a "to do list."  So perhaps that is why I have even discovered with Gypsy Rose, that the best way to get her to walk with me, instead of me walking with her, is to let her leash loose, let go. . .  Gypsy Rose is now 13 months plus and has become a joyful doggy girl.  She gets along great with other dogs, runs like a gazelle at the doggy park, swims like a fish, and is great with playing ball, with tennis balls or a frisbee.  She has learned to sit, stay, come, and would probably be excellent if I was a more consistent leader.  But in spite of me, she has been able to accomplish those things.  The hardest and...

Staying put is a message we don't usually want to hear.  We are accustomed to getting up and going as we please.  We call it freedom in that we don't have to answer to anyone about our whereabouts.  We are free to be.  We take our freedom as a God given right, something that our ancestors died for.  Free to defy laws and mandates, especially if it infringes on our rights.  But I wonder do we really know what our ancestors died for?  Perhaps it wasn't quite the freedom that we imagine today. Jeremiah was asked to pray for the remnant of people left behind from the Babylonian conquerors.  These were the poorest of people, not worthy of being taken captive to Babylon.  They were survivors of horrors, their city ransacked and destroyed, their recently appointed leader murdered, along with 80 other men.  Those corpses just cast aside into a cistern to further contaminate any drinking water.  These people  had nothing to claim for th...

34 years ago, at the age of 29, I married GQ on a snowy day in a little wedding chapel in Reno, Nevada.  Many thought our marriage wouldn't last---a second marriage for both of us.  But here we are, seven dogs later, a wonderful son and daughter-in-law, a house we've lived in for the past 26 years; differences abound, but still faithfully loving one another when all is said and done. I don't always get it, Lord, but indeed You have exceeded all my expectations these past 34 years.  What will the next 34 bring?  And here I sit with a "Kay Jeweler" package before me this early morning.  A surprise for me as extravagant gifts have not been our thing.  GQ is often a man of few words---but deep within him is a heart of solid gold. Thank you Lord for being so good to me these 34 years!! I'm recalling one of my mother's questions, she asked me long ago.  "Is he good to you, Mary?"  And I responded, "Yes, Mom, He's good to me," with full as...

What a mess! The blue toilet water ran like a cascading waterfall over the sides of the white porcelain seat. I ran to grab towels to sop up the mess. The bad news was that earlier that day the washing machine had busted out its "shut off valve" for filling up the bin. That too ended up being a flood zone, but now I definitely needed its services to wash up these disgusting towels. I would have to figure out some way to make it work. Then comes the news that a coworker has tested positive for the dreaded COVID19 virus. Thanksgiving plans were definitely in question. In just a few short hours, life again took an unexpected turn! Thanksgiving has held a very special meaning to me, especially over these past 2 years, as it marks the anniversary when I was first told of my cancer.  God has continued to show grace and mercy to me, and I am only here to be an image of that special favor.  I still do not fully comprehend the why and how that has been, but I  am deeply gra...

What is it like to give words and warnings that are mocked and scoffed at?  What is it like when your message is filled with the most unpopular words?  What is it like to spend your whole life speaking words that no one wants to hear? Jeremiah was a prophet sent by God with his only mission in life to speak God's Word to a people who willfully would not accept anything that he said.  In fact, they became so enraged with what he had to say that they planned to kill him.  Ironically, the very people that show the most distaste for him were the religious leaders and priests.  The book of Jeremiah, chapter 26, plainly recalls this story.  Jeremiah stands in the Lord's house, and confronts the people and priests with God's message.  The message is that you the people have not been listening to God's Word, you haven't followed in the way of God's law and you haven't listened to the many prophets that have been sent to you again and again.  So reality is...

  On June 4th, 2020 a little ball of puppy fur was born into the Upland City Shelter.  Evidently, her mother, a black German Shepherd, had found her way there at an earlier time.  She was posted on their website in about 8 weeks from the date of her birth, and that was when I first saw "Monica."  Only known as female puppy #3, born into this litter.  I called that Sunday morning about an hour after the Shelter opened up, was already prepared to hear that I wouldn't be able to even view these puppies.  This is because during our time of the COVID19 Quarantine, you can't just show up at a shelter to view or see a dog.  You must call and make an appointment, and usually puppies are the first to go and already have a "full" list of those want to be owners, like me.  So, I called with passive hope.   Of course, the first puppy girl had a full list, the second one had 2 people in front of me, I would be the third.  No, I wouldn't take tha...