This pictures is a close up of the summer section of The Seasons of Faith Labyrinth. I love the idea of the blooms of our faith crossing with everyday life. I shopped last weekend at a “big box store” and was surrounded by crabby people. I mean seriously frowny, crabby people who were unhappy.

But I was happy. With my daughter’s wedding in two weeks, my hubby and I were doing some stock up. This happens when the grandkids and other guests are coming for an extended time. When it is just the two of us, well if we’re down to one roll of toilet paper, we go buy a package. But that doesn’t work with 10 people in the house.

So back to the store. 2 feet into the store, decided I would smile the entire time I was shopping. Yes, even when the store is out of what I need. Wowsa! It was like smiling through a frown land mine. In my little experiment, it was the cashier as I left that gave me the first smile. And he was getting paid to smile!!!!

Faith crossing life. The inner peace that God brings going on a trek into the world. It’s hard, but when we do it the reward may be a long time coming but when it comes in the smile of another one of God’s people, it is worth the effort.

Have you smiled today?

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I’d greet it in a garden. by Ruth Stout an American author of gardening books

This is a blow up of the spring detail on the Seasons of Faith labyrinth. I have painted several recently and really love placing these in homes and with those who work with small groups.

The thing about this section called spring is that it started out just as apple leaves coming out in spring. Then one day I looked outside and saw the apple blossoms coming out and decided to add a hint of pink. Just a hint of pink changed the entire section.

A hint of faith change change an entire family gathering or an entire small group meeting. Check out the Seasons of Faith labyrinth. How could it change your faith?

These are marsh marigolds. When we put in our fish pond, my youngest and my husband put on hip waders and took the John Deere to our marsh to get some real marsh flowers. It was such a mess! I couldn’t believe that these two messy people actually brought back anything that would be pretty-EVER!

And sure enough, out of the mud came these beautiful marsh marigolds. From the mush and the marsh and the mud came beauty that returns year after year.

Our faith is like this when we serve in a community. It seems like we are bogged down with the mess of conflict, chaos, huge event planning and yet out of the mud come those beautiful blooms. Members who identify their gifts and find a way to share them. People in the community who discover that worship is something that brings them closer to God. These are the blooms that emerge time after time in the mud and mush of faith communities.

These are hard to see but they are red and white bleeding hearts. Look at the way the little hearts line up. I love that the white and red plants next to each other show such beauty.

Think of these little hearts as the hearts of your grand kids. Doesn’t it seem sometimes like their little hearts are so open to us? They get a cut and fall down. Their drama of the day ( and their parent’s drama) seldom seems quite as bad to us. We know “this too shall pass.” Our hearts might bleed, but not too long for we know about life filled with God’s love.

Keep your heart filled with faith as you spend time with the kids. Remember all that you have learned about faith as a life long gift. Remember the bleeding hearts and

Ten years ago I was serving at a wonderful church. The Education committee worked hard with a visual and words to show what they felt was the core value of their mission in education. The words said, “the fruit of the tree is the faith of the children.” I love those words.

This is a plum tree is almost full bud. Just one of the developmental stages of getting to the fruit of the tree. And tonight there is supposed to be a late frost and the the buds may die and we may not get any fruit. This happens in nature.

This also happens when we are working in faith formation in our families. Sometimes there is an unexpected situation that stops faith from going forward. Maybe a child that is bullied and has trouble getting past the issue. Or maybe extreme anger that stops everything. But faith growth isn’t stopping forever. Even if these buds freeze, they will grow leaves which will keep the cycle of life moving ahead. Maybe even this season we will have some fruit because buds we cannot see will not freeze. One year we had one pear and it was so sweet.

It hard when we get hit unexpectedly with fear. But remember, the cycle of faith formation tells us that we will move forward even when we cannot see growth. God is with you in the fruit of faith that grows from your experiences and relationships in the gift of family. Blessings on your journey.

When I was raising kids the general feeling was that we should always tell them they were special. Not just your ordinary daffodils, but really special. When I began teaching I realized quickly that if everyone thinks they are the most special person in the world, a battle can ensue.

With my grand kids I have sought to help them find their own unique place in the world. The whole unconditional love theme goes well when they are here for a limited amount of time. But what I really want to do is tell them they are really special. Hmmmm… I can never decide if I actually learned anything as a parent or not. Probably not.

Once when I was reading to a 5 year old, he told me I was a ‘really special grandma”. It felt good. The dilemma remains. Special, really special or unique is the question?

Okay I give up! All of the above. After all they are MY grand children.

These tulips are ready to burst. They have been this way for about 5 days. The days have been fairly warm, but the tulips seem to be waiting for something. It may be more sun. It may be warmer soil. The tulips are ready to bloom.

I think that readiness is one of the gifts of home school faith. The kids may be ready to talk about the story of Noah after 10 days of being inside in the rain. And in home school you can do that. Or a situation in national or world wide news, may need some discussion about our place in the world and creeds. That can happen in home school.

Spend some time this weeks listening to the kids in your home school or home school coop. What topics are they bursting to talk about. Maybe you can be the vessel that helps them bloom into full understanding of a faith topic.

It is all about lifelong faith.

Do you like rhubarb? Well it’s here even if the flowers have yet to arrive. These little nubs grow into big leaves and some people just love the stuff. I inherited this rhubarb. It was here when we moved into the house. I keep giving it away.

One Pastor friend makes rhubarb wine. My daughter makes rhubarb crisp or strawberry rhubarb pie. Another friend makes rhubarb sauce that has so much sugar in it I get a sugar rush watching her make it. What I really like about rhubarb is GIVING IT AWAY.

Do you think it counts as good stewardship from my abundance if I give away all the rhubarb? Hmmm…..

My Mom is on the far right of this picture from 30 years ago. Right now all my relatives are about to shoot me for not cutting them out. I won’t name them so I most likely will live through the day.

I loved my Mom, but I don’t think I told her that enough. Actually I know I didn’t tell her enough. Soon after this picture, she and Dad moved far, far away and not long after, she had a major stroke. I thank my Mom for my love of all living things, nature and people. I thank my Mom for being fun. She had such a great smile.

Mom has been gone now for about 8 years. I like to re-imagine how I would tell her everyday how much I love her. She gave birth to me and learned how to be a good Mom with me as the guinea pig. Such is the life of the oldest child. She saved me from scraped knees and hugged me fiercely when I didn’t have the words to tell her how I felt.

I love you Mom.

I’ve been having massages for about 10 years. They have helped me tremendously with circulation, relaxation and stretching. My Doctor actually wrote a prescription for massages because my blood pressure has stayed so low.

Massage in families is a wonderful way to connect without words. We all have massaged a child’s head. Having the child also massage your adult head is a good for both of you. Family foot massages at the end of a tiring day is a wonderful communication piece as well as a good way to relax kids before bed.

I used to teach a class called “Good Touch and Bad Touch”. It was around the topic of helping kids understand when someone is touching them in inappropriate ways. In today’s world everyone has a phone, a computer, a GPS or game in their hands. Why not look for ways to empty our hands and touch one another in good ways through foot or head massage. Maybe you can hum “Jesus Loves me” as a family as you give foot massages.