Come Sit By Me

He says to the snow,  ‘Fall on the earth,’    and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ Job 37:6 It was November, 1950.....Thanksgiving holiday weekend.  My family, which consisted of mom, dad, and 5 children, still lived in the small, 3 room house in the little Southern Ohio town called Bainbridge.  No running water, heated with coal and wood, and cooked with the same. My oldest brother and his family had come for Thanksgiving Day and was to spend the entire weekend with us.  Their family consisted of my oldest brother, Eddie, his wife, Hazel and three children. All totaled there were 12 people in that small home. Looking back I can't remember how this was even possible. I do remember there were two mattresses on each of the two full sized beds.  A small daybed in one side of the kitchen where my one brother slept. He was the oldest of the five of us who still lived at home.  Mom would drag a  mattress off of each bed, find room somewhere on the small living room

Do you, like me, get up each morning and think this very thing?  Most all of us do, I think. I want to share this today for those who are "HURTING IN ANY WAY!"  Years ago I wrote devotionals for a ministry in San Diego for people who suffer with invisible chronic illnesses. Although I wrote this several years ago and in the Winter time, I find it applies to me today in many ways. Maybe there is someone out there who might need to read this with me today.    WHAT SHALL I WEAR TODAY? “To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”   Is. 61:3 As I sit by my patio window and have my quiet time with the Lord, I look out at the bright sunshine glistening on the snow. It is beautiful, but so deceiving. The temperature is in the single digits. For some of you I am sure you would be glad for it to be this "warm." I am one of the blessed ones who ge

BEND IN THE ROAD It has been a while since I have felt up to posting on here. I won't even try to explain all that has been going on with me the last while. But I would like to share something that is on my heart at this time. It is a bit different from the  stories of my childhood. I hope you will bear with me, and read on. “I will turn the darkness into light before them, and make the rough places smooth.   Is. 42:16  Before I moved to my new Assisted Living home, I used to  sit each morning in my living room by the patio door for my time of devotion and prayer. Across the room hung picture over my couch which showed a smooth road lined with beautiful Fall colored trees.   At the end of the road shown in the picture was a bend.   I would sometimes   imagine how much my life has been like this picture.   For a long while I walked on the smooth road with ease, delighting in the glorious colors of God’s blessings and provisions. Then, I would come to a ben