Happy Mother’s Day, Mom | by Linda Brendle

Helen Hagan Robinson, my beautiful mother, probably around 19 or 20 years old

Today was my first Mother’s Day without Mom, and it wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

Confusion and Certainty about God | by Linda Brendle

I’m not a very deep thinker. When I was growing up in Dallas, there was a D.J. on WRR named Jim Low. One of his tag lines was “even nonconformists conform to nonconformity.” It made sense, but wrapping my young and simple mind around it gave me a headache. I feel the same way about some articles I’ve read recently about the existence of God.

There’s Still Hope | by Linda Brendle

With all the stories of bombings and mass shootings that surround us on a daily basis, it’s hard to remain hopeful about the future of mankind. But sometimes hope comes when you least expect, maybe from a crooked little smile or a Kit Kat bar.

A Pictorial Garden Update | by Linda Brendle

I had a couple of serious posts in mind for today, but I went out to give my plants a drink and decided some garden pictures would be much more fun. To catch up on the history of some of my babies, go back to my post called “Plans, God, and Day Lilies.”The irises and day lilies Dirk gave me are doing great. One of the irises is proudly sporting two buds…

From Trash to Watermelons | by Linda Brendle

When we bought our little 2+ acre homestead four years ago, it was in need of some TLC. In a previous post called “Other People’s Garbage,” I wrote about the piles of junk and partially burned trash we found. This picture shows one of the larger piles in the lower right-hand corner. The downed tree was blackened and surrounded by a mound of dirt and the non-combustible remains of many fires.

A Tribute to the Harmons| by Linda Brendle

I met Brent and Sharon Harmon in early 2007 when David and I first got serious about the RV lifestyle. I’m not sure how our interest was first piqued. The first thing I remember is David showing me a luxury motorhome on his computer. It sported a mid-six figure price tag, and we laughed over the impossibility of owning one as we oohed and aahed over the fancy, tricked-out bus.

The Humility and Grace of Foot Washing | by Linda Brendle

From abcnews.go.com

It takes humility to serve others, but sometimes it takes even more humility to allow others to serve you. Pope Francis created quite a stir during Holy Week when he celebrated the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at a prison and washed the feet of a dozen inmates. Most of the media coverage focused on the break from the tradition of washing the feet of the cardinals and on the propriety (or impropriety) of including women in the ritual. Michael Sean Winters, however, wrote about the symbolism of the act in his article titled “Pope Francis & the Washing of Feet” in the April 1 issue of National Catholic Reporter. 

God Grants the Blooms | by Linda Brendle

Monday I wrote about how the old Yiddish proverb, “Man plans and God laughs” has been evidenced in my life recently, specifically in relation to my garden. My brother Jim’s comment on that post was “God laughs, indeed! But God also grants the blooms!”

Reflecting on what he said, I realized that his comment expressed one of the reasons I’m so fascinated with gardening. Oh, I like being outside, digging in the dirt, feeling the warm sun on my back and the cool breeze on my face. I enjoy choosing the seeds and bedding plants, arranging them in neat rows, fertilizing and watering. But my favorite part is watching God do His part. I love discovering news shoots as they fight their way through the dirt and spread their first leaves toward the sun. Like a child counting gifts under the Christmas tree, I check and re-check, looking for new buds and blooms.

Plans, God, and Day Lilies | by Linda Brendle

Proverbs 16:9 says “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” The Yiddish version is something like “Man plans and God laughs.” I wonder if God laughed when I thought today’s plans might include a little writing.

I knew I wouldn’t get anything done before lunch. I always begin the day with prayer and Bible reading, and since we started a ladies’ Bible study at church a few weeks ago, my study time has gotten longer. I thought I’d have time to do a little work in the garden before lunch, but by the time I sent a few e-mails that were overdue, it was time to hit the showers. That was okay. There would be time for gardening this afternoon with time left over to come up with a brilliant post and spend some time on my WIP (that’s work in progress for those not in “the business”).

My Son, the Holy Heretic | by Linda Brendle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Wednesday’s post I mentioned that I was going to be a guest on Christian’s blog today.