Thinking on these things . . .

All week long I keep thinking I need to call my mom and I don’t know why I’m feeling this way and it is so very strange... I miss having parents. My dad died a lifetime ago, twenty- seven years, but my mom's been gone less than a year and I'm still thinking I should call her and see how she's doing. When I think about it, my mom had gotten to that stage of life where she was more of someone who needed to be taken care of than someone who was still taking care of me. There will be a point in which we will need to parent the parent and with that role reversal there is a sense of loss - that you are no longer someones child in that someone is still looking out for you - even if it's more of a perception than a reality. Let me offer you a precious thought. God does not age and will never grow feeble. No matter what age you get to be you will still be his child and even more than that, He will still be as capable a father as He has always been. Still stronger, wiser, and mor...

It had been a busy weekend of unpacking, washing, sorting, baseball, packing and loading in preparation to relocate for a few months. And now it was Monday morning and the day promised to be full of unloading, unpacking, cleaning and organizing. So of course the coffee pot was the first appliance on this morning! I brewed some Cherries Jubilee coffee I found in the pantry. With eyes still filled with sleep I poured that first cup... yuck! Those contents went down the drain. Now boxes of groceries have been brought in – ah, some Carmel Vanilla Crème… Fresh coffee, same result. Another pot down the drain. It’s the water. Although it’s been through the purifying pitcher with the fancy filter it still has a taste and water should not taste. I run it through the filter a second time, but it still has a taste. It’s now 10 am and I have a headache. This body is accustomed to its morning coffee, at 8 am by the latest …I’m not proud of the fact, it’s just what it is. I put a gallon of distille...

Being that summer is just around the corner, it is time to pull out the most fashionable of all footwear styles - Flip Flops! Just as children should not be in school in these hot months, neither should feet be encased in material as the temperatures rise! Today I tried some new flip flops and they were bouncy - really bouncy. When you walked it felt like you were on a gymnastics mat or a people mover at the airport. Talk about a spring in your step...! So I put them on for a quick walking errand and found that after a half dozen steps I was adjusting them on my feet. Then after a bit I was walking a little differently to accommodate my shoes, the kind of gait you know if you keep it up for a long time that your feet will be killing you tomorrow, not quite broken in yet... As soon as I got back I slipped into my old flip flops - ahhhh...so much better! I'd broken these in all last summer and they conform perfectly to my feet, now they weren't springy but they were wonderfully a...

First of all, you have to journal. If you don't, start today If you already do, keep it up! You have no way of knowing what an powerful thing it can be in your life. I was looking up some information this morning and found a journal entry from ten years ago. In it I was imagining how great it would be if God could come over to my house one morning with the blueprint for my life. We'd roll it out on the table and He would explain to me what His plan was and then explain step by step how we would get from where I am to what I was going to be. Like an old lot that is going to be converted into a neighborhood playground: how we'd clean up the trash and then level the ground, lay some sod, build a playground structure, plant some trees and put up some benches and make a once barren space useful. About a year later I drove past a sign with the verse "Now He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that you ask or think"( Eph. 3:20) and I began imagining what I want...

At 10:30 on Thursday morning, suddenly the sidewalks were swarming with children. What in the world??? They looked as all schoolchildren do, usually at 3 in the afternoon, but this wasn't then and many of them were carrying an uniquely shaped envelope... ah ha! It was the last day of school, early dismissal and report card distribution. In their hands was an assessment of their performance over the last 9 months. "What a gift. " I thought, although I don't know any children who would agree with me on that. What if we, as adults, were given such a thing - quarterly reports and then an annual grade on how we're doing.... Let's see: Becky Eppley Grade: Grown -up Plays well with others - E (exceeds standards) Cares for materials - S (satisfactory) Turns in assignments in a timely manner - N (needs improvement) Completes all assigned work - NBI (needs BIG improvement) Does not run with scissors - O (Occasionally-if hurrying to complete an assignment in a timely ...

To quote that great female literary character Mama Bear, "Someone's been sitting in my chair!" But unlike the Goldilocks situation, somebody was still sitting in my chair and there wasn't any indication that they'd be moving anytime soon. That was my chair, my comfy spot for my Bible and morning coffee...(grrrrr) So I opened the door and walked outside and with my first step, I knew this was a good decision...By looking out the window I could tell that it was a nice day; a blue sky and sunshine, which is wonderful given the typically overcast days of spring, but even seeing how nice it was hadn't made me want to go outside... I was forced too! And was I glad! The sunshine and blue sky were just the beginning. There was a breeze tickling the tree's leaves making for a soothing layer of sound. I watched a tiny tiny bird hoping around the branches above me and swirling about was still the faint smell of lilacs. This was so much better than being inside!! ...