Fledgeling Ornithologist at Chowan sends me her morning photos! Dancing with Cranes and Geese---Thank you Evie!

You'll be happy to know that your FaceTime invasion didn't hurt my volume today! LOL

Hi, Gigglebug! You made me laugh, this morning, with your vain self. How do I look? You look perfect, Elyse! Is my hair too old looking? Should I wear it down?, etc., etc. If I had your hair, I would do it up and down and curl it and curl my eyelashes, etc. You think?

Well, You looked great. I am sure that your sweet spirit was more beautiful than anything you could've worn. Stop worrying, you are a beautiful and talented woman, who is glorifying God in her singleness, with a wonderful joy and peace. I am so proud of you!

Don't call me during devotions, though. Or ELSE!:)

Thanks for our little chat!!!

You make me think of the questions and confusions that baffled me, when I turned 30 and earlier. I am nearly sure that if we cornered Gram, she probably engaged her spiritual directors with as much candor as we have. Its not as accepted in Catholic churches to engage the congregation.

I just remember that my face must have said to Pastors I am listening, but you said that exact statement 347 times and I am sick of hearing the same statement that many times. I listened like a referee at a game with a whistle. "FOUL!", "OUT OF BOUNDS!", "NOT!" I said nothing, but I am sure that my face said it out loud in front and in back of me. Thank God that women are to be silence in the church, and I believed it. I would have been whistling and calling out imperfections in and around the entire establishment.

That was loving submission to my elders, in my life. Like a Moabitess, my tradition was activism. I carried it into my Christendom. My elders were very sympathetic to my struggles and they engaged my questions and my activism and preached peace into my soul. That is the safety of soul that I pray for you and the family that God might give you someday. A group of elders who love your family's soul and who preach the reality of true religion and the victory in Christ that there is when we cast our lot into the Kingdom of Christ.

Learning to find your place of usefulness in the greater expression of the Kingdom, means finding your sense of purpose in the small things. Acting on the small things that are before you prepares and equips you for your greater usefulness.

A young lady who can listen to her mothers in the faith and carry their cares and weights to the throne of grace, with sensitivity and understanding is a very useful thing in any local church. Don't minimize that ministry. Listening for the instructions that come in the quams and anxieties of battleworn women of God is a great blessing to me and any other woman, you might feel called to engage. I am grateful for the vision of continued usefulness that you showed me in the recounting of Mrs. Schisko's prayer pattern. I haven't been able to find the words to express just that, but I knew that the Holy Spirit was saying amen to my heart's expression. I pray for my son's encouragement in this woman dominated season and for my daughter's healing at the disappointment that they have felt. It is beautiful that mothers can say amen to the prayers of other mothers, even twice removed. Thanks sweetiepie. Love, Mommy Not to mention the exciting word picture of you and I as Kanga and Roo, I giggled at that for the rest of the night.

I really don't like talking on FaceTime.

Dear Eldest Daughter,



This morning I picked at a piece of pecan pie.  I never liked the taste of that growing up.  I didn't grow to like pecan pie until my pregancy with you.   I was working out daily at the spa and I would comfort my palate after a workout and before picking up your father, with a small square of pecan pie that was about 2 inches by 2 inches.  I ended up losing a tooth shortly after that, no small part because the combo of pecan pie and ice chewing destroyed my molars, nearly entirely.  As I taste this delightful delicacy which causes me much reminiscing,  I write missing you.

     I miss you much!  Especially when we are discussing politics.  Your salient and observant comments are a wonderful prod to me, as I pray for our nation.
    Not because your brothers are so private and of few words in their discussions, but because there is detail and candor and ownership in your expressions.  I don't doubt that they love this country, but their perspective is so tainted by public education.
      You really love this country that we live in.   I love it, too.  I am often desirous of starting new someplace else, with the conflicts that come up from time to time.  Not you, you give it your complete heart's love.  God has called us to pray for our nation and to be what we can to make it better, is what I learn when we talk.
    Thank you for giving me a hope that God is more committed to creating a more perfect union than we are to believe in what we say.
   Keep the new Justice nominee in your prayers, please.   I pray that his faith will not fail him as he concentrates on a segment of our government that makes such a difference and as he is held accountable for carrying through on his commitments to his conscience as well as his governing or deciding.   God give him peace and hope that his decisions will be a God glorifying balance to the court.  God grant wisdom to the Senate and Congress as they show maturity in their decision making, as well.
    Come home soon, so we can talk and pray together.  I promise to eat something more nutritious later on in the day;)
                                                    Love, Your Mother