I really enjoy summer. Now, there are many reasons for this - one of them being that everything feels so alive, and another being that I can take off a few layers of clothing, and feel the warm breeze on my skin (through one layer of clothing instead of two or three).

But, one of the things I really love about summer is the storms. It's not the destruction that they cause, or the fact that they like to interrupt the electricity - but, the sheer power of them that is beautifully illustrated by the silver lined, dark storm clouds, the dancing rain drops on the patio, the bright strobes of lightning as it flashes across the expansive sky. I love the music of the storms - the deep base of the thunder, the light pitter pat of the rain drops.

While I'm not crazy about the thought of spending another hour in the basement, waiting out a tornado warning, I do look forward to this time of year. God's magnificent glory is so evident, so "in your face" during a storm (and afterward), it's hard for me to imagine how anyone can miss it. How anyone could possibly doubt that God is real and present.

Last night, as I peered out my office window, I caught a glimpse of one thing that a midwestern-er never wants to see - a "green sky". Not grass green - but, there is a definite green to it - and that can only mean one thing - tornadoes are a sure possibility.

As I watched the sky, and listened intently, sure enough, the signal came - there was a tornado nearby. So, I rounded up the kids, grabbed the dogs, and headed to sit in the basement for some "quality family time" - riding out the storm.

When I was younger, my best friend and I would spend hours (literally) on her sidewalk, throwing her parents' decorative landscaping rocks against a boulder, trying to break them open. Why? Because amongst the "regular" rocks, there were geodes. So, every so often, we would be rewarded with a spectacular, awe inspiring display as the rock broke into pieces, to reveal sparkling crystals inside. Now, don't worry - her parents knew that we were doing this. And, looking back, I have to wonder if they wondered why our activity was so enthralling to us.

This morning, as I was sitting in church, this childhood memory hit me full force. I honestly hadn't thought about it for quite some time, but, as my pastor read:

"He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

~Matthew 21:44 (NIV)

I was given the discernment to really understand what scripture was saying - I really hadn't understood it fully until now. After all, being broken to pieces doesn't sound very good - but, it does sound better (at least slightly) than being crushed. At that moment, the Spirit gave me that childhood memory of throwing those rocks onto the boulder, and it became clear.

You know, as I've gotten older, I've come to thoroughly appreciate the value of life. One noteable change is my love of nature. Now, don't get me wrong, I've always enjoyed nature. When I lived in California, I lived just a few blocks from the ocean, and used to thoroughly enjoy trekking to the beach to take in some of the sights and sounds of the massive ocean. I could smell the salt air in the mornings and evenings, and that is one thing that I desperately missed when I moved back to Iowa. But, my love of nature pretty much ended there. I absolutely couldn't stand *anything* floral. I liked flowers, I just didn't want them on anything I owned.

Yet, now, I can't seem to get enough of that nature - God's beautiful tangible gift to us - our constant reminder of His love and care for everything living. I find myself watching the birds on my feeders outside my window with absolute awe - simply watching them, enjoying their colors, their diversity, their natural beauty.

I also seem to have become a flower-y woman. Not that I have flowers on everything I own, mind you. But, I truly enjoy having pictures of flowers, depictions of flowers, and the *real thing* - flowers, around me. I simply have learned to appreciate the natural beauty of life.

Tonight, as I changed my hand tooled leather book cover (above) from the book I just finished to the book I am starting, I ran my fingers over that little hummingbird, happily drawing the nectar from the lovely flowers across the lower corner of the cover. And, as I did that, I thought about the beautiful little hummingbird that visits our feeder on occassion. With an incredible - almost sparkling green throat, he is really a sight to behold.

With urbanization in full swing throughout the country, it truly is a miracle that we have any natural beauty to behold left! I have a friend who just got back from New York - and one thing she commented on was the lack of green in the city. That comment reminded me of why I moved back to Iowa so long ago - I missed the green - I missed the distinct seasons - I missed the gift of nature.

Yesterday afternoon, when I went out to enjoy God's majesty after a morning of rain, I was surprised to find a little "gift" perfectly sitting on my usual chair. It was half a bird's egg - obviously recently discarded after serving it's purpose of protecting a baby bird as it developed. I carefully picked it up, and wondered what kind of bird it was from. The only [wild] bird eggs I recognize are robin's eggs, so this was a mystery.

I wondered if it may be "my" turtle doves - the ones that seem to follow me no matter where I go. Or, maybe it was one of our house finches, or woodpeckers, or possibly, it may be a gold finch's egg. It's hard to tell, really. But, another thought that crossed my mind was how we are sometimes like those baby birds.

They begin life in a shell, and, at some point, their instinct tells them it's time to start pecking - to break open that shell and come out into the world. And, I think many of us go through the same thing - the big difference is that sometimes we find ourselves *back* in that shell - and wonder what is happening!

[Friend, I just received this prayer in my email inbox, and was compelled to share it with you. The author is unknown.]

Father, I ask You to bless my friends, relatives and everyone reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of Your love and power.

Holy Spirit, I ask You to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through Your grace.

Bless their homes, families, finances, their goings and their comings In Jesus' precious name.

Amen

I ran across a picture earlier today of my grandmother. She's been gone for over 11 years now, but, I am still moved by things she said or did while she was with us. When I ran across that picture today, I thought about a little wooden plaque that she used to have hanging on her wall, just behind her rocking chair. It was a simple little plaque - and, when I was younger, I never really understood why you would hang it on a wall - after all, it wasn't much to look at - just a piece of wood, suspended by a string, with a very simple prayer on it.

It read:

Lord, fill my mouth
with worthwhile stuff
and nudge me
when I've said enough.

I don't remember if there was credit given to someone, so I'm not able to give credit to the author (if you know who said/wrote it, please let me know so that I can give credit where credit is due.) But, even after all these years, those 14 words still stick out in my fuzzy memory.

Now, I see this lovely prayer as one that I should fully take to heart every single day. As a writer, I have a tendency to just say (or write) whatever is put on my heart - and sometimes I don't know when "enough is enough." Maybe you suffer from the same "affliction".

Friend, I pray this simple little prayer touches you as it did me - from years ago. And stays firmly implanted in your heart.

Dei Gratia,

Dee

Last week, my son and I thought he had food poisoning. He was quite sick - beginning in the wee hours of the morning - and he had eaten "out" late the night before. While he was home from school that day, suffering, I asked him if the food had tasted "off" when he was eating it.

Being 13 - and growing (which seems to produce a ravenous appetite), I knew that he probably didn't notice - but, I thought it was worth a shot. Naturally, he said that he thought it tasted fine - going down, that is. He wasn't fond of the taste when it came back up.

Sometimes, we are victims of food poisoning, and, unfortunately, it doesn't produce immediate physical symptoms. Spiritual food poisoning, is much quieter, and can take longer for us to "diagnose".

Every so often, when we go on walks, or when we used to go hiking, my children and I would find the most beautiful flowers in the most unlikely places. We always called them "paradise flowers" - you know, the flowers that you expect to be blooming in a beautiful, lush, exceptionally green forest or field. Yet, here were these extraordinary flowers in the harshest conditions - thriving, blooming, adding their own beauty in an otherwise devoid-of-life beauty.

I think about those paradise flowers often. And, I know in my heart that God puts them there to remind us. He wants us to remember that no matter what life throws your way - no matter where you are "planted", you are meant to bloom. You were "planted" there for a reason. You are not meant to simply wither up, close yourself off from everyone, and live a mediocre or worse - a less than mediocre - life. He doesn't plant His flowers (you and I) in ugly, awful places for us to "adapt" and become ugly and awful. Quite the contrary, He puts His most beautiful flowers in the ugliest places, to bloom, to flourish, to be a witness to His Awesomeness!

As I sat outside this evening, getting a breathe of fresh air, I couldn't help but notice that the weather couldn't seem to decide what it was doing. It would rain, then, seemingly the next moment, there would be a sky full of snowflakes racing towards the ground. I was outside for about five minutes, and the weather cycled from rain to snow and back again at least 5 or 6 times.

Do you ever feel like the weather? Not being able to decide whether you are raining or snowing, coming or going? I think all of us have moments like that.

Take heart, brothers and sisters, we have a solution to the always changing situations in our lives. If you are feeling like you aren't sure whether you are coming or going - take a moment.

Breathe deep

Get on your knees

Lift your hands

and pray.

God has the answers. Rest assured, He knows whether we are coming or going - and He knows what we *should* be doing. His guidance is always present, always constant, waiting for us to receive it. Waiting for us to ask for Him to light the way, and show us what decision needs to be made or action needs to be taken.

Rest in your Father's arms, and give your crazy, busy life over to Him. He will always lead you the right direction, and you will no longer need to feel confused or bewildered by your unique situation.

May grace be with you,

Dee

Dee Kreidel is a Christian who has been deeply blessed through motherhood, entrepreneurship, single living, and even through chronic illness (lupus). Ms. Kreidel owns Saving Grace Enterprises. FaithMinders is a subsidiary of Saving Grace Enterprises and carries a full line of fine Christian jewelry, handcrafted leather writing journals, journaling accessories such as handcrafted exotic wood pens and Christian journaling tools, handcrafted leather prayer journals, and prayer tools including Traditional Catholic and Anglican rosaries, non-denominational (scripturally based) Christian prayer beads, and Traditional Catholic and Anglican chaplets. Each product available at FaithMinders (with one exception) is handcrafted at the time you order, with the skilled craftmanship, deep awe, and respect that is due to each very precious son or daughter of God.

This devotion is copyright © 2005, Dee Kreidel and Saving Grace Enterprises. Please do not copy this without permission from the author.

Now, I usually don't take a lot of time off working, mostly because there is so much to do, and so few to do it! However, this week's semi-vacation was well needed, and has totally revitalized me, just in time for Holy Week to begin on Sunday.

Anyway, as I as thinking about this past week, I realized how lucky we are that our Father is *so* patient and loving with us! We have an accident, and He will just hug us and say "it's okay, My child, just keep going, and make sure to come to Me for support - I will always be here for you."

Tonight, when I came in from my nightly breathe of fresh air (I try to go out at least once every evening and just sit in the fresh air, enjoying the gifts of nature that God has bestowed on us), I called for my border collie (mix), Te. Now, she is usually pretty good about coming right away - she knows that when it's cold, I am not very patient about waiting for her. So, she usually stays pretty near the house in the evenings, and is absolutely wonderful about coming as soon as I call. She came running to me, as I stood by the door, waiting to go in, but, she had this funny look in her eyes.

After sharing my life with her for this long, I've come to recognize that look. It's the look of her considering disobedience. Usually, that look is proceeded by her waiting for me to reach down for her collar, to guide her into our room for the night (the reason for this is a long story that I will have to share later, but, the condensced version is that Te has this terrible habit of running in, straight up the stairs, into the kitchen, and plunking her nose up on the counters to see if she can find something "yummy" to eat.). When she has that look, as I bend down to reach her collar, she will "jump" backwards (it's sort of a reverse pounce), curl her tail, and bounce at me - like it's play time and the game is "chase the Te". Then, she will run in a little circle, and see if I will chase her. She may be a few years old, but, she still acts like she is a young puppy and has a very strong play drive.

So, tonight, she had "that look", and I felt a deeper sense of recognition. I think every one of us know someone who has that look at one time or another. As Christians, we have loved ones who may have that look. That look that signals they are jumping backwards from God, and daring Him to chase them. Now, for my Te, it's just a game. However, for our friends and family, it's a dead serious decision.

There is this wonderful lady at our church who dresses "just so" each week. I can hardly contain my excitement, as we get everyone ready for church on Sunday mornings, waiting to see this godly woman, and see what details she included in that week's ensemble.

It's not that she wears anything outlandish or "wild" - just the opposite. She is very properly dressed - polished. Her stockings (and, she *always* wears stockings) are always the perfect color, her shoes immaculate - without a scuff on them, each wave in her hair lays "just so", and her understated skirt suits are lovely. I don't believe I have once seen her in pants - and I know that each time I see her she is warm and welcoming. The part of her ensemble, though, that I always search for is her brooch. Each time I see her, she has a lovely brooch that perfectly compliments whatever she is wearing.

Every so often, a nice cup of steaming hot coffee sounds really good to me. Today was one of those days. Before I sat down to work this morning, I put the grounds into the filter, filled the water well, and started the coffee brewing. As I got to work, the smell of brewing hazelnut penetrated the air, and I took a deep breath, literally basking in the well-known, nutty aroma of the coffee.

As I sat there, reading morning emails and datafeeds, thinking about how wonderful that coffee would taste, how wonderful it smelled, I let myself become lost in the moment...thinking about the warmth, the feeling of that first drink warming me from the inside out. Finally, I grabbed my coffee cup, and poured my first cup. I remembered that I didn't grab the liquid creamer out of the refrigerator, so I went searching for the creamer - only to find that I had used the last of it several weeks ago, when I had coffee last.