My heart is heavy

Soulful Friday

Beautiful Nazareth Campus in Bardstown, Kentucky and myself are in mourning for the useless murder of one of our sisters in Mississippi.

Paula Merrill, SCN and her room mate Sr. Margaret were brutally murdered in their home in Missippi on Wednesday night.

It appears to have been a robbery, according to the officials in Miss.

Sr. Paula and Sr. Margaret were devoted registered nurse practitioners who  ran a clinic in the poor section of Mississippi devoting their time to all the needs of the people.

Medical, social and much counseling.

They were loved by all.

Paula Merrill, SCN

 I had just seen and spoke with Sr. Paula last Friday as she was at Nazareth, where I work on Friday, for a meeting.
She was so gracious and happy to see me.
She had worked at the Home Health Agency where I worked, a few years ago.

Our hearts are in pain at the loss of these two saintly women.

We are asked to pray for them and their families and those who did this terrible crime.

Linking with Soulful Friday

here

What touched my soul this week.

What touched my soul this week.

Nature

 Can barely see it but have one tiny bloom on each tomato plant.

 Sedum on the old downed tree stump

 Largest I have ever seen my white clematis.

 All the little buds just waiting to bloom put me in mind of how our own spiritual life grows if we cultivate it.

This plant dies all the way down and with just a thin stem will bloom again each summer in all it's

glory.

I pray I grown spiritually in the same way.

The secret is to feed it with the best spiritual food the Word of The Lord.

Linking up with Soulful Friday

here

What touched my soul this week.

 Soulful Life Friday.

The weather has been so disagreeable for over a week I finally got so down I decided to take it out on the canvas  with water colors.

My rendition of 

A Blustery Day

from

Winnie the Pooh

There have been many things going on in the family this week with so many grandchildren finishing one journey and starting another I had lots to contemplate in my heart of hearts and soul.

I talked about our beautiful granddaughter's
graduation from high school and the afghan I made her, last week.

Her handsome brother will be 21 tomorrow and will be leaving for a month in Peru for study.

He spent last summer traveling Europe and this year he chose Peru to explore.

I am so excited for him and cannot wait til he is back because he can tell the best stories of what he has seen and has done. 

We will not get to see him before he leaves tomorrow but are sending a big hug and Bon Voyage.
I will get to say Happy Birthday in the morning and wish him a safe journey.
Love him with all our heart.


Another grandson will be leaving for armed services training in a few weeks.

This is the hardest to take just because of our situation in the world.
God be with them all.






Linking up with Soulful Friday
here

Soulful Friday. Not such a happy story.

What touched my soul this week.

Wish my post was more positive but this is the truth for me this week.

I thought about this topic for the week early in the week, but no one knows what the day will bring.

This beautiful granddaughter called me later this week with news that one of her friends, that she went to high school with, was shot and killed by her husband on Sunday.

Husband aimed a gun at her head and pulled the trigger saying

"I did not know it was loaded."

He was a sharp shooter in the military and even I, knowing nothing about weapons, know the first rule is to never point a gun at someone knowing it is loaded or not.

My gd and her friend had been good friends in high school but each chose different colleges to attend and her friend had quit college 2 years ago to get married.

This gd had just seen her friend last week at the grocery with her brand new baby that she was still nursing.

She was bubbling over with love and happiness at her life.

Gd was sobbing and so frustrated at how life happens and things can make you feel so helpless.

Empathy overtook me and I cried with her as I knew her friend, Amelia also.

Empathy for all involved, the friend and family, my gd and our daughter, faced with helping her daughter try to understand.

A tiny baby's mother gone, father in jail and entire community faced with such horror.

Young folks are always looking for answers and the "why" question came up.

She lives in another city and I wanted to take her in my arms and just hug and love her because I have no answers for her.

I do not ask that question anymore because I am finally at an age where I know God did not cause this and free will is at the center of all these questions.

My heart and soul mourns for all involved and without faith I would feel hopeless.

I was touched by how many horrors occur to men and/or women who have been in the military.

Loving Father help us keep peace in our

hearts and soul.

Linking to Soulful Friday

here 

Soulful Friday-A surprise visit from a sibling makes life wonderful.

Looking back over this week 


Made this Lemon no cook icebox cake for Easter Sunday.
It was delicious.

It was great having most of our family gathered to celebrate Easter Sunday together, but looking over some photos that I had taken this week, I realized the day that my brother stopped by and we had odds and ends for lunch really was food for my soul.

We are the only two left of our family.

Mom and dad gone and only other sister died almost 40 years ago.

We talk on the phone often and visit back and forth several times a year. They have 2 adult children but no grands and won't be having any.

My children have filled that hole in their hearts and therefore made them closer to me.

We were raised by a single mother in a home with our grandparents.

It was not easy for her or us.

The month of April is our wedding anniversary.
My only sister and I married in a double wedding.
My brother was 14 years old when we were married.
April is a full month for us.

Many birthdays, our sister who is deceased, 2 of our children and our wedding anniversary.
 
He is my family and I love him forever.

Linking up with A Soulful Life
here.       

Father into Your hands I command My spirit.

On Fridays I like to join A Soulful Life in writing about something that has nourished my soul this week.

Holy Week.

The 2 items shown in this image represent the 2 most contradictory days in the Life of Christ.

A day of triumph and a day of suffering just as we as human beings suffer many times in our lives.


On Palm Sunday, the week before Easter, we commemarate the triumph of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem welcomed by the mob waving palms.
Mob mentality.

On Friday we see His death on the cross, again mob mentality;
but what is most important is the day of victory.
The Resurrection.

As a young student we all spent from 12:00 to 3:00 PM in the church.

Took part in the Stations of the Cross.

As we became adults and had jobs, family responsibilities etc. those rituals could not be part of our Holy Week activities.
I went to church today and those feelings of peace and harmony flooded over me leaving me with a strength to continue on my life journey.

Last week I wrote of being disappointed in some of
the things that went on in the  church.

Meditating on the reality of faith, today strengthened mine.
In Jesus name.
Thanks blogland for listening to me and sharing.


Linking up to Soulful Friday
here

Got my Easter egg tree finished.

Highlight of my week.

Soulful Friday.

 

 

And every day the world will drag you by the hand yelling, “This is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!” And each day it’s up to you to yank your hand back and say, “No. This is what's important. 
Iain Thomas  

 

 

 

Going along having a normal week. All is good but one day look what popped up on my computer screen.

 

 

GGson Max in the bath tub.

 

 Trying to shave like dad

 

 Exercising his brain, I hope.

 Gdaughter's Nikki's son.

 

 

 

GGson Graham helping mom clean the house.

 

 

A working man needs his refreshment.

 

Time for exercise, walking Sophie

gdaughter Cindy's son.

 

 

 

These precious ggsons make live so very special.

 

 

 

Don't get to see them often, but just a picture makes my heart sing.

 

My family used to call me The Memory Keeper since I was always taking pictures whenever we got together.

 

So glad the grands are choosing to do the same. 

The photos will be priceless to them forever.

 

Linking with Soulful Friday

here 

 

Happy Easter.

 

 

 

 

 

Just sit and let your muse take over.

Soulful Friday

On Friday we write about something that touched our soul this week.

It has either snowed or rained most days for the last two weeks.

One day this week the sun was so bright and warm I got to sit on the back deck and just bask in the sun and deep breath. 

What touched me is how liberating it is to just sit and let your mind wander.
Taking in nature and the presence of the Risen
Jesus.  

Last fall our yardman, at our request, downed this oak tree for us.

He attempted to cut more of the stump down but not realizing there was rebar in the tree, broke his saw and agreed to come back later and trim it for me to put some sedum and cacti in it.

As I was sitting and basking in the sun I was thinking about something new and creative I wanted to do.

A new painting, some flowers I would select for the tree stump container and just at the right time of the afternoon, this is what I saw.

Always in a creative mode I saw what looked like a giant foot and ankle with a slipper on.

I looked at my watch 3:oo PM.

My challenge now, if the sun ever shines here again, and I know it will, to see if I see the same shadow at 3:00PM on another day.

I have been reading about yarn bombing for some time and wanted to do a tree, maybe in my own yard for the first time.

I may put it out in the community and offend someone.

 I went outside and measured it.

I will crochet an edging to put around the top of the slipper.

Whoo Hoo. 


Happy a great week-end.

Linking up with Soulful Friday.
here 

 

Thoughts of yesterday while dusting.

Soulful Friday

 

 

While dusting this dresser this week I kept having thoughts of my father and grandparents.

 

My father disappeared from my life when I was 8 years old.

He was a hopeless alcoholic.

 

For years we did not know where he was.

I prayed everyday for my father.

 

Occasionally we would see him on holidays at my grandparents home, and mostly he was "sleeping it off."

 

When I was 34 and my younger sister was 32 she died from breast cancer.

He showed up to be with her in her last days.

 

After all those years I was still praying for him to kick that disabling habit.

 

Having the opportunity to actually sit down and talk to him was like a miracle.

 

He had not had a drink for 15 years, had remarried and owned 2 antiqued shops  in another city.

One shop he managed with all oak furniture in it.

The piece above is one he left me.

The other shop, which sold only glass items was managed by his wife.

 

This lamp he wired for electric was also left for me,when he died.

 

One never knows when prayers may be answered. I still pray for him ever day and am so proud of his struggle and the outcome.

Linking up with Scraps of Starlight

here