Heart Matters Blog

I was asked to write on new beginnings for this weeks blog post and although I had a few ideas of the directions I could go I ended up wrestling with these two simple words. This left me wondering how I might best express these thoughts and a poem emerged. I hope the questions in this short poem and the overall prose will help you see the art of taking time within new beginning seasons, for what goes around comes around and Gods cycle is one of grace. New Beginning I wonder how I will read the past from this moment? Is it place or time or both? Something never lost but never again to be walked. Mine and yours and ours. I only have the past to look back on this day, this moment, new beginning. And now. And now. And now. But I do get to write it anew, from a new beginning point of view. We w...

"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17 "More Prayer." Those are the words God gave me for 2022. You know, the whole news year's resolution thing and seeking his direction. As usual, God's answer was short and sweet. Days later he led me to a book I had started years ago, Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, by Jim Cymbala. I had forgotten what it was even about. Flipping through my highlights up to the bookmark, it didn't take long to figure it out. Prayer. Of course, right? Filled with great scriptural and personal stories of the power and priority of prayer, I ended up unable to put it down, highlighting most of the rest of the book. Here are just a couple nuggets: More people are dipping into drugs than are getting baptized in water. What is going to reverse this tide? Preaching alone will not...

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. - Helen Keller Throughout the years, it has been my habit to keep a Faith Journal. I call it a Faith Journal because what I have written on those pages... when my faith is firm and the eyes my heart are open to see the various blessings that God has touched my life with, have been the greatest source of encouragement to me when my faith is especially thin, and my eyes so clouded with tears that I have a hard time seeing God's presence anywhere. As I flip through that journal, I am reminded that yes! God has walked with me through every twist and turn along life's way. He has whispered my name on the wind and touched my innermost being with beauty. He has embraced me through the hugs of friends and spoken deep int...

New Years. A time of year we observe that God did indeed make each of us one-of-a kind. One friend says, "I never make resolutions," and laughs carefree. Another will pull out her latest New Year's Resolutions typed in serious Arial or Calibri on 90 lb. bright white paper from her nicely-labeled folder. This year I observed some cementing their 2020 intentions on Facebook. Others reflected on the woes of the past year. Still others looked forward to the new year with the same excitement they did when pumpkin spice lattes came out in the fall. I love this diversity. But some of you may be feeling New Year's stress or ambivalence; I hope some of the following thoughts are helpful. When is not important. Self-reflection and goal setting are beneficial, but when can be what makes sense for you...

 Wishing you and yours a precious holiday season filled with love, joy and gift of the Savior's presence into the New Year! Love you, Sally, LuAnn and Julie

Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8 While the rest of the world took little or no notice of the bright star that had suddenly appeared in the night sky, it did catch the eye of a few foreign fellows living in a country east of Jerusalem. Observing the spectacular stars return night-after-night sparked earnest curiosity in them.They gathered together in serious study; excitedly probing, researching, and investigating anything they could get their hands on concerning the meaning behind its arrival. When they discovered that it signaled the birth of Israel's king, they packed up gifts to present him and set off in high...

 At least there is hope for a tree…if it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail. Its root may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant. —Job 14:7-9 Pine Trees Before straight-line winds tore through our neighborhood one summer, we used to have stately pine trees gracing the fence line of our backyard. Despite the trees determined effort to withstand the storm's fury that fateful day, several of them, looking more like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, had to be cut down. Three rather defiant pine trees managed to remain rooted in place, although they were snapped in two in the process. After all the debris was cleared away, those three broken pines stood as the only evidence of t...

To see small things you have to slow down in life and over the last year especially life has greeted me with pace that has had me appreciating the small things on a whole new level. This all came to a sweet understanding just the other day as I sat in my Nanna's home remembering her life and sitting in memory of the days just gone. My darling Nanna passed over to eternity just a couple of weeks ago and as I was going through her handbag I found the tiniest little bible. I mean this thing was crazy small and could sit like quarter in the palm of your hand. It was quite thick, after all it was the entire bible, but here it was a little token of my Nanna's faith that she carried around with her everywhere. It really got me thinking about the small things in life. Of course, this tiny little b...

We love our readers! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! LuAnn, Julie and Sally 

May God the Father and the Lord Jesus the annointed surround you with grace and peace. Ephesians 1:2 I am grateful for dementia. I can't find the words. So, I remain quiet.  The holy resilient don't just  endure, they become more: more compassionate, deeper, simpler in their desires and more focused in how they use their time. It's not about adjusting but transformation. It's about becoming a NEW person.  They let go of long-cherished dreams, set aside life patterns that are harmful, jettison practices that once worked well, but no longer do so. They take hold...of any fresh graces they see growing within them. They seek new glimmerings of God's love. The rhythm of the holy resilient, is Jesus is sacred, life-giving.  The take-up questions repeated in order to...

Red, gold, burnt orange, and toffee-colored leaves. Denim fleece-lined jackets. Plaid shirts. Pumpkins. Gourds. Cinnamon apple cider. Pumpkin-spiced lattes. Bonfires and blankets. Thanksgiving. It's not surprising fall is a favored season among so many. A time to start slowing down. A time to reflect. A time to be thankful. A time for family. But what if this fall season finds you in a valley, and the beautiful yellow, red, and orange leaves feel like they are swirling around you out of reach? While others laugh on hay wagon ride through the apple orchard, your life feels like raking up unending dead brown leaves only to have them re-scatter across your lawn. How do we in these seasons as Christ followers practice, "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesu...

 The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's 'own,' or 'real' life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life — the life God is sending day by day.—C.S. Lewis Interruptions: to be stopped or hindered by others with remarks or questions. From the start of his ministry to his death, Jesus couldn't finish a sentence, attend a dinner, a Wedding or even find time away without being interrupted. When Jesus was teaching in a house, four friends couldn't get their paralyzed friend in, so they climbed up on the roof with him in tow. They decided to let him down from the roof. So, they tore a patch big enough to lift him down and because of their precious faith, Jesus healed him. Desp...

 Gratitude Before you get started, find a comfortable spot where you can sit quietly with your Savior. Spend a few minutes in silence. Ask God to meet you there in the quietness of this moment and to speak His heart to you as you sit with Him. Have a journal and pen/pencil ready to jot down any thoughts that come to you during this experience. Take a moment now to read through the following Scripture passage slowly. You may want to read it out loud. As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border of Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were healed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw th...

Only when you create space for your dark parts to speak, and you listen to what they have to say, will they truly begin to lower the volume of their screams. They need to trust that you will listen to them rather than attempting to shut them up. Attempting to shut them up will, in the end, only make their screams louder; begging to be heard. Even in your shame, even in your fear or your darkness, God is bending down, trying to gently lift your head so He can look into your eyes. This is what I believe he may say… "Even in your shame or darkest moments, I still love you, no matter what. Nothing about you is too much to handle. You are beloved. Your shame will be drowned out by my love if only you let me in. I will shine light in those dark places, and you can break free from the chains that...

I was feeling pretty blue. As I maneuvered my car on the winding road with the wind blowing leaves all around, the tears trickled out. I knew the country I had grown up in and loved was in a very bad place. I said out loud, "God, will you fight for us? That's the question. Because maybe you're sick of us, and it's time we get what we deserve. I wouldn't blame you at all. Wickedness keeps increasing, and we the church have let it. We have not been the shining lights you called us to be." Immediately the song came through the radio, "You're the God who fights for me, Lord of every victory, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. You have torn apart the sea, You have led me through the deep, Hallelujah, Hallelujah…" (Egypt, Bethel Music & Corey Asbury) My sadness turned to peace and joy as the creator of...

My dog Tasha loved to go for walks. Well, we had to call them "W's." If the word WALK got mentioned prematurely, she would start yelping and spinning in circles. But the truth is, I loved going for walks just as much as she did. A walk around the neighborhood was a wonderful opportunity to breathe in the fresh air and scope out the various flower gardens along the way. But, sometimes when Tasha and I would saunter along, I would get so preoccupied looking around me that I'd forget to keep my eyes on the path. As you well know, every now and again you will come upon a spot in a sidewalk that has either sunken down a bit or has risen up slightly. If I wasn't paying attention, I could find myself tripping, twisting an ankle, or worse yet, sprawled out in an embarrassing heap. Someti...

Some of you say, "Today or tomorrow we will go… we will stay… we will do…"But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist.You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away. So instead you should say, "If the Lord wants, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-17 [New Century Version] Most folks in the 21st century live by their daily, monthly, and yearly planners. I admit that even before my new calendar goes up on the wall each January, I have already penciled in plans as far out as October! We funny little humans seem to schedule ourselves into oblivion, running from one thing to the next. Yet, we rarely stop to think about the fact that all of our best-laid plans could come screeching to a halt in a blink of an eye. Sadly, when those roadblocks eventua...

The biblical festivals written out in detail in books like Exodus and Leviticus are full of invitation to embody God's eternal calendar in real time here on earth. Each festival offers the individual, and the faith community as a whole, the opportunity to leave slavery, celebrate revelations, and receive the shalom of being fully seen, loved and covered by their creator. Each festival is a learning environment encouraging the student to live more wholly (and holy) and with a sense of the original purpose of God's Kingdom on earth; which leads me to telling you we are in the festival season of Sukkot, or you may know it as, the Festival of Booths. The festival of Sukkot is marked by Jewish families setting up little tent like structures in their gardens or on their balconies and decorating ...

"My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever." Psalm 73:26 My dear friend, Julie, and founder of this site is living out this verse. Diagnosed with a severe health prognosis, she continues to exhibit peace and joy. She chooses to focus on the beauty of nature around her and share it with others in her amazing photos. God remains the strength of her heart. How does she do it? I don't have all the answers, but I believe I know some of the pieces of the mosaic, having known her for many years. First, she has spent years walking with God. She has been faithful in loving him and walking out his guidelines for right living and loving others. She has walked with God faithfully through the good and the hard soil. She knows who ...

 We cannot forget the terrorist attacks on 9/11! On the Pentagon and Shanksville!.  LuAnn, Julie and Sally

Happy Labor Day! LuAnn, Julie and Sally 

At every moment and every situation, God is the intimate, attentive and encouraging friend. — John O'Donohue/ Anam Cara I love my precious Savior… You are acquainted with all my ways… —Psalm 139:3. He walks so intimately with me; on this journey I am on. A journey with dementia and primary progressive aphasia. I love this quote by Frederick Buechner, "If we keep our hearts and minds open, if we listen with patience and hope…then I think we come to recognize, beyond all doubt, that however faintly we may hear him, he is indeed to speaking to us…his word comes to each of us is precious beyond telling." "Like singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship." ― Anne Lamot...

He leads me beside quiet waters… he restores my soul. —Psalm 23:2 I am sitting by still waters today, but there is a party on the lake. People having fun; diving in and dive-bombing into the water. Someone is tubing on the lake as well, and jets skis too. It is not exactly quiet, but it does restore my soul. Just when I was going to write that it is calmed down now, there is another whoop from the party boat. It is so peaceful here by the water, despite the party. I took my shoes off and dangled my feet in the lake. I love the sound of water lapping up on the shore. It is so soothing. It reminds me of the Allegheny River when I was young. My Grandpa Simey would take us out on the rowboat. We would pack a lunch and I remember the waves lapping on the shore of the river as we parked our boat...

The season of summer is still warming our bones, the fields are looking good for harvest, and we will soon be welcoming the biblical holidays of Rosh Hashanah, the biblical New Year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and Sukkoth, the festival of booths. These are known as The High Holy Days of the Judaic / Hebrew calendar and as believers they are our inheritance too. I have marked these Holy Days for at least the last ten years and they have been such a gift to my spiritual and physical journey, often with no need for a binary division, as it seems that the physical and spiritual truly are ONE, if we have eyes to see it. Before we arrive at these Holy Days God invites us to participate in a process of preparation which is marked by the 12th month of the Hebrew / Judaic calendar, Elul. (The...

Her hand slapped the edge of the pool. Then her head emerged from the aqua blue water, and she turned around to look at the results; her mouth became an uppercase O as she pulled her goggles up in case she was seeing it wrong. But she wasn't! Seventeen-year-old Lydia Jacoby became the first gold-medal swimmer from Alaska, and the first swimmer to receive gold at the Tokyo Olympics. She beat out defending gold-medalist Lilly King and other favorites in the 100-meter breaststroke. Her fans in her hometown erupted with joy and celebration, a favored scene replayed many times. We all celebrated with her in spirit. This story was just one amazing rose in a bouquet of many exciting and inspiring moments this Olympics. Stories of athletes overcoming severe sickness, devastating injuries, pov...