I received an email. The subject line read "Emptiness." I stopped and re-read the first two lines again. Mark Craine told me his precious wife, Wanda, went home to be with Jesus. He wanted me to know. Mark worked for Ponderosa Lumber company for years and served our community. Many of you were in personal contact each day as you purchased building materials and supplies. He was a friend to many in the building world and also in the Christian world. You might not know about the news of his wife,…

Tulips are the first flowers brazen enough to poke their heads through the snowy surface. For us in the mountains, at 76,000 feet, we welcome their colors in the dreary grey days and patches of snow left behind. This painting reminds me that we are not finished, no matter how many spiritual miles we have walked or monthly calendar pages we have turned. There is always something to learn, and God’s plan is to use us as part of each other’s life as we complete our journey on this earth. Wetting th…

I scrambled for something to write about for the next deadline. I’d been in the hospital for four days from this horrible respiratory syncytial virus. Time to pull myself up by the strong of my slippers – throw off my robe cinch up my belt, hook up by bra and get back to life. It felt good to let it all spread out, but that’s not living. Time is getting shorter. There is more living behind me than in front of me. I plowed through my mind, turned over the dirt and dug deep. Not one word came. I’v…

Love brings struggle. Life is hard at best. But, God is love and He draws us to Himself in love. So, two loves struggle to become one. Poets speak of love. “It’s better to have loved and lost than never loved at all,” states a poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. Reaching forward to April 1, my Sweet Al and I will celebrate our 66th wedding anniversary. We stand in awe that we have made it this far. Was the struggle worth it? Heavens yes. Did we want to throw in the towel? Heavens yes, many times. We d…

Have you faced a moment you couldn’t explain? God has propelled me out of my comfort at times, and I knew the heavens were raging and were agitated. I could sense the outburst from God when He used my mouth to deliver a hard message. I asked myself, “What was that and why me?” Two times came to mind that I will never forget. My reactions later told me this hard message wasn’t of me but must be spoken – a word from the Lord that pushed me forward to act. My reaction was so painful and piercing. I…

Believe it or not, I love this watercolor. It’s one of my favorites. In the 1990s, I called a truce with the severe winters in Pagosa Springs, CO. Hid away in the Rocky Mountain wilderness, I quit fighting the snow and the snow quit fighting me. This watercolor looks messy with old, crooked walls and the houses ready to fall down. But look at it with the eyes and heart of an artist. This painting shows how I feel. Peaceful, subdued, not worrying about anything. Mañana! Little tricks in bringing …