Buttercups in Bloom

To refresh means:  "to revive...to give new freshness or brightness..to restore and to fill up again".   This summer's heat has been excruciating!  There have been plenty of days where just trying to get the car cooled has been a challenge.  The other day was another day in the low 90's and just being outside literally took my breath.  In the midst of the heat I had the privilege of walking into a local  restaurant to sit at a table with 4 persons in whom I love and respect.  As always the conversation was filled with laughter, grace, thought provoking questions and love. Each person adding a moment of refreshment to my life. I am honored to sit with each of them every single month.  I know that as I sit with them that they rivive my passion for serving God in a personal journey; not just in leadership for the church.   I am always amazed and in awe of my friend TW as he speaks with honesty and compassion. He simply has a way of ...

God works in amazing ways.  One day last week I had the privilege of watching the sun rise over the trees painting the sky with  beautiful hues of pink, gold and purple.  As I looked into the sky, I took a deep breath and gave thanks for being apart of something so amazing.  That night in a rare twist of events as I drove home I witnessed the sun stretching across the horizon and watched as the light brought forth a different color of red and orange.  I'm not sure that I have ever seen the beauty painted across the horizon twice in one day.   In the midst of craziness of life the awe of experiencing a breathtaking sunrise and sunset in one day seemed to fade.  The calmness and the hope that each of those sceneries brought into my life faded under the pressure of trying to do the everyday.  Today as I made a quick scroll through the ever changing Facebook status I noticed that someone had asked a simple question: what has given you a bit of hope...