yellow rose surrounded by green leaves Hebrews 13:5 GNT For God has said, I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.

Mother’s Rose

My Garden, OR Hebrews 13:5 GNT For God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.” Last night was an intensely painful, sleepless first night following a surgery. As a caregiver, it’s so hard to see the ones you love suffer. You know in a heartbeat that you would take their…

John 16:33 NIV I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. tall pine trees at an overlook to the three sisters mountain with deep blue sky and wispy white clouds

In This World

Whychus Creek Overlook, Sisters, OR John 16:33 NIV I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. “Being sold down the river,” is a term coined during a dark time in American history, and literally…

bowl of bright red strawberries Galatians 5:22-23 NLT But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Picking Berries

My Garden, OR Galatians 5:22-23 NLT But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! My grandma was a stickler for finding every last ripe berry. As a kid, picking berries was pure never-ending misery….

green mountain cliffs meet beach and ocean waves crashing Psalm 46:1-3 NCV God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes, or the mountains fall into the sea, even if the oceans roar and foam, or the mountains shake at the raging sea.

Be Well

Heceta Beach, OR Psalm 46:1-3 NCV God is our protection and our strength. He always helps in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid even if the earth shakes,  or the mountains fall into the sea, even if the oceans roar and foam,  or the mountains shake at the raging sea. Last night…

Willamette National Forest douglas fir trees covered in snow with a bright blue sky Revelation 3:15-16 CSB I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth.

Cold Morning

Willamette National Forest, OR Revelation 3:15-16 CSB I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth. I often hear people say, “Wait five minutes….the weather…

Horseshoe Bend Glen Canyon AZ the green Colorado river turns around the red canyon rock going back where it came from 2 Chronicles 7:14 GNT If they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again.

Turning Back

Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon, AZ 2 Chronicles 7:14 GNT If they pray to me and repent and turn away from the evil they have been doing, then I will hear them in heaven, forgive their sins, and make their land prosperous again. One of my favorite Denver, Colorado experiences is a restaurant called Casa Bonita. …

blue flax wildflowers Song of Solomon 4:16 NLT Awake, north wind! Rise up, south wind! Blow on my garden and spread its fragrance all around.

My Blue Flax

Song of Solomon 4:16 NLT Awake, north wind!     Rise up, south wind! Blow on my garden     and spread its fragrance all around. Anyone that has grown up in a farming community knows that smells can travel on the wind. I once lived near a Franz bakery, I know smells travel on the wind….

horses grazing in a green pasture with tall pine trees behind them and a snow cover mountain. Psalm 42:5-6 NLT Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and my God!

Black Crater Horses

Black Butte Ranch, OR Psalm 42:5-6 NLT Why am I discouraged?     Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God!     I will praise him again—     my Savior and my God! Before Elizabeth Taylor grew up to be a stunning, seductive Hollywood star, she was Velvet Brown in National…

Proverbs 3:7 ESV Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. Northern Pygmy Owl sits in a pine tree branch

Wise Little Owl

Northern Pygmy Owl Riley Ranch Nature Preserve, Bend, OR Proverbs 3:7 ESV Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. Ancient Greek, Roman, and European cultures have long associated the owl with wisdom. One theory suggests the round, glasses-looking, pensive eyes of an owl along with the bird’s…