"Then the Lord will provide shade for Mount Zion and all who assemble there. He will provide a canopy of cloud ... covering the glorious land. It will be a shelter from daytime heat and a hiding place from storms and rain."
Isaiah 4: 5-6
It's the heat of summer and you haven't heard from me in months!
Where have I been, you ask?
I've been a little busy rearranging my life.
Oh, no worries.
I'm still married to my high school sweetheart.
We celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary on June 4th.
And we dated for 5 years before that.
Yep, 40 YEARS with the same man. (I feel old!)
I was only 16 when we met - my first date - a BLIND date, at that! đ¤
Here's my sweetheart in the Biltmore Gardens where we spent our anniversary.
So all is well on the home front. Our kids are doing great - both happily married to their own sweethearts now. (No grandkids - yet.)
We haven't moved. We still live a short drive from the beach on the South Carolina coast.
(Yay, God!) đđ´
It's my career that's undergoing a major overhaul.
So - y'all know I write books. And I have a new one I'm revising now. This afternoon, in fact.
(I know.... it's about time!)
What you may not know, is that I founded a nonprofit 4 years ago.
It's called SOUL - Sanctuary Of Unborn Life - and our mission is to provide encouragement, support and housing for pregnant women in need.
While I love writing, and will always be a writer, helping pregnant women is a calling God placed on my heart. In fact, the new book is about a woman who was abandoned as an infant -and winds up as a pediatrician volunteering at a maternity home.
To follow this calling, I spent the last 4 years working at Lowcountry Pregnancy Center where I learned A LOT, met wonderful friends, and made many great connections.
Then in April, after many prayers and long talks with both God and my hubby, I resigned.
To go to the next level.
Since last fall, SOUL has been hosting a support group for pregnant women called SOUL Sisters.
We share a meal, we pray, we encourage each other and we talk about faith in God.
In March, SOUL hosted an art show for one of our SOUL Sisters - a homeless, pregnant artist - to raise money for her housing. She brought her new baby home to her own apartment and the art show covered her rent for a 3 month maternity leave, giving her time to find daycare and a stable job.
It was time to take SOUL to the next level.
In May, we hosted Tea & Dessert with SOUL to raise additional funds for housing.
And God blessed our efforts greatly!
Here's my daughter, Melissa (far left) at the Tea, along with some of our wonderful donors.
SOUL is making progress in great strides.
That's what I've been up to.
Now it's time for a restart on my writing career.
So here are 3 takes on "Time to Enjoy" in the heat of summer:
1. Kick back and relax!
Schedule time for the beach, the pool, and the BBQ.
2. Pour bubble solution into a birdbath. Use a metal strainer with a handle to blow dozens of bubbles! (When you're done, thoroughly clean out the birdbath for your feathered friends.)
3. Water your grass & flowers, your dogs & kids, your spouse & your SELF.
Turn on the sprinkler, run through the spraying water, kick up your heels and LAUGH at the sun!
I live in the sunny south, and I love it.
But... It. Is. Hot. âď¸
Yesterday I wore my white swimsuit with pink flowers to cool off in our little pool.
Remember this one from last summer's blog?
As soon as I got in the pool, a bee dove right at me. He wouldn't leave me alone.
I think he was trying to pollinate me!
But he was buzzing on the wrong flowers.
I splished and splashed, and he finally flew away.
Stay cool among the birds and the bees.
Take time to explore your own rearrangement of life.
Take time to pray, and study God's word to learn the way cool plans He has for YOU. đ
And take time to enjoy the heat of summer!
"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit."
Jeremiah 17: 7-8