Mae skipped cheerily into the house one day this past week singing, “Two letters Marme.”  In our home, getting sent to check the mail box is like a special treat, as each of us really look forward to those cream colored envelopes from Compassion International.  Seeing  “A Message from your Sponsored Child” is exciting to every member of the family.

Here are the 2 letters that arrived that day.

From Neema, Tanzania and from Lucia.

In case you noticed the similarities between the two letters, Neema and Lucia live in Tanzania and actually attend the same Child Development Center.   As they grow their different personalities are sure to be more noticeable.

We are also part of an online community that sponsors a young man through Compassion.  Earlier in the month we received a couple of emails with a scanned letter from Obwini, as well as a link to a song he mentioned in his letter.  I hope you enjoy!

“>Obwini’s Favorite Song



Genesis 4:7 ~ If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.  And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.

A portion of this verse has been often quoted in our home, as an encouragement to resist temptation to sin.  But this week the verse as a whole spoke quietly to me, “Here is a wonderful reason to pursue the establishment of good habits.”

Pondering this, I asked myself, “how does one do well?”  Getting past the “Sunday School” answers, words like cheerfulness, punctuality, attentiveness, orderliness, kindness, diligence came to mind, reminding me once again of another common phrase.    “Laying down the rails,”   By continuing to pursue good habits, rails are laid down that keep one moving along the track of a life well lived.

Good habits make it easy to move forward each day, despite the circumstances.  And the opposite, bad habits open the door to temptation, sin.

A fresh encouragement to press on with habit training in our home, in my own life.

Genesis 6:8  “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.”

Grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Grace in the Old Testament!

In January of 2011 I set out to read the Bible in a year.  It took 2 years and 8 days, it was wonderful, but not enough.  Now I’ve set out to read it again, this year and I’m seeing things in Genesis that I haven’t seen before.  Like “GRACE” in the eyes of the Lord.

And how did Noah find grace in the eyes of God?  The next verse says “Noah was a just man, perfect in his generation.  Noah walked with God.”  Genesis 6:9

Last week I wrote about establishing habits to “do well.”  And here I find the first habit.

Walk with God.

It is nearly the middle of January and this blog has been quiet during the online community conversations about the New Year and goals.  We did mark the turning of the year, but even that we didn’t do on the actual day.  Life happened without regard to the days marked on the calendar, and so I find myself with a head cold on this chilly Sunday in mid January, posting my 2013 goals.

This new year has a different feel than ever before.  While I have pondered simplicity and decluttering of my life many times over past years, the landscape ahead of us now insists on the letting go of many things while we embrace what lies ahead.

Just before Christmas we said earthly good bye to Builder’s and my paternal grandmothers.  As the New Year dawned, we saw the diagnosis of early dementia in my mother, and began assisting my step father in her care.  In just a few weeks our first granddaughter is due to be born, and will be living with her momma (our 2nd oldest daughter) in our home.

Life ending, life beginning and so much in between.

Here are my 2013 goals, in simple style.

Read through the Bible, again, this time in 1 year
Memorize Psalm 91 and Colossians or the Sermon on the Mount
Read 24 books
Listen to 12 audio books
Learn to follow my husband
Learn about 5 new birds, and their calls
Learn about 5 trees in my local area, and observe them through the 4 seasons of this year
Become a peacemaker
Replace current products with items better suiting my changing skin care needs
Continue my fitness habits of strength training and cardio activity