This Good Life

An Autumn Evening Dark hills against a hollow crocus sky ... Scarfed with its crimson pennons, and below The dome of sunset long, hushed valleys lie Cradling the twilight, where the lone winds blow And wake among the harps of leafless trees Fantastic runes and mournful melodies. The chilly purple air is threaded through With silver from the rising moon afar, And from a gulf of clear, unfathomed blue In the southwest glimmers a great gold star  Above the darkening druid glens of fir Where beckoning boughs and elfin voices stir. And so I wander through the shadows still, And look and listen with a rapt delight, Pausing again and yet again at will To drink the elusive beauty of the night, Until my soul is filled, as some deep cup, That with divine enchantment is brimmed up. poem by L.M.Montgomery

There are so many emotions and so many inner battles going on inside of my head on any given day.  Rather, any given 1/2 hour of any given day....  (You other women out there, ya hear me?!)  It gets overwhelming and all-consuming. I ran across this today (quote below) and I just stopped in my tracks. Wives, may your heart be so consumed by Christ that your confidence, value, and worth are unmistakeable and unshakeable. Although it says "wives" on there, I think it absolutely applies to any woman...or, really, any human!  But let's give "wives" some special attention right now.  I never, ever undstrood the immense depth of having a covenant partner until, of course, I experienced it.  Getting married and experiencing being a wife is a completely different journey than I could ever have described.  It comes with great joy and great growth.  And often in this journey, Satan can shake things up a bit for us women.  He...

Blu is getting ready to return to Kenya this year.  I am so very proud of him, humbled that he's my husband, and excited he gets to represent the Malones!  I unfortunately cannot go this year, and the closer the trip gets, the more heartbreaking that fact is.  Kenya has been such a huge part of my life since 2012 and I can't imagine not holding Silas, playing with Bryan, talking with Samson, loving on Rodgers, encrouaging Sharon, laughing with Diana, seeing my Apple Girls...... But Jesus has an ambassador who is a good man, seeking the Lord, and ready to give (& receive!) lots of love!  Prayers over Blu have already begun. As I prepare to send him off, here is the slideshow from the trip that Blu and I got to experience together last year.  Love these faces.  Love Kenya.  Thank you, Lord, for your love. Kenya 2015:

"Most people, looking back at their childhood, see it as a misty country half-forgotten or only to be remembered through an evocative sound or scent, but some episodes of those short years remain clear and brightly coloured like a landscape seen through the wrong end of a telescope."  --D.E. Stevenson "Thirty is an attitude.  If says you know what you're doing and you've got what it takes to get where you're going.  The fact is, you've never been better or smarter or more ready for adventures than you are right now.  So welcome to prime time."  --Unknown "Thirty was so strange for me.  I've really had to come to terms with the fact that I am now a walking and talking adult."  --C.S. Lewis "That is how you know you've left childhood behind -- when you wish for time to go backward."  --Alice Hoffman "Do net regret growing older.  It's a privilege denied to many."  --Unknown "I...

Blu and I took a honeymoon.  * insert emoji with hearts for e yes*