Dear Reader:

The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke urges us to “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in our heart and try to love the questions themselves. ” In other words we should learn to “live our questions.”

Easier said than done…right? Not really. Questions are always more important than answers. Most of us going through school heard at least one teacher, if not more, make the popular comment “There’s no such thing as a stupid question…the only stupid question is the one unasked.”

Thank goodness most classrooms have a “Freddie Jones” in them. Freddie lived in my neighborhood and I think we ended up in the same classrooms/teachers together all the way through elementary school. Freddie was the kid who was not afraid to ask questions… even when he knew he would become the laughing stock of the class.

I have to admit I laughed too because some of them really were “out there” but secretly I loved that Freddie asked the very questions that I didn’t have the nerve to ask for fear of ridicule. Especially in math…I stayed lost in that subject a lot and desperately needed to ask more questions than I ever did…so, in a way, Freddie was my hero.

I now have a feeling that Freddie’s life probably turned out better than the rest of ours…because, even as a child, he was living his questions daily. He understood what the rest of us didn’t…in life its not the answer that is as important as the question…becoming part of the answer through participating in the quest for knowledge.

Think about this idea of living our questions when it comes to our faith…Jesus, by all accounts (regardless of one’s religion) was one of the greatest teachers of all times.

Why…because He asked twice as many questions in His lifetime as He gave answers and then He only directly answered three…indirectly answering all the others…how? Through parables…stories…in other words Jesus made the listener become part of the solution to learning the answer through the “riddles” of storytelling.

Jesus asked 307 questions and answered 183 through parables and more questioning. He never gave a simple, easy answer. Why?

“Easy answers can give us a sense of finality. By entertaining questions God has a chance to change us. Answers can be offered as a conclusion. Questions are an invitation to further reflection. For the most part, answers close and questions open” (Copenhaver)

Even Jesus’ three directly answered questions still kept the door open for individual beliefs concerning one important question.

Who is Jesus? Who do people say that I am? Who do you say that I am?

Today, in the final analysis, Christian faith comes down to that one committed question “Who do YOU say that I am?”

Throughout the Gospels…there are numerous references to Whom Jesus is…as in Matthew:

15 He said to them, “And who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!” (Matthew 16:15-17).

Jesus did not want Peter and His disciples to believe He was the Son of God just because He said so. He wanted God to bring them to this conclusion, based upon the overwhelming evidence of Scripture and our Lord’s life and teaching.

So until tomorrow…If we want to live an open life…we must stay open to more questions and more possibilities. We must not accept easy answers as a final answer because then we live closed, narrow lives.

We only stay life-time learners by asking questions. We must always remain a four-year-old in our hearts and spirits forever.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

It has rained a lot here the past several days…and the forecast is still pretty “cloudy” and overcast for the rest of the week until at least Sunday. However, the flowers are happy…in fact dancing in the rain!

Perfect timing…just as the Confederate Jasmine is fading out… taking that magical scent with it…here comes my two deliciously fragrant gardenia bushes with buds about to pop…in fact the first one did! 🙂

And my hydrangea bush…ah the blooms are turning a darker blue…this is the largest one so far…and just breath-taking right before the sun disappears.

Dear Reader:

Mike and Honey Burrell had a local artist, Carolyn Demotest Serrano, do this beautiful art work (pen and ink drawing) for my birthday in September 2010, following my first visit to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope in Trust, North Carolina… where my life completely changed on a hot July day of that year.

From the moment I walked into the little chapel I felt the presence, the spirit of Beverly Barutio, the founder and creator of the chapel. Like me, she was a woman living with cancer who had been given an extension on her life after prayers to God and St. Jude.

In return she had this chapel erected for everyone to pause in their lives and thank God for everything He had given each… health challenges and all.

Aren’t there just some places on earth that we sense immediately are on hallowed ground? It might not mean the same thing for everyone but when we find our “spot” it certainly means something to us.

Lincoln consecrated and dedicated the battlefield at Gettysburg during his famous address ….stating it was on “Hallowed Ground.”  He could feel the voices there from the departed and he knew he must not fail them with his own words to convey the appreciation that everyone should feel for their ultimate sacrifice on that gray afternoon  in November of 1863.

It was only later that the story came out that Lincoln excused himself before the ceremony and walked off into the woods, alone, to the forest that outlined the battlefield. When an aide sought him (to let him know it was time to go to the platform) he found the President kneeling in prayer.

This story was passed down from generation to generation in the aide’s family until a sculptor, upon hearing it, sculpted the kneeling President and today it is found in the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Every time I visit St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope I, too, feel like I am on hallowed ground. But it is even more tangible than that….I feel like I am coming home again… and it is time to fall on my knees in thanksgiving.

The little stream that runs behind the chapel babbles its welcoming sound, the chapel serenely nods and ushers (gently holding my hand)  me back in. And the spirit of Beverly Barutio, the creator and owner of the chapel, seems to smile in relief and joy that I am well enough to return again.

The little chapel in the woods is my refuge from the storms of life. A place of renewal and hope. A place of faith and trust. A place of prevailing peace.

I can feel it calling me again….it always starts with a soft urging that crescendos into a stronger voice letting me know it is time to return and rest my body, soul, and spirit. This July will be the tenth anniversary of discovering my “Hallowed Ground.” (Thank you Honey!)

I do believe it was a God’s Wink that I “accidentally” came across the little poem I wrote in appreciation and tribute to my sacred place several years ago…a reminder that there is a “Balm in Gilead” and a special one in Trust, North Carolina for me.

“A Chapel in the Woods”

(By Becky Dingle)

There is a chapel in the woods

A refuge from the storm

A place that offers love and hope

… When one feels lost and torn.

There is a chapel in the woods

In a little town called Trust

A place that offers solace

When hopes have turned to dust.

There is a chapel in the woods

A promise built for God

A place that heals our heart and soul

… A gentle spirit’s nod.

There is a chapel in the woods

For you to take a peek

And feel St. Jude’s healing touch

Come find the peace you seek!

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

So until tomorrow…find your place of refuge and remember to return to it periodically to restore your strength and soul.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

A collage of memories from St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope

*You might remember my first grandchild, Eva Cate, was born in April of 2010 so I didn’t want to leave her when Honey first called in July to invite me to go see this unforgettable chapel …It was only with a lot of persuasion from Mike and Honey that I took (what would turn out to be my pilgrimage) to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope.

There were lots of ‘trinkets’ left on the altar as tokens from people who had stopped by the chapel in their travels. I decided to leave one of the most precious gifts behind- a photo of me, Mandy, and little Eva Cate, on that hot July day a decade ago…  with the inscription from poet William Blake:

“Love is the child who shares our breath; Love is the child who scatters death.”-William Blake

Almost a decade later and I am still here…celebrating  Eva Cate’s 10th birthday…the miracles of life…the importance of “hallowed ground.” To this date the original photo has withstood heat, cold, damp…and is still visible to visitors entering the chapel.

*Donna and Sam Clark’s gift to me (that sits over my computer)…is a framed photo of the cross only yards away from the chapel…containing the words that have always been so comforting to me.

A few yards in another direction…is a little “spot” called Luck, NC…it takes about three seconds to ride past it…You’re “in luck” and then you are “out of luck.” Such is life! 🙂

Hallowed Places are best shared with friends…to go with you to the your symbolic birth place… where life began again.

*** Jake found his “hallowed ground” yesterday…he rode his bike for the first time without any training wheels & without any falls…just Jake and the open road…well street…but he was one happy five year old…master of his bike and destiny!

*** I was looking through a keepsake box yesterday when I discovered the amazing birthday card Beverly Parkinson made for me several years ago.

She is so talented and her cards are in local stores around her hometown in Mississippi and on-line. She sent me a homemade 3-D “Big Red” birthday card.

Isn’t it beautiful? She even created the brick colors on my porch behind “Big Red.”

I texted Beverly to thank her again and see how she and her family were doing at home during this pandemic…she sent me the most beautiful picture of a bowl of day lilies she had arranged. I told her I could only imagine a card with them on it in 3-D….astoundingly beautiful.

Here is the photo of the bowl of day lilies she sent…they don’t last long but as Edna St. Vincent Millay said so eloquently….

‘My candle burns at both ends;It will not last the night;But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—It gives a lovely light!’

Dear Reader:

It has taken me a lifetime to finally get it! When we fully realize that self and Spirit are the same …just like what I sang at camps and youth retreats growing up…”We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord” …then all the missing pieces of life’s puzzle miraculously fit together.

My epiphany has been similar to Sarah Ban Breathnach’s “extraordinary metamorphosis” while writing her popular book titled: Simple Abundance. She started out thinking she could solely make analogies between doing more with less in all facets of daily life…like eliminating clutter in our lives to clean out the attics of our minds…but she soon dropped this overly simplistic approach. She realized she was making the wrong connections.

Wholeness isn’t a clean house devoid of clutter…it is a clean spirit dwelling within each of us….when we accept and make the choice to live in a “state of grace.”

When talking to friends my age I have noticed one commonality mentioned more often now than ever before… everyone admits that they have to have more quiet or private time in their daily life now. For me…the garden, my refuge, my sanctuary, provides this for me.

Every seemingly mundane event in our lives (grocery shopping, paying bills, exhaustion, cleaning out closets, changing sheets, unexpected interruptions, too much noise, broken appliances, annoying  little health issues that won’t go away) is actually significant enough to be an on-going source of “reflection, revelation, and re-connection.” 

In other words…we can now see those daily miracles in life that were hidden from us while living in an unconnected, self-centered universe. Once our eyes can finally see God’s presence in every aspect of life…then life becomes the most personal form of worship. It becomes our daily prayer.

Now I understand how I can get so excited over a new bloom(s) on a bush or the growth of a new tree…I am watching God watching over my garden…while watching over me.

Two days of on and off showers have kept me inside the house more…so last evening when I finally walked through my garden path…my hydrangea bush had bloomed while I wasn’t looking. A gift from God.

So until tomorrow: (Nineteenth-Century Shaker  Hymn)

“Tis a gift to be simple, Tis a gift to be free, Tis a gift to come down Where we all ought to be. And when we find ourselves…in the place that’s right. “Twill be in the valley of love and delight.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

It is Memorial Day…just saying the two words conjures up different images and feelings for everyone. My brother Ben (Vietnam Marine- two purple hearts) said that this would be a tough weekend for him…too many images assault him and catch him off guard on Veterans Day and Memorial Day. For many veterans…I think this holds true.

What a terrible sacrifice our young soldiers experienced…for many at  such tender ages (throughout all the wars our country has seen)…these young warriors experienced tragedy beyond description… and for those who survived…leaving many emotionally scarred.

In a way Memorial Day is a day about beginnings and endings that start new beginnings. On the calendar Memorial Day unofficially ends spring and begins summer. For all of us, the recipients of the freedom others have sacrificed for us, we take pleasure on this day as a kick-off celebration to summer and an long-awaited ending to school.

Of course, like everything else since March…this Memorial Day is different. It also expands in appreciation for our newest warriors...the front-line fighters and first responders who put their lives in jeopardy fighting to help others get through this pandemic.

Many of the following job-related heroes today are listed on my new garden flag that I touch gently every time I enter the garden! Thank you!

(I include in this list everyone who has listened to the medical experts and done their part to contain the virus…staying home, wearing masks, socially distancing, etc.)

It really does take a village…a global village…to fight the coronavirus as human beings united in the preservation of life.

Today I hope everyone enjoys special moments of happiness and appreciation for the daily things we do in life…as seen in the title visual today. Ask any soldier what they dream about in combative situations and it is just these types of mental memory pictures…returning home to family, cutting the grass, picnics, playing with the dog, cooking, walking, eating watermelon, laughing, loving, and praying together.

So even if you are not able to be with loved ones over this Memorial Day weekend…I hope you are able to communicate via phone, internet or whatever other means you have to take time and let a loved one know they are always in your memory…every day is a personal Memorial Day to them.

When Ben finally was able to put down his feelings and thoughts concerning his experiences about Vietnam through his book Grace Under Fire…one of his favorite memories was a chocolate birthday cake arriving from home, from mom, that miraculously landed on his birthday, July 26, in the jungles of Vietnam. Ben said it tasted like mom had just taken it out of the oven.

A Big Shout-Out to the Surviving Veterans of WWII…as this year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of the war. 16 million Americans were actively engaged in the war…of those just a few over 300,000 are still alive today.

I lit my Blessed Candle (Carrie gave me) last night to remember all the brave men and women who put others first before their own well-being….heroes of every description! How blessed we are for their complete generosity…then and now!

So until tomorrow…men and women risk their lives so families can continue living a life of freedom that allows personal choices in this country. Memorial Day always leads back to FAMILY! Thank you Ben for your sacrifice!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*** At 3:00 today pause and listen to hear if a bugler in your neighborhood is playing Taps. CBS reporter, Steve Hartman has started an initiative called Taps Across America for a special tribute to veterans across our country.

(CBS News “On the Road” correspondent Steve Hartman is teaming up with retired Air Force bugler Jari Villanueva to keep the spirit of the holiday alive…even if community celebrations might be cancelled.)

***Hartman and Villanueva are asking veterans, musicians, teachers, and students of all abilities and ages to sound Taps on their front lawns, porches, and driveways at 3 p.m. local time Monday, May 25th…TODAY!

I have my fingers crossed that we have a bugler in Miler…if you do hear Taps play…please go out on your lawn, face the music, and stand at attention, as a gesture of respect for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice to freedom.

Dear Reader:

I remember as a child loving to watch the nature programs on how animals blend in or camouflage themselves for protection from predators. Then there would be all kinds of cool examples like: moths, squirrels, sea creatures, flying insects, frogs, lizards, etc.

It dawned on me the other day that this happens with humans too… a neighbor stopped by and called out my name in the back yard because she didn’t see me…I was deep in concentration and didn’t see her either because I was cutting back some Confederate Jasmine and had on a green shirt with white pants…I was bending over to cut back some of the vines when I heard my name. My neighbor and I later both laughed about it. She wanted to know if she was the “predator” I was hiding from! 🙂

However, not-with-standing my selection of clothes that day…I feel myself blending more each year into my personal environment. Summerville and I are quite compatible now…it is where I feel safe and secure.

In fact from the time Brooke and I moved to the lowcountry for our first teaching jobs…it just felt like home. Since I didn’t live in Laurens very long on a continuous basis … except for my four years of high school…the upcountry never felt like home to me.

At heart I am a lowcountry gal! My life centers around my garden, my brightly colored decor in the house…I love candles and they are a big part of my soothing time inside my Happy Room in the evenings. I love the sunshine, beaches, the cuisine and most of all the people of the lowcountry.

It is where I watched my family grow and now I am blessed to have them still in the same area…everyone is living about 25 to 30 miles away…enough for them to have their own lives…but close enough for us to gather. Perfect!

Like an observation Mary Alice Monroe made in her latest beach book…I, too, like the watch the precious little “peeps” (smallest species of sanderlings) play tag with the waves. We used to rent a house at Isle of Palms each summer for several years and watching the peeps play tag with the waves these days remind me of the children doing the same…running up and down the beaches. How quickly they grew up!

All the scents of the lowcountry…the marshes, salt air, humidity, sweet scents of the flowering vines found in abundance…even inside…scents of Summerville candles filling my happy room… all remind me that I am home. While in this world…the lowcountry is my home. I am happy. I am blessed.

So until tomorrow…Let us always remember…that at some point one becomes their surroundings. So choose your niche carefully!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

My two favorite-color flowers (orange and yellow)….laughing in the sunshine!

The Turners blend into their surroundings…pool attire! Mandy called and asked me to come join the cook-out…Aunt Carrie was there and the traffic wouldn’t be as crowded on Saturday as later in the weekend. So much fun and is there any other place where food tastes better than over a grill? So Yummy! Thanks John and Mandy!

Beauty hair day…Carrie can french braid Eva Cate’s hair and is trying to teach her how to do it on her hair…lots of fun…beautiful girls!

Lots of mama and papa ducks and geese proudly displaying their newest additions…though they sometimes need a human crossing guard to help them cross the street to get to the pond.

Dear Reader:

Receiving a note (like this one above in the title photo) makes anyone’s day brighter. We can all go on a world-wide hunt for hidden treasures of gold …but if I opened up a treasure chest and discovered this card with the words “You are loved” inside…I would feel like I had won the biggest lottery of all.

There are so many ways to show people how much we do love our fellow man daily. (Particularly now…with so much at stake with our health and everyone else’s… we meet or see when we leave home.)

I try to do everything I can to show others that I care for their well-being and part of that is making sure I have a clean face mask in my car so I won’t forget to put it on if I leave the house to pick up all my medications or go to a medical appointment, store, or curbside pick-up for varying supplies or foods.

To me wearing a mask means “I care about your health as much as mine.” Obviously with my medical track record I know I have to be extra careful around people with a compromised immune system from 12 years of chemo – especially in situations where social distancing is going to be a challenge.

Believe me …I haven’t fought “little c” successfully enough to be able to say I am still “living” with breast cancer to lose all that hard work to COVID-19 …especially unnecessarily.

(My only exception to the rule is my family…if I know my chances of giving it someone is as low as humanly possible and my family is well…then my love and desire to be with them and vice-versa over-rides a rare few special family occasions…love always wins out!)

It does bother me to see a relatively large number of people not wearing masks in less supervised social distancing locations.

Wearing a mask protects others more than ourselves… even when it comes to  just speaking without a mask or greeting someone we know. When I read this following virus transmission info ..it really made me stop and pause.

“One recent study showed that we spray thousands of droplets  invisible to the naked eye into the air just by uttering the words “stay healthy”. Pretty ironic…right?

“Obviously the more people who participate in wearing masks… the better the results of eliminating the virus.  What makes suppression difficult (when it comes to halting transmissions in the community) is the number of people who have it and are carriers but not sick themselves.

 “But think about it… if everybody is wearing face masks, that would mean infected and asymptomatic people are also wearing masks. That would help to reduce the amount of virus which gets into the environment and potentially causes infections.”

In other words…we are all in this together and we need to all help each other get out of this pandemic healthy and well. We need each other and depend on each other more now than ever before.

So if someone thinks wearing a mask is just part of some hoax around this virus or too much trouble to mess with…look around…see the innocent men, women, and children depending on you to help stop this pandemic…one person at a time. Be part of the solution…not the problem. Be kind. Be caring. Send love.

So until tomorrow…Let us remember that random acts of kindness are thoughtful and appreciated. However, in these challenging times…planned acts of kindness can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus with little effort on our parts. We aren’t hiding behind our masks…we are visibly letting others know…I care about you.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

The wonderful girls, yesterday, at Time Well Spent took my order over the phone and told me to call them when I got there because they were running my food out to my car for me. How sweet!

***But don’t forget they are also open now for in-door dining or even outside dining if you prefer that…they have gone to a lot of trouble to re-open and make everything safe for you and delicious to eat!!!!

And I lucked up- they had tomato pie on the menu with a side green salad and their famous warm pop-overs. I got that and then went on and ordered the wonderful chicken salad and fruit dinner to refrigerate and have for today-Saturday. Happiness is!

Besides fantastic food…happiness is also my first morning glory bloom of the new season. This was the first year I wasn’t able to get to the nursery to re-plant more morning glories but the old ones have returned and are trying to climb the fence without any trellises…life is determined.

I went out in the garden and started picking flowers to put in two of Honey’s adorable flowers vases…they made me smile and made my day.

I was eating supper when I heard a knock at the door and Gin-g was dropping off some breakfast muffins…yummy! She came in with her mask on and we were able to catch up a little while I finished supper. It’s always good to see old friends and know they are healthy and doing well.

Dear Reader:

“Big Red” (the geranium) decided it wanted to join in the Red Nose Day fun too. All the earlier blooms had fallen off the plant and new ones were already forming…but yesterday one bud popped open just in time for Red Nose Day!

Michele and I had to laugh at “Big Red’s” participation in this day too. *You might remember the last time Michele stopped by it was Palm Sunday weekend and she brought me the most beautiful Palm frond which I used to decorate the den and later the back deck door.

She also surprised me with toilet paper…a most wonderful and needed gift at the time! This time she brought me some paper plates…always needed at my house! 🙂

*Michele loves Louise Penny’s detective books (like me) and since I have a personal library of them for use at any time for any one…she trades one stack of books in for another…so glad they are being used.

This time around it was Red Nose Day…I figured that we needed to join in the giving and fun of this day…so we joined “Big Red” on the porch with our red noses…love Michele’s extra mask protection (she had just come from a medical appointment) and now added the additional red nose! Perfect!

Since I haven’t been in Walgreens since the coronavirus hit…I would have forgotten all about the special day…but NBC helps sponsor it and on a local news program a reminder came on telling us that May 21 was Red Nose Day and some background information about it.

Red Nose Day is a campaign to end child poverty, one nose at a time. Through the power of entertainment, Red Nose Day raises money and awareness to ensure children who need our help the most are safe, healthy and educated in America and around the world.

Through the power of entertainment, Red Nose Day brings people together to laugh and have fun, all while raising life-changing cash for the children that need it the most. Since our debut in 2015, we have raised $200 million and have positively impacted over 25 million children in America, and around the world.

This year with schools closed…which is the only source of food for many school children…local school districts have all come up with different programs to feed the children through this pandemic. Many of these school districts need financial assistance to keep meals going out throughout the summer…a portion of the donations to Red Nose Day will go to school districts all over our country.

This year, more than ever, with the symptoms of the coronavirus affecting almost every country in the world…hungry children are a top priority to make sure they come through this pandemic healthy.

Another change this year (because of the coronavirus)  is that red noses have gone digital...when you donate on-line you receive your digital red nose.

I had to substitute red clown noses that I found while going through a closet yesterday for Michele’s and mine’s red nose! 🙂 – “Necessity is the mother of invention.” 🙂

I made my donation digitally this year…my heart breaks whenever I see a hungry child anywhere any time.

A funny coincidence happened yesterday…Mary Alice Monroe was a guest on Living Locally with hostess – Ashleigh Messervy- who grew up with my children (especially Tommy) in our neighborhood.

Tiffany asked Mary Alice Monroe about the timing of her latest book…had the publishers been concerned because of the pandemic and economic effects it has had on many American lives?

Mary Alice Monroe answered with something similar to what I wrote Wednesday in the post…that books take us places where we might not be able to go physically… as usual…like an annual beach house rental this summer because of expenses…but we can read a book and find ourselves right back on that same beach enjoying the memories of it so vividly that it feels like we are actually there. The power of the written word!

***Guess what dining experience has now re-opened in Summerville?

TIME WELL SPENT!!!

Yes…our favorite tea room is back in business. Doodle called yesterday to let me know they were open… and believe me… I will be there today to pick up one of my favorite meals of all…now comes the hard part…which items…the famous chicken salad, or tomato pie (if you get lucky and order it when it’s on the menu) and all their delicious quiches…with those pop-up rolls…my mouth is already watering…I will definitely be one of their first pick-up customers.

Everyone…come on out. Let’s support our favorite eating ‘haunts’ ….we can’t afford to lose a single one…Summerville just wouldn’t be the same without’em and their friendly owners!

So until tomorrow….

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Today is the final day of school…home-schooling… so the kids helped Mom (Ms. Mandy) do their last project…make end of the school year posters…this will definitely be a “school year” the children will always remember! The school year of 2020!

I saw a cute bumper sticker on a car a few days ago concerning COVID-19… but of course now I have forgotten it…so I looked up some car stickers and other kinds of coronavirus stickers and liked the following ones. Another great way to remember 2020..sticker mementos.

Dear Reader:

When one receives Mary Alice Monroe’s latest novel from (Amazon) UPS, especially when it is the sixth in the series of The Beach House sequels…you know summer has arrived…no matter the date…or even if Memorial Day Weekend has kicked off the unofficial summer season. Summer is here! The settings for her novels are our own Charleston beaches…including Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms.

My copy arrived Monday and I have been beside myself with anticipation. I have just finished several rather serious novels (the last one completed Tuesday night)…so now I am ready for the light-hearted summer romances.

Any of us who fell in love with the Rutledge family in 2002 (when the first novel The Beach House was published) knows that reading the sequels to the now extended family of each reader is like eating potato chips…you just can’t stop.

In fact part of me hates to begin the novel because I will read straight through and be finished way longer than my willingness for it to end catches up.

The first four books were written five years apart but the last two, including this summer’s read…are only one and two years apart. We know all the characters…Cara Rutledge, mother Olivia “Lovie“, lots of close friends and extended family members…but most importantly the names of all “The Turtle Ladies” in each novel.

2007                                2012                           2017

2018                                          2020

The Rutledge and Muir families are our families now. And since 18 years has passed in all since we first met them…we have suffered the same tragedies and losses (as these fictional families) in our own family dynamics.

It will be interesting to see if Mary Alice Monroe writes an upcoming novel that includes the coronavirus/pandemic within its pages. It would certainly make for a great story line.

No author could make this topic up…*it is still more fictional to me than real now…even after all this time with continued cultural transformations underway.

***In fact I bet that a lot of diverse novels due out later this year or next will contain coronavirus plot inserts…don’t you? I can already picture lots of espionage/mystery novels implementing the virus into their complicated global plots to wipe out certain areas or target specific enemies before they can release another  corona-type virus to gain power over other countries.

The coronavirus will soon be jumping off the daily news shows on to the pages of best-selling novels. It is just a matter of time.

I believe this summer of 2020 will be remembered more for Staycations than vacations. Between restrictions on travel, lodging, summer camps closed and everyday expenses (especially for families who have lost  jobs) creativity at play will be important components to pull off a memorable summer for children.

Put the World on Hold

Turn off your phone. Turn it on to check messages, texts, notifications, and the like only when you want to, keeping in mind that not at all is always an option.

Do an out of office for your email (even if your office is a corner of the playroom). Say you won’t be checking your email until you’re back from vacation (they don’t need to know it’s a staycation), then exit out of your inbox. Resist the urge to check your email again until you’re back at work.

Skip the news—and maybe even stop the mail—for a week. When you banish the source of stress, the stress itself may follow. The earth will continue to turn even if you’re not reading all about it every morning at 7:30 sharp, and sadly, the bills will still be there when your vacation is over.

Now that the family knows you are serious…have fun…here are a list of ideas to choose from

Destination home dinners- seafood night, pizza night, taco night….and decorate the eating place accordingly

Barefooting…remove rugs off the floors, put on fun music, light candles, have vacation reading binges, camp out in the back yard, have a film festival, a water day with water pistols, sprinklers, water balloons etc.

Spa Day…basic yoga…soft cremes and lotions, high thread count on sheets, soft beddings and remember to put mints, chocolates, treats on the pillows at night as if you are staying in a fancy hotel!

In other words…let your imagination go wild this summer. This will definitely be a reading summer staycation for me…and I am totally ready for it…bring it on! I have a comfy garden swing, soft fountain music, munchies and drinks….I am one happy reading “camper.” (And I won’t get homesick!) 🙂

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

…But one “favorite” and “best” day happened yesterday! I just completed my 2000th post since November 24, 2014 in Chapelofhopestories.com Part Two.

(From August 7 2010 to November 19, 2014-Chapelofhopestories.com Part I)… the total number of daily post blogs was 1565. If we add the two totals together…my grand total since my very first blog was written almost ten years ago is…

3565 written blog posts to date! 🙂

Thank you, readers, from the bottom of my heart for continuing to read my posts, leave comments of support and encouragement and please remember… each of you really is….

Dear Reader:

How many times have we seen an elderly person or perhaps a physically/mentally challenged individual in a grocery store or at a gas station…doing something that for most people is routine and habit…until you see this particular fellow man struggling to accomplish the same “simple” endeavor?

Does it ever dawn on us as we watch in a grocery line or gas station that the person ahead of us is an example of the purest form of courage for simply showing up for life that day and every day?

And what about people who show up for medical routines that are difficult and challenging physically-even painful- but still they arrive on time each session with a smile on their face and a positive comment from their lips. What drives these individuals?….faith and hope!

I love the quote  by Anne Lamotte in the title visual…it is a favorite of mine:

“Hope begins in the dark…the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work…you don’t give up.”

In one of my all-time favorite books Life’s Extras by Archibald Rutledge (1928) he reminds us that faith and hope are examples of “life’s extras.” God didn’t have to give them to us….they aren’t a physical need like food, clothing, shelter…in order for us to survive. But then God has never been a “minimalist” when it comes to providing for His children’s love and delights in life.

He created and then gave us all the beauty of His world…not a necessity but a token of His love. Rutledge writes these words that are just as timely today as they were in the twenties. (1920’s that is) 🙂

I realize that we live in a time when force seems to be the prevailing power in the world; but it is always temporary. The finer things that make the good life are not subject to change.

The stock market may go down but the man or woman with a heart of “gold” always stands above par in value. 

All spiritual qualities appear to me to be extras; generosity, aspiration, courage, beyond the call of duty, and the love that outlasts the years. These things did not just happen; they could not appear in an accidental world. They were so ordered by the Hand Divine which made our spirits what they are and tenderly ministers to their needs.

Faith is one of life’s extras. We do not need it to live; but it is essential to the development of our spirits. It is the covenant which, if kept with God, will keep our pathway clear and our feet from falling. Life is instinct with mystery; but that very fact makes faith both rich and necessary.”

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

People can also be Life’s Extras’…One of my Life’s Extras is when God sent me Michael  Salvo…fireman, lawn maintenance expert, construction carpenter…definitely a man of many talents and gifts. The best one being kindness.

Remember when Susan fell coming down my last deck step Mother’s Day weekend…Michael showed up today and started fixing the step and will return later to finish it with another plank.

I simply showed it to him when he arrived to cut the grass Monday and yesterday morning he was back at the house ready to fix it. Amazing….what a “life extra” he is. I am so lucky to have him help me with so many house and yard problems that I just can’t do by myself.

Dear Reader:

The older I get the more I realize how true this statement is: “Life is a beautiful struggle.” The harder we have to fight to maintain life the more beautiful it becomes. It starts to manifest itself through the little things in life we so often overlook in our daily rush to get “some where.”

But now, due to the coronavirus pandemic… lots of us don’t need to rush “any where” and it has opened up a whole new world for us. Home improvements, garden sanctuaries, additions of soothing fountains, benches, swings, and other home comfy niches for personal reflections.

This “beautiful” struggle doesn’t stop with just man…every living creation of God stays in a continuous struggle with life throughout its existence on earth.

Also…in today’s society we watch life’s struggles on television shows, movies and read about it in every story…because that is all a book is…the story of our struggles.

There would be no “soap operas” left on television if the premise was to make sure all the characters were happy and content every day on the on-going fictionalized drama.

In fact (as we all know) it is completely the opposite…everything goes wrong continuously all the time on soap operas...the viewer barely has time to come up for air before another tragedy hits. (It is what keeps the ratings up…we love crises…as long as they aren’t happening to us!)

In every novel or story we read or movie we watch…things go along quite merrily until suddenly they don’t…the good times turn bad…and at that point we all comment…“This book is really getting good now…I can’t put it down.”  (Too much Pollyanna and we quickly get bored…we want to see our hero struggling against the wicked elements in the world and emerging victorious!)

As I walk through my garden I can imagine what the plants would be telling me if they could talk…some would nod at me, quite courteously, to let me know they are doing just fine…the portulaca and lantana are the strongest survivors of a lowcountry summer garden followed by the zinnias…they need the least water and love the sun…except if they are in baskets…all baskets and container flowers depend on me and Mother Nature to help them survive. We have to double up with the “drinks.”

It is the same with the beautiful gazania…gorgeous blooms but needs to drink a lot! 🙂

After no rain for a little over a week we got some on and off showers Sunday afternoon and  night. So by yesterday all my “flower children” were looking and feeling happy …even the gerber daisies (who are one of the most thirsty plants looked perky)…but aren’t gerbers worth the extra watering? So pretty!

We are just like my (flower) “children” in the garden. Different obstacles in life are more difficult for some than others…but along this same thought…another set of obstacles (that might throw others off track) are easily soared over by still another group.

We all have different levels of tolerance for different problems that come our way: whether medical, marital, professional, or personal. Like the plants and their roots in the garden…it is the people who have established a personal relationship with God who seem to be able to dig deeper (when life’s challenges come our way) to find the living waters that sustain them through the struggles of life.

These people are the same ones, who realize no matter the extent of the problem that  lies ahead, life is well worth the fight…and we fight for the little things in life. Things like:

…The first cup of coffee in the morning (or sip of diet coke if one isn’t a coffee drinker 🙂 as we watch the sun come up, the voices of children playing in the neighborhood, the first dandelion given to mothers and grandmothers by toddlers (” I have a flower for you”) the first phone call by a grandchild who tells you “I ouv ou.” (You never delete that phone call…no matter how old the child grows.)

Every day life can be a struggle but it is in the struggle that the love of life grows…if it were all too easy…too many perfect sunny days, all A’s on your child’s report card year after year, no teenage car accidents, or crushed hearts over first loves to console…no storms to upset the calm waters…no broken limbs or medical emergencies…it would be to easy to take life for granted. We would grow listless and bored.

We would never feel the need to turn to anyone beside ourselves for there would be no cloudy days in our lives. God wants us to turn to Him when life gets hard…to let Him hold our hand, and show us the path to inner strength and peace through our loving relationship with Him.

So until tomorrow….Life is a daily struggle…but more importantly…it is a beautiful one…well worth the fight. And once victorious… Two hands go up in exultation.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh