Paris and St. Remy de Provence

Prayerfully and hopeful let your life become an open door for others......always!

"Come in......I have been waiting for you!"

 Le Marais ~ Paris
An old, old Jewish neighborhood full of cute shops!
Street after street looked like postcards!

 Flower Markets are everywhere in Paris!

Strolling streets........a favorite pastime!

 Magnificent Paris

Chocolate shops.....EVERYWHERE!!

Reminders of the sights!

Palais des Papes

Avignon

Every church or cathedral gave us a  wonder and a sense of awe of our Mighty God!

Norwich Cathedral
This beautiful Cathedral has stood for over 900 years as a presence of Christian worship in the heart of Norfolk in Norwich!  It is a mere 15 minute walk from Kara and Phil's home.  They can see it from their window each morning!  

 A lovely interior in Avignon!

 Beautiful courtyard in Provence

 Enjoying a glass of Rose'

Saint Remy de Provence
Even the simplest exterior becomes beautiful!

A few days in Paris and one becomes transported to a different time and place!  Parisians do not rush about anything....they have their coffee with leisure, they enjoy their meals with much conversation, they listen, they laugh, they enjoy LIFE!  Then, they have dessert and a latte or perhaps a class of rose'  They enjoy their wine slowly and with conversation.  The beauty of their city is everywhere!  


The history of the world is everywhere in France!  Strolling through the narrow stone streets of Paris or Saint Remy de Provence the evening is cool and the surroundings are quiet.  I am aware, even as I write this, of the softness of the lighting and the particular mood that is everywhere.  Sidewalk cafes become "rooms" where friends gather to enjoy conversation and each other.  Differences seem to fade. I understand now why people have a ongoing love affair with France, and particularly Provence!  There is a balance and a harmony only found there.


The art, the flowers, the gardens, the vineyards, the antique markets, the holiday.....forever etched in my heart!  I miss my daughter, Kara.  I love her so much.  She is so kind.  So sweet.
I hope to go again............if I am blessed!

Chateux neuf du Pape

Trust

Trust is defined by Websters as a confidence in honesty, integrity, reliability of another person or thing.  Sometimes things are entrusted to our care for a period of time for safe keeping.  To be trusted is a valuable quality.  A healthy marriage is based upon mutual trust between two people. I understand that kind of trust because I have been blessed to be in a marriage that is in it's 37th year.  My husband is my best friend and he trusts me each morning as he leaves for work that I will manage my day in a way that will benefit us both in the evening when he returns home.  He knows that I live by my words and that I have his best interests at heart, always.


Are you a person who can be trusted?  I hope so.  God's words to us can be trusted and when we meet the living Lord we are given the opportunity to live in a relationship with HIM that can be a life changing encounter daily.  The "good news" of the Bible can be trusted time and time again as we draw upon His words throughout our daily lives.  Thankfully God speaks to us in a calm quiet voice that speaks of love and kindness.  He can be stern and demanding  when he desires that we follow His ways......... but these words can be fully trusted,  for He is wise and  He sees the whole picture of our lives.


Who trusts you?  In my life, because I have been blessed to be a full time mother, homemaker, and wife, I have depended upon God for many, many situations in our family life.  Our children trust me also.  Our grandchildren trust me.  I am glad.  I want to be trusted and in return, I trust them.  Trust is built one day at a time, doing the things that are as the definition above said.....being honest, being full of integrity, and being kind.  The picture below is a living example of trust.  Isabel trust me.......I want to live a life where she knows that her Nina can be trusted.  "Dear God, create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me."


Enjoy the blessed day that God has given you dear one!!!!

England

"Lord, You alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.  You guard all that is mine.  The land You have given me is a pleasant land.  What a wonderful inheritance."  Psalm 16:5-6


That verse speaks to my heart of the time that I was blessed to spend in England with our precious daughter, Kara and her sweet husband Phil. Later we were joined by my sister, Pam.  Together we spent sixteen days in England and in France.  This was my first time to travel to Europe and indeed it was a blessing.  For four months, I read and planned this trip, I guess overly.....but I wanted so much for everyday to be special.


My heart is full to say the least and so for now I will just share a few photos of the 700 that I took!!!  I wouldn't dare bore you with all of them.  They are treasures of treasured times forever imprinted now on my heart.  These photos were taken at Stourhead Gardens and Home in the Dorset region of England.  The film of Pride and Prejudice was filmed in part on the grounds.  The bridge was in the film and the scene where Mr. Darcy declared his feelings of love for Lizzie.  Love is a beautiful and glorious gift!

The Easter Season and the Kingdom of Love......

 ~First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs~

 ~Chapel of First Presbyterian Church of Ocean Springs~

~The Episcopal Church of Ocean Springs~

The Easter Season is here!  Throughout the month of April the flowers will be bursting forth with beautiful colors and the trees will be green again with new leaves!  New life is everywhere!  For the Believer in Jesus Christ, this season is a most Holy time.  We seek to prepare our hearts for this season and remember the importance of THE CROSS.  In Jesus' earthly life, the unbelief of leaders and people produced intense resentment against HIM and His claims as King and Savior.  As I read the story of Easter in the Bible what stands out is the glory of Jesus as the Son of man and the Son of God.  His courage, His dignity, His unflinching obedience, His unselfish concern for others, His unswerving faith and commitment to His Father.  He suffered in order to fulfill God's plan for redemption.  Jesus was willing to do the Father's will.  A relationship with our Heavenly Father encourages our faith, especially in moments of weakness. The steps He took to The Cross so willingly for us followed HIS greatest triumph......The  Resurrection!  Easter is about new life and the season of worship and the invitation to be a part of God's kingdom of love.  "It is a kingdom of boundless, glorious, powerful, and transforming love. When you are filled with the glory of that love, when your heart is taken up by the mystery of that love, when what daily fills your heart is deep and worshipful gratitude for the miracle of divine love, then your words begin to be words of love, words of service, words of grace, words of encouragement, words of peace, and words that heal."  Paul David Tripp   Knowing this strength of Christianity we can SEE that it is not outward laws but inward character.  In a transforming way, Christ imprints His nature upon a sinful mind, will and emotions.  When Christ enters a life, He brings His very life-the very soil in which we take root and blossom!  He is a MIGHTY GOD!


Morning, Noon, and Night His redeeming love fills the soul of one who has embraced Christ and the Easter message.  Easter is a time to celebrate our Lord and celebrate with others the love in our hearts and the joy set before us!  These beautiful pictures above represent the importance of worship for Believers from the early 20th century in our little town.  Believers have gathered together each Sunday to embrace and celebrate the joys of fellowship and love, especially at Easter. 


Every season, even though the same flowers sprout up in a spot where they were last year, they are different.  They seem to multiply and grow more beautiful every year.....I think that is picture of how we can be.  Each year we can become more beautiful inward and more aware of who we truly are in Christ! His heart is  truly open and full of love for you!   My prayer is that you enjoy this Easter season and find the time to embrace His love for you and seek to bless others as you yourself have been blessed!  Look up and SEE The Cross!  May the Lord bless you and keep you.....always!

A French Salad....Nicoise!

~Dining Outdoors on the Coast~

Nicoise Salad Recipe

INGREDIENTS

Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium shallot, minced
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme leaves
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh basil leaves
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Salad
• 2 grilled or otherwise cooked tuna steaks* (8 oz each) or 2-3 cans of tuna
• 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and either halved or quartered
• 10 small new red potatoes (each about 2 inches in diameter, about 1 1/4 pounds total), each potato scrubbed and quartered
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium heads Boston lettuce or butter lettuce, leaves washed, dried, and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 3 small ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into eighths
• 1 small red onion, sliced very thin
• 8 ounces green beans, stem ends trimmed and each bean halved crosswise
• 1/4 cup niçoise olives
• 2 Tbsp capers, rinsed and/or several anchovies (optional)

METHOD

*Marinate tuna steaks in a little olive oil for an hour. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat, or place on a hot grill. Cook the steaks 2 to 3 minutes on each side until cooked through.

We are truly blessed with our coastal weather in Mississippi!  We may have a thunderstorm one evening but most days the sun does shine!  It's a beautiful and inspiring place to live and the blue skies and the array of color this time of the year is magnificent!  My husband's job brought us to the wonderful place five years ago and it was sort of a new beginning for us!  Not that we really need a new beginning but most of our life has been about change and making our home "work" wherever his profession has taken us!  It has been a beautiful life together!  Like anyone, I miss with being away from our children on a daily basis but the times we are together are wonderful and crazy and always filled with love and fun!  Our children are fun!  The free spirits that we all have has developed in each of us a love to travel and enjoy the world!  My children began early on family holidays to the beach and to cities full of history and historic towns and homes.  We were never afraid to venture across the country to California, Oregon, Washington, Victoria British Columbia or to the northeast to Boston, New York City,  or New Port, Rhode Island and other interesting places in between!  Chicago is one of my favorite cities!!!  I love the shopping on Michigan Avenue.  Our children have traveled the world and their passports are interesting to say the least!  So......I say to venture into England and France should be nothing for me!  Next week I will be meeting Kara in London and we will be off for sixteen days together!  One of my beautiful sisters is also joining us at the end of the first week and we will travel to Paris and then into Provence!  On our final day in France before returning to London, we plan to travel to Nice and dip our feet into the sea and enjoy dinner before our flight leaves Nice for London at nine in the evening!  We can hardly wait!  My daughter's have long said........."Let's go to France!"  It is a standing date when the girls come, moving the chairs into the yard and pouring something nice and cool in their wine glasses!  It is fun!  They have taught me to enjoy life!  This salad has also become a favorite of our family!  I hope you will enjoy making it!  It really doesn't matter where life takes you if your heart and spirit is yielded to God's guiding!  I am most thankful that no matter where we have made our home that HIS loving spirit has been with us.

"The coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah;  They shall feed their flocks there; In the house of Ashkelon they shall lie down at the evening, For the Lord their God will intervene for them and return their captives Zephaniah 2:7  Today as I read that verse from the Bible, God indeed spoke to my heart and peace flooded my soul that I am where I am supposed to be and that God has fed me here and blessed and intervened on my behalf many, many times and He will indeed do the same for you!  God bless you dear friend as you seek to live out your life for him and be nourished by HIS GOODNESS AND LOVE!  

The Trousseau.....

 ~Tablecloth and twelve matching napkins purchased at an antique sale~

Blessed to have my own initial!

Sheets, tablecloths, napkins and pillowcases all carefully folded and squarely stacked have long been cherished possessions of a young Bride!  In times past, this beautiful gift for a young woman was part of her trousseau given to her over the years leading up to her wedding day.


Today the focus has shifted to the actual day of the wedding and the ceremony but in times past the focus was on the life after the day of the wedding and providing the young bride with the many items she would need to establish her home.  The armoire would be filled with household linens prepared years in advance with embroidered and monogramming of the future spouses' initials.  Linen was richly symbolic, conveying above all the wealth to be displayed before guests.


"Isabelle of France received her trousseau at the age of seven, when she was promised to marriage to Richard II of England.  It contained fourteen pairs of sheets, a dozen large cloths, two dozen smaller cloths, and several colored bedspreads in velvet and satin." according to The Book of Fine Linen.    


My own grandmother filled my wedding trousseau with lovely sheets and linens and continued to gift me with tablecloths and linen napkins she purchased at antique auctions and sales in the community in which she lived.  She was wise and giving.  I am blessed that she made me a priority in her life and I have tried to carry on the tradition and make my own daughters my priority and hope they will carry this tradition on with their daughters.  The linens that I have, I enjoy sharing as I prepare a table setting for dinner.  The monogrammed napkins and tablecloths are treasures for sure but sharing them and using them is what my grandmother instilled in me.  The photos above are of different times that I have dressed my table for dining.  I rarely buy anything new......of course flowers and candles......always.  Beautiful flowers and candles create the ambience that I am hoping for!


Anything of value takes time in our lives.  It can be a simple desire to learn to hand stitch a monogram.  Life has to slow down for this to happen.  We have to be at home more.  Something magnificent happens when we cherish what is truly important in life.  People are calmer, kinder, happier, and closer.  People become a family!  Life is fun once again......laughter is in the walls!


Enjoy those that God has entrusted into your care and may your daughters (and sons) trousseau be filled!

Happy Birthday.....Luke and Isabel!

~Halloween 2010~

Buzz and Snow White

 ~Easter Sunday 2010~

I loved them in these little outfits!

Luke has on the outfit his Daddy wore when he was a little boy.

Isabel's outfit matched her coloring so beautifully!

 ~Just a happy boy~

 ~Just a happy girl~

~The love they have for one another is very special~

Three years ago today........I remember so vividly.......going in and out of the room at the hospital where our daughter and her husband were about to be blessed with the birth of their twins!  We were all there, waiting and encouraging them and so  very happy!  As the day progressed and on into the evening it looked as though they would be born before midnight!  Joy erupted!!!!   I will never forgot the sheer happiness and tears in the room when we were finally able to see them in Kacie's arms.  She was blessed with such a wonderful team of doctors and nurses who were supportive and encouraging.  They were wise.  The first moments after birth are so important.  I will never forgot the calm in which she embraced the babies!  Good thing she was calm because we were ready to PARTY!!!!   Josh is the most amazing Dad and Kacie is the most amazing Mother.  Luke and Isabel are truly blessed.  These three years have been the most happiest of any of our lives!  The blessings continue.........


Thanking God today for these special gifts to Kacie and Josh of Luke and Isabel!  Happy Birthday sweet children!!!!  I love you!  Nina


My prayer~Mighty God, thank You so much for Luke and Isabel.  Thank you for their sweet and beautiful spirits, their smiles, their faces, their features, their hands, their bodies, their minds, their parents.  Bless them and protect them and nurture their child~like spirits as they soak up daily all that YOU have for them.  Write Your love letter on their hearts so that all who read their love letters will see and understand that they truly are a gift to the world!   I pray that YOU will use them in a mighty way in Your Kingdom for their generation. We entrust them to you all the days of their lives......In Jesus Name, Amen!

French Linens........beautifully designed!

I enjoy a beautiful book.  Okay, I love a beautiful book!  I am a visual person so the beauty of the cover of a book invites me to open it and enjoy the bountiful resources within!  I enjoy listening to someone who has something valuable to share and so the experience of reading a good book is like the experience of a good conversation. Since I enjoy sewing and love the beauty and feel of fabrics, the above book by French author Francoise de Bonneville, THE BOOK OF FINE LINEN caught my eye a few years ago on a holiday visit  with my daughter, Kacie, when she was living in Key Biscayne, Florida.   The book weaves the story of linen and how fragments of linen fabric that are magnificent on the bolt are embraced by a seamstress and brought to life with the greatest of accomplishment and skill!  The stitches and embroidered monograms are skillfully and beautifully detailed until the fragments become much sought after "fine linens".  Batiste, embroidery, lawn, and lace have always fascinated me and others who share a passion for sewing and creating beautiful treasures for others to enjoy!  Over time linens become fragile from use and from cleaning so today "antique linens" are a much sought after treasure in antique markets and boutiques.  I enjoy searching a market for a treasure and if I am fortunate and find a linen piece then it is BLISS!  If it is fragile, I know I can bring it back to life!


Life is fragile too.  Life can become fragmented.......broken, it may seem, into pieces.  Brokenness is not always visable to the eye.  A wise and trusted friend takes the time to see....to listen....to care......truly care.  Sort of like the handling of this fine linen, handled correctly and in tender ways, the treasured piece can be brought back to life and the stains once visible can be washed away.  Such joy emerges!  Joy is that sense that says.....all in the world is going to be all right.  A person with JOY approaches each day and circumstance in child-like trust.  They do not loose this spirit of joy when things are fragmented in their lives.  They possess an underlying peace that God is in control.  "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands."  Psalm 138:8  God has a beautiful plan for every life no matter how many fragments a life has been broken into, or stained, or used.   His plan is to take the discarded and fragmented pieces and place them all in His loving hands so that He can finish and accomplish, and perfect His work in a life.  He continues this glorious work until it is absolutely and completely a masterpiece!  After all, God has a purpose in the fragments that remain too......."Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost."  John 6:12  God does not waste one experience in our lives......ever!    When He finishes, you will have a  beautiful monogram all your own treasured by those in your life!  

Children are a Gift......

One of the most joyful days for a mother is the day that her child or children are born.  Children embody everything that tomorrow should be~alive, alert, capable, and ardently in love with God and everybody! The children gifted to be born to Believing mothers are doubly blessed!  These children grow up knowing they are loved by their parents and God.  Babies bring surprise, renewal, and the chance to make things right in our own vision of what childhood can be.  Sure there are unknowns to a new mother but a mother who is a Believer in God knows that she can gently bow her head and thank God for the beautiful gift of a child.  She can ask for wisdom to take care of him or her and help in knowing how to honor the life that God has so graciously entrusted to her.  A young mother doesn't really think much at first how the choices that she makes when her baby is young will ultimately affect the rest of their lives.  I had no idea how much I would laugh and cry and need to depend upon God for this wisdom.  He so graciously and liberally gives us this wisdom when we take the time to ask!  I have even asked forgiveness for trying to mold my children into what I thought they should be.  How wise God is to allow me now to see that the personalities, the talents, and the brilliance of their minds were all fitting together for a pattern of HIS design!  My own children made their own choices and I am grateful for most of the choices they did make for themselves for they are so fun to be around and  to be with today.  Yes, there have been shock waves that got my attention but more than anything these shock waves opened my own eyes to see and accept others for who they were, not what I thought they should be.  The Lord taught me about life and love with a more advance course in giving than I could have ever received from a book or "lesson".   Mothers are uniquely equipped to spot needs and to sense the right ways to meet them.  Godly mothers are building the remnant of the next generation of Believers.  I am so glad God entrusted this responsibility to me five times!

Now...... the next generation of mothers is being entrusted to my daughters and other young women of the present generation.  God has such special plans for these little gifts!  Tomorrow our precious grandson, Clay, will be turning nine.  He is a special child to us all.  Everyday that we have been able to spend with him has been valuable to him and to us.  He has such a sweet, kind spirit.  He loves LEGO's, laughter, movies, reading, his PSP, music and his ipod,  his family and friends.  He is a people person.  He enjoys being around his friends and doing nice things for other people.  I know God has a wonderful plan for his life! 

On Saturday, we will be celebrating the birthdays of our beautiful twin grandchildren Luke and Isabel with their parents.   They are a priceless gift!  Their smiles and laughter light up our lives with joy everyday!  They were born beautiful and healthy!  Luke was born first and a few minutes later Isabel entered the world!  I don't think I could have imagined the magnitude of their birth and the blessings that would come with them.  God entrusted our daughter and son in law with such a special gift on the day they were born.  Seeing them hold their babies, the calmness with how they handled them as infants and now as three year olds is amazing.  My children all came as single births so I had no idea the work and effort that would go into each moment of my daughter's day as a mother of twins.  She handles every situation with joy and much love!  Her children already "rise up and bless her" each day.  They have their own little language, friendship, and special moments that come from sharing everyday of their life together.  Everyday seems to be a party for them!  

Children's Birthday parties are a celebration of their lives!  The gift that they are AND the enormous hope of tomorrow fills my own heart to overflowing capacity and with much joy!   Today, I am  humbly reminded once again that a mother leaves a lasting legacy upon her children. I wish Clay, Luke, and Isabel many more beautiful birthdays!!!!!  

~This sweet little Birthday party was one I attended as a child

I am the one on the left second row back.  As a child, I remember looking at 

this picture often and thought it looked like a perfect party!~

 ~Clay with his LEGO fire truck~

~Luke and Isabel  with their "Nina" in their Jessie and Woody Hats from Toy Story~

Happy Sunday!

HAPPY SUNDAY!  When you are a child.........the world is full of possibility and hope!  The glorious words of the Bible say......"Eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  I Corinthians 2:9

I had no idea all that God had prepared for me through these precious grandchildren!  I am so very thankful for them and for their lives......their parents are assuring them that they are loved.

What a glory to God they are!  Enjoy those you can touch!