do you love coffee?

 I'm pretty sure many of you love coffee in the morning... 

as do I.

But, how many of you have coffee that LOVES YOU??

(see photo of my hot water pot below)

“Come, let us drink our fill of love..."

~Proverbs 7:18 

(taken completely out of context, I know!! 

but tell me that didn't make you smile!)

His love will wipe away all our tears...

 Over the years since I began this blog, I've had friends send me photos of hearts they discover in their worlds.  I always love it when I see these reminders of God's love in our daily lives.  I especially love that others see them, too... and it's that much more special when they share them with me.

One of my friends has several daughters, and they love to send me photos of the hearts they discover.   The photo below is one the girls sent me awhile ago.   Unfortunately, on my cell phone's tiny screen, I couldn't tell what it actually was and had to ask...

only to discover it was... 

a roll of toilet paper!!!!

 They couldn't wait to send it to me, and it definitely made me smile!!  God uses the strangest things to speak to us, if we have eyes to see! 

...And the Lord GOD 

will wipe tears away from all faces... 

~Isaiah 25:8

ttmms...

Today I was at work enjoying a snack of raspberries and almonds.

I was happily munching along when this little character showed up...

Who, on earth, was this?

A strange little "person" whom I could possibly call

Mr. Raspberry...

or, perhaps, Little Orphan Almondine?

What a silly, happy little face--

I couldn't help but giggle every time I looked at it...

and, yes, even laugh out loud!

Yes, I do realize I have yet to grow up...

and to stop playing with my food...

but, tell me, what fun would THAT be?!

I like to think it's just a bit of that

"created in God's image" piece called

CREATIVITY

and

DELIGHT.

...yes, this is one of those

Things That Make Me Smile...
(go ahead...you can laugh at it, too!)

love, sweet love....

I was munching on some blueberries today, enjoying my day's supply of vitamins and antioxidants.... and look what I found!!!!

I do LOVE blueberries...
...and I think they LOVE me, too!!

(and tell me, how can that NOT make you smile?!)

celebrate the Sabbath...with a little humor...

This may be a bit unorthodox, as we don't normally think of the Sabbath being a humorous day or concept. But, I do believe our amazing God has a good sense of humor (let's remember the platypus and the anglerfish!), so I couldn't resist sharing this little "funny" today...

Sabbath -

a weekly festival having its origin

in the fact that God made the world in six days

and was arrested on the seventh.

~Ambrose Bierce

a fun way to end a year...

Can you believe it? This is my 365th consecutive post! For those of you who have persevered and plodded along this journey with me, I am grateful!. For those of you who have dropped in along the way, I am so glad!

I thought I would wrap up the year of blogging with a fun "God has such a great sense of humor" post starring a few delightful food items which have crossed my path...

There's a great line in the movie "The Matrix" where they're all sitting at the table eating some highly nutritious runny grey glop that is their staple meal. One of the characters complains about it, and another character says something like "...vitamins, nutrients, everything a body needs." And yet, it's so very unappetizing in its greyness and goopy texture. It definitely doesn't look like something I'd want to eat every meal, day after day!

Isn't it wonderful that God has given us such a variety of foods to eat?! I mean, it could all just look the color and feel the texture of cooked oatmeal! Sort of blah and uninspiring! But, no! He gave us colors and shapes and textures... and even a few silly ones, too...

I present to you --for your enjoyment and entertainment and for God's glory--four of my favorite (non-heart-shaped) food discoveries...

a blue potato chip!!!

(courtesy of Jet Blue Airlines,

made from blue potatoes)

...on the table, next to and inside the 3rd box from the front--

SWAN GOURDS!!

(discovered at a farmer's market in Northern California)


RAINBOW CHARD!!

...and last, but most certainly NOT least--
what I like to call...

CUCUMBERS GONE WILD!!
(these crazy curly worm-looking cukes were grown
here in a front yard garden in southern CA!)

God truly is good at filling our days with delighful and fun things

if we can open our eyes to see...

lost in translation?

I love it when I find signs that are either unusual or a little "off"...

they tend to make me smile!

While I was in Georgia, as my nephews and I were traipsing up a long, steep hill on the way to an old castle high above the city of Tbilisi, we passed a work crew of men tearing up the road. There was a wonderful sign I saw doing its best to warn us of the potential danger in our path...

Love that Georgian writing... it's so beautiful and unusual...

and speaking of unusual...so was, I must admit, the translation into English!

Hmmm.... be sure to watch out for that WHOLE in the road! It's a deep one! :)

pure joy...

...pure joy!...

Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

"The LORD has done great things for them."

~Psalm 126:2

If you laugh a lot,

when you get older

your wrinkles will be in the right places.

~Andrew Mason

kissing toads...

I've been told that a girl has to kiss a lot of frogs to find her Handsome Prince...

Is that a volunteer I see?

Ummm...yeah. It looks like a toad to me...

...a toad with a purpose...

...and determination...

Hmmmm. I just don't know if I'm ready for this kind of a commitment...?

Pucker up??

Sunday brunch...

My last Sunday in Michigan, I went with my sister to her little country church. It was a small congregation but everyone was very warm and welcoming. It was a great message, and I enjoyed the service.

I loved that this was the view when we came out of the church after service: Just some happy country cows eating their Sunday brunch...

"Hey! Where's the champagne??!"

a quiet beach...in Michigan??

Whenever I go to visit my family in Michigan, I seem to have to see at least one of the Great Lakes. Maybe it's because I'm so used to living by the ocean... or maybe I just really like giant bodies of water across which one cannot see land. I usually end up taking a day trip drive with someone (most times my mom) to see Lake Michigan. (on my most recent trip I made it to the Lake twice!! and I accidently called it the ocean at least once--and was laughed at by my niece!)

On one visit, my mom and I drove to the lakeside city of Grand Haven. (I called it a coastal city and was once again laughed at by my niece!) Grand Haven is a wonderful little city that has a lighthouse that you can walk out to on a long cement walkway. If you squint and look through the sea wheat (or beach grass, or whatever it's called!) in the picture below, on the right side, you can see the lighthouse beacon tower at the far right, and a bit to the left of it, the little 'house' part of the lighthouse. (they're both bright red)

After photographing the scene above, I looked a bit further to the right, and what...?!!

Wait a minute!! I thought I was in Michigan!!

What the heck is THAT tree doing there?!?

Yes, THAT one!

The one with the fluffy green fronds instead of leaves!!

It IS a palm tree!

And I was being laughed at for calling it the coast and the ocean??

Hmmmm.

I had to investigate this strange appearance of a tropical tree growing on a beach in the Midwest...

Well, a palm tree it was indeed.

A REAL palm tree it was not.

But, someone was sure enjoying their tropical view

of Lake Michigan!

I enjoyed their creativity,

and definitely delighted in their sense of humor!

Whatever it takes to get that warm tropical feeling ...

You just gotta love it...

another blog-iversary!! #300

It's blog-iversary time again!! This is my 300th post! I can hardly believe it, but I have managed to post 300 consecutive days! And I think a few of you may have even read every post... if so, my compliments on your stick-to-it-iveness and my thanks for your interest and support! You've made this cyber adventure so very enjoyable!

I thought it would be appropriate to celebrate my blogiversay with a new heart find... not a rock or a fruit or a leaf this time. It's something quite different.

A few days ago, when I was in Michigan, my mom opened up a grocery bag she had carried into the house, and excitedly said, "Guess what I found?!" She pulled out a container of donut holes, and I responded with, "Donut holes!"

"Yes," she said. "But when I turned the container over, look at what I found on the bottom...."

Aha! A heart-shaped donut hole!!!!

I praised her heart-seeing skills and her great discovery! She said something about it not being the same as when I find them because for me it's a "God thing." My response to her was that I think it's ALWAYS a "God thing"...no matter who finds them! God delights in speaking to us in unusual and unique ways, and I believe it thrills Him when we can see His love in the details of life. These heart sightings are just one of those ways.

I think it's wonderful when we can help open others' eyes to see things differently... when we can encourage others to take delight in the details... when we can find joy in our daily lives. And, isn't that what this whole blogging thing is about anyway?! (I know it is for me!)

So, here's a little bit of sweet love for your day!

And thanks for hanging out with me!

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,

for He who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how we may

spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

Let us not give up meeting together...

but let us encourage one another..."

~Hebrews 10:23-25

lovin' my lunch at Burger King!

Today we were on a road-trip to Lake Michigan and stopped at Burger King for a bite to eat. I definitely found love in my lunch....

Mmmm hmmmm!

Lovin' my lunch!

eggs-actly how I like it!

This evening my mom and I had dinner with a friend at a pancake house. I didn't end up with pancakes; I decided to have eggs with biscuits and gravy. (please, let's not think about the cholesterol or fat content...this was just pure eating fun!)


My order included two eggs, and this is what my plate looked like when it arrived:

Ummmm.... I don't know about anyone else, but I believe I'm seeing FOUR eggs here!


When I started to ask about the eggs situation, the waitress, already anticipating the question, quickly said, "We only serve eggs with double yolks here!"


WOW! My favorite part and double the deliciosity!! (yes, I'm sure that is a word! if not, it should be!)


Just thought I would share the oddity of the day and my doubly-delightful dinner...eggsactly how I like my eggs!!

a steal of a deal...

This week I am with my family in the lovely state of Michigan... which is right now in the glorious state of spring!! So many beautiful flowering trees and an unbelievable amount of different shades of green! I, of course, am taking far too many photos as usual! (I am, however, only making short posts this week, as my mom's computer is dial-up and does not like to upload photos. I will have to share the loveliness with you all when I get home next weekend.)

But for now... one of my favorites so far this week:

Hmmmm.... 60% off or "free"??

Have a good week and many smiles!

things you DON'T want to see in your pool...

That's definitely something you don't want to find in your swimming pool!!

My friend is the President of her condo's Home Owner's Association, and she received a late night 911 call. When she listened to the message left on her voice mail, she discovered that one of the owners had seen a creature --a very large snake-- in the pool. They weren't sure... but it looked very real and more than a bit intimidating!

When I got to her house in the morning,

I found the following note in the elevator...

I love it...
Just one more of those things that make me smile!!
* * * * *
(but I do think they should have written: "fowling" the water!)
These are things that bring joy to my day!

things that make you go....wha'???

I was driving home from work one evening and came to this intersection. As you can see, the light was red, so I stopped. I was looking around while waiting for the light to turn green, and wait a minute!... WHAT IS THAT?? Do you see what I see??... up ahead on the right, peering out of the yard over the fence...??? It looks like a ... a... no, it couldn't be!... it looks like a DINOSAUR!!

The light turned green, so I had to start driving again...

Yes, I do believe it IS a dinosaur!! Look at it!! It looks like a T-Rex!!

Let's get a little closer...

Uh-oh! He's looking right at me!! I think he sees me!!
And, I don't think he looks too happy, either!
Or maybe that's just a big friendly toothy grin...??!

Yes, folks, that's right... it IS a dinosaur! (and not even at the tar pits!!)

Right here in our city!!

I wonder if there are any regulations about pet size here???