Broken

It isn't really worth much.

It's just a cheap ceramic mug purchased from Goodwill, made in China.
I look forward to getting it out and drinking from it every fall.
I think it's pretty and I really like the design.
And it holds a lot of of coffee! :)
~
One day a couple of weeks ago, I found it broken in my dishwasher.

I was going to throw it away...but then...



...super glue to the rescue!

It looks as good as new, right?
But if you look closely, you can see the cracks where it was mended.



Even after gluing it back together, I'm kind of afraid to use it now.
Funny thing is, it's probably stronger now than it was prior to the gluing.
 It actually does seem sturdy enough...
...but I have this image in my head of putting it to my lips...
...full of hot coffee...
...and the handle letting go.
~
I still consider it to be pretty fragile.
~
So what happens when people get broken?
Where is the super glue for them?
Sometimes they are broken beyond repair...or so it seems.
~
I am experiencing brokenness this week.
It's actually not me, quite so much...
...I know where to find the Super Glue that has put me back together more than once.
He goes by the name of Jesus.
~
Yesterday, Jim and I drove our oldest to a long-term Christ-based drug/alcohol treatment center.
He has been fighting his addiction to alcohol for half his life.
We pray that the next 8 months will help undo some of what the last 18 years have done...
to his mind...
to his spirit...
to his body...
to his very soul.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
~Psalm 34:18

Right now, he seems broken beyond repair.
Oh...but I know better!
He has a long road ahead to becoming whole and he will always have some cracks...
...cracks that will allow the addiction to seep back in... if he doesn't apply the glue.
The Super Glue.
And on a regular basis.
~
As with the broken coffee mug, it will be hard to trust that he can hold together...
...and to be able to contain everything that his life hands him...
...when the stresses of the day-to-day press down on him...
...those days when when he faces disappointments.
And those days will come.
He will be fragile for a long time, possibly for the rest of his life.
~
I pondered deeply whether or not to share this on my blog.
I would never want to exploit him or his issue in any way, at any cost.
But I have found through this network of blogging sisters,
I feel comfortable enough, knowing that you who are believers, will pray for him.
 ~
Prayer is a powerful thing, my friends.
 Thank you in advance for your prayers for Aaron.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 
~Colossians 1:17 

Sharing at:
Spiritual Sundays

November Neutrals

Can you believe that November is upon us already?

The year has just flown by, don't you agree?

Although it's fading fast, we still have some pretty color in a few places.

It's kind of a let-down when the bright fall colors have all but faded away.

 

But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder...

...and my eye(s) recently beheld some beauty in various lovely neutral tones.
I was going to title my post "50 Shades of Neutral"...

...but I didn't :)
~
These photos are from my road less traveled on Saturday morning.

The sun was still low in the sky, creating halo-like effects on everything it touched.
~
They say that every picture tells a story.

Well, in the photo below, I see a tall, long beaked bird whispering a secret.

(or he could have been yelling at another bird...who knows?)

No, I'm not losing my marbles...you see it too, right?

Please tell me you do.

The morning dew sparkled like glistening diamonds on these fuzzy lovelies.

Who needs color, anyway?

Okay.....I do.....but I still think these neutrals are glorious!



And speaking of color, I guess you could consider these milkweed pods color...

...BUT...olive green is actually considered a neutral in the fashion world :)

I liked how this black-ish grass added a nice contrast.

 

The fields are full of these beautiful neutrals...

...and they are often so easily overlooked due to their lack of color.

But doesn't it strike a wonderful balance?

I think so.

~

So whether your first week of November is full of color or kinda neutral,

enjoy it it...either way is all good!

Sharing at:

Mosaic Monday

Grace at Home

The Fences at Cedarock

Sometimes I just have to shake my head and wonder why...

...why has it taken me so long to visit this beautiful place?

Especially since it is basically right under my nose...

...in the same county where I live...

...less than 20 miles from home.

~

It's been on my list of places to visit and I surely didn't know what I was missing.

And talk about good fences...well, this place is loaded with them!

So I'm sharing them today at Theresa's Good Fences link-up.

 

 

This is what you see as you turn in to the entryway of Cedarock Park.

 

 

It was early last Friday morning and I was coming down with a cold.

My head was so congested and I needed to breath in some fresh air.

So off I went, camera in tow, arriving there before 8:00 AM.

 

I pretty much had the place to myself except for a woman who came to walk her five dogs.

 

These two sweeties greeted me as I walked over to the Garrett Historical Farm, just inside the park.

They seemed quite glad to see me, assuming I had a treat for them, no doubt.

 

They cracked me up as one tried to eat the fence while the other was biting it's nose!

This little game went on for a few minutes.

 

They were the size of horses but I soon realized they weren't...exactly.

As I turned my back, I heard one of them "heehaw".
I am no expert on farm animals but I knew they weren't your typical run-of-the-mill donkey.

I did a little research and I think they must be a type of hybrid mules.

Regardless of their number of chromosomes, they were beautiful animals and quite entertaining!



It didn't take long to decide that I really would like to live here :)
 

 

Just going to let the photos speak for themselves...

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

After leaving the farm area, I walked down the road a ways until I heard water rushing.

I knew that there was a falls somewhere and my ears lead me right to it.



It was only a trickle compared to a picture I had seen of it on the website.

 

A few weeks back when we had all of that rain,

I heard that the falls was running full force, clear across the dam.

So after a few more shots...

 

...it was time to head back...

 

 

...snapping a few more as I walked along the path.

 

 

I couldn't believe that two hours had passed and I was still able to breath through my nostrils!

 

 

Snap, snap, snap...as I made my way back up to the entrance.

The bright morning sun seemed to be setting the trees on fire.

 

...snap...snap...just one more :)

 

Back to my car and back down the fence-lined driveway toward home.

Immediately, my sinuses became clogged again.

I was miserable the rest of the day.

But it was so worth it :)