This was the assignment I had as a child at the beginning of several school years. As an adult it reminds me of the Christmas letters I receive from friends, telling me all that happened in their lives over the previous year.

Welp. I know it has been a while since I’ve posted a blog, especially considering that I used to be fairly consistent with them. So, I thought I’d spend some time catching everyone up with what’s been happening here with me.

No new paintings! My last major painting is still Masquerade, although I’m thinking of painting my 17 year old cat, Bubu, sweet boy!

BOOKS, let’s see, here’s a list of books I read or am in process of reading over the summer:

• “The Parables“, by Douglas D. Webster
• “The Unshakeable Kingdom and the Unchanging Person“, by E. Stanley Jones
• “Don’t Waste Your Sorrows” and “Destined for the Throne“, by Paul E. Billheimer
• “Hearing Love” daily devotional, by Char Reid

I would recommend every single one of them so if you have any questions, feel free to ask! In my opinion, these are the kind of books you want to get out and re-read from time to time. Very grounding! I had the pleasure over the summer of helping Char get her second edition of Hearing Love ready for publishing. It should be released soon!

I also celebrated 22 years of marriage in July with my husband and gift from God, Uwe. How life changing and life giving our relationship has been, and I am so grateful for him. We spent this anniversary in Estes Park, Colorado. You may recall from “Ladies and Gentlemen, the Milky Way” that he is a night sky photographer. Here is one of his photos from our anniversary trip, from Lake Irene in Rocky Mountain National Park:

Most of my late summer (other than my day job) has been spent in preparation for a six week series titled “Mysteries of the Kingdom”, where I am part of a teaching team that will be presenting six parables of Jesus. I knocked out a couple of blogs about two of them early on, but to be honest with you the Lord has really done a beautiful work in me, not only through the parables but also just as a privilege of being part of this very special team of ladies. The parables I blogged about some months ago may have kept a few characteristics but have shaped into something I pray has become much richer. The series has already started and runs once a week until October 15th. I so believe they are a timely message for the ladies in our community, and can’t wait to see what the Lord does among us through them!

So… what has the Lord been speaking to me and working in me most over the summer? Well, it has to do with the word shift. I’m hoping I may have a bit more time for blogging now and so anticipate this may become one of them. Here’s a sneak peak:

A Shift in

• The way I think
• The way I pray
• The way I see others
• A shift in the atmosphere around me
• Shifting gears, from low to high

“His voice can lift and shift us if we will just take the time to hear it”. – Liz Holt

Quietness of soul and the power of unity

• When we pray: He takes action
• When we pray: He moves us to action

“The content of all true prayer originates in the heart of God. So it is he who inspires the prayer in the heart of the human beings, and the answer to every God-inspired petition is already prepared before the prayer is uttered. When we are convinced of this, then faith for the answer is easy – far easier than it would be otherwise.” – Paul Billheimer

Now that you’ve read about how I spent my summer, how did you spend yours?