‘Tis the season for fresh strawberries and boy did I find the freshest, most tastiest strawberries on the planet!  There is nothing better than fresh, locally grown fruit and veggies to brighten your day.

I stopped at a local farm stand on Route 31 in Baldwinsville, NY.  I sure would like to mention them but I don’t know the name and I cannot seem to find a website.  I think it’s called the Country Market.  Anyway they had a great selection of super fresh fruits and veggies.  I thought about using my delectable find to create a fruit inspired, decadent hand and body lotion but the more I thought about it the more I ate.  Sorry. 

And check out these super looking beefsteak tomatoes grown in Rochester, NY.  Wow!  They are early in the season but they are so juicy and sweet.

Best way to eat these babies is slice ‘em up thick and sprinkle with Sea Salt.  Yummo!

These days we are all so busy!  We spend our days scurrying about trying to complete more tasks than are humanly possible.  Society needs to allow us time to just BE.  We need to take time out for our well being and especially for spending time with our children.

I remember when I was a kid and I belonged to my church Youth Group.  The pastor’s wife was the leader and she made it fun and interesting so that even as a young teenager I enjoyed going.  I remember one Sunday we went to a deserted beach area and just walked, talked and picked up cool rocks and driftwood.  I felt so at peace that day and she said it was very important that we get enough ‘down’ time.  Now I really understand what she means. Some days I feel like I’m just spinning out of control!

So in an effort to get some down time I took a tour through the country one Sunday afternoon over near Beaver Lake Nature Center in Baldwinsville, NY.  I love to just drive down a back road and see what I see and so I thought I would share my treasures with you.  Great pics don’t you think?

See the cow sleeping in front of the barn?  What a life…

Some Horses grazing in a field…

Smell the fresh country air?  Ahhh..  Breathe it in!

Sometimes our lives are seemingly destroyed by fierce storms.  The devastation seems unbearable and the destruction too great to repair.  It feels hopeless and we want to give up and most likely you feel poor in spirit and you are mourning.

If you have ever experienced a severe storm in your life then you need radical reconstruction.  God uses this time of destruction in our lives to bring us closer to him.  We must submit ourselves wholely to him and stop trying to control our own lives.  (Become Meek)

As we grow closer to Him we long for more.  We transform ourselves into completely different people.  We change the way we look at ourselves and at others.  We become peaceful and merciful.  Out with the old and in with a new.  A radical change that will bring us joy, peace and salvation.

“Rejoice and be glad, because you have a great reward waiting for you in Heaven.” Matthew 5:12

It’s really tough to know how to move forward when it feels like your whole world has been shattered.  I recently have experienced great loss in my life and up until now I was living in a false sense of reality…a happy little bubble you might say.  I now realize more than ever that in a instant our lives can change forever and all that we know and hold dear can be taken away from us without so much as a blink of an eye.  One thing I have learned is that life is not about us.. it is not about what we possess or where we work, what kind of house we live in or car we drive.  It is about service.  We are here to serve others, not ourselves.  If we live to serve and do what we can to help others we will live a full life.  We must forgive those who wrong us somehow even when it seems like the last thing that you want to do.

The Bible says this about Forgiveness:

But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again’ and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest:  for He is kind unto the thankful and to the evil.

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:  condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:  Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.  Luke 6:35-38 NIV.

Trying to pick up the pieces of my broken heart, my broken life…will be the hardest thing I will ever do… but I rely on Him for strength…  He is my rock.

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills- from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the LORD .” (Psalm 121:1-2a)