When last we visited, I mentioned that my computer had not come back to life.  But in answer to many prayers (and with the help of a precious friend), appropriately enough for spring, the lovely thing has sprung back to life, and I was able to rescue and back up all my documents that I had been without for these few weeks.  Hallelujah!  We were able to boot from my Windows XP CD and run a complete scan with recovery and repair (chkdsk /r for you techno geeks out there).  This took almost 12 hours, but it did the trick and I seem to be fully operational again.  I am not, however, depending on that computer for all my needs at this point, as it may be on its last leg.   But I am very thankful to have rescued the files I needed.  Thanks to those of you who prayed, and now I have a much more serious prayer request.

I have a friend who is not yet 40, who has 4 beautiful children ranging in age from 5 to 14, and who is a pastor’s wife.  She has one of the most beautiful spirits of anyone I have ever known.  This week she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  It was a complete shock.  I won’t reveal her name, as I have not asked her permission to share it, but would you please lift her up in prayer that the Lord would bring complete healing.  Would you please pray for her precious family as she goes through surgery and treatments.  I pray that the Lord will bring Himself much glory through this. 

No my computer is not back to life.  But yesterday was such a grand reminder that this life is not all there is, that it quite put the rest of life right back into perspective.  Eternity is such a very long time, and this life is so very short.  There is so much for which to be thankful that computer woes just seem so insignificant.  God is amazing, and as I look around to see signs of new life budding from trees, from shrubs, and from small green stems it is apparent that He is once again “making all things new.”  When I look at a rose like the one here, I ask myself, “Could man have fashioned that?  Could that be an accident of nature?”  The color combinations are so pleasing to the eye, the scent so pleasing to the nose, the softness of its petals so pleasing to the touch… Could I have made that? Could it be an accident?  The only answer I can come up with is “no.”

But I think it is this very thing, His imaginative design and creative nature, that He has put deeply into each one of us… the desire to fashion beautiful things, to create, to design.  And in each of us that creativity manifests itself in different ways… for one it is with words, for someone else it is painting, for still another it is decorating, or the ability to speak eloquently about a beloved subject, or the skill to capture a beautiful image with photography, or the ability to design a computer program, or the aptitude to understand finances, or the passion to garden… but we all have that divine spark of creativity.  It just blows me away sometimes as I read blog after blog and each person’s giftedness comes shining through.  And if this world is as marvelously diverse and excitingly creative as it is, just imagine what the next will be like!  Resurrection…

Life is really full of seasons… highs and lows, ups and downs, and everything in between.  But God is God throughout them all.  He is, He was, and He will be.  Never changing, yet ever new.  Count on Him.  For everything.  All the time.  No matter how out of control life seems to be, He is in control.  He is a refuge, a tower of strength, a present help in time of trouble. 

It’s as if I have lain down in a green pasture somewhere and let the warmth of the sun wash over me.  Peace and joy… unspeakable… yet too wonderful not to speak about!  May you, too, experience the joy of resurrection as you ponder what it truly means.

Life is not perfect; we all know that.  But some days are so much less perfect than others.  Yesterday …well let’s just say I am glad it’s behind me …I think.  It was a bad day… I woke up with a migraine, which should have been some sort of sign.  The house was a wreck because it is spring break and we are trying to reorganize and clean.  Boxes, trash bags, and plastic storage bins everywhere.  And, dust and pollen everywhere.  And on top of all that, my computer — the one containing half my life, calendar, important e-mails, websites, etc. – (yes, the one the screen died on a month ago) has completely died… taking all my passwords, configurations, and files with it to the grave.  The “blue screen of death” death.  Can’t even boot up in “safe mode” death.  Can’t even boot with cd death.  Done.  Toast.  Less than 2 years old.  Dell.  Did I mention migraine?

I had backed up about 80% of the files on an external hard drive, but not my e-mail. So, I have spent the bulk of last night and this morning trying to recover all that I didn’t have written down in my notebook  — including about 12 e-mail accounts and their various configurations for Windows mail (yes, I have had to stoop to commandeering my son’s computer to receive e-mail).  What a headache… did I mention migraine?  Make that a double!

So I apologize in advance if I seem absent in the near future …but at least you’ll know why.  And any prayers you want to send my way for brain power to recall lost passwords, for computer miracles, for headache relief, etc., would be much appreciated.  

Romans 8:28  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  OK, Lord… I’m just going to have to trust You on this one.

Well, the spring articles for Charm & Grace are officially out and ready for your perusal.  I must say that this issue is the best yet, and I do hope you agree.  There is much beauty awaiting as we travel through gardens of England, the Cotswolds, and visit the home of C.S. Lewis.  There are lovely photographs from Paul Noah (you’re getting a sneak peek with the pink dogwood blossoms at left) in our Spring Fling article on organization.  Our recipes this season, with a nod to St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, are all about eating those “greens.”  And be sure to look at our Featured Finds to see my new “artwork only” website.  I’d love to know what you think!  All in all, this issue is sure to fill you with thoughts of spring and all its wonders.  Come on over to Charm & Grace, and make yourself at home.

As for the archive meme, Bebe from the beautiful and inspiring Peaches and Dreams has tagged me with this interesting challenge.  So here goes:

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone has written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better….and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

1. Family:  We, as a family, have so much fun traveling together… we really love to go to historical places like battlefields and museums and find ourselves making excuses to go new places just so that we can do that.  But, the one place we are absolutely NUTS over is Walt Disney World.  We have been every year for the past several years and these past couple of years have spent 10 days soaking in all the pixie dust we could handle.  When it comes to Disney, we just lose all sense of moderation.  We have found ourselves saying, “There’s no way we’ll go back to WDW this year,” and then around September we begin to eat our words.    There are a couple of blog posts that give a hint about that here.

2.  Friends:  I have some wonderful friends, and a lot of them I have made since I started this blogging thing.  I still feel very new at blogging, as I haven’t even been at it a year yet, but I really enjoy the relationships I have made through this crazy e-world.  And as it relates to friends, I have recently had the opportunity to draw houses for two very special friends, Valery and Lisa.  And that has been an unimaginable blessing!  I have shared those two sketches with you here.

3.  Myself:  This is the hard one, since I really can’t ever think of very much to say about myself (I wonder what that says about me…)  Anyway, since I just completed a meme challenge where I told seven random facts about myself… here… I’ll just let that do the talking.

4.  Something I love:  Well, I love all kinds of things… all the things that are charming and graceful (of course!)  And, I love so many people… my hubby, my children, my mom, dad, mom-in-love, dad-in-love, step-dad, extended family, …and my friends.  But most of all I love Jesus, and without Him I wouldn’t be where I am right now.  I wouldn’t have the family and extended family and wonderful friends… and I wouldn’t have even the “things” that I do.  I love Him for loving me first, even when I was unlovable, and for making it easy for me to know Him, even though it meant torture for Him.

5.  Anything:  This one is easy …for any of you who have been reading here long, you know that one of my favorite things is Victoria Magazine, published initially by Hearst Corp. from 1987 through 2003.  Having subscribed to the original from 1987 through 1999, I have kept every one of my original copies through six moves.  And, thanks to Ebay, I have even added to the collection some of those I was missing from the years after my subscription ended.  It really was and continues to be the inspiration behind the Charm & Grace web magazine.  Every month I looked forward to getting my issue because (largely thanks to Nancy Lindemeyer and some of the most excellent photographers in the world) I knew it would be filled with beauty throughout its pages, in both images and words.  And now, we are very fortunate that Hoffman Media has given us the gift of bringing Victoria back to us.

And now I must look around and see who I can find to tag.  How about….

Lorrie at Fabric, Paper, Thread (getting you back, girlfriend )

Rebekka at Maple Sugar (yummy deliciousness …yes, that is a word)

Clare at Vintage Home (because I am fascinated by all things English!)

Just so you know, girls, this is a no obligation tag.  Since I just did a meme and tagged others, I am going to leave it at three.  But if there are others out there who want to do the meme… please do and leave a comment here.  I promise I will come look and read!

Happy spring!!!

Well, spring is almost upon us… so I thought it was time to give Charm & Grace a fresh new floral bouquet.  I hope you like it.  I am busily working on the upcoming articles for the spring issue of Charm & Grace, so I thought I’d give you a bit of a teaser.

We will have features on flowers (of course) and some lovely photos of England.  We will see what April has to do with springtime.   You’re in store for a lovely “Gardens of the Web” feature… just in time for that first burst of color.  Discover why we’re having a spring fling… and much more.  I hope to have the articles out by next week, so stay tuned.  I promise you’ll be the first to know!

The new life that is all around is such a vivid reminder of what God does in us.  Rebirth, renewal, cleansing… all things that spring, with its freshness, beckons us to remember.  What a glorious time of year spring is (but, then again, aren’t they all!)