Apple Picking with You

One sunny August day,

not a cloud was in the sky.

We pulled into the apple farm,

We couldn’t pass it by.

A big red barn was to our left,

The wagons to our right.

The orchard in the distance,

Was such a glorious sight!

We paid the fee to harvest,

And headed for the gate.

We climbed aboard the wagon,

And settled in to wait.

The rumbling tractor’s engine throbbed.

The wagon lurched ahead,

And we continued on our quest

For Ginger Golds and Paula Reds.

The golden sun was climbing,

And chatter filled the air.

The wagon stopped, we clambered off.

People scurried here and there.

Heavy-laden boughs

Where sun-warmed apples hung,

Ready to be tasted.

They were tart-sweet on our tongues.

As you climbed and reached and picked,

I held the ladder still.

I reveled in the moment

As our basket, you did fill.

Basket full, we ambled,

Toward the wagon stop.

When enough of us were gathered,

On the wagon, we did hop.

Holding hands, we rode along.

The air was fragrant, crisp and clear.

I knew then, without a doubt,

That I would hold this memory dear.

More water, please

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” – John 4:13–14 NKJV

We have had a very warm August in East Tennessee.  Today I stepped outside and felt the intensity of the sun burning down on my T-shirt-clad shoulders. The only sounds were a few cicadas with enough energy left to call for a mate and one lone caw from a passing crow.

For a minute, I envisioned one of those scenes from an old Western movie. You know, the ones where a cowboy, out of water and staggering from the heat, sees a mirage in the distance.

It’s unbearably hot, and I can say that as someone who hails from Southwest Florida.  My gigantic cup beckons me to have another drink. As I take a swig of water, I’m mentally calculating how much more I should drink. Day after day, I drink and count, count and drink. It never ends.

Chilled lime drink with ice on a wooden garden table

My imagination then carries me to the well in Sychar, where Jesus spoke with a Samaritan woman who had come to draw water. She would drink that water and eventually need more, just as I do. She would return to the well again and again because physical thirst is never satisfied for long.

But Jesus offered her something different—water that would satisfy forever.

As I take another drink from my cup, I smile at the contrast. Tomorrow I’ll fill it again. And probably again after that. As long as I live in this body, there will always be another thirst to quench.

But the deepest thirst of my soul has already been satisfied.

Jesus offers living water, a spring within me that will never run dry. I don’t have to ration it, measure it, or wonder if I’ve had enough.

My body may keep saying, “More water, please.”

But my soul has found the Well.

Minor Details

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 This morning I woke up with a few things on my mind. […]

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Sourdough and Jesus

Steaming sourdough bread on wire rack with cast iron pot and oven mitt in background

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” – John 6:35 Today, before I ate my breakfast; organic, free-range eggs, and sourdough bread with real butter, I prayed over my food that I was doing […]

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Looking Up

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2 My husband loves to fish. He enjoys fishing from the shore, and here in […]

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Who Do You Look Like?

My cousin has an adorable little boy, Bennett, who looks just like his dad. Not long ago, at a family gathering, I overheard several people say things like, “He is the spitting image of his dad,” and “He sure does favor him.” We hear phrases like that often when a child strongly resembles a parent. […]

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Pointing Others to Joy

Curved road through green fields and flowering trees with hills in the background

“Don’t point.” We were taught this as children, and many of us have taught it to our own. I remember those tiny fingers and the excited, “Look, Mommy!” and the quiet hope that what they had spotted was a butterfly, a bird, or even the candy counter at the grocery store. Please, not another person. […]

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Seeing Clearly: Understanding 1 Corinthians 13:12

Eyeglasses resting on moss with small white flowers and green plants around in a forest

The author reflects on a morning spent outdoors without glasses, paralleling it to the spiritual concept of seeing “through a glass darkly.” Drawing from 1 Corinthians 13:12, they emphasize the limitations of understanding in life. However, there’s hope for clearer understanding in the future, highlighting love’s role in navigating uncertainty.

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Morning Glory: A Prayerful Journey of Heart and Soul

Today is a new morning, a new gift. Sitting on my back porch, the sunlight peeking through the trees from a serene blue sky, with a slight chill in the air, the day couldn’t be more peaceful or beautiful. The only sounds are birdsong and childish laughter from a nearby school playground. It’s a prayerful […]

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It’s Finished Again

There is something both familiar and entirely new about finishing a book. I remember the first time, the mix of excitement, uncertainty, and the quiet question in the back of my mind: Will this matter to anyone else the way it matters to me? And now, here I am again, holding something that began as […]

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