Before I get into the meat of this post, I wanted to address one of the blog issues I have been having. If you are a blogger and you have my blog imbedded in your sidebar blog roll, you have probably not been getting my blog post updates or been alerted when I publish a new post. Linda from Life and Linda so kindly helped me figure out this issue and told me you will need to insert this new feed into your blog roll in order to receive my posts:
I know it is quite late, but I wanted to praise God for a smilestone He allowed to happen on October 1, 2021. That day marked my Ten-Year Blogging Anniversary! How? I have no idea how time goes by so fast. I must be getting old because Mom always told me the older she got the faster time went!
A Happy Goodbye that has Dramatically Improved my Life
I don't know about anyone else, but it feels to me like the whole world has been turned upside down ~ and not in a good way.
"Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." I Thessalonians 5:11
Many of you already know my dear, sweet friend, Marilyn Moseley, who blogs at Mountaintop Spice. I'm not even sure how I came across Marilyn's blog several years ago, but I am eternally grateful to God for allowing our paths to intersect and for the precious gift of Marilyn's friendship.
On her beautiful blog, Marilyn shares her photography - some of the most amazing nature scenes I have ever seen, hands down. She is able to capture such unique demonstrations of the goodness of God through her camera lens, and her photos draw me in so much that I feel I am walking alongside her experiencing those moments in person. Honestly, she is one of the best nature photographers ever.
Recently, she started taking those breathtaking photos of hers and adding music to them, and sharing them on her YouTube channel. How grateful I am that she included our band, Mountain Hope,
"Hear my prayer, O Lord, and listen to my cry; do not be silent at my tears; for I am Your temporary guest, a sojourner like all my fathers. O look away from me, that I may smile and again know joy before I depart and am no more." Psalm 39:12,13 (Amplified Version - emphasis mine)
At the end and beginning of a year, I find that I am even more contemplative than I normally am, and I do a lot of deep thinking and mentally assess a lot of things about my current life. This January is no different. In fact, the older I get, the more sober-minded I become, as I realize another year of life has now been stored in the history books, never to be relived or altered. (Since the time I started this post, many days have passed, and now, here I find almost one full month of the new year has already passed!)
How serious this gift called life! Every day we are given is more precious than we could ever imagine. Every breath is invaluable. So many began 2021 never dreaming they would not live to see the beginning of 2022. How blessed we are to still be here, alive and breathing, and offered a new opportunity to fulfill the purpose God had in mind when He placed us here. It all goes by so fast, and I do not want to fail Him or waste one minute!
As I sought His face this morning, He began to bring to mind the countless people He has orchestrated to walk alongside me on life's highway ~ sojourners.
"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
Luke 2:11
I wish all of you a belated Merry Christmas and trust 2022 will be your most blessed, healthiest, and happiest year ever!
Oh, how I praise God that our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ was born on that first Christmas morning! My heart is so full of gratitude for God's many blessings to my family and me. Truly, I could never praise Him enough for the many prayers He has answered on our behalf - and not just prayers. So often, of late, He has given us the desires of our hearts for things that we didn't even pray for. He hears the cries of our hearts, even when those heart cries never make it into the form of words or prayers. He knows us intimately and sees the yearnings inside for things we don't feel like we should bother Him with.
In October 2015, I sat in a rocking chair on our front porch, crocheting, as I watched a beautiful sunset over the field across the road. Many burdens were weighing on me, and as I prayed, I said, "Lord, I want You to do something so big that we all three have to look at one another and say, 'Look what God just did!'" I had and still do have such a longing for Him to be glorified and exalted as He so deserves to be. Over six years and many life-altering changes later, that memory is still vivid in my mind, and looking back, I can recall a multitude of moments that my family and I have indeed, in awed amazement, said those very words to one another. "Look what God just did!"
"Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet: praise Him with the psaltery and harp. Praise Him with the timbrel and dance: praise Him with stringed instruments and organs. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals: praise Him upon the high sounding cymbals." Psalm 150:3-5
I am beyond grateful to God to announce that two very special friends and I started a band called Mountain Hope! We are an acoustic band that performs Gospel, bluegrass, folk, and old-timey, classic country music, with some humor comedy relief thrown in. This is the music I was raised on. Many a family gathering was spent singing these songs, and they bring back so many precious memories to me. We aren't perfect, nor do we claim to be, but we all love the music so very much and are passionate about what we are doing. For me, Mountain Hope is a dear gift from God—the fulfillment of a lifelong dream that started way back when I started singing tenor on "Amazing Grace" with Mom and Dad in the car at the age of three. I have absolutely loved to sing ever since and to have the opportunity to do music with these two guys is a truly cherished gift for which I am eternally grateful.
Zach started a YouTube channel to keep up with our music, and if you would like to hear us and be notified when Zach uploads new content, please consider subscribing here! And please feel free to share our music with others. We would be most grateful for your support!
To give you a sneak preview of what to expect, here is a video of us performing one of my all-time favorite songs ~ "My Tennessee Mountain Home" written by Dolly Parton. This song has always meant so much to me because even though I was not born in Tennessee, my Daddy was from Tennessee, and his love for the mountains and mountain music is such a huge part of my heritage and who I am and will always be. How I miss him! He would have loved being a part of what God is allowing Mountain Hope to do.
I hope you enjoy our music and it brings some downhome comfort your way!
Pat, Chuck, and Cheryl
May God richly bless each one of you and meet your every need.
"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8
I can't recall when or how I was introduced to the author I am interviewing today, but through our mutual blogging journeys, she and I have become friends. We have prayed for one another and supported one another along the way, and it is with a thankful heart that I share her Inner Views with you!
The
of
Martha Jane Orlando
Cheryl: Please tell us about your childhood. What was life like for you growing up?
Martha: When I reflect upon my childhood, the one word that comes to mind is idyllic. My dad and mom had a strong bond that was palpable and made my brother and I feel safe, even in the harrowing times of bomb drills, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. My brother, Bill, and I often played imaginary games with our collection of “Little Animals,” stuffed Steiff gifts given by parents and grandparents. We would create our own fantastical world with these iconic characters, one of whom, of course, was a squirrel. But the leader of this family of animals was Hootie, the wise old owl. He always had the answers when the others had questions. I truly believe to this day that our innocent role-playing led to the eventual creation of all the Old Ones in The Glade.
Cheryl: How has your walk with Jesus evolved over the years? What does He mean to you today?
