What wilt thou that I shall do to thee?”

And he said, “Lord, that I may see.”

Luke 18:41

Okay, let’s admit it—how many of you looked at the date today and felt the faintest of shivers travel your spine? Friday the 13th, the high holy day in the religion of superstition—to some, not the best day to embark on anything new, apply for a job, buy a car or take a trip. And yet, it’s just another day, one whose importance is based on our perspective and how we see it. Not at all cracked up to be what it’s supposed to be.

Kinda like that seven-layer cake I used to drool over in the school cafeteria at Cor Jesu (pronounced Cory-yay-zoo), the all-girl’s high school I attended from ages 14 to 18. You know, the one that most boys back then couldn’t resist asking: “What zoo?” Well, you see, there was this incredibly amazing cake they would serve periodically, purchased from a local bakery, and it was white cake (my favorite!) ribboned with seven layers of the most scrumptious-looking chocolate icing you ever saw. I swear, one glance and my mouth was watering just to look at it, quite sure it would be the most heavenly confection that ever slid across my tongue. I remember that it cost $.50, which back then was a fortune, but I would literally ration several day’s worth of lunch money just to have that cake. I hurried back to the table where my friends sat, drool pooling in my mouth and eyes fixed on that piece of cake. No sooner had the tray hit the table and I was diving in. Ah, sheer heaven, ah ambrosia, ah … dark chocolate???

Dear Lord, how I hate dark chocolate!! One bite and my mouth would pucker and my tongue go sour, the ecstasy of white cake completely ruined by that dark, nasty stuff that may as well been liquid chaw. “Here,” I said to my table of friends, nose scrunched as I pushed the cake plate away, “anybody want this?” Sad, huh? Nope. The real sad thing here was that I purchased that same piece of cake at least four other times during the course of my high school years, quite certain that “this time” it would taste as good as it looked. What a dope, because of course it never did. Why? Because looks are deceiving and even when they aren’t, the things we strive for in this world, good or bad, cannot satisfy our hunger for more, are not capable of giving us that joy that only God can.

When asked by Jesus what he wanted him to do for him, the blind man said, “Lord, that I may see,” and that’s my prayer for each of us this week—“Lord, let us see Your goodness and love instead of our trials and burdens, let us see the glass completely full rather than half empty, let us soar to the sky instead of wallow in mud. To focus on the blessings instead of the curse and to see Friday the 13th for what it truly is—a gift from God to live for Him and only Him with a heart overflowing with gratitude.

Speaking of gratitude, I am three quarters of the way through the VERY LAST scene of book 1 of The Cousins McClare, working title Dare to Dream. A mere one to two pages from finishing and meeting my goal to shorten the page count on this new series, coming in at about 112,000 words versus my usual 170,000 that I tallied on each of my last three books, so YAY!!

And to sweeten my week even more, I got to babysit for my sweet three-month-old granddaughter Rory, so I thought it would be fun to give you a Rory update. She’s smiling a lot more now and would you believe Keith and I actually heard her giggle—yes, giggle—not once, but twice yesterday, completely illuminating our day!! So, here are some pictures to give you a sneak peek at my little peanut.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s to a FABULOUS weekend for each of us, and may we “see” our lives through spiritual eyes where God’s blessings abound in the work of our hands, the love of our family or in the sweet giggle of a little girl.

Hugs,

Julie