My sons call me Mama.  And yes, I do pray – for them, and for their sister, and for my son and daughter in law, and grandchildren, and for anyone else who needs it or asks for it. One of them suggested the name for this blog. It’s from the lyric to a great Randy Travis song.

I am a middle aged American Christian woman, just trying to learn and grow and figure out what God wants me to do with the time I’ve been given. I have strong feelings about using this time well, at least partially because in addition to being a mother and grandmother and staff member at a very large mainline denominational church, I am a breast cancer survivor. When something like cancer enters your life, the cliche is true. You look at the time you have on this earth and think about quality and time well spent.

I love words.  I like to read them, and write them, and use them to share what I’ve learned. That’s what I want to do with this blog.  I’ve also recently begun to look at pictures in a different way, exploring the practice of Visio Divina, or holy seeing – a way to use photography as a prayer tool, so I share words and pictures together sometimes.

I don’t always live this way, but I would like to live like this:

I am no longer my own, but thine.

Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee,

exalted for thee or brought low for thee.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
thou art mine, and I am thine.

So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

                            – John Wesley