In the Heat

You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning;
my God turns my darkness into light.
With your help I can advance against a troop
with my God I can scale a wall.

As for God, his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD is flawless.
He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

For who is God besides the LORD ?
And who is the Rock except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength
and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
he enables me to stand on the heights.

He trains my hands for battle;
my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You give me your shield of victory,
and your right hand sustains me;
you stoop down to make me great.

You broaden the path beneath me,
so that my ankles do not turn.

Psalm 18: 28-36

August is typically the hottest month of the summer in So Cal, and this month has been particularly relentless. Temperatures have been 100 degrees and up. The heat has been turned up, in more ways than one, which is one reason I haven't posted lately. The editor for two columns that I write for suggested, and then allowed me to go on sabbatical until September, due to all the things that have been happening.

So that's it...I've been on an unplanned sabbatical.

It started with unusual losses. From the beginning of July until just last week, five close friends have lost family members, with two of my friends each losing more than one. It's been a time of memorial services and funerals. It's been very strange, and a bit overwhelming.

Not all the heat has been tragic. A lot of energy has been going towards ventures whose time for realization has finally come, and a lot of planning and executing has been, and is still being invested in that as well. There are several major things that have to be completed in the next few weeks. Prayers are needed!

The garden, for the most part, is doing well. I've been spending mornings in the pumpkin patch using natural methods to fight aphids and powdery mildew fungus, so that's been taking a bit of time, but the pumpkins are doing well. I'm trying to determine what type of pumpkins they are, as they don't seem to be growing to Jack O' lantern size. Their seeds came from a pumpkin about the size of a soccer ball, and so far these are about the size of grapefruits, and they're starting to turn orange. They could be sugar pumpkins ---the best kind for pies.

Zucchini is finally sprouting...Yaay!

Unfortunately, our grapes all dried up. We don't know what happened. One day they were fine and then checked a few days later, and they were all raisins. What a disappointment! The vine produces these wonderful sweet grapes, and this was the first year we were set to have a bounty of them, and now there's nothing. The corn hasn't fared well, either, with this heat wave.

Paid work for me has been scarce, and I still no contracts for anything...yet. But I know God is moving and something is about to break through.

I'm still focusing on miracles of the Bible, specifically those involving women. So I'll start back posting on that tomorrow!