Category: grateful, nature

Americana- Off Shore Fishing With Dad

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Growing up and into my late 30’s we always took family vacations to the beach. When we did my dad, brothers and I would take a day trip with a Captained boat to go out and do some off shore fishing. My dad loved to fish and we often would catch the limit on about every fish we got into to. The last trip we took before my dad got where he could barely see and walk was on a boat called the Captain Stacy. We went out of Morehead City, NC into the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean about 25 miles off the coast of North Carolina.

My dad, two brothers and myself went on this trip. After about a three or four hour boat ride out into the Atlantic into 150-300 feet deep water we put our lines in and soon began to catch Dolphin (not flipper folks) but the actual fish called a Dolphin. We then got into some Amberjack which are big and strong and give one hell of a fight to get into the boat. We fished out the limit on both of those so we moved into some deeper water in search of some bigger game fish.

We put anchor down and suddenly things got hot again and we hit a school of Spanish and King Mackerel and hit the individual limit on both of them. I cannot remember I think it was like 5-7 per person and we had a good time tearing them up and getting them on board the boat. Mackerel is a bony fish that doesn’t eat that well so we gave them to the people who show up everyday at the local docks when the boats come in so they could eat them.

The day continued and we found ourselves surrounded by five or six other boats because we were hitting the fish hard and catching them like crazy on every cast. Other than a few that broke the line or fought off we tore them up that day. Late in the day before coming back in for the three hour return trip we hooked into a large shark. My dad fought it first and then one by one we took turns fighting that beast. It breached the water three times to let us get a hint of his size and power but we never could get it close to the boat.

The last time the shark jumped out of the water three hours later as it was still fighting the Captain got a good glimpse of it and determined based on his experience that we had hooked a 8-10 foot long Tiger Shark that likely weighed in the area of 400-600 pounds. He told us we would not get that thing on the boat and it was best to cut it loose and let it go. He also reminded us that it was getting late in the afternoon and we needed to head back before it got dark. The last thing he said was we really don’t want that full grown adult shark close to a 30 foot boat anyways.

It was big enough to pull the boat around and mean. One huge, lean, mean eating machine. So we cut the line and let it go. That shark won the battle that day as he proceeded to wear all of us out. One by one he kicked our butts and sent us packing and we are all healthy and strong men. My dad was older but was still a 6’4 340 pound mans man and the most experienced of us all and it wore him down also. Just as we were cutting the line my brother hooked a good size fish and as he was reeling it in and just as it was coming out of the water it got hit by another Tiger shark.

This one was not as big but was mean and about 6-7 feet long and he was a monster. He bit the 18 inch long fish in half and kicked his tail at us as to say better stay on that boat. As a kid I spent lots of time in the ocean playing, swimming and fishing for two weeks every summer. But that sunny day in July showed me a life lesson that we are humans and are meant to be on a boat and not in that water out there. We may be the ultimate predator on ground, but those big sharks are the rulers of the deep. They can have the deep water and I will stay my big butt right in the shallows where it belongs.

We lost dad in 2009 and man would I love to fight another big shark or just catch a few pond bass with him. One of these days we will fish again. Dad, thanks for the memories growing up at the beach. Thanks for teaching us how to fish, be men of faith and take care of our families like you did for so long. Happy fishing in Heaven dad!

Love, Hugs and Kisses in Heaven!

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Spirit Chronicles: Mom, Me and the Beach

I saw my mom last night in my sleep. My mom is one of my guardians and is very involved in my life from Heaven. She was a protector on Earth and continues to be one in Heaven. It had been a while since I saw her in my sleep but I feel her all the time almost daily. I have written many stories about my mom and her spiritual guidance she gives me and my family so you can browse my postings for more stories about her. One of our favorite places to go every summer when I was a boy all the way into my older teenage years was the beach.

We would go every summer to the beach down at Emerald Isle, NC and stay for two weeks. We stayed in a camper with my dad, mom and two brothers. We always stayed in a small campground called Bogue Inlet Park and it was right on the beach and beside a pier. I know this place like the back of my hand so I am 100% sure that is where I was at with her in this dream. I was a full grown man sitting in the beach sand near the water and was playing in the sand with a silver bowl that you would make a pie crust in. I was grown but also felt like I was just a boy and there was no one else on the beach.

The seas were calm and it was low tide and the water was way out there and the sand was not wet where I was sitting. I sat there and played in the sand as I would have as a child building sand castles and watching the tide rise and slowly melt them away as the water rolled over the structures I made steadily to eventually make it go away. I looked back and my mom was sitting in a chair back off the beach a ways just smiling at me as if she was enjoying our time together just she and I. I heard others talking but did not see anyone nearby so I smiled back and continued to play.

I stood up and she motioned for me to come to her and as I went near she stood up and started walking off the beach up the path. I followed since I assumed it was time to leave and go back to the camp site. As we topped the dunes I saw the people that I heard and they were sitting in the way of the small sandy trail as if to block it on purpose. A woman I did not know told me “you cannot leave” the beach right now you have to stay. I felt like she was not a nice person and the small girl beside her looked at me with a mean look and had dark eyes. This told me that they were demons and wanted me to stay on the beach with them.

I live in a constant battle between the two and the closer I get to God the more the demons mess with me because God has a master plan for me. My mom without saying a word looked at me and I knew to follow her. I am a big man and the only exit area was a small crease between the two people and their chairs. I was not afraid and frankly was ready for a fight with them. Mom motioned to follow her and she slid in between the chairs easily and I followed. The space was real small but I was able to bend myself to make it between and as we exited the beach sand the lady started mocking and laughing at us.

Mom looked at me and smiled which told me everything was going to be OK and I watched her walk off into the distance. I turned to look back and the beach was gone and the woman and her child. Mom was showing me that I cannot look back on life, live in regret or seek to change the past. I can only change the future by moving forward. God sent me a message the other night about “180” and not looking back in life. This reinforced my thoughts of living faithfully, hopefully and seeing what God has in store. I loved spending time on the beach with my mom last night and look forward to seeing her many more times.

Thank God for moms, angels, guardians and spiritual guidance that comes from Heaven. My blog is titled heavenly notices because of my mom and her presence in my life even after she has transitioned to heaven back in 2017.

Spirit Chronicles: The Escaped Murderer

Many years ago when I was in college my roommate and I were back in the mountains doing some Saturday morning trout fishing. We were down this long dirt road about seven miles off the main highway back in the woods working this little creek that had small but numerous brown and rainbow trout in it. We were having real good success and caught several big enough to keep and cook over a nice fire later that night. We were camping out in the area also just having fun and being college kids drinking some beer, chilling out and enjoying nature.

Later that night around midnight the two of us were joined by a couple of friends that had to work that day so the party got going pretty good as they came in with a re-supply of cold beer and some liquor also. As we were hanging out and having fun this tall skinny man about 6’5 and 170 pounds walked up to our remote campsite and began talking to us. He told us he lived in the area, but we were down there about every weekend and knew of no houses, cabins or homes within 10 miles of this remote out post we stayed at.

He told us he was doing some camping and that his car had broken down up the road a ways about a mile and he was just walking and hoping he would find someone in the area to get help. This is back when there were no cell phones and all you could do for help was use a telephone or drive for help. This triggered one of my friends to tell us that he did not see any cars as he drove into the site and the story was not adding up. We were very uncomfortable with the situation but felt protected because we had numbers with five of us versus one of him. I also had my 22 rifle and my roommate had his old single shot 12 gauge shotgun incase we encountered some type of wildlife we needed to protect ourselves from.

He told my roommate he needed a ride and his place was about another mile down the road or so back in the woods. We knew this was not true because the road ended a few hundred feet from where we were and it became a national forest trail leading to a series of waterfalls we would go dive and swim in. We tried to blow him off and get him to leave the area by pretending we were packing up to leave early the next day but he just hung around. He was wearing a long black coat with ragged jeans and cowboy hat. He was not clean shaven and smelled of liquor. That night I had a dream that someone got killed in the woods and saw people chasing me.

At the time I did not know my dreams were due to a gift I had and that it was a warning about what was going to happen. Spirit was telling me in a protective way to get away from him. One of my buddies tried to go to the car and the guy started acting paranoid asking what he was doing and where he was going. Being a young cocky guy my buddy told him to back off and that it was none his business what he was doing. That is when the guy opened his coat up like an old cowboy revealing his gun to another person. This guy showed us a long bladed knife and he made a comment that he had cut many “young punks” in his life and for all of us to shut up. We started to panic a little bit and realized this guy was not right in the head.

He went into the woods to pee so we came up with a plan to lure him into the truck and put him in the back of it for the ride. I would follow in my truck where my 22 rifle and the shotgun were at in case he tried to hurt someone. So we drank some more beer with him to let him see we were all cool. All the while we knew something was not right about this tall, lanky, creepy guy with a long knife. The next morning he asked us for a ride once again so we hatched out plan. Three of us would take him down the road towards the falls and the others would go for help in the nearest town.

He agreed to the ride and when he climbed in the back of the truck he pulled his blade out and out it on his lap. My roommates drove and rode in the front of the truck. I followed along behind him now with access to the guns we may need if he was to try something with us. We drove down to the end of the road and he jumped out of the truck and said my place is just down the road here a ways. We knew that was a lie and at this point figured out he had bad plans for us all. So my roommate jumped back in the truck and took off down the road with the guy running and hollering at them to stop and slung the knife at the truck striking the windshield.

I backed up and turned around and he ran towards my truck grabbing the passenger door and trying to open it. I floored it and that sent him flying onto the ground rolling down in the ditch a few feet away. My roommate had turned around and came flying up the road to get out of there also and drove by as he got to his feet. We left everything at the campsite and drove out of the woods to a small town seven miles away and called the sheriff. The sheriff deputy met us about hallway back into the woods to get a description and take a report.

None of us were in trouble as we were deemed to be defending ourselves during this process. He told us that the local park ranger had told him about a vagrant camp off in the woods somewhere they had to run people out of on a routine basis. So we drove back down, grabbed our gear and got back to school and decided until things cleared up not to go back down there. Two weeks later on the local news we say that man on television. He had been charged with attempted murder of two young college students using a knife. He was also known as an escaped fugitive that had been on the run for five years evading police by living back in the woods in a camp.

The guy was a convicted murderer that had escaped jail twice and was wanted for connection to several murders or attempted murders in various areas of the southern states. He was eventually caught and sent back to jail where he later died a few years later from a violent knife attack fight in prison. We escaped with our lives that day and had it not been for us just having a feeling that this guy was rotten to the core we probably would be dead now. All at the hands of the tall knife wielding murderer of that old mountain road.

I no know what my gift is and am figuring out how to interpret my dreams, visions and use my intuition better. Thankfully we survived this harrowing experience and I lived to tell another true story of the power of spirit and its battle of good versus evil. This man had an evil heart and wanted to take us with him and kill us. This story could end up a book or movie one day soon.

Americana: Fishing The Local Creek

Growing up my brothers and I fished in small creeks around our house. We never found that huge fish much bigger than a small mouth bass but seen lots of them swimming in the creeks. We would gather our poles and tackle box and ride our bikes down to the creek a mile or so away trying not to bust our butts and wreck the bike holding onto a rod and tackle box while driving the bike. The one creek we fished was down a steep hill and if you were not careful you would wipe out going down that hill (it happened to me more than once). We would arrive at the creek and climb under or over the old electric fence and on occasion get zapped by it. Worst thing was to get zapped if you were climbing over it and unfortunately that happened a few times.

The fence was up because Mr. Cecil had land all along the creek where his cows stayed and he allowed us to go fishing as long as we left the cows alone. I love cows and know they are sweet animals, but when they feel like you are threatening their little ones or a bull is around they will charge you and can mess you up. We would walk for miles fishing every little hole we could find and stop when we saw a fish move in the water and generally not catch them. Nothing more frustrating that dropping a big old earth worm right in front of a fish that is spawning and they just look at it. We just knew for sure we would catch them but the chase was fun and frustrating at the same time.

Miles of walking with an occasional stop to just get in the creek and take a swim in a hole a few feet deep and walk in the water kicking it on each other. We knew where the good swimming holes were but they changed with every storm depending on how much flooding happened and how much debris got washed down stream. We looked for fallen trees because that was where the bigger fish would lay and wait for small ones. The fish in creeks like to congregate around fallen trees and root systems. We caught some good catfish and sucker fish in those holes. We had to be on the look our for snakes also. Where I grew up we didn’t have cotton mouths but the copper heads and banded water snakes were mean rascals and would leave a mark for sure.

The most exciting thing we saw once was a big bull frog got caught by a copper head on one end and on the other was a king snake. That frog made the most awful noise I had ever heard in my life as the two snakes fought for that big old frog. The king snake won the battle when the copper head let go after being wrapped up by the six foot long king snake. The frog bit the dust (literally) and the the king snake went after the copper head and that was a heck of a fight also. I am thankful for Mr. Cecil allowing us to fish his small creek and spend time in the summer and fall just being boys. Getting into nature and finding creeks and rivers is in my blood now. I desire to have a home sitting on a river, creek or at least have a small brook running through the property.

Fishing small creeks and hanging out with my brothers and friends was some of the best memories of my life. Take care of small creeks, keep the clean and go explore them. You will be surprised how nice they are and the wildlife that supports it. Fish, deer, snakes, racoons, possums, foxes, bears, coyotes and even an occasional big foot might just be seen near a creek way back in the woods. The big foot is another story for another day!

Coach B!

Americana: Four Wheeling Fun, Family and Friends

The old saying is that money cannot buy you happiness. But it can buy you a four wheeler and everyone I know that has one rides with a smile on their faces. My wife and I bought new four wheelers last year and have had a great time riding them on the property. We go out every now and then and just go for a casual ride through the woods, on some trails and down the road. Four wheelers are relatively inexpensive and can be maintained with regular servicing at a local shop or dealership. The weather here in North Carolina today was awesome with 78 degrees and blue skies everywhere. So we jumped on the four wheelers and rode around for a few hours enjoying the weather and laughing at the dogs as they ran all over the yard trying to keep up with us.

We rode the trails, seen a couple of deer and a cow. Yes, we saw a rogue cow from the neighbors farm that likes to break out of the fence and roam our yard eating flowers and plants. We got him moving back towards his farm and went on our way running the dogs for another hour or so. I got a little mud on me also and the four wheeler needs a bath tomorrow when I get home from work. My daughter and her husband have four wheelers and come over and we ride all summer long, especially on Saturdays. I have heard about a few small towns in West Virginia where you can camp and ride your four wheeler around town and all through the woods so that is now on our to do list of places to go and enjoy.

Four wheeling allows you to relax, laugh, get dirty and just have some clean fun. Four wheeling allows you to spend quality time with your family and friends. We have a pool and lots of people come over during the summer so we get them out and people swim , ride four wheelers, play volleyball and enjoy a nice fire in the pit. Four wheeling gets you out of the house and is a great cure for covid lock downs. If you live in an area where four wheelers are not able to be used, then go rent a couple of them and spend a weekend in the woods away from home. Four wheeling if done safely is fun, entertaining, active and a great experience.

Coach B!

Americana: Pocket Full of Rocks

My youngest daughter Brooke has always been infatuated with rocks of all kinds. When she was a little girl she would come home every day from school and my wife would find her pocket full of rocks. She would have rocks in her pockets, her jacket, her back pack and anywhere else she could hide them. By the time she left elementary school I think we might have owed them a load of gravel rock and pebbles to offset all the ones she brought home. When we would travel to the mountains and go to a river she would collect rocks. When we went to a gem mine she would always find the best and prettiest rocks. When we began the process of selling our home recently we went through the garage and found two or three boxes of rocks she had saved through the years.

She would collect the rocks and out them into a tumbler to break them up and shine them up nice and pretty. Rocks are ancient and have been on Earth for millions of years and they have so much history in them. I love rocks myself and when we travel to the mountains I always go looking for rocks of different colors and sizes. Rocks are strong, hard to break and make a great foundation for buildings. Living a fruitful and fun life requires us to build a foundation on solid rock. In the bible there is reference to rocks and the solid foundation they lay for our lives, faith and family. I guess Brooke got her love of rocks from me as I was traveling this past weekend in the North Carolina mountains I took a bunch of pictures of great big giant rocks. As I found them and took the pictures, climbing on most of them to get the best view I could only imagine how many people had stood upon those rocks or touched them.

I saved those rocks for Brooke and someday she will take them home and hopefully share her love of rocks with her family and kids (when she has some). Brooke got married recently and when I spoke at her reception part of what I said was for her and Jonathan to lay a firm foundation as strong as rock and build the marriage upon that. Amazing that a pocket full of rocks can bring back so many memories of my girls when they were little. When I was a kid I would stand for hours on the gravel road I grew up on, take a stick and hit rocks until I was too tired to swing or the stick broke. Rocks are cool, have tons of history and are part of Gods great plan he had to share with us. Thank goodness for God, Brooke and her pocket full of rocks.

Coach B

Health: Coping Skills- 10 Life Hacks to Cope With Stress and Anxiety

We all face daily bombardments of stress in life. We have stress from relationships, family obligations, work, and other commitments. These can build up over time and eventually shut you down emotionally, physically and spiritually. We must deal with stress and anxiety on the spot so it does not build up and overcome us all at once. Some stress we bring on ourselves with worry and life goals. Other stress comes from the people we work with, live with, talk to, love and communicate with daily. They may not know they are a stressor for you unless you let them know. I tell kids at school all the time, hey do not let them stress you out. That is much easier said than done. Today I was talking with a student and he was stressed out about some family stuff so I did some research to give him some ways to try and deal with it.

Below are some life hacks for dealing with stress and anxiety that may help him and you out a little bit. It may not take it away, but it can alleviate the stress and anxiety for a little while as you seek to heal and move forward from the stressor in your life. I hope your living a stress free life and do not need any advice, but if your stressed as most working adults are with kids, jobs, family, and friends that take up most of our time each day. We can attack the stressors we are facing and slowly get rid of it one little bit at a time. Take the small wins in life and the small movement towards becoming stress and anxiety free.

1- Go for a long walk, take a run, go swimming, go biking or whatever form of exercise you like. It can help you cope and getting out in nature always helps calm your nerves.

2- Find a calming place and just chill out. Sit under a big tree, lay on the ground and stare at the stars. Climb a tree and just chill out. Go to your calming place and chill out for a couple of hours.

3- Go sit in the car and listen to your radio. Put on some upbeat music and just relax and enjoy the music coming into your ears. Sing along, dance a little and just have some fun.

4- Read a good book. Whatever genre it is you like, go get a good book or buy a cheap one at the dollar tree and read. You would be surprised how a good book can take you away for a little while.

5- Go shopping and get yourself something. Do not go crazy, but stop by the mall or your favorite store on the way home and get a little something. Maybe that good book to read.

6- Travel to another small town close to you and hang out for a day on Saturday. Shop locally, eat out and see what it has to offer. You never know, it might be your next home and you didn’t know it.

7- Get rid of negative people and situations in your life. If your in a bad relationship move on. This is hard to do but you have to so you can have good relationships going forward.

8- Call or text an old friend or college roommate. Talking to long lost friends lifts us up and gives us an opportunity to renew a relationship. Meet them in between and go out for dinner or a movie.

9- Read the bible, pray and seek Gods guidance on your stress and anxiety levels. God will always listen and be there for you. Be open to the relationship, be patient and see what happens.

10- Make a list of must do’s that are bogging you down. Take that list and look it over again to make sure nothing on their is put of “your control”. You can control you, not other people, your boss, your children, your friends, sickness, disease and other things. These are life events that you just have to attack and overcome one day at a time.

Most important thing is to do you. Get rid of the stressors and replace it with positive energy, relationships, spend time with loved ones and live your life the best you can. Handle the stress the best you can using whatever hack helps (no alcohol or drugs) and go after life.

Coach B

Daily Bread: Everyday Is A Gift From God

Everyday Is A Blessing Quotes. QuotesGram

We all are given 86,400 seconds, 1440 minutes or a total of 24 hours per day. Every second, minute and hour is a true blessing we receive from God. We are given this time here on Earth as an opportunity to spend it how we choose to. God made us in his image and has high expectations of our conduct, behavior and actions. We choose how to use that time, spend that time and the impact we will have on our family, friends, co-workers and community. We can choose to be kind, compassionate, caring, loving, supportive, engaging, friendly, helpful, honorable in our actions, behaviors, thoughts and conduct.

We also have the option to be rude, selfish, mean, unsupportive, unloving, cowardly, bad, ill, sorry, lazy and all the other words that are negative in our lives. God gave us the option of choice and that is where we fall short so often. Human nature tends to lead us to react to, behave and treat others the way we are feeling at the time. Those choices have consequences either good or bad for everyone involved. I am asking that we all take those 86,400 seconds, 1440 minutes, 24 hours to be the most positive, loving and wonderful person you can be to your family, friends, co-workers and community. God Bless you and yours.

Coach B

Americana: Ten Odd Things We Took For Granted Today

Living in America on most days 99% I would guess is a dream that many people from other places and countries would love to have the same daily opportunity that the majority of us have.  We do have some issues that plague society as a whole but most of them are on a smaller scale and in many cases are brought on by the individual through choices, bad situations and other events that we cannot predict.  I have put together a list of the little things (blessings) that we woke up with today that myself and many other didn’t think about or give thanks for this morning or tonight before we go to bed.  
Blessings come in small gifts and packages sometimes.  They also come in large packages and events that shape our lives, change things for us and challenge us in life.  Take a look at this list and give thanks for the blessing bestowed upon you and your family today.  You may not experience most of these all the time, but my guess is you have the majority of them daily and can be grateful for it.


1- You woke up today.  May sound silly but you were given another day to work, live and play the way you want to.  You are not as they say “pushing up daises” or ” laying six feet down”.  Take each day your given and do the best with it.  We are never guaranteed tomorrow.
2- You have freedom to do what you want to do today.  Most people do anyways.  Do not take your freedoms for granted and be careful what you surrender to government, agencies and other people that want to control you.  Living in America and other countries that are free allow you to live, work and play.  Do not take this for granted folks.
3- You will get fed today or have some type of food.  There are far too many people in the world that have no food, water or a safe place to sleep.  Your meal may be ramen noodles or a bowl of tice, but it is food and a blessing that you can out something in your belly.  Do not take food for granted!
4- The sun and moon are still giving us warmth.  We are blessed to have such a wonderful solar system that includes the two things we need to survive.  Both give us light and warmth even during the coldest of days.  It is always a blessing to see a beautiful blue sky also as a true gift from God.  Do not take being warm and having the sun and moon for granted.
5- You were able to see something wonderful in nature today when you walked outside or left for work.  If you sat on the deck or porch and looked at trees, greenery or even some nice sky lines.  Be grateful for that wonderful feeling of nature and nurture that feeling daily.  The earth is a beautiful place and we need to do a better job of taking care of it and keeping it clean and pretty.  
6- You have family, friends and significant others that are with you today.  Do not take these relationships for granted and always give love, support and offer help to them. Hug people, give them compliments and help them raise up daily.  We lose too many people that are important to us over silly things.  Do not take this for granted. 
7- You got up and went to work today.  For those that have a job be grateful for that and the opportunity to become better, grow in your career/job and make a good living.  Even if it is not the living you want or the job you want, be grateful for the chance to improve yourself and your family situation.
8- You are not sick, affected by Covid, Cancer and other disease.  If you are healthy do your best to stay that way.  Be mindful of those that are suffering and have empathy for them.  Do not take your health for granted as I know all to well.  A month ago I got Covid and it almost killed me and changed things for my wife and I.  Be grateful and remember there are others much worse off.
9- You got to pet a dog or cat today.  You got to spend time with your favorite little or big critter today.  They are our best buds and take care of us.  They are patient, stay close to us and are not demanding of our time and energy.  Take care of your fur babies, feed them, pet them and show them the return love they give to you.  Never take your fur babies for granted!
10- You got to use technology today.  Technology has made all of our lives better in some ways.  It instantly gets us in contact with family, friends and work.  It allows us to see what is happening in all the lives we touch, pay bills, order food, ride cabs, and all the other things we probably take for granted.  Do not take technology for granted, it can be a blessing in your life.  


These are all just simple little things I feel blessed with.  You can create your own list and add or take away as needed.  We may not have it all, but we have plenty in the grand scheme of things. Live, Love, Lift Up and Have a Great Day with small but significant blessings!

Travel: A Day in God’s Country- Molded Like Clay

Cindy and I spent the day riding in the North Carolina mountains enjoying the cool mountain air and the awesome scenery of the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were looking for great pictures opportunities and waterfalls to get some updated pictures for the family. We love to travel together and find waterfalls.

On our trip back down the mountain, we stopped in stopped at one of our favorite places that we took pictures at five years ago to get some updated pictures. We have both been working on our health and losing weight so it was a perfect time to get updated pictures. It would also show how we have changed the last five years. And we got some great pictures, especially of Cindy. She takes a much better picture than I do.

As I was snapping an awesome picture of my beautiful wife. She told me about growing up and flying with her dad over the mountains. Cindys dad Red was a pilot who loved to fly his Cessna 182 all over the state. Cindy flew with him frequently and their favorite trip was crossing the mountains. She told me it was if God had reached down with his hands and molded those mountains like clay. That comment from my wonderful wife made me begin to think.

When we stopped for the pictures, I noticed the scenery of that location had changed some as well. The trees had grown taller and the mountains were harder to see. The tree we loved five years ago was still there, waiting for us to get new pictures. The trip felt like a renewal of sorts. Getting into the high country always seems to set us straight and bring us back to an understanding of how wonderful Gods creations are. It calms and smooths us so we can relieve stress and re-energize.

I had prayed this morning about a topic to blog about, looking for something to write about today. I had thought about taking the weekend off and not writing today. It was getting later in the day and I told Cindy I wait until Monday. Those plans changed when Cindy told me about her dad and how God had molded those mountains like clay. Proof positive that our plans often may not be what God wants for us.

Her comments and memories triggered me to think about how God molds us like clay. We are a work of art, a special production made by him. A one of a kind priceless in his eyes. He uses his grace, mercy and guidance to mold us into what he wants us to be. Just like those mountains that have formed over millions of years. Carved into something wonderful. Something that brings joy to the world and a peace to the soul.

God is the great Potter and we are the pottery clay. I thank God for his messages and how he sends them to us in such a still small voice. I thank him for my awesome wife who prompted me to write today with such an insightful memory of her and her Dad Red.

Lord, thank you for this message, thank you for my wonderful, loving and super smart wife. I pray for your guidance for us as we go forward in life. Thank you for being my potter and helping me be the clay that can be molded into something special in your eyes.

God Bless! KB