Now You See Me, Now You Don't

For His eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all his steps. Job 34:21

My dog Frodo has a thing about squirrels. He either really likes them or he really hates them. I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. In fact, as I heard someone else say about their dog, it seems as if Fro thinks it’s his solemn duty to rid the world of these little bushy tailed critters. Well, he has had absolutely no success at all…yet. A couple of days ago, my husband and younger daughter and I were rather captivated by the sight of our doggy standing poised and still while staring at a squirrel which was no more than six feet away. It was eating away under our hanging feeder near one of the big oaks. Now I really believe that Fro did not think the other animal saw him. We were quite amused as we watched him attempt to creep closer. But, of course, those who live in the wild are no match for the domestic animals under most circumstances. (Except maybe cats.) The wild guy knew perfectly well that our nicely groomed cocker was there. At the first sign of movement, UP the tree it went as if to say, “Ha Ha, you can’t catch me!”

As poor Fro, so often frustrated in this way, sat at the bottom of the tree looking up, you could see a little squirrel head peeking this way and that from the other side of the trunk. “Now you see me, now you don’t,” was its little playful message. Finally, this incident was over and Fro came back into the house to rest until his next try.

I thought it was quite funny that he seemed to be under the impression that the other animal didn’t see him. He was right there in front of it! But Frodo couldn’t see it when it was playing peek-a-boo from the other side of the tree. This brings me once again to my new little granddaughter. I wonder if we’ll ever play peek-a-boo with Selena. We probably will—very soon. What fun for babies! “Now you see me, now you don’t.” It’s always sure to get giggles.

I haven’t talked about the children’s catechism for awhile, but I’m sure the day is coming when she’ll learn the answer to Question 11: Can you see God? The answer to this one is one of my favorites: No, I cannot see God, but He always sees me. That’s one lesson I hope she learns very early. I wonder how it will affect what she does or does not do. It won’t be “now you see me, now you don’t,” but like the answer to the catechism says, He always sees little girls like Selena and big folks like you and me. My question for anyone reading this is, how does this make you feel?

Good Morning

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
And to sing praises to Your name O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night…
The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
Shall flourish in the courts of our God,
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
They shall be fresh and flourishing.
Psalm 92:1-2,12-14


Good morning all. I love this psalm. It has always been one of my favorites through the years and now that I’m older (Ahem! and a grandmamma), it has even become more meaningful. For some reason, my thoughts aren’t flowing out of my brain this week and I’ve little to write. Hopefully, soon it will be better.

I just read a little devotional and it mentioned a British preacher and writer named John Stott who it said began each day this way: “Good morning, heavenly Father. Good morning, Lord Jesus. Good morning, Holy Spirit.” After that it’s said that Mr. Stott would go on to worship each member of the Trinity individually. (“Our Daily Bread”, April 2002) Let’s all do the same today and praise our great triune God together!

[Just in case anyone is wondering, Selena is fine.]

Our Gift to God's Gift

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3

So far, Miss Selena is living the typical life of a newborn. She loves to eat. She loves to sleep. She loves to do that other thing that newborns do so well. God’s factory is abundantly sufficient, so that at her one week appointment she had reached and surpassed her initial birth weight. Thank you, Lord.

Yesterday, we gave her the special gift that we had been waiting to give until the time of her birth. My husband and I gave her the Speakable Gifts photo album that I’ve made for so many other babies. Anyone who is familiar with us at Speakable Gifts knows that a companion cassette of verses and hymns was made to accompany this photo album, and after it was produced in 1998, until about two years ago, this cassette had been our best selling item. It has been a blessing to us that so many people have appreciated its simplicity, and many, many babies and small children have heard the voice of Selena’s mommy, then seventeen, who sang the greatest portion of the hymns and songs. Now she (Selena) will hear it, and it will be her mommy singing to her. Also, she will hear the singing of children who are now big kids and are her friends. And, she will even hear the then five year old voice of her own Auntie Nee.

I hope all of this means something to her at some point in the near future. I guess not for a while, though. Yesterday when I excitedly gave her the gift, she was totally bored with it all. She continued with the same facial expression that’s on her photo here. She even grimaced just a little bit.

I’d like to talk about some of these verses and hymns from time to time in future posts, as I did once with one of the songs, “O Be Careful.” Her Nanna is there too at the beginning of the recording, by the way. My voice will be telling her that we all want to help her learn about God. I trust that she will. One thing I’m sure of, she’ll love listening to her mommy!

Home Sweet Home

This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD. Psalm 102:18.

Hi there all,

Selena and her mom came home today and everyone is well. God has been so good to our family. Throughout the years, He has been the giver of many blessings to my husband and me and this comes close to beating them all. We have been so thankful for our two lovely daughters, and then for our dear son in law and now for this, at long last, a precious grandchild. My book, Bright Gems for His Crown, was initially written in 2001 and when it was redone in 2003 the dedication was written: "This book is dedicated to my grandchildren who have not yet come.", with the above verse being given.

Now that this generation has come to our family, I don't suppose I need to tell you that it's my prayer that this little one, now created, will indeed be a girl and a woman who will at some point in time truly be one who will praise the Lord. Pray for her, please, all of you who know the Lord. Pray that the day will come when she will know Jesus. I am even praying that when she reaches adulthood, she will look back and not remember a day when she did not love Him. Maybe He will grant us that request. Maybe it will take longer, but whatever happens, for as long as we can, her PopPop and Nanna will be there to help. Pray for us please. I know that all of you believing grandparents who happen to read this will know exactly what I mean. And bless all of you too, who are desiring the same thing.

SHE'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At 2:05 this afternoon, a screaming Selena Anne Smith took leave of her sanctuary of the past 38 weeks, and two days, and has arrived. She calmed immediately upon hearing the familiar sound of her mother's voice and has been that way ever since. We'll see how that holds up in the future. Small and petite like her mother, she weighed in at 6 lbs, 1 oz and measured 19 inches. We are all overwhelmed! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

I am now a grandmother!

Special Baby

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A little while ago, I got to hold a baby girl just three hours or so after her birth. No, it was not my granddaughter yet. But it was for me something of an honor to hold someone so soon after her sunrise. She is the new daughter of someone from our church and, of course, she is a special gift from God. Her mother was telling us how her new little daughter was very “grumpy” after her arrival. She didn’t seem very happy about coming into our world. She cried and cried so hard and for so long, her mama said. I guess that’s an appropriate response, wouldn’t you say?

Anyway, now I’m really feeling the anticipation about our own little one. This special baby girl is going to have a September 1st birthday. I wonder what Selena’s birthday will be? Soon, soon, soon by God’s mercies.