Austin is Prom King

On April 24, 2009, Austin was crowned King of the Sangre de Cristo Prom. His proud family was on hand, as shown in the picture collage above. The school hosts a Grand March so families can come see all the prom attire, followed by a parent/child dance and then the announcement of prom royalty. The last time I had danced with Austin was at least a dozen years ago when we used to break out in spontaneous hip-hops in our family room. The prom dance with Austin was definitely a crowning moment in my life, so how appropriate that his "coronation" topped off our evening with him.

Trust the Creator

At approximately 5:35 a.m. today, I captured this image of Venus casting it's light on the moon against a backdrop of the dawning sun over the Rocky Mountains. This beautiful sight is another reminder to me that God is in control and has a far better plan for my life than anything I could ever dream up. No matter how restless I become in my spirit or how weary I feel in my bones when things do not go according to my hopes, God smiles from the heavens and waves His hand across the universe, producing spectacular proof of who He is.

The prophet Isaiah said, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary." (Is. 40:28)

From the simplicity of finding a penny as Bill and I strolled along a dusty path around our property last evening to the amazement of the night sky fading into morning's light, I am encouraged to keep on keeping on.

Spring snowstorms produce perfect puddles

Every year our little fellowship celebrates the resurrection of Christ with a sunrise service around a campfire. While it is always chilly in the predawn hours at this time of year, it had yet to also be wet and white. On April 12 of this year, however, we awoke to falling snow. But, alas, the campfire still blazed as we gathered around it. It was an incredible experience to be sure.

Following our time of praise and worship in the snow, we went inside to share breakfast and then we had another worship service in the warm, dry shelter of our chapel. During this time, it snowed six inches!

On Monday, temperatures rose to the mid-fifties and, by the time the kids came home from school, several large puddles had formed on our property. Grace begged to play in them. With her jeans rolled up and snow boots on, she happily galloped through her little bit of paradise on earth.

God in Creation

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead... (Romans 1:20)

I took this photo from my backyard at approximately 6:30 a.m. MST. It is the sunrise over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, 20 miles east of Hooper, Colorado. But I also see something else here. Stepping back from my screen, I look at the photo again and imagine God standing at the edge of the universe, peering over His mountains, watching.

I am reminded of the psalmist recognizing that God always knows where we are. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10)

Long on imagination

After I finished speaking to his class, one little boy raised his hand, his eyes wide. His smile beamed when I motioned for him to speak. "You sure have a long imagination," he said, shaking his head from side to side as if he had just witnessed something incredible. I laughed and simply told him that my 36-year-old penny has traveled a lot of places, so I had a lot of stories to relay to his class.

This exchange happened at the elementary school in Creede today where I introduced the students to my 1973 penny. I basically told the K-3rd graders the synopsis of "The Penny Chronicles," which is comprised of about 20 years of a penny's journeys. The kids were then encouraged by their teachers to use their own imaginations to write penny stories. One youngster grabbed his journal and a pencil as his class was dismissed for recess, just in case, he told his teacher, his imagination started working on the playground.

When I visited the 4th-6th graders, I shared less of the synopsis so that I would have time to read an excerpt from "The Penny Chronicles" called "The Wishing Penny." It is the story behind a penny in a wishing well -- how it got there, what wish it carried, who made the wish and why it was so important to the wisher that the penny made it to the well. At the end of my reading, the older kids were also encouraged to use their own imaginations to write penny stories.

We'll collect the stories in a week and I am really looking forward to reading them. There is no doubt in my mind that their penny stories will be incredible. After all, since spending time with the students today, I noticed many of them also seem to be blessed with long imaginations.

No packing today

A thought keeps knocking on the interior of my forehead -- He who has begun a good work in me will complete it. If that sounds familiar it is because I lifted it from Paul's letter to the Philippians, chapter 1, verse 6.

It has been nearly a year since I typed the last letter in the first draft of the manuscript that tells the story of a 1973 penny's journeys in circulation. It has been seven months since I signed with a literary agent to represent a much-edited version of that manuscript. It has been two weeks since she reported to me yet another publisher's rejection, along with a new publisher's interest in reviewing the manuscript.

In the twilight hours of March 30, 2009, after I saved my rewrites of the first ten pages of a 1938 penny's adventures, I leaned back in my black fake leather, swivel office chair and sighed. Glancing to the shelf where I keep the binder with all the penny stories I have written thus far, I felt tempted to go after a cardboard box and pack the binder away, along with all my penny research and manuscript critiques. I would seal the cardboard flaps with duct tape, scribble "Penny Stuff" with a Sharpie across the sides and top, then lug my box of dreams to the attic.

I told Bill this and he asked me why I even began writing penny stories in the first place. Because, I told him instantly, I want to inspire the imaginations of other people; to have them consider the stories they hold in their hands when counting change, particularly pennies, just as I have. More importantly, I believe I am inspired by God to write these chronicles--to take the least valuable of all coins and share the rich life experiences of the people who hold them through the years.

Okay, so I won't pack the box today. Instead, I will "listen" to my 1938 cent tell me how a young boy depended on it for luck when he was being bullied by a neighbor in West Virginia in 1943. I will listen and then I will transcribe this penny's tales leading up to the time it met my 1973 penny at a bank in Missouri (recorded in chapter one of the first manuscript).

Knock, knock, knock. There is work to complete.