Been thinking about heaven today. I saw a wondrous overcast cloud formation last night layered in the grays and blues and purples of a coming rainstorm. Didn’t last long and the camera didn’t catch its glory but in middle of the clouds gathering at sunset, an opening appeared and the setting sun’s rays shone straight down throughout that space and kissed the blooms in my garden of sunflowers under the old water oak. Beautiful! The colors were gorgeous and made me immediately think of a portal opening from heaven welcoming a soul home. I could almost see a stairway as I studied the opening. A short minute later, the clouds gelled together and the view was gone. The Bible doesn’t answer all the questions we have about heaven but everyone has their own concept of what heaven is like. I like to think it’s a glorious extension of earth where we carry on with our lives with those who have gone ahead of us.

Been reading quotes as the rain falls today. Don’t know why I love quotes. I scribble them on receipts, scraps of paper, little notebooks, used envelopes, even wrote one on my hand once when I was watching tv. Have to be careful now writing them down. Hurts my fingers and my hands to write so it’s hard to read my writing. My penmanship is illegible even to me. One of my favorite quotes is from Dolly Parton. She said, “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you have to put up with the rain.” My house has had the rain! Some of us complain when it rains on our life’s plans but we always have a rainbow to assure us of God’s love. God sends a rainbow at the end of every storm in our lives. Sometimes life’s rainbows are hard to come by but eventually through faithful prayer the sun will paint that rainbow. Don’t give up, wait for it. Guarantee the rainbow will be worth the wait.

I used to say this to myself when my days got crazy and the children were possessed. The quote is from Winston Churchill. “Keep calm, and carry on!” This is the solution to so much chaos. When you get caught up in life’s mess just forge ahead and keep on trying. Don’t give up till you’ve exhausted all your resources. I think Erma Bombeck has the best quote about raising children. “When my kids become wild and unruly, I use a nice, safe playpen. When they’re finished, I climb out.” Dearest friend and I love this quote and it never fails to make us laugh. “People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day,” A. A. Milne. That’s me.

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough,” Mae West.

Here is a Mark Twain’s quote I found written on a Burger King receipt. “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” How true! He also said, and I love it, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Sounds like something Chief would say. I love quotes from Dr. Seuss, too. This quote reads simply but it’s deep when you think about the choices and decision we make throughout our lives and how just one wrong choice can change the direction of your life’s path. Dr. Seuss wrote, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.” And we need to choose wisely with God’s help. This quote from Phyllis Diller always makes me laugh. “I want my children to have all the things I couldn’t afford. Then I want to move in with them.”

Tonight I decided to search for quotes from God and Jesus to add to my collection. I think one of the most significant quotes from God is “Let there be light,” Genesis 1:3, speaking of the beginning of life and understanding. Top on the list also is from Exodus 3:14 where God states to Moses, “I am that I am.” God spoke this from the burning bush when Moses asked for God’s name. This quote establishes God as the source of all life and is considered the most recognized quote attributed to God. That quote always makes me think of Popeye the sailor exclaiming, “I yam what I yam, and that’s all what I yam!” Not being disrespectful here but with a little pondering I think I can relate God to Popeye. Made an A+ on a paper in college written on Christian satire in the Peanuts cartoon strips.

This quote from Jeremiah 29:11 is searched and shared on line frequently as a message of reassurance and hope. The quote reads, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God is always in control and has a purpose for our lives.

The most famous quote attributed to Jesus would be The Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” Matthew 7:12. The most memorized and recited verse of scripture from Jesus, speaking on the fundamental message of Christianity, is “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” John 3:16.

I looked at my latest scribbled quotes. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough,” Mae West. “Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today,” Will Rogers. Yesterday is gone, let it go. Tomorrow is a new beginning. Closing my words tonight with a favorite quote from Albert Camus. “Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Walk beside me; just be my friend.”

“The secret is not to find the meaning of life, but to use your life to make things that are meaningful.” — James Clear