Gayl Wright

JESUS IS OUR PEACE For 2025, peace  is my #oneword. I started the year well with my word, writing, looking up scriptures, and making journal pages using various materials. Focusing on scriptures about peace reminds me that true peace is only found in God. I am grateful for the peace found in Christ alone, which is beyond all understanding. This peace is never far away because Christ is always with me. When grief comes to call, peace in Christ brings comfort. This peace is full of hope that carries me through trials. With the peace God gives me, I can encourage others. HOPE BRINGS PEACE In late spring, my focus was on finishing my second book and getting it ready for publication, but the thought of peace was never far from me, even when I wasn't consciously thinking of it. My book is called Through A Glass, Darkly: Daily Hope in Light of Eternity , available on Amazon. My peace is found in Jesus, who is also my hope. He is the One who left the glory of heaven to come down to ea...

MORE THAN JUST A TURKEY DAY The #FiveMinuteFriday word for this week is turkey . A big thank you to Andrew for hosting while Kate is away. I thought it would be fun to write an acrostic using the word turkey .   T hank you, God, for all the beauty U nderneath the Autumn sunshine. R emind us of our loving Savior who is K ing of kings and Lord of lords, the great I Am. E verything belongs to Him, our Creator and Sustainer Y ou, God, are the Sovereign Lord, worthy of honor and our praise. THANKFUL   This Thanksgiving season, I want to remember that all I have comes from God. He gives me strength and grace for all the days I walk this earth. Because of Him, I can have joy and peace even in the chaos, because He is a God of order and calm. Today and every day, I want to remember to praise Him for all His works and the way He meets my every need. Thank you, God, for everything. I'm linking up with #fiveminutefriday with Andrew .

*Quilt with the word accumulate  *What does a quilt have to do with the word accumulate ? You'll find out at the end of the post.* The #FiveMinuteFriday word for the week is accumulate .  Raise your hand if you're good at accumulating stuff. I confess, I am guilty. Though not all the clutter I find in and around my house is of my own doing. Still, as I sit here and look around, I see books overflowing the shelves, games and videos spilling out of the cabinet. To the side is a collection of stuff to go to recycling…. Someday….  It would be easy to complain about it all, but that never turns out well. It seems I look at all the clutter at once throughout the house, and then I just want to give up. But that's not a good way to be either. No, I can't clean it all at once, but I can take baby steps. Yet sometimes even that seems hard. I think the best thing to do is to set aside a few minutes per day, focusing on one small area, and then work each day until that area is cle...

THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY Where is hope when your world is crashing in on you?  Are you struggling with finding hope in your current situation?  If you need encouragement, my new book  T hrough A Glass, Darkly: Daily Hope in Light of Eternity ,  with personal stories, scriptures, poems, and also writings from my late son, Stephen, demonstrates that true hope exists and is rooted in eternity. This book has been long in coming, but through the process, I have learned more and more to trust in God and His timing. He has led me every step of the way. Nearly two years ago, I wrote the first rough draft. It came mostly from blog posts I had written about hope, with a few poems and scriptures sprinkled in. I wanted a catchy title, but couldn't seem to think of anything. Then, one night in bed, I woke up and the words, through a glass, darkly , came to mind.  After a while, I toyed with changing the title and tried many different ideas. Finally, after more thought and mu...

  WHAT IS SHALOM? In the summer of 2015, I joined with other mothers online to encourage each other as we juggled the many different areas of our lives. The first writing prompt we were given was the word Shalom . Since my #oneword2025 is peace, I thought it would be fun to revisit that post. This is an updated version of the original. Shalom  is a Hebrew word often used when saying goodbye or greeting someone. Its simplest meaning in English is peace , but it really is so much more. After a little research, I found out that shalom also means being complete, whole, or sound, and has to do with well-being. SHABBAT SHALOM As I thought more about shalom I was reminded of a special meal we used to have on Saturday evening when our kids were younger. We got the idea from friends who gave us a printout to follow for each part of the meal. It was patterned after the Jewish Sabbath meal and included readings and scriptures. First, we prepared the food, set the table, then cleaned ...

Looking back and Moving Forward - God will always see us through.(Poem written December 2023. Shown on an art journal page with background from an old calendar) REVIEW OF MY ONE WORD 2024 My word for 2024 was  stillness.  For me and maybe for many of you, stillness is probably hard to find in our busy lives. Yet it is so important to help us find time to relax, rest, refresh, and recharge. In her  linkup post for #oneword2024 , Lisa Burgess gave us questions to help us review our one word. So, I will just use a question/answer format to share my thoughts here.  Did my word stay relevant? Why or why not? Though I didn't focus constantly on my word, I believe it did stay relevant. Whenever I remembered it, I found that it refreshed me, giving me time to relax and find rest. How often did I notice my word this year, and where? When I chose the word stillness, I wanted to use it to help me remember to carve out time to be still every day. Thinking back over the yea...