A Spring Awakening

 

"He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows its time for setting" (Psalm 104:19). 

There is an order, a rhythm, a faithfulness built into the world that doesn't depend on calendars —it simply responds.

At 7:46 am Pacific Time, it officially became Spring. The moment when daylight and darkness balance at about 12 hours each. 

Here in California, we've been enjoying spring weather for many weeks now. The daffodils came up in mid-January, and some flowers have started to bloom. My white irises are always the first to bloom, usually in late February. A week or two later, the purple ones follow. The yellow irises will be next, around the end of March or early April.

Primroses' 

 My garden is a testimony of steady faithfulness:

• The daffodils didn't rush ahead of their time.

• The irises bloom in their order of color

• Even after 18 years of living here, the pattern holds.

Gerbera Daisies' 

It reminds me of Ecclesiastes 3:1: "To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven."

I've learned the rhythms of my garden without even thinking about it until now...I watched, and I guess I cared in a fast-moving world.

A Cape Marguerite 

As the days lengthen and crosses that delicate threshold, something remarkable begins to happen. The Light signals, received deep within the brain, trigger changes that tell animals and plants alike: winter is ending. It’s time.

My First 2026 California Poppy 

🐦

Birds begin to sing earlier and with greater urgency. Migration patterns shift. Frogs call out from wetlands. Turtles stir and move toward nesting grounds. Bees return to their work, pollinating and sustaining life. Across fields, forests, and neighborhoods, a quiet awakening unfolds.

None of them knows the date.

They simply read the light.

That's amazing to me. We need to slow down long enough to see what is happening all around us.

To recognize the ways God is at work—not just in the grand and visible, but in the quiet and unseen.

And maybe even ask ourselves:

Am I paying attention to the light?  

Because nature doesn't read calendars - not the weather, the animals, the flowers, trees - all creation. It responds exactly as it was created to.

And I think we, too, were created to respond when the Light calls us forward.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” And when His light reaches us— and when it begins to grow and take hold, something in us awakens as well. 

So as the flowers bloom, the bees return, and the birds fill the morning with song…

May we not miss this moment to awaken.

Spring has come.

And the light is calling.

CORRECTIONS

I truly appreciate my husband’s keen eye for detail; he gently pointed out that the Gala is actually on Friday night! I admit I feel a bit rushed now.

Also, the senior ball photo features a former date, not my husband. 

Okay, I'd better start getting ready... we have to be there earlier because the male volunteers will be ushering. 

Until next time

Debby

A Sunday Potluck

So, how’s everyone handling that missing hour in the day? I’m trying not to complain too much, but I can definitely feel it. I got home from church and ended up taking a quick one-hour nap, but I’m still feeling pretty worn out. Can’t wait for bedtime, even though it’s only 4:41 p.m.!

But really, do we all have to complain so much about the time change?  I know I do and I'm going to stop it NOW! Seems, the grumbling is twice-a-year—Spring Forward and Fall Back. And you can count on the complaining to start one week before and one week after! 

It’s just what we do!

I'm done. 

Just as I thought, we had a fun mix of cabbage salads inspired by Asian flavors, along with chicken and pork served up with rice or noodles. To top it off, someone brought in two pizzas, a pasta dish, and some fresh fruit to share. It was a great spread!

Mochi Donuts - the delightful Japanese treat that brought a unique twist to the dessert table!

There were so many desserts, but I made the conscious decision, to skip them. I don’t really need them, even though they looked so pretty.  On Friday, I whipped up some white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookie dough, and after dinner, I baked 2- 4 cookies so we wouldn’t go crazy eating them. We both don't do well, with cookies lying around, or we’d scarf them down every time we walked by!

Regarding the Fire Map

If they had these maps before, I had never seen them or even knew about them. 

After a robust rainy season, we have an abundant of water and snow here. 

The rest of the state, I don't know. 

I chose to rise above the victim mentality, fretting, and worrying - to embrace the truth that we are more than conquerors. We have been gifted a new identity in Christ that empowers us to live victoriously, no matter our circumstances.

If I can embrace victory after the loss of my son, I can certainly overcome losing my home in a fire. The loss of a loved one is a greater challenge than anything material. We'll do our part and trust God for the rest! 

🍔🍕🍗

Dinner time has arrived, and now it's time to eat! 

See you tomorrow...maybe. 

Debby

You can't win for losing

 

Source: COR

The Sundial Bridge is a stunning pedestrian bridge spanning the Sacramento River in my town. It connects the north and south ends of Turtle Bay and functions as one of the largest sundials in the world.

It measures time during a four-hour window daily, from 11 AM to 3 PM, with its shadow moving about one foot per minute. However, it becomes less effective in winter when the shadow is cast too far into the adjacent arboretum.

Designed by renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, this bridge is both a functional infrastructure and a celebrated piece of art.

My pomegranate is overflowing with potential...

So here we are - Saturday afternoon! I took a nap today to try and recoup that lost hour. Most likely, it may just keep me from being tired at bedtime, where I will toss and turn for an hour -  which will make me tired all day tomorrow. 

You can't win for losing.  🎲

Tomorrow is the monthly church potluck. 

This month's theme is Asian cuisine and the first letter of my last name means this month I bring a main dish.  I’ve never felt the urge to make my own Chinese food—take-out works just fine! While I have a couple of salad recipes from a Japanese friend and a fried rice recipe from my friend Betty in Hong Kong, it's been 30+ years since I've made them, so I don’t think it's a good idea to bring those.

Last week, I tried a Teriyaki chicken casserole, but it didn’t taste authentic, so I’ve decided to keep it simple and bring a ramen noodle salad, possibly throw in some chicken. Asian foods are best fresh; making them the night before can compromise the crunch and flavors. Cooking for a pot luck shouldn’t be stressful. A friend and I discussed how hard it is to find Asian recipes that are simple and maintain their fresh taste after reheating. We might see a lot of fried rice and pork or chicken salads!

🥡🥢🧧⏰

I'll blame it on Daylight Savings! 

The City has released a new 2025 city-wide fire map. While I don’t recall seeing one in my 17 years here, I knew the problem areas in our community.  Just up the road, it is rural - Although this information is not surprising, seeing it visually represented on the map underscores the reality of the situation.

Orange is SEVERE fire danger

Goldenrod is High

Yellow is Moderate. 

Upon examining the aerial view of our neighborhood, it's not promising. I noticed that to the left of our house, there was a significant presence of goldenrod, which extended to cover half of our property, while the other half was yellow. The Orange is about 7.2 miles (give or take) at Oasis. 

Okay, so we reside in a designated high-moderate fire risk area. As a consequence of this classification, our homeowner's insurance may be canceled, or alternatively, the premiums may increase to a level that becomes unaffordable for us. This situation highlights the challenges faced by residents in fire-prone regions regarding insurance policies.

Fortunately, we are not in the orange zone, and our adult children are not located in any fire-risk areas. Our plan is that if we need to evacuate, we will go to the home of my son and his wife.

We've received an abundance of rain here, but even with a healthy, robust rainy season, our hot/dry summers work against us.

It's all in God's hands 🙏🏻

Enjoy the rest of your afternoon/evening.

It's pizza night for us!  

Until Next time, 

Debby

Times Flies

A foggy sunrise at Clover Creek 

I hope this finds you all cheerful, content, and thankful for life. It has been a wonderful week. The only drawback I can find about this week is how quickly it has passed.

So I decided I needed to find out WHY.

As we age, we often wonder why time seems to pass more quickly. Dr. Christian Yates, a lecturer at the University of Bath, shares insights into this change in our perception of time.

One key factor is that daily routines and familiar experiences cause our brains to blur time together, making it feel like it speeds up. In contrast, children perceive time as expansive due to their constant engagement in new and stimulating experiences, which create lasting memories.

Another aspect relates to the biological changes that occur with aging. As our metabolism slows, so do our heartbeat and respiration rates, leading to a perception that time is moving faster.

The third idea is that our perception of time changes as we age. For a two-year-old, waiting a year for a birthday feels long because that year represents a significant portion of their life. In contrast, for a 20-year-old, a year is just 5% of their life, making it seem to fly by.

Dr. Yates notes that the time experienced between ages five and ten can feel similar to the time felt between ages 40 and 80. So, regardless of how we feel, time continues to fly by—both when we’re having fun and when we’re not.

So don't forget to spring forward on Saturday night or early Sunday morning. 

In 2 Peter 3:8, we are reminded that "with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."

No worries - we'll get through this one as we have before. 

Later - Debby