Beginnings...           

  Beginnings....everyone has them. So many "firsts". Actually, I never really had any thoughts of starting a blog,  although my literary dreams of writing a book began as young as junior high school. And then in high school I began seriously (haha!) writing (by hand with a pen or pencil!) romance novels for my girlfriends. They usually turned into two & three hundred page epics about a subject I  knew absolutely nothing about. But my "public" always waited with baited breath for the next chapter. & the "book" always ended with the first kiss. (This was in the sixties. I still have some of those early literary endeavors & my girls & I both get into hysterics reading them! ) Then later, from high school to marriage to children to grandchildren, my writing turned to letters home & journaling. Friends & family then began to encourage me to start a blog. I homeschooled my last two kids & finally the day has come that the commitment to that is over & I found myself getting excited about either starting a book or a blog. I debated for a long time. I prayed about this a lot because as a friend told me, "There are a lot of blogs out there." Which of course I knew. I am really not a technology person,  (a young lady, my adopted granddaughter, actually did everything here to get me started. Thank you Kenzie for all of your amazing hard work!💖) But the thought kept pulling on my heart that in the words of Mayella Ewell in "To Kill A Mockingbird",  "I got somethin' to say", I discovered that I did have something to say.  We all do. No one can tell my story or speak the words that the Lord wants me to say except me.  & in this often cold & dark world, we need the encouragement, hope,  laughter,  a place to sit & rest & refresh, everyone needs an oasis to just "BE STILL & KNOW THAT I AM GOD", that little deviation from the road, as Jan Karon says in her wonderful Mitford books, "the pause that refreshes".  & so, that's what this little blog is all about. To make the world a little brighter by, as Jesus says, letting my light shine by sharing my experiences & how the Lord has brought me through so much. I will introduce you to my family's many animal stories, & them personally, (my animals & my family!) some good down home cooking & recipes,  & my life as a homemaker, mom, wife, grandmother, which if only lightens one weary pilgrim on this life's journey,  I feel that it's worth it. So, pour yourself a cup of tea, ( I feel that tea just fits this blog, & besides I am not a coffee drinker!). As you see I have already poured mine. Now come join me as I share how my blog title came about.

  Many years ago I started reading a devotional book compiled by Mrs. Charles Cowman written in the  1920's entitled "Springs in the Valley".  The August 2nd entry reads, "Travelers are enthusiastic over a species of palm tree which grows in South America. They call it the rain-tree. This tree has the remarkable power of attracting, in a wondrous degree, atmospheric moisture, which it condenses and drops on the earth in refreshing dew. It grows straight up in the parched and arid desert and daily distributes its refreshing showers, with the result that around it an oasis of luxuriant vegetation soon springs up. The flood-gates of heaven refuse to open, the fountains cease to flow, the rivers evaporate, but the rain-tree getting its moisture from above, renews the garden which it has created about its base and gives the weary traveler shade and fruit, a new life and a delightful rest!"  At the reading of these words the first time, I felt the calling & the desire to be one of His rain-trees.  & the Lord made my "moniker" & my identity to become, "Julies Raintree". So, here I am,  ready & willing to inspire & be inspired by the Lord's other raintrees or "wannabe" raintrees. Jesus said that even if we give a drink of water,

we will receive a reward. & add to that a second cup of tea & a warm slice of homemade pie to go with it for a "Raintree perk of the day"!

    Until our next visit, here's "Raintree perk of the day" number two:  Isaiah 58:11