"I will draw her into the desert and speak to her heart." Hosea

Happy 4th from the Big Lake - such a gloriously beautiful day as we await the arrival of Maria and family to share our week in paradise.  Spending the morning in our new deep beach of sugar sand watercoloring with the kids while some swimming in inner tubes and burying in the sand.  Grandma just came to town and bought out the sand toys at Shop Ko!  Next using the internet in town.

A new flag brought me into town yesterday to buy a flag for my dad's flagpole on the 4th of July.  The small breeze was just perfect for our pictures and our recalling the greatness our country is and how we need to stand up for the Truth to keep it that way!

Yes, the cold Big Lake is not that much different from our spring fed swimming hole at the farm.


The readings today were worth a trip to town to share from the rooftops or from a booth in Hardees - two days in a row I bought nothing and just sit here for about an hour and blog.  The words from Hosea ring a chord with me in this place away from it all - TV, yes internet, and even no phone service for the most part.  I sit on the deck or the beach and just drink in the beauty and I realize that it goes very deep with me.  I grew up spending my childhood summers on the Big Lake, and now my grandchildren have grown up coming here.  My own kids didn't, hence they do not seem to have the same deep love for this place - as we say it has gotten into our blood like part of our DNA. 

More sparklers for tonight with Maria and her kids!


This place definitely speaks to my heart and it is hard to know that it could be our last summer here!  Part of the reason that I take way too many pictures and try to capture it all!  For the woman in the Gospel today - that one that was hemorrhaging for 12 years - Jesus had spoken to her in her desert place of the silence of her struggle and she knew that she would be healed if only she touched the tassel of his garment!  The "gracious and merciful" Lord "espoused us in fidelity" despite our infidelity, when all seems lost.  Christ comes to us and gives us back our life.

I meet my Jesus in the desert... with all the sand this year this seems especially true.

How's this sandangel!

Jesus, we love you and long to get all the distractions out of the way so that we can recognize you and how much you love us and will heal us if only we have the Faith to recognize your presence all around us.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Hallelujah

One of those suntan commercials.  Bless-bless, Barbara Luke

David and his name in the sand.

The boardwalk at the public beach goes right down to the water now...

The dunes!

Swimming

Did I say there is SAND?!

Our art project today

Burying Luke

Rainbow and hearts boy - his love inside comes out in pictures!

Mary's day - 14th Sunday that is anything but ordinary!

Yes, this is our beach!  We are in Michigan heaven with sand that makes a slipping sound when you drag your feet through it!

Shortly after Ruth arrived last evening we had to go down and be amazed at the "slippery sand" on our beach!  Today in the warm sun there is much playing with trucks and sand and water and we only have to walk out the door and down the path to the beach! 

Dave is a year older and taller than last year, but easily assumes the trucking stance through the sand.

I am missing my time on the beach with this sharing as I had to come into town and use the internet at Hardees, so this will be short.

Now a small fairy has landed in the sand... it is so soft and so deep and how did this happen?  We are witnessing the miracles of Mother Nature!

Walking into the sunset on our beach!

After mass we walked across the street to a special grotto devoted to Our Lady of The Immaculate Heart - my parents helped make this happen while they lived here for about 12 years.  This day was a very special day as it is the anniversary of my sister Mary's passing 30 years ago.  How special to have my granddaughter, Mary, here to bring her to her namesake.  All the wonderful Marys in my life and there are many more than this, but to have these 3 together was great for me! 

Wild flowers grow everywhere here, and always adorn our remembering my Mary!  It seems that my weeks in Michigan are always over her anniversary, and it is so appropriate for me to remember her here.  I explained to my grandkids that Mary never came to this cabin here.  But as we were growing up we had a cabin in the lower peninsula on Grand Traverse Bay, and that Mary loved Michigan and the Big Lake!  "Mary and I would walk down the beach and go fossil hunting and talk about life just like we do here.  She loved Michigan and The Big Lake!"

Mary certainly would appreciate the wild flowers and prayers!

So special to pray together for her eternal soul and feel the assurance and peace flow all around us!  Today two of my daughters are especially thinking about her and praying for her as she is their Godmother forever in heaven - Nancy and Susan/Hallel are called to pray for their Godmother and know of her prayers for them from heaven.

It is so special to be here and have her in my heart more today... although there are not many days that go by that I do not think of her. 

In mass today Father spoke about overcoming our fear of carrying the Gospel forth with us.  It brought Hallel ever close to me and how much I have learned from her years with The Community of the Lamb in "chewing" on the Gospel starting the night before and allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us and guide and direct us!  LOVE Jesus in His Word and He will change our lives and minister to all those around us most especially those in our domestic Church/family!

Placing some wild flowers in Our Lady's hand as a prayer lifting to heaven for our dearly departed wonderful Mary!

Jesus, how we long to share you far and wide!  Thank you for our yearning for our lives to go on forever in heaven with you, your wonderful Mother, and all the Saints and Angels! Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Hallelujah

 Bless-bless, Barbara Luke

Always look to her, Luke!

Great Uncle Bill checking over the tires... Luke was impressed!

Simon in the sky swing.

Ruth planting the planters with end of the season plants.

Simon found my dad's paver - Deacon Robert and Nancy Cross

Michigan and Marys is the Best!

Family time with parents and sister, and then daughter and grandchildren.. generations like waves washing over the shore

Walking up from saying goodbye to the beach... my dad suggested that we do a selfie - My dad, my sister, Paula and I.  It has been a emotion packed few days of traveling with my parents up to their former home and our vacation home in Manistique, Michigan! 

On my trip up to my parent's home - a 4 hour trip I was able to pray all 10 decades of my rosary and also my chaplet of Divine Mercy along with a sprinkling of Christian music to keep me awake and focused on the road.  One of the decades of my chaplet is devoted to my sister, Mary, who died on July 3, 1986 from cancer leaving behind her dairy farmer husband and their 20 month old daughter.    It seems that I am always up in our beloved Michigan for this anniversary, and she is with me in a special way here.  Noticing the shamrock plant probably as old as the 30 years since Mary has been gone at my mother's home added to the closeness to her.

Why shamrocks and Mary?  Her birthday is St Patrick's Day!

Everywhere my mother lives... she has a beautiful garden.  I say that she has a green thumb as does my daughter, Ruth and that is skipped a generation with me.

Her beautiful flowers reflect her inner beauty and devotion to her garden. 

A rosary to start our journey then 7 hours of visiting for the time to fly by!

The wonderful sugar sand beach!

The view from the deck is so beloved to me.  So sad to think this might be my last time here!

Hearing about my dad's life during the depression.  His family took their hand at farming to make it through.  Also discovered that his full blooded Swedish mother is actually Finnish!  Looking out at the lake and listening to the sound of the waves all around us!

Sunset on the Big Lake through the trees.

Cleaning and organizing and packing up personal stuff... "Can I keep Mary's graduation picture for her anniversary of her death tomorrow?"  We found this etching of "The Farm" in our cleaning and feel it could be Mary's, so it just adds to my small shrine to honor this special sister, who has been gone for 30 years!  She was 28 and would be 58 today.

Tomorrow after mass I will go to the grotto to Our Lady and send some special prayers her way!

How many times over the past 18 years have I seen my dad sitting in this chair in his apartment at the lake?  How I have missed this for the last 5 years since moving to Wisconsin!  These two days have been a gift!

Out to see the sandy beach and maybe one last look.

Many years spent living on the Big Lake, and now content to live in Wisconsin.  "We have each other so we are happy wherever we live."  This place had the intention of bringing our family together, and it has been successful for these last 18 years, but now it is on the market and so we will need to make a bigger effort to find family time with parents, siblings and their families and our own families.  Sharing family time is a gift and The BEST!

How we celebrate the SAND that has come in the last year!

The cabin in the trees, and dad who did so much work to keep it as wonderful as it is, and wonderful sugar sand!

A selfie with the water behind us... the Big Lake is in our blood!

Thanks mom and dad for all your hard work and love of family... your vision of this retirement/vacation home for you and your family was a blessing to your 10 kids!  So many wonderful times shared here.  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb

My veteran dad with the flag blowing with the backdrop of spectacular beauty... God Bless our Country!