Beauty

         It is such a beautiful day.  After yesterdays grey gloom and rain, it is quite amazing how quickly things have switched back to sunny and clear.  I am house-sitting right now at my favorite place, and though I am not one to seek large amounts of solitude, it has been a very pleasant two days.  Currently, I am sitting out on the back patio overlooking layers of mountains covered in green pine trees.  When the breeze picks up from the right direction the air fills with the most heavenly smell of jasmine.  A small fountain tinkles softly nearby as several very loud hummingbirds flit back and forth around a feeder.  My mug of earl grey tea (my favorite kind) sits atop my copy of Thoreau’s Walden,which I have been faithfully reading the past few days.  I must admit while Thoreau describes his own beloved surroundings my eyes tend to wander from the page to the beauty surrounding me.  Recently my days have been filled with big plans and big changes all focusing on the future, but I constantly remind myself not to let the present slip through my fingers.  No matter what the future holds, I live now.  No matter where I end up, I am happy now.  I love my Lord.  I love my family.  I love my home.  I love who I am.  
I love my life.    

 

Words To Live By

Pulling Away

          I took the plunge and pulled the plug on facebook.  I do not see this as being a permanent parting, but I intend to stick solely to the face God gave me until after the New Year.  I am shocked when I look back over the last few weeks and realize how many hours I spent wandering around the virtual paths of the social network.  Seeing what people were doing, waiting for anticipated messages for hours, and just plain wasting time.  No more.  Life is way too short to live virtually.  I do intend to make my blog a top priority however.  I have, somewhere along the way, lost sight of what I always intended my blog to be, a scrapbook.  I wanted this space to be a place to store and share parts of my life, and lately life has proven to be rather challenging.  Growing pains are never easy, but ignoring them rarely makes it any easier. A wonderful friend passed along this beautiful poem . . .

When the way I see is stony

And the path ahead is steep,

I’ve learned a way to climb it

And grow flowers at my feet.

Lift up the feeble hands that hang,

And eyes cast toward the ground.

Look high above the mountain-tops

To Him who wears the crown.

Let praises flow from stumbling lips

While glory shines around.

The way is UP, which makes it hard,

But you have covered ground.

Progress stalls and grovels low

When your spirit is cast down.

The rocks are sharp and hurt your feet;

You see your brother’s frown.

But praise Him in the hardest spot;

His Spirit will bring cheer,

No harm can come from trusting Him

And He the way will clear.

See now the flowers at your feet

Where once were only stones?

These grew while you were praising Him,

And looked to Him alone.

-Chris Josephson

          Too many times I become so focused on cursing the stones, that I totally forget the flowers; or worse, I trample them in my unseeing frustration at the hardships blocking my path.  Life is definitely not easy, but we only get one try at it, that alone should be an incentive to give it our best shot.  So, I begin the first moment of the rest of my life . . . now!

Time

          Monday has come and gone again.  You know all those jokes about Monday?  Like this one for example.

          Though I still look forward to the end of the week, mostly because that is when so many fun activities are planned, I no longer dread the preceding days.  Time is too short to rush through.  When you come down to it, all we really have is time; time to spend with people, time to love, time to live, time to look up at the stars . . .  

          If everything and everyone were suddenly ripped away from us, we would still have time.  With that in mind, I remind myself to enjoy every single day.  Even hard days usually have some glimmer of joy in them, even if it is only those last drowsy moments before drifting off to sleep.  So embrace every day, it is all we have.       

Blue Moon

          Have you seen the moon?  The special blue moon, the full sturgeon moon, the green corn moon, the grain moon?  If you haven’t, step outside and take a look!  I walked up to my house without needing a flashlight under its incredible bright, red glow.  I tried to take pictures, but some things just cannot be saved, only experienced.   

They're Gone!

          This morning as I was putting something away in the laundry room I peeked out the window and failed to see any little Robin faces or open beaks.  Going outside to investigate I discovered an empty nest.  Our baby Robins have flown away!  In less than two weeks they went from four small blue eggs to fully feathered birds.  Good luck little Robins!  I wish you well and hope to see you hopping around the garden.

Walk Softly

          A couple springs ago we saw some evidence of a nest being built in a camellia bush along the walkway leading to the front door.  Now, as with most front doors, there is a lot of comings and goings which can be quite noisy, so the building site was abandoned.  Last spring, a pair of blue jays spent a couple weeks building the nest into a large structure, but anytime someone would walk by they would fly away in a panic so they also gave up on the nest.  Last week, two robins discovered the fixer-upper nest and went right to work, they would watch us with a careful eye when we walked by but they did not fly off in a panic like the previous tenants.  A couple of days ago Rachel was able to peek into the nest while the birds were away and saw a glimpse of blue.  Since then the mama bird has been sitting faithfully on the nest, keeping an eye on us as we walk by; it has been a good reminder not to slam the front door.  So, if you stop by, be sure and walk softly.  And if you walk slowly, you may be able to catch a glimpse of the mama bird sitting on her nest.

Glimpses of Color

Do not get lost in a black and white world, stop and see the colors.

Where is the line to see Jesus?

Dream

Quote by Walt Disney.  Photo discovered on Facebook.