Five Minute Friday :: Still

I'm linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five Minute Friday with the writing prompt:

Still...


Go

I sit and peer through the window, through the few 60 ft trees remaining just past the patch of green that spreads the length of this sanctuary, where I sit and sip my coffee, to the water quietly rippling and the branches gently swaying to the calm serenity that brushes through.  A pure white backdrop envelopes this scene with a fog that spreads across the heavens.

Who does this? Who draws me in with the magnificence of this creation? Who commands a storm to be still? Who is worthy of the worship I witness surrounding me? And who envelopes me within this canvas to cause me to stop, be still, and know - only the Creator.

Who am I among all of this magnificence, with tumultuous waters within, too often fighting the current causing me, too little, to notice the handiwork of the Creator?

Still, I am chosen. I am His...valued far above every other breath-taking element that bends my knee. All of life may blaze by yet, to be still is to know that  He is God.

Stop

What Will You See?

The Lord does not look at the things people look at. people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:17

Whose eyes will you see with today? That of your human flesh or through the eyes of Christ? 

For more inspiration, go to Internet Cafe Devotions for Word Filled Wednesday and Katie Lloyd Photography for Scripture and a Snapshot.

Five Minute Friday :: Full

I'm linking up with Lisa-Jo at The Gypsy Mama for Five Minute Friday with the writing prompt

Full...

Go


Our summer started out full of activity, between soccer camp, baseball, swimming lessons, and vacation bible school. Then, as soon as the last activity ended, we packed full the Yukon and cruised seventeen hours to our vacation destination...three weeks doing nothing on the beach that my husband has walked circular miles on collecting oysters growing up, in which two generations of his family have called home. Only we would not be staying with family this trip, but using their home as our vacation home.

We set out to settle in and to have nothing planned throughout this trip. 

Admittedly, it was a little awkward at first. It took some getting used to - that whole not being busy feeling, which we seem to desperately cling to in this culture. The first few days here didn't really feel like vacation or home...just out of sorts. Yet, given a little time, our nothing turned into boat rides and kayaking at our leisure, fishing, exploring (turning over large rocks on the beach and watching little crabs scatter while we squeal), parks, library and a lot of reading. But, the best part? Just being together. That awkward, out of sorts feeling we just pushed through has turned into days full of the joy of just being...as each day, even if nothing else is planned, we look forward to snuggling together and reading the next couple of chapters of just one of the books we've been reading on this trip. Priceless. 


Because in nothing we've found that life is full all around us.

Stop

Cherries And Fits

Need I say more?

Linking up with:

 Wordless Wednesday

Wordish Wednesday

When Joy Comes Without Condition

I can see the water from where I lay. Eyelids squint early, tucked beyond the trees, I witness the calm of His creation in another little corner of the earth.

Hot, sunny days are an exception, in this corner, to the drizzling out the window and overcast heavens.


And what we are reminded of in these conditions is that joy does not come with condition. 


When overcast does not keep you confined to peering through your window and when a little drizzle does not stop you from jumping in, there is joy to be had - even when the conditions are not just right.

Like I heard in service yesterday, we don't receive just when we are in the right place to receive - when the conditions are just right. But, we receive because we are not in that right place. Because we need to receive in order to live. Live fully.

If every moment is a gift, will we receive it - in spite of the conditions? In spite of our condition? 

Only when we receive every moment as a gift can there be joy.

And as Ann Voskamp points out in her book, One Thousand Gifts, "...giving thanks is the way into joy." So, we do this - we receive by giving thanks. 

And as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 states, "Give thanks in all circumstances..."

I can see the water from where I lay, and by the end of the day we will have submerged fully into the beauty of what is; not depending upon condition (as in circumstance), which determines happiness; but without condition, which determines joy.

#120-135 of all this thankfulness for:

a seventeen hour car ride

a cooler filled with lunch for a park

rain throughout the day

sunshine peaking through the clouds

fog resting on the water

overcast skies

grandparents

new life

boat rides after dinner

bat mitten

ping pong

water tucked beyond the trees

exploring something new

anticipating three-weeks of this

reading program going strong

working my way to One Thousand Gifts and beyond of gratitude and linking up with Multitudes on Mondays at Holy Experience, Sol Deo Gloria at Finding Heaven, Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday at Graceful: Faith in the Everyday, and Playdates at The Wellspring

How To Get A {Creative} Hobby In 5 Simple Steps

Is there something that you know not a thing about because - well, you've never been put in a position to need to know? Like trigonometry. I've always been good with numbers, but because my Psychology degree did not require that class, I never took it. Therefore, I know not a thing about it. Or, say - gardening. I have an eye for beauty yet, have never needed to cultivate a flower garden, therefore, know not a thing about it...

up until a couple of weeks ago.

Our summer project this year has been landscaping our flower gardens around our house. After my husband, Rob, rota-tilled the ground and built up the retaining wall around the front patio, we were ready to plant - and it was up to me to devise the plan.

Only how is a girl to make decisions when she knows not a thing about it?

She schools herself on it.

And determines, in 5 simple steps, how to gain a creative hobby:

1. Read up on it. I picked up a couple of books and explored on-line to become informed.

2.Get lot's of visual ideas. I got ideas from books, magazines, on-line and around town. I began to get a vision for the outcome.

3. Ask lots of questions. I went to our local nursery with my vision and asked tons of questions, which enhanced the vision for my plan.

4. Make a plan. I sketched out the space to landscape and started etching in my ideas for shrubs and flowers - considering space, plant demands, seasons, texture, color, etc.

5. Go for it! Many questions simply did not get answered until I got started. I then could see visually how my plan would layout and started filling in the gaps.

And wah-lah, a new creative hobby. I know that each spring I will look forward to this creative beauty and will continue to prune and weed and plant and water and just take it in the moments of beauty. Life. All wrapped up in the lessons creativity offers.

Front of the House

Backside of the House

 

Along the Driveway

Most importantly, nothing creative should be rushed and nothing done well can be rushed. Let inspiration be your guide. 

I'm linking up with Homemake By Choice for her week long blog hop. Hop on over and share a link!

{this moment} Morning Glory

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you are inspired to do the same, head over to SouleMama and leave your link. 

 

Enough

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

I used to think of this verse in terms of physical needs, such as, food, shelter, and clothing. However, could it be saying more? Could it be saying that my God will give me everything I need, coinciding with his perfect plan for me - everything I need spiritually to fulfill his purposes for my life, which is intended to bring him glory through Christ Jesus? Nothing less. Nothing more.

Do you know that you already have everything you need to make an impact on someone's life? To make a difference in someone's world? To accomplish His purposes for your life right here. right now. today?

You have enough and are enough because He is enough.

I'm linking up with Sol Deo Gloria at Finding Heaven, Scripture and a Snapshot at Katie Lloyd Photography, and Word Filled Wednesday at Internet Cafe Devotions.