Fully Alive ~

With

joy

passion

love

diversity

live

it 

fully

with

arms

spread 

wide

{original photo was taken by his father}

Gratitude ~

Simply

want to say

thank you
Lord

for

what I have

and

for

what I have not

May your day be filled

with

thanks and giving

Eye Of The Beholder ~

It's with pleasure that I share the following poem and photo courtesy of a dear friend of mine. She wrote the poem on one of her visits to the North Shore. The photo is also from that area.

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER

The tour guide said, “The leaves aren’t so brilliant this Autumn --

    just average -- ... too many pests, too much heat,

       too little rain ... don’t expect the golds and

        scarlets and yellows to be as stunning

            as usual.”

I didn’t catch all the details.

    I was too busy relishing the golds, and scarlets, and yellows.

The Looking Glass ~

"Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see."

John W. Whitehead

bright

beautiful

personable

seven

going on

seventeen

her journey

hardly begun

her story

still

in outline form

are

we

equipped

prepared

willing

to be

all

we need to be

for these

living messages

we

send on

~

 daughter

sister

granddaughter

of

precious friends

one of many messages

The Swan ~

Today

it's about statement

not

quality of photo

{my little point and shoot just

doesn't have the range}

I know

this position

is part

of

every swan's life

and
for good reason

but

some days

it's just how I feel

for

no good reason

a

hiding my head

don't confuse me with facts

kind of day

it too

will pass

and

once again

all will be right

with

the world

The Journey ~

Hope you have

a

great

week-end!

Leaves ~

 

How beautifully leaves grow old.

How full of light and color are their last days.

 John Burroughs

Self - Conscious ~

"Deliver us from the necessity

of living in a world

that allows

for

only the clones of self

in order to love

one another."

Cookie Talk ~

When

a cookie

says

a lot

 {email message from my son - click to enlarge}

I've been dealing with an infection

and

antibiotic side effects

for the past week

so haven't been feeling

the best

Sunday ... my son baked some

wonderful

oatmeal cookies

with

chocolate chips

and

my

daughter-in-law

hand delivered them

fresh from the oven

you know

when the chips are still warm

and soft

and

they melt in your mouth

the

warmth of the love

that accompanied

them

was the best part though

I love my kids

BIG TIME!

Heritage ~

 

 

!!! JOY !!! ~

What makes your heart

!!! jump !!!

for joy

My grandson

does

it

!!!! for me !!!!

!!!!!

May

the joy

of

the Lord

be your strength

as you head

into 

the

week-end

Miss Raggedy ~

Raggedy Ann~

Five
I was
when
she arrived
unexpected
in the mail
a time
{materialistically speaking}
when
we had very little
“Don’t take her outside
or she’ll get dirty,”
I heard
as she and I
ran out the door
to explore
  the trees
  the creek
  to feel the wind

Five
I was
when
the
heart sorrow
of disobedience

was felt
  no spanking
  no corner time
  no harsh words
just
“Where did you drop her?”
as
we tried
to clean
the fine

silty
dirt
from
  her face
  her hands
  her pretty dress
her pinafore

 forgiveness
given and received

yet
the stain
of disobedience
lingers on
Five
I was

Rust ~

 

 

What's

not to love

about

~ rust ~
visually
speaking
at
least

In Honor ~ In Memory

For those of you

who

served

and

came home

we

thank you

For those of you

who

served

and

gave your life

we

thank you

{my uncle's Army hat and a medal from WWII}

My mother

was in

the first grade

the

day
the teacher
made

the announcement

that
World War I

had ended

it was

a memory

that

remained

with her

all of her life

today

and every day

may

we not forget

those

who have paid

a dear and precious

price
for
our freedom

"Greater love

has

no man than this

that

he lay down his life

for a brother"

For a great day ~

Living structure ...

Clarity in reflection ...

  Purpose with passion ...

A Summer Memory ~

Feeling the need

for

some

summer softness

these

umber

autumn

days

A bed of diamonds ~

Anatomy of a leaf

Silence calls to silence

exposed

for

all to see

death

light

shadow

all

part

of eternity

Peace ~

Peace

is

seeing

a sunset

and

knowing

who

to thank

{unknown}

The Ordinary ~

God still draws near to us

in the ordinary, commonplace,

everyday experiences and places

... He comes in surprising ways ...

Henry Gariepy

The Antonym ~

mundane
adjective

humdrum, dull, boring, tedious, monotonous, tiresome, wearisome, unexciting, uninteresting, uneventful, unvarying, unremarkable, repetitive, repetitious, routine, ordinary, everyday, day-to-day, run-of-the-mill, commonplace, workaday; informal plain-vanilla, ho-hum.

 

~ antonym ~

extraordinary, imaginative

No two snowflakes 

are alike

dwell

in discovery

dwell

in possibility

dwell

in the antonym

Remembering Domingo ~

The young man named Domingo stood at the head of the bed … barber’s shears in hand. Four months had passed since I had been admitted to the hospital due to a spinal cord injury. Halloween and Thanksgiving had come and gone. Christmas would soon be here.  My husband (now an ex), who was stationed at an AFB in Texas, was coming “home” on leave. Home for us that Christmas was Room 409 in a hospital in the middle of Montana several hundred miles from our real home. The nurses had decided to gift me with a haircut and “do” in preparation for his coming. I had graduated from the circle bed to a regular hospital bed, but I was still unable to sit in a chair. This would come later … much later. But I digress. Domingo had an agenda … other than a haircut. Domingo knew Jesus. Domingo loved to talk about Jesus. I was Lutheran. I didn’t know Jesus the way Domingo knew Jesus. This was about to change. His enthusiasm knew no bounds. What he couldn’t articulate with his tongue, he articulated with his hands. Remember now … he’s there to cut my hair, and I was growing a bit apprehensive as his gesturing gained momentum. I watched {carefully} and then listened quietly as he told me about his Jesus. There was very little to be said on my part … some of his expressions were unfamiliar to me and I didn’t fully understand. That would change … he would be back  … there would be more haircuts … and I would learn about praise and worship … and Jesus. Oh, how I would learn. And I would learn that we both knew the same Jesus … him ... according to the zeal that was an integral part of his personality … me ... in the quietness that was an integral part of my personality. I would like to think that we learned together.

Domingo … wherever you are …
thank you for telling me about your Jesus.

The word of choice for the blog carnival today
is 
remember. 
As it has many meanings
I chose the one
that means 
to reminisce

Busy-ness ~

Sometimes

life

just gets

way

too busy

so just 

for this moment

breathe ... in

breathe ... out

~ there ~

that's better

have 

a

day

filled

with Light

and wonder

and

peace