Barefoot Dreamin' on a Winter's Day

Sitting in the backyard, bare feet in the green grass, we marveled at how in a few short months our world would be covered in white.  It was almost impossible to believe. Well, guess what -- it’s here.




                  The White Stuff.

It took longer to arrive this year, and now it just keeps on coming.

It’s so pretty when it sticks to every branch. And so frustrating when you can’t see curbs or oncoming traffic due to gigantic snow banks.

Ah, Winter in the upper Midwest.

There is a little Alien in a cartoon circulating on Facebook that says, “The air hurts my face! Why do I live where the air hurts my face?”

Indeed.

Snowfalls can be quite beautiful, especially when observed through the windows while sitting beside a toasty, warm fireplace! Although I admit there are times when I bundle up to enjoy a nice winter walk, especially when the snow is falling softly in big, fat, fluffy flakes. My favorite kind of snow.

However, when wind chills hit the double digits (below zero), I question why I live where the air hurts my face.

I left here, once, and I was gone for a very long time. But then I came back.

I’m thinking that the beauty outweighs the cold, or I wouldn’t be here.

That’s what we do, isn’t it?

We keep pressing thru the bitterest of times, looking for the beauty in each day, each life. Knowing that life is such a fragile thing.

Underneath the snow, my plants sleep. Frozen solid, in a few short months, they will begin to fight through the thawing ground, and life will return. 

It’s an amazing cycle to witness, and without the extreme change of seasons, I don’t know that I would retain the awe I now feel at knowing the secret.

Knowing that, beneath the layers of gently falling snow (and the layer of ice from the freezing rain) the frozen ground protects the roots and bulbs of all my plants. And come Spring, I will know their beauty once again.

May it always be so.

Blessings on the season you are in.

One for All

“And we, though many, throughout the earth; we are one body in this one Lord."   *

Powerful words on World Communion Sunday. My heart was filled as I sang from the choir’s back row, my arms and my heart opened to the power of a world united in love.

Is it but a dream?

It is my lifelong dream.

Peace.

Love is my mission in the world, though I never really explored that thought before. I seek beauty, and love is beautiful. Now, before you think I’m stuck in 1969, let me explain.

To me, beauty is in God’s Creation. It’s all around us! The birds, the trees, the skies. YOU. You are God’s Creation.

Each being, special in its own gift of life that it brings. All meant to live together, if not in complete harmony, at least in symbiosis.

  

This beautiful World, given to us to live and grow on, and to love one another while we’re here.

It isn’t right that our species focuses on ways to kill and ways to heal at the same time.

We need to focus on spiritual growth, expansion of the mind into new perspectives, and understanding oneself and our purpose here on this earth.

Though we all have different thoughts on what or who our God is, it is safe to say that we are all living, breathing human beings walking this earth together. I see more similarities in that than differences.

Perhaps that is what we need to focus on. Understanding more of how we are alike. This involves compassion, acceptance and tolerance, as we learn to work together for the betterment of humankind.

All for All.

Is it just a dream?

I know it is not. I know there are like-minded people in the world who seek peace and justice over retaliation and restitution.

Learning to live together, in Peace.

Could that be the reason we're here? 







* One Bread, One Body , John B. Foley - United Methodist Hymnal

Done Any Casting Lately?

Sunday Scripture

and a

Song

"Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." 

1 Peter 5:7 NRSV

When your heart is broken. When all hope is gone. Even in our sadness, especially in our sadness, we are not alone. We must remember to cast all of our anxiety on God, and because He cares for us, loves us, so much, we are given His peace in return. I can't explain how it works, I only know that it does. 

Sometimes I feel I must lay my burdens at His feet every day until I can finally release my anxiety. Some times are easier, some harder. But when I remember to seek Him first, the rocky road seems a little less bumpy, and even if I can't see the way, I know the road is before me and I don't walk alone. 

I thank God for always standing by me, even when I failed to call on His name. 

Hopefully, I'll remember to call on Him sooner next time. 

Enjoy Cast Your Cares by Finding Favour....It speaks my heart today

Subscribers, please click on Hope to find to view this video on my blog site. 

Mobile users may choose to view this video on youtube.

Singing in the Rain!

Did you ever notice that the birds sing even on a rainy morning?

I awoke to a robin singing a sweet spring song outside my window. It’s such a pleasure to be able to leave the windows open again while we sleep.

I knew the weather was predicted to be rainy and possibly stormy, and I had already resolved that we wouldn’t be landscaping today. Spring rains are a sure way to slow down my work. 

And sometimes, that's okay - Especially on a Monday!

What I did not expect was that despite the dreary, wet morning, the birds were still going to sing, as if nothing could deter them from their joy and purpose.

Perhaps we need to be more like the birds.

Too often I let the troubles of life weigh me down. Sometimes it makes it hard for me to see the sunshine. Sometimes I wish it would be a gloomy day to match my mood.

It isn't often that this dark mood dampens my spirits. I have been blessed with a rather sunny disposition (most of the time), and it can drive some people crazy as there are  those who prefer a rather damp temperament.

But most people are drawn to those who seem to exude the joy of life through everything they do. We all know someone like that. These are the people whom you wonder, “How can they be happy all the time?”

I believe it is a choice to be happy. Nobody is happy all the time. Life deals its lot of joy and sadness without thought to where it lands. Much like when I spread fertilizer by hand. 

Sometimes too much here or there, but usually it’s pretty evenly distributed. 

We have to choose joy like the songbirds.

Earlier this spring, when snow and ice still predominated the landscape and the morning temperatures were below zero, I walked outside and heard the birds singing their early springtime songs.  It gave me such hope!

After months of long, frigid nights and not a spot of color in the landscape, these sweet feathered harbingers of joy began to announce that most assuredly spring would come.

And indeed it did! May is busting out all over. Trees are either blooming or sporting a new growth of baby green leaves. Tulips and daffodils dot the landscape with their bright heads stalwartly defying strong winds and storms.

Perhaps we are more like the bulb plants. We hide in the darkness of our winters, but we must have the tenacity to reach for the light.

A bulb grows slowly through the thawing ground, unbeknownst to us. Gradually the leaves and stem emerge, reaching ever skyward as the stalk grows longer and stronger.

Sort of a resurrection, all of this life returning from a frozen world.

We can begin again. We can reach for the Light of the world and we can choose to continue to grow.

And for our own good, we can choose to be happy.

Life isn’t about the things we have. Sure, we like to have nice things and we certainly need clothing and shelter.

But I believe life is more than these things. It is a journey.

Though the road stretches out before us, and for some of us, winds a long way behind, we can only see the part that is right before us.

Think of walking on a path. We can only concentrate on the part that is under our feet. We can’t see where the twists and turns of the future (path) will lead us.

And so, we must not worry about what is ahead.

We must live in the moment, enjoying the gifts of life, slowing down long enough to enjoy the sound of raindrops after months of not hearing them. Savoring the song of the birds as they rejoice in the new life all around them.

Every day holds some joy. Those that choose to live in that joy will find it. Sometimes it takes more effort to come out of our darkness to see the light.

But it is definitely worth the effort to feel the sun on our face once again.

Look for the joys, the little surprises that this new season brings to us. They’re not hard to find when life is being created practically right before our eyes.

I hope the joys of springtime help you find your way out of the darkness. Savor the moments that replenish your spirit.






As you find those moments, you will soon fill your days with more joys than sorrows, and propel yourself into a new way of seeing life on this big, green world.




Happy Springtime, everyone! 

You Have It, So Bring It!

We are all greater than we think we are.

Believe it, my friend.

Worldly forces seem hell-bent to put us down, to keep us in our place. 

They they seem to flaunt, "How dare you think you have something special to share?"

I'm here to say that YOU DO!

We ALL do.

God made each of us in a unique way. We all have special gifts. Some that we may not have even discovered yet.

Often we feel what we have to offer isn't good enough to share with the world. We wonder, who would care to hear what we have to bring?

There's always that nagging voice that whispers to us to say that we aren't good enough, that what we bring isn't special at all, and that nobody cares.

I hear that voice all the time.

And I'm learning to tell it to shut up.

That is the voice that stops us from being all that we can be.

That negative self-talk that keeps us from believing our truth. This truth: that who we are is important, and that someone, somewhere, needs to hear (see, read, use, build, understand) whatever it is that is within us trying to find its way to the light of day.

We all have gifts. We are each uniquely special. Your smile, your laugh, your friendship, your hospitality, your caring, all belong to you and you alone. 

The love you bring to this earth can only come from you. 

We each have to do our part. 

Together, we make something great. 

So don't give up on your dreams. Don't be afraid to share your special talent. Honor yourself and go forward with your goals. 

We'll all be better for it. 

And don't listen to that whispering doubt that you can't do it; that you aren't good enough, or you just don't have what it takes. 

Tell that voice to be quiet. And listen only to that still, small voice that you need to hear.

The voice of encouragement that tells you: I made you for greatness. You are the apple of my eye, and I want you to be all that I know you can be. 

Open your heart to the possibilities. Resurrect that dream that has died. We only have this one life to live. We need to always remember to keep growing, so we may become the person our mature self can look back on and say, "Yes, I did it!"



It's never too late to begin anew. 

Let's work together to encourage each other.

I want to see (hear, taste, read, discover) what you have to bring. I really do, and I'm waiting...



It's time for the world to know you. Even if it's just in your own, small way.  Bring it!!