Be a Shout of Color…

023

Picture Credit: Julianne Jackson

The fallen azalea flower…

far removed from its mother bush.

Bright pink, but face down in all the muck and mud that gathers before the opening of the drainage ditch.

Just the gentlest of showers could carry it into that darkest of places – forgotten.

But for now it is a shout of color within the dirty debris.

Being itself in the midst…as it is called to be…as it needs to be.

“Be who you are and be that well in order to honor the Master whose handiwork you are.” St. Francis de Sales

“When they walk through the valley of weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs.”

 

+It has been awhile since I have posted on this blog and I hope now to return more regularly.  I have weekly been posting on my professional blog at http://www.lifelinesmobile.org/blog and you are welcome to visit me there. And yet I have missed this place, this bit of Godly sanctuary, and each of you my readers. I’m learning that in work we often wear seatbelts. I see God so connected in the all about me, it blesses me (and I h0pe you as well) to share those bits of light. In this crazy, mixed up world we need to remember God is with us. He is Emmanuel, and we in turn are called to be those shouts of color…that hope for the weary.

Advertisement

Buzzing of Bee Thoughts…

 

image via newsroom.ucr.edu

image via newsroom.ucr.edu

The buzzing of bee thoughts…humming in the head…

prevent living the glory of the present moment…

with stings of future and past.

The soft gentle rain that hinders the bees’ busyness…

is the mist of fine grace received that quiets the hum…

when all I think, do, or say is brought to Him…

who is the honey of our peace.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you.  Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. ” John 14:27

In the Gooey, Gummy, Messy, Marvelous…

image via from the heart of j

image via from the heart of j

Find God in the everyday…

In the midst…in the muck..in the ups…in the downs…

Believing in Him is not some form of escapism that takes us away from the richness of the everyday.

It is here, alleluia, we find Him…

In the now of today…in the all of life with us.

Yes, find God today in the everyday…in the midst…

In the gooey, gummy, messy, marvelous of the day…

For it is through Him, with Him, in Him in the unity of the Holy Spirit…

All glory and honor be yours almighty Father forever and ever…

In the everyday…in the midst…in the gooey, gummy, messy, marvelous of THIS day.

Cocooned in the Fog…

 

image via flickrhivemind.net

image via flickrhivemind.net

Cocooned in pain and heaviness and fatigue…

Chaos in the muscles and coldness under skin.

Spun into the being while the doing of the day continues on undone.

Never a welcome guest fibromyalgia storms in unexpected…

Taking captive…the flare…the fog.

All becomes a prayer.

May the challenge of this day be lived centered in Christ for all those who have lost hope in His love and His mercy.

“At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid.” Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Matt 14:27-31

Falling Face First…

images5UBNL593

Fall into God. Face first.

Surrender the lofty mountain of self…strewn with idols ever demanding.

To Him who is the way.

Fall into God. Face first.

Surrender all the roughness of life…sharp with pain, disappointment, despair.

To Him who is the way.

Fall into God. Face first.

And arise weightless…through Him, with Him, in Him.

Into the Glory of the Day…

image via from the heart of j

image via from the heart of j

 

Be lifted into the glory of the day…

Into the whoosh of wonder…into the no such thing as normal.

Moments charged with eternity…

Held within the ticking of the clock…burst forth heaven into the here and now.

“We need to rediscover a contemplative spirit, so that the love of God may warm our hearts.” Pope Francis Twitter 4/8/14

Shutters of the Heart…

Annecy, France image via fromtheheartofj

Annecy, France
image via fromtheheartofj

There is something sacred about the early morn…

the just waking up of the world as the sky stretches into the hello of the sun…

easing into colors of praise pinks, blues, and yellows.

The birds begin their hymns… their song joining in the symphony.

How often Lord have I insulated myself from the joy of arrival…

with curtains drawn and a hit to the snooze button?

The song of the new day knocks

May I be awake to answer this glory…

May my life be a part of this orchestra of grace each day anew.

Let the shutters of my heart be opened.

Sand Storm of Purification…

imagesW9B4PZDQ

The desert…

The place of encounter…

Inner wrestling with Truth resplendent…

Stripped of the color of everyday…

The starkness…the silence…the heat…

The sand storm of purification in the rending of the heart…

Brings an oasis of grace…peace unshakeable…spirit renewed.

“Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” Joel 2:12-13

Blessings on your Lent. May your journey in the desert bring you ever deeper into the Heart of Jesus.

An Epic Poem to be Savored….

feet-up-resting-footstool

Official permission to slow down one’s life…

is like being given an epic poem yet to be savored.

Give thanks for those things in life that sloooooow down one’s steps….

for truly the mind and the heart soon follow. (I promise)

“Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ” James 1:2-3.

Rising to the Challenge…

image via from the heart of j

image via from the heart of j

In the much to do…in the little to do…

In the sufferings and sorrows…in the joys and laughter…

In the consolations…in the desolations…

In the can’t wait to do…in the can’t stand to do…

God has picked you!

Will you rise to the challenge?

His Grace is sufficient.

All is Grace.