This morning, I went for a run. Unlike usual, it felt great!
The crisp autumn air combined with the warmth of the sun on my face brought unescapable joy -even though life has me traveling through dark valleys. I find that it is so easy to get down when that is the direction I keep looking. But the key to climbing out of the dumps is looking in the direction you want to climb – up.
When I got home, I went to the backyard and crawled in my hammock perched underneath a vibrant red Japanese maple – and all I could see were blue skies. In Portland, I know the clouds are certainly coming. But learn a lesson from the trees – they never stop reaching for the light. We need to remember that just beyond the comparably thin layer of clouds, there are infinite blue skies. And like the trees, we need to keep reaching…even on the cloudy days.
So today, I encourage you to stop, look up, and take a deep breath.
There are blue skies.
And remember the lesson of the trees and never stop reaching
Isaiah 28:27
And at the harvest, the delicate herbs and spices,
the dill and cumin, are treated delicately. On the other hand,wheat is threshed and milled, but still not endlessly.
The farmer knows how to treat each kind of grain.
He’s learned it all from God-of-the-Angel-Armies, who knows everything about when and how and where.
Joining Deidra from jumping tandem and the Sunday community
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This is a working grist mill in Washington State called Cedar Creek.
It is run by water and turbine and throttle pressure.
When they turn the machine on the water is moved up into the mill using old fashioned pulleys.
The water level determines the type of grain that can be milled and threshed.
If it has not rained recently and the water level is too low hard grain such as ‘wheat’ cannot be threshed.
The day we visited we were able to take home a fresh bag of corn meal and also a fresh bag of pancake and waffle mix which are stored in my freezer.
There is a new theme in the blog land to write a letter to your teenage self.
Wow I thought
that would be really hard for me to do.
My teenage years were not the easiest.
Not typical.
Not normal or even peaceful.
Oh we lived in a clean nicely kept home.
For many reasons I was quiet and very cautious.
For many reasons no one knew the life behind closed doors.
This attempt will be a difficult one. Be patient with me as I process this young teen who didn’t know herself very well. The first thing:
The first thing I would say to you is this: God saw you when you were in your room with the door shut
listening to the quiet music of Simon and Garfunkel.
You related to it.
You sang every word and stored them deep into your spirit.
You were alone most of the time and when you were not
You allowed others around you sometimes
although
You rarely let others close to your heart.
You were reserved and cautious and you had every reason to be. You had every reason to be.
On September 11th.
I remember it was early in the morning as we were either making breakfast or just finishing it.
The TV was on as we were watching either Good morning America or a local Oregon show.
The station changed into a scene so catastrophic it was hard to believe or imagine.
The news stations were not just showing and delivering news. They were bringing to the face of America a tragedy.
A sorrowful moment.
A day of disbelief and unimaginable terror …we were all silent as we watched.
Words could not even touch the scenes that we were watching.
The first airplane hit… then the second… the news of other planes going down.
Then in total absolute shock the first tower began to tumble down
crumbling like a ill designed tower of metal.
We watched dust and debris floating all over the screen filled with people running.
Then the second tower weakened by its broken foundations fell toppling itself onto the remains of the first.
I could not get away from the images they were showing on the screen.
My grand daughter was two at the time and I tried to watch it without her seeing the horror of the moment.
This was live viewing as our modern technology allows the sounds and
the screams mixed with panic as we watched the
the dust falling
and the trauma unfolded into our own living rooms.
With my stomach in knots all day long churning and turning like a washing machine agitating
like others I was glued to the television set and could hardly remove myself from the family room.
On September 11th we were attacked like no other time in history unless we remember pearl harbor. On our American soil.
Our land of the free and home of the brave. Many of those brave souls died.
Those who didn’t die had their spirits changed forever.
Nothing would have told each and every one of them that on that day
as they rose to get ready for work or school,
have a muffin or a cup of coffee.
That it would be their last one. EVER. That their lives would be changed
in a moment… in an instant.
Can you even imagine?
Saying goodbye to your loved one with plans for the evening or weekend to come
or dropping your child into the daycare not realizing it would be the last hug,
the last kiss or the last little smile you would share with them.
There were children in the buildings just as there were adults.
It was an American tragedy eleven years ago. My fear is that we have forgotten so much. My fear is that our ‘American patriotism’ that rose to the surface so many days after the tragic moments
has numbed itself.
I pray we never ever let our guard down to let evil prevail. We must be strong as a nation.
Our United States of America must always remember
we are stronger than our enemy.
Evil did not win then and it cannot win now.
May God continue to Bless Our America.
Blessed are the people who know the passwords of praise, who shout on parade in the bright presence of GOD. Delighted, they dance all day long; they know who you are, what you do—they can’t keep it quiet! Your vibrant beauty has gotten inside us— you’ve been so good to us! We’re walking on air! All we are and have we owe to GOD, Holy God of Israel, our King!
Psalm 89
Joining Deidra and the Sunday community
photograph by Maxine of Oregon
from a very special friend of ours I pray you can take a moment and listen to a gentle teaching from Joel.
On the road less traveled, here, sitting in the middle of the Salmon River, I want to lift up a prayer for you:
I pray that you would know
the richness of God’s love and presence in your life.
He is the God of life.
He is the Breath of life.
And as you breath your lungs take in the presence,
the very presence and power of God.
(If you don’t believe me, just read your Bibles…
…or just get out here, where nature screams it.)
But in this moment in time –
Wherever you are at –
Whatever your struggle –
Whatever your victory –
Whatever your pain –
Whatever your shame –
Know this – that you cannot escape the presence of God.
And I pray the you would sense that right now.
And as you draw in the next breath that it would give you peace and strength
– to get through this day and face tomorrow.
And that you would trust that the goodness of God would follow you
– like a never ending stream.
And that you would know God in the way that I have come to know him.
And see him in everything that lives.
And that you would find the time to escape man’s world and man’s creation
and see God.
In some ways that’s a big prayer and in other ways it is so simple.
I pray that you will breathe the presence of God in,
in a way that you have never known or never understood.
And maybe you’ve never believed –
But as you take your breath
(We’ve lost in translation,
but literally the Bible says that he is our Breath, he is our Life)
And as you draw in that Breath this life that fills your body and your lungs and your heart,
Know that God is present – not just with you but in you
and by virtue of his presence he knows your thoughts.
Your struggles.
Your secrets.
And he loves you anyway.
May that give you peace and joy and security today.
Worship him.
Breathe him.
Know him
– like you’ve never known before.
This is my prayer for you.
From the road less traveled.
You know what I’m going to say…
Get out there!
After reading the book “Saying it well” by Charles Swindoll.
It has left me with many things to process.
He tells the reader to find your calling.
Your place in life that gives you peace.
A calm heart’s condition.
A restful soul experience. A knowing that you are right where you need to be right now.
In reading that I had to ask myself… have I found my call in life?
Is it possible to ever really find it? This blog is three years old now.
Over 500 posts have been written and what can be said about it is this:
The heart and soul of why I sit before a screen and pound my thoughts out by the strokes of a key board
is to encourage others in the process of relationships.
Looking back into the writings that the Lord put on my heart the whole message is knowing one’s heart condition.
Creating an attitude of gratitude as I learned from the wonderful
Ann Voskamp and her book ‘A thousand Gifts’.
We have many things to be grateful for even when we feel we have nothing.
When we feel we have nothing then we need to start small just as Ann did and write down everything before us and around us and open our eyes to what we really have been given.
In the “Saying it well” book he tells the reader if one is going to write or speak
it has to be in such a way that when others hear your words
they will feel and be moved and be touched within
by the intensity and power of what they read.
Ann has done that by simply teaching others to be grateful. Touching others with our words is not an easy task for a writer.
We have to reach in and find the right reason to share what is on our heart.
Charles Swindoll said, “whenever someone is reading your writings or listening to you
they are taking a part of their day to pay attention.
Make it worth their time.”
I am learning:
It is the character and the life of your writing that will help others to return.
We read favorite books because we enjoy their style and their personalities.
The same is true for this kind of writing.
More than anything I want this to be an authentic place where being real is the way it is and being honest and open is acceptable.
Today I am grateful and thankful for the readers who read this writing of mine and comment and encourage me in this process.
My prayer is that I can encourage you too
as we walk this journey called life together and perhaps in this process we can all find ‘something to think about’.
It has been two weeks now since we lost our old black dog.
My heart is still heavy and sad.
I watch Emma my old red Australian cattle dog lay outside on her bed.
She is lonely.
I can tell she is not sure of what to do without ‘her buddy’ near her. Change is hard.
How can we move towards change
We can put our foot down and resist it or
we open our hands and welcome it.
For me change is hard.
I rarely move my furniture.
I drive a 1995 toyota corolla.
We have lived in the same house now for nearly 16 years.
(the longest I have ever lived anywhere)
When we find a church we love we don’t like to leave it. Change brings grief and stomach upsets and fatigue.
Especially if we have to change and we didn’t want to.
Losing a buddy was not something Emma wanted.
None of us want to lose something close to us.
When we do
our choice is to feel it
acknowledge it and then move forward
taking one step at a time
one very small step at a time.
Emma is very sad.
I do believe dogs grieve.
In time she will be less sad.
In time she will know we are here for her.
In time she will understand she gets special attention
because it is only her now.
We all need to accept life as it changes In a moment in time.
Soft clouds awakening the day… the dark shadows representing
the quiet of the night.
We open our lives with anticipation of what is to come
in the newness of the morning.
A new day
A new beginning
A new chance to begin again.
Joining Deidra on jumping tandem with the Sunday community
{photo by Margo from Yamhill}
One Word 2018 Simplify/2019 Simplify/2020 Rest, 2021/Comfort
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my 2017 picture
Philipians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength. ==================== Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." Courage is not the absence of fear but it's taking action in the midst of it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A diamond is a chunk of coal that made good under pressure.
It's your heart, not the dictionary that gives meaning to your words. Matthew 12:34 (msg) version.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Below you will find a few of my favorite websites or blogs. They have given me encouragement and challenged me on this journey.
Ann Voskamp's blog A holy Experience This image of a bleeding heart represents a journey of healing from brokenness to wholeness. Some of my favorite books: One thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
Married over 46 years and entered into my 65th year of life.
I am a mother of two and grandmother of six and mom to two very spoiled kitties. I love to worship and encourage and of course write whenever I can find a topic or subject to share about.
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Thank you for visiting my blog.
I hope you find it encouraging and that it gives you
'Something to think about'. The vision for this is to challenge the reader into a new and different way of thinking. I appreciate and always value your comments. Having others walk alongside and join in the sharing is part of the process.
Thank you for joining me... on this journey. As we get encouraged ~ Lord help us to encourage others. "And the day came when the risk to remain a tight bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin my blog button The crosses are found on a beach at Winema Christian Camp on the Oregon coast.. a place to relax and find God in the process. My favorite place ....to rest and restore my spirit.
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