messy

No matter how hard I try,  I mess up.  Sometimes my mistakes are out of ignorance and sometimes they are out of just plain disobedience.  There is no sugar coating it. I wonder if sweet and low is an acceptable substitute?

Luke 7:23
And blessed (happy-- with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from outward conditions--and to be envied) is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble [ whatever may occur].

New Season

   Seasons are easily defined periods of time that are everywhere we look. New seasons of life, weather patterns, financial situations, marriage, all can be defined in terms of seasons. I currently prefer not to look at the intermediate time line. Somehow projecting my life on an infinite time line is more comfortable than looking at the finite period marked by birthdays and family events, that would force me to admit, I am entering the "autumn" of my life
   But Christ gives me the opportunity to mark my life in the infinite. The end of our existence here on this Earth will not be" the end"... I, and you, have eternal spirits. God extends an invitation to all of us, often quietly, always consistently, without fail to spend that eternity with Him. His hand is extended to all of us, without prejudice or without malice. The Bible tells us that God does not respect any person above another based on Earthly measurements of value. He does however, tell us that we can receive favor from Him. But that is an equal opportunity for all of us based on our individual or corporate behavior. He does not grant favor to me and then refuse another the same level of favor for the same level behavior or attitude. He is no respecter of persons.

"For there is no respect of persons with God," Paul declared (Rom. 2: 11).

   It is sometimes difficult for us to imagine just how "holy" God is. Isaiah found out in a vision that his lips were even so unclean and filthy, that they were not even worthy of praising the Lord. Issiah's lips were cleansed by an angel searing them with a burning coal to purify them.

Isaiah 6:5
"Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Pair this with Romans 3:23 that tells us that not one of us on this Earth is worthy of God. NONE. And you quickly see the shape we are all in!

^"23Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives."

    The analogy I used once upon a time was, "What is worse, stealing a penny or a hundred dollars?" Of course the answer is , neither. Stealing is stealing. As humans we wish to quantify things. We measure and group. Smallest to largest.Good, better and best...Does God?

   In Romans 3:23 He qualifies sinners as ALL of us. That is a measurement.  And in John 3:16 He also uses a measurement. He says, That God so loves the World, that he sent His ONLY Son to be sacrificed so that NONE would persih. It goes on to say, "¹⁷For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him."

   In this season, I have come to the full knowledge that we, ALL,  have a need to not only be forgiven, but must also walk in the full embodiment of that, if we individually, are to experience true freedom. Freedom from condemnation, freedom from being bound by not only my own actions and but from others actions toward me.

I get it.

In Luke 4:17 Jesus stood in front of the religious leaders of His time, opened the Torah to Isaiah 61 and read,

 ¹" The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
       because the LORD has anointed me
       to preach good news to the poor.
       He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
       to proclaim freedom for the captives
       and release from darkness for the prisoners,."

   After finishing He sat down and declared the scripture fulfilled , THAT DAY, in front of them.

   I say brothers and sisters, COME! Join me in proclaiming the Year of the Lord's Favor.  God's word never returns void. This invitation still stands. God will not withdraw it until the last soul that is His is collected.

 I once had a visit from the Holy Spirit and He showed how ALL the twisting and turmoil on this Earth is so insignificant. We can be at peace here, among and with each other, Put aside the yokes we take on, the hurts and the offenses. Walk free. Leave them. Forgive and be forgiven. it is divine!

too busy to blog

Lame excuse, huh? Well, kind of. I have just regained my baring from a 9 day camping trip in the Smokies, in a TENT. We have been home a week and we are off again. This time to a race track to camp for 2 nights. The Smokies were beautiful, the family companionship was sweet and the food o.k. I have not dedicated my heart to this blog. perhaps one day I will. Until then, flip flops will travel!

rejoice! I am keenly aware that I am surrounded by wonderful people, wonderful sights, wonderful sounds, all to God's glory!  My woods is full of life. Birds chirping incessantly accompany the sound of my computer keys as I type. The neighbor's (SO NOT MINE) cat stretches lazily on my deck, as it sleeps upside down on a patio chair. My pink impatiens seem to be growing right before my eyes as they overflow the basket they call home. I have just had a heart warming discussion about kefir with a good friend. I am curiously watching a pair of birds as they flit in and out of the weeds on my hillside. My imagination engaged as I wonder if there is a nest secretly tucked among the weeds. I am grateful the cat is asleep for their sakes.It is a great day to be alive. I wonder where my pink flip flops will take me today?

Blogger Interrupted

     Well a hiatus may have been must the "thing" I needed! After a 3 month absence from the mundane, I have returned with a new found zealousness, that I knew was gone, but couldn't quite remember where I saw it last. Evidently, it was left in a garden center. At least that is where I recently found it.  I have spent the past few weeks working in a well known local garden center amid the pansies and the daisies. Hard work seemed so familiar that even though my muscles ached they sang, 'finally!", I was wet, sweaty, tired and happy. Who knew? There amid the sights, sounds and smells of the greenhouses I found not only my smile, but my self esteem. Not only was my body challenged, but so was my mind. Remembering all the flora is not an easy job, especially when you have been on a decade long absence from the biz.

Now to catch up without falling behind. Quirky? yes~ True? yes ~  blog on

I not only received a free tan, but I am 17 pounds lighter... :)  grateful for the experience.

http://www.gardencenterohio.com/

it is beginning to look like Spring!

Graceful enjoying one last roll in the snow.

I hope this is gone by tomorrow!

almost gone

two signs of Spring! An empty birdfeeder and a disappearing line of snow

Daffodils!!!!!!!!

poking through!

Touched%20By%20An%20Angel

Touched%20By%20An%20Angel

My heart belongs to Kenya

This is an exciting week for me. I sponsor a child, 11 year old Kambi, through Compassion International. His home is 6 km north of Mombasa, Kenya. This week a few bloggers are accompanying singer Shaun Groves on a visit to sponsored Kenyan children. I would have loved to have went them. I will be hanging out watching for new twittering and tweeting.  :) A few bloggers have began sharing about their plane ride and the airport. They seem excited. I know that this may be the closest I ever get to my son, as he calls himself. Just knowing someone else who got to go to Kenya with Compassion.

http://compassionbloggers.com/trips/2010-kenya

think I am kidding?

In Like a Lion!

I am not sure if a snow covered world counts as a "lion". It is a white world out of every window in my house. I crave color! There has been true sunshine maybe twice in a month. I am considering the purchase of buying a full spectrum light box! I am hoping for the Lamb of  March to appear. I yield. There are places in my yard that would eagerly eat a yardstick. Someone come dig me out! Please. This was a view out of my kitchen window in Feburary! I hope the Lion of March is Aslan! Death to the Snow Queen!

Creation Museum

Lilies of the Field in Israel

Hebrews 13:5

5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."


In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord told His disciples to "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matt. 6:28-29). The "lilies of the field" are not the flower we call a "lily" in this country, for they are not found in Palestine. The "lilies of the field" are the scarlet poppies which bloom from a bulb after the spring rains.

Lilies bloom for only one day and carpet the plains and hills of Palestine with colorful blossoms. In their brief life they are clothed with a beauty which surpasses the beauty of the robes of kings. Yet, with all the glory of the lily, when they died they were used for nothing better than for burning in order to raise the temperature of a clay oven (Matt. 6:30).

If God gives such beauty to a short-lived flower, how much more will He care for man, the crown of His creation?

promises

"Promise me you'll always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, if we are ever apart, I'll always be with you." ~Christopher Robin

To My Daughters

I Haiku, Do You?

white street light turns on
spreading halographic pink
warms cold snow below

bored writer here

Well, my addiction to words seems to be the master of me. In order to quench it I have agreed to become a book reviewer through Book Sneeze. I am really excited. It is a win-win situation for me! I love reading, especially when the books are FREE. I love giving my opinion! Book Sneeze features Christian and conservative publishers for the most part. I was excited to be accepted by them. My first book should be here any day. It is actually by a national figure I admire. Judge Napolitano. I had an opportuniity to see him speak recently and now I regret not going. I look forward to reviewing his book. I am so desperate for something to write I have sunk to doing Haiku! Hurry Mr Postman, bring my book.

I hope this doesn't happen to me! (excuse the one cuss word please)

I am so inspired by people who can create good blogs. I often wonder, who reads them? Who were they created for? I love writing. I love words. I love reading. Blogging seems logical for me. The Bible says, "Do not despise small beginnings." So here I go.