The wonder of spring never ceases to amaze me.

A new beginning, hope, with miracles bursting all around us. 

I know not more to say, as the words would fall short.

Keep your eyes open.

Stop, listen, look...inhale, and be abundantly blessed.

Moment by Moment

As the wind blows 

the landscape ever changes,

so we, too, are changed from one moment into the next

I've tried to live in the past ,

it left me only with regrets.

I've tried to live in the future,

 it only left me with fears.

I've tried to live in today,

 but I fell behind,

 or ran ahead.

I've tried to live in the moment,

and found I need no longer try.

 Moment by moment,

step by step...in the Master's tread.

As the wind blows,

we too are changed,

moment by moment.

February 24th, 2011

Footsteps

As I pause and look back,

 at the changes God asked for in my life,

changes I did not always understand,

nor wholeheartedly adore,

I see that all those changes,

 all those footsteps,

 led to something better,

 something so much more.

As I turn away from where I have come,

I can walk in the this new  wisdom.

Trusting  my next footfall,

 wherever God leads,

 to be without a doubt that which to heed.


February 25th, 2011

Sweet Springtime Melodies

Sweet Springtime Melodies

     

February 25, 2011

Grandma, you taught me so very much,

In your sweet, quiet way.

You taught me to encourage with a smile,

To love without word,

And quietly give myself away.

I remember how you sang like a precious spring-time bird,

Touchingly, melodic, and true,

As your sweet, tender voice sang the familiar hymns,

Your heart seemed to bubble up, from the depths of you.

You left me with gifts that with time will endure.

Precious memories of tenderness, and a heart that was true,

I pray that as I walk through the rest of my days,

These pieces of you will become pieces of me.

I’ll be singing his praises and giving myself quietly away.

(originally Created and Posted 2/25/2011)

Moment by Moment I Stand in the Midst

Moment by moment I stand in the midst,

sometimes it's calm, others it is stormy,

no matter the weather I am reminded I have nothing to fear.

I hear the Lord call to me,

hear him whisper,

trust me, be still and know I am here.

Call out to us, Lord,

 help us see through the midst,

you stand with us, ever so near.

(Originally Created and Posted 2/28/2011)

Spring Rains

In the lateness of winter

the winds still blow and but the days begin to linger,

a little longer,

a little longer.

As snow turns to rain,

the waiting life peaks forth, curious yet hesitant,

waiting.

Our emotions are like those rains,

they bring new life,

new beginnings,

they set our roots a bit deeper with every tear.

The deeper the place the tears arise from,

the healthier the blooms.

As the rains come,

as the tears fall,

stand in them,

embrace them...

and watch the new life begin to bubble up from within.

Feel the roots of truth go deeper yet,

deeper yet,

deeper.

Spring,

so full of promise,

so full of promise.

(Originally Created and Posted 3/2/2011)

New thoughts. New Truths

I feel like I am being shown so many new and exciting truths of late. I only hope that I am ready and absorbent enough to retain all these amazing realities. I know that God is faithful to make himself and his ways known, and to equip us and ready us to be able to assimilate all that he enlightens us with. Yet, I want to live it all...not to miss a morsel of it.

One of the major truths, that I am seeing anew, is how different God's ways are from the worlds, what we may have grown up believing 'is the way things are supposed to be.' How blind we can be to the reality of these mis-truths, how we walk in these paths without knowing we are even astray. May the Lord remove the scales from our eyes, that we may see afresh!

How simple, yet deeply complex are the ways of our Lord. How much we sleepily take into our lives, our bodies, our minds, that is the exact opposite of the life giving simplicity that he offers as the BEST!

Another blessing I am being shown is the contrast that comes from what I have accepted as teaching  my children, and being an example to them. The truth being that this thing we call teaching our children, which we often feel is exhausting, is in the deepest reality a huge opportunity to show life and growth to our children...And learn with them, and because of them. Teaching is to be a creative and natural growth process, the moments we see as 'here we go again, or I can't believe they did that, etc...' are the exact moments that God sees as a time to grow, a time for truth, a time for change. I have known this, yet have I really lived it in my heart.

In so many ways I am reminded that friendship towards the world, its rules, its ways, and thoughts, is the opposite of where I should have my feet headed. It is a trail leading me away from the true path that leads to life, freedom, love and ultimately to the BEST!

 I share, because I am blessed with a new spring in my heart.


(Originally Created and Shared 3/8/2011)

Springtime Curiosities

(Originally Created and Posted 4/9/2011)

Violet Wonders

Take a look around you,

At the wonders that abound.

Stop and see the tiny violets

Quietly unfold from springtime ground.

Stoop down,

Look a moment more.

See their intricate peddles

Violet hues, a palette of richest colour.

Lay down in the sweet springtime grass,

Press your sight against the details,
Embedded in creation.

Take a deep breath, relax, and wonder....

Believe....

and know your intricate worth!

(Originally Created and Posted 4/11/2011)

Gull Heaven

(Originally Created and Posted 5/11/2011)

Michigan in Bloom

(Originally Created and Posted 6/21/2011)

Amazing First Moments...the Movements of an American Bald Eagle!!!!

(Originally Posted 7/4/2011)

(Originally Created and Posted 7/4/2011)

(Originally Created and Posted 7/10/2011)

Morning Silhouettes

(Originally Created and Posted 7/13/2011)

Majestic Moments All Around

 I stand in the wonders all around me,

 changing with each moment.

They are soaring with my spirit,

as my hearts unfolds and grows.

The majestic colors fill my eyes,

and explode into my spirit.

The wind it wraps around me,

whispering "Stand quiet, bask awhile."

Why I even take a moment to look for pleasure in empty places,
Why I even waste a notion...

for there is wonder in creation

and it surrounds us me loud and sings!



So as I steal away into living paintings
Let them envelope me and bring change.
And for another moment,

I am surrounded by His wonder,

 enfolded in His care.

(Originally Created and Posted 7/9/11)

Sail Away

Pictures fade,

though you try to hold onto and protect them.

Yet, the impressions etched upon your heart and soul last forever-ever deepening then.

Sail away and leave me where I'm meant to be,

Holding loosely to flesh and blood, those things unable to enter eternity.

Turn my eyes, and melt my heart

not to things lost, but all gained.

May I stand fully in the present, as I'm meant to be...

My gaze ever fixed on the sails of Heaven

just beyond this sea.

Debra Louise- to daddy 12-8-11

An Affirmation for Those Who Have Lost

An Affirmation for Those Who Have Lost

 I believe there is no denying it: It hurts to lose.
It hurts to lose a cherished relationship with another,
or a significant part of one's own self.
It can hurt to lose that which has anchored you with the past,
or that which has beckoned one into the future.
It is painful to feel diminished or cut off or abandoned,
to be left behind or left alone.
Yet I believe there is more to losing than just the hurt and the pain.
For there are other experiences that loss can call forth.
I believe courage often appears, however quietly it is expressed,

However easily it goes unnoticed by others;

The courage to be strong enough to surrender,

The fortitude to be firm enough to be flexible,

The bravery to go where you have not gone before.

I believe a time of loss can be a time of learning unlike any other,
And that it can teach some of life's most valuable lessons.
In act of losing there is something to be found.
In the act of letting go, there is something to be grasped.
In the act of saying "goodbye" there is a "hello" to be heard.
For I believe living with loss is about beginnings as well as endings.
And grieving is a matter of life more than death.
And growing is a matter of mind and heart and soul more than of body.
And loving is a matter of eternity more than of time.
I believe in the promising paradoxes of loss:
In the midst of darkness, there can come great Light.
In the middle of despair, there can appear a great Hope.
And deep within loneliness, there can dwell a great Love.
I believe these things because others have shown the way-
Others who have lost and then have then grown through their losing,
Others who have suffered, and through their suffering found new meaning.
Finally, I believe whoever we are, whatever has happened to us, we are not alone.

We are accompanied both day after day,

We are held, night after night,

We are connected, both here and in eternity.


(originally written and posted in 2011)

New Horizons

As I walk along life's road,

New paths I must take.

Some I choose, some are chosen.

Sometimes I lose, always I gain.

There has been a major change of direction, just now.

Not a choice.

One road has ended, another begun.

Dad is home, free, no longer walking.

Safe and sound. Resting, alive and free.

Still I trod...(bereft of him)

Picking up the pieces of my heart, mending the broken.

He is not behind me-he is ahead.

This new road is different-as I have truly lost...

Oh, how my heart aches,

How my heart protests within me.

One slow step at a time...sometimes none.

At times I find I'm back, staring at the place his gentle feet left the path...

Other times I am discover myself staring, with tears, at our yesterdays.

I know this in not 'wrong'-actually a part of the new...

Yet, I long to pack up and travel on, yet I hesitate, I can't just yet.

To travel on into today-towards eternity-where He waits, and so does he.

I must be patient, gentle with myself.

It as if I've dropped all the pieces, of me, my life-

They no longer fit as they did.

The picture, the view from here, the horizon, is so different.

So new.

I need time, space, quiet, to gather, to sort, to reorganize the pieces.

At times to stare, to cry at others. 

To understand he no longer walks here,

 no longer lives here, no longer walks along with me. (That hurts)

He is not here...he is there, beyond this new horizon.

I must walk, as I can, 

not for him, but in Him...

Into the horizon, into a different kind of today.

This path is full of beauty...I can see it, just there.

May I embrace it-in time.

May I give myself the gift of time, of patience, to heal here-

Permission to grieve.

Yet, may I long to travel on.

So here I am...Slowly preparing, healing and longing to move on, into the new horizon.

This horizon that is now mine.

Show me what is new.
Guide me on this new path, different road.
May I expect, but be surprised
by the beauty of the view.

(Originally Posted in New Horizon blog, in 2011)