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The Same Thing. The Same Thing. The Same Thing.

Feb13

My Grand son told someone the other day that ever since he’s been on social media, that I, his Grandma, have been taking photos every day of the same thing.

Well yes. I have. Mostly. But here’s the thing;

Here in the Mid-west, in the Mississippi River Valley, it may BE the same thing, but it never really LOOKS like the same thing.

For example; lately we have been in a polar vortex that has given us many days in a row of well, meh. But you can even see some beauty in the meh, if you look for it.

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Then after days and days of this meh, you may wake up to find more of the same, or you make wake up to find something quite glorious;

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Something so cold, and beautiful that if makes you happy for the glass between it and you. But I must say that even though it IS freezing, the beauty of it all does warm my heart, if not my hands and feet.

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So you see, the same thing, is not really the same thing.

And you know what? In one months time, the same thing, will not be the same thing all over again.

 

 

Here We Go Again

Feb11

This tiny video might not look like much

But please, let me tell you why I left it here.

You may have heard of 2019’s polar vortex?

Well, here in the mid-west, we appear to be right in the middle of it.

I’ll bet we’ve have had more snow in the last month, than in the previous ten years.

Snow is one thing. But then there’s the ice. Hidden discreetly underneath that beautiful layer of snow.

Here is what happened yesterday;

I went out to shovel an inch or two of fluffy snow off the drive. (It’s a long drive with quite a bit of slope)

Shoveling along, and forgetting there were long patches of ice on one side. (At the top)

Boom. Flat on my back. Standing up was a trick, because it was solid ice, and about a half an inch thick!

I finally got back up, determined I was unhurt, and proceeded shoveling where I knew there was no ice.

When suddenly, Boom. Down to my knees. (Half way down the slope) This time I couldn’t get up, so I had to slide further DOWN the hill, so that I could find a not icy spot to get UP the hill! (Glad we live where we do so I didn’t have an audience!)

You know, sometimes, if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. So laugh I did. And I quit shoveling for the day.

Now my husband, who hates snow, and just had shoulder surgery, thought it was all pretty funny.

Here’s what HE did;

He replied on Facebook to our daughters post talking about how thick the ice in her drive was. She was talking about wanting to make “snow angels”, he told that I was in the drive making “snow angels” of my own.

My reply to that was that it was more like “snow sprawl” and “snow crawl”.

This quickly de-generated into a much less flattering comment from him. Some about doing the “croppie floppie”. Oh. Brother.

Can I say that even for someone who loves snow as much as I do, that I am done.

Well done.

ANother batch of undetermined size is just beginning here now.

Complaining about it of course won’t help.

And if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.

Bright

Jan29

I was spending a few moments of “Quietude” near my window this morning.

I’m always seeking places of “Quietude” and looking out windows wherever I am.

The light coming in was so intense, it almost hurt my eyes.

It made me want to take the time to find out what God says about brightness.

I’m sharing here just a snippet of what I found.

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Daniel 12:3 says – And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

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Isaiah 60:3 And the nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

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Proverbs 4:18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.

These verses beg the question; Am I wise? Am I righteous? Will I let Him light my path?

I will rise to the King of Glory.

Will it hurt my eyes?

What are your thoughts and ideas on wisdom, and righteousness, and brightness?

Are there any special verse or quotes you would like to share?

Feel free. I’d love to know.

 

Sunday Stills; Night – My Way

Jan28

I’ve been playing around with some night time photography lately, so imagine my surprise when the topic of Sunday Stills this week was “Night”.

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Sometimes all I need to do is show up, and the camera on my phone manages to make me look pretty good.

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Sometimes I can play with a filter or two, and come up with something I enjoy.

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Sometimes things appear a bit ethereal and dreamy.

 

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Sometimes it’s a chance look out the window.

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Then the sun begins to rise.

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And just like that, the night is over.

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Sunday Stills; My Way

Jan22

I recently found a challenge that intrigued me.

I’m still looking all the way through the challenge, but here is where I am now.

The first one I saw was Sunday Stills: Window.

Then I read this one. The topic was Embrace. The photo was fog. Windows and fog, easily two of my favorite top ten photo topics.

So I thought I would share a few of my favorites here.

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My photos are not primarily OF windows. They are mostly FROM windows. My home office window, car windows, hotel windows, plane windows.

20170819_193226Any window will do . Mostly I look for the clean ones, but many times, I just get them the way they are. That seems OK to me because lots of times, life is messy. You just get it the way it is.

Some days dawn bright and clear, making it easy to see the good everywhere.

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Some days are not so bright and shiny, but the beauty of those days can be seen if you really look for it.

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What do you think?

Do you have a favorite photo to share?

If you want to join in the fun, you can Go here.

 

 

 

My Own Wholeness

Sep26

When I stand up for my wholeness I ……..

This writing is from my 5 for 5 Brain Dump writing on July 13. If you don’t know what 5 for 5 Brain Dump is, you can can click here to find out more about it.

Here it is. As it was written. Unedited. Hopefully, you can glean some wisdom from it. If you do, feel free to let me know in the comments.

When I stand up for my wholeness, some times others do not understand. Some think I’m being cranky. RBF. I think it could be because they have been accustomed to me standing up for THEIR wholeness. One of my  nick names is “Best Cheer Leader”. I have seen recently, it’s always been for someone else.

When I stand up for my (own) wholeness, I feel calm. I feel peaceful. I feel more energized and less anxious. When I stand up for my wholeness, I can complete tasks.

I have been, and am grateful for this revelation. Wholeness. What a great feeling.

So that is the Brain Dump. It is the first thing out of my brain after hearing the prompt.

I’ve had time now to consider that prompt in depth. I’ve had time now to put myself first much more of the time.

I find that when I take a few moments here and there to put these principals into practice, the moments I spend for myself and others are much more productive.

How about it?

Do you take a moment to be kind to yourself, to be your own best cheerleader?

You could begin here.

For another perspective on this topic, visit here.

Floating Near the Surface

Sep14

In my previous post, I used this statistic; The average person in Western society is bombarded by 35-48 thought fragments  per minute. Per minute folks!

It is no wonder that our children (and our adults!) can’t concentrate. There is so much “noise” all the time – there is no room to hear our true voice, the one that lives inside of us.

And, after hearing all the noise that is provided to us, sorting out the truth is just that much more difficult. Our moral compasses have a difficult time defining true north.

This is why I advocate for quiet time. Just some time, a little, or a lot, depending on your personality and your circumstances.

Taking some time to turn off the noise, and do a deep dive into that really makes us who we are.

I find that without that time of quiescence, I find myself floating near the surface of truth, but not really connecting to it.

The quiet helps me to separate the truth from the noise.

Once I sort that out, I can burst through the surface, and really begin to connect with my dreams, my aspirations, and my passions.

In short, I can be who I was created to be.

In Mark 6:31 Jesus says this; “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
My goal is to do that for a little while each day, and longer when it is possible.
How about you? Have you connected with your inner life? Have you determined your dreams, and aspirations, and passions? Do you know what you’ve been created for?
I challenge you to find out. A little or a lot.
Are you up for it?