childhood

Golden haired in the sunlight

she dances in the green

effervescent joy in life and beauty

and dreams that are unseen.

thrill of the day

The observant child spotted them in the neighbour's back yard, watching us from across the tracks.

What a thrill.

cardinal and sunflower

chickadee

Friends can sit on the porch, quietly chatting about many things

while the hummingbirds and the chickadees flit about

and the minutes slip away.

Precious moments well spent.

Thanks Betty!

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosphy, like art ....

It has no survival value;

rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

C.S. Lewis

The Four Loves

dew drop

It hangs there in blue air

this dew drop portrait of trees and sky

a vision distorted and bottoms up

a thought that appears rationale

but is skewed and muddled

and drops in due time.

Unless thoughts are God given they are distortions of truth and cannot stand the test of time.

And the thoughts drop like rain.

garden

It is good to take pleasure in the simple things of life

and simple to take pleasure in the good.

morning

This is where I am and it is a lovely place to be.

little dipper

Maybe it is because we wish for eternity that we wish for productivity. When we produce we leave a legacy, a footprint, something to be remembered by. When we produce we feel like we make a difference. When another day slips into another night often we wonder what we actually accomplished in the light hours.

As time passes we are aware of how many things are left undone. Dreams put on the shelf. Perhaps we identify ourselves by what we did and feel like "has beens". Careers are tucked on the shelves between the dreams and old identities crammed in as well. It is difficult to see glory in the now of tasks that seem repetitive and mundane.

But when I tuck the little ones in the smallest fellow always says, "Do you know how much I love you?" I chuckle and say "Nope".

"From our house to camping to Flowida to opa and oma's to camping to Flowida to our house to Flowida to camping to our house and stop for lunch and to camping and to Flowida- but not on Sundays - to home."

Not to be outdone the bigger boy says, "Well, I love you 20, 000 donuts and 20,000 drinks".

Sister says. " I love you more than any other mom in the world".

And the stars come out and another day is done.

And new dreams grow and different identities sleep peacefully.

And I know who I am and I know where I'm going-

and I want to take all of them with me

and that is accomplishment enough for one lifetime.

poppy

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom"

Psalm 90:12

"Numbered Days" is the title in the devotional (Walk with God, Chris Tiegreen) that I read this morning. These thoughts are worth of meditating on.

We think that we are invincible...that God who created us for eternity put in us the thought that we will be around forever and that our time is endless. Our time on earth and our time on the next earth overlap, but only in that we can bear fruit for the other. What we do today can have ever lasting consequences.

So how do we spend our days? Survival mode? Entertainment mode? Work mode? Do we balance our pursuits with concerns that the eternal fruits matter more? Do we realize that the time to plant is short?

Today the flower blooms. Tomorrow it is gone. So it is with our lives. Each allocated his length of days.

God has given us an awesome privilege. We can accomplish in that moment works of such significance that they will last forever. God can change people's lives through us. He can shape our children and our spouses and our friends through us.

Do we teach our children wisely putting in their hearts a hunger for their God? Do we teach them to pursue God's kingdom or temporal things? Do we teach them to use their time wisely and create Godly habits? Not nearly enough.

Do we speak with our friends and encourage them and glorify our God with our words? Not nearly enough.

He can feed the hungry, encourage the outcast, redeem the lost, heal the sick, cultivate worshipers and build His Kingdom through us. But only if we are wise and have numbered our days.

These are fleeting days, slipping by us before we've hardly noticed. we must number them. we must live with an eye on the limitations of time and the certainty of death. Wisdom fills the hearts of those who can live with such perspective.

How will I use my time today? It is not mine to squander.

colors in the garden

Blossoms look beautiful against a backdrop of colour

and butterflies are blooms that have taken to the air.

hearts that mourn

Jack read a sermon by Rev. J. vanpopta this morning in church.

I was mulling it over while wandering in the garden.

For some it is the season for mourning loved ones gone - not lost but gone. Hearts weep.

Does not the Son promise that those who mourn shall be comforted? Does not mourning put us on our knees with ears and hearts wide open to hear the comforters words? Are we ever closer to God than when we are troubled?

And when we are troubled and our spirits long for God is that not when we mourn our own sorry state? We become aware of our inadequacies and our desperate need for the Father.

And hearts are comforted by the Son and spirits soar in thankfulness.

The tears shed nourish the soul.

And the rain drops on the leaves are dried by the sun

and the foliage reaches heavenward.

red tailedhawk

Kee--aaa--rrr

There are 14 subspecies of the Red Tail most of which do not have a red tail.

It was hovering over our orchard yesterday and decided to settle on a tree beside the house to observe what we humans were doing.

God is Good

apples

Somehow they have come to symbolize a "to-do" list that becomes a "too-long" list and I try to ignore them thinking that if I don't acknowledge them they won't continue to grow and ripen and drop.

Why is it that we stop functioning when the list gets too long? Too many items on the agenda and we entire a semi-catatonic state. We renovate and never seem to finish. We weed and the weeds grow back, dishes get dirty again, beds need to be remade, laundry piles daily, a vacuumed house is dirty within 24 hours.

Remember .... This house is lovely and we have gardens to glorify God in, we have plenty of food to put on the dishes, comfortable beds where we can sleep in safety, plenty of good clothes, and a good home. And the apples? Perhaps tomorrow I can make a batch of applesauce....

Hup-to-it!

in the wildflower patch

In the early summer the patch between the neighbours and us was sweated over, grass removed, soil turned and a bed prepared. Norah and I generously tossed wildflower seeds with visions of thousands of lovely blossoms and of butterflies flitting and of birds enjoying the bird bath set in the middle of this garden. On returning from vacation we saw hardly a bloom and and weeds that were 5 feet high. I yanked and dumped - all the while thinking of the sower's seeds falling among the thorns and being overcome by them. And certainly there are days just like that- when things seem to overpower us and we feel stifled and out of control and incapable of blooming. Pray that they are days only and not a lifetime.

And life's stories are the garden's tales.

And with the act of weeding comes comprehension.

And after weeding the flowers have another chance at blooming.

monarch butterfly

Rainstorm

It is in nature that scripture's lessons are illustrated

and we are humbled and reminded

that we serve an awesome Creator.

"Can you raise your voice to the clouds

and cover yourself with a flood of water"? (God to Job)

There are times when we don't think overly much or often about God. We are preoccupied with our own thoughts and schedules and the business of the day. And yet - yet when we wander about and open our eyes to the world that He has made how dare we not give Him glory and praise and honour. How dare we ignore Him? How dare we think that we know better than He? How dare we forget to open scripture? How dare we forget to seek Him out in prayer? How dare we not make Him the focus of our lives?

Open our eyes Lord, that we may see!

frenzied feedings

The bumblers are busy,

frantically flitting from bloom to bloom

as if there really is not a moment to spare.

I am busy

as I move from room to room

but do stop and take a few moments to stare.

gladiolus

Neatly wrapped

with exquisite folds

this gift

of which

the color

remains

a mystery.

Beauty

in simple lines

and greens.

monarch butterfly

winged things

wonderful

wings