…God giving us a world filled with colors and patterns instead of plain and gray-scale.
…family members who are also friends.
…friends who feel like family.
…the laughter of children on a nearby playground.
…stepping outside to hear church bells in a mini-concert of hymns at noon and 6PM.
…food that brings back memories and makes you grateful for tastebuds.
…growing things.
…the cooling temps and seeing the changing leaf colors up on the mountains.
…catching up with people you haven’t seen in forever and finding there isn’t any distance at all as you both pick up right where you left off last time.
…really good fiction that takes you to another time or place.
…reading Scripture that says God loves each of us and that He is never surprised.
…choosing to look for happiness even in the midst of so much that isn’t.
…healing.
What is bringing you happiness where you are today? Share with me, please!
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” 2 Our feet have been standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built As a city that is compact together, 4 Where the tribes go up, The tribes of the Lord, To the Testimony of Israel, To give thanks to the name of the Lord. 5 For thrones are set there for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. 7 Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces.” 8 For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” 9 Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.”
As a believer in Jesus Christ and the written Word of God, I am compelled to stand with Israel in times both good and bad. That said, please don’t mistake this as a prayer ONLY for Israel. I am praying for the entire region. As I read through these verses again today my attention was caught by the message of verse 8, “For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, ‘Peace be within you.'” And companions. Think about that with me. David’s prayer is for the benefit of those with who are related and those who are nearby.
“The country is only 8630 square miles in total area; 270 miles long and 85 miles wide at the longest and widest points. Only 9.3 miles wide at its narrowest point from Netanya to the West Bank town of Tukarim.” This is a quote from http://www.israel-travel-secrets.com which relays the very same information a man who regularly leads tours to and through Israel shared with our church last year.
Dictionary.com defines “companions” as “a person who is frequently in the company of, associates with, or accompanies another.” That means, in a country that small, the surrounding nations, friend or foe, are by definition, proximity, and necessity “companions” of Israel. Our prayers for peace in Jerusalem are then, by extention, prayers for peace in the region.
…and yes, I have read to the end of the Book. I understand that true peace will not reign in Jerusalem until Christ returns…and so I pray for that, as well.
Each year, we eagerly await God’s paintbrush across the mountains and enjoy the pops of color as they begin to arrive. Our recent rides through the countryside provided ample opportunity to enjoy both the beauty of the fading summer season and the coming days of autumn.
“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”
Genesis 8:22 (NIV)
I love that from the very beginning God chose to create changing colors and make that part of our way to experience His constancy. How many gifts of His we see without recognition or acknowledgment of our Giving Creator!
I’m doing another art challenge this month. It’s designed to improve my drawing skills, and I’m sure it will do that, but I’m also using it as an experiment. My goal is to recapture the JOY of drawing like a child.
Big deal? Yes. Anything worth doing is worth doing less than perfectly. That’s a big statement for a recovering perfectionist to make, but I actually think it will help me take more than a few steps forward in my artwork.
This is my submission for tomorrow. (The prompts were coffee and chrysanthemums.) It reminds me of the many, many drawings I did in the principal’s office as I tried to escape first grade. Even then I preferred being at home and I find myself having those same feelings today.
What activities did you enjoy as a child that are still part of your life as an adult? Is there something you need to be willing to do less than perfectly in the pursuit of some childhood joy today? Think about it…and then go have some fun with it. Don’t wait for the weekend. Incorporate some child-like joy today!
“Children are happy because they don’t have a file in their head called ‘Allthe things that could go wrong.'”
“Go, sit upon the lofty hill, And turn your eyes around, Where waving woods and waters wild Do hymn an autumn sound. The summer sun is faint on them— The summer flowers depart— Sit still— as all transform’d to stone, Except your musing heart.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
The morning temps are hinting at the cooling down to come, but the afternoon heat tells me that summer is hanging on for a bit longer. Here in the South, we often celebrate “seasonal changes” by changing our interiors long before the natural world outside catches up to the calendar.
While there are pockets of gold and a few glimpses of red and purple up on the mountains, I decided to get a head start on celebrating the coming of Autumn inside with music, poetry, and a glowing change of color.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:“
Ecclesiastes 3:1
What are YOU doing to celebrate the changing of seasons this year?
This isn’t the best picture of my kitchen, but I thought it was important that you see it just this way. The photo was taken last night and I didn’t change the lighting or put away the dishes on purpose.
I wanted you to see it just like I saw it last night…and exactly how I dreamed it quite a long time ago. Yes, you read that right. I dreamed this exact kitchen long enough back that I can’t even remember when it happened.
What I do know is that the dream was so real that I absolutely KNEW I was in “my” kitchen, but I couldn’t figure out where all the white cabinets came from because at the time, I knew I didn’t have nearly that many kitchen cabinets and the ones I did have certainly didn’t look like that. I remember waking up and sharing the dream with my husband. The truly ODD thing about it is that HE remembers me telling him about it. (That boggles my mind…and if you’re married or been with somone for more than a couple of decades, you’ll get that, too!)
What I do know is that I turned from closing the dishwasher and moved tbe trash from the counter just as “the dream” hit me again. “Deja vu all over again!” as Yogi Berra would say.
Mike said I looked a little scared as I ran to tell him what had just happened, but it wasn’t fear at all. It was awe…that God can give us little clues and then help us forget them until His time is right, that He communicates with us about silly things like kitchen cabinets–that He communucates with us AT ALL!?! AMAZING!! GLORIOUS and wildly fun…just because He can.
As we start this new week, don’t forget to look for and enjoy God’s Presence, listen for His voice–and His laughter, and celebrate with me that He does “fun stuff” all the time just because He can. Please don’t miss Him this week!!
quiet ambitions: 