reflection

it is in
stillness

that one sees
most clearly




* "Be still and know that I am God."   ~Is. 46:10

mushroom

under tall stately pines

one finds

life

musty and sweet

*"In some mysterious way, woods have never seemed to me to be static things.  In physical terms i move through them; yet in metaphysical ones, they seem to move through me."    ~John Fowles

** I just returned from a week in beautiful Colorado, so a few of last weeks posts are from that trip. You will see a few more in days to come. How wonderful the smell of pine and the dry cool air!

acorn

solitude is sometimes

the way back

to beauty

* "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not."     ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

three little duckies

three little duckies
all in a row
looking sprightly,
cheerful
and ready to go

alas
i see no water
which you have need
to float

no swimming pool
no lake
and no romantic moat

stay cheerful little duckies
until such day shall come
when water shall surround you
and your waiting days be done

you've no idea how many
the people just like me
that you have cheered
while waiting
for your dreamed of
destiny


* "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect by which difficulties may disappear and obstacles vanish. "                                      ~John Quincy Adams

fixing my gaze

the psalmist writes
"to the mountains i look"

past the deep

to where
God Almighty
rests His feet




* "I will lift my eyes to the mountains,
    From whence shall my help come?
    My help comes from the Lord
    Who made heaven and earth."   ~Psalm 121:1-2

waterfall

rain on down
cold
blue
water



*"And His voice was like the sound of many waters." 
                                                      ~Revelation 1:15b

standing tall

she bears the stuff of
heroes and saints

strength, patience
courage

traits we long
and hope for

but she wasn't
made in a day

and it's the same way
with character

slow, steady
and sure

66 Hope Street

wouldn't you like to live
on Hope Street

and at the end of each day
make your way

home
under its threshold




* "I will make her valley of trouble a door of hope."   ~ Hosea 2:15

deep

tonight's sunset
displayed the drama

good, evil
life and death

mixed with
the living breath

of beauty




* "The sky is the daily bread of the eyes."  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

woman in profile

so many layers
to a person

and aren't we always on the verge

as hearts, souls, and minds
emerge

swallowtails

they're here!
they're here!

flitting through the meadow
with the lightness
and brightness
of mercy

boundless and
free

dusty

we are made new in Him
but as we walk this sodden earth
the true value of our worth
gets covered by the dust and grime
the slime of a fallen world

but then
evening comes

bus

so
what do you think she hauls?

it can't be school children

because ALL school buses
HAVE to be yellow,
right?

a safety law, i presume

but wouldn't the children love
walking out every morning
anxious to see
which it would be

red, blue, purple
or maybe
luscious lime green

seems to me
they'd be more keen
on going

pink

grace greets me
this morning

in the lovely form
of a

wildflower

journey of a raindrop

perhaps it began
on a mountain steep
a brook, a river
and finally the deep

then back to the clouds
it did ascend
like its Maker, who too,
will come
again




*"And He will come unto us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth."
                       ~Hosea 6:3

**It's raining today. And what a refreshing gift it is...here in the middle of a very hot, dry August in Kansas. Stepping out into it this morning gave me a most blessed sense of revival and hope.

seeds

i marvel
that like seeds

we too,
(when not choked
by weeds)

have the capacity
to nourish
someone




*"Some seeds fall on rocky ground and wither away, other seeds fall among thorns and are choked out, and others fall on good soil and bring forth grain, some a hundredfold".......Matthew 13:4-8

august evening miracle

and the rain
and the mist
and the shadows

merely magnified
the light

and all i could say was

ahhhhhh





* I so love words and the power of words but there are times when they are totally inadequate and better left unsaid. Standing and watching last night's ever changing sky was one of those times.

architecture

it's been said
that artichtecture
is like music in space
"frozen" music

years of wind
rain and humidity
are melting this piece

but beautiful still
it be
to me



*Architecture of all the arts, is the one which acts most slowly, but the most surely, on the soul.       ~Ernest Dimnet

at the market

homegrown tomatoes
and the farmer's
sweet corn

bring hattie and edna out
this hot summer
morning

and isn't it true
that the promise
of things
fresh
and new

keep us going
too

zebra

zebra, zebra, zebra
your design and lines
intrigue me

you're the favorite
of some who visit the zoo
without having to do
anything

what a sight it would be
 to see you run free
on the plains of zaire
or zimbabwe




* "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
                                                          ~Jesus

**How wondrous a thing it is, that Jesus came to earth to free captives.

coffee pot

i bet you could tell
some stories

conversations heard
round the table

and think of all the hands
that held you
lives that rose to the sounds
and smell of you

let's make a movie
and you be the star

we'll call it
"Spy in the Kitchen:
Tales of a Perceptive Percolator"

cicada

such a short time
you have

to see the sights
and explore the textures

to strum your haunting melodies
into our summer memories

your singing
says to me

however brief the time
however small the gift

let it be
an offering



*Let us join the "never ceasing sacrifice of praise which is rising up from every nook and corner of creation to the dear majesty of our most loving God and Father."      ~Frederich Faber

doing dishes

every day

i try to do some dishes

by hand

i like the rhythm

the feel of the dishes

and the chance to stand

breathe

and be

"unfettered"

 me

*In a world that is frequently out of kilter, the kitchen is as mystical as a monastary.        ~ Sarah Breathnach

as evening comes

when darkness is nigh
and vanity seems
the way of things

i steal away
to the natural world

and look for

the heart
of God

sea bird

i see you
looking down on me
your beady eyes
unblinking

i don't know
what you're thinking
or maybe just
instincting

but know, i do,
your graceful lines
and shape
are quite distinguishing




*Isn’t the variety of bird species wonderful? Each perfectly created for their particular lives:


The eagle doesn’t try to suck nectar out of a flower nor dip and dive like a swallow, but, can the eagle soar!

The swan’s beauty is indescribable as she regally floats on the water; something the cardinal could never do. But is there anything quite like a bright red cardinal against the dark brown woods or fresh fallen snow to remind us of joy?

And geese in flight. . . what can one say?

soul talk

some of what i long to see
is not meant to be clear
now

that which is hidden in the haze
is frankly
more than i could manage

please then,
o soul of mine,
choose this day to say thanks
for everything you can see

and for every
good
given

back yard

the back yard beckons
in summertime

come
see the tomatoes on the vine
listen to the breeze through the clothes
on the line

sit in the comforting shade
chew a blade of grass
and rest your weary mind

"come on in"
it's summertime


*Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmer of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time.   
                                                                 ~John Lubbock

**In the stifling heat of a Kansas summer, i find mornings and evenings the best time for backyard musings. High humidity just isn't that comforting!!! :)

coming forth

don't despair
the day is coming
when you too
will open wide

and recieve the dew
of heaven




*Adopt the pace of nature:  her secret is patience.
                                                      ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

jelly

how lovely the light
through the jelly jars

juicy, succulent
rays of sun

diffused



* Your life is something opaque, not transparent, as long as you look at it in an ordinary human way. But if you hold it up against the light of God's goodness, it shines and turns transparent, radiant and bright. And then you ask yourself in amazement: Is this really my own life I see before me? ~Albert Schweitzer

looking back

pearls and lace
strands of another time
another place


* To look backward for awhile is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.    ~Margaret Barber, The Roadmender