{day 25} Home Quotes and Sentiments :: Shadow

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:: Shadow ::

Day after day...
it continues.
What can feel like the-follow-around, tag-at-your-heels, ordinary, mundane, routine...
which it may be...
Is really meant to be monumental, radical and overt.

Housework!!

The shadows that fall at the end of the day are there to serve as a reminder...
it matters.  They matter.
What leaves an impression..
is meant to be seen.
Lived.
and
Loved.

As expressions...

Intentional.
Impressionable.
Invincible.

Don't give up!
Don't waver!
Don't despair.

The shadow that follows you down the hall may be the very essence of your pride and joy.

Even of the next generation.

They're watching.

What is your shadow repeating today?
~~
Here is another random shadow shot taken one morning while waiting for the bus.  Both of the girls had joined my son while waiting and they were doing all sorts of antics - making a shadowy puppet show, etc.!

My youngest daughter had stepped out of the photo... just as it was snapped!  Right as the bus showed up...
Each new day presents a new opportunity to make it right. Each day as you awake step out in front, head towards the sun, keep facing it and the dark shadows shall not cross thy path... ~ Unknown

“Beware lest you lose the substance by grasping at the shadow.”  ~ Aesop
***


Participating in:  31 days/Five Minute Free Writes/ Photography Challenge.

I'll be daily updating this link, HERE, so that you can keep up with any entries you may have missed!

{day 22} Home Quotes and Sentiments :: A Favorite Place

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A smile is a light in the window of your face 
to show your heart is at home.  ~ Anonymous

:: A Favorite Place ::

I know I've talked about this before... 

But, I'm a firm believer that the useful and functional kitchen of any house is the heart of that home!

It's my favorite place! 

As you walk through our front door... you step right into this very room.

I should think about it more often that this is the most vulnerable part of our home.

It's where we gather.  Where things collect.  Where folks are ushered through and asked to stay. Where activity is abundant...it's always on!!

Food is prepared and shared, here.  The smell of the kitchen matters and so should the floor!  Both are areas considered as efforts to be maintained...

Did I mention effort?  Seriously!

It's a cozy place.  

Comfortable.

Necessary!

Nostalgic...

If a light is on... we're home!

If we're not... there is still a light left on... to welcome us back inside upon our return.

Nostalgia is remembering the pleasure of our old kitchen when we were kids, without remembering how long it took to wash the dishes.

~ Caroline Brownslow

A home is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as for the body. ~ Margaret Fuller

Two more photos - taken right after lunch, this afternoon... just to say "Someone felt right at home..."

And, to leave you with a smile!!
Shew!! I'm grateful I found her and moved her safely to the living room sofa...

***

Participating in:  31 days/Five Minute Free Writes/ Photography Challenge.

I'll be daily updating this link, HERE, so that you can keep up with any entries you may have missed!

{day 21} Home Quotes and Sentiments :: Calm

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These photos are from some time ago - and have never been used, per say, in an actual blog post.  I would stumble across them, from time to time, in my files - but they never seemed to be "in season" - that is, until now!

:: Calm ::

Great word prompt.  And yet, I have no REAL semblance of words...
My heart and mind are far from it tonight.
Things are s.l.o.w.l.y. calming - but it's taking it's good ole time.  And, to top it off - I haven't been feeling well, physically today!  At all...
I just would appreciate your "quiet" thoughts and prayers...
Thank you, much.

Instead of quotes...tonight, I found, or heard, rather, two different songs today that have ministered so much to my soul and I just want to share them with you.
Thank you for listening!






Okay... I did find a quote that I can share..

Believe me, unless we have peace. and strive for peace in our home, 
we shall not find it homes of others. 
~ Teresa of Avila

***


Participating in:  31 days/Five Minute Free Writes/ Photography Challenge.

I'll be daily updating this link, HERE, so that you can keep up with any entries you may have missed!

{day 20} Home Quotes and Sentiments :: 4 o'clock!

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:: 4 o'clock ::

I cringed when I read the time- prompt!

Four o'clock - assuming, it's afternoon!!

It's that crazy hour.

The one that seems to be the one that flies by the fastest... and I never can keep up... nor, am I ever ready for it.

Oh but, I've been waiting...

Everyone's home from school, at this hour.  Everybody's hungry.  Supper is only an hour or two away.  Oh, that's right... it's time to start prepping and making something for dinner- if it hasn't been started already by now.

Everybody needs something right NOW... at the same time... as in like, two minutes ago!

There is homework to wrangle through...

Clothes to change out of and in to...

Squabbles to settle...attitudes to adjust.  Mine.

It's a rush...

And I can't rush time, and I can't go back.

Sigh!

Sorry to say, I'm not always on my best behavior - at the Four o'clock hour... and I worry how to make the most of my time, And, just how exactly to make the home-life moments count?  

That's being honest!  And I'm aiming to keep it real.

Yet....

Time waits for no one...it marches on!  And, I stop!

Here is my daily song & prayer ~~

I NEED THEE, Oh I need thee. EVERY HOUR, I need thee... 

Oh, bless me now, my Saviour, I come to thee!!

And, He does,  He comes!

** Yes! for the sake of the photos, today, I moved the hands of time; moving them ahead and turning them back..

I speak it to God:  I don't want more time.  I want just enough time.  
Time to breathe deep and time to see real and time to laugh long, time to give You glory and rest deep and sing joy and just enough time in a day not to feel hounded, pressed, driven or wild to get it all done and yesterday.  ~ Ann Voskamp
~~
I will not just live my life, 
I will not just spend my life, 
I will invest my life.
~ Helen Keller
***

Participating in:  31 days/Five Minute Free Writes/ Photography Challenge.
I'll be daily updating this link, HERE, so that you can keep up with any entries you may have missed!

{day 9} Home Quotes and Sentiments :: Red

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Lord - Heavenly Father...
 I love how you intentionally choose to paint the skies.
Almost every morning I'm taken in surprise of the new day.
In the evening it's the same way.
You seem to so often settle the day in array of colors, as well. The sculpting of the clouds with its red filters of light fade into a soft glow. The black blanket of night with it's white sparkling polka dots crossing the span out here in the countryside.  It's breathtaking and beautiful.
Like a snuggle that you never want to leave.
We've learned if we don't stay to look, long or immediately take a photo of it to make it last longer - its changed faster than we have dared to imagine.  As was the case on this here particular morning...
What we see, here on earth, is so pretty; so beautiful...
I wonder if we'll miss it at all when we get home, HOME??

Thank you!
God is so big He can cover the whole world with his love, 
and so small He can curl up inside your heart.  ~ June Masters Bacher

We could have talked about the 13+ jars of pickled Red Beets I put up, today... and the red stained hands - that labor of love - that goes along with the job! :)

***

Participating in:  31 days/Five Minute Free Writes/ Photography Challenge.

I'll be daily updating this link, HERE, so that you can keep up with any entries you may have missed!

{day 3} Home Quotes and Sentiments :: This Happened Today

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A merry heart doeth good, like medicine... Proverbs 17:22, KJV

Gotta love that nervous toe!

:: This Happened Today ::  (*actually, errr... it was yesterday!)

It was that time ... again!

Both my girls needed and had their well-check visit today!

As we readied ourselves and found ourselves on the way...

One of them mentioned that the tummy was in knots.

Mine was too!

I was worried for a moment how it would go today.

I had heard, through the grapevine, that our well-loved & favorite doctor no longer practiced there...

Would fear and tears overcome?  Or, could it still be a "happy day" instead?

I did my best to keep the car ride upbeat and pleasant.  Fully explaining the expectations along the way... soon the knots subsided.

This was only a Well-Check!

Were things looking good?

How's the heart beating?

Can you take a deep breath?

How much have you grown?

What do you like to eat?

What are you learning...?

I was so proud of my girlies, today!!

I ask myself the Motherload question..

How am I doing, really, as the the temperature and heartbeat of the home?

Do I need a well-check, too?  

Do you?

A heart at peace gives life to the body.~ Proverbs 14:30

Better the cottage where one is merry
 than the palace where one weeps.  

~Chinese Proverb

***

Participating in: 31 days/Five Minute Free Writes/Photography Challenge

To keep abreast of this series, I will be updating this link - on a daily basis.

Strawberries, Basil and Balsamic Vinegar

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I don't know if this happens for you, or not.  But, for me, spending a good length of consistent time in my kitchen brings on the deep thinking.  

Especially while washing dishes.

Well this morning...after washing dishes... and cleaning up around the kitchen... I pulled out a few berries that needed to get taken care of.  Quick!

I remembered a recipe I thought I'd like to try.

Sliced Strawberries

Basil

Balsamic Vinegar

{insert deep thinking mode}

I got to thinking how each one of these ingredients - alone, on their own - hold their own weight.

Each one is unique.

Intense.

Flavorful.

Distinct.

But to marry all of this together?

Yes!

How often in our interpersonal relationships...

We, the berries, get bruised and cut down and sliced apart?

It happens, sometimes.

Along {may} comes life's trajectories.

Against our will, these things get thrown at us.

Bits and pieces.  Shreds and shards...

They've become apart of us.

In relationships, though, we need one another to sharpen us.

Grow us.

Build us up.

Encourage.

This isn't going to be perfect.  Never meant to!  Never will.

It could be ugly.

Tasting awful.

Expectations revealed... reveal the worst, in us!

Basil and Berries?

Who would think... this?

Balsamic Vinegar?

Really?

A splash here, a glug, glug there..

Poured out.

Just enough.

Is Grace always gentle?

Sometimes it hurts.

Sometimes it heals.

{vinegar is known for this..)

In the stir and wake of reality..

This marriage, if you will...

People.

Friends.

Relationships... with whomever.

Without Jesus..

It's all a mess.  It's unthinkable.

But in the allowing of truth to be revealed..

and we accept our differences; and we're willing to be in the "bowl" together...

I mean, this is life, after all!...

What a beautiful mix.

There can't be a better thing.

Each part plays a role in how we perceive the outcome to be.

Each ingredient left alone is fine.  But together, this is a blend, worth giving an extra chance!

If we throw away and don't use the berries - because of a few bruises and such...

or don't add the basil - because well, who really likes their greens - especially of this kind?

And /or if we fail to add the {balsamic}...

due to it's bitterness; mostly because we're afraid of what it might do...??

Vulnerability to taking the first bite...is often the truest form of trust.

Letting go of ourselves for the betterment of another is simply - hard!

Perception is surprising, don't you think?

What we think may be the best can really be made better still. 

Keep trying!  Keep working on that blend...

Be willing to give and give and give again.

It stands true.

This really is and will become the most beautiful gift two can offer.

Best enjoyed where two or three are gathered...

Five Minute Friday :: Bloom

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Taking 5 minutes and writing raw and real.  Linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker and Five Minute Friday!

See all the details HERE - and you're welcome to join in, as well.

Today's prompt is:  Bloom

:: go ::

It's always neat to see a relationship grow, a friendship blossom and bloom.
However, sometimes the overwhelming sense of life isn't conducive to its potential.
If you know what I mean?
Life happens.
There's a fade.
A waning.
Sometimes these blooms aren't bright enough? or healthy? or happy?
Is is always due to the 'outside' circumstances and situations that alter this?

I think it's deeper than that.

Underneath the surface, what can't be seen, is really the telltale of what bloom will look like as it grows...

Where are you plugging in at?
Who are you drawing from?
Is it a rich reward that is being sought after?

We all know about roots.
It's really and truly the source that feeds those roots that will allow the bloom, any bloom, to flourish and multiply.  In the most beautiful of ways...or not!

I wonder if you would agree.  We have a choice.

A choice in how we're going to bloom.

:stop:
(How can five minutes go by so quickly? I wonder...)
~~
Just to add here, yet.  I am encouraged by a few verses in Psalm 18, that read...

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out  of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy. from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in my day of disaster, but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

and another several verses from...
Jeremiah 17: 5-10
I'm hoping you'll find a few extra minutes to read this portion of Scripture, as well.  These verses couldn't say it any better. (of course, it's God's Word!)  But... they, interestingly enough, are really what I was trying to say - to get across in my five minutes of .... whatever you want to call it. :)

Let your roots run deep.  For surely then will you be in a state of healthful beauty {and bloom}!

***
Thank you, for reading along today!

May you have a wonderful weekend!!  And, God bless...

Five Minute Friday :: Lost

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Enjoying the lovely quiet of this day!

Wait for it.

Wait for it.

Here comes another..

lovely quiet moment.

***
:go:
Bubbles.
We live in them sometimes.
They are filled with moments...loud and long.
Lively.
Full of friends.
Family.
Future.
We dream.
We hope.
We demand.
A hope.  Not lost.

Where does this bubble go?
Up, around, encircling.  Intertwining with wind and wave. Of emotions.  Of feelings.  Of nothing.
Why?  Such a sphere we wrap ourselves in.  It's so fragile.
What happens when before we know it.  We've bumped into something.  Someone.
And our bubble is burst.

Lost.
Into what?
Silence.
Unknown.
Never to be exact as it once was.

Maybe that is a good thing.
We ponder.
Those quiet moments that come daily and become such a part of us.
We wait for it, Wait for it.  Wait for it.
Here it comes...
Another.

Oops!  Now.
That one is lost too!

May our lives be filled with purpose.  Not lost to the shatter of this world.
:stop:

Linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker and Five Minute Friday!  You can too...
Check out all the "guidelines" HERE.

***

May you have a wonder-full weekend!!

The Sunflower Boy (a story!)

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Once upon a time, there was a little boy who fell gladly in love with growing sunflowers.  He could hardly wait for the season to come back around when it would be time to plant and water and wait.  He declared he would take time, sit and watch those seeds grow.  

When it didn't happen very fast, he worried.  Every day he wondered.  Every day he would ask.  When?

And then, one day.  He saw something.  Little and green, growing.  This little boy now had something special to see. Something beautiful to show.  Something he couldn't wait to give away.  

To share.

Every day, they grew taller.  Every day his own smile grew bigger.

The reality was, was that they would never grow quite as tall as he.  So, he decided, he would settle to stand with them; only as proud and tall as they.  By their side..

But!

Wait...

One day, he showed us all how much it was that he had grown, instead. He didn't stay in their shadow. He quietly surpassed. He had given out of his own prize and possession, one to his own dear Momma.  But, even more, he gave one special to another, a sweet and elderly friend, bringing to her face a smile as huge as they come.  He did well. All on his own accord, all because he loved.

Now - that, my friend, is one sure way to spread the SON SHINE around.  Amen?

The end.

****

My darling Sunflower Boy!

My prayer is that one day you too will realize just how much in the planting, the watering, the waiting - we will see even more growth in you!   Today. You're still fragile.  You need time, attention and lots and lots of patience given your way.  We stand by you.  And, wait...
With this, in time, may you grow taller, more radiant, more steadfast and rooted.  Casting your all towards the SON!

Caleb. May your face CONTINUALLY beam with the love of Jesus.  And as you continue to share your life and love with others, we pray that these others will also come to know the meaning of looking to the Son!
While growing in HIM!

~~~

Friend.  At the end of the day when our hearts are weary.  Our heads bowed low.  Our shoulders sagging and faces like so..
(because that day will come, and has) -- Be encouraged!

Galatians 6:9 says,
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

suitcase dreams

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There!

You shove that one last pipe dream into the case and slam the lid shut.  You put all your weight on to the top of that thing and fiddle with the latch...but, it almost is too big.   Really?   You turn the key to secure it. Yes!  It latched.  It isn't going anywhere, but along.  So you'd like to think.  You're locked in for life, to make this work!

The dream barely fits...and yet, it must go - with you! You cannot bear to leave it behind.  Only for it to be lost forever in the dust of the would be and the should have.  Never!! 

You insist.

This life-size plan gets toted around for decades rapidly becoming more of a burden then a hope.

The questions begin to loom large.  What if this is honestly just to big to handle...?  It's not just one dream, anymore... it's an entourage trailing behind you now.  Pretty much, by now, if not before,  the cart is before the horse and if you just push harder...or, get someone else to help you push this dream...?  Help?  Really?  Dare I? 

You know you can't ask, because what if they say... "you can't take it with you when you go."  Which honestly - you know to be oh SO TRUE anyway.

You wonder, Is that to say our dreams are better left up on the shelf?

No.  That isn't the answer.  Not at all.  God wants us to dream big and have great plans and great ideas and good goals.  We have much in the way of gifts to offer.

But here it is! 

Would you ever consider leaving your dream-bag behind... with all that it entails... because you know down deep you really can't carry it?  At least, by yourself...?

There is One in charge of the baggage, you know.

He's offering to carry your load, and to walk with you to your departure. 

He is the Baggage Handler.  The Keeper of the Baggage Claim. 

***
1 Timothy 6: 6-21

The words of the apostle Paul to his young friend, Timothy...

6.But godliness with contentment is great gain.  7.For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.  9. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

11. But you, man of God, flee from all of this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  12...take hold of the eternal life...

17. Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18.Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share.  19.In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age.  So that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

21. ... Grace be with you.

***

Not all dreams and desires evolve around obtaining more money and riches.  I realize that.  (I'm hoping that is not what you took away from this, from these verses shared...).

Sometimes though what we do consider a good intention for our life, big dreams, while here on this earth, is really nothing more then a mere "form of godliness".  It looks all good from the outside.  It can mean well.

This can be anything.  And about anything.  Our relationships.  Our mothering.  Our homemaking.  Our creativity.  Our passions.  Our Serving.  Our ... our... our....

We want bigger. 

And better.

More and more and more.

And the underlying root of self-sufficancy runs deep.  Doesn't it?  God has the right to open up those secret places.  He sees what is on the inside of our suitcase-heart.  Doesn't he?

Give your dreams to God.  Give it all! 

He wants us emptied of ourselves and full of HIM!

Go forward... press on.  Take flight!!

Be Seen!

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Sometimes in the hiding we forget the curtain is sheer.

You can run, but you cannot hide.

I say this to myself all of the time, and yet - I still try to hide.

No matter - still the curtain is sheer, especially in God's eyes and in all of the eyes around us.  One day we will be exposed.  We will always be exposed.

::like now::

These words, today, have exposed me.  I don't always believe I have anything to offer - so why try?  Why not sit crumpled, crouching in the corner...as if I won't be seen. 

I like to think this will happen.

Isn't there that little Sunday School song...with the line...

Brighten the corner where you are?

Even there.

If the Light of the World is in you - you will (still) be seen.

Be Seen!

***

Balance

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She gingerly stands holding on with her hand wrapped tightly onto my one finger.  She wobbles.  She teeters.  But oh she smiles.

This thing called balance has caught her off guard.  And me too.  It's so second nature.  Yes?

She looks up to me with big, round eyes...as if I'm the expert here.  Mom.

The look on her face says; What if?

What if I would let go? 

She isn't ready to take that step.  But one day she will. (soon enough)

The look on her face is of , "Oh, this new thing! This new world out there..."

If only.

She leans her body weight into mine, simultaneously clinging and daring her will to let go. 

Maintaining Balance.

If only it wasn't so tricky.

I hold on tight...{yet}encouraging her to let go.

She doesn't.

Not yet.

I know this challenge, too.


****
Just to let you know, the Mugs and Muffins - Giveaway! is still open. It's open till Wednesday night at 10:00 PM, EST. Please check it out. All due to the fact that I'm waiting for part of it to arrive in the mail... all the way from central WA.  :)

On the line of Christmas Past

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The wind pushed it's way past me...taking the red and green of Christmas Past along with it.  It was a beautifully crisp sort of morning.  The thoughts I had of the awaiting days of this New Year were swirling around in my head, flapping, fluttering like the cloths on the line.  They have stuck with me...as though pinned to my heart with no where to go but up. 

What is to come of this New Year?  For a brief second I gave in to the whirlwind of quandry and concern.

I grabbed the line to add another piece of laundry... the gusty wind gave another yank and I yanked back.   Hold on a minute, I muttered, as though it had ears to hear.  The memories of last year were pining for reflection.  It seemed as though the whole year had flown by in a mere matter of minutes.  Where had it gone?   And, yet so much had happened.  Perhaps that is why it went by so quickly...yet, I will not say - effortlessly.  It certainly was an interesting 'ride'.  And we hung on for dear life some days.  Some days, more then others.  I wanted to go back and relive, perhaps redo...the load of care...to sort through the piles of untended black, white and grey.  But, nope!  It was already wrung out and ready to roll.

A gust of wind came again...

This time.  It was different.

The thoughts again, of this New Year, were coming on strong and head-long.  I was being ushered into this one.  I vowed to brace for the winds of change...to allow the unknowns to kick up and swirl around my ankles.  Kick up some dust.   Really?  Dust?

As I hung up the last of the load I smiled for a minute.  I thought of the new and unwrinkled. The fresh, crisp air fueling my senses.  A twinge of old-man winter settling in.

I know me... I'm apt to wipe my hands on the purty white towel of succuss but by far I'd rather it be of humility and servanthood.  Lord willing, neither feigned.

 

Can the wing and a prayer for good cheer, health, prospertiy and blessing be?

Sure! and you can rest assured that the dust of the days ahead will (still) come.... and sprinkle themselves like tiny white snowflakes - swirling and twirling - only to melt off and away like another mere memory of yesterday.

***

The New Year lies before you, like a field of fresh fall'n snow.  Be careful how you tread on it for every step will show. {unknown}