West

Sometimes you may have a dream...

a prayer...

that's been with you for what seems like forever...

(view from the car)

long carried hopes...

long awaited prayers...

(first day out West!!! ID)

in the expanse of the LORD'S time and plan,

they have not been too late,

nor have they been

unanswered...

(view of the mountains, that seem to be everywhere!)

His understanding and wisdom is unsearchable...

His faithfulness unending...

(View from Oregon Trail)

In every season of life,

whether in waiting...

(Oregon Trail)

or in answered hopes...

dwell with Him and feed on His faithfulness,

because...

He is Good.

(Favorite view of mine)

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land,

and feed

on His faithfulness." Ps. 37:3

When He opens His hands

Oftentimes...

I lift my hands up,

to be filled,

or to give.

I know this now,

or at least I should have learned this by now...

and so I do it,

maybe after a great struggle,

or a "sometimes it's just easy to bend" struggle of the wills,

either way...

I want to do this...

I want to be open to His will,

but sometimes,

sometimes,

what He brings, or what He shows,

or what He gives,

it overwhelms.

My hands lay at my sides,

because that is all that I can do.

How can this be,

when He opens His hands.

I deserve nothing,

but He gives from the depths of His riches,

His goodness,

His mercy

and love...

How He acts on our behalf,

I am in awe,

my heart can only beat it's thanks sometimes,

because words do, so often, fail.

Sometimes,

sometimes,

I...

but

always,

always,

He...

These all look to You,
to give them their food in due season.
When You give it to them, they gather it up;
when You open your hand, they are filled with good things.

Psalm 104:27-28

Returning

... hunger, lack of bread

withheld rain, drought before harvest

thirst

blight and mildew

locust, plagues and death...

"Yet, you have not returned to Me,

says the Lord."

taken from Amos 4:7-11

Am I returning to the Lord throughout life's lessons?

In every season, oh my heart, return unto thy God.

For He is good.

When He brings the rod or teaches the heart to bend,

then it is for good,

for life.

Press yourself hard into Him, run back to His

wisdom, turn your face fully towards Him.

Return unto Him.

Never leave His plan,

His will,

His goodness.

Return.

A Time to Dance...

It's that time of year again,

when summer closes,

the long and sunny days with warm breaths of air say goodbye...

when seasons turn, and begin to change,

when what's around the corner is not always easily seen...

letting go of what we remember and have enjoyed,

yet never forgetting...

and taking a deep breath...

pressing on,

because what He brings is beautiful...

every season in life is set,

and comes only when the time is right...

so trust the Maker of the changing seasons,

and know that He

never changes...

and choose to dance with hope in the fields of this life,

being thankful for every change,

grateful for the LORD'S provision and grace,

and knowing that the turning of seasons is good...

bringing us,

guiding us,

closer to Him.

Saturdays...

Saturdays are for

cleaning,

baking,

mending,

creating,

preparing.

Looking back,

and looking forward.

An ending of the past week,

and yet, a stepping stone

into what lies ahead.

They are simple days,

where no one sees...

they are crazy days,

where lives are shown.

These are times for living life,

and doing what is shown...

looking forward to what lies

ahead and what is not seen.

Pressing on in the normal,

the tiresome,

the same,

same,

same...

because that's where

we are tested.

That's where our colors are proved...

that's where it matters,

where it counts.

“I the LORD, search the heart

and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.” Jeremiah 17:10

Saturdays are for living...

for breathing in and out,

for thanking Him for every moment,

for not turning back,

for pressing on,

for trusting in His goodness,

for remembering,

for loving,

for living...

For Him

It's never really ours...

even when/if we receive what we ask for.

It's never just for "me".

I found myself,

whispering in the stillness of my own heart,

that if/when I get what I have asked for, pleaded for,

then...

then

will I be so very grateful.

Why can I not be truly grateful now,

for what He has given...

to me?

It is still a gift,

it is still a piece of life.

The gift...

the many gifts that we receive,

from Him, the giver of all

good things,

they are never meant just for us.

It's a harder lesson for me to grasp,

because, that's just what I want to do...

to grasp,

to hold,

to keep.

Why does He give then?

Why doesn't He give?

I wonder,

always.

In the ache of not knowing, I see glimpses.

Of why He gives...

Hannah was given a most precious gift,

one that she had cried out for in anguish...

but she knew,

Oh, how Hannah knew!

It was not just for her...

no

it was for Him.

It is all...

for Him.

Open Hands

Photo credit, not mine :)

There it is again...

that picture in my mind,

that feeling.

I run my hands, those hands that

momma said were so gentle, so tender...

and I say,

so

empty.

I run them through the sand. Warm on top,

cool and dark underneath.

The sand is cupped within my two hands...

still and soft

but then,

I begin to open...

That feeling,

it seeps between my fingers,

falling,

falling.

That feeling when my fingers loose their grip and the

sand just melts away,

blowing in the breeze.

The feeling of openness...

open hands.

It is with me a lot these days;

that feeling

that picture.

I see the sand, as it blows away in the wind...

My natural instinct is to clench my fists,

to roll them into a tight ball.

Then comes defiance with the feeling of loss...

If I cannot be filled with what I desire,

then let me be empty!

I must open my hands to emptiness.

Oh, how fragile I feel.

I must open my empty and barren places,

to be filled.

Oh, how helpless I feel.

"The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,

blessed be the name of the Lord."

taken from Job 1:21

Open hands,

willing to receive from Jehovah our Provider,

and to give freely back to the Great I AM.

Clenching will not help.

There is a beauty and peace that comes from open hands

before our God and a knowing...

that He is good.

But in the filling,

the growth and swelling...

it must give.

It must give with groans of pain,

pressing through with every ounce of strength.

To be filled, you must give.

Fullness, I want it.

I yearn for it....

and I have found,

that He fills.

Sometimes I rail against His filling.

"Not there Lord! Here! Here!"

But I do know that He cares and that He wants

to fill.

Perhaps not the exact place where we want it,

but fill nonetheless.

He desires us to bear,

to bring forth life,

fruit for His glory.

To swell with His goodness...

open hands,

ready to let go,

to give,

and to be filled

again.

"... to know the love of Christ

which passes knowledge; that you may

be filled with all the fullness of God."

Ephesians 3:19

(written February 2011)

Small Towns, Big Memories

Pultneyville, NY

There is just something about small towns that draw me in.

Maybe it's their simplicity, or maybe it's just because

what you see, is what you get.

Whatever it is,

I have always loved them.

I'm a small town girl.

This town, on the edge of Lake Ontario, is just that.

Farm land is on every side of this quaint little town

that curves along the edge of the shore.

The Americana colors are everywhere,

along with the smell of the water and the warm breeze that

is always present in the summer.

It owns some of the most beautiful sunsets as well...

colors so sweet and smooth, rich and changing.

I have always loved to look out across a Great Lake or ocean

and just look and look,

as far as I can.

It makes me realize how small I am, and how big

He is.

How vast His creation is, what an artist He is,

how beautiful...

He is.

I want to see the Lord's beauty and goodness in

everything.

The "small"...

towns,

people,

days,

lives,

jobs,

chores,

dreams,

hopes,

sorrows,

joys,

pains...

and the "big".

His care is evident. His wisdom is written across the sky.

Press on...

to know

Him.

"So let us know,

let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.

His going forth is established as the morning;

And He will come to us like the rain..."

Hosea 6:3

Our soul waiteth for the LORD;

He is our help and our shield.

Psalm 33:20

The Battlegrounds of Gettysburg, July 1 - 3, 1863

"In great deeds something abides,

On great fields something stays.

Forms change and pass, bodies disappear;

But spirits linger... And reverent men

And women from afar, and generations

That... we know not of... [are]... drawn

To see where... great things were suffered

And done for them..."

Maj. Gen. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Gettysburg Oct. 3, 1889

It was really neat to see the many monuments set

up in honor of the numerous divisions out of the

state of NY.

New York state sent in more Union soldiers

than any other sate, Union and Confederate combined.

On June 16, 2009 my family and I were able to visit

Gettysburg, Pa and the surrounding battlefields. What a

powerful story that land has, the many who fought, lived and died there;

their story lives on.

Maj. Gen. Chamberlain was right; 'in great deeds something

abides', and 'on great fields something stays', and I was

just one out of the generations that 'we know not of', that

was 'drawn to see where... great things were suffered and done

for them', ... for me.

GREAT GOD WHO SAVES

O the promises of God, the rock on which I stand, the truths to

which I cling, His love that knows no bounds He showers us with

grace, withholding no good thing

When I stumble and my faith is small, I will

call Your name,

GREAT GOD WHO SAVES

I would have despaired, if I had not believed that

You would come to me,

GREAT GOD WHO SAVES

In my darkest hour Your mercy and Your power are reaching

out to me,

GREAT GOD WHO SAVES

O, the mystery of God, who holds all space and time

yet knows my every need, the vastness of Your power,

the strength You give the weak, I soar on eagle's wings,

When I stumble and my faith is small

I will call your name,

GREAT GOD WHO SAVES

a song, by Laura Story

Tea, Anyone?

A lovely little teapot that I found at an estate sale this past summer,

almost matches the teacups that I found last October, to a 'tea'.

~ His Great Goodness ~

Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness
shall look down from heaven. Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
and our land will yield its increase. Righteousness will go before
Him, and shall make His footsteps our pathway. Psalm 85:11-13