This past weekend,

it snowed and snowed,

and froze...

those beautiful snowflakes,

so intricate and lovely...

each one...

covering the branches and making them bow low

over the frozen earth...

everything in a state of rest and trusting...

in a place of 'allowing',

and of hope...

of knowing that this is just a season...

and even though it may be cold

and harsh and seemingly unending...

it has beauty

it is...

goodness,

life-waiting,

it is beauty.

Last Days of Summer...

In a last hurrah for summer,

we went back to the beautiful lake country,

and enjoyed the quietness and sweet stillness that

comes before the weekend.

Soaking up the last beautiful rays of summer,

and enjoying it to the very last bit.

There is a beautiful, old light house

on Sodus Point...

with gardens and rolling grass hills leading

down to the lake.

The views are just breathtaking,

and the sound of the waves hitting the rocks below...

I could just listen to that sound,

for forever.

Checking out the views...

testing the arch...

loving it...

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

A Walk

My sister and I took a walk this week

down our lane...

it was simply lovely.

The sun was just setting over the hills,

the air was clean and fresh,

with hints of warmer times

ahead.

The beauty of it all was priceless...

nothing can compare to the

feeling that comes with spring.

That smell...

of newness,

and hope and life all

mixed up in one.

It's the joy after a long winter,

when you wonder if spring will

ever come...

when you see that, yes, He is faithful

to bring about His newness to the earth,

and shower it again with His goodness

and life.

To know, that He not forgotten...

He will send the rain,

the sun,

the flowers and fruit to fill the

earth again.

Every season has its purpose,

and even when all looks bleak,

and cold,

and lifeless,

don't despair!

He has filled us with every good thing,

given us life eternal,

and promised us

Hope.

He hears our prayers,

He will bring

the

Spring.

~~~

But the path of the just

is like the shining sun,

That shines ever brighter unto

the perfect day.

Proverbs 4:18

Beauty

The Lord spoke to my heart a while back

concerning the bare trees and my time of

waiting. I had quietly noted within myself 

how drab and unlovely the trees were looking

during the winter months and was contemplating 

it all and feeling quite sorry for them and myself

when all of a sudden the LORD reminded me how this

is the season that He has chosen for them and how

 during this time they wait patiently for the coming

and promised spring. 

This made me think... and in all truth I have never, in

all my life, heard a tree complaining about its lack of 

leaves, or its apparent bareness of fruit at the moment,

or  even seen a tree trying to uproot itself and run to 'better'

lands or 'nicer' climates. No. But I have seen the trees stand

faithful in the place where God has put them, and continue to

grow and stay rooted until the season when He grants them

their covering and fruit. They do not fret in the gray and hard

seasons, nor do they give up and just uproot. They stand tall

and faithful, and quietly wait for His timing, for His beauty

and for His great grace.

There is great beauty in not only blooming where we are

planted, but also in being content and waiting faithfully

and standing tall in Him when our blooms have yet to appear.

Now I look at the bare trees all 

around and think to myself

how really beautiful they are!

Though the fig tree may not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines;

though the labor of the olive may fail,

and the fields yield no food;

though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

and there be no herd in the stalls-

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will joy in the God of my salvation.

The LORD is my strength;

He will make my feet like deer's feet,

and He will make me walk on my high hills.

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Yellow Door