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Flowers Fade
This is what my neighborhood looks like right now! Blooms everywhere! I loooove spring!
But if you look closely, you see these beauties are beginning to fade.
These fading tulips inspired me to appreciate the remaining blooms that much more. To take more time walking around my neighborhood enjoying every single flower.
Inspired me to be grateful for my sight.
Inspired me to thank the One who created this buffet for the eyes. The smorgasbord of colors and textures. The sheer variety of spring blooms.
If spring in Virginia can look like a fairyland….what does spring in His Kingdom look like?
Point to ponder while you wander….
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8 ESV
Crocus of Joy
As I was walking in the warm sunshine (woohoo) on my way home from work, I came across these beauties.
And my first thought after….Ahhh! YAY! Crocuses!….was crocus of joy. I always associate crocuses with rejoicing because of the beginning of Isaiah 35…
“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.”
The crocuses reminded me to choose joy today. So I’m spreading their message.
Point to ponder while you wander…
Joy is a choice.
“I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.” Martha Washington
Maybe a Fence
What do you think of when you see this picture?
Do you think of home? Family? Protection? Style? Curb appeal?
I took photo this yesterday because it reminded me of wisdom passed on to me…
Don’t build walls. Build a fence.
If you’ve ever read Ezra and Nehemiah you might remember that the bulk of it is about rebuilding the defensive walls. Defensive walls for a city are a good thing. Defensive walls around a person, not so much.
If you build walls and isolate yourself, you may be protected from hurt, but you’re also not living an abundant life nor are you growing.
Tear down the walls, and build a fence instead. A fence is like a healthy boundary.
The gate in your fence allows you to participate. It allows you to communicate. And it allows you to let people in, some will be in the yard, some in the house, and some won’t be allowed past the gate. That’s why the gate opens, closes, and locks.
Only Jesus should be allowed access to every part of you. He has top secret clearance and need to know.
Everyone else has a varying degree of clearance and need to know. You need boundaries in every relationship.
Healthy boundaries foster your growth.
But walls so high they block out the sun, stunt your growth.
There have been times in my life that my walls were so high and so thick that I missed opportunities that God Himself provided for me. I simply was not open to anyone or anything.
I trusted no one. Not even God.
Truth is I was alive but not living. And I was miserable. But I stayed there far too long because I felt safe in the little world I made for myself.
It took time. It took effort. It took counseling. But I slowly began opening up to trusting others.
It isn’t always easy. You will make mistakes. I did! You’ll probably fall and fail a time or two. I do! Sometimes you will trust the wrong person. But you’ll learn and grow, just like I am.
Point to ponder while you wander…
Life is both miraculous and brief. So…
Maybe replace you walls with a fence and open the gate a bit.
Come out to play.
Be open to new adventures.
Trust God.
John 10:10… “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” NKJV
Isaiah 53:18-19… “Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” NKJV
Psalm 91:2… “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.‘” NKJV
A Psalm, a Masterpiece & the Eclipse
“When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers— the moon and the stars you set in place—what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?” Psalm 8:3-4 NLT
As a nature lover, it’s easy to think that the beauty and majesty God created and think the Earth or the skies is the pinnacle of His creation. But actually, you are.
He created the Earth for you to tend, keep, and enjoy. You are His Masterpiece!
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” Ephesians 2:10 NLT
Point to ponder while you wander…God considers you to be His masterpiece over this…
Photo Credit: NASA
Motivational Monday…Ansel Adams
“I hope that my work will encourage self expression in others & stimulate the search for beauty & creative excitement in the great world around us.” Ansel Adams
Who was Ansel Adams? Ansel Adams was a photographer mainly known for B&W landscapes, and for his love of Yosemite National Park.
I love how his B&W shots force you to see past the colors to see the textures and patterns. He inspires me to walk in the woods with my camera. Not to copy him. But to look for the views and details that speak to me.
Here are a few shots of Ansel’s. I do not own the copyright to these photos. All are copyright of Ansel Adams. If you’d like to have prints of them, please purchase them. Don’t steal art! ❤
Moonrise over Hernandez…I love this one necause he said it was one of those right place right time photos. Not every one may love this image…but it totally speaks to me.
Rose and Driftwood…I love all the different lined in this one. The texture in the rose
Clearing Winter Storm at Yosemite…
Point to ponder while you wander…”Well done, Ansel. You have inspired me.” -Jill @Jillbeingstill.com
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