Can you see me down here?
My thoughts rise up to meet
you in the clouds.
Silence.
Dread.
So running forward,
I leave behind my faith.
You weep.
Roar.
Fear.
Stopping in my track
I look up.
There you show your love.
The quest for grace
can only be found
when I am nothing.
I am listening.
In my garden
I hear!
Do not worry.
Do not rush
faster than the wind.
Be still,
my soul!
there!
a pen
a blank page
waits
quick strokes!
a brush
a colored fabric
don a camera ’round the neck
INTERLUDE
why
madness?
get
our
self
sealed
onto
eternity?
idols?
produce
care
less
work
hard
fall
down
Silence can tell us much if we listen well.
Watch and see goodness abound.
From dirt comes food.
Nestled beneath our hurried hearts lays a seed of hope.
Can it be found, here, in these words and pictures?
I do not want to be seen.
I do not want to be heard.
Let God’s glory shine!
Genesis 8:21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
©jeannelizabeth
the solitude of the moment
the quietness in the air
words are harnessed and written down
knowing i am almost there
amongst the trees and water
where birds and crickets share
the rainbow hangs above the clouds
the sacred is here
H is for heaven. No I have not been there. Many claim to have been present and seen a glimpse. We are told to bring heaven on earth. What would that look like for you?
How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!
Psalm 139:17
If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.
Psalm 139:18
A gardener is always elated to find a toad in the garden.
What fun it would be to have a toad cam. Sitting around the dining room table, the family discussed the possibilities of doing such a thing. We probably will not be able to, since I wanted to put the camera on the toad, and not just set up a camera to watch the toad. Googling such an adventure, there were a few sites that had recorded toads, but found nothing like what I had proposed. It sure would be fun and interesting.
I have witnessed a toad eat a worm. The worm was fairly large and the toad sucked it in like spaghetti. Swwwwwipppppp! and the worm was no more! I am not too happy about toads eating the worms in my yard, although I have plenty of them. I just would rather I saw Mr. Toad eating the mosquitos, ants or japanese beetles.
Which brings me to the horror of watching a spider eat a butterfly. This happened just yesterday, shortly after taking this fellow’s picture. I saw the dangling Painted Lady, caught in a Wolf Spider’s web, and tried to rescue it before the spider found dinner. Wh@t! I was too late. Dinner was served!
“Poetry is the art of creating imaginary gardens with real toads.”
Marianne Moore (American Poet, 1887-1972)
It is that time of year when great friends, food and faith mix together to create memories that carry you through the rest of the calendar days. The exhiliration surrounding my departure to go to the hills is welling up in my soul! If you could hear me, deep inside, you would realize heaven!
My history with the spring and fall hike returns to October in the year 2004. My soul urged me to break away from my life for a moment, to take time and reflect where I was, where I was going and where I wanted to be. My family blessed me before I left with well wishes and hugs. I was at total peace that whatever happened, all would be well.
The first retreat indeed was magical. God met me there. Just the right music, conversation and prayer. I met a wonderful woman, who being a complete stranger, departed a beloved friend. And tomorrow we will reconnect. All the days before will vanish and all the days ahead will disappear and for a time we will just sit and stare and wonder at God’s creation and care.
As it turns out I want to always be there, in the hills of Brown County Indiana. Yet life does not happen there, it is only shared.
Dreams of deer frolicking in the woods
Not wanting anything
but having everything
Visions of birds circling the air
Gliding past vast woods
and sparkling brooks
Falling leaves and budding trees
snow capped hills and frozen pond
Silence!
If you have a prayer request, please leave it below and I will keep it hidden in my heart to give to God, in the hills of His bosom. Shalom…
In His love,
Jeannelizabeth©
extravagant, enduring and endless bloom. Well, the bloom will fade, but pictures last.
E is also for extraordinary, as this winter and spring have been. My mother said tulips were blooming on my birthday back in March of ’67! So not every Spring is wet and miserable.
Enticing, exciting and exhilirating! My heart pounded as I turned the corner. A swallowtail butterfly perched, flitting from bloom to bloom, turned camera shy and sailed on the wind before I could snap a picture. The bumblebees were extremely busy…
Enriching, educating and enlightening! Quite some time was lost in watching the bees work heartily, moving to and from each blossom, extracting yellow powder. Their legs were coated with puffs of life!
I was reminded that I missed the desert bloom in 2005 when a wash of color spread from mountain to valley. It was a perfect scenario of plenty of winter rain with spring temperatures that exploded into reds, oranges, purples, yellows and greens.
Evaporate. Extinguish. Ebb. Expire. End.
Psalm 39:4 “Show me, LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting my life is.5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. (NIV)
Spring comes to life
As the sun moves closer
The heat breaks the dormant
And the dormant break free
Wind brings cooling breezes
As the heat burns
The sprouting leaves wither
And the withering leaves sprout
I’ve set food out for the birds and the worms and the dog, cat and bunny. They eat busily, not a care in the world. I enjoy the peace of my garden. Occasionally, it is interrupted by a loud noise or chattering neighbors on their patios.
Digging in the dirt, I create a world of beauty.
Proverbs 14:1 The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.
