Geraniums and Grace

Preview(opens in a new tab)

To know the true character of a “home” we must familiarization ourselves with its interior, not just its facade. Sadly, some beautifully, manicured houses are filled with pain and horror. But conversely, secreted within this dilapidated farmhouse are years of warm memories, an obscured loveliness, and a question!

Behind its shabby exterior and extreme outer disrepair, beneath the tarped and leaking roof, behind the cracked and broken windows, lies beauty, brilliant and blooming. Colorful and tenderly cared for geraniums bask and grow in sun lit warmth.

The question posed by this dingy, distressed home? How frequently and shamefully do we judge character and intellect by appearance or context? Sadly, our first impressions often become our final impressions. This house reminds us that “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart”. No matter our condition, in His grace, He willingly transforms our old natures and shares the beauty of His. An old church chorus tells us that despite all our “brokenness”, all our “strife” He will make “something beautiful, something good of our life.”

Mending

These men are reminders of our need to periodically assess our lives. We’re all broken in some way, but we’re not good at pondering or seeking to repair the fraying fabric of our lives. We regularly service our cars and lawn mowers, and toys, check out our financials, and schedule our annual physicals exams. But when do we care for our disquieted minds, do the things we love to do, and address estranged or difficult relationships that need healing, not ignoring? Do we give thought to who we are and to whom we are becoming and attend to mending the emotional and spiritual breaks that allow the true meaning and contentment of life to escape?

Hard work and hard play give life quantity but not necessarily quality. God knew our need and gave us a day of rest from the vicissitudes and challenges of life. The business world recognizes it and allots recovery time from the hectic work week, time for pleasure and for family. But our lives are incomplete without reflection, without attending to our spirits, repairing our minds, and realigning ourselves with what God has said about the principles that lead to healthy, happy lives and about the purpose He has for us . Do we take the time to seek and find?

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.Acts 17:27

Change is Constant

The view from this old window– with its daisy-ed field gently rolling to the blue cove and its periwrinkled beach stretching out toward the “head” where a fir tipped cliff boldly juts into  a sea, teased and challenged by a wispy fog bank–speaks a paradox. It defies the truth that “change is a constant”! Generations of people and events have flitted past this window, and they have vanished! But, whether lost in darkness or fog or foul weather, this beautiful vista has predictably reappeared without perceptible change, every day following every night, year after  year.

In times of rapid technological advances, shifting cultural norms, irregular philosophical opinions and theological views, there is something in us that longs for a stable viewpoint, one that makes sense and connects the beginning with the end. Something solid. Something that endures. Something purposeful.

Christ told the parable of the two carpenters, one man built his house on the sand, the other built his upon a rock. When the rains and the winds and floods came, the house built on the rock held, the house built on the sand collapsed with a mighty crash. His point was “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”……”And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”Matthew 7:24-27

Beauty

  • SONY DSC

I was reminded today that beauty surrounds us—and not just in what we behold! We were created to perceive beauty with all our senses–the pleasures that we experience, the music that we hear, the art that we create. Beauty may lie in a concept or an action– a Mother’s love, service to God and our neighbor, or in the emotions found in respectful relationships.

Beauty may reside in a name which is lovely to speak or which we cherish for personal or ancestral reasons. Our Church Fellowship recently sang a relatively new song which speaks of the wonderful, of the powerful, of the beautiful name of Jesus.

But there is also beauty in words-a poem, a wise word, or words that uplift and encourage and empower us. There is an old hymn, the first one I learned to play on the piano as a kid, that speaks of the wonderful words of the Gospel.. “Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life…”

The Infinite

  • SONY DSC

These boats, fishing in an early morning sea that seamlessly joins an ever extending horizon, remind me of how insignificant we are in a huge universe and that we are present at some inconspicuous point in infinity. And yet, we matter! Along with King David, we can exclaim in amazement and humility to the infinite, transcendent One who has created us and loves us:

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,
all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 8:3-9 (ESV)

Roads Not Taken

SONY DSC

This photo has always reminded me of Robert Frost’s poem “The Road not Taken”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

We have all stood at crossroads pondering the uncertainties and the consequences of choosing the path we will travel. Some paths have led us to success or joy, others to failure or despair. Some choices have been personal, some forced upon us by others or circumstances. Whatever our situation and whatever the cause and whatever the result whether we are grateful or sad, we may hope. We can have confidence we do not travel alone. The book of Proverbs tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and acknowledge Him, and He will make our paths straight.

Maine Lupines

Whether viewing the magnificence and grandeur of our cosmos through a telescope, the naked eye, or a microscope , in the words of the Apostle Paul we are “clearly” seeing God’s invisible qualities–His eternal power and divine nature. A field of lupine in the Spring is not only glorious but is an amazing statement of the hidden power that sustains us and the world around us.

Sweet Words from Maine

For me the joy of photography is capturing a feeling or a mood, a scene or object that speaks to me in some way. This early morning foggy scene in beautiful Prospect Harbor reminds me of the importance of faith and the role it can play in preventing our lives from becoming shipwrecked. The book of Proverbs talks to us about Wisdom and how it begins with reverencing God. That also means hating evil. The instruction of Scripture gives us prudence, understanding, discretion, knowledge, sound judgment and power to live as God intended us to-in his image. And the words from God do that in an amazing way because they are “living and active” and so sharp that they judge the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. If we listen, they will guide us into what is good and healthy. May you have that kind of a week !

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.