tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355854302012-01-27T19:50:48.889-08:00In quietness and confidence shall be your strength and within your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit ~ of great worth in the sight of God. <I>Isaiah 30:15b; 1 Peter 3:4 </I>Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.comBlogger1211100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-15488037682577663132012-01-27T19:49:00.000-08:002012-01-27T19:49:53.490-08:00

“There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something tomorrow.”    ~ Orison Swett Marden

Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-37080837906714442082012-01-23T14:51:00.001-08:002012-01-23T14:51:49.692-08:00

The place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep hunger. ~ Frederick Buechner 

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These are the lovely seeds...different, yet dwelling purposefully – aligned together, not apart © Liza K. Christian ~ Silent Mornings

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Stars Shine Brighter in the Dark

Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-77263709110010012422012-01-21T20:12:00.000-08:002012-01-21T20:15:25.319-08:00

Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-56170409363892349392012-01-21T20:08:00.001-08:002012-01-21T20:17:16.742-08:00

Even a frozen bud is wrapped in grace...

Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-67480495815650033742012-01-14T17:42:00.001-08:002012-01-14T17:43:28.256-08:00

Many things lie beyond...

Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-9643787858989584902012-01-06T14:45:00.001-08:002012-01-06T14:45:58.702-08:00

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Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-62432515749046174232011-12-10T11:23:00.001-08:002011-12-10T11:24:47.525-08:00

Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-5980717900232677582011-11-29T19:19:00.001-08:002011-11-29T19:56:17.520-08:00

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Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-38730003543699876332011-11-26T10:21:00.001-08:002011-11-28T15:07:35.808-08:00

MORNING FOG vapors rise in the stillness of morning

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Which one do you listen to: The bad report, Or the good report?

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HARVESTFall - a season of joy and ingathering. Brilliant colors splash the earth & capture our imagination. The earth is glad & the fields are jubilant!© Liza K. Christian - Silent Mornings ~ All Rights ReservedRequest permission from the artist to repost.

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THE LENS OF THOUGHT LIFE: Large zones segmented or divided into smaller spaces. 

 The mind is always imprinting... continually broadcasting... . The breadth of observations that enter our sphere coupled with our interpretation of those fields, is both incalculable and uninterrupted. We often glimpse rather than observe and fully examine. We often interpret and report before all facts are

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EN-COURAGE: Put Courage Into Inspire with confidence, promote, spur on, steel, stir up, strengthen, enliven, embolden, comfort, applaud, boost, promote, incite, commend, steer/guide, lighten the load... .How Creative can you be to implement encouragement? Would you share your experiences?- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -My son is an amazing sculpturist. Presently, he’s working on a piece of twisted

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Not behind you or to the side of you... not in an intimate chapel with creaky seats and altars punctuated by stiff, cultivated flower arrangements that suffocate the air... but smack-dab in front of you: every day, a funeral is taking place. Don’t ignore it simply because you saw no announcements in the obituaries, witnessed no mourners sharing fake platitudes after glowing epitaphs from the

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If your journey has seemed long and tedious... if you are waiting for fruit on your vines... take heart; the desert will bloom.

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Stuck in a Box? Feeling boxed in?Read the "Tale of the Unassuming Box"Posted at http://silentmornings.blogspot.com/2011/05/tale-of-unassuming-box.htmlAll Rights Reserved

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Gird up against Offense (Greek: Aproskopos)We've all experienced it: OFFENSE. The Greek word is "aproskopos" which rather sounds like an offense to my hearing ear.Mostly, offense charges in unannounced - ofttimes when we least expect it. Other times, we may anticipate it, but we're still caught off guard. In our shock, we strike an offensive blow because we're unprepared. Instead of adding

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The Hebrew word for much is "rob" meaning: abundant, abundance in any respect, excellent, great (ly, ness, number), huge, be increased, many more in number, most, multitude, plenty(-iful), and very (age).In the English Roget's Thesaurus, abundant synonyms are: abounding, ample, copious, crawling over with, exuberant, filled, generous, lavish, profuse, sufficient, teeming, extensive, lavish,

Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-85944832743612666702010-05-25T11:31:00.000-07:002010-05-25T14:48:37.716-07:00

In this sphere and beyond, there exist persistent, relentless, timeless, unfailing, and unchanging patterns. They are the markings of wisdom and understanding. They carve out the unnecessary, inconsequential, superfluous, and expendable. They etch in the discriminating, significant, vital, and strategic. May you experience them ~ allow them to be pressed, poured into, and made plain along your

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Because we long to be valued and accepted, many of us look to others for affirmation and approval. Flattery is a dry gulch. It may allure, but it is impotent. You cannot plumb it's depth to receive nourishment or be replenished. Man may stir your passions. Man may help you paddle the streams you navigate, but no man can tap into the deep waters of significance except the one who creates the

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I was and am being made - wonderfully, creatively, with extraordinary magnificence by a resplendent potter. A part of me affirms and agrees with this. However, I live in a world gone berserk, and because I make some crazy-bad choices, I have become broken and imperfect - shattered like fine pottery. Working in the dark undercurrents of the culture around me... and within the recesses of my

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Triumph: a good dose of "umph" added to try.Whether you're little or whether you're big, sometimes it's that last step - the one that almost seems too difficult to take - that's the one that holds you back. You're tired. You're tired of trying.Friends, advisers, even strangers might observe your struggle... get out their pom poms and in their best ''rah-rah'' voice, say: "Hey, just stay in the

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Do you live in an upside down kingdom? The one where things seem outside in instead of inside out? The one seemingly full of paradox?In our attempt for understanding, instead of believing with the "eyes of faith," we often attempt to tangle the uncomplicated. We make simple truths pretentious.Starting from our first words, we ask big questions. We seem borne with a "?" mark - like a cartoon

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HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010! May you wisely examine all that is set before you. Embrace the good stuff. Toss out that bad stuff.May your understanding deepen for the things that matter and for those that don't - may they be easily discarded. May your heart be warm, strong. and courageous.May you live with gusto and zeal, and dispel indifference.May you eat hearty - but only

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I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Against the sweet earth's flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day,And lifts her leafy arms to pray; A tree that may in summer wear A nest of robins in her hair; Upon whose bosom snow has lain; Who intimately lives with rain.Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree."- Joyce

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Sometimes algae growth indicates a lack of balance or oxygen deficiency. It's usually caused by dead things that create sludge leading to stagnation, icky odors and other unpleasant outcomes. Controlling bad algae can be labor intensive and include methods such as chemicals and filters (some of which inherently bring about other issues that may be as problematic as the algae itself). Not all

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Enthralled and ravished lest Imprisoned by enemies.Soul man: apprehended.Not merely crippled - shattered - rendered useless.Reduced to fragments, inoperative, discontinued.Infused by whispers revealed inKnots and yokes - unappealing things made into treasures.Monopolized.Restraints: welcomed; embraced.We bend; He mends.He breaks, then remakes.Ravished, consumed - Imprisoned by the mortal ties;

Fade to Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03812894105532131726noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35585430.post-73483126928942843212009-10-29T12:59:00.000-07:002009-10-29T23:15:02.543-07:00

God is not safe. He is demanding. He probes my heart, invades my stuff, consumes it. Dead stuff seems to be his specialty.Generally speaking, he doesn't butt in, preferring to beckon. Nevertheless, he's insistent about certain things - y'know: virtue, purity, obedience, devotion - that kinda thing.He's big on leading. Regrettably, I'm a bit passive about following. Not always; but too often.I

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What do our actions say about us? I recently attended the documentary film, "LORD, Save us From Your Followers." Small theatre - perhaps some 50-60 people attended the showing I did.The gist of the film is how the world, especially Americans, view Christians. The responses from the "unbelieving" well, let's just say: "not so pretty."Looking at the impression our words and deeds make on the

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WILL YOU CHOOSE - Choose to steep your soul in love... be bound by love... yoked to love... compelled through love... find unhindered expression in love... respond out of love... live arrested by love - not merely the essence of love, but love itself: indescribable, incomprehensible, and irresistible. Many live in sorrow and pain because they have not received love... been touched by extravagant

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We all begin somewhere in time.But, perhaps we place to much emphasis on this matter called time. Time draws from a well of memories - washing us with a landscape of colors, scents, textures, and whispers of the past. Many times, such recollections muscle their way into our lives - pretending to hold power over us to influence our present. Will we let them?Often we do. Memories capture our

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By wisdom the earth's foundations were laid. By understanding the heavens were set in place. By knowledge the deeps were divided. (1) Day One:The morning dawns. I find myself in pursuit of something I don't fully understand. As I traverse through my day wisdom is bestowed along with the ability to apply any knowledge I may acquire. (2)Day Two ~ Repeat Day One:Continue to mine the rich depths of

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If you watch a potter working the clay on his wheel, you notice that there is no tension - the clay submits graciously to the potter's hands - the potter's direction. A passage found in Jeremiah 18:6 arrests our thoughts as we examine how "clay in the potters hand is to be fashioned at the potter's pleasure and rendered according to his purposes. In reading these words, we notice a spiritual

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Today is unique. It's the ninth day of the ninth month of the ninth year of the 21st century: 09-09-09. In other words, it's the nines!Numbers have significance. Although I'm sure there are many more I didn't unlock I discovered a few things about the numeric nine. Here's what I learned: Nine is the sum of digits whose form is multiplied and is also a multiple i.e., 3x3=9.Nine means FRUIT

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At my computer, I opened three eMails. "Oh my goodness, I gasped, 'another' prayer request? ...and regarding people I don't even know."Each week, several eMail requests land in my "in" box. They're from people I know, people I don't know, and from people I don't know - asking prayer for people they don't know. On and on it goes. I often wonder what compels someone to send me these requests. Don't

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Hope is active, like faith. It is substantive: a force steeped in expectancy. You don't sit in your rocker hoping for hope. You dig your knuckles into it. You soar to find it. With determination, you persevere in securing it. The longer you persist the stronger and more courageous you become.Hope is the place upon which the visible realm hinges. Hope is an expectation. The more you have the more

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Children have a remarkably insatiable appetite for asking questions. Somewhere on the journey from childhood to adulthood, many children forget to ask questions and settle only for answers. Curiosity does not require brilliance or a high IQ - merely a nimble mind with a desire to inquire... to reflect... to imagine that certain secrets and mysteries remain locked and that they are worthy of

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An hour before curtain, I watched the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's "Green Show" so named because it takes place "on the green" in front of the world-reknowned OSF Ampitheater. Beside the delightful artists who present, it's a fun place to hang out - catch up with locals, meet tourists, watch young children frolic with wild abandon, and old men struggle to get up after an hour on the lawn while

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And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven: and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. ~ Matthew 16:19 Authority ~ έξουσία ~ John 14:12-14Power ~ δύναμις ~ Acts 1:8Dominion ~ κυριότης ~ Genesis 1:26-28© Silent Mornings

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Seconds are the slender threads of sacred moments. Moments weave into hours, forming the warp and waft of our days. Over time, days collect into weeks, months, and eventually years. They become our past. We overload our schedules and forget to pace. We bolt from one activity to the next and fail to savor the epochal strands of time. We live as if we are spectators instead of participants and

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The word “leverage” stirs up negative feelings for me. It reminds me of when people have used their power against me and sometimes that reminds me of money and loss. But the word itself isn’t moral or immoral, good or bad.We all experience moments when life ends up in a slump and it’s more than the normal ebb and flow. Perhaps personal relationships have been challenged; profitability in your

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She lay there, frail – anemic-looking, actually - her fingers twisted around an old tissue – one she used every now and then to wipe her nose. Her skin was sallow, her face sunken - the soft fleshy areas eclipsed by the bony structures. Her eyes, a pale blue, seemed vacant - yet they cried out. They appeared to say: “I see you… I know you are there. Do you know I am here?”Despite this ”knowing,”

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Suspended in the stillness of the hidden moments, His goodness is like shafts of light where haunting weights plummet into the abyss as pockets of calm reverence draw you upward to His presence. Plunge deep into the Rivers of God where His sustaining grace paints pictures of resilient, irrepressible, freedom - where you emerge - penetrated by love, swaddled in His goodness.© Silent Mornings

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Like Echoes:At first, a whisper - then a thunderous sound;It seems to me, I'm breaking new ground.Absorbed in my doings, new ventures unfold.Destiny awaits, fresh chapters will be told.Like Fireflies:Illuminating a heart, that once, was weary; Harboring days - some quite drearyWeights that were searing, Seem now, to be steering.What fabric was woven into those connections?What structures formed,

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Through the digital age, electronic communications can dispatch a message - unbounded and unrestrained - with incredible expediency and immediacy. On your device, you can compose a note in Waukegan, Illinois, and within literal seconds, it can be opened in Sydney, Australia. Sure, it's efficient, but it can never replace the wonderful discoveries found in the old-fashioned mailbox. Whether you

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Low Tide - Half-Moon Bay on the Pacific Ocean.The sun makes its descent as waves stretch beyond the horizon.Seagulls circle in the distance.Fit with proper oars, a canoe lightly punctuates the silence.Stroke, stroke...Executed perfectly to maintain a straight course.The soft breeze - willowy in this spacious, unconstrained atmosphereLends to the solitude.I stand quietly on the shore.Mesmerized by

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Y O UYou were loved before you were you. You are the reverberations fulfilling His dream from eternity past... the frequency of Heaven penetrating Earth, embodied in His likeness and image. You were fore-known and predestined to embrace the reality of your comme il faut - your becoming. The landscape of your destiny and the incredible greatness of your horizon - all determined in His passionate

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In Greek, "eirenepoios" means peacemaker.“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Recorded words of Jesus - Matthew 5:9.)Each of us can choose to herald peace...allow it to flow through us much as the layered tones and muted shadings of light and dark fuse themselves amongst these multi-colored leaves.Will we - created by each stroke of the Master's hand, memorably

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Whether we walk through a unclouded, sun-washed day, or one drenched by torrential storms... whether the day is filled with warm breezes or one that is freezing cold buffeted by fierce winds... whether our bellies are full or empty... whether we are sad or glad... whether the bank account is full or depleted - we can all respond to the call of God... draw into the unexpected places of His

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Sehnsucht (a German word meaning intense, ardent longing).Mine is an inconsolable yearning for God’s presence – an ardent longing that pierces into the core of my being. I bow before Him now, pouring my vial of worship over Him. I draw from the well of His presence. He is my heart’s innermost longing - my heart’s deepest desire. When I seek Him with my whole heart... wait patiently for Him...

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Hike a short distance up Union Creek along the upper Rogue River near Prospect Oregon and you'll witness the striking beauty of the Rogue Gorge. Initially formed by the regurgitation of Mount Mazama in the Cascade Mountain range and her red hot flow of smoldering lava spewing out of a gigantic caldera, this volcanic eruption also created one of the world’s natural wonders - Crater Lake National

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The ribbons and patterns of relationships form an intricate mosaic that we, in our humanity, are inadequate to controvert. We find ourselves shaped and molded by piercing revelations steeped in everyday encounters. Such penetrating stirrings may arouse the galleries of ambrosial longing - or, they may pummel our hearts into a naked millpond where we lay frozen in bewilderment. In either place,

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Another gorgeous piece of eye candy from Bill Miller of Miller Canoes - shot on eastern Canada's Serpentine River.

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Streaks of blue light penetrate sheets of ice in Nictau, New Brunswick, Canada's minus 30 degree weather. Shot by my camera-toting friend, Bill - a third-generation canoe builder and founder of the world-famous "Fiddlers on the Tobique." (Image artistically modified in Photoshop-CS3 by Fade to Black.)Learn more about Bill here:Saltscapes

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Llama Ranch - Murphy

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DOA: An acronym most often used in hospital emergency rooms meaning: "dead on arrival." Death: finality?No.We are birthed in death.Is such a statement conflict or truth? A conundrum? A paradox? Yes.We live to die and die to live.The Dead Sea has an inlet but no outlet. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. Despite the tributary that flows into it, every year a little more of it evaporates. To produce

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There's a space inside each of us - a place we inhabit separately, autonomously, from the world around us. This place is unconstrained from the influence, pressures, and resulting fissures created through activity, media, friends, and loved ones. This solitary place - this untilled moor - whose tracks, while rich, may lay barren - yet uninhabited by boundless treasure. This is where the Spirit

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Stand in the ways and see and ask for the old path, where the good way is and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you received them, and you will have them. Mark 11:24

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...by no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to what lies ahead. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back... focused on that goal, toward every treasure God holds out. Do you have something else in mind? ...something less than total commitment? Be assured - God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet!

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Is this little chipmunk praying? ...offering you something? ...hoping it's feeding time? ...wanting you to plop the latest 'best seller' in his paws? Or ???

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Books: The quietest and most constant of friends... the most accessible and wisest of counselors... and, the most patient of teachers.

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In the rich fertile lands of the Applegate Valley - replete with vineyards tucked under the gentle slopes of the Cascade and Siskiyou Mountain ranges - I happened upon this charming tasting patio while en route to historic Jacksonville. I took great delight in their signature labels - especially a sweet dessert wine called, "Conversation" and another - "Accolade" (on the order of a delicate

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Ancient thoughts sweep furtively through a pensive soul.

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I try not to think about raking up the leaves and what a mess the landscape is until they're bagged up - but rather... consider that every fallen leaf can whisper in my ear - not merely the greatness of Creation, but of The Creator. May this season - when the trees have their wardrobe change - bring blessing to you and your loved ones.

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Fish Lake - Rogue River National Forest

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Sometimes - like this singular tree set apart in the forest - our inclination is to stand alone. Possibly we need time to step away from the crowd and the madness of life. ...time to slow down... time to listen to our inner self, and commune in Spirit, and time to simply, breathe-in quietness and peace.At other times, we may separate out of pain and woundedness. Yet, brokenness, disconnectedness,

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I recently attended a concert under the stars and thought about how great musical artists (when viewed on stage, under bright lights and thunderous sound effects), seem "bigger than life." In contrast, some 2000 years ago, the "son of man" came to earth in simplicity and humility. When he returns, all nations will witness his coming in the clouds with great power and glory. The Shofar (trumpet)

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This bubbling stream is a natural cathedral chiseled in a rock bed worn smooth by constant pressure. It filters light through fresh streams and invades cracked spaces to bring life... much like our journey: sometimes turbulent, sometimes peaceful.

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Blackness Invaded by LightBlind billows Bruise Brilliant beams BreakSylphlike shaftsStreakSun's splendor ~Spectacular© Bejeva Likean

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Sit a while... peruse a book... chat with a friend... contemplate wonder and the mysteries of life.

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God moves in a mysterious wayHis wonders to perform;He plants His footsteps in the sea,And rides upon the storm.His purposes will ripen fast,Unfolding every hour:The bud may have a bitter taste,But sweet will be the flower.Blind unbelief is sure to err,And scan His works in vain:God is His own interpreterAnd He will make it plain.Henry Cowper, eighteenth-century Poet

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If you looked straight across - eye level - at this raging river it would appear daunting. But, looking from above, it almost appears as a gentle stream. Much in the same way, if we view life's problems by looking down upon them, they will have less power over us. Perspective gives us a fresh lens.

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Bruised EdgesLightly GraceSilken Petals.Her Dulcet Nectar Remains...

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From my new "Friends"Greeting Card Collection

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A steely-blue settles over Ashland.Immersed in winter's chill;Lithia Park ducks take cover.

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Dusk's amber light falls on an Ashland troubadour

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Spring's first blush emerges... from bent and twisted stems to greet the Earth.

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