heated climate observation
Todayโs nature walk brought us to watching two bird nests. Wonderment & wide eyes watching, looking & listening for four little birds destined to chirp beauty nestled within twigs of hope. We noted their location & vowed to quietly observe & check on them frequently without scaring mama bird away.
radiant
โฃ In our day to day lives, there are moments that are fleeting and there are some moments that, even though seemingly small, make a huge impact. Words are such a thing. They have a weight and depth so deep they can barely be held...and yet they hold us, nurture us, breathe emotion to us. โฃ โฃ
in everything, seek Him
Anyone else like to live in the safety zone? You know, those safe and predictable places with guaranteed answers? Yep, thatโs me too.
For years, thatโs exactly what I did as it seemedโฆ
seek the beauty
Today, you may not be where you want to be; friend, please hear me and believe this to the depths of your soul, none of us are...yet. And thatโs okay.
Thatโs the beauty of this roller coaster called life.
it shouldnโt be radical
I read a quote years ago that urged us to treat each person as if you would be the last person theyโd see on this earth; meaning, if you were the very last person they saw/spoke to or spoke to them, the very last person in proximity to share oxygen, what lasting impression would they carry from you into eternity? โฃ
When I read it, I was weighted, because I hadnโt honestly thought about it. โฃ โฃ โฃ
when moving forward feels hard
๐๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐โ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ-๐ช๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ท๐ช๐ฏ๐จ.
That thought sorta struck me while teaching the oldest mancub to drive a few years ago. It made total sense then & ๐ด๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ, but I had only conceptualized it as forward motion with the foot on the gas as being the only way for growth to occur. โฃ โฃ
thereโs an art of intentional in the slow
๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐โ๐ฌ ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ-๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐คโ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ โ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ-๐ ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฏ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฒ-๐ญ๐จ-๐๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ซ๐๐.โฃ
Even in the embracing of palms, thereโs a sacred space for the slow.โฃ
โฃ
I was the one that needed to listen
Iโd first read her words sitting on the floor between the stacks at our community library. I wanted to know what all the hoopla was about-this lady poet from the inauguration. โฃ
โฃI read her words that floated beating like bird wings.
the difference
Itโd been a long 12 hours of night shift nursing. Crumbled worn, ready to get home to my people, I took the back hallway to escape to the parking deck quicker and stopped at a restroom close to the chapel.โฃ
I was surprised to find a lady there washing her hands at that early hour and immediately recognized her.
how mama bear was born
๐๐๐๐ ๐ต๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐โ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ฆ, wind chilling to the bone, a small babe held bundled and protected from weather as we gathered to bring him home. โฃ
โฃThis week, he is officially an adult-it all happened too fast.
two questions and two answers
Why give grace? ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐๐ค๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ฌ?
name it holy
The words ๐ฃ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐ก๐ฎ have been germinating around in my head for a few years. I think itโs because there have been poignant moments in my life where only the supernatural can fully receive the credit. Moments that I was privileged to witness what happened. Experiences that canโt be explained otherwise.โฃโฃ
โฃThis morning was one of those moments. โฃโฃ
the breath of Thursday
๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐?? ๐โ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐-๐กโ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ ๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐โ๐ก๐๐.
My grandfather convinced me I could accomplish more than I could imagine on a scorching Georgia July ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐. It was our last conversation. I came home to North Carolina and he passed two months later before the leaves even fell. โ โ
๐ฟ๐๐๐ โ๐๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ก-that ๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ had been where I learned what it looked like forโฆ
โ
even if...
*๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ the laundry piles high and the detergent runs lowโฃ โฃ โฃ
*๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ the children say they are bored and you feel wornโฃ โฃ โฃ
in my experience, fear will try to drown you
Fear would have loved to drown me that morning and fear would love to grip and drown you at the most tender places of your heart, too.
rise
I opened a text from my husband & saw a picture of our ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐(we name our houses) engulfed. This once tiny treasure, this little slice of holy we were blessed to inhabit for five years, was being dismantled by flames to create space for a new dwelling place.
It had been a safe place away from the hustle & bustle where our boy could heal, our marriage restore, our souls revive.
Our lives had fallen apart & then, at ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐, it fell into place. We rose as God transformed the ashes of a holy ground into a plume of sheer beauty & grace that still has us gobsmacked. When we arrived at ๐๐ค๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐, our life felt like drowning fire, choking like smoke, burning the eyes, & trying to steal oxygen.
We fought hard for any peace in those flames, clawing until we found a glimmer of light, & chased the silver linings like a daily methodical manna.
๐โ๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ก ๐๐๐ฆ.
the celebrating of your life
๐ฅ๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ? ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ก๐๐จ. โฃ
Make it a ๐ ๐ ค๐ ๐ deal, because when you stop and look around, ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ก๐๐๐ ๐๐จ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ก.โฃ
