Grace for Each Step

 

Lily and I went for a walk when the weather turned nice yesterday. There were paths that were shoveled nicely and the snow had melted away. I could enjoy the walk, take a few pictures and soak in the sunshine. Then there were places of shadows and ice where I stepped gingerly, paying attention to where I placed my feet. 

What a metaphor for life right now! There are hours throughout the day when daily routines run smoothly without a lot of thought. Just as soon as I forget to pay attention, I hit a slippery place where shadows hover and I must remind myself to move into prayer, trusting, stepping steadily yet carefully, always relying on the grace that is promised for that moment.

Praying for Nancy and her family especially today that God's grace will blanket them at this time. (See her February 26 post).

Photo Play

My original photo is over on Wings Open. I am not feeling good today so playing with Picasa is about as creative as it gets for a Monday post.

On a More Serious Note

I am reading through "Mended" by Angie Smith for the second time, this time with a group from (in)courage. I think I mentioned this a few days ago in a post.

As I was reading the introduction, I noticed that Angie encouraged her readers to write a word, a prayer or a thought on a post-it note or in her journal for each chapter. Journaling is a huge part of my life but for some reason the post-it note idea stayed with me so that is what I am doing.

Yesterday I was reading page 17 where she talks about how Jesus could have come down from the cross. He could have spoken a word to make it all stop. But he didn't. He stayed. My first thought was filtered through how I have felt the past few months.

 "You could have stopped all this, but you didn't. You stayed. You didn't use your power. "

As I read the sentence again, something shifted.

"But Jesus stayed."

He stayed on the cross.

Then I heard Him whisper in my heart.

" I'm not going anywhere."

The words pierced through my sense of discouragement, abandonment and questions.

"I'm not going anywhere."

He is here. He is.

And He's staying.

A Little Fun Continued...

Check out yesterday's post for Part 1 and a link to Nancy's blog. Thanks for the comments gals and love that you put your ten answers in the comments Cynthia! I would love more of those soup recipes.

Here are more answers:

11. When was the last time you cried? Honestly I am such a crier but lately I wish I could have a deep down sob fest, alone of course.

12. Any current worries? Too many to list here and I am working on casting that care.

13. Name three drinks you drink regularly. Ginger peach white tea, water, candy cane tea

14. What is your favorite book? Seriously? Reading is my greatest love. I have a ton of favorites. The first book I read that made me cry was Exodus by Leon Uris

15. would you like to be a pirate? I get seasick so no way.

16. What are your favorite smells? my lilac bush every spring, fresh sheets on the clothesline, and the sea air when we cross the bridge to the island.

17. Why do I blog?  To keep writing, a form of journaling, and connection

18. What song do you want played at your funeral? the old standby- Amazing Grace

19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? words spoken I wish I could take back and health problems

20. What is your favorite hobby? reading and photography

21. What do you look for in a friend? acceptance and loyalty

22. Name something you have done that you never thought you would do? flew across country alone

23. What are your favorite things to do? Go to the library, see a movie, take a walk, and work in my flowers

24. Any pet peeves? hubby's snoring

25. What is the last thing that made you laugh? I am pretty sure it is something Lily did :)

That's it. Link up or comment. It was fun.

A Little Fun

 

I loved getting to know Nancy a little better over at The Gift of a Moment via her tagged post. She shared freely and since my word for this year is "Open," I thought I would give it a shot. Here goes.

1. Where were you born?   Ft. Meade, Md. My dad was in the military at the time.

2. Who were you named after?  My dad's name was Paul and mine is Paula, although no one actually ever said I was named after him. They made more of a fuss over my nickname as a child, which was Terri after a football team, the Terrance Browns, I think. Thankfully that nickname is a thing of the past.

3 .If you have children, how many?  Three, a daughter and two sons, and five grandchildren.

4.  How many pets do you have? 0 and I am okay with that after years of dogs, cats, guinea pigs, and fish. 

5. What was my worst injury? Just minor things. I have more problems with allergies etc.

6. Do you have any special talents? Hmmm, I can sew, play a little guitar (although untouched for a few years), and I do love to organize.

7. What is your favorite thing to bake? Like Nancy, I don't bake anymore because of many food allergies. I used to love baking my own bread every week.

8. What is your favorite fast food? If I could eat it, it would be a fish fillet from McDonalds.

9. Would you ever bungee jump? Nope. I didn't even have to think about it.

!0. What is the first thing you notice about people? I listen to their words and the sense of whether or not they are real.

That's the first part. I will finish it tomorrow. How about you? Want to participate? Post a link in the comments.

Food for Thought

I have been thinking about that phrase all day- Give God the right to direct your life.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Making a Start

Last Spring I was determined to begin again on a lifetime dream of writing a book. I knew what I wanted the title to be, so I typed up the title page and made an outline of chapter themes. An intro and two chapters followed at a snail's pace. Summer interrupted but I was not discouraged. Then in the fall, I discovered that a book came out with the very same title.
 You can see my note: change title.

Everything about my life changed in October, yet I managed to write one more chapter.

During this process, my laptop of six years crashed. Luckily I had typed out my work, even though I hadn't backed it up. So today I typed into my new laptop the completed chapters with a few edits.

Oh, and the book by the same name? I have mentioned it before. "Mended" by Angie Smith. I began reading it for the second time today, this time with an InCourage group. It is a beautifully crafted book anointed with healing and encouragement.

In reading over what I have written thus far, something seems missing. I will pause and pray, but at least, I have made a start.

Covered

Covered

warm 'neath a blanket carefully woven 

with  hands of love

waking, sleeping, tossing, turning, waking

fully

light rests on yarn

 reminder of prayers crafted

 lifting me

Grace covers

all

Saturday Morning

 

This is the scene that greeted me  when I opened the curtains this morning. Another blizzard is on its way tonight. Oh, happy weekend in Maine :)

Challenged & Inspired

 

I am inspired by my daughter's photography. I wouldn't even know what to do with her camera, but I need to challenge myself to use my camera, stretching beyond where I am now. On the way home today, I pulled over to take a photo of an old potato house in the snow. See the photo on Wings Open. That is something I wouldn't have thought to do in the past. I take my camera with me everywhere now. I learned that from my daughter.

This weekend I hope to make a plan that will get me to use my camera in ways I haven't experienced previously.  I also have billing to do and bills to pay and mom to visit and favorite shows on DVR to catch up on and oh yes, I want to sleep in at least one day :)

Barrel Baby

Photo Credit: Amber

God willing, weather cooperating, I will be headed home to potato country tomorrow for a few days.

My photo opportunities will certainly change. I will miss my barrel baby.

Mammy's Little Jewel

Fences

 When I looked back over the photos I took on my walk yesterday, I found I had taken several pictures of fences.

The definition of a fence: 

Noun
barrier, railing, or other upright structure, typically of wood or wire, enclosing an area of ground to mark a boundary, control...

Verb

Surround or protect with a fence.

Is it possible that what I see as a barrier is actually protection? Something to ponder.

The Day After Nemo

 

I went for a walk today, the day after Nemo hit. 

We were fortunate not to lose power so no complaints here. 

The sunshine was gorgeous, creating shadowy beauty along my route. I wore borrowed sneakers for lack of boots or proper shoes. If my feet hadn't gotten wet, I would have kept going. 

Turtle Day

 

This is one of those days that I call a "turtle day." It's a day when I want to pull in and shut out the world, giving myself room to heal and regroup. What do you like to do on a turtle day?

Grampy's Girl

 

Is It Spring Yet?

License Plate Love

Power Outage

I have been living here in the city for nearly four months now and only been to the movies once. The cinema houses 10 movies, compared to my small town movie theater with three. McKenna and I headed out this afternoon to see Les Miserables, only to find a sign posted on the door, "No Power."
Two days ago we had pretty strong winds, which may have caused a problem.


A bit disheartened, Ken and I walked back to the car and just sat there, trying to regroup.

This reminds me  of a book I started yesterday  called "The Circle Maker." It's a book on prayer, real power in prayer.
For some time now,  the storms of life have been beating and pounding the life and hope out of several women I know. It seems like there has been a power outage and we have all been trying to regroup.

I must admit my prayer life has changed in the past couple of months. I have been asking God to purify my heart every day, to do a miracle on behalf of my girls, and to heal my body, along with praying for my prayer group gals. Prayer has become more about bowing my knee, than raising my sword.

Until last night. Now I have a new picture to ponder. Praying circles with perseverance.

Friday Sparkles

I love this girl.
She is a complex mixture of drama, humor, intelligence, creativity, sparkle and the occasional sparks flying!
She is my Friday inspiration.