One day I walked beneath the pines

And sat upon it's floor

Where moss was green and needles soft

My heart would there explore

The simplest pleasures

Oh so sweet

Colors soft and pure

Cedar scents and gentle breeze

Whispers lush grandeur 

All the treasures in the world

Could not ever buy

The peaceful perfect memories

Found beneath that sky

Oh to take another breath

Of that rich, tender pause

Under swaying canopies

Powerful and soft.

Sunsets.  There are never two alike.  Sometimes one can see brilliant color....pinks, blues, oranges, yellows....  Sometimes they are subtle or even practically un-noticed, fading quickly into night.  The potential of uniqueness and character are always there under the right conditions.  There are some that make lasting impressions - and we remember where we saw them and what they looked like as we stood in amazement.  Some pass without noticeable color or  character at all....simply a gentle curtain to close the day light, though very much designed by the hand of the Master.  The soft skies compliment the incredible color of each debut.  

We are like these canvasses of color and light.  As we allow God to be the artist, we have the opportunity to come to life with every stroke of His paint brush!  We can throw our head back and trust in His sculpting abilities....focusing on His love and His glorious face!  Or....we can resist His promptings and in-fillings and simply offer a subtle investment.  

May I choose to reflect the colors of His Majesty.  Help me, Lord to bring the imprint of the One who is much higher than I to the world around me.  Might others look at me and see His smile, His compassion, His mercy, His love.  I ask to not be one who slides by without sharing something of His beauty, but rather a carrier of His radiance that will leave a valuable and contagious memory.

This time of year brings sweet surprises!  Bursts of yellow, pink, purple and white suddenly remind us of the artistry of our Creator, who is ever faithful.  Winter is cold and very brown and gray, but spring spreads a table of color and delicate delights to make us smile and hope again.  These beauties are a loyal visitor just when we crave sunshine and something bright the most!  Thankful for their happy faces and warm cheer today!

  I cannot tell you how many times a day I find something to be fascinated by!  For some reason I must be easily intrigued.  However, it certainly keeps me busy!  

This pic was taken with my little Cannon Power Shot camera, which is not typically something to try and capture moon pictures with!  At any rate it did a noble job at capturing some pretty cool detail and I - well - I was FASCINATED!  

I've never done a lot of study of the solar system.  I guess I'm just busy studying all the more close-up things God has put here on the earth at my finger tips.  I think there could not be enough days in my life-time to appreciate just the details in my back yard!  

Then I see THIS photo and my imagination door opens to yet more endless possibilities!  Do we not serve an incredible God who deserves so much more honor and awe than we give Him?  He created an earth...and a vast universe.  Then He made the oceans and skies.  He inhabited the earth with creatures and life abundant!  Then He breathed into the dust of the ground and created first a man, and then a woman.  Every detail was miraculous.  Everything He touched became full of magical color and life!

If He could speak simple words and bring all of creation together....if He could light the day with a dazzling sun and the night with a glowing moon....if He could sculpt a heart that beats and recognizes love....if He could count the number of hairs on each head of each individual....if He could even offer a part of Himself through His precious Son as a redeeming sacrifice for our faulty choices and short comings.....

.....then how could we doubt His ability to forgive sin and promise eternity?

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy.  The old favorite song still winds through my head and heart on clear spring days...in dazzling moments when the sun provides a backdrop for everything that is good and right with the world.  Moments that somehow bring my dreams into focus and closer to reality.  Moments when clarity and inspiration take hold of the reigns of my being and I let go of limitations and boundaries.  Moments that are God-kissed and sweetly embraced to such an extent  that I know I am loved and nothing else could possibly compare.

So....if I had a day that I could give you....it would be a day just like today!  Might you feel His golden sunshine, whether by simply looking at HIs face or by sensing the touch of His hand on your heart.  Sometimes it is through another that we see and experience the presence of God.  Whatever the case...here's wishing you sunshine on your shoulders....  

I enjoy writing about life.  About its highs and lows.  About its joys and troubles.  I like to bring my world's experiences to you who read these meanderings, and see if you might relate.  I like to read responses or comments that also assure that I am in good company when life throws it's challenges my way!  Once in a great while we chance upon a friend or significant other who cares enough to provide a loyal support when we ride the roller coaster called life!  

Our corners are weathered to a smooth, protective outside, yet inside a fragile voice cries out for another to listen and hear what we have so carefully kept deep within the silent, hard walls.  When that hand works its way beneath us and we feel the solidity, love and lift of their heart melding with ours, something begins to happen.  The thick layers of stone begin to bend and become pliable.  Our heart draws ever so close to that layer beneath us as it cradles our brokenness and pain.  Life starts to seep into us and smiles form across our face that had once showed lines of heartache.  It slowly becomes easier to see sunlight beyond the crust that had shadowed us.  

How we need each other!  God has placed Himself inside each of us who ask and receive.  He has provided His strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.  He decided that He would touch lives - through one another!  When we become that support for another and acknowledge His faithfulness and power, it is as if He is coming to the rescue through His hand-made instruments.  We often underestimate what He can do through His created children!

I have found myself looking over an ocean of turbulence and problems.  Many of them seemed to have no answers or access to happy endings.  I have felt afraid, alone and isolated.  I have tasted unhappiness and pain.  My heart has ached and sunk creating a rising explosion of rivers of liquid pain.  Who hasn't felt abandoned, left out - cut off from love or long awaited dreams?  

Tonight I sit and make the choice to recognize where hope is found.  There is One who is bigger than the ocean and rises above the waves.  There is One who not only has answers, but reasons if we but choose to place our focus and hope in Him.  This hope beckons us to look beyond the ocean and into His face where abundant, unconditional love takes the form of a Person!  

Truly our hope is in the Lord.  When we allow our lives to find comfort under His canopy and choose to run after Him, there are promises that will carry us not only through this dark world, but into a bright tomorrow.  This world is indeed filled with many painful experiences.  We were never promised an easy life on earth.  In fact, the Bible is filled with stories of trial, challenge and difficulty as long as we have this fleshly body.  But the good news is this:  Choosing the way of the cross, modeled and ultimately paid for by Jesus is what brings us the hope of NO. MORE. PAIN.

According to the words of God Himself, heaven is for real for all those who choose to allow Jesus to forgive their sin.  In fact it says that there is NO. OTHER. WAY.  I believe it.  I will not risk anything less.  It says that the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn and shines brighter and brighter unto the full day!  (Proverbs 4:18)  Why would I doubt such a rich promise?

Again, today...I choose to look to the One who saves me, gives me hope, and provides the help I need in the time of trial and trouble.  He is there in my lonely hour.  He is near when I cry.  He does not forsake or leave His children and offers each one a never-ending story - complete with His unconditional love.  That is my choice today.

"Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.  They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord."  Psalm 113:6,7

A Tiny Little Bit of Time

A tiny little bit of time

Has come and gone since I

First began to breathe and know

The precious gift of life

It seems like yesterday that time

Had so much love to hold

Summer breezes, sunny days

Discoveries untold

A tiny little bit of time

Has come and gone since I

Sat upon my daddy's knee

And watched my momma smile

Buckets, Bare feet, fishin' poles

Rolling fields so green

Cattle grazed and tractors rolled

Along the creek so clean

A tiny little bit of time

Has come and gone since I

Grew from boy to taller lad

And dad took me aside

Taught me how to run a farm

And gave me wings to fly

Handed me the tractor keys

And watched me from the side

A tiny little bit of time

Has come and gone since I

Went away to school

Then started my own life

A family and a home was built

And though the times brought gain

I learned a lot about what it means

To suffer loss and pain 

A tiny little bit of time

Has come and gone since I

Laid my parents both to rest

I've said a few goodbyes

I look at yesterday and think

How'd it go so fast?

A hint of wanting to go back

And take more of the past.

A tiny little bit of time

Has come and gone since I

Discovered treasures that are new

Found fresh grace to smile

The old has shaped my heart to love

And now I meet today

I embrace the hope that's come

And will forever stay

Happy Birthday, Jerry