Awake, North Wind, and Come, South Wind!

Awake, north wind, and come, south wind!  Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere.  Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choice fruits.

Song of Songs 6:2 NIV

 

Season of Singing has Come

 

See!  The Winter is past; the rains are over and gone.  Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

~Song of Songs 2:11-12 NIV

How the Wild Flowers Grow

 

"Consider how the wild flowers grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."

~Luke 12:27

The Crown of Life

 

But the rich should take pride in their humiliations - since they will pass away like a wild flower.  For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossoms falls and its beauty is destroyed.  In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.  Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

~James 1:10-12

Grass Withers and Flowers Fall

 

A voice says, "Cry out."  And I said, "What shall I cry?"  "All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever."  

~Isaiah 40:6-8 NIV

Seasons of Life

 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

~Ecclesiastes 3:1 NIV

The Joy and Sadness of Itsy Bitsy Spider

The memories of my daughter as she was growing up dancing, singing, laughing, riding her bike, playing with her toys, watching Disney movies, drawing and coloring brings me so much joy and appreciation of her talents, personality, fun loving and adventurous nature. This journey of loss and grief is a long one but I also feel joy and grateful to God for giving me this precious daughter to share and love for a short time. When Crystal was in kindergarten I made a spider costume for her Kindergarten play.  She was the itsy bitty spider that crawled up the water spout.  Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.  Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider went up the sprout again.  I also read to her the nursery rhyme of Little Miss Muffet.  I loved those rhymes when I was her age and it was a joy to share them with her and to sew her the costume.  I feel both joy of my own childhood memories, joy of the memories of her in her costume as well as sadness when I hear these nursery rhymes.  I can see beyond the pain with appreciation and joy of having her as my daughter.  The threads of Joy and Sadness are part of the tapestry woven together in my daily life.  As long as I breath my love for her is and always will be a part of me.

Little Miss Muffet

Little miss Muffet she sat on her tuffet, eating her curds eating and whey
Along came a spider who sat down beside her
And frightened miss Muffet away.

Healing Touch

 

These pictures are from Garden of the Gods, a silhouette of the canyons stretching across the horizon.  The healing touch of nature is what I seek when I need calmness and serenity in my life.  Jesus stretches out his hand to give a handling touch for those who seek him.  When our daughter died, I couldn't sleep or rest without tears falling.  I was in anguish, my heart was broken and the tears fell endlessly.  It was my husband holding me in his arms until I finally went to sleep each night that helped to calm and comfort me.  Through my husband actions, I experience God's presence in those moments of anguish and sorrow.

Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him.  ~Mark 1:41 NRSV

Cascade Falls

A hike to Cascade Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park.

 

Traces of Faith

 

Blessed are those who fear the Lord, who find great delight in his commands.

~Psalm 112:1 NIV

 Like a flowing river down a mountain slope leaving traces of fresh misty drops in the air, I hope this blog leaves traces of faith for those who enjoy my photography and read the Bible Verses I select for the nature scenes.  

What Now?

Isaiah asks, "Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth."  (Isaiah 40:28 NIV)  

As time passed, after my daughter's death and during the pandemic lockdowns, all church programs and activities were shutdown so isolation, loneliness and illness became a way of life for many.  I ask God, What now?  I ask the Lord to lead me to a new ministry.  Something I could do that would help me with my grief, keep my daughter's art alive, and to serve God the same time.  I started a card ministry to use my daughter's artwork and my photography to spread uplifting messages and encouragement to the lonely, elderly, orphans and foster children.  My card ministry is called Crystal Expressions.  It has expanded to Spiritual Cards, handcrafted cards as well as photography mounted cards and now I have started painting watercolor cards.  For SIFAT, an international Christian organization, I custom printed Spanish Bible Verse Cards for them to send to their students and alumni in South and Central America,  I was informed this week that they are traveling to Costa Rico and plan to distribute my cards to their Spanish students living there.  God has opened the door for me to spread his Word through this card ministry and the opportunities keep flowing in.  

The Weight of Guilt

 

Sometimes it is the last stone to be lifted from the grieving heart--the inability to accept forgiveness.  It's a mountain for me to climb.  Not being there during my daughter's last weeks and days of her short live.  She was in Anguilla far from home.  I ask myself a thousands times why didn't I do this or that to persuade her to come home.  I know if she knew how serious her health had deteriorated, she would have seek help.  None of us knew but I allow weeks to go by without talking to her.  Pancreatic encephalopathy is associated with symptoms like confusion, hallucinations, agitation and apathy.  She had all those symptoms.  She was volatile so our relationship was strained.  I didn't know how to help her and she was very angry.  Her pancreas had stopped functioning properly and her blood sugar was out of control.  Her body was starving and she was not taking her medication for depression.  How could things get so out of control?  I pray for God to help me with this  mountain of guilt.  I miss my girl so much.   There were people in her life who took serious advantage of her addictions.  Addiction is an illness and those who supply drugs and alcohol are destroying so many young people's lives.  I have not been able to forgive those individuals.   Forgiving myself is hard enough but to forgive those who harmed her is even more difficult.  I need to unload this weight of guilt and to forgive.  Pray for me.

Renew my Strength

 

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

~Isaiah 40:31 NRSV

I can find renewed strength as I wait for the Lord.

Ancient Paths

The Lord proclaims:  Stop at the crossroads and look around; ask for the ancient paths.  Where is the good way?  Then walk in it and find a resting place for yourselves.

~Jeremiah 6:16 CEB
  Though God's paths are ancient, they are also timeless.

Mine is the Sunlight

" Morning Has Broken"

(3rd Stanza)

Mine is the sunlight,
Mine is the morning,
Born of the one light
Eden saw play,
Praise with elation,
Praise every morning,
God's re-creation
Of the new day!

Sweet the Rain's New Fall

 

"Morning Has Broken"

(1st and 2nd Stanza)

Morning has broken
Like the first morning,
Blackbird has spoken
Like the first bird.
Praise for the singing!
Praise for the morning!
Praise for them, springing
Fresh from the Word!

Sweet the rain's new fall

Sunlit from Heaven,

Like the first dewfall

On the first grass.

Praise for the sweetness

Of the wet garden,

Sprung in completeness

Where his feet pass.

Bunessan

Bunessan is a Gaelic tune that was first published in Lachlan Macbean's Songs and Hymns of the Gael (1888) as a setting for Mary Macdonald's carol "Child in the Manger."  The tune is named after Macdonald's birthplace on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

Child in the Manger

Author: Mary Macdonald (1789-1872)

Translator:  L. Macbean (1888)

Child in the manger,

Infant of Mary;

Outcast and stranger,

Lord of all;

Child who inherits

All our transgressions,

All our demerits

On Him fall.

Once the most holy

Child of Salvation

Gently and lowly

Lived below'

Now as our glorious

Mighty Redeemer,

See Him victorious

O'er each foe.

Prophets foretold Him

Infant of wonder;

Angels behold Him

On His throne;

Worthy our Savior

Of all our praises;

Happy forever

Are His own.

Morning has Broken

 

"Morning has broken" is the title of a Christian hymn first published in 1931.  It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon and was inspired by the village of Alfriston in East Sussex, then set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune, "Bunessan".  It was recorded by English pop musician and folk singer Cat Stevens in 1971.

Things that Cannot be Seen

 

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the heart."

~Helen Keller

A Snapshot Stops A Moment

" A good snapshot stops a moment from running away."

~Eudora Welty

Faith is the Bird that Feels the Light

 Faith,
is the bird
that feels the light
And sings
when the dawn
is still dark.

~Rabindranath Tagore

God Whispers to Us

 

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

~C.S. Lewis

I Believe

 

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

~C.S. Lewis

Courage, Dear Heart

 "Courage, Dear Heart."

~C.S. Lewis from The Voyage of The Dawn Treader

Peace in the Storm

 

Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.  Though the rain comes in torrent's and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock.

~Matthew 7:24-25

My Hope is in You

 

Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior; and my hope is in you.

~Psalm 25:5 NIV

The Blessing of Tears

 

The psalmist said, 

"You number my wanderings; 

Put my tears into Your bottle; 

Are they not in Your book?

When I cry out to You, 

Then my enemies will turn back; 

This I know, because God is for me.

In God (I will praise His word),

In the Lord (I will praise His word),

In God I have put my trust;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?"

~Psalm 56:8-9-11

"When we have walked through pain and grief, we may be the only ones able to see clearly another person walking the same path -- and there our tears can meet.  Truly, tears can be God's blessing for this life."  ~Eleanor Cowles (Upper Room)

"Remain in My Love"

 

Jesus said, "As the Father loved me, I too have loved you.  Remain in my love."

~John 15:9 CEB

"Do Not be Afraid"

 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  ~Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV

Prayer:  Loving God, thank you for carrying and holding us.  When we have fallen, when we are broken, when we can no longer move you call, "Do Not be afraid."  In every situation of our lives help us to res in you.  Amen

~Steven Scheid (Upper Room)

Where Has the Light Gone?

 

"Where?  Where has it gone, that light, that spark, that love that looked into mine?  What has it to do with that cold clay?  It's here, here, here in my heart.  She's in me, around me.  Nothing in that clay."

~Anzia Yezierska

Faith Not Fear

 Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

~Joshua 1:9 NIV

The Earth is My Sister

 

The earth is my sister.  I love her daily grace, her silent daring, and how loved I am.  How we admire the strength in each other,  all that we have lost, all that we have suffered, all that we know.  We are stunned by this beauty, and I do not forget, what she is to me, what I am to her.

~Susan Griffith

Lifting Away Sorrow

 It is the person, whom we want, not the grief.  "May I hold my grief lightly in my hand so it can lift away from me.  My connection to the one I have lost is inviolate; it cannot be broken,"

~Martha Hickman

Hope is the Thing with Feathers

 Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.

~Emily Dickinson

Love Many Things

 The best way to know God is to love many things.

~Vincent Van Gogh

Rhythmic Moments

 The little crab hiding at the foot of a tree.  Rhythmic moments of a walk in June 2012 captures a wonderful moment.  

Filling the Empty Space

 In filling the empty space from the love one I have lost, Life has giving me an opportunity to share the artistic and creative work of Crystal's color pencil drawings and coloring.  I now have a card ministry called "Crystal Expressions" which is a collection of her artwork used in handcrafted cards.  I use Crystal's art to bring smiles to seniors, hospitalized kids, foster children and those who are lonely, isolated and suffering.  These cards were mailed to "Small Acts Big Change" to be distributed to nursing homes and assistant living facilities.  The spirit of Crystal's art lives on and is enjoyed by the elderly and children across the United States, Canada, Scotland, Holland, Germany, France and England.  These are the places where her art has been shared to bring encouragement and a smile.

Little Girl on the Swing

 Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries.

~Corita Kent

photograph Crystal Michelle Fallin, age 3, Palm Coast, Florida 1987