629. One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W. E. Johns

January 31, 2015 by nataliescarberry

The greatest achievement was at first
and for a time a dream.
The oak sleeps in the acorn,
the bird waits in the egg,
and in the highest vision of the soul
a waking angel stirs.
Dreams are the seedlings of realities.
~James Allen

Part of the genius of God’s grand design is that we awaken every day to a fresh flowing of His energy and vitality that has been stored in the seeds of our being, seeds that possess the same strength as that of the rising sun, earth’s swelling seas, and its fertile plains. An excellent time to look for the shining of His everlasting light in the “sanctuary of the soul” is in the first waking moments of each new day. That inward realm is where doors open to the germination of new life because inside each one of us the Lord has planted His “seeds of greatness.” There’s never a moment in life when either in and of ourselves or in the people around us that there are not yet unopened gifts of promise. Simply put, “heaven’s creativity on earth” is born in our bodies, and therein the Master’s “sacred hopes” are hidden.

From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth-He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. ~Psalm 33:13-15 ✝

**Image via Pinterest

I love you

January 30, 2015 by nataliescarberry

The Paths of the Spirit

I love you
Among all things
Gone wrong
I love you

In the silent departures
In longing
And belonging
I love you

In the falling leaves
And under maple trees
I love you

In the footsteps left behind
And the ones not yet made
I love you

Walk with me
My love,
Let us walk
Together
Further and further
Into life
Deeper and deeper
Into love

Image source: magic4walls.com

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628. Nature is a revelation of God. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

January 30, 2015 by nataliescarberry

I love to think of nature
as an unlimited broadcasting station,
through which God speaks to us every hour,
if we will only tune in.
~George Washington Carver

The child whispered, “God, speak to me”
And a meadowlark sang.
The child did not hear.

So the child yelled, “God, speak to me!”
And the thunder rolled across the sky
But the child did not listen.

The child looked around and said,
“God let me see you” and a star shone brightly
But the child did not notice.

And the child shouted, “God show me a miracle!”
And a life was born
But the child did not know.

So the child cried out in despair,
“Touch me God, and let me know you are here!”
Where upon God reached down And touched the child.

But the child brushed the butterfly away
And walked away unknowingly.
~Ravindra Kumar Harnani

He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth–the Lord God Almighty is His name. ~Amos 4:13 ✝

** Images via Pinterest

627. Every beauty which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all come. ~Michelangelo

January 29, 2015 by nataliescarberry

The human mind is capable of excitement
without the application of gross and violent stimulants;
and he must have a very faint perception of its
beauty and dignity who does not know this.
~William Wordsworth

I’m so blessed my Lord.
I can see you
In all the lovely things
So fine and true.
I see you in the beauty
Of the flowers and the rain.
I see you between the lines.
I can see you
Even when I’m lonely and in pain.
I see you in the beauty of the stars at night.
I see you Lord
In sorrow and in happiness.
I see you in the glory
Of sweet success.I see you Lord
Every hour, everyday.
I can see you Lord
Whenever I pray.
~Excerpted lyrics from a song
by Aiza Seguerra

The Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. ~Psalm 146:8 ✝

** Image via Pinterest, text added by Natalie

Perfect Love

January 28, 2015 by nataliescarberry

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“As people who have hearts that long for perfect love, we have to forgive one another for not being able to give or receive that perfect love in our everyday lives.
Henri J. M. Nouwen

So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.
1 John 4:16

(White shelf fungus / Troup Co, GA / Julie Cook / 2015)

We spend a lifetime in search of it. . .
We expect it from parents
We demand it from siblings
We seek it from friends
We look for it in a spouse
We hope for it from various organizations
We yearn for it in our jobs
We assume it’ll be in our
churches
pastors
priests
We want it in our
physicians
healthcare providers
teachers
students
Our pets seem to come…

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626. White is the beautiful broken lace of snowflakes falling on your face. ~Mary O’Neill

January 28, 2015 by nataliescarberry

White is snow falling on the ground.
It’s clouds in the blue sky
And foam that splashed on oceans shores.
It’s the richness of pearls.
It’s the robe of angels.
It’s a crisp winter’s chill.
~Excerpted lines from a poem
by Marvel-Maniac

Is White a Color?

 White, pristine, unblemished
They say it is not a color.
I love white mists, clouds
Lingering on blue mountains.

White, no shades
No off white, cream
Pure as snow on shimmering peaks
Is my favorite sight.

Nurses, priests, politicians
Are bound, chained to white.
White nebulous clouds
Evoke deep nostalgic thoughts.

The paper I write is white.
White is holy, pure.
They say light is white
Because it combines all colors.

Screen Shot 2016-05-14 at 10.36.02 PM.png

So white is the mother of all colors
The churning of all yellow, blue, green.
Colors sacrifice their egos
To the eternal white.

Is white a color?
The matriarch of all colors
The fountain of all extent colors
Yes, king white reigns supreme!
~Excerpted verses from a poem
by John Matthew

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. ~Psalm 51:7 ✝

**Images via Pinterest, all collages created by Natalie

625. Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive. ~Sir Walter Scott

January 27, 2015 by nataliescarberry

So long sad times
Pull along bad times
You are now a thing of the past.
The skies are clear again.
So let’s sing a song of cheer again!
Happy times,
happy nights,
happy days  are here again!
~Excerpted lyrics from song  by Benny Meroff

The birds are chirping happy tunes. High in the trees the squirrels are happily scampering to and fro. Lengthening sunny days are making those who till the soil happy. And happy little seedling are growing bigger in the warmth. But hold on just a minute! Something’s terribly wrong with this picture. After all it’s still January and therefore winter. So why all the happy dances? Could it be that lies are being spread? As a matter of fact they are, and it happens nearly every year here in north central Texas. In mid to late January the sun begins to speak seductively of springtime, and it tells the fairy tale so well and so long that the land is duped into believing the fallacy. What’s more the unusual warming trend often extends into February making it a partner-in-crime in the treacherous deception. And then wham, bam!!! Winter reclaims its hold on the land. But that’s not the end of the story. Spring will arrive at its ordained “hour upon the stage” for no matter what happens, God is still in control and what He has promised will come to pass.

When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future. ~Ecclesiastes 7:14 ✝

**Image via Pinterest

I Have Scars

January 27, 2015 by nataliescarberry

Originally posted on Lorrie Bowden:

I have scars that can’t be seen
Perhaps I met them in a dream
If you can’t see them
Then they’re not real
How I wish this was truth

I have scars they cut me deep
They separated muscle from bone
And feeling from life
They cut ties to my human side
And made me live in the dark recesses
Where knife cut matter
And what lives inside cries

Yes, I have scars
But I don’t wear them well
Only time will tell
Flying clocks with wings
Erase the messages of time
The ceaseless nagging of pain
At the bottom of my psyche
Washes the light of life
A tinged hint of gray
Darkens the day Just a little

My scars don’t define me
Only bind me
Intertwine me
In the place that can’t exist
If my reaching soul climbs out of the carnage
Blossoms like a flower
A tiny bud releasing it’s beautiful fragrance into the world

Light of the Creator
Designs a crater
A chasm to be filled with love and joy
Radiates light
Of all that might
Gracefully walk in peace
To the gates that unlock the freedom of your soul.

Blessitude
Lorrie
1/26/15

Her broken pieces

January 26, 2015 by nataliescarberry

Tree of Life