either with WP or Safari. Everything I try to do is moving at a snail’s pace and I’m as put out and dumbfounded about it as this little guy. So I’m finally throwing in the towel and will try my best to answer your comments and read your posts on my phone if it’s working better than this thing. I pray that whatever is wrong rights itself by morning. Good night, everyone.
**Image found on Pinterest
From within and from behind, a
light shines through us upon things,
and makes us aware that we
are nothing, the but light is all.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
I was up early this morning and so went wandering around the yard looking for something picture worthy. As I took these photos, I decided that they were more spectacular because of the play of early morning light on them. I saw only a portion of the flower as I rounded the corner, and even so the light shining through the leaves and the small portion of this flower’s filaments was both magical and mystical. And I’m always struck by how much holiness I sense in the light, even small pieces of it. It’s like God’s radiance falls on things in the garden as well as the sunlight. When it was all said and done, I couldn’t decided which was more stunning, the fragment of the flower or in the whole thing.
Later in the day during a Bible Study I found myself surrounded by people who like these leaves and flowers were filled with notable and holy spiritual light. In the course of our discussion we talked about the fact that we are all made in the image of God. And so it occurred to me that whenever we look in a mirror we are actually seeing the face of God, coming face to face, as it were, with the very one who breathed life into us. And when you think of it that way, you realize that we are never separated from the Lord, no matter where life takes us or what we do or don’t do. He is always there behind the face, behind the light. Notice in the lines below how the First Nation’s people also connected life with light and breath.
What is life? It is the flash
of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo
in the wintertime. It is
the little shadow which runs
across the grass and loses
itself in the sunset.
~Crowfoot
The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ~Matthew 6:22 ✝
**Image via Pinterest; text box added by Natalie
**Image via Pinterest; text box added by Natalie
**Image found on Pinterest; text added by Natalie
Oh yes, I’m starting the day where I left off last night, with chocolate of course!
**Image found on Pinterest
Okay, three things here, who the heck needs rules for chocolate? Secondly, don’t these really sound like excuses or justifications? And finally, how much better can it get than chocolate and Paris? I love Paris for so many reasons, but their chocolate is close to the top of the list! Now go have some chocolate and enjoy!!!
**Images via Pinterest; collage created by Natalie
Remember, the entrance to
the sanctuary is inside you.
~Rumi
Creation is not simply a gift; it is “a self-giving of God whose image is to be found deep within all living things.” Too, it is the very “dwelling place of God,” Himself. Think about that for a moment and let it soak in. Not only are we standing on sacred ground wherever we go, but it has been and still is a place in which God stands right along side us. That means that despite the fact that His Creation is an ever-present mystery, the faithful, benevolence of its Maker indwells the conundrum. So ‘tis therein He should be sought as well as honored, revered, and trusted. To me, one of the most interesting things to note about Yahweh is that He created light first, and light is at the heart of all life. Thus utter, unending darkness can be naught but self-imposed for the Lord ensured that even nighttime would have a modicum of light from the moon and when its gone from the limitless array of stars. So it is that within the “mystery” of Creation there are parabolic lessons which are sometimes best pondered by the li-li-light of the moon.
Night, the beloved.
Night, when words fade
and things come alive.
When the destructive analysis
of day is done, and all that is
truly important becomes whole
and sound again. When man
reassembles his fragmentary self
and grows with the calm of a tree.
~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is mankind that your are mindful of them, human beings that your care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet… ~Psalm 8:2-6 ✝
**Sunlight and moonlight images via Pinterest
**Image via Pinterest; photo by Mandy Disher; text box added by Natalie
**Image via Pinterest; photo by Mandy Disher; text box added by Natalie
Sacred Touches 