“And that afternoon, as the sun slanted low
through the changing autumn leaves,
I remembered to savor the moment,
soak in the beauty, breathe deeply
and feel the immensity of God.”
~ Cindee Snider
~ Image “Rainbow’s End” by Wiwionart
Photo & text credit: ॐ Simplicity, Elegance and Grace of Nature ॐ https://web.facebook.com/%E0%A5%90-Simplicity-Elegance-and-Grace-of-Nature-%E0%A5%90-1594041744215476/
I cannot endure to waste anything
as precious as autumn sunshine
by staying in the house.
So I spend almost all
the
daylight hours in the open air.
~Nathaniel Hawthorne
The garden releases its last
radiance, not as something failed,
but as its full reason for being: to give
continually, to its last bit of energetic being.
Its giving is its beauty. It is a smile;
it is the heart of love.
So the birdsong that surrounds me
is given, not away, but into the world.
It is given as rain, as sunlight, as snowfall
and autumn leaves. It falls on our ears
as what it is, with no deception,
the complete truth of being.
Even the smell of decay, drifting from
a deer, dead by the side of the road, says:
“This is what I am and no other. I do not
pretend to be. Even in death I speak
without deceit, even unto my flesh,
my very bones.”
Be tolerant of these songs,
my musings on the way these things are.
For I cannot give up the garden to winter except
by giving myself as well, fully and completely,
into the praise of our mutual beauty,
our total loving of the world.
~Edited and adapted poem
by Richard Wehrman
I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw… ~Proverbs 24:32 ✝
**Image by Natalie; special effects created by my grandson, Joe, and I on my computer and on iPiccy
you a Monday, dip it in glitter and sparkle all day!
**Image found on Pinterest
I feel the need to “coddiwomple!”
To be out where autumn’s breath fills my lungs,
where the presence of the Lord is afoot,
where the miracles of nature abound,
where wonder and awe feed my soul,
where I find rhythmic harmony and peace,
where I see visible signs of God’s goodness,
where the simple pleasures of life bring me joy,
where the child I once was rises to the top,
where she laughs and my heart sings
be it in woods, fields, or gardens,
where I feel alive and well!
Indeed it is time to
coddiwomple
again!
To wonder, to know,
To explore, always asking:
What am I?
Who am I?
What will become of me?
Of my knowledge?
Am I squandered on the world?
Cheapening existence through vanity?
How long before I am fit to say, I know this!
Rather than, I think this.
That in itself questions self,
Whether our thought and mind is
Our own knowledge and assurance.
At what point in time do we stop marching?
Pencil upon paper, sight upon colour and light.
A fixation upon what we comprehend
And that, which is incomprehensible.
Are we gambling with the gifts we are given?
Are they gifts?
The ability to question choice, life, the air we breathe;
The sun, the moon, clouds, stars, the earth, wind, rain, height.
Random, our teachers abandon us,
Fending for all we are on our own
‘Tis a lonely path humans follow, trying to fill the void
~Edited excerpt of a poem,
To Wonder, by Lily
“Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.” ~Excerpt from Judges 18:6 ✝
**Text above images by Natalie. Images found on Pinterest; collage by Natalie; backgrounds and special effects via iPiccy
In the space between each thought,
may you perceive your uniqueness,
the vast nature of your being.
In the space between each breath,
may you feel the immense depth of your soul,
and know yourself to be love.
~Edited lines by Julie Parker
The day is done, it cannot be changed.
My actions and my thoughts reflected
my own spirit on this day in which
of some, I am proud, of some I am not.
When I wake, there will be new chances…
To think and act with wisdom and compassion.
There will be new temptations to be petty, small or selfish…
May I choose wisely and well from waking to day’s end…
and go forth be a blessing to all I meet.
~Edited lines by Anon
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ~James 1:5 ✝
**Image of moonflower getting ready to open by Natalie
Everything in this world has a song,
its own tone, its own rhythm, its own music.
Everything has its place and its purpose.
When we are in harmony with our own song,
we are in harmony with the world.
~Julie Parker
This morning outside I stood
I saw a little red-winged bird
Shining like a burning bush
Singing like a scripture verse
It made me want to bow my head
I remember when church let out
How things have changed since then
Everything is Holy Now
It used to be a world half there
Heaven’s second rate hand me down
But I walk it with a reverent air
‘Cause everything is Holy Now.
Everything, Everything, Everything is Holy Now!
~Holy Now by Peter Mayer
Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. ~Psalm 30:4 ✝
**Image via Pinterest
I say to mankind, Be not curious about God.
For I, who am curious…, am not curious about God –
I hear and behold God in every object…
~Excerpted lines by Walt Whitman
(wildflower / Julie Cook / 2016)
https://cookiecrumbstoliveby.wordpress.com/2016/10/
Look at this amazing tiny wildflower…it grows wild along the edge of the woods. Looking at it closely, it really is amazing isn’t it? The coloring…those tiny magenta like spots demurely dotting a milky center…along with those soft yellow streaks…offered by what seems to be the errant brush stroke of an artist’s paint. Those fine tiny little fuzzy hairs, surrounding each gentle and tender petal…ready and waiting to tickle the foot of any visiting bee…Absolutely amazing…Such attention to detail…A microcosm of beauty that sits for no one in particular, randomly along the edge of the woods…Except say for the birds, the deer, the coyotes, the armadillos…and chances are, it is only the bees that pay it any heed…A delightful detail to be marveled over…A sheer tiny portent of beauty…offered freely to any passerby to gleefully behold…Yet I do not see such a tiny marvel as mere happenstance. I do not find it to be some random mix of atoms that swirled together over the eons, then popped out as this flower…I do not look upon anything on this earth as mere happenstance…the oceans and all that they harbor and hold…the sky with it’s endless cosmic delights…the earth be it verdant growth or sandy dunes…Nothing has happened without the knowledge of the Creator…but there are many who would beg to differ. There are those who will cry foul over such thoughts…those who will fight ardently, tooth and nail, to wipe away any such notion…because for them, that’s all that such is…mere notions of the uneducated, the simple, the naive and the misinformed.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ~John 1:17 ✝
**Julie Cook was kind enough to let me us part of one of her posts.
Clearing, a poem by Morgan Farley
I am clearing a space
here, where the trees stand back
I am making a circle so open
the moon will fall in love
and strike these grasses with her silver
I am setting stones in the four directions
stones that have called my name
from mountaintops and riverbeds, canyons and mesas
Here I will stand with my hands empty
mind empty under the moon
And if something
takes my life, if a sudden wind
sweeps through me, changing everything
I will not resist
I am ready for whatever comes
But I think it will be
something small, an animal
padding out from the shadows
on delicate paws, or a word
spoken so softly I hear it inside
There is a way to live that makes the angels cry
out
in rapture. There is
a way to live that makes
each star a cell
Come stand with me here, it is
cold I know, and silent,
nothing is happening
The next breath, and the next, is the new life
“Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!” ~1 Samuel 12:16 ✝
**Image via Pinterest; border by PicFont
“The breezes at dawn have secrets
to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep!”
~Excerpted lines by Rumi
Crisp-crisp is the air of early morn
Still-still is the leaf on tree and bower
Silent-silent are birdsong and hum of bee
Honeyed-honeyed is the slant of autumn light
Golden-golden are the streaks of light on the lawn
Quiet-quiet are these uninterrupted solitary moments
Present-present is the Lord, Maker of heaven and earth
Poignant-poignant are remembrances in my heart and mind
Tears-tears are falling for one young and dear and very broken
Prayers-prayers for healing for Alexander Israel are sent out today
Dew-dew of stars’ sweet joy, carry God’s grace on the dawn’s breezes
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen. ~Philippians 4:23 ✝
**Image via Pinterest; my grandson’s birthmother named him Israel and his parents, my daughter and son-in-law, kept that as his middle name; the prayers are for our precious, sweet Alexander Israel.
**Flower image via Pixabay; text box image via Pinterest; collage by Natalie
Sacred Touches 