Then, Breath of heaven, come dance
with me as autumn comes to an end
And turn me round and round
on the earth, the beautiful hem of heaven
So you can sing in my ear
the hymns of the spheres
To fill me with heavenly peace
beneath the moon and stars
Oh dance with me Yahweh
o’er fields of mercy and grace
Waltz with me Emmanuel
as the angels and I sing, “Hallelujah”in praise of You
Let them praise His(God’s) name with dancing… ~Excerpt from Psalm 149:3 ✝
**Images via Pinterest
Inside the silence between
your
heartbeats hides a summons.
Do you hear it?
Listen.
Quiet the voices and noise around you.
Honor the Holy One calling you!
~Author Unknown
I perceive the universe as a cosmic temple and planet earth as a sanctuary in that temple. Although not given the power of speech as such therein, rain and other weather-related phenomena exhibit distinctive voices in and under the heavens. And as these things fall from earth’s chaotic atmosphere, they often blend their unique voices with other holy sounds in the natural world. In that sacred chorus is a call for humanity to seek the Maker of the temple because God not only hardwired man with a desire to connect with other human beings but also with a longing to seek and connect with Him. Thus to that end man was given eyes to witness the sacraments of heaven and earth, ears to hear the chants of their hallowed voices, intellect to question and understand to some extent what is seen and heard, and a heart that in due time turns from irreverence to deep longing. Tecumseh, a leader of the Shawnee, said, “Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing the essence is not easy – your work becomes a dance with light and the rain in its weather. It takes you to a place within yourself.” And so after the 11 inches of magical, mystical rain that we’ve had in the last week, I’m a’listenin’ and doin’ little jigs all over the place.
…let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— ~Proverbs 1:5 ✝
**Image via Pinterest
Reclaim the splendor of primordial man
Who worshiped in movement and dance
For the soul is music itself.
This is the Divine-human meeting
At the high-center of the self
Your heart
The birthplace of miracles.
You’re the light of the heavens
Dripping with waters of truth
Brushed in colors of beauty
You are nothing but love.
~Excerpted lines from poems by
Irfaan Ishan Jaffer
He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. ~Job 5:9 ✝
**Images via Pinterest; collage created by Natalie
Shall I dance among the flowers asked the butterflies?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
Shall I dance as I fall asked autumn’s leaves?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
Shall I soar o’er the waves of the sea asked the gulls?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
Shall I sparkle in the night asked the stars?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
Shall I bring light and warmth to the earth asked the sun?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
Shall I dance in my cyclic waxing and waning asked the moon?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
Shall I dance in the clouds to wet the soil asked the rain?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
Shall I sing songs that lift the spirits of men asked the birds?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
Will You shower my friends with love as they dance I asked?
Yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
O, Lover of my soul, will You dance with me again today I asked?
Yes, yes, yes, replied the Lord of the dance!
…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance… ~Ecclesiastes 3:4 ✝
**Images found on Pinterest
Early mornings are cool now though autumn is still young.
Dew on the lotus scatters pure perfume;
Wind on the bamboos gives off a gentle tinkling.
~Edited and adapted excerpt
by Po Chu (772-864)
The harvest moon hung round and high
It dodged clouds high in the sky,
The stars winked down their love and mirth
The Autumn season was giving birth.
Oh, it must be October…
~Pearl N. Sorrels
I will dance
The dance of day’s dawning
And scattering fragrances
I will dance
The dance of day’s closing
And twinkling stars
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. ~Psalm 65:8 ✝
**Lotus image via Pinterest
I will dance
The dance of summer’s passing
And waning feverishness
I will dance
The dance of October’s coming
And fall’s beguiling ways
I will dance
The dance of golden light
And the ever-shortening days
I will dance
The dance of autumn’s beauty
And whirling lovely leaves
I will dance
The dance of cooling winds
And clouds bearing rain
I will dance
The dance of meeker morn’s
And migrating flocks of birds
I will dance
The dance of earth’s melodies
And songs a-blowing in the wind
I will dance
The dance of God’s Creation
And ever-changing seasons
~Natalie Scarberry
Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. ~Psalm 149:3 ✝
**Image via Pinterest
A hummingbird in magic play
Appears to you this summer’s day.
Turquoise shades against the sky
Shimmer as it flutters by.
The sweetness of its beauty sings
Through rapid dance of tiny wings
On a random path of mystery
In brilliant, balanced harmony.
Gracefully it hovers there
In front of you atop the air.
Hold out arm and it will land
Upon the softness of your hand.
~Edited poem by Edna Whitney
From scarlet to dusty gold,
to yellow flames,
to the rare
ashen emerald,
to the orange and black velvet
of our girdle gilded by sunflowers,
to the sketch
like
amber thorns,
your Epiphany,
little supreme being,
you are a miracle…
~Excerpted lines from a poem
by Pablo Neruda
The weeds are gone! The weeds are gone! At long last the freakin’ weeds are GONE! (Well at least for the moment anyway.) When I had my meltdown earlier this week and decided to take a break from just about everything, I also decided to hire someone to come finish the weeding. And then as luck would have it, a cool front blew in two nights ago and dropped our temperature to 66. The next day we had a cloud cover all day, and though it brought only a smidgen of rain, it kept the day’s high in the low 70‘s. What an unexpected blessing that was! It was enough of a hint of autumn’s coming to begin lifting me out of the grumpy doldrums. So I spent the whole day pottering around the yard. In fact I overdid it a tad; well actually it was more than a tad, because I’ve had to pay the piper today. But the price of these aches and pains have not exceeded the joy; that’s for sure. And I happy to report that along with me, my little hummers (like the ones in the photos) have been dancing. Have you? I hope so.
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago. ~Psalm 77:11 ✝
Images via Pinterest
We’re going to the chapel,
and we’re gonna get married…
Oh, but we already did that, didn’t we?!
The year was 1963, it was August 17th,
and Henry Mancini was singing our song.
~James and Natalie
The days of wine and roses
laugh and run away like a child at play
through the meadow land toward a closing door,
a door marked “Nevermore,” that wasn’t there before.
The lonely night discloses,
just a passing breeze filled with memories
of a golden smile that introduced me to
the days of wine and roses and you.
~Lyrics by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer
As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you. ~Isaiah 62:5 ✝
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB0GkgHpJLY
**First 3 wedding images via Pinterest, bottom image at our reception
Iridescent sylphs prancing in the breeze
with fast flickering gossamer wings
in a cloud of vivid blue, red, and green.
~Edited excerpt from a poem
by Jacob Fuson
Alight, dragonfly, upon a frail stem,
dance with the wind
beneath the hot, summer sun.
Beneath that brittle shell of yours
is a secret, sacred grace.
~Edited excerpt from a poem
by J. L. Stanley
blue green dragonfly
angel of my garden pond
hunt the mosquito
~Michael K. Thompson
The dragonfly keeps dancing
over the dark water,
the flash of iridescent blue
underneath her wings
quick as a breath
~Edited excerpt from a poem
by Sy Lilang
How graceful and lovely
is the dragonfly as it
flits about under the summer sky
observing the wonders of a garden,
attracted to its vast array of colors
~Natalie Scarberry
I stand stunned
in awe as you
sleekly shimmer by
in a fabulous flurry
of lustrous, dew-laden lapis blue
and jubilant jade green
~Edited excerpt from a poem
by April J
By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. ~Proverbs 3:19-20 ✝
**Images via Pinterest, collages by Natalie
Dance on my beautiful, winged friends
to “la sublime danse de la vie!”
Thou songless wanderer mid the songful birds,
With Nature’s secrets in thy tints unrolled
Through gorgeous cipher, past the reach of words…
~Excerpted italicized lines from a poem by
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
In a small grassy field
With the trees all around
There’s a fairy ring ancient and old
And at times you can hear
Perfect echoes of sound–
‘Tis the music of ages untold
For the crickets keep time
To a waltz or a reel
And the birds fill that lovely expanse
With the notes to a tune
With a light, airy feel–
In the field where the butterflies dance
Where the wildflowers bloom
With a sweet perfume
In a rainbow of colours and shades
Where the maids hurry down
From the hill-top town
And the butterflies dance with the maids
On a winged pirouette
Or a six legged slip
How they dance, and they wheel and they turn!
And their wings flash in time
To a bright Scottish trip
While the lassies turn ’round by the burn
Where they splash in the stream
Or they lie and dream
Where the bullfrogs thrum
While the butterflies wing
And the hummingbirds hum
While the merry maids sing
In the field where the butterflies dance
~Excerpted verses from a poem
by Isaiah Zerbst
…a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance… ~Ecclesiastes 3:4 ✝
**All images via Pinterest
Sacred Touches 