Light Reflections

I have asked a few friends to drop by and add a little light and warmth to this space while I soak up sunshine with my family the next couple of weeks. Megan from Contented Sparrow is literally bringing light today. I do hope that you'll wander over to her place--there is so, so much beauty there. If you ended up brewing another pot tea--or even a whole pot--and hanging out there all afternoon, you will thank me. It's a wonderful, beautiful, spirit-filled place to be.

Hi there. I pray this finds you well today. I'm Megan and I have an eclectic little blog called Contented Sparrow. Eclectic is my vague way of saying that I can't really pin down what my blog is really about. It's just bits and pieces of me, the work of my hands and heart, and some of what I learn from God along the way. I've admitted over there before that while capturing moments and color and light with my camera comes naturally to me, writing does not. That's why it was with great trepidation that I agreed to write up a little post for dear Elizabeth while she would be away on her lovely vacation. Sorry, y'all, I'm no Mrs. Foss! I have no insightful words of my own to offer you today. I'm pulling my wisdom straight from God's Word! Because we're celebrating the Light of the World born in Bethlehem those years ago, the Light that leads us now, let's remind ourselves of what HE said about light.....

"...that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."

1 John 1:5

"I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness." 

John 12:46

"...the people dwelling in darkness

have seen a great light,

and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,

on them a light has dawned.”

Matthew 4:16

"The sun shall be no more your light by day, nor for brightness shall the moon give you light; but the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory." 

 Isaiah 60:19

"...because of the tender mercy of our God,

whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high

to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.” 

Luke 1:78-79

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone."

Isaiah 9:2

"For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

2 Corinthians 4:6

"...giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son," Colossians 1:12-13

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 1:1-5

"For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness." Psalm 18:28

"The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us."

Psalm 118:27

"And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb."

Revelation 21:23

And, a prayer by John Baillie that praises our Bright Morning Star, words that cause me to still, breathe, and my soul to rise to Him. My prayer for you today, too.

O Lord and Maker of all things, for whose creative power the first light came forth, who didst look upon the world's first morning and see that it was good, I praise Thee for this light that now streams through my windows to rouse me to the life of another day.

I praise Thee for the life that stirs within me: I praise Thee for the bright and beautiful world into which I go: I praise Thee for earth and sea and sky, for scudding cloud and singing bird: I praise Thee for the work Thou hast given me to do: I praise Thee for all that Thou hast given me to fill my leisure hours: I praise Thee for my friends: I praise Thee for music and books and good company and all pure pleasures. O Thou who Thyself art everlasting Mercy, give me a tender heart today towards all those to whom the morning light brings less joy than it brings to me:.... O Light that never fades, as the light of day now streams though these windows and floods this room, so let me open to Thee the windows of my heart, that all my life may be filled by the radiance of Thy presence. Let no corner of my being be unillumined by the light of Thy countenance. Let there be nothing within me to darken the brightness of the day. Let the Spirit of Him whose life was the light of men rule within my heart till eventide. Amen.

*Advent wreath can be found here.

On Monday Afternoon {in Florida}

I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

Outside my window right now, the Atlantic Ocean stretches beyond my sight's end. The day is sparkingling clear, a bit cold and brightly beautiful. Definitely the way to begin a vacation.

::listening to 

the music coming from a wonderful tabletop carousel that has Sarah utterly enchanted. Sounds of The Nutcracker fill the air as my girlies make donut holes with my Aunt Diane. Happy morning!

::clothing myself in 

I've been thinking and think about Kelle Hampton's wise words. She said,  "I like dressing up. It makes me happy. Skirts, cute heels, red lipstick, hats. It's art to me, and I do it because I like it. I used to make crap up like "I had an appointment" as if I had to have a reason to wear a cute blouse. You know what? Sometimes I wear them in my house. On Saturdays. When I have no place to go. Because it makes me happy." Getting dressed in the morning can be a matter of pulling on whatever clothes or it can be our first opportunity of the day to express creativity and maybe make a little art. Dressing as art? I think I can see it that way. I'm wearing new jeans--ones that fit--and a long sleeved shirt with a blue batik print. Mike noticed the shirt first thing this morning and commented on how much he likes it. See? Art? Works for me.

::giving thanks for

Safe travels. Thirteen hours in the car. Mike drove the whole way and it was really a good trip. Really.

 

::pondering prayerfully

It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make use, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.-- St. Thomas Aquinas 

::clicking around these links

No clicks this week. I'm on vacation :-)

::turning the pages of this book

Nikon D40 for Dummies. I plan to read this tonight. The whole thing. 

::thinking thoughts as I go about my daily round

I'm flitting from my mother's house to my aunts' houses. My family knows how to rock interior design. It's crazy how beautiful these homes are. So, so much to see and absorb and love. Art, furntiture, cabinetry, fabric. Sigh. Truly beautiful here.

::creating by hand

I stitched a pillow cover all the way down here, just sweet square from Loulouthi Needleworks. It makes me happy just to look at it. The very first part of my grand bedroom renovation. Yay!

::learning lessons in

vacationing. 

 

::encouraging learning 

it's art history all the time here. We are blessed by beauty.

::carefully cultivating rhythm

after we leave here, I'm going to adjust the schedules offering by this awesome website to every one of our Disney's days.

::begging prayers

for peace, patience, and safety.

::keeping house

it's all about keeping the van organized

::crafting in the kitchen 

No cooking for me. We did have a Trader Joe's treat at every state border crossing. The girlies gathered Meyer lemons from the tree in my mom's yard this morning. Then, they squeezed them to get plenty of juice for lemonade.

::loving the moments

of being together in the sand and the sea under a bright blue sky.  

::planning for the week ahead

Did I mention that we're going to Disney World?

Intentional Weekend: Packing and Planning

There will surely be some dipping and dancing this evening, but today we're all about packing and planning.

{this moment}

I really wanted a picture to capture what I see when everyone is gathered around the table, each in his or her own place. Sarah Annie was feeling poorly on this night and didn't want to be anywhere but on my hip...In the end, maybe this is more real.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual.  Photo capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, visit Soulemama to leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Looking Back, Looking Forward

I wish I could tell you what criteria I used for this collage post. I can't quite articulate it. This has been a year of enormous interior change for me. Some of it --a very little bit of it-- I shared here. Most of it is held in my heart, where I ponder, but will probably never adequately speak aloud. And perhaps that is for the best. Because some things are better left within the heart of a woman, taking root, growing, flowering into what God wants her to be. I pray for the peace that comes with the blossoming.

So here are some pieces of my heart from the past year.

1. Knitting Lessons (This is not really about learning to knit at all. And the woman who needed that fax immediately? The one for whom I turned the day upside down? The one who promised the moon and the stars? I never heard from her again. These were lessons, no doubt. Very important lessons.)

2. The First Day Never Goes as Planned (neither does the second day:-)

3. What I'm Never Going to Tell You (This one was read far and wide and I'm still so very grateful for your warm response. We need each other and the outpouring of community in response to this post makes me very hopeful, indeed.)

4. Healing (Whether big or small, when women love, they risk unimagineable hurt. I experienced that with my girls last fall. We survived. And even more, we didn't stop loving.)

5. Homecoming (Happy, happy sigh.)

6.  So Much More then a Basketball Game (I relive this game again and again when I want to remind myself that God has a plan and it's better than anything I can imagine.)

7.  Uncluttering and Midlife (These days in my basement were a pretty big deal. My soul is definitely still uncluttered. The basement is a mess again. Not sure exactly what that means.)

8.  Clearly, Through a Lens (As I re-read this one, I resolved to use my camera to its greater potential in the new year.)

9.  Gentleness in the Real World (We really need to challenge each other to love more.)

10.  Candlelight at the Table (Dinner time anchors our family.)

11.  Once Upon a Time (an Engagement Story) (This one is just too sweet to leave out.)

12.  Patchwork Twirly Skirts and Thoughts on Other Stuff (I haven't written too much on what finding needle arts has meant to me interiorly, partly because I always think those thoughts while sewing or embroidering or knitting and then it just sort of never makes it to the page. But it's sort of here.)

13.  It Takes Courage to Encourage (Yep. It does.  I was rocked by the incident in this post, forever changed for friendship. But I see the good. I do.)

14. Competing and Comparing (This one and the one below--I pray I can be a good and faithful friend.)

15. Competing and Comparing Revisited 

16. Joy, Peace, & Contentment  (I think PEACE will be my word for 2012. More on that later.)

17. Maintain Key Friendships (Again, with the friend theme)

18. Not Really Kindergarten  (These days are fleeting. I love, love, love the golden, happy days of early childhood)