Cheese...

My grandson Austin is the coolest two year old.

Admittedly, I'm a wee bit biased, but really. He is the coolest.

He's smart, funny, energetic - and quick to say, "I sowwy."

And like most two year olds (and little ones in general), he's a great imitator.

I was impressed with Austin and  his "camera" at his cousins' graduations earlier this month. He was a mini version of the rest of us taking photos - sizing up the opportunity, focusing through the viewfinder, and finally confirming the capture.

So cute, but it stopped me momentarily in my tracks. It was a clarion reminder of my "mimi" responsibility to model speech and behavior worthy of emulating.

It's a responsibility we've inadvertently wrongly placed on them.

"Be careful little eyes what you see."

"Be careful little ears what you hear."
Aren't we the ones responsible for where we take those little eyes and ears and to what we expose them in our homes and lives?

Sobering.
O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come. ~ Psalm 71:17-18

I Can't explain it...

...but fences and fence posts capture my attention. 

Neighbors who happen to see me out in the pasture early in the morning (sometimes still in my pj's) taking pictures of rotting fence posts must think I've lost it. And truthfully? Most of those photos end up in the trash. I would have deleted this picture of a lichen-covered post if it weren't for those sparkling bokeh jewels in the background. 

It's one of my favorite photography techniques - creating those lovely bokeh pearls like the ones in the field beyond the fence and over the little froggy's head in that photo in the sidebar.

The camera's focus {and my eyes} was on the ugly rotting fence post and barb wire, but the blur and colors of bokeh lights created interest and beauty that could not have been seen with the naked eye alone. 

And I am reminded that much of what I often see in crusty people and rotten circumstances is shallow and superficial, and how desperate I am for Holy Spirit vision that will reveal the beauty and hope I cannot otherwise see and that shines and sparkles just beyond.  

"...For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” I Samuel 16:7

It's with my camera that I often walk with Him - seeing beauty and life and light I'd otherwise miss. 

And you? What are some of the ways you walk through this life - where the Holy Spirit peels away what we see on the outside to reveal His heart of love and grace and beauty?

Whimsy...

It was in early May 2008 - eight months after Casey, Jessi and fifteen month-old Mason moved to Texas in the fall of 2007 - that we traveled the 1200 miles of highways and back-country roads from our home on Pollywog Creek to their home near Blossom, Texas.

I was totally enchanted by the beauty of Texas' late spring and delighted in frequent walks with my camera along the fields of wildflowers bursting with color, but nothing captured my attention more than that adorable little boy - my oldest grandson - who'd broken my heart when he moved so far away.

With the morning sun behind him and a look of whimsy in his little brown hoodie - Mason was not quite two when I took this photo as he sat on his papa's shoulders.  

Two and half years after they moved to Texas, we were thrilled when Casey and his family moved back to Florida, where today, that little boy in the brown hoodie celebrates his fifth birthday.

Happy Birthday Mason!!! I love you - a bushel and a peck - a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!!!!

You are amazing...

Gypsy Mama Lisa-Jo challenged her readers Friday to write about "wonder"  - for 5 minutes without editing or tweaking.

I didn't participate, but was inspired to reflect on the meaning of wonder as I read Jenny's lovely response (at Rainmakers and Storm Chasers) to Lisa-Jo's 5-minute challenge.




Wonder is my response to things magical and mysterious - to the majestic and miraculous and beyond my understanding. Wonder causes me to pause and be still and to reflect more deeply on what my eyes have seen and my ears have heard.

Wonder sometimes takes me on a journey for answers, but more often I'm simply satisfied to be in awe.

Wonder is uploading a photo, and as an image fills the screen, it takes my breath away, and praise wells up in my spirit, and the only thing I can say is "Wow. God. You are amazing!"




As I consider adding to my list of One Thousand Gifts on this Monday to count multitudes, I am grateful for all that inspires wonder - that leads me to worship the Creator of all that is wonderful and good...

...flowers from Gavin's Easter garden - transplanted and flourishing under sweetgum trees
...steady, soaking rains
...generous and cheerfully-given support for Emily's trip to Burundi (*how can I ever thank each of you enough*)
...our small lifegroup friends
...our pastors and elders and worship team
...unhurried hours with a grandlittle to put chores and deadlines aside and build with legos and play with toy cars and eat homemade ice cream and make absolutely certain he knows he is loved
...phone calls from grown sons
...chocolate birthday cake
...Marilyn's "week three"
...Joyce's time in France
...Sunday afternoon naps
...hazelnut coffee and real cream
...peace - when the security we've known is threatened
...love - that covers a multitude of my sins

Won't you join Ann and other grateful hearts counting thanks together?

Beautiful hearts...

...that flame bush in the backyard




...that's supposed to be attracting hummingbirds




...but all I've seen




...are spiders and insects.

Taking a little break from watching the College World Series (It's Great. To Be. A Florida Gator) and working on a guest post for (in)courage. (I'll let y'all know next week when it's up.)

I do love those girls over at Dayspring's (in)courage, and I'm jumping-up-and-down thrilled to be able to write for them. If you're ever in need of a little encouragement from your sisters (which for me is daily), I highly recommend spending time reading and commenting and letting those beautiful sister hearts speak to yours.

Speaking of beautiful hearts, Shaun Groves new release 3rd World Symphony is ready to preview and pre-order, and I wasted no time doing both. I can't listen without thinking of my beautiful friend Ann and my family's adorable Compassion child, Diego, from Guatemala.

Third World Symphony by shaungroves

 Jeff Goins, Writer, is one of my favorite new reads. His blog is a wealth of information for writers, bloggers, and other creative thinkers, and the guest post on his blog today, The Clean Water Crisis, reveals his beautiful heart of compassion, as well.

Morning glorious gratitudes...

The flamebush has yet to to attract the hummingbirds I'd hoped for, but like those blanket flowers under the study window and the beauty berry along the fence whose portraits I often post, the flamebush has had no problem attracting me and my camera.

I'm simply enchanted by the red-green contrast and even the little green spiders that jump from leaf to leaf to avoid capture at my approach...and especially how glorious it glows in the light of dawn and dusk.

With only one or two penciled-in activities on the calendar, the week ahead appears to be one of rest and restoration from the not-so-restful weeks gone by. I've learned, however, to remain flexible to God's yet-to-be-revealed plans (He does know what's best) and to take each moment as it comes.

As I step out into this restoration week, I pause to count thanks - to list in community a multitude of gratitudes...

• flamebushes, blanket flowers, beauty berries, and little green spiders...
• streaks of sunlight on sweet chubby faces...

• little fingers tapping soft (please pardon the dust)...

• second chances...
• cherishing beautiful gratitude words in a circle of friends journal in my mailbox...
• friends (Linda) who wash feet when I cannot...
• a house full of grandlittles...
• a beautiful courageous daughter praying her way to Africa...

• soaking rains for parched ground...
• nighttime snuggles and prayers...
• sleeping at their feet...
• a backyard swing for me....

• and more swings for them...

• storytime at the library...
• playdates with Mason and Gavin...
• a letter (and Mother's Day card) from our Compassion child in Guatemala...
• my first digital camera in Mason's hands...

• the Gavel of Grace in the hands of my Father...

There is therefore now no condemnation
 for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Won't you join Ann and other grateful hearts as we count our thanks together?

Testing 1, 2, 3....JUMP!

Seriously....trying to figure out why alpha links double posts everything.

In the meantime...don't you just LOVE those santa socks in June?

Morning flight...

My morning photowalks have been seriously curtailed by a series of trips and a week of grandlittles, but one morning last weekend I was thrilled by the wings flying over and the wings delighting in my favorite beautyberry bush.

Doesn't the pilot look like he's waving at me? (I think he's holding onto a guide wire.)

I'm playing with Claire, Kelly and Sarah and their "morning" today.  Won't you join, too?

One more chance...

We knew our friend's suffering was nearly over when labored and shallow breathing greeted us at the door. For thirty bittersweet moments we said goodbye and grieved the tragic loss of a friend and the pain of those who've loved him long and well, yet we rejoiced that he'd soon be free of disease (and decades-old addictions) that had inflicted without mercy.

Only one week earlier - tethered to a respirator, IV's, tubes and catheters - he was in a moment-by-moment fight against the consequences of those addictions he'd been told were inevitable, and in waking from the drug-induced sedation, he flailed in battle against the demons that demanded what he was no longer able to give. We could only watch and pray and cry and hope. "Please give him one more chance," his family begged.

He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" ~ Ezekiel 33:3

Can a sinner be turned into a saint? Can a twisted life be made right? There is only one appropriate answer - "O God, You know."

The degree of hopelessness I have for others comes from never realizing that God has done anything for me. Is my own personal experience such a wonderful realization of God's power and might that I can never have a sense of hopelessness for anyone else I see?

If the Spirit of God has ever given you a vision of what you are apart from the grace of God...then you know that in reality there is no criminal half as bad as you yourself could be without His grace. 

~ Oswald Chambers (My utmost for His highest June 1)

And one more chance was graciously given - the gift of two full lucid and peaceful days - to breathe the outside air untethered and pet his dog, to eat McDonald's fries and drink mountain dew, and to admit, "I did this to myself." Two more days for "I'm sorry. I love you" and to repair what had been broken. Two more days to secure a place in eternity - the only thing that really matters in life and death moments like this.

As we drove back through the gate here on Pollywog Creek, three hours after those last goodbyes and "Go with God in peace" were whispered, we received the call that our friend had passed through the dark valley of suffering, bondage and death and into eternity with the God of Grace and Mercy and one more chance.

Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints.
~ Psalm 116:15

Over the river and through the woods...

....from here to the east coast


...graduation day (my beautiful granddaughter Tabitha and my handsome nephew Ryan)


...the pasture


...downtown Ft. Myers


...playing with color 


...another drive from here to the east coast


...the VA hospital - our east coast destination

We've spent much time between here and somewhere else the last couple of weeks. Two trips east to the coast, one drive up to central Florida, and numerous excursions into "the city" have done serious damage to our gasoline and eating-out budgets.

These comings and goings have been a mixed bag of activity - loving on a dying friend and celebrating the joys of high school graduations - interspersed with the ordinary stuff of life.

The days ahead promise more of the same - doctor appointments in one direction, trips to love on our friend in another, a golden anniversary celebration with friends and five full-of-fun days with two grandlittles - two year old Austin and almost-five year old Mason.

Our bittersweet visits with a friend now in hospice have been a harsh reminder of life's brevity and an encouragement to not waste (or take for granted) whatever time we have been given with those we hold dear.

Photos: A gallery of collages from our first drive to the east coast to the last. Don't you love how it begins and ends with a side mirror view? Serendipity - honest. Totally unplanned.

Engaging with Creation...

"In order to glimpse the glory of God
where he hides himself in creation
we actually have to engage with creation."
Bill Walsh

Outside the front door...









Under the live oak trees...










Leaning against a tall pine...










Through the pasture...












Out in the open fields...











Into the backyard...

Straightening the welcome mat and pouring tall glasses of sweet iced tea—with special greetings to those finding their way here thanks to Women of Faith and Patsy's Porch.

Grateful for an unseasonably cool June morning, I slipped on old ballet shoes (quiet shoes, remember), grabbed my camera, and wandered about our few Pollywog Creek acres.

Visitors to our property must wonder what I see worthy of a camera. The colorful glories of spring faded long ago in summer's harsh rays, and the landscaping around our modest home is in great need of attention.

Wildflowers in the fields and pasture struggle to break through the drought-dry topsoil only to wilt lifeless—thirsty and parched.

Rusty fencing needs repair, the creek is barely a trickle, and the neighbor's shed—one side supported by an old toilet—spoils the view across the nearly dried-up pond to the south.

No, it's not the place I'd choose to visit for photographs these days, but it's what God has given me. It's a slice of the world that He has created, and everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.

So I receive this brittle-dry ground and the unsightly views beyond its fences with much thanksgiving; and I grab my camera, and I ask God to show me glimpses of His glory, the work of His hands, and He never fails to do so.

And as these photos prove, not every photo is stunning or even noteworthy, but that's not the point. The camera is both the brush with which I paint and the tool God uses to open my eyes to the beauty at my feet. It's like Patsy said, "educate your eye". It's how I am cultivating an eye for life's mercies while I wander through the thorns and weeds of life.

What about you? How and where are you seeing the hidden glimpses of God's glory in Creation?