tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-346099312024-03-12T23:53:03.630-04:00Pollywog Creek<center>"I must try and cultivate an eye for life's mercies...<br>
And life, while it has its ugly swamps, its vile weeds, and its sharp thorns,<br>
has always its fair flowers to charm the eye with their beauty,
or to fill the air with their fragrance..."<br>
Rev. John Flowers Serjeant, 1878</center>Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comBlogger1147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-7953385915235727492017-10-09T05:00:00.000-04:002017-10-09T05:00:05.789-04:00Summer::August:full of sap and green...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><b><a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2013/08/green-is-color-of-august.html">August is summer's hump month</a></b>--that's how I look at it anyway. It's halfway to cooler mornings and pleasant evenings and no mosquitoes; and if there's one word to describe Florida in August it's <b>green</b>. </span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></b><span style="font-size: 17.6px;">Mere days into the month, Louis is diagnosed with a detached retina and referred for surgery, and I'm scheduled for a remicade infusion, as well as my yearly series of pulmonology and rheumatology evaluations. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;">It seems that we spend more days on the road and in waiting rooms and exam rooms than we do at home; and maybe </span><span style="font-size: 17.6px;">that's why I've been more inclined to wander outside of our air-conditioned house, even if August holds some of summer's hottest and most humid days.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><b>I'm desperate for sunlight, fresh air, and beauty...<i>ever full of sap and green</i>.</b> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 17.6px;">Crepe myrtle, beautyberry, a downy woodpecker, magnolias, honeysuckle, a mama fox squirrel scurrying up an oak tree with her baby, and Casey's family coming to our rescue to mow and work outside when Louis can't. Dragon flies and blue skies, wildflowers, and Emily and her rescued chocolate lab. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><b>I'm so very grateful.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;">And goldenrod shoots continue to grow taller, reaching for cooler </span><a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2016/01/beginningsnot-summer-on-pollywog-creek.html" style="font-size: 17.6px;">not-summer days</a><span style="font-size: 17.6px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"> </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<i>The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.</i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
~Psalm 92:12-15</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<i>Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.</i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
~Jeremiah 17:7-8</div>
</blockquote>
<a href="http://www.gettymusic.com/creation-sings-the-fathers-song/" style="background-color: white; font-family: calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">Creation sings the Father's song...</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;"> a song of love and grace. [</span><a href="https://youtu.be/n2OjBLIGHjc" style="background-color: white; font-family: calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">video</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">]</span>Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-51806565449732546552017-10-05T05:00:00.000-04:002017-10-05T05:00:05.600-04:00Summer::July Part 2:beautiful in its time...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<b>[As mentioned in <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2017/10/summerjuly-part-1and-god-saw-that-it.html">July Part 1</a>, Hurricane Irma has been a major disruption this summer. It's a story for September, but not until I get through July and August in my summer photo series--though I realize that it's technically no longer summer. Looking at the pre-Irma photos of our property is bittersweet. It's hard to see how much was destroyed by the hurricane, but I'm confident that much will also be restored in due time. There will always be beauty--and sometimes it can be found in the most unlikely places.] </b></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<b style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></b>
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;">After the beach, the remaining weeks of July showcased our typical mid-summer flare--muscovy ducks gliding across the pond's surface, shimmery-winged dragonflies on barb-wired fences and wildflower blooms. <a href="https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Swallow-tailed_Kite/id">Swallow-tailed kites</a>, pileated woodpeckers, blue jays and mockingbirds...and bushes and bushes and bushes of ripening beautyberries. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 17.6px;">And those air potato vines. I'm well aware that they are an unwelcomed invasive species, but how do I not love those shiny heart-shaped leaves in the thickets along the creek before the <a href="http://bcrcl.ifas.ufl.edu/airpotatofiles/airpotato-meet%20beetle.shtml">air potato beetles</a> do their work. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;">Virginia creeper climbs the tall pines, and primrose willow dots the open field and pasture. <a href="http://fnpsblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/resurrection-fern.html">R</a></span><span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><a href="http://fnpsblog.blogspot.com/2013/08/resurrection-fern.html">esurrection fern</a>, unfurling from its dried spiral with every summer rain, drapes the live oak limbs, as 3 armadillo pups root in the ground underneath. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 17.6px;">And when the goldenrod shoots begin to grow--I'm delighted to remember that there will be <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2016/01/beginningsnot-summer-on-pollywog-creek.html">not-summer days</a>. </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<i>He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.</i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
~Ecclesiastes 3:11 </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<i>The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.</i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
~Isaiah 40:8 </div>
</blockquote>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-42113222835941904062017-10-02T05:00:00.000-04:002017-10-02T05:00:13.441-04:00Summer::July Part 1:and God saw that it was good...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>[Hurricane Irma has been a major disruption, but it's a story for another month--September, to be exact. And though it's technically now fall, I'm determined to resume my summer photo series where I left off at the end of <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2017/08/summerjune-in-sun-scorched-land.html">June</a>. It's bittersweet to look back at pre-Irma photos of our Pollywog Creek property, but July Part 1 is all about the beach.] </b></div>
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<b>July for me began exactly where June ended--with sand between my toes. </b><br />
<br />
Both the beginning and end of the first week of July were overnights at the beach with family in a lovely stilt house on a <a href="http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/trees-and-shrubs/trees/royal_poinciana.html">royal poinciana</a> lined street a block from the gulf.<br />
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Summer days of <a href="http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fp283">beach morning glory</a>, white sand, and warm salty breezes. Sandcastles, cousins, sunscreen, and body boards. Board games, card games, pizza, laughter, and a dance party. Blue-striped beach umbrellas and an evening sky lantern launch. Afternoon thunderstorms and those divine, glorious sunsets.<br />
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In the days in between, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWXrsEllEEu/?taken-by=patriciawhunter">Emily left for Rwanda</a> and Louis experienced what was probably the beginning of a detached retina--a situation that became a reality one month later. But first there was the beach.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<i>God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. </i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
~Genesis 1:10</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 17.6px; text-align: justify;">
<i> If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me. </i><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
~Psalm 139:9-10</div>
</blockquote>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-37576494009586883982017-08-31T05:00:00.000-04:002017-08-31T05:00:29.884-04:00Summer::June in a sun-scorched land...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>If the beginning of summer 2005 wasn't crazy busy enough, I decided to start a blog. </b></div>
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I'd read that blogging was an excellent way for writers to practice and hone their skills, and though I had not even read a blog yet, the concept appealed to me. As Emily's homeschooling year was coming to an end and we prepared for both Nick and Casey's graduations from college and weddings two months apart, I began what I naively thought was a private journal--thankfully on a platform that no longer exists. </div>
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Twelve summers, six grandchildren, and a dramatically different blog and life season later, I'm beyond grateful for the numerous creative opportunities and the diverse and rich relationships that blogging has made possible. And though there's been nothing predictable about my postings in the midst of this transformational season, I have no desire to withdraw entirely from creating in this small space for whoever happens to find me here.</div>
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<b>Today, I offer a glimpse of June</b>--a month that began with a pond-fishing birthday for 5 year old Tyler and concluded with a glorious beach sunset. It's no secret that I'm not fond of summer with its heat and humidity, but there's no denying the beauty and the delight of being with those I love that I would clearly miss if I never wander outside. </div>
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June brought the last of the wild butterfly orchids in the live oaks near the creek, crepe myrtle and firebush, night-blooming jasmine and honeysuckle vines, a white-eyed vireo and a mockingbird, all-star baseball tournaments for 5 year old Wyatt and 11 year old Mason, rain-drenched cypress around the pond and wildflowers in the thickets, baseball camp and a birthday for Mason...and so much more. </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>The LORD will guide you always, he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.</i><br /><div style="text-align: right;">
~Isaiah 58:11 </div>
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Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-92025612757594531672017-03-19T06:00:00.000-04:002017-03-19T11:11:10.582-04:00Lent::40 Days of Israel Part 3:The Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter, Capernaum, Nazareth Village, the Jesus Boat...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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[Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter] </div>
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After breakfast, we left the hotel in Tiberias for the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter in Tabgha on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The church was built by Franciscans in 1934, over a flat rock that was incorporated into the church floor. Byzantine pilgrims believed that Jesus cooked and served breakfast for his disciples on that rock when he appeared for the 3rd time to them after the resurrection (<a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+21&version=ESV">John 21</a>). They called the rock Mensa Christi (the table of Christ). </div>
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We gathered on the beach where we listened to Ronny and Nathan before they gave us time to explore the church and grounds on our own. Before leaving the beach area, several of us collected small rocks from the water's edge for an activity later in the evening. It was a holy moment--wandering the Sea of Galilee's shore and imagining Jesus and the unfolding of the events that occurred on that day.</div>
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[Capernaum] </div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
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<i>And leaving Nazareth [Jesus] went and lived in Capernaum by the sea...so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled</i> Matthew 4:13-14
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Only a few minutes north of the Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter, we stopped at Capernaum--a thriving fishing village on the Sea of Galilee that existed from the 2nd century BC to 7th century AD. The international highway between Mesopotamia and Egypt ran directly through the village--strategically bringing a constant flow of people into the community who would hear and spread Jesus' message and ministry. </div>
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While in Capernaum from the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be apostles. In the village, He called the tax collector Matthew to be an apostle. He healed the centurion's servant, a paralytic, Jairus' daughter and a nobleman's son, as well as Peter's mother-in-law. More of Jesus' miracles recorded in scripture were performed in Capernaum than any other city, yet the people did not believe. </div>
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At Capernaum, we stood in the remains of an ancient, white marble synogogue that dates from around the 4th century A.D., but built on top of a dark, basalt foundation that existed during the time of Jesus. </div>
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[Nazareth Village] </div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth."</i><br />
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Luke 1.26 </div>
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Nazareth, a small village overlooking the Jezreel Valley, is never mentioned in the OT, and unlike Carpernaum, Nazareth was off the beaten path. It was in quiet Nazareth, however, that Gabriel appeared and announced to Mary that she'd be the mother of Jesus. It was where Joseph and Mary returned after fleeing to Egypt following Jesus' birth. And It's where Jesus, known as "the carpenter's son", lived for 30 years, and where the villagers tried to throw Him off a cliff when He told them He was their Messiah. </div>
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Today, Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel, with a population of around 75,000 that is approximately 2/3 Muslim and 1/3 Christian. </div>
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Leaving Capernaum, we headed west to Nazareth, where our only stop was to Nazareth Village--a preserved field of agricultural terraces, wine press and stone quarry in a re-created 1st century village with exact replicas of first century houses, synagogue, farm and olive press. </div>
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Our village guide led us past olive trees, farm animals, and flowering terraces, before introducing us to a village carpenter and his wife who demonstrated the tools of his trade and the process of making yarn. Before leaving the village, we visited the synagogue and olive press. </div>
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[Jesus Boat] </div>
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Leaving Nazareth Village, we headed back to the Sea of Galilee for a sunset boat ride with the rest of the Insight for Living tour, but before boarding our assigned boat, we walked through the Yigal Allon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar to see the Ancient Galilee Boat, aka the Jesus Boat. </div>
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In 1986, while walking along the NW shore of the Sea of Galilee, brothers Moshe and Yuval Lufan, fishermen and amateur archaeologists, discovered the remains of a 2,000 year old boat that had been exposed when water levels dropped during a drought. </div>
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Following their discovery, a team of archaeologists began an 11 day, 24 hours a day, intricate excavation process to rescue the boat from the mud before the water levels rose again. The conservation process was lengthy and fascinating. It was 7 more years following its discovery before the Jesus Boat was available for public viewing. You can read more information about that process <a href="https://www.jesusboat.com/the-Jesus-Boat-Conservation">here</a>. </div>
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There's no proof or even suggestion that Jesus or his disciples were ever in this boat, but its dating between 50 BC and 50 AD certainly gives gives us permission to imagine the possibility. </div>
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(I realize I'm behind in my self-imposed Lenten schedule for M-S postings. But that's just it--it's self-imposed. No rules here, right? Nothing says I can't keep posting Israel trip photos after Easter. ) </div>
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<a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2017/03/lent40-days-in-israel.html" style="text-align: start;">Lent::40 Days of Israel Part 1:Atlanta, Tel-Aviv, Caesarea by the Sea, Megiddo</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2017/03/lent40-days-in-israel-part-2mount.html">Lent::40 Days of Israel Part 2:Mount Carmel, Tiberias, Mount of Beatitudes, Tel Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Golan Heights</a></span></h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" style="background-color: white; color: #191919; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Next week: No promises. You'll just have to come back to see. </span></h3>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-43355521435203302112017-03-12T06:00:00.000-04:002017-03-19T11:10:25.364-04:00Lent::40 Days of Israel Part 2:Mount Carmel, Tiberias, Mount of Beatitudes, Tel Dan, Caesarea Philippi, Golan Heights...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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[Mount Carmel and the Statue of Elijah at Muhraka, The Place of Burning]<br />
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From <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2017/03/lent40-days-in-israel.html">Megiddo</a>, we continued north to Muhraka (which means the place of burning) on Mount Carmel. Muhraka is the traditional site of Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal, and home to a Carmelite monastery where a statue of Elijah with a raised sword marks the events of I Kings 18.
Mount Carmel is not a single mountain, but a 13 mile long coastal mountain range that projects into the Mediterranean Sea at Haifa in NW Israel. The panoramic view from Muhraka is spectacular.<br />
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At every stop on the tour, our Israeli guide would lecture on the site's historical and geographical significance, and Nathan Holsteen, Professor of Theological Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, would teach from scripture and challenge us to consider the spiritual applications to our lives today. Nathan is an excellent teacher, and so much fun, and fortunately for us, he brought his lovely and sweet wife Janice with him. Unfortunately for all of us, Janice fell in the theater at Caesarea by the Sea the first day and badly sprained her ankle--confining her to crutches and/or a wheelchair for the rest of the tour. Sadly, we often had to leave Janice behind at the hotel.<br />
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[Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee]</div>
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Leaving Mount Carmel, we headed for Tiberias and our hotel on the western shores of the Sea of Galilee. Tiberias was founded by Herod Antipas as his capital, naming the city for Tiberias Caesar, emperor of Rome (AD 14-37).
Our hotel in Tiberias was home for the next 3 nights, where we lingered at dusk and dawn, and dined in the evening at the edge of the Sea of Galilee, gathering for worship and fellowship.
Some of the photo above were taken from the bus as we descended into the city, as well as a photo of the buildings with solar water heaters on the rooftops. In 1980, Israel passed a law requiring that all new homes and apartment buildings be installed with solar water heaters. As a result, Israel is now the world leader in the use of solar energy per capita.
Our first dusk and dawn along the Sea of Galilee were rather foggy, but we couldn't resist lingering.</div>
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[Mount of Beatitudes] </div>
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After a peaceful, but foggy sunrise along the Sea of Galilee the next morning, and breakfast at our hotel in Tiberias, we boarded Jade Bus 7 for the Mount of Beatitudes. With several more buses on our tour, we gathered for a worship service and teaching on Matthew 5:3-10 from Dr. Swindoll. The Mount of Beatitudes is a hill overlooking the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee--the traditional site of Jesus' most famous sermon. In the spring, when we were there, the hillside is lush with green grass and flowers. "See how the lilies of the field grow?" Jesus asked the multitudes gathering around him on that hill.
An Octagonal shaped chapel, representing the eight beatitudes in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, sits atop the hill, but we only had time to glance toward it as we returned to the bus and headed for Tel Dan.<br />
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Since our trip to Israel last spring, Hillsong United's album <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dirt-Grace-Live-Jerusalem-Combo/dp/B01I5AI14S">"Of Dirt and Grace"</a> has become one of my favorite DVDs. Recorded live in Israel, the song <a href="https://youtu.be/Hbk4yc0PUKI">"Say the Word"</a> was recorded at the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee.<br />
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[Tel Dan] </div>
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Leaving the Mount of Beatitudes, we headed for Dan at the base of Mt. Hermon. In the OT, Dan was considered the northernmost city in Israel. When the writers of Scripture spoke of all of Israel from the north to the south, they wrote, "from Dan to Beersheba". When the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms, with two kings and two capitals, Jeroboam, king of the northern kingdom, felt threatened that the one place to worship God was in Jerusalem in the south, so he made two golden calves (one he set up in Bethel on the road to Jerusalem, and the other in a temple at Dan) and told his people that it was too much for them to have to go to Jerusalem and convinced them to worship in the substitute temple he created, with substitute priests, etc.<br />
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At Dan, we made our way down trails through lush foliage and over crystal-clear streams and springs to the excavated podium where Jeroboam placed the golden calf, the courtyard where archaeologists uncovered an Aramaic inscription referring to the "House of David" and the over 4,000 year old "Abraham's Gate"--so named because it was in existence during the life of Abraham, and Genesis 14:13-16 tells us that Abraham traveled from Hebron to Dan to rescue his nephew Lot. He surely must have walked through the gate. Abraham's Gate is one of Israel's most significant archaeological finds.<br />
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[Caesarea Philippi] </div>
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A short drive in the northern Golan Heights from Dan is Caesarea Philippi--originally called Panion or Panias after the Greek god Pan. Established as the capital of Herod the Great's son Philip's tetrarchy, and, of course, named Caesarea to honor the Roman emperor. Today the city is an archaelogical site called Banias in the Hermon Stream Nature Reserve.
At one time, the spring, one of the main sources of the Jordan River, emerged from a large cave called the Grotto of Pan, where sacrifices were cast in pagan worship to Pan.
Caesarea Philippi marks the northernmost limits of Christ's ministry. It was at Caesarea Philippi that Peter declared the deity of Christ in response to Jesus' question, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"
Caesarea Philippi is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. (Matthew 16:13-16, Mark 8:27-30)<br />
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[Golan Heights border with Syria] </div>
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As we headed back through the Golan Heights to Tiberias, our Israeli guide, Ronny Simon, took us to a lookout across the demilitarized zone along the Syrian border. From the bus window at one of the crossroads, we could see snow on Mt. Hermon.
The history and politics of the Golan Heights is long and complicated, and while recognizing the bias of news sources, I encourage you to research it from all sides.
Looking across the DMZ and beyond to Syria while listening to our excellent Israeli guide (he's in one of the photos above,I'll write more about him later) was a powerful and sobering moment, and in sharp contrast to the beautiful blossoming trees surrounding us.
On the ride back to our hotel, we crossed over a narrow section of the Jordan River.
Before all 700 of us gathered for dinner that evening, concluding our second full day in Israel, several members of the tour were baptized in the Sea of Galilee.<br />
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Next week Monday-Saturday on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/patriciawhunter/">instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/patricia.hunter.351">facebook</a>: Church of Primacy of St. Peter, Capernaum, Nazareth, and The Jesus Boat., Sea of Galilee (worship), Beth Shan, and Jericho.
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<a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2017/03/lent40-days-in-israel.html">Lent::40 Days of Israel Part 1:Atlanta, Tel-Aviv, Caesarea by the Sea, Megiddo</a>Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-74453674034372911522017-03-05T17:36:00.000-05:002017-03-11T18:10:36.575-05:00Lent::40 Days in Israel:Atlanta, Tel-Aviv, Caesarea by the Sea, Megiddo...<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">[Israel]</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A year ago this very weekend, Louis and I were headed to Atlanta where we would catch our first flight toward Israel. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've shared very little about that trip -- mostly because it has taken months for us to absorb and reflect on what we learned and experienced. We'd fly back in a heartbeat, because we know there's so much more to learn and explore than those ten last March allowed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My hope is to post a few of the thousands of photos I took on that trip last March during Lent this year -- on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/patriciawhunter/">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/patricia.hunter.351">Facebook</a> Monday through Saturday, and a repost of those photos here on the following Sunday through Easter. Today's posts are from this past Wednesday (Ash Wednesday), the first day of Lent, through yesterday.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I've flown in and out of Atlanta's airport several<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"> times. Their domestic terminal is a nightmare, but their international terminal (see below) was surprisingly peaceful and easy to navigate. It set me up for false expectations overseas. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;">After a long sleepless overnight flight, we landed in Frankfurt, Germany, and an airport that made even Atlanta's domestic terminal seem tame. Maybe it was because we were flying on to Israel, but we had to go through two more levels of security (though we never left the terminal or changed airlines) and walk forever through what felt like an unending maze before reaching the departure gate. Next time we fly to Israel, we'll book a direct flight from the U.S. Exhausted and a bit flustered, we were still excited to be almost there.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;">Most of that first day, arriving in Tel-Aviv near dusk and even into the first day of the tour, is a bit of a blur, and t</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; display: inline;">hough we were completely at the mercy of others to guide and direct us, we could not have been in better hands. We were well prepared for this tour with <a href="https://www.insight.org/">Insight for Living Ministries</a> months in advance, but some things just have to be experienced for ourselves before they are comfortable. I'd love to tour Israel again with the knowledge and experience I gained this time. I'd be more relaxed, sleep better, and therefore, be more attentive. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">[Top to bottom, L to R: Airport in Tel-Aviv, Tel-Aviv and Mediterranean Sea sunset while on the bus to our hotel, hotel lobby, greeting on the screen and our very modern hotel room, Tour Welcome Dinner, Jade Bus 7 Leaders introduced, Donna from <a href="https://www.insight.org/">Insight for Living Ministries</a> greeting us on the bus our first morning in Israel as we leave Tel-Aviv]</span></span></div>
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After breakfast, we left Tel-Aviv for Tiberias with stops in Caesarea, Mount Carmel, and Megiddo. I can't remember exactly how many people were on our tour, but it was around 700. For most of the time, we were divided into 14 smaller groups, and each group had slightly different daily schedules that prevented all 700 of us from being at the same place at the same time, but almost every day, there was a time and place where we were all together for worship and a message from Dr. Swindoll. Each of the smaller groups was assigned to a different bus designated by a color and a number (our bus was Jade Bus 7), and each bus was staffed with an Israeli guide, a spiritual mentor from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a shepherd from Insight for Living Ministries. I'll share more in the future about the amazing guide, mentors and shepherds we were privileged to have on Jade Bus 7. </div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Leaving Tel-Aviv, the buses traveled north along the Mediterranean Sea to Caesarea, a port city founded by Herod the Great in 22 B.C., and named in honor of Augustus Caesar. Caesarea was the seat of the Roman Government for over 500 years, as well as the home of the Roman procurators, including Pontius Pilate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">At Caesarea, we sat on the stone benches in the restored Herodian theater by the sea for worship that included special music by David Phelps, a performance by Dr. Reg Grant characterizing Herod Agrippa, and a teaching from Pastor Swindoll.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was at Caesarea that Philip and Peter preached, Cornelias was baptized, and Paul was imprisoned for two years -- making his defense before Felix, Festus and King Herod Agrippa II. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">From Caesarea by the Sea, we headed NE toward Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley--the prime international highway that connected all ancient kingdoms. The main road through Mount Carmel (a range of mountains) also passed through Megiddo. The first recorded battle in history, during the late bronze age, occurred in Megiddo, and it's at the Hill of Megiddo that the last battle just before Christ returns is prophesied in Revelations 16 to take place. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Megiddo's location was strategic for traffic and trade. Archaeologists claim that there are twenty-six levels on Megiddo's 20 acres representing every period in Israel's ancient history.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A tripartite gate (top right photo below) dates from the time of King Solomon. Deborah and Barak fought General Sisera, Solomon used Megiddo as a defense post, and King Josiah was killed here. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Next Week: Monday - Saturday on Instagram and Facebook: Mount Carmel, Tiberias, Mount of Beatitudes, Tel Dan, Banias, Caesarea Philippi, and Golan Heights. </span></div>
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Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-55696774990160280752016-10-28T11:47:00.000-04:002016-10-28T11:53:12.422-04:00Goldenrod and a string of golden not-summer days {and to #bethegift with a giveaway}...<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm home from <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2016/10/to-let-myself-be-broken-and-loved.html">Canada</a> for less than a week when the goldenrod begins to bloom, and fall teases us with a string of stunning <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2016/01/beginningsnot-summer-on-pollywog-creek.html">not-summer days</a>. </div>
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Yellow orchid blooms dangle from from the oak limbs in the back yard...</div>
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...and the alamanda bush by the gate explodes in trumpets of lemon at dawn. If <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2012/08/green-is-still-color-of-august.html">green is the color of August</a>, then shades of yellow belong to October. </div>
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At least here on Pollywog Creek.</div>
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The not-summer days wax and wane throughout the month bringing subtle changes that I'll miss if I don't pay attention. </div>
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After months of summer rains that swell the banks of the creek and pond, the knobby knees of the now golden <a href="http://www.south-florida-plant-guide.com/bald-cypress-tree.html">bald cypress</a> bordering the pond's edge emerge as the water levels recede. </div>
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Between the barb-wire fence and creek, clusters of acorns herald more not-summer days ahead. Maybe those pesky squirrels will be less attracted to my bird feeders if they have what looks like an abundance of acorns. </div>
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Under the massive live oak, the staghorn fern thrives in the dappled light and reaches out with foliar fronds that give this tropical epiphyte it's name.</div>
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Yes. I know. </div>
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These aren't the breath-taking, glorious reds, oranges, and yellows my friends in the northern less tropical or temperate climates enjoy, but I can't let my mind and heart go there. </div>
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I could easily dwell on what others have or experience and I don't, but that's coveting, isn't it? </div>
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And isn't coveting the root of discontent that says what God gives me isn't good enough? </div>
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I've mentioned before that <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/search?q=bucket+lists">I'm not fond of bucket lists</a>. </div>
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That hasn't always been true. Just ask my husband. </div>
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But <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2015/03/on-learning-contentment-and-cheerful.html">as I experienced growth in gratitude and contentment</a>, I began to recognize that a bucket list was a dwelling on and a counting of opportunities and experiences I don't have and therefore covet rather than a focus on being thankful for what I've already been given. </div>
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I'm slowly making my way through a study of <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Romans%201/">Romans</a> once a week with a small group of friends I love like sisters when <a href="http://www.esvbible.org/Romans+7:7/">Paul reminds me of the sin of coveting</a> and how easily it tries to slip back into my heart. </div>
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These sister-friends and I have talked about some of the ways to fight sin in our lives: to renew our minds with God's Word, to memorize scripture, to grow in our affections for Christ, and to intentionally {and cheerfully} replace sin with acts of obedience. </div>
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In the chapter, <i>What's Even Better than a Bucket List</i>, <a href="http://annvoskamp.com/thebrokenway/" style="font-weight: bold;">The Broken Way, a daring path into the abundant life</a>, Ann Voskamp writes: <b> </b></div>
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<i>What if instead of sitting in life's waiting room, waiting for a chance for something good enough to happen to check off a bucket list--what if abundant living isn't about what you can expect from life, but what life can expect from you?</i><i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>p. 88 </blockquote>
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<i>Why grow the list of what I want to have instead of the list of what I can give? </i><i>Why not let the heart grow big with a love large enough that it breaks your heart and gives bits of you away? Does "real life" only happen when you get to pick some balmy destination and a cheap flight itinerary? Or is "real life" when you choose to be bread to all kinds of hungry? And maybe this is how your soul truly gets fed anyway? </i>p. 89 </blockquote>
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<i>Experiencing the whole world will not fill your bucket like experiencing giving yourself, and finding the meaning that will fill your soul. </i>p. 92</blockquote>
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<i>The meaning of being is givenness. Ask Christ. </i>p. 98</blockquote>
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It's truly a very, very small offering in light of all I've been given, but rather than quote the whole chapter {or book}, I'm giving away a copy of <a href="http://annvoskamp.com/thebrokenway/">The Broken Way</a> to someone who promises to read it and to also #bethegift and #payitforward for someone else. Just leave a comment here {or on a link to this post on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/patricia.hunter.351">my facebook page</a>} <b>by midnight Tuesday, November 1st</b>, and I'll put your name in the hat. </div>
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I must warn you, though: <b><a href="http://annvoskamp.com/thebrokenway/">The Broken Way</a></b> will change you and break you in all the right places. </div>
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Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-91702172474657922912016-10-21T13:31:00.000-04:002016-10-21T13:31:22.859-04:00To let myself be broken and loved...<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<i>Every day you can do one thing that you wish you could do for everyone. We will be known for our actual fruits, not the intentions of our imaginations.</i><br />
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Ann Voskamp<i style="font-style: italic;">, The Broken Way, </i>p. 207</div>
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The decision was made for me, or I probably wouldn't have gone. </div>
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How could I justify such extravagance? It was too costly. Too complicated, and too far from here to there. I haven't been well in weeks and fatigued from recent back-to-back flares and a trip to Louisiana. For goodness sakes. Even on good days I need help just to open a bottle of water. It's obvious I can't travel alone, and a traveling companion would only multiply the costs. </div>
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Even worse<i>, what if I go and feel too bad to do anything?</i> </div>
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Just in case, I tell my girlfriends--the ones<i> </i>who meet with me weekly to study, <i>There's a one percent chance I'm going to Canada to see my friend <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/thebrokenway/">Ann</a> next week so I might need to cancel Bible study. </i> </div>
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When Louis bought me a new camera three weeks earlier, I hadn't told him what I'd been thinking. How I'd secretly longed for a new camera and lenses, but the cost was simply too much. <i>Afterall</i>, I thought. <i>I'm no spring chicken</i>. There's too many years behind me and not enough ahead to justify that kind of expense. What would be the point? </div>
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Escalating chronic health issues that aren't responding to the current treatment plan combined with an overall lack of physical well-being left me vulnerable to the lies, and I was sensing a loss of purpose. I concluded that my ability to contribute anything of real value to those around me, much less anyone else, had faded along with my old camera and lens. I hadn't said one word to anyone about wanting a new camera when Louis up and decided I needed one.<br />
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Two days after we brought that new camera home, I hadn't taken it out of the box. <i>I probably should return it</i>, I thought. <i>It's a luxury I don't deserve</i>. And Louis tells me to accept the invitation to fly off to Canada and to take Emily with me? </div>
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My Emily makes all the reservations. Roundtrip flights from Ft. Myers to Toronto with layovers in Charlotte. A hotel near the airport in Toronto.<br />
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She manages my luggage, opens my water bottles, drives the rental car, and buys me lattes. She keeps me moving, and when my body simply won't keep up, she slows the pace and lets me rest. I'm sure she's embarrassed by her slow old mama with no sense of fashion, but she keeps it to herself.<br />
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In Ann's back yard, we sit on quilt-covered bales of hay near the tables of coffee, juice and muffins while Ann gives herself fully to each of her guests. I see how she loves. How she kneels and bends low, gently grabs shoulders and cups faces. She leans into, moves toward and gives everyone her undivided attention. Selfishly I want her all to myself. To sit close and tell her the many ways her beautiful words have changed me, but I wander out to the edge of the field where her writing cabin stands and pluck a dandelion seedhead out of the ground. I hold the downy globe up to the sun and thank God for the gift of this perfect fall day.<br />
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<b>If just for that moment, I forget all the ways I feel unworthy of the gift and let myself be loved.</b><br />
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A few miles from Ann's backyard, a welcome sign leans against the outside wall near the doors to the barn. Once inside, Emily and I find seats in the back row of chairs facing the corner stage where Ann reads passages from <b><a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/thebrokenway/">The Broken Way</a></b> and <a href="http://jasongraymusic.com/jg/">Jason Gray</a> sings. They both say the same thing, more or less. <b>The broken are healed by being the broken for others.</b> Tables of hot coffee and cider, plates of cheese and crackers, bowls of apples and popcorn, and trays of sliced pumpkin bread spiraled with cream cheese line the opposite side of the room. It's the most generous hospitality, and Ann stays until the last guest leaves. </div>
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Three days after leaving us at the airport in the wee hours of the morning, Louis returns to pick us up at midnight. Just six short hours later, my dearest, tired Emily is up and off to work, and I open the large manila envelope with a copy of <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/thebrokenway/"><b>The Broken Way</b></a> that arrived while I was gone. </div>
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I read late into the night.<br />
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As long as I've known Ann, I've believed that she loves and lives like Jesus as much as anyone I know, but I haven't just believed it. I've seen and tasted the fruit of her sacrificial giving and serving and the wholeness she experiences as a result. Ann doesn't preach Jesus, she aims to live a cross-shaped life, and it's Jesus I see in Ann.<br />
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<i>Those who claim Christ aren't only saved by a crucified Savior; their lives are <b>shaped</b> by Him.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>The cross isn't some cheap symbol of faith; it's the exact shape we embody as the life of Christ. When we won't see the suffering--who are <b>all</b> of us--we never form our lives like our Savior's.</i></blockquote>
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<i>The Broken Way, </i>p. 268</blockquote>
In <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/thebrokenway/"><b>The Broken Way</b></a>, Ann dares us to live #thebrokenway the same way she dared us to count <a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/one-thousand-gifts-book/"><b>One Thousand Gifts</b></a>: by tenderly sharing her own brokenness and daring herself to live the cruciform life -- the only path to abundance.<br />
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A week ago I went to Canada and let myself be broken and loved...<br />
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...by God who whispered in Louis' ear that maybe he should buy me a new camera and send me to Canada, and Louis who heard God's voice and sacrificial ly responds.<br />
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...by Emily who patiently cared for her old mama and gave me the gift of time and presence.<br />
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...by Ann and her family who opened their home to strangers and gave the gift of hospitality and words of love and affirmation and a renewed sense of purpose in the dare to live #thebrokenway.<br />
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<i>The only life worth living is the life you lose.</i><i><br /></i><br />
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<i><i>The Broken Way, </i>p. 209</i></div>
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Join me on this path into the abundant life #TheBrokenWay? Click on the photo below and check out all the free gifts you'll receive by pre-ordering a copy of The Broken Way by Monday.<br />
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<a href="http://www.aholyexperience.com/thebrokenway/"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KgpbVsN7XAI/WApKmQcCpuI/AAAAAAAAIP4/lG8B7J4Y4jwSltAQ58UIIq0wlfJHZYtEgCLcB/s400/14700926_10153425554879364_7178398674277752674_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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TheBrokenWay.com</div>
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I'm pretty sure there's one thing I can do today for someone that I wish I could do for everyone.</div>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-19930717979642195472016-08-01T05:00:00.000-04:002016-08-01T05:00:20.803-04:00A reminder for the times we're in...<center>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollywogcreek/8763468719/" title="DSC_0381 by Pollywog Creek, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0381" height="513" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7325/8763468719_e7ac3fa4a7_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollywogcreek/8766105192/" title="DSC_0392 by Pollywog Creek, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0392" height="514" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3739/8766105192_53c3fdda3a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollywogcreek/8766102068/" title="DSC_0383 by Pollywog Creek, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0383" height="512" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5448/8766102068_66f5fb828e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pollywogcreek/8763471635/" title="DSC_0388 by Pollywog Creek, on Flickr"><img alt="DSC_0388" height="510" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5441/8763471635_5ae5275bd1_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /> </center>
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I use every resource at my disposal to identify this heron whose image I captured as he waded in and out of the water and snatched a blue-tipped damselfly out of the air.</div>
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Every bird identification tool I use confirms he's a tricolored heron -- from the white plume on his head to his overall contrasting plumage, but that yellow on his chest and abdomen throws me. Every resource I've referenced indicates that plumage should be white, not yellow, yet, he's clearly a tricolored heron.</div>
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Several years ago, we visited a church where we were warmly greeted by a gentleman wearing a kilt and whose graying hair was fashioned into two long braids that hung down to his waist. It was an introduction to a church and worship service that was foreign to us in many ways.</div>
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We recognized elements in this church that were clearly Christian - from the pastor's gospel-centered message to the music and order of worship, but other characteristics, though not contrary to Scripture, were simply outside our experiences and the Christian worship service form we knew. </div>
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There are a multitude of differences in how Christians dress and work and live and worship that are outside our individual experiences, but there's one distinction that should set me apart and by which I should be known. </div>
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<em>A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.</em></div>
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John 13:34-35</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">[A dusted off re-post]</span>Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-69959382935906352502016-01-19T08:59:00.000-05:002016-01-19T18:13:35.107-05:00Beginnings::Not-Summer on Pollywog Creek {a Photo Essay}<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The beginning of the year on Pollywog Creek is in our unpredictable season of not-summer—an eclectic combination of fall, winter, and spring all at once. </div>
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Summer here in the deep, sub-tropical south is fairly predictable. The air-conditioner runs 24/7, it's oppressively hot and muggy, and afternoon thunderstorms are the norm.</div>
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Not-summer is less predictable. We might need the air-conditioner, open the windows or turn on the heater. It can be humid outside or dry. In the same week.</div>
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A cold front might bring rain, thunderstorms, or fizzle out and stall before it passes through. Already this month we have run the air-conditioner more days than not, had three severe storms with tornado warnings and turned on the heater.</div>
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This is how we are beginning 2016, and it's a thousand gifts and more.</div>
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<em>In the <b>beginning</b>, God created the heavens and the earth.</em><br />Genesis 1:1</center>
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<em>He has made everything beautiful in its time. <br />Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, <br />yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the <b>beginning</b> to the end.</em><br />Ecclesiastes 3:11</center>
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<em>The fear of the Lord is the <b>beginning</b> of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!</em><br />Psalm 111:10</center>
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<em>Who has performed and done this,<br />
calling the generations from the <b>beginning</b>?<br />
I, the Lord, the first,<br />
and with the last; I am he.</em><br />Isaiah 41:11</center>
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{Please visit my lovely photog friends and delight in their beginnings}</center>
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<a href="http://capturedbitsofbeauty.blogspot.com/2016/01/one-word.html" target="_blank">Julie @ Captured Bits of Beauty</a></center>
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<a href="http://www.whatmartysees.com/2016/01/things-to-remember-in-new-year.html" target="_blank">Marty @ What Marty Sees</a></center>
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<a href="http://livelovelaughhope.blogspot.com/2016/01/rooted.html" target="_blank">Connie @ Live, Love, Laugh, Hope</a></center>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-55065537275269820612015-12-20T05:58:00.000-05:002015-12-20T05:58:30.249-05:00Love::Fourth Sunday:Advent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em> See what kind of love the Father has given to us, <br />that we should be called children of God; and so we are. </em><br />
1 John 3:1 </center>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-38077383231890697122015-12-13T16:43:00.000-05:002015-12-13T16:43:12.152-05:00Joy::Third Sunday:Advent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-3909448727647164712015-12-08T23:07:00.003-05:002015-12-08T23:07:15.743-05:00Circle of Faith::a Florida Christmas...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We buy our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and the six grandlittles (ages 3, 3, almost 5, 6, almost 9, 9) are the first to decorate it. We set out all the unbreakable ornaments and let them decorate however they want to, which means only the bottom of the tree is decorated when they are finished, and as you can tell by the photo in the bottom right, many of the branches droop under the weight of multiple ornaments. I kept the tree just as they decorated it for almost a week before I did a little rearranging and added the breakable ornaments. It's a family tree, with lots of handmade ornaments, and I love it just the way it is.</div>
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I can count my experiences with snow on one hand.</div>
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It snowed enough one night--when we lived in north Florida almost forty years ago--for a few flakes to accumulate on top of Louis' motorcycle helmet. I could see it from the window of our second floor apartment.</div>
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That might have been the same year Louis and I camped in the Blue Ridge Mountains after an early spring snowfall. <span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.3;">Unable to find dry wood for a fire, we put on every layer of clothing we could and went to bed before dark--huddling together in our sleeping bags. The wind howled throughout the night and we woke up in the morning to find that our pup tent had collapsed on top of us. After only one night, we packed up our gear and headed home. </span>N<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.3;">aïve and ill-equipped native Floridians that we were, it's grace we survived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 1.3;">In January 2005, Emily and I were gifted with a trip to Washington, D.C. for Bush's Inauguration. We stared in awe and delight through the hotel window as snow fell throughout the first night we were in D.C. It was so pretty to watch, but navigating the slippery sidewalks and standing outside in the wet snow all day Inauguration day tempered any enthusiasm I might have had for snow.</span></div>
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Snow at Christmas was never my experience, but I grew up believing that it should be. My mother played Bing Crosby's <span style="line-height: 20.8px;">"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas," and Nat King Cole's "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" for weeks while we decorated our home with snowflakes cut out of folded paper and hung them from the windows she had sprayed with fake snow from a can. It was often warm enough to go swimming, but we still decorated the Christmas tree--set up next to the fake fireplace--with snowmen, snowflakes and icicles</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px;"> Clearly a cheap imitation of the Hallmark Christmases we apparently tried to emulate. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">S</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">omewhere between growing up, growing older and growing in Christ, I decided to boycott anything to do with snow at Christmas and began to appreciate what makes Christmas in Florida different from much of North America. Like many places throughout the world, including Bethlehem and most of the Southern Hemisphere, Florida's warm, snowless Christmas is as real as the cold, snowy Christmases I grew up thinking were more authentic. Over the years I r</span><span style="line-height: 20.8px;">eplaced my snow-themed decorations and ornaments (except for those with sentimental value) with those with a more tropical flavor, like poinsettias, pine cones and shells. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">More importantly, I embraced the truth that it's not the weather outside or the adornments we hang on our tree and use to decorate our home, but the One we adore in our hearts that makes Christmas authentic and gives us real joy. Everything else is the cheap imitation.</span></div>
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<br />
This post is my contribution to a monthly blog circle
"Circle of Faith in Words and Image." The theme this month is Christmas. Please visit the blogs of my sweet friends in the circle linked below:<br />
<br />
Julie at <a href="http://capturedbitsofbeauty.blogspot.com/2015/12/his-arriving.html" target="_blank">Captured Bits of Beauty</a><br />
Marty at <a href="http://www.whatmartysees.com/2015/12/dpp-day-7.html" target="_blank">What Marty Sees</a><br />
Connie at <a href="http://livelovelaughhope.blogspot.com/2015/12/oh-christmas-tree.html" target="_blank">Live, Laugh, Love and Hope</a></div>
<br />Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-37915963671076092282015-12-06T05:00:00.000-05:002015-12-06T05:00:03.362-05:00Peace::Second Sunday:Advent<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-48370227962540061872015-11-29T07:15:00.000-05:002015-12-05T21:42:32.669-05:00Hope::Advent:First Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-57678627584774295932015-11-26T05:00:00.000-05:002015-11-26T05:00:07.382-05:00Eucharisteo::Happy Thanksgiving...<center>
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<em>I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought,<br />and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.</em><br />
~ Gilbert K. Chesterton
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<em>Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,<br />
and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe...</em><br />
Hebrews 12:28
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: x-large;">Happy Thanksgiving</span></center>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-27705163538011016922015-11-22T05:00:00.000-05:002015-11-22T05:00:01.929-05:00I {LOVE} Sunday::to look to him...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u7Z1BKvnmNM/Vk-xORUzZsI/AAAAAAAAH9Y/OSBfeiaXCZ0/s1600/2015-11-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u7Z1BKvnmNM/Vk-xORUzZsI/AAAAAAAAH9Y/OSBfeiaXCZ0/s640/2015-11-20.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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{With the Sunday Community at <a href="http://seespeakhearmama.com/">Lisha's #GiveMeGrace</a> }<br />
<br />
<b>Email subscribers</b>::Please click <b><a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2015/11/still-saturdaypeace-be-still.html">HERE</a></b> to see the video in yesterday's <a href="http://pollywogcreek.blogspot.com/2015/11/still-saturdaypeace-be-still.html">Still Saturday</a> post. It was not included in the email.<br />
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Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-18855647764288887682015-11-21T05:30:00.000-05:002015-11-21T05:30:00.880-05:00Still Saturday::Peace. Be still...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let the honest beauty of this wash over your soul...</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/jJ-ur29jGMc?rel=0" width="560"></iframe> </center>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-88196111134358047172015-11-15T06:27:00.000-05:002015-11-15T06:27:24.209-05:00I {LOVE} Sunday...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em>
In the beginning was the Word, <br />
and the Word was with God, <br />
and the Word was God. <br />
He was in the beginning with God. <br />
All things were made through him, <br />
and without him was not any thing made that was made. <br />
In him was life, <br />
and the life was the light of men. <br /><b>
The light shines in the darkness, <br />
and the darkness has not overcome it.</b></em><br />
John 1:1-5
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#prayforparis<br />
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{With the Sunday Community at <a href="http://seespeakhearmama.com/">Lisha's #GiveMeGrace</a> }</center>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-709815624519500082015-11-14T04:30:00.000-05:002015-11-14T04:30:01.674-05:00Still Saturday::to weep with those who weep...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em>When troubles still our love-song,<br />
and fear beats hard within,<br />
when anger drowns the dove's song,<br />
and life's a noisy din,<br />
Lord, break the silence of your Word<br />
and let your healing voice be heard.<br />
O let your healing voice be heard.</em><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">
from <em>When Quiet Peace is Shattered</em><br />
by Mary Nelson Keithahn</span><br /><br />
#prayforparis</center>
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<a href="http://sandraheskaking.com/category/still-saturday-community/" title="Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday"><img alt="Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday" src="http://sandraheskaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SS-BUTTON.png" style="border: none;" /></a></center>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-44363924899516290192015-11-07T05:30:00.000-05:002015-11-07T05:30:00.620-05:00Still Saturday::to cultivate stillness...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AHXN1XLfE50/Vj2ICLAyq9I/AAAAAAAAH7I/rdbXeE2ZtII/s1600/15491991708_64f895de71_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AHXN1XLfE50/Vj2ICLAyq9I/AAAAAAAAH7I/rdbXeE2ZtII/s640/15491991708_64f895de71_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>We have so much to learn about heart stillness. To be calm and quiet smacks of inactivity, doing nothing. But cultivating heart stillness may be our most valuable activity because then we can hear God's gentle whisper. </i> </blockquote>
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<i></i>A. W. Tozer</blockquote>
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<a href="http://sandraheskaking.com/category/still-saturday-community/" title="Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday"><img alt="Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday" src="http://sandraheskaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SS-BUTTON.png" style="border: none;" /></a></center>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-19728155813784669062015-11-01T05:00:00.000-05:002015-11-01T05:00:02.992-05:00Still Saturday and I {LOVE} Sunday::to be happy in God...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,<br />
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days</span><span style="font-size: large;">.</span></em><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
Psalm 90:14</span></center>
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<a href="http://sandraheskaking.com/category/still-saturday-community/" title="Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday"><img alt="Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday" src="http://sandraheskaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SS-BUTTON.png" style="border: none;" /></a></center>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">{And with the Sunday Community at <a href="http://seespeakhearmama.com/">Lisha's #GiveMeGrace</a> }</span></div>
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Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-5678285157567197052015-10-18T09:56:00.000-04:002015-10-18T09:56:08.921-04:00I {LOVE} Sunday::mercy triumphs...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LwBE94s78c/ViOk3N_pRII/AAAAAAAAH54/FMlF6oPkwoM/s1600/DSC_0183-001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LwBE94s78c/ViOk3N_pRII/AAAAAAAAH54/FMlF6oPkwoM/s640/DSC_0183-001.JPG" /></a></div>
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{With the Sunday Community at <a href="http://seespeakhearmama.com/">Lisha's #GiveMeGrace</a> }</div>
</blockquote>Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34609931.post-57485045313751870792015-10-17T07:02:00.000-04:002015-10-17T07:02:04.194-04:00Still Saturday::to yield to the joys of heavenly communion...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<center>
<em>“The season of sunset as it draws a veil over the day, <br />befits that repose of the soul <br />when earthborn cares yield to the joys of heavenly communion. <br />The glory of the setting sun excites our wonder, <br />and the solemnity of approaching night awakens our awe. <br />If the business of this day will permit it, it will be well, dear reader, <br />if you can spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide, <br />but if not, <br />the Lord is in the town too, <br />and will meet with you in your chamber or in the crowded street. <br />Let your heart go forth to meet Him.”</em><br />Charles Spurgeon<br /><br /><a href="http://sandraheskaking.com/category/still-saturday-community/" title="Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday"><img alt="Sandra Heska King - Still Saturday" src="http://sandraheskaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SS-BUTTON.png" style="border: none;" /></a></center>
Patriciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10435071269417046903noreply@blogger.com