Still Saturday:in every relationship whatever the circumstance...

If I have a word or verse for the year, it's to flourish and be fruitful and Psalm 92, When I'm still and quiet and contemplating the path I sense the LORD is placing before me in this season, I find encouragement in the wise words of Jean Fleming.

Fruitfulness in every season requires flexibility. The vision must be broad enough, deep enough, to transfer to my changing circumstances. 

I can love God and love people to the grave and beyond. 

I can do this in every relationship no matter where I am, whatever the circumstances in my life. I can abide in Christ and be a link in the chain to help others know and follow Him. Whether it is in intense, close relationships or brief glancing contacts with people or through prayer, I can seek to glorify God and further His kingdom.

Jean Fleming, Pursue the Intentional Life, p. 122

I {LOVE} Sunday::to learn contentment...

...for I have learned in whatever situation I am
to be content.
Philippians 4:11

With the Sunday Community at Lisha's #GiveMeGrace

I {LOVE} Sunday::to give praise to the one who gives beauty to all that is beautiful...

“If we lose our desire for beauty, it will only serve to diminish our desire for our beautiful God. The balance, I suppose, is learning to long for the beauty that matches his character and reflects his beauty. And then, once we find it, we give praise to the one who gives beauty to all that is beautiful.”

Julian Freeman, Let's Not Knock Beauty

Splendor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Psalm 96.6

Still Saturday::to rest secure and hope...

I {LOVE} Sunday::to praise the LORD...

 

When all you need is a little peace and quiet...

And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.
My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,
in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.
Isaiah 32.7-8

After my friend's children outgrew their need for a daily nap, she told them they still needed a quiet time to rest their ears. I suspected the need was as much for my friend as it was her children, but I thought the idea was brilliant.

And what a powerful habit for a lifetime - a daily time to rest my ears from even my own thoughts, that my mind can hear and be renewed by the Word and my heart can hear the Spirit's whisper, and the peaceful habitation and quiet resting place I desperately long for will not be dependent on my circumstances and a matter of the noises around me. It will be a condition of my soul.

I'm no butterfly...

The long lapses between posts here on Pollywog Creek are not intentional. There are infinitely more posts swirling around me in bits and pieces of thoughts than I currently have the time and energy resources to connect into complete and cohesive sentences. I'm no butterfly.

For as long as I can tolerate the scorching afternoon sun, I stand by the firebush and watch the giant swallowtail flutter about like a hummingbird - with abundant energy, she's rarely still for even a second. Her wings in continuous waves of motion do not bode well for a photog like me, but I manage to capture her essence, I think. 

God knows my limited capacity for fluttering about like a butterfly - my abundant need for rest when life swirls around me. Maybe that's exactly for what Pollywog Creek was created - not the gathering of all those bits and pieces of thoughts, but to capture even the tiniest essence of God's mercy and glimpses of grace in this rapidly spinning world.  

As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
Psalm 103.13-14

For they shall see...

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

Matthew 5:7-9, ESV

Sweet Tea Y'all::a short book review and giveaway...

{I seldom trust my writing after dusk - leaving any after-dinner thoughts in drafts until I'm more alert. I might want to consider not even placing them in drafts - considering the potential for clicking "publish" rather than "save". My apologies to those of you who subscribe in a reader and a draft version of this post appeared on your screen before it was ready to be read.}

With delightful splashes of southern culture and small-town flavor, Emily Sue Harvey's Cocoon captured my attention from the beginning prologue and held it through to the very last page. Her rich, complex characters and the mystery and romance surrounding them create a compelling and entertaining read, and Harvey's ability to almost seamlessly transition from one character's point of view to another add depth and interest to each chapter. 

Cocoon is a beautiful story of hope, family devotion, and patient, sacrificial love manifested in a season of doubt and darkness - a cocoon season, if you will, when one of Harvey's characters seeks comfort in wrapping up in a demented darkness for which there appears to be no escape, despite the love and attention from family and friends {who have their own issues} in a close-knit, small southern town.

Cocoon is not Christian fiction, but fiction with a Christian worldview that reflects the beliefs of the author and is typical of small towns in the south {trust me, I know this}.

With the exception of the classics, I'm not inclined to read fiction, but a copy of Cocoon was given to me {thank you so much, Vicki Moss} several months ago, and though I intended to read it shortly thereafter...it was misplaced. I'm grateful {though embarrassed} to have found it - it was truly a delightful read...and one I'd love to send to one of my readers.

Here's how that winner can be you: leave a comment here, on my facebook page under the entry for this post, or in an email {patriciawhunter at gmail dot com} and tell me if you, like me, can relate to {and love} living in a small southern town, and if sweet iced tea is also your beverage of choice.

The giveaway ends at midnight Saturday, Sept. 22 and I'll announce the winner on Monday, Sept. 24th. 

When you can't...

When you can't that's when you can watch what God can do through you. Yvonne Lehman

Basking in the worship, fellowship, and teachings of some of the most gifted and creative brothers and sisters in Christ this week at the Blue Ridge Christian Writer's Conference outside Asheville.  

Meeting my dear friend across the miles - the delightful, beautiful and amazing, Beth Vogt - has been one of many, many highlights I've experienced in this beautiful place tucked in the North Carolina mountains. 

With two and half more days ahead of me, I can only imagine the highlights to come - what God will do through all of us in our places of can't. He is so, so good to His people. 

What about you? 

Thinking about the quote above from author Yvonne Lehman, last night's keynote speaker, I'd love to hear how you have seen God work through you when you knew you'd been called to do something you couldn't.

Do it afraid....

Relatively speaking, it's a long way to the ground for that tiny butterfly (moth?) from atop that equally tiny flowerhead - but for wings.

That's what faith gives me. Not an absence of fear - but wings to jump off into the deep unknown (metaphorically speaking, of course) knowing God promises He will supply all the wing power I need for the jump.

In his message to us yesterday, Pastor Eric reminded us that fear is the number one hindrance to doing what God asks us to do; and in our small group discussion afterwards, my friend Sam reminded us what I've heard often (and obviously needed to hear again), "Do it afraid - just do it afraid."

That's my chalkboard message to myself for the week: Do It Afraid.

I've confessed an embarrassingly long list of fears that have hindered me - fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of disappointing others, fear of causing others to stumble, fear of saying something stupid, fear of not being good enough, etc. - and in faith I'm jumping out to do what I know God has called (and will equip) me to do.

What about you?

What did you hear in the message from your pastor this week that was meant for you - and what are you going to do about it?

Sixty::Thirty-Three

I got a butterfly net for Gavin last week and late this afternoon, after the rain, we went outside to use it. Kristin (who seemed to be enjoying the net more than Gavin did) caught a damsel fly and several mayflies, but no butterflies. The rain must have washed them away.