Pure Grace...

Pure Grace truly is The True Beauty of Everyday Life -

He Is Pure Grace,

He Is True Beauty,

He Is Today,

He Is Life,

He Is... Jesus.

Although Today I walk in the Beauty of the Reality of Christ, it was not always this way!

As with every other single person that has ever stepped out of darkness and into His wondrous Light, there are spiritual and natural threads that have woven together my own particular 'before and after' story; the Story that makes up the fabric of my days, and which continues to be woven together and lived out on the (sometimes dusty) roads of life.

I pray that the following video, 'Cardboard Testimonies", will bless you and encourage you today.

How would your 'cardboard testimony' read?

Satisfied...

Delight yourself in the Lord...

and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

I almost titled this post "Be Careful What You Throw Away". It was all because of an interesting comment that I heard this past week. It was in the context of a conversation regarding spring cleaning. A kind of 'out with the old and in with the new' perspective. This woman said, "...I need to take away in order to have more of what I want in my life." It sounded deep enough at the time... the spring cleaning that was being spoken of was a 'spiritual spring cleaning'. But as the conversation continued on, I was still musing on it, and my first thought was "Uh-Oh".

Isn't it just a fact that as soon as we get rid of something, there's another 'something' close behind it to takes it's place? This is true of the physical realm and also true of the spiritual realm. I can see this quite easily in my garden, especially in the spring when I begin to clear out and divide my plants. My intent may be to create space around a certain planting, but within a few weeks, if the plant hasn't taken the space over, then the weeds certainly have! Especially if I have not been tending to the soil! It's the same in our home. Remove one piece of furniture and something inevitably takes it's place. Remove old shirts from the closet, new shirts take their place. It's also true in the spiritual realm, when something gets moved out... something else is bound to be movin' in!

So here's the thing. We may take away a few things in order to have more of what we want in our lives -but is what we want in our lives, the best for our lives?

Let's face it, every one of us have desires... personal, relational, financial, whatever...; yet the Bible tells us that our hearts are deceitful. Yes, we can actually be deceived through our own hearts desires! By its very definition, 'desireable' means 'attractive'... it's a fact, there are just plain, flat out, ALOT of attractive things in the world; eye-candy, that parades before us day and night, 24/7 would definitely apply here! The word 'desire' carries with it the meaning of 'appetite or craving'. Every one of us has our own particular appetite. What trips your trigger, may not trip mine, but the principle is the same... we all have the propensity to being deceived by our own hearts desires and then... following through on them.

In Genesis, Eve was attracted to the fruit that was forbidden to her because it was a 'delight to her eyes' and because it was 'desireable' to her; so, she acted on this deception of the heart, took the fruit, ate it and proceeded to then gave some to her husband and he went right on ahead and ate it too... and all of humanity has been tainted since!

It's interesting to note that Eve already had the wisdom of God. She could have gone to God at any time and asked Him anything, but she was deceived; not only by the serpent, but by her own lust, her own appetite, her own desire, into thinking that she could and should have MORE... and besides, the MORE was attractive to her eyes.

She and Adam, were both willing to do some personal 'spring cleaning', determining for themselves that they would cast 'out' the wisdom of God in order to have more of what they wanted in their lives... and they got it. Hmm-mm......

Not all of our choices in life are going to bear such weighty consequences, but I have learned that there is nothing, not one single thing that we do, that is insignificant in the spiritual realm, which also has its out-workings in the physical realm. To 'delight' ourselves in God is to be 'satisfied' with Him, and in Him. When we are satisfied in Him, then our desires are satiated in Him, and the propensity of our heart is then to only desire what He desires.

It's an awesome thing... when we truly delight and are satisfied in the Lord, in Who He is and in His ways, then His desires for us become our desires... and I ask you, what could be more delightful than that!

"...For I know that plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

Cleaning house is always a good thing... let's just be careful what we throw out!

sshhh...

In today's world,

it has become increasingly more difficult to find quiet and rest.

Our culture has become saturated with so much information,

that even when we do find quiet time,

we find our minds in a state of constant activity.

The activity of our minds on any given day is precariously teetering on 'overload'.

Our eyes and our ears are bombarded daily with a deluge of images and voices,

sights and sounds.

TV and the Internet, with the click of a button, can take us from the visual and audible horrors of the bloodiest of deaths and the most horrific carnage of hundreds of people,

to a sit-com with canned laughter, or a gardening show.

Before our minds and emotions have even been able to assimilate or sort through the depth of any one thought...

we 'click' and are taken to another.

Healthy emotions need time to assimilate and sort through what each day, each moment brings us.

All that information that we are taking in goes somewhere in us...

and it needs sorting through.

And oddly enough,

amid all that our senses take in throughout any given day,

we have an inherent need to learn how to listen...

to learn how to really be quiet,

amid all the clamour,

even the clamour of our own minds,

and truly listen.

We are created beings,

and we need to let the Creator of the Universe speak His Wisdom into us.

Ask Him...

and then be quiet.

Take the time,

and listen.

This is where Healing begins.

Be still, and know that I Am God. Psalm 46:10

Showers of Blessing!

Look at the lovely gifting of tulips, among other things, that my 'Home Girls' blessed me with today. I now have a new book to read, a bird house for my garden, seeds to plant, lovely notepaper and note cards, plenty of fruit to fill my kitchen table basket with and.... a large package of Quinoa! It looks like the Girls are convinced!

So,  as I promised, and as my way of saying Thank You for your showers of blessing upon me this morning, I offer you a variety of recipes for your newly found food... Quinoa! Just click on the collage of recipes below, or click here to go to one of my favourite recipe sites 'Epicurious'... and prepare to enjoy!

With love,

                        recipes and corresponding pictures from Martha Stewart.com

What A Difference A Day Makes...

Saturday morning I awoke to find a heavy mist had draped itself over every bush and shrub and tree. I could hardly make out the familiar landscape outside my windows... but within an hour, the mist had completely lifted and brilliant blue sky and a welcoming bright, warming Sun was beckoning me outside... it was my birthday!

Part of my day was spent in a little village, across the river. My husband knows that this is one of my favorite places to wander through, and so away we went. Truthfully, the sight of all those cheerful Spring flowers sitting out in the fresh morning air, under the warmth of the sun, was all the birthday gift I needed!

We wandered through some of my favourite places....

And saw some of my favourite things...

But one thing that I noticed, was that some of the shops had not yet joined me in my excitement of the knowledge that Spring is (literally) right around the corner.

For instance, the little Hat Shop that I frequently visit, still had it's old Christmas decorations on the door...

While just around the corner, Spring was blooming up and down the sidewalks of Main Street!

The following morning the rains hit once again, and even as I tap away on my keyboard this morning, the winds are gusting up a mini-storm outside my window, leaving raindrops clinging to the pane.

But Spring has already begun to bloom in my heart. My house has been Spring Cleaned and is just waiting for that Sun to beam through it's windows.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

It's amazing all the lovely things that burst into bloom in Spring. The colours and the textures, the varieties and the scents are just absolutely glorious. It's time to step through the Door of Spring and embrace all that comes as the result...

Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new... now it will Spring forth; will you not be aware of it? Isaiah 43:18-19

Inspiration...

Beauty inspires me.

Whether it is the Beauty in a kindness shown or the Beauty found in a raindrop.

Beauty seems to have always been my Inspiration.

Inspiration calls me to see beyond.

I find that Inspiration goes as deep as the Beauty that sent it.

And because Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,

Inspiration is a living treasure within my heart,

that finds expression in my daily living,

an outworking of an inward Work.

Monday Musings... Inspired

I've been thinking quite a bit about Inspiration as of late.

And I've found that even the thoughts themselves have proven to be inspirational!

I find myself,

more often than not,

being inspired every day;

And in such wonderful

and unexpected ways!

I also have days when I am completely uninspired.

Days when life just seems too hard;

The pace too fast, without a place to ponder;

The world too loud, without a place for silence;

When words seem too empty,

as they swirl around me from all directions.

But somehow,

Inspiration always breaks through.

Fresh,

Alive,

Invigorating,

Beautiful,

Healing,

Creative,

Simple.

I thought it might be fun,

and just plain inspiring...

if you were to share what or perhaps who inspires you.

It has been said that 'inspiration can be compared to a fingerprint,

different for every person'.

That inspiration,

is that which moves the soul, mind and spirit.

I'll be sharing more later,

but I am looking forward to hearing your own musings about,

Inspiration!