wishing, anticipating, living

 

Seeing… beautiful blooms everywhere as the weather warms!

Hearing... birds in the morning and, sometimes, the very high-pitched bark of our neighbor's dog (which isn't nearly as pleasant)

desert rain

I am surrounded by mountain and valleys... stretching, climbing landscapes that capture the attention *and heart* every day.

But the most beautiful thing I have experienced here is the rain.

A very happy day...

Yesterday I got something very special.  It made me very happy then.  And it is still making me happy now.

The Valley of Vision

I was inspired by this prayer.  Oh to have this surrender to God in the valleys of my life.  I hope you will take a moment to read this...  it is beautiful.

"Lord,

High and Holy,

Meek and Lowly,

Thou hast brought me to the

Valley of Vision,

Where I live in the Depths

But see Thee in the

Heights;

Hemmed in by

Mountains of Sin

I behold Thy glory.

To Whom Shall I Go?

Church was beautiful today.  It truly is every week...  but this week was special.  We had a guest speaker: a young man from out west who will be moving here with his wife and two-year-old son this June to intern at our church for a year or longer.  I've heard him preach before and can remember this feeling of excitement at hearing such passionate, truth-filled, mature preaching.

Soldiers in Training

Mom reading "The Squire and the Scroll" (excellent Christian book!) to her three youngest children.

"Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;

He who guards himself will be far from them.

Train up a child in the way he should go,

Even when he is old he will not depart from it."

~Proverbs 22:5-6

Practice, practice... and practice some more!

That has always been my philosophy with special music pieces: practice the song till you're one step away from hating it.  Thankfully, I've never gotten to the point of hating a piece because of practicing it too much... but, I've gotten close.  :-)  When I was still taking piano lessons, nothing would throw me off more than having to play at a recital after not getting enough practice time to feel fully prepared for the big performance.  My stomach would twist, my palms would sweat, and my heart would beat like a drum... even though the audience usually consisted of ten or so families who would never remember how well I played the songs! 

Great Things He Hath Done

"We were like those who

dream

Then our mouth was filled with

laughter

and our tongue with songs of

joy;

Then they said among the nations,

'The Lord has done

great

things for them.'"

~Psalm 126:1-2