Happy Earth Day!

How is everyone doing out there in blog land?  I hope fine and dandy.  As some of you might know, Earth Day was actually a couple of days ago, and I tried to get this post out, but Blogger kept kicking me off. So here I am today anyway. While I didn't do anything special to celebrate it, I thought I would dig around my image files to see if I could find anything "earthy" to share with you and my thoughts of "Earth Day.".  

I came across these images that I took about a year ago, while visiting a friend's property, and what a day, to find this hidden gem, tucked away, sort of snug as a bug in a rug, in a blanket of twigs, branches, leaves and more. I didn't touch a thing, as I came across it and just had to snap up some pics. I loved the moss that covered the glass and the rust that only time can really form just so perfectly. I love when I come across something so "perfectly" worn and old that I don't even have to style it, rust it down, or chip away any paint. This was the perfect set, but boy it was a hot day, and being in the shade felt good. I wish these images had sound, you would hear the buzzing of bugs, mosquitos, and the occasional squawking of some crazy bird that made me feel like I was in the rain forest. 

Earth Day 2013 is promoting the global climate changes and all that goes with it. I (like most) have my own opinion on it, as well as the scientists, but when it comes down to it, I would say that when I see something like this, Mother Nature, will always come out victorious. We have an obligation to take care of her, mind you, but our modern ways, as invasive as they may be at times, are no match for Mother Nature in the end, in my opinion. The slightest tremor of an earthquake, and our sleek structures will start to crumble. Our strongest bridges break with the hurricane forces. Floods will always take over our man-made roads. Snow storms will knock out power lines every time. And even the blazing sun, week after week, can out-smart even the most modern irrigation tools we have and farms suffer severe droughts. Modern technology still can't accurately predict a locust invasion, but only explain its aftermath.

And while car manufacturers brag about air bags, and steel wall tires...left unattended...even Mother Nature's delicate leaves and fragile sticks will eventually overtake the toughest transportation along with Father Time.

Pretty impressive if you ask me.

As I have said it before...I am an admirer of the created, but worshipper of The Creator. I am truly amazed by all that we have created, crafted, and designed. I am a lover of photographing these things. Truly in love with the art form of the created.  

But lately....The Creator has shown me some really amazing things that I haven't really seen before. I am very captivated by pieces of our planet. I say "pieces," because that is all I am seeing at the moment, and I find it absolutely beautiful how our planet takes care of itself. Lessons, I think, we humans could learn.

It is very altruistic of humans to want to do the right thing and take care of the planet, but also done in vain, I believe. 

We humble humans trying to take care of the planet is like the caged mink trying to help the fur breeder unlock its own cage. The job will get done whether we reach out or not.

I am definitely for Earth Day, and promoting its caring for our wonderful planet, trust me. But, I also find it (in a strange way) very egotistical of us to think that we are actually big enough, strong enough, and smart enough to actually "take care" of something that cares for us 24/7, since the beginning of time.

Glad the world is big enough for all of us big-headed humans.

(sigh)gotta love us for trying....

from my house to your house

Listening for Whispers

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter and Happy Spring my friends. I hope this post is finding you all healthy, happy and peaceful. The sun has been out after what might be our final winter storm of 12" of snow or more only a week ago. The birds are chirping loudly as if snow never landed.

I was "playing" with my gramophone horns and fresh cut tulips the other day when the sun came out, so out came my camera.

It wasn't until I downloaded these images did I realize how the starkness the three lone flowers, lined up just so, reminded me of how the our Easter story began...

...how so long ago, because we are so loved, that between two criminals, an innocent one was accused, suffered and died...for us.

Many saw this man as "gone" but those who believed back then waited, then saw.  But those who believe now, we only need to wait and listen....

...and hear the Good News. Because as our Savior said in the moment His life was taken so ours could be saved, Jesus said, "It is finished." (John 19:30) Finished? We are now finished with trying in vain to save ourselves with good works, good deeds, false idols or sacrifices. Only Jesus can save us, and so He did.

And in faith we wait and listen.

In hope we move forward.

In love and worship we continue even when we don't understand.

God can sometimes be like a gramophone horn... if you barely whisper through the small end, you'd be amazed at what you'd hear. While the horn is big, bold, and beautifully imposing...the smallest whisper can be heard - we just need to be aware of our position so we can hear His whispers.

And it takes faith to know that He WILL call out to us. We only have to want to be in position to hear Him.

May your Easter be a day of listening for whispers.

from my house to your house,

Elizabeth

Awesome New Year!

Happy New Year - It's gonna be awesome!

While in the Smokey Mountains, I found it just awesome to be walking alone and hearing only the sound of the rushing water below. Such a special treat for my ears.

Hello my friends,

I am hoping that as I close out my year, that you are closing out your year out in a very peaceful and happy way. I am still very much on crutches, and still very much not walking.

However, that has left me time to indulge in one of my greatest addictions that I am going to pass along to you. But before I get to that, I want to share with you my word for the new year.

Every year I like to focus on a word or theme, if you will. And for 2013, my word is "wisdom," as I can never have enough, and many times, I think, I just lack it all together. Proverbs is filled with scripture on wisdom and it isn't hard to find guidance from the best teacher in that area. Matthew 7:7-8 says: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

And that leads to me to my addiction, which has led me to much wisdom that I would like to pass on to you...

There is a website that I go to almost daily, usually every morning and once at night, called TED Ideas Worth Spreading. 

Click HERE to go to website

On TED's "about page" here is partially what it says:

TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TED Talks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

In short, in my uneducated lingo, it's a lot of very neat stuff said by tons of very neat people, in very small formats, that after watching even just one talk, you walk away feeing a bit wiser.

When you click on the site, (which can be read by IPhone too!) this is how I navigate every single time, but of course, you do what you want. I ALWAYS just click on the top of the page, the left, that says "Talks" and a whole new world opens up to you. Then when the next page opens I always go to the left of the page and I always check "all events" and "all lengths" and then below, my favorite category is "inspiring" and "courageous," however, all the categories are spectacular. Not a single talk is over 18 minutes, and some as short as 3 minutes!

I wanted to give you a treat for the New Year. I have so many, many favorite TED talks, it was so very hard to choose for you. But below is something I think you will enjoy very much. Click on the first talk below and then read what I say about it after it:

Click HERE for the first talk

I came across this talk recently and thought it was something so cool to think about for 2013. I mean, seriously, we have all been there. And when a better time to think of something new, then  the beginning of a new year? So, if you are having a bit of trouble deciding on what new thing you want to do for 30 days, may I suggest this next talk as something new to try? Please watch - it is AWESOME!

Click HERE for the second talk

I found this talk so moving on so many levels, especially now, as I have been pretty much on my back for eight weeks, lots of pain and have lost almost 15 pounds due to meds, no appetite, and very upset stomach - hard to keep food down in the beginning. But then, after watching this talk, I decided to turn it around and think....hey! That's awesome! Fifteen friggin pounds gone! I mean, while I have absolutely no muscle tone whatsoever, and it isn't a "food plan" I would want to go on again, but it is 15 pounds off this fat butt of mine...awesome! :-) Well, I may be stretching the "awesome" part a bit, but you get my drift. 

The point is, there really is something in our daily lives, no matter how wrong our day (or life) may be going at the moment, that we can truly seek to find that awesome moment. Right after I watched this talk, I emailed my good friend, Debbie Dusenberry (of Curious Sofa - check our her fab site) who emailed me the image below. My reply to her was: You're awesome! She had no idea I just watched this video, but at the time, she was offering me some support for an issue I was having and I thought how awesome to have a friend like her in my life.

But back to having an Awesome New Year! I did start to think about some of the really small stuff that really is sorta awesome when you stop and think about it for a moment...here are just a few of my personal daily "awesomes" lately. I didn't realize that in my head, I was really kinda nodding my head up and down and saying "awesome" to myself when:

*Finally being able to sleep on my side for at least 5 minutes

*Taking off an old bandage and not taking any scab off with it so I can put on a fresh bandage (really is a cool thing)

*Taking a hot bath (or any bath really)

*Getting poked only once in the arm for a blood sample (rarely happens)

*Put on my own sock for the first time

*Discovering there IS an Andy Griffith show I haven't seen before (that was truly awesome)

*On a very windy day, and so sick of TV, I just listened to the wind storm all day, wondering what the heck was blowing around in our yard, but not worried - it was awesome to listen to the wind all day long and snooze off and on

So there you have some of my awesome moments lately. Nothing too exciting over here, but if I can find some awesome moments in my currently small world, I have no doubt, that for the next 30 days, in your world too, you can make the choice to find at least one awesome thing a day. 

I hadn't found my awesome moment today yet, as it hasn't been a good day for me - that is until just a moment ago. There is some noise outside, some beating of loud bass, in the far distance that is jusssttt barely enough of a strong beat to drive me nuts and I can't concentrate at all - or sleep. So just now,  my barber husband brings me one of the best gifts he ever gave me some time ago: Bose noise blocking earphones! They are perfect for airplanes, or in the case, some bass playing outside. And as I put them on and clicked the "noise blocking" button, and pure silence, I breathed an "awesome" sigh of relief! 

Now, if you have just FOUR minutes to spare, I PROMISE you, that this TED Talk will not disappoint, and it will be a talk that you will remember, pass on, and use as lesson even to your little ones...I have watched this one over and over again...please watch it...I just had to share it...

Click HERE to see fabulous talk

Now is this a guy you would want as a friend or what? He has it all...a giving heart, humble, brave, and willing to pass his wisdom on to those of us who wish to be more like him - and the best part of it is? He has no idea that we want to be like him...he thinks he is "just sharing" what he learned.

And I think that is where we find wisdom most of the time. We have to seek it, and as our heavenly Father promises, we will find it. And once we gain some wisdom, we have a responsibility to share what we learn. And the only wise thing I can really share with you at the end of this year is that there are so many wise and experienced people out there from which we may learn. And how awesome is it that TED Talks makes it only a click of a button to have access to all that wisdom and insight?

May 2013 be awesome for you and may you find wisdom from wherever you seek to find it.

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth