Just Trust Me

This week I was reminded that God’s timing is amazing!  How He manages to orchestrate the intricate details in the manuscript of life is so awesome!  He knows exactly what both precedes and follows.  I have always heard He will not give you more than you can handle, but once again I was at a stand still, with no where to go but to...

Trust In Him

You see my daughter who was expecting her first child was just beginning her labor, when she went into a seizure and the doctor had to perform an emergency cesarean delivery to stabilize my daughter.  Cesarean births have been happening for a long time, but without warning, what happened to her is extremely rare and usually the results are fatal.   What seemed like an eternity, was only minutes when she came out and said to my son in law, your wife is fine come see your son, he is fine too. 

Today, I lift my hands in praise and thanksgiving for the miracle in my daughter’s life.  Yesterday she met her son and held him for the first time, today I give thanks for His unfailing love and faithfulness.  I prayed and He answered.

Don’t be afraid. Just Trust Me

~ Mark 5:36

(PS)  The little girl in this photo is our great-granddaughter, and the photograph was taken by our granddaughter…How awesome is that!?!

Trinie's Tune

Every year as fall approaches I am reminded of the loss of my beloved grandmother who raised me as a child.  

Immediately following her passing, I returned home from the Land of Enchantment and was inspired to paint this quirky abstract that has baffled most of my family why I would have painted this on the passing of someone so dear to me. 

Let me share a little story. Like most artist, I was obsessed to put this down on canvas while my heart was full of emotion and passion.  It’s not one of my best, but what this painting means to me is priceless. In this abstract is a personal reminder of my grandmother who was a perfect example of someone who learned to discover the rhythm of her heart and soul and be in perfect harmony with her Creator.  She had a spiritual melody that was always in rhythm with God and that rhythm kept her going in her routine of life. I don’t think she ever had the opportunity to play music, or sing, but she was the queen of whistling.  When family gets together, I begin sharing some of the same stories, how as a little girl I would stray and wander off, but I could always find my grandmother, because all I had to do was be still and listen for my grandmother whistling a tune, usually her favorite hymn. We all laugh and share each others stories. The colors are bold and vibrant just like my grandmother was, she was never afraid or hesitant to share her eternal melodies with strangers or straying family members for that matter. 

I always keep this painting I call, “Trinie’s Tune” close to me…it doesn’t really go with my décor. But it’s a strong reminder when I find myself straying or wandering, to be still and discover the melody in my heart that harmonizes with God…it makes beautiful music.

~ Be still, and know that I am God!

Psalms 46:10

What Were You Like As A Little Girl?

Last night I shared some great conversation over a cup of coffee with some lovely ladies. Some of us met for the first time, some were casual acquaintances.  The first question that got us started was ...

“What Were You Like As A Little Girl?  

What Similarities Do You See In Who You Are Now?”  

As the evening hour progressed we explored what true beauty is and how it points to God. We learned that beauty isn’t in the feeling, it is in the action.  Boy…did we have some good laughs on that one. 

Obviously, we all primped and poofed our hair, and looked in the mirror before we left the house and said… “Girl, I look good tonight.” We each individually and candidly dove into which specific character quality we would like to cultivate, why and what step of action we need to take to bring more of it out.  Our choices were a) vulnerability; b) stillness; c) loyalty; d) risk taking; and e) resilience.  We enjoyed reading Psalms 139:1-17 and sharing what parts of this scripture makes us secure in Christ.  We concluded that Christ is truly our only security and everything beautiful is of God.  Appearance is important to us, and we spend a lot of time and money improving it.  But how much effort do we put into developing our inner beauty?  

  

After I got home, I was reminded of the story of a lovely lady named Rebekah.  She not only was a knock out, but what made her truly beautiful was that she was a woman with an attitude of service who went beyond the expected.  Staying focused on things that are eternal and demonstrating patience, kindness and joy are also beauty treatments that help us become truly lovely on the inside.  I just want to say thank you to all the beautiful women that I met with last night…what an honor! We ended the night with this verse as our prayer. 

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart;

Test Me and Know My Thoughts.

 ~ Psalms 139:23

My Picasso

Tender moments and lasting memories are most often the result of sharing simple things.  

This summer I shared my hobby with my granddaughters for the first time. Up to now, my paint brushes and art stuff has been off limits and in the "do not touch" category, but this summer, well it was time to graduate to the real stuff.  They have shared the water color books and my not so good brushes, but this year their eyes lit up when I told the girls they could use real paint and my real brushes. I gave them a little pink, green, yellow and blue acrylic paint and had them start their own creation.  Not really sure what to do, one of them started by drawing her favorite flowers and almost immediately, with the skill of a professional artist,  she  began adding her leaves and just like that she created her first masterpiece. 

Much to my delight the end result has been worth more than any art lesson I could have shared with them that day.  

 Pablo Picasso, the famous artist once said ... "Every child is an Artist.  The problem is how to remain an Artist once he/she grows up." 

They reminded me that sometimes in the grind of life we lose our sense of childlike wonder and that we should trust God with a child's simplicity and receptivity.  There are many ways to measure success, but doing the things you can, and letting God handle the things you can't, makes beautiful art on the canvas of our lives. 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

~ Matthew 11:28

Capture The Moment

Often the days go by and I realize how sad the loss when I took a moment for granted and forgot to appreciate the many blessings in my life. Not big things, you see, but the “joy of enjoying” the warmth of the sun, the fragrance of flowers, or the silky taste of a great olive oil.  Sometimes, I forget to enjoy the simple pleasures such as a beautiful sunset and the freshness of dawn or the kindness of friends and the love of my family who so unselfishly give.  I realize that God wants us to be filled with HIS joy.  So much joy that it overflows!  When we have a consistent relationship with Him, we will transcend the rolling waves of circumstances in our lives.  So, capture the moments all around you and lock them in your heart until it overflows with joy.

Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again – rejoice!

~ Philippians 4:4

Hot Flashes, High Heels & Hormones

I was just cleaning out my garage the other day, and BINGO, a surge as they call it, came over me. I found a box full of high heel shoes from way back when.  Let me tell you, it was the mother load of some of my favorites.  I have had these treasures long enough for them to be back in style.  Some were exotic. Some were flashy.  Some were from Spain. Some were Italian with lots of bling-bling and studs.  My hormones levels must have skyrocketed, because I was so excited at discovering my national hidden treasure, I was dizzy and

 

I Knew If I Moved Too Fast, I Might Pass Out. 

I composed myself and like any menopausal woman would do I pulled them all out, reminisced about the outfit that went with each pair of shoes, and what the occasion was.  But here’s the best part, I was CONFIDENT I could still fit into these delicate little creations.  I looked down at my slightly swollen feet, and proceeded to squeeze into them.  Mind you, my little granddaughters are watching my frenzy trying to squeeze into these shoes.  The look on their eyes as I braced myself to stand in my 5” heels that wrapped all the way around my slightly swollen ankles was priceless. For a split second, I was metaphor sized back to a twenty-something year old in my high heels.   I amazed myself as I stood up with such precision and grace, and balance; my young audience was a gasp and shared my joy! 

Then I tried to take a step.  Yep, you got it! I was like a drunken sailor in my own garage… “whoa… whoa…” I yelped for help.  My little girls came to my rescue and as I collapsed, we laughed, and laughed and laughed.  Now they have quite a bit of designer shoes to their little collection of make believe, but that afternoon I had a heavenly HOT FLASH!  I was so reminded that everything is in God’s timing, in my youth I wore high heel shoes, now I smile when I see a young lady in her beautiful high heels.  The secret to peace with God is to discover, accept, and appreciate God’s perfect timing.

So I concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be

happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can.

~ Ecclesiastes 3:12