Today...

Today...
sunrise against dark gray skies
rain and rainbows
mulch rows and crows
eagles and emotions
apple blossoms and applications
coffee and conversation
tears and laughter
photography and writing
discouragement and hope
fear and faith
sunset against storm clouds
the end...

Unshakeable Faithfulness

Unto the hills around do I lift up

My longing eyes;

O whence for me shall my salvation come,

From whence arise?

From God the Lord doth come my certain aid,

From God the Lord, who heaven and earth hath made.

From every evil shall He keep thy soul,

From every sin;

Jehovah shall preserve thy going out,

Thy coming in.

Above thee, watching, He whom we adore

Shall keep thee henceforth,

yea,

for evermore.

(photo taken 4-26-2010: Canon Rebel Xsi 250mm)

It wasn't "sunny" this morning, but the mountains woke up and persistently testified the unshakeable faithfulness of their Creator. They remind me, day after day, of Him.

I have no idea what the future holds. I desire to go to college full time, to get the degree I need, so I can begin working for substantially more than minimum wage but, today I need to find work to support my daughter and I.

It is a new chapter in my life - one that only hints at the end of the story - that being, I too, will be a persistent testimony of the unshakeable faithfulness of my Creator.

Eastern Bluebird

My first sighting of an Eastern Bluebird.
There's no way to convey what a pleasure it was
or

all that it meant to me.
(photo taken by Di - Canon Rebel Xsi 250mm lens - April 2010)
(cropped)

The Simple Wonders

(Canon Rebel Xsi 250mm, Tv, 1/1000, ISO 400)

"There is not a sprig of grass that shoots uninteresting to me."

Thomas Jefferson

"Wisdom is oftentimes nearer when we stoop than when we soar."

William Wordsworth, 1798

"It gives one a sudden start in going down a barren, stony street,

to see upon a narrow strip of grass, just within the iron fence,

the radiant dandelion, shining in the grass,

like a spark dropped from the sun."

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Easter Sunday ~ St. Luke's

Easter lilies are traditional in church on Easter Sunday mornings - but, orange Gerber daisies? And yet, there they were - mixed with the Resurrection lilies - celebrating the message of life. Orange Gerber daisies were Odessa's favorite flower.

I was waiting expectantly for Sunday morning since the Maundy Thursday service. Thankfully, the depth of grief and loss that I experienced that night was disproportionate to the overwhelming celebration I experienced on this glorious morning.

Organ and strings, a packed church, candles, flowers, "Benedictus" by Mozart - sung by a quartet, "How Lovely is Thy Dwelling Place" by Brahms - sung by the choir, the readings and prayers, a baby baptism, the message, and the Eucharist.

Such relief and joy to know, Jesus is no longer dead. He is risen! He is alive! Though He had left us for a short time, which seemed like eternity, He is back, never to leave again!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

(iPhone photos taken at St. Luke's this morning. Edit: sharpened slightly, exposure increased slightly)

He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!

(Flowers from my garden - iphone photo - edit: white glow in Photo shop Mobile)

Maundy Thursday

Tonight, I was impacted deeply by the Maundy Thursday service I attended at St. Luke's Episcopal Church. I've been a "Christian" for over 40 years and I've known and been so grateful for the significance of the cross and the crucifixion, but I have never experienced the death of Christ as I did tonight.

It all began with the traditional processional, only tonight, the cross was draped in red fabric. The remembrance of His shed blood and gruesome death - the act of perfect love for all of lost mankind - had set stage in my heart for the rest of the evening.

The Foot Washing service was simple, but the demonstation of serving one another and the willingness to be so vulnerable with one another and before God, created a deep stirring in my heart about who I am and where I am in my spiritual life.

Dinner was served in the fellowship hall, and though I hadn't purchased a meal, I was warmly invited to stay and make myself at home with everyone.

The Eucharist service took place back inside the church. This time the cross was draped in black and I felt this horrible sense of death and loss and grief. There were no flashing lights or sounds of thunder or dramatic music or any other kind of entertaining-modern-techo-emotional-manipulators. A simple black covering over the cross - I don't understand why that had such an effect on me, but it did.

The sermon was about the part of God's love that is hard to look at. People find it less appealing to participate in the contemplation of the cross, of the crucifixion. Fewer people attend Maundy Thursday or Good Friday services than attend the Easter Sunday service - the cross is hard to take in.

We sang the Lord's Prayer - it is still echoing in my mind and heart. "For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glo-ry forever! Amen!"

As I took the Eucharist, it felt like I was somewhere between time and eternity. It was like a dream. Time is so different within the walls of St. Luke's. The meaning of the bread and the wine filled my entire being.

But, the most dramatic part of the evening was the Stripping of the Altar. I had never seen anything like this before. I listened as Psalm 51 was read and watched as each candle was snuffed out and every single thing was removed from the altar - the books, the cross, the cup, the cloths, the flasks, candles. The altar was washed and I thought about the burial preparations that were made because of the life that was gone from His body. But not from His body only, but from the whole earth. I sat stunned. No one else made a sound.

The feeling of the absence of His life was very real - terrifying, and I wondered, what was it like for those who were there at the cross? And, what would life be like for us - if He had never risen?