THE LOVE OF MYSTERIOUS OCEAN

OCEAN BLUE

The ocean is restless.

The ocean never ceases its movement. In ripples and waves of frothy bliss, it's either coming in or going out. The ocean is both wild and tame. She is either reacting or subdued by natural forces.

The mariner knows the ocean in a way the rest of us do not. We find ourselves mesmerized by the ocean; its beauty pulls us in. Salty wet air brushes mist on our faces as we stand on the shore.

Driftwood pieces, sea creatures, sea weed, sand, rocks, and grit rest on her beachhead. The ocean's sand-strewn perimeters reveal colorful agates worn smooth by the ocean’s ever-ceaseless activity.

Boats prowl the ocean’s surface and comb its depths to discover what is above or below: liners, sail boats, submarines, speed boats, fishing trolleys, carriers, barges, cruise ships, and ferry boats.

The mysteries of the sea will continue to capture our imaginations as we capture her rhythm through the expressive works of poets, writers, painters, photographers, adventurers, and lovers.

Embrace the romance of the sea.

*Photo by David Marcu on Unsplash

 

THIS N THAT

MONTANA

PAUSE & CONSIDER no. 10

 

Random Thoughts on a Busy Week

 

BREAKDOWN
My son's pickup broke down in Ekalaka Montana. Population 400. Great people. Helped him out. Gave him a place to stay. Fixed the truck. Back on the road today. Small town America still has the home touch. Thank you.

YOUNG MARRIEDS
I met a group of singles and young parents last night. They're studying the bible together. I loved listening to their comments as the banter went back and forth. I appreciate their sincerity as they build together a spiritual foundation for living in a broken world. Beautiful connection.

LIES
The truth will set us free. We as a society must uproot the lies that sabotage what is right--like errant weeds in a vegetable patch--to lay claim to the truth that stands supreme above all else.

LIGHT
Come out of the darkness into the light. The light of the world is Jesus.

BEAUTY
Do you want beauty that lasts? Any woman can be beautiful her whole life. The inner self shines to the outer self. I Peter 3:3-4 says it well, "Your beauty . . . should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight." The essence of beauty originates from within.

Night Sky in All Its Beauty

Life is so interesting. Sometimes I get stuck and feel like I'm running in place. Other times it is absolutely delightful.

The other night I was at my dad's place out in the country. The night sky was deep indigo and I could see the Big Dipper and a multitude of brightly shining stars. The air was crisp-cool and a light breeze was tingling my arms.

So lovely, exquisitely beautiful.

Beauty after loss is a wonderful tonic for the tender heart.

Photo: Unsplash

Life is Not Hopeless

Whatever is in your life is not hopeless. 

God is working behind the scenes. 

God cares about you. He heals your sorrows. He lifts you up. 

This is his new day to you. Rejoice in it. Believe in the God of the impossible.

 Believe God will make a way through the desert. Believe in God always. 

Trust in him. Thank God for holding your hand and not letting go.

Thank God for holding your hand and not letting go.

He is your silent partner.

GOD is in the PEOPLE CHANGING BUSINESS

Get Ready for a Spiritual Makeover

  A spiritual makeover changes you from the inside out. 

A spiritual makeover is quite the adventure. God touches you where you've have been wounded by thoughtless words or unkind actions. He also shows you when you've been wrong-minded and acted in self-interest. God takes you on a journey through your past and into your present.

So why should you care?

What God offers you are two R's, and they're life-changing R's. God offers you redemption and relationship. You can't have one without the other. You get a new life as he redeems your soul and forgives what needs forgiving and gives you a new life in Christ. This new life begins a spiritual journey with God guiding your life as you follow the path of divine love. 

It's not easy, but it's good because God is good.

God never abandons you. He is a good father, a loving Father. My son struggled with depression. He'd been hurt and life was disappointing and had too many problems. I couldn't reach him. I worried and prayed. He moved far away. Then God started a work in him that grew and grew. When I saw him next, his face no longer was sad and hang-dog. There was life in his eyes and joy in his expression. He looked much different, better, free. No way could he have done that on his own.

God wants you to clean up your act, spiritually speaking.

God wants to set you free. He is here to help you. But you have to give him your stuff. That's the hard part. God will make you anew if you let him. That's the tricky part. It's better to not play games with God. Be honest with him. Once you get started then the miracles start happening. The divine life is a presence, God's presence in you, a beauty that lives within that lights the eyes with life, peace, and inner radiance that spills forth in splashes of joy and inner delight.

Does it matter?   

Yes, your spiritual side is always with you. God desires to nurture your inward places that he might lead you by the still waters. There you will feel safe, loved, and whole. God helps you heal. Spiritual renewal is intentional. Your intrinsic need to be loved and wanted is found in God. God can meet this deepest longing in every human heart. 

First, though, you have to find God as real.

A life of peace is something you may want and hope to have, yet it can seem out of reach. Peace is acquired through God. All of us need some help from God to deal with our personal stuff.  Life has many challenges that are difficult to address or to effect change. If you want to live in freedom, the first step is to look in the mirror of God. It starts there. Ask God to reveal what is in your heart to you. Be brave.

God is in the business of making us beautiful.  

Want to know about the best relationship out there? It is God + his child. God and his children are a team by way of his redemptive work in them. With God’s help, you can return to spiritual health: restored, purified, and healed. God does his best work in a life that’s changed by him. You can be that life.


God is love in its purest form.

• God’s  ♡  speaks in the stillness. 

• God's  ♡  offers grace to his beloved children. 

• God’s   ♡  redeems and sets free. 

• God’s  ♡   is beautiful, real, and fulfilling. 

• God’s  ♡  is unselfish, life-giving, and life-changing.

Join the family ... find the love... experience the happiness ... accept the beauty
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ & you will be saved

AMEN

I invite you to subscribe to this blog. Blessings & joy. Norma

THE GIFT OF BEAUTY

Celebrate Beauty

Beauty surrounds us. 

Beauty unfurled-—graceful lines, smooth surfaces, varied hues of color, uneven textures, soft whispers, feather light kisses, ocean waves.

Beauty within a person comes out in shining radiance, speaking words of kindness and affirmation, gracing others with its presence.

Outward beauty may be cultivated or found in intricate design of human effort, or it may be present in exquisite offerings in nature’s grand display.

True beauty emerges in a natural form without constraint or alteration; it sings, speaks, heals, lifts, mesmerizes, grips, penetrates, gives.

A person is blessed who looks for beauty in the every day, who cultivates a sense of wonder, and who finds peace and joy in its presence.

Beauty comes from God, the maker of all things beautiful. Beauty is ours because God has given us eyes to see and hearts to feel.

• Look to the sky today and thank God for it. 
• Smell the delicious scent of food baking and thank the cook for it.  
•  Hug a friend and thank them for their friendship. 
• Clean something that needs it, and thank God for the ability to do so. 
• Listen to music and be thankful for your hearing. 
• Touch a soft pillow or the fur of a pet and be thankful for the gift of touch. 
• Taste a slice of fresh fruit and be thankful for the gift of taste. 
• Read a newspaper, book, blog, or magazine and be thankful you have something to read.
• All of these are beauties we are given as gifts to enjoy.

Thank you, dear God, for the beauty that surrounds us, speaks to us, enfolds us, and endears us to it. You are an artist with the earth as your canvass. In every petal, raindrop, smile, we see some of you and your artistry. You make our world lovely. We must open our eyes to see it and rejoice in it. We are blessed by who you are and what you do.  Amen

BEAUTY LIFTS THE SOUL

Dear friend,

If you could give yourself an amazing gift, what would it be?

If I had given myself something for Christmas, the gift better than any other would have been to use my abilities to create something that would help make our world a saner place--to help its people want to be kinder and nobler in spirit. Great writing can do that when it moves people to act on behalf of others.

Part of me wants to write a story that will move hearts, that will move lives, that will change the way we perceive and then do. I want to reach the masses, not just one group within the masses. But I also realize one has to have something to give in order for there to be something of value others can receive.

There are taboo subjects that one could write about and be the worse off for it. Courage says it's worth the cost. One can be imprisoned for their beliefs and mistreated for their affiliations. Some countries limit the conversation. Wouldn't it be wonderful to write a novel that could say the message without censor and is read throughout the world?

A redemptive message is found in almost every novel. Why is that? I think it is because we all need some redeeming, and we want to see the good guy win, we want to see the problem end up being solved, and we want to see people rise above the circumstances. Real life is that way. Did you have any problems in 2017? All of us are in our own personal redemptive story.

Beauty lifts the soul. There are many ways to create expressions that speak to soul-need. Humans have great needs. Some of these needs are crushing us, smothering us, pushing us down. Hope says all is not hopeless for if hope is gone, you have little left. What gives hope? A song, a phrase, a picture, verse, food, bouquet, photo, painting, scent, jewel, touch and so forth are tangibles that speak hope to us.

Depression pulls us inward and stomps on hope. Melancholy moods are common during the holidays and winter days. They hit me too, like when I was shopping in K-Mart. I was thinking about my family and how I wasn't able to be with them for Christmas.  But we don't want to stay there. We have to do something about it. Go for a walk. Meet with a friend. Visit a loved one. Read an inspirational story. Pray to God.

Hope lifts us up. The bright side is the opposite of the dark side. I wish I could say or do something that would carry the multitudes to the brighter side of life. Wouldn't that be grand? Think of the good that could be done if we did all for love's sake? I wish you much love today, and tomorrow, and on throughout the new year.

God's best,
Norma