March 31, 2012 (He loves you.)

He loves you.
photo by Patrick Frey

“The greatest sorrow and burden
you can lay on the Father,
the greatest unkindness you can do to him
is not to believe that he loves you.”
- John Owen

March 30, 2012 (calm faith)

calm faith
white trillium
Trillium grandiflorum
(captured 3/27/12)

“The antidote to frustration is a calm faith,
not in your own cleverness, or in hard toil,
but in God's guidance.”
- Norman Vincent Peale

March 29, 2012 (Worthy is the Lord)

Worthy is the Lord
white trillium
Trillium grandiflorum
(captured 3/27/12)

“Worthy are You,
our Lord and God,
to receive the glory and
the honor and dominion,
for You created all things;
by Your will they were
[brought into being]
and were created.”
- Revelation 4:11 AMP

March 28. 2012 (jointly nourished)

jointly nourished
wild geranium
Geranium maculatum
(captured 3/27/12)

“Christians are like the several flowers in a garden
that have each of them the dew of Heaven,
which, being shaken with the wind,
they let fall at each others roots,
whereby they are jointly nourished,
and become nourishers of each other.”
- John Bunyan

March 27, 2012 (hope springs eternal)

Hope springs eternal
Spring Beauty
Claytonia virginica

"Life is meaningless only if we allow it to be.
Each of us has the power to give life meaning,
to make our time and our bodies and our words
into instruments of love and hope."
- Tom Head

"Let your hopes, not your hurts, shape your future."
- Robert H. Schuller

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast:
Man never is, but always to be blest.”
- Alexander Pope

March 26, 2012 (in what direction?)

in what direction
Skyrim screen shot

“The great thing in the world
is not so much where we stand,
as in what direction we are moving.”
- Oliver Wendell Holmes

March 25, 2012 (Whiter Than Snow)

Whiter Than Snow

“Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul;
Break down every idol, cast out every foe—
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain:
Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow,
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain,
Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain;
To get this blest cleansing, I all things forego—
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies,
And help me to make a complete sacrifice;
I give up myself, and whatever I know—
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet,
By faith for my cleansing, I see thy blood flow—
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait;
Come now and within me a new heart create;
To those who have sought Thee Thou never said’st “No”—
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The blessing by faith, I receive from above;
Oh, glory! my soul is made perfect in love;
My prayer has prevailed, and this moment I know,
The blood is applied, I am whiter than snow.”
- James L. Nicholson
(1872)

March 24, 2012 (to be shared)

to be shared
photo by Lee Keefer

“Open your hearts to the love God instills...
God loves you tenderly.
What He gives you is not
to be kept under lock and key,
but to be shared.”
- Mother Teresa

March 23, 2012 (get up and keep climbing)

get up and
keep climbing
Skyrim screen shot

“Out of defeat can come
the best in human nature.
As Christians face storms of adversity,
they may rise with more beauty.
They are like trees
that grow on mountain ridges...
battered by winds, yet trees
in which we find the strongest wood.”
- Billy Graham

March 22, 2012 (shout joyfully)

shout joyfully

“Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;
Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.”
- Psalm 98:4 NASB

March 21, 2012 (walk on)

walk on

“Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone.”
- Rodgers & Hammerstein
“You'll Never Walk Alone”

March 20, 2012 (intent)

intent
photo by Lee Keefer

“There has to be a definite purpose
and goal if you are to progress.
If you are not intent about what you are doing,
you aren't able to resist the temptation
to do something else that might
be more fun at the moment.”
- John Wooden

March 19, 2012 (most important thing about you)

most important thing
about you

“What comes to mind when you think about God
is the most important thing about you.”
- A. W. Tozer

March 18, 2012 (happiness shared)

happiness shared

Plant the seed...
watch them bloom...
encourage each others growth.

Turn a dismal landscape
into a bright tomorrow.

“Happiness held is the seed;
Happiness shared is the flower.”
- Author Unknown

March 17, 2012 (today and every day)

today and every day

“For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way -
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.”
- Author Unknown

March 16, 2012 (Heaven on Earth)

Heaven on Earth
Skyrim screen shot

“Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening..
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.”
- Author Unknown

March 15, 2012 (wisdom and discernment)

wisdom and discernment

“Sovereign Father;
Help me to remember that no problem
Is too small to escape your concern
And no perplexity is too great to
Resist your solutions.
I know you will go before me
To show me the way;
Behind me to press me forward,
Beside me to give me courage,
Above me to protect me,
And within me to give me
wisdom and discernment.”
- Lloyd John Ogilvie

March 14, 2012 (my little garden)

my little garden in Skyrim
Skyrim screen shot

“There can be no other
occupation like gardening
in which, if you were to creep up
behind someone at their work,
you would find them smiling.”
- Mirabel Osler

“The best place to seek God is in a garden.
You can dig for him there.”
- George Bernard Shaw

March 13, 2012 (idyllic spot)

idyllic spot
Skyrim screen shot

I've always thought it would be nice
to have a cabin or lodge
in a picturesque setting.

But no matter how wonderful
I imagine this idyllic spot,
it can never compare to what
the Lord has in store for us.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived what God
has prepared for those who love him.”
- 1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV

March 12, 2012 (idols)

idols
Skyrim screen shot

“Either we will love and serve God,
or we will love and serve our idols.
Idols exist in our lives because
we love them and invite them in.
But once idols find a home,
they are unruly and resist leaving.
In fact, they change from being
the servants of our desires
to being our masters.”
- Edward T. Welch

March 11, 2012 (knowledge)

knowledge

“Knowing is not enough; we must apply.
Willing is not enough; we must do.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

March 10, 2012 (we have hope)

we have hope
Skyrim screen shot

“If we were logical,
the future would be bleak, indeed.
But we are more than logical.
We are human beings, and we have faith,
and we have hope, and we can work.”
- Jacques Cousteau

March 09, 2012 (wandering?)

wandering?
Skyrim screen shot

You can get there faster on a horse
instead of walking, but
it does you little good if
you don't know where you are going.

“If we really think that home is elsewhere
and that this life is a 'wandering to find home,'
why should we not look forward to the arrival?”
- C.S. Lewis

March 08, 2012 (welcome it)

welcome it

“Life is lived in the present.
Yesterday is gone.
Tomorrow is yet to be.
Today is the miracle.”
- Author Unknown

“Never lose an opportunity to see
anything that is beautiful.
It is God's handwriting – a wayside sacrament.
Welcome it in every fair face,
every fair sky, every fair flower.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

March 07, 2012 (willingness to proceed)

willingness to proceed
Skyrim screen shot

“Courage is that quality of mind
which enables people to encounter
danger or difficulty firmly,
without fear or discouragement.”
- Oswald Sanders

“True courage is not the absence of fear –
but the willingness to proceed in spite of it.”
- Author Unknown

March 06, 2012 (redeem our times)

redeem our times
photo by Lee Keefer

“Here is a gaping sore Lord;
Half the world diets,
The other half hungers;
Half the world is housed,
The other half homeless;
Half the world pursue profit,
The other half sense loss.
Redeem our souls
Redeem our peoples
Redeem our times.”
- John Bell

March 05, 2012 (beauty of nature)

simple beauty of nature
Skyrim photo

“The best remedy for those
who are afraid, lonely or unhappy
is to go outside,
somewhere where they can be quiet,
alone
with the heavens, nature and God.

Because only then does one feel
that all is as it should be and
that God wishes to see people happy,
amidst the simple beauty of nature.
I firmly believe that nature
brings solace in all troubles.”
- Anne Frank

March 04, 2012 (mystery)

mystery

When we embrace the mystery of God,
we can come to terms
with the joys and struggles of life.

[When you lose the mystery]
“You end up with a God
who can never surprise us
or astonish us,
never overwhelm us
and never transcend us.”
- A. W. Tozer

March 03, 2012 (cannot do)

cannot do

I found this at the hospital
and thought I would share with everyone.

This was written for cancer but
it fits for many of our afflictions.

WHAT CANCER CANNOT DO...

It cannot........

Invade the soul
Suppress memories
Kill Friendship
Destroy peace
Conquer the spirit
Shatter hope
Cripple love
Corrode faith
Steal eternal life
Silence courage

March 02, 2012 (harbinger of spring)

harbinger of spring

“The year's at the spring,
And day's at the morn;
Morning's at seven;
The hill-side's dew-pearl'd;
The lark's on the wing;
The snail's on the thorn;
God's in His heaven--
All's right with the world!”
- Robert Browning

March 01, 2012 (lovliness)

loveliness

“God's fingers can touch nothing
but to mold it into loveliness.”
- George MacDonald