New Day – Blisswood

Happy Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday Pussy Willows await blessing at last evening’s Vigil Service.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ~ Zechariah 9:9

God is the Lord, and hath appeared unto us; make ye a feast, and with gladness, come, let us magnify Christ with palms and branches, with hymns crying aloud: blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord our Saviour. ~ Ode 9 of the Feast

We celebrate Palm Sunday today with festive joy. Yesterday’s Lazarus Saturday and today’s Palm (and Flowers) Sunday are a bridge we cross over from Great Lent, into Holy Week.

They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel! ~ St. John 12:13

Hosanna in the highest! Means: O be favourably inclined – in the highest heaven! O Lord, save! While Hosanna in the Highest initially seems like an enthusiastic cheer of welcome and joy, it’s also a deep invocation for protection and salvation from tribulations.

Tomorrow, we begin to wend our way throughout Holy Week’s poignant thoroughfares, until we reach the bright and shining shores of Holy Pascha. The Greatest Feast of all. Pascha… the dawn of the new and unending day… the Holy Resurrection of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

…the Lord is always sitting at the gates of the Heavenly Jerusalem waiting for us to allow Him to enter. He is patiently standing at the door of our heart… waiting for us to open it. ~ Unknown

May your Holy Week be Blessed, Glorious, Peaceful and Fruitful!

Practical Tip: Treat your blessed palm branches and pussy willows respectfully, because they have been blessed. Keep them carefully in your icon corner. If you currently have any old palms or willows that are deteriorating, either compost, bury or burn them, but never put them in the garbage.

Serenity

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ~ St. Matthew 7:7-8

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ~ Philippians 4:4-8

We know God is with us. Yet, during our daily routines we sometimes forget, perhaps by being caught up in the moment and putting prayer on the back-burner.

Be that as it may, when least expected or deserved, we may catch whiffs of God’s Perfumed Peace – which clearly passes all understanding. This spiritual surprise can come as a warm, fragrant cocoon of inexplicable joy, or as a robe of consolation and quiet calmness.

We may remain tranquilly enveloped for a time, until distracted maybe by wandering thoughts, intrusive imagination, or other mundane, worldly cares – such as the klaxon of an oven-timer beeping that our cake is finally baked.

Regardless, this Magnificent Peace is never, ever, far away. And, when asking God’s help (even with the bread of tears), we can be sincerely thankful during our entreaties, for God knows our heart. He feels our sorrow. He hears our every sigh.

God’s silent, golden, blessings are always close at hand, especially when in simplicity of stillness we open the spiritual eyes of our hearts. And, as with the pure faith of a child – we open the door when our Heavenly Father knocks to let Him in.

Although our efforts may be small and sporadic, sometimes during the quiet of the day or night, our dear Lord gently bestows tantalizing glimpses, by reminding us of how we could always be.

So, as we sprint along the daily, peaceful paths of prayer, may God grant us according to our salvation! Let us yearn each day to become Shiny and New again!

May the rich Abundance of God’s great Mercy continue to direct our ways in the Hopeful Peace from Above – which truly passes all understanding.

The Present

Let us bless the Lord day and night for His Gifts to us. ~ St. Gavrilia

When we open our Daily Gifts from the Lord, we might sometimes find a mysterious surprise!

And, while we may not quite know why we’ve received a particular present, we still keep it close… a mear heart’s breath away… knowing it will be useful.

What can we give Him for all the daily Blessings He’s lovingly bestowed on us?

At the dawn of each fresh and brand new day… what are the two greatest gifts we can give back to God?

Our gratitude.

Our self.

Feathered Foresight

Image by garten-gg Pixabay

Birds form a circle around the earth. Wherever we go, they remind us of the same things. The cuckoo cries: Wake up… wake up… to remind us of saying our morning prayer. The turtle-dove coos: We’re pilgrims… We’re pilgrims… for us to remember that we are just passing pilgrims on His Earth. And the crow crows: Pray… Pray… to remind us of praying all the time. ~Gerontissa Gavrilia

The Lord gave us as an example of unconcern – the birds of the sky – not humans… When the twig on which it is perching breaks, the little bird, without being alarmed, opens its wings and flies away. Likewise, when the support of our feet collapses, Faith and Hope in God give us the strength and joy to fly away. ~Gerontissa Gavrilia

We should follow the example of the birds. They’re always joyful, whereas we’re always bothered by something. ~Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica

Image by Jon Pauling from Pixabay

Thank You God

Sunrise on the Reef ~ Kauai 2023

Thank you God, for giving me this morning!

Each Dawn’s a Blessing!

Sing unto the Lord a new song and His praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea and all that is therein… ~ Isaiah 42:10

Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever… ~ Psalm 146:6

Every morning open a new page and put your signature on the blank. Whatever God wants, let Him write. ~ Gerontissa Gavrilia

May we grant Jesus – the Author of Life, to direct our day.

Let us Focus Forward!

Blisswood 500

Image by Felix Mittermeier from Pixabay

What a wonderful day the Lord has provided!

Each dawn is a blessing… new and fresh, with golden opportunities!

A few years ago, in anticipation of sowing the online seeds for this Blisswood site, I also read (from several sources) that a serious blogger needs the strong roots of at least 500 posts to even be considered a beginner blogger.

Quickly accepting the obvious… that I couldn’t (and can’t) do this on my own was a huge relief. I had to let go, and let God help! And, thanks be to God, I’m officially a beginner blogger… 🙂

Thank you for visiting Blisswood!

You’ve helped funnel my writing voice as a creative outlet, moving me to reflect upon my faith and what helps keeps me buoyant on the stormy seas of life. I try to share what’s joyful, optimistic and uplifting… especially during these trying world times.

Thank you for subscribing, and keeping me on my toes!

Thank you for the inspiring suggestions, encouraging emails, and sharing these posts!

Thank you for your prayers!

With continuing gratitude…

Love in Christ,

m. Barbara

Truly the Light is Sweet

Kaua’i Sunrise 2016

Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun: ~ Ecclesiastes 11:7

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:6

But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. ~ Proverbs 4:18

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: ~ Numbers 6:25

The Orient From on High

Yesterday’s Dawn by Juliana T.

The Dayspring, the Dawn, the Sun of Righteousness, the Orient from on High, refers to our Lord God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

God Himself is called the Sun, (Psalm 84:11). As the Source of Light, and Light itself, God gives this same title to His only-begotten Son, who appears on earth as the Dawn of a new day… the Day of the Lord which enlightens those who sit in darkness and in the land of the shadow of death (Isaiah 9:2).

It is not without reason or by chance that we worship towards the East. But seeing that we are composed of a visible and an invisible nature, that is to say, of a nature partly of spirit and partly of sense, we render also a twofold worship to the Creator; just as we sing both with our spirit and our bodily lips, and are baptized with both water and Spirit, and are united with the Lord in a twofold manner, being sharers in the Mysteries and in the grace of the Spirit. Since, therefore, God is spiritual light, and Christ is called in the Scriptures Sun of Righteousness and Dayspring, the East is the direction that must be assigned to His worship. For everything good must be assigned to Him from Whom every good thing arises. Indeed the divine David also says, Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth: O sing praises unto the Lord: to Him that rideth upon the Heavens of heavens towards the East. Moreover the Scripture also says, And God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed: and when he had transgressed His command He expelled him and made him to dwell over against the delights of Paradise, which clearly is the West. So, then, we worship God seeking and striving after our old fatherland. Moreover the tent of Moses had its veil and mercy seat towards the East. Also the tribe of Judah as the most precious pitched their camp on the East. Also in the celebrated temple of Solomon, the Gate of the Lord was placed eastward. Moreover Christ, when He hung on the Cross, had His face turned towards the West, and so we worship, striving after Him. And when He was received again into Heaven He was borne towards the East, and thus His apostles worship Him, and thus He will come again in the way in which they beheld Him going towards Heaven; as the Lord Himself said, As the lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even unto the West, so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be. So, then, in expectation of His coming we worship towards the East. But this tradition of the apostles is unwritten. For much that has been handed down to us by tradition is unwritten. ~ St. John of Damascus

Christ, the Sun of righteousness (Malachi 4:2), is without beginning and pre-eternal. He is both immutable and unchangeable, as with Him there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning (James 1:17). He is without end, never-setting, beaming out the true and heavenly light of day without evening, in which the spirits of the righteousness live with the good angels. When this present age reaches its end, the righteous shall also have their bodies with them, as heirs of the light and sons of the true day. That day continues forever without evening, and neither has, nor ever did have, a morning, since it has no beginning. ~ St. Gregory Palamas

Each Dawn, a Blessing

Hawaii 2017

What a wonderful day the Lord has provided!

Yesterday’s gone.

Today is fresh and new.

Each dawn’s a blessing… a herald of this day’s golden opportunities.

The Present, and what we are, is God’s Gift to us… but what we do with ourselves today, is our gift to God.

I remember and sing a sweet and simple folk-hymn from my youth: Thank You for giving me this morning, thank You for everyday that’s new, thank You that I can know my worries can be cast on You!

Let us joyfully gift-wrap ourselves in one of (hopefully many) today’s gifts back to God… at least beginning with thankfulness – for His many blessings!

The day is young. Plain and humble wrapping paper is probably best.

Pass the tape please!

Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly the angel who guards you will honour your patience… Nothing equals or excels God’s mercies~ St. John Climacus

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:6-7

Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually! ~ 1 Chronicles 16:11

Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! ~ Psalm 57:8

But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you. ~ Psalm 88:13

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. ~ Psalm 118:24

I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in your words. ~ Psalm 119: 147

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God… And when I wake up, you are still with me! ~ Psalm 139:17-18

Of Eagles & Olive Bread

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. ~Isaiah 40:31

With the gift of free time, I’ve dusted the cobwebs off simple activities tossed aside – and begun doing.

There was time to garden yesterday and bake olive bread!

One hears amazing stories from friends and family reconnecting by playing games, sharing or renewing skills, and just being with each other. What a blessing!

While treading the delicate path of social distancing, we can still remain close, and reach out to each other using many forms of social media.

Meanwhile, for me, one of the hardest things with social distancing is the inability to safely hug or touch each other, if we’re not already living together. Touch is a powerful bond.

However, even from a distance, it’s humbling to see what we are accomplishing together as we focus on goals and not just the task.

Cyber-bumping your elbow, I take my leave.

I’m feeling energized. Today’s a brand new day, and there’s much to be done in the garden.