How Beautiful is the “Mystery“, the “Sacrament” of Tomorrow! ~ Gerontissa Gavrielia
If God does not leave a blade of grass, a flower, or a small leaf of a tree without His good providence, will He leave us? ~ St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ
Tag: Tree
The Sun of Righteousness
Christ is Risen!
Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. ~ Jeremiah 17:14
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. ~ Psalm 6:2
Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. ~ Psalm 30:2
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ~ 1 Peter 2:24
Truly He is Risen!
Wellspring of Wisdom
Hawaiian stream flowing to ocean – 2014
Christ is Risen!
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God? ~ Psalm 42:2
Therefore you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation. ~ Isaiah 12:3
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. ~ Jeremiah 17:7-8
Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. ~ St. John 4:13-14
Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. ~ St. John 7:37
Truly He is Risen!
Peaceful Paths
Thank you for sharing your Path of Peace photo, Irena.
Christ is Risen!
Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honour. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her. ~ Proverbs 3: 13 – 18
Truly He is Risen!
Time to Shine
Hawaiian Sunrise 2018
Beasts of the Earth
It’s been a blessing to have had various pets throughout my life, and at times I still miss them.
Besides providing unconditional love, support and comfort… they help people live longer. (Or it can seem longer, with a tone-deaf cockatiel.)
All creatures great and small, carry the Divine Spark within, thereby enriching our lives because they can love.
Although animals or birds can’t speak as we do, they do nonetheless, praise God in their own way.
The beasts of the earth are unpretentious. They have no agenda. They are not ambitious, and live fully in the moment.
If we let them, they will teach us so many beautiful things.
The humble man approaches ravening beasts, and when their gaze rests upon him, their wildness is tamed. They come up to him as to their Master, wag their heads and tails, and lick his hands and feet, for they smell coming from him that same scent that exhaled from Adam before the fall, when they were gathered together before him and he gave them names in Paradise. This was taken away from us, but Jesus has renewed it, and given it back to us through His Coming. This it is which has sweetened the fragrance of the race of men. ~ Isaac the Syrian
Our Little Nativity Crèche
Published in Home For the Holidays issuu magazine November 25, 2022 (page 16)
Treasures of Christmases Past
Opening boxes of Christmas ornaments is like greeting old friends again. They’re all special, inspiring, and priceless.
Included in our treasure troves are two tattered cardboard circles, with glittery bits of Christmas cards glued to the greasy back of a pizza box. In my mind’s eye I see our toddlers deep in concentration, their puckered little mouths moving rhythmically to each opening and closing of the blunt scissors… a testament to earlier times when sparse finances and homemade adornments were inspired through necessity.
A Queen’s Guard Soldier lies cupped in the palm of my hand. Although his paint is faded, he stands ever at attention as a wooden clothes peg. Our daughter made him in kindergarten, and the threaded loop through his skewed black pom pom hat disintegrated ages ago. He will be stationed on a tree branch, propped up beside the inevitable paper plate sprinkled with dried macaroni, and spray painted gold.
My mom’s embroidered blue bird roosts next to the dainty satin butterfly from my mother-in-law.
Meanwhile, the Three Wise Men bauble our 7 year old hand-sewed himself, is whimsically suspended near a flock of his origami pterodactyls.
At the top of the tree, reposing beneath a chipped Christmas Star is the large, red, paper angel-card my husband made for me the first year we dated. Although the angel wings have long since curled up at the edges, the sparkly Merry Christmas card greeting remains divinely intact.
Of course we own a few store bought decorations. One of which was a gift, a little Christmas Crèche. Although it wasn’t something we’d have bought for ourselves, this sweet little manger scene with animals quickly joined the cherished seasonal entourage.
In keeping with the situation, the Crèche is reverently displayed on top of our piano… despite the fact that one of the sheep’s plastic legs was completely gnawed off by our teething son (who, coincidentally, later became vegan).
Decades later, the precious little lamb continues to defy the law of physics and nobly stands guarding the manger crib, along with the pristine ox, and donkey.
To me, he’s much more than a simple 3-legged plastic lamb.
He’s an unsung model of hope and perseverance in adversity.
God bless us, everyone!