"But I'm uncertain." 

She stands on the edge.

"I know you are." 

He holds out his hands.

"I don't trust easily." 

She takes a step back.

"I know that too." 

He stands still.

"I can't decide."

She loses her vision, staring at nothing, instead of at him.

Silence.

She says, "I don't know where to go."

He says, "I am the way." 

She says, "I am not the answer."

He says, "I AM." 

Sooo....
     expressing some humor here to ward off anxiety. 
That is probably not the BEST way of  reacting to anxiety, but you cannot deny, laughter is good medicine=-D

here goes: 
      what I think I'm doing.......

what I'm really doing......

well, 
I thought it was funny. 

And He has said to me, 

"MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU, FOR POWER IS PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS." 

Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Weakness. 

a personal defect or failing.

..........

Weakness. 

a special fondness or inclination.

something of which one is excessively fond or desirous.

...............

You could say: "I have a weakness for green grapes." 

or, 

"I have a weakness for cellos." 

Some people are excessively fond of those two things. 

Some people just can't seem to get enough grapes, or hear enough cello music. 

These aren't bad things--

but they're called weaknesses. 

If you think about it, a weakness is like a gap where affection goes. 

Different people are created with unique palates of desire. 

Our desires usually lead to selfish fulfillment. 

But what if God fills in the gap? 

Suddenly, the weakness is strong. 

Suddenly, we don't have to be ashamed of our spiritual weaknesses, 

because with God present in the weakness, it will be used for His glory.

Both of the examples (cello, grape) above are physical. 

But humans are more, much more, than physical, and while God gives one person a desire to minister to orphans, He gives another the desire to help with building houses. 

For instance, if these  kids were  smiling at me like that...

I would be helpless, completely helpless. 

Pretty sure I would do anything for them. 

It's not just that they're cute, it's that they strike a chord in my heart. 

And I really cannot explain it. Africa's culture itself is fascinating, her people full of "soul". 

...............................

The word "weakness" is used so blandly, in reference to items of food or taste in music, etc. 

What if we examined our true weakness? 

What is it that "gets" to us?

Can we somehow harness that weakness, and  let God work through it to accomplish His task?

It's not about giving in, or not giving in--failing, or succeeding--winning, or losing. 

It's about letting the weakness in us come out.

Letting it be brought to light, so that as we humble ourselves in the Lord's presence, 

He will exalt us, 

in His time. 

What could be more powerful? 

What could be stronger? 

[not THIS...surely....]

but how about this....

We're puny.

We're small.

We're weak. 

He's strong. 

But according to Colossians 1:24--29, Christ lives in us, if we've accepted Him as our saving King. 

So actually, we have to start off empty and weak, 

so we can be filled with the strength--Christ--

and be strong because of His strength! 

That is why Paul says "I will gladly boast"! 

And this is why God makes beautiful things out of the dust, perfection out of weakness.

WOOD. 

and more wood...

you know what I'll be doing tomorrow???

really? 

nope, I won't be jumping over a woodpile in a wedding dress....ahem...that would be fun though...

or making THIS....though I think it is AMAZING...

or THIS....!!!

That's not supposed to represent me. Heavens no. But you get the picture, right?
WOOD. 

This is more like it! I understand this kid, totally. I can say that with honesty. Like honest Abe.

Abe understands. 

It's family bonding time. 

"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus." ~2 Tim. 2:3

[I'm kidding, I really love it......]

1 The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.

8...The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. 

14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Tonight the moon looks a lot like it did last night. 

It was being hid (not hiding, there's a difference) by the forceful presence of jutting pines far to the west, where the trees link inky black fingers and arms together, trying to communicate themselves to the solitary luminary standing before them, attempting to hold back the white radiance before it slips lightly past them, to the fields and valleys beyond. 

By 10.00 it will look like the moon broke free from the over-protective pines, struck out on its own somehow, spun like a marble across the indigo sky. 

I will see it right above the garage, out of place in a world of tools and machines. 

As wintertime approaches, the wolves start to howl--not around my house, but somewhere--and the common misconception is that wolves howl AT the moon. 

   Raising their voices, they point their faces upward for the acoustical effects, not moon worship, and as they howl, their voice cries out up to ten miles, alerting other wolves to gather, or warn a fellow wolf, or help a member of the pack. For the fun of it, or to attract a lady friend, wolves will gather in groups and chorus howl, singing simultaneously in 12 different harmonies! 

(yes, that is a picture of a husky...not sure if huskies do chorales together....I'll bet they have undercover neighborhood garage bands though...) 

Mysteriously enough, the moon is pulling at earth. Earth can "hold on" to everything except her water. So, at every full moon, when the sun, moon, and earth are in perfectly alignment, tides are high. (When the moon is at its quarter, there are neap tides, which are rather low and non-eventful.) Why the moon is attracted to earth, I still haven't found out...it just IS. 

Moonlight...wolves...snow...winter...ice...Terrible, powerful forces. 

But they're calming, comforting, and choir-like, orchestrated by a guy who knows exactly what He's doing. 

And that seems like a reason for singing. 

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on to love and good deeds." 

Hebrew 10:24

    WHAT MAKES SOMEONE INSPIRATIONAL?
Is it what they do?
How they make us feel?
How they succeed?
 Imagine the most inspirational person/people you know.
Inspire: fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative.

 When you're around an inspiring person, THEY aren't your center of focus. Suddenly, YOU are the one filled with belief and creativity. Your doubt falls away. You don't ask "what if I fail?" because you are immediately certain that everything will work out, that your ability is enough, and you can do something useful with it. 
    A really inspirational person doesn't tout his/her abilities, or even  travel their circle of friends saying "lookee here, I'm inspired, pay me homage I'm such a genius". That would not be motivational; someone like that would work as a natural repellent, leading people to speculate "Well, I guess it's his/her 'thing'". 
 Ladies and gents, if it's just his/her thing, then it's completely random. It just "is", there's no explanation. The person who has the gift or ability can't explain it, so they take all the praise. Praise in a human has difficulty digesting--it puffs men and women up like pastries. I mean, what are we going to say? "Yeah, I'm pretty awesome, I've known it for a long time now." Suddenly no one's inspired. Everyone's just standing around gawking. 

In the end, we have to ask ourselves "WHO is getting the glory for what I'm doing? Me? Or is there someone else better than that helped me do it?" 

          There's another definition of "Inspire". 

      

breathe in (air); inhale

    

When  someone inspires us, it's like a breath of fresh air.
  We feel free.
  We feel boundless, reckless, joyful.
It's almost like living life all over again; our spirit is light and eager.
 
        If there weren't any people to inspire us, if there was just a single person in the world, and it was you....who would be breathing life into you? When there's no audience, who is watching?

When there's no inspiration, who is the one inspiring? 

..........just imagine......

keep imagining.........!

and finally.....be inspired......

because oh, how He does love us........

everlastingly

This will be a short post.....feeling pretty tired, so here's another poem. If you have anything to say, COMMENT. I love it, really makes my day to see comments popping up for me to read=-) (It's those little things in life....)

This one's interesting, because you can read it backwards and forwards and it will read the same way: "England in October"

England in October

Leaves red as scarlet,

Crimson blushing faces

Sunset exquisite, lifting

White upon white;

Violets shading

Whispers willing

Bowers in misty dreams

“hope in sighing times”—

Silence—falling.

Apples crisp as heart-aches

Vibrant, slow escapes

Beauty as Itself achieving Eloquence—

Freedom takes cheer, cheer takes freedom,

Eloquence achieving itself as beauty escapes

Slow vibrant aches--;

Heart as crisp apples, falling—

Silence.

Times sighing in hope

Dreams misty in bowers

Willing whispers

Shading violets

White upon white lifting exquisite sunset

Faces blushing crimson scarlet as red leaves—

October in England.

another autumn one...for Jesus.....

You

Touched

Autumn.

You made Heaven sing.

You

Fingered

Flowers

In the breath of spring.

You

Sent

Storm-clouds

To play a song for rain.

You

Touched

Me

Now I live again.

Sometimes there are spots in life that just seem brown....ugly....they need work.
All around them green grass is growing, the sun is shining, ladeedadeeda.
But all we can see is the problem, the brown ugliness. All we can see is what isn't good, and this makes us want to change.
Unfortunately, as humans we're apt to think "Ok, I got this. I can change myself, be better, fix all my problems." But fixing ourselves without Jesus is like trying to make brown grass green without water.
Frankly, it just--doesn't--work.
Today, my dad and I were filling in a ditch lined with sprinklers. You got it: grass is dying on a slope of our field, so my dad dug a ditch and put in a whole line of new sprinklers. Every once in a while, I'd stand back from the ditch so he could try turning on the sprinklers and see if they work correctly. (They're really neat, they spiral around instead of shooting straight and rotating.)
Seeing all that water spray made me thirsty, but I knew we weren't done yet. We had to fill in the rest of the trench with all that loose, wet dirt.....

That trench is kind of like the mistakes or "errors" or maybe hurt feelings we've made in our life. Jesus wants to be the water healing and making new again, but first the hard work of filling in the blank ditch of hurt has to happen. We have to take action and initiative, we have to WANT to make things right. Then, when we honestly know "I've done all I can to make this better",  we can step back and rest.
 Everybody has a hurt, or a mistake, or just an annoyance they're working on in life. Saying "I'm fine" when someone asks you how you're doing doesn't mean "I never struggle anymore."

Life is by nature a struggle.
We have to work on it.
We have to sweat.

At the end of ditch filling, I scampered over to our neighbor's house and dove into his pool. Ah, it felt so refreshing, so lovely. Water revitalizes. It is essential for our existence on earth. Human brains are 75% composed of water; human blood is 83% water. A single tree gives off 70 gallons of water per day in evaporation! Water's pretty cool. Without water--ahem--we die.

 Jesus is the water of Life.

So, even though life's tough, and even though it's a struggle, and even though sometimes it seems like it would  be better to "ditch" the whole project (pun intended=-P) remember this: at the end of the day, Jesus is our reward. He wants more than anything for us to BE in Him--literally derive our worth from being His. That's all He ever wanted, because it's all God ever wanted, and Jesus does all the Father asks Him, even if that means loving us when we're at our ugliest.

On that note....this is what He says about it....

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. 

Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. 

Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 

This is my command: Love one another." 

John 15:15--17