Happy New Year! Engaged!

HappyNewYear

I have been accused of being too goody-goody and maybe a bit preachy on my blog. Yikes, that is the last thing I want since I am not that type of person! All I want to be is encouraging. There is already so much negativity and cynicism in the world. Adding my grumpiness to the pile isn’t going to help anyone.

So let me take a moment to perhaps encourage someone 🙂  My life has not been easy (is anyone’s life easy?)  I have experienced a lot of loss, struggled with addiction, raised a son as a single mom, and spent many lonely years by myself.

I saw people meeting the love of their life and wondered if my turn would ever come. At times I had hope, other times I doubted, and often in the dark of night I despaired in grief.

But just like the movies and books predict, when I finally got to the point that I didn’t care anymore and was content on my own, he found me. I got engaged to an amazing man on December 14, 2014 at 52 years old. Never been married before.

God did a miracle and I just want to say THANK YOU, LORD!  Thank you for Craig, for all of 2014, for a marriage in 2015, and a beautiful future in front of us. I am overwhelmed and my cup runneth over!

So, to all those who are waiting on the Lord to deliver a dream…keep pressing on. He is faithful beyond belief!  Happy New Year!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD.

“They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

Glory Of God

I fell in love with photography because I see God’s face in nature as I peek through my lens. I’d like to create a photo book of all the beautiful sights I’ve captured of His creation. I think this photo would be a good cover for that book, so I’m submitting it for the Cover Art photo challenge.

Glowing Tree With Copy

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature,
and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

Hebrews 1-3 (ESV)

Rio Grande Trail and Robin Williams

RioGrandeTrailColorado

The marvelous Rio Grande Trail that runs from Aspen to Glenwood Springs, Colorado

 

Robin Williams died of an apparent suicide today. Life is hard. Sometimes life is very hard. Some of us have struggles that never let up and pound relentlessly against our minds and hearts for years, decades, even lifetimes. Many of us get to the dangerous point where we can’t take it anymore.

I pray for the desperate, that somewhere, even in the lost crannies at the back of their minds, they would keep a sliver of hope alive that a powerful and loving God exists. Then, perhaps, when that pinnacle of crisis comes, when the darkness is so overpowering that they have no strength left to fight it, that they would turn to Him in agony and cry for help.

In our most desperate hour is when He proves Himself the mightiest to save. When we have nowhere else to turn, and all is dark, confused and horrible around us, if we’ll turn for just a moment and sob our terrible helplessness to Him, He will come running to save us from ourselves. In that most difficult moment of humility He lifts us out of the sheer darkness of our lives and sets us in a new place. He rescues us from our hell and, miracle of miracles, seats us in a place full of hope, joy, and peace.

Don’t let your heart become so hard that you can’t believe in the Almighty at all. If you do, you may not allow yourself to find Him or even think to look for Him when that critical crisis slams into your life with a frightening force you didn’t expect. Give yourself a bit of hope. As Jerry McGuire said, “We live in a cynical world.” If we let it, cynicism will dry up our hearts and sap every last vestige of our hope.

My photo shows a beautiful path. He has a great path for all of us as well. One of great beauty, with green grasses, blue skies, overwhelming love. And with a clear path, a straight path. That path is not always easy but it can be full of that rescuing love every day of your life. This is truly a spiritual mystery. I cannot logically explain it, I cannot prove it by scientific methods, but it happened and Jesus radically saved my life 20 years ago. His saving love is available to all of us, when we most need it.

May Robin rest in peace. And may his family be comforted by God’s sweet peace.

“It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.” Eph 1:13 (MSG)

More of my story…

Chihuly Wonders

Found such joy at the Chihuly exhibit at the Denver Botanical Gardens. I was awed by the colors and the shining beauty of the blown glass intermingled with the breathtaking flowers, all in full bloom. Wow. If you ever get the chance to see his work, don’t miss it, go.

chihulywithcopy 2

 

Until I made peace with God I never experienced joy. I thought I had…my wine made me happy and numbed my hurts. I partied hard and thought I was having a good time. But there is nothing in this world like the warm, melting, sweet peace of God way, way down deep in your soul. Better than any drink or drug. I took a big swig of that love-joy this Saturday as I “enjoyed” this fabulous display of man-made and God-made art. Delicious.

So that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.
Romans 15:32

Michelangelo’s David

A cast reproduction of Michelangelo’s David at an exhibit in Denver. He was so fabulous, I couldn’t stop shooting…

David Collage

“This very day God is handing you over to me. I’m about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there’s an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn’t save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!”

That roused the Philistine, and he started toward David. David took off from the front line, running toward the Philistine. David reached into his pocket for a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine hard in the forehead, embedding the stone deeply. The Philistine crashed, facedown in the dirt.

That’s how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David!

Samuel 17:45-50 MSG

Called to Construct

It’s amazing, as a woman, to see how men love to construct things. Something deep in their hearts compels them to BUILD. There are many styles and sizes…architects, engineers, carpenters, brick layers, plumbers, even musicians, painters…there’s an endless list of jobs for men to roll up their sleeves and build something GREAT.

As a small example, Boettchler Hall in Denver, below. When I asked why those crazy discs were hanging from the ceiling, I was told the sound waves bounce off them and back into the concert hall to improve the acoustics. Now who thought that up? I love it!  And they work; after listening to the symphony, my body and soul were reverberating from that glorious music.

Boettchler Hall, Denver

It’s astounding what men can build out of rock, wood, metal and water. How they come up their brilliant ideas and actually implement them is miraculous, even according to the Bible. The Tower of Babel story speaks of the genius of men when they get together as a team to build their dream:

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinarand and settled there.

They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.”  They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel—because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

If all the men of earth got together, NOTHING they could think of would be impossible for them…that’s a pretty amazing statement. That’s how great God made us. No wonder men slip into humanism or the temptation to think they are gods. I guess God mixed up our language to keep us just a tad humble 🙂Denver Performing Arts Center, Home of Boettchler Hall

Denver Performing Arts Center, Home of Boettchler Hall

Saturated Stained Glass

When I walked into Montview Presbyterian Church in Denver yesterday I knew I had found my answer to the “Saturated” photo challenge.

Saturated Stained Glass

A bit of an extremist, since I walked away from the Catholic Church in my twenties, it’s been difficult for me to appreciate the beauty of old churches like this. But over the last decade I’ve come to peace with my religious upbringing and realized it served a good purpose. Although I am strictly a non-denominational girl now, I know many lovely Christians in the old denominations. As the stained glass says in this photo:

“There is one Body, One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God, and Father of All”  Eph 4:4-6

Clothed in Purple

Purple Rain 2013 Border

They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”
Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him.
And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Mark 15:17-20

Magnificent Morning Masterpiece

Morning Has Broken

Morning has broken like the first morning
Blackbird has spoken like the first bird
Praise for the singing
Praise for the morning
Praise for them springing fresh from the world…

Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning
Mine is the one light Eden saw play
Praise with elation, praise every morning
God’s recreation of the new day

Hymn by Eleanor Farjeon, published 1931
Recorded and made famous by Cat Stevens 1972
Magnifient mornings created by God Himself to kiss us awake each new day

More…

Rocky Mountain Golden Hour

Colorful Colorado

Masterpiece Photo Challenge