Friday, July 31, 2009

Promises



If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. John 15:7

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3: 22-26

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28



The conditions:
  • remain
  • be content
  • wait
  • love
  • live within the purposes
The promises:
  • ask what you wish and it will be given to you
  • count on compassions every morning
  • depend on good works being done in you
Dear Jesus,
I'd like to claim the promises. You are the most high God and I'm overwhelmed that you make these kinds of promises to me. Oh, that I would remain IN YOU and content myself in YOU, too. I will wait. I will love. I will seek you so that I can live within your purposes. Amen.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Trees



I found out that a lot of contemplative type people are considering trees. So here is my little tribute to them.

The Sound of Trees

I wonder about the trees.

Why do we wish to bear

Forever the noise of these

More than another noise

So close to our dwelling place?

We suffer them by the day

Till we lose all measure of pace,

And fixity in our joys,

And acquire a listening air.

They are that that talks of going

But never gets away;

And that talks no less for knowing,

As it grows wiser and older,

That now it means to stay.

My feet tug at the floor

And my head sways to my shoulder

Sometimes when I watch trees sway,

From the window or the door.

I shall set forth for somewhere,

I shall make the reckless choice

Some day when they are in voice

And tossing so as to scare

The white clouds over them on.

I shall have less to say,

But I shall be gone.

Robert Frost













There's a tree that grows in Brooklyn. Some people call it the
Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls, it makes a tree
which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded up plots
and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar
gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows
lushly ... survives without sun, water and seemingly without
earth. It would be considered beautiful except
that there are too many of it.
- Betty Smith, 1896-1972



I'll lie here and learn How, over their ground,
Trees make a long shadow And a light sound.
- Louise Bogan, 1898-1970




Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces,
I would still plant my apple tree.
- Martin Luther (1483-1546)




You can live for years next door
to a big pine tree, honored to have
so venerable a neighbor, even
when it sheds needles all over your flowers
or wakes you, dropping big cones
onto your deck at still of night.
- Denise Levertov, Threat





A well maintained landscape with mature trees can increase property values up to
25 percent. Trees can cool houses in the summer. A city lot with 30 percent plant cover
provides the equivalent cooling necessary to air condition two moderately sized
houses 12 hours a day in the summer.
The Value of Trees Around Your Home.




There are those who say that trees shade the garden too much, and interfere
with the growth of the vegetables. There may be something in this:
but when I go down the potato rows, the rays of the sun glancing
upon my shining blade, the sweat pouring down my face,
I should be grateful for shade.
- Charles Dudley Warner




It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon
men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that
emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews
a weary spirit.
- Robert Louis Stevenson



If what I say resonates with you, it is merely
because we are both branches on the same tree.
- W.. B . Yeats




I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.
- Robert Frost, Birch Trees




The talking oak
To the ancient spoke.
But any tree
Will talk to me.

- Mary Carolyn Davies




He that plants trees loves others beside himself.
- Thomas Fuller



I am not bound for any public place,
but for ground of my own
where I have planted vines and orchard trees,
and in the heat of the day climbed up
into the healing shadow of the woods.
- Wendell Berry



Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter
- Ilan Shamir, Advice From a Tree





I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though
they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we
do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind,
going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around
the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven

knows how fast and far!
- John Muir



Thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them:
for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down
(for the tree of the field is man's life)...
- Deuteronomy 20:19








Bread and butter, devoid of charm in the drawing room,
is ambrosia eaten under a tree.
- Elizabeth Von Antrim



The bud is on the bough again,
The leaf is on the tree.
- Charles Jefferys, The Meeting of Spring and Summer
















Solitary trees, if they grow at all, grow strong.
- Winston Churchill




Today I knit a tree



I'm wondering if now you'll hear other people talking about trees. You might read stories about trees. You may hear prayers about trees. Stay tuned for some of my dear blog friends' posts about trees. I'll point you in their direction if they do. Thank you so much for stopping by and thinking about trees with me.
Oh! You may want to read The Giving Tree. It's very sweet.
xopp


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Roads and Rocks



"I ON YOUR PATH, O GOD
YOU, O GOD, ON MY WAY"
~CELTIC WALKING PRAYER




Do you know that song from Sunday school, the one about the wise man building his house upon the rock and the foolish man building his house on the sand? I honestly remember thinking, "Do we have to keep TALKING and SINGING about this dumb guy who built his house on the sand? Can't we just KNOW it and move on?" Even as a child, I hated conflict!



Here's another BIG rock located in the North Cascades in Washington. Build your house here, huh?




You know the Robert Frost poem, "The Road Not Taken" and I do, too. I keep seeing roads like this everywhere. A long time ago, a group at the church we were going to was reading the book, The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, MD. I remember thinking, "What's the big deal? I just don't get it." But I just checked out the book on Amazon and read through the table of contents. Hmmmm. Maybe all these roads I'm seeing are saying, "Read that book now."



I see roads and paths just like this one (this is actually my brother's driveway) and I find myself taking great comfort in not knowing why. Smile.



There are little surprises everywhere. There are astonishing connected events and thoughts everywhere - I'm sure you've felt it in the blog world, just as I have. What do all these repeated images, repeated words, repeated truths MEAN? When YOU hunker down and write in your journal, read deep writings, sit on your back porch drinking tea and drinking in the invisible, what is happening to you? What's God doing in your soul? What kind of appreciation is surfacing? What "ah ha" moments are lighting up? What do you know today that you didn't know yesterday? Tell me, tell me, please.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

A Day in Which Pom Pom Makes a Wand and Draws on Her Clothes




First of all, I give you a bunch of pansies. Aren't they soft and friendly?

Below, you'll see my . . . WAND! I got the idea from The Crafty Crow
and even though the craft ideas are for children, I thought, "Why not for me?" and proceeded to rustle through some sacks of ribbons and such and POOF! I created this wand. Why don't you make one?


I used a stick I found out under the pine tree.




And then while I was downstairs in the messy basement/work room/place where I pile stuff/ studio, I completed a small amount of ironing and decided to draw on this t shirt. What do you think?




Tired from all the brain usage (smile) I drew a lovely bubble bath and even lit candles. I told you we do NOT have a big fancy bathtub.






And now, until it is time to put the roast beef in the oven for dinner, I shall slip into my Aussie slippers (we have the air conditioning on - wahoo!) and enjoy this good day of rest.



I'd like it if you'd make a wand for yourself and post it on your blog. Guide me to your photo and then . . . I shall choose the "wandy-ist" and send a little prize!
xopp

Friday, July 24, 2009

Inside Day



Today was a reading day, a napping day, a stay home all day kind of day.


































































Thank you for stopping by and connecting with me. xopp

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