Savor Beauty

Pink and golden sunrise painting the sky

The poppies nodding in the breeze

Roses unfolding to the sun

Mountains of purple splendor rising above the plain.

The unbelievable arch of the rainbow,

Twisted canyons of red rock

Forests standing in awesome silence.

The perfect orb of the full moon,

Shinning in the night sky.

The majestic flight of the eagle,

Wings spread to the light.

Things of beauty to delight

Crystal goblets glimmering
Heavenly music to sooth our soul

The touch of silk upon our skin.

The unexpected feeling of joy,

That bubbles from your heart.

All those smiles of love and kindness

And children’s happy laughter on the air.

The touch of a baby’s hand

The delightful fragrance of baking bread

Candles glowing in the night

Things of beauty to delight.
                                           Lovelight

In this world of violence and indifference, we can help remove ourselves from those things that upset our peace and happiness by savoring beauty.


There is purity in beauty, whether it is a work of nature, art or everyday simplicity. To see the beauty in the world that surrounds us is to see God. To appreciate the depth and color of a rose or the tenderness of the tough of a hand lifted in caring is how life brings us joy. Everything has beauty.


Seek beauty as you would happiness, love or joy, for if you find the beauty in what you seek it will just increase your sense of enjoyment.

Beauty is not, just what we see with the eyes, but a sense of fineness, a glow, something we can feel and touch. It can enwrap our world with delight and awe, if we will allow ourselves to live within the midst of it. There is beauty to be found in everything and everyone. We are just so bruised and blunted we miss all the best. Beauty comes from the heart and is in the “eye of the beholder”. For everyone sees beauty differently. Savor beauty. Look for it in the center of your surroundings. In the smallest details of life. The hidden beauty will be revealed and you will find delight within your soul, which will lift you to joy.

"Beauty is one of the rare things that do not lead to doubt of God."

                                                                                                                 Jean Anouilh

"I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may, — light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful."

                                                                                      John Constable

Peace and Joy to All

Yielding

Yielding your ego, surrendering and being humble is the way to God. The way to reach a more perfect life. An uplifted existence.

God is the creator of all. God does everything and our ego just gets in the way of His guidance for us. Yielding our egos allows us to choose to live by our spirit and return to God. It allows us to live in the flow and truly know love, peace and joy.

Yielding is not a sign of weakness. It is actually a sign of power through God’s grace.

My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses,

So that Christ’s power will rest on me.

Therefore I will take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses,

For Christ’s sake.

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

                                                                                                 2 Cor 12::9-10

In the middle of disagreement, Yield. Rather then talking about our self, our achievements, Yield---Yield and listen instead--Yield and wait and see--- Yield and step back.

When two forces are in opposition the victory will go to the one who yields.

Yielding allows a new starting point. A way to settle down and stop forcing things. A way to stop our ego’s from thinking we are correct and another wrong. It can build understanding, trust and peace. It can take us to surrendering and surrendering can take us to joy.

Surrender to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and you will find yourself responding in the appropriate way through attitude and action and yielding of ego.

Peace and Joy to All

More Thoughts on Love

Sunset at Rimrock, CA

“To fall in love is easy, even to remain in it is not difficult; our human loneliness is cause enough.

But it is a hard quest worth making to find a comrade through whose steady presence

one becomes steadily the person one desires to be.”

                                                                                               Anna Louise Strong

Sometimes when we fall in love with someone we see in that person all that we want within ourselves, all that we want to be. All that we have not been able to be by ourselves. We place our love and hope in that person expecting them to show us how to become like them, because we think that will make us complete.

However, we cannot expect the love object to be able to give us what we cannot give to ourselves. When we expect someone else to fulfill us in that way we are afraid to love and are waiting for the other to show us how to love. We want them to remove our fear and lack of self-love.

It can never be a fulfilling relationship when we go into one expecting to receive. What we put into love determines what we get out of it. If you love someone and you give completely of yourself with true desire to show them love and caring, kindness and respect, you will receive love in the same way. However, if you are just looking for them to give to you, the relationship is doomed from the start.

Real love comes from your soul with the ability to come together without barriers of egoism or personal needs.



Sunset at Rimrock, CA

 When we love for what another can do for us or because we want them to fulfill our needs, or desire them to help us be who we want to become, we love with conditions. When we place conditions on love, it becomes selfish and turns to indifference or even hate.

If we love from selfishness, we cannot even see the love the other person has for us. We are too wrapped up in ourselves and because we do not understand how to love or because we fear love, we cannot give love to them either. We are stuck in a crazy relationship of wanting love but unable to give or receive. This leads to guilt and blame and the end of any love there might have been.


Real love, true love has to be unselfish, committed to each other, caring, giving, and sharing. Reaching within and finding the spirit of both persons to connect with a holy relationship, based on love of God. Both becoming who they truly are through their soul connections.



Sunset at Rimrock, CA

 Real love opens as a light from within covering, caressing, soaring to complete the other--It is joyous, wonderful and awakens all desires of completeness--Love!!!

“True love does not come by finding the perfect person,

 but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.”

                                                                                             Jason Jordan



Sunset at Rimrock, CA







 Peace and Joy to All

I was given two Zebra Finches from my friend’s daughter, who raises Finches, Parakeets, Button Quail, and several other species of birds in an aviary in their backyard. It amazes me how well these birds get along together. Maybe we can all take a lesson from them. Anyway, my two little birds are young and just away from their mother. I named them Joy and Jubilee.

The lighter one is Joy, the darker Jubilee.

I have only had them a few days but they are getting used to me and starting to chirp and make that distinctive noise that Finches make.



Today while I was trying to take these photos, with the camera inside the cage, Joy escaped. As soon as she was out of the cage, she started this loud, (very loud) calling noise. You would never believe a bird only 2 ½ inches long could make such a loud noise. You could tell she was afraid and did not like being away from her home and her brother. She flew around and around the ceiling calling and calling. Finally when she got tired, I was able to pick her up and put her back in the cage. I had visions of her living on top of the cupboards in the kitchen for the rest of her life. Looking down at me and pooping on my head. But she is okay and no harm done.



As they grow the coloring will change and become darker. And their beaks with become orange/red.

I made this cute cover for the cage, and as soon as you put it on they stop talking and cuddle up with each other and go to sleep.  Very cute!

Peace and Joy to All

Our Wonderful World

Sunrise from my front porch, Arizona

Day follows the fleeing moon

Night follows the setting sun

As the ocean rolls in undulating waves;

earth’s heartbeat.

Thunders booming power,

Lightning striking like fireworks

Mountains soaring to touch the clouds

Crimson light shines through their pine shadows

Tranquil meadows of peace

Wildflowers waving in the breeze

Puffy white clouds floating along

Grey clouds bringing the rain

Rainbows of awe and wonder

Do the stars and universe ever end?

Moon above the water

Silent music of the night

Sunrises of glory, each dawn a new chance,

To see the gifts of God,

As we live in this planets dance

Waves of pleasure surround us

As we gaze on all these sights

The sacred lies in the ordinary

These are the miracles of life.

                                                                Lovelight

Grand Canyon








Hassayampa Preserve, Arizona

Hassayampa Preserve, Arizona

 We are surrounded by miracles of nature. God’s gifts for us to enjoy. Don’t miss a single minute of these wonderful blessings. Joy abounds in every one of these beautiful natural phenomenon’s. Take a minute to stop and appreciate them and give thanks for all your abundance. What abounding love God must have for us, to create such a world as this for our enjoyment.

Sing praises to his name.



Grand Canyon



Peace and Joy to All

Vulture Peak, Arizona Desert

Thoughts On Love

Real love is selfless and free from fear. It pours itself out upon the object of its affection, without demanding in return. It's joy is in the joy of giving. Love is God in manifestation and the strongest magnetic force in the universe. Pure, unselfish love draws to itself its own; it does not need to seek or demand."

                                                                                               Florence Scovel Shinn

All you owe to any person in the world is love. And love is wishing for everyone what you would wish for yourself.-… Health…happiness…joy…peace… and all the blessings of life.

Love from your heart. The heart is the core. And in so doing you will create a love that is understanding, caring, peaceful, true, with faith and hope and kindness thrown in for good measure.

"Love is all there is for without love we are nothing."

What love isn't is concern turning to possessiveness, kindness becoming domineering, smothering instead of helpfulness. Love does not command, only serve.
Speak with the voice of love, think with only thoughts of love and what you call with love will come to you. Love always answers. Joy then will be yours. Joy is the radiance of love.


Above all things have fervent love for each other for love will cover a multitude of sins. I Peter 4-8

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. I Corinthians 13: 4-8

"Do not go anywhere for love and do not go to anyone for love or friendship:

Carry love and friendship with you.

Do not go to anyone for forgiveness

Carry forgiveness wherever you go.

Do not go into the world expecting understanding

Carry understanding to those you meet,

And whatever you carry with you will be returned unto you.

                                                                                            Joel S. Goldsmith

Love can touch you and inspire you to become more than you have ever been before and when you reach out with that love to others they can also become inspired. And if you continue to send out love, the energy is returned and expands. Love accumulates and keeps you in balance and harmony. Love is the means, and more love is the outcome. Goodness and Love have no end.

And if we deny love that is given to us, if we refuse to give love because we fear pain or loss, then our lives will be empty, our loss greater.

There is no mistaking love, you feel it in your heart. It connects you to passion and energizes our spirit. It is our connection to God and each other. Love takes wisdom, flexibility, sensitivity, understanding, acceptance, tolerance and fortitude. But it is a glimpse of Heaven.

Love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is done well.
                                                                                                       Vincent Van Gogh


The day will come when, after harnessing the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of Love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.

                                                                                                                            Teilhard de Chardin



A Glimpse Of Heaven

“Beyond the body, beyond the sun and stars, past everything you see and yet somehow familiar, is an arc of golden light that stretches as you look into a great and shining circle. And all the circle fills with light before your eyes. The edges of the circle disappear, and what is in it is no longer contained at all. The light expands and covers everything, extending to infinity forever shining and with no break or limit anywhere. Within it everything is joined in perfect continuity. Nor is it possible to imagine that anything could be out side, for there is nowhere that this light is not!”                                             From a Course In Miracles


Does this not sound like Heaven? Could you reach up and touch the face of God?

To start this New Year with a glimpse of Heaven is to know Joy! And to know joy is to know love, light, peace, happiness and gratitude.




 

The mind that serves the Holy Spirit is unlimited forever, in all ways, beyond the laws of time and space, unbound by any preconceptions and strength and power to do whatever it is asked, attack thoughts cannot enter such a mind, because it has been given to the source of love, and fear can never enter in a mind that has attached itself to love.  It rests in God!  And who can be afraid who lives in innocence and Only Loves.

Happy New Year
Blessings, Peace and Joy to All

Christmas

“Oh, would that Christmas lasted the whole year through as it ought

Would that the spirit of Christmas could live within our hearts every day of the year”

                                                                                              Charles Dickens

Memories--Many memories. Memories of Christmas fills us with happiness and joy. The unique family gatherings, delicious food, beautiful Christmas trees, laughter and joy, extraordinary gifts of love, and faith in miracles. The miracle of the birth of God’s Holy Son.

The sign of Christmas is a star, a light in the darkness. See it shinning within and accept it as a sign that Christ has come to bring peace and love to all. Let us join in celebrating peace, love and miracles, on this wonderful day of birth of a very glorious child.

“Behold the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,

And they shall call his name Jesus”

May we each find a moment of quiet reflection to contemplate the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to all,

And God Bless us, every one

Peace and Joy to All

A Perfect Place

Glory To God in the Highest,

And on earth, peace, goodwill toward men

                                                                   Luke 2:14

We all seek a place of perfect peace. Eternal safety, everlasting love, freedom forever from all thoughts of loss, complete deliverance from suffering and where only happiness abounds. And Joy is the feeling of each moment. Sounds like Heaven.

Yet we all have been given this perfect place, already. It is ours with acceptance of God’s truth and belief in God’s Holy Son.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding

will guard your hearts and minds

through Christ Jesus

                                            Phil 4:7

This place abides in the soul of each of us, we just have to access it with belief and surrender to a perfect peace. Nothing can prevail against a child of God who commends his spirit into the hands of God his Father.

You will keep him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on You
                                               because he trusts in You                                    Is 26:3

Withdraw your faith away from this sad world and place it in God’s truth and light and you will have heaven on earth. And the world will look refreshed, different, cleansed. You will see through new eyes. You will feel no need to judge or condemn, but find a release from all trials. A gladness!

Choose light and truth. Abide in “the perfect place” not darkness. Live and speak from the heart of your spirit and listen only to God and find the deep peace of body, mind and spirit.

“In me you may have peace. In the world you shall have tribulations;

But be of good cheer,

I have overcome the world”

                                                                         John 16:33

Today the peace f God envelops me, and I forget all things except His Love.  And remembering nothing but the peace of God as evening falls I will have gratitude and give thanks.

Peace and Joy to All

Gifts

In this season of giving it’s fun to shop for those special gifts for our loved ones or if we are creative to make special gifts. These special gifts are given as gifts of love from our hearts to theirs. We give the wanting to show our love and caring. Wanting the recipient to feel how much we care for them.



It’s such a happy time of caring and sharing and festive lights,, the decorated tree and smells of just baked cookies wafting through the air, the happy faces of the children.

But gifting is not just for this season. Each day a thousand treasures come to us and we are blessed with these gifts throughout the year. Their value is far beyond any material gifts we share with others. These are the gifts given from God---Our life, The earth, the beautiful gifts of nature, our freedom to make choices everyday to give the gifts of love. We receive a smile and it gladdens our heart. Someone speaks a kind word and lifts our mood. A hand is lifted to help and we feel safer. Someone says “God Bless You” and we remember to give thanks. Your spouse makes you a cup of tea and you know you are loved. A clerk in a store is especially nice and helpful and you know there is hope for this world. You see a scene of the nativity and feel the exultation of God’s gift of His Son. You rush home after a busy shopping day and find comfort and rest in your cozy home and you know this is a gift of contentment. So many gifts, our lives are blessed with so many gifts. Lets remember this season and share our abundance of gifts, blessings, love and caring on everyone, as brothers and sisters of this world.

And may we always be able to say “My treasure house is full and all returns to others but still nothing is lost and only more gifts are added. I am truly blessed and cherish all these gifts that God has given me. Now I may offer my gratitude and thankfulness to God and all.”

Gifts of Love

Gifts of sharing

Gifts of caring

Gifts of hope

Gifts of faith

Gifts of blessings and peace

Gifts to give and gifts to keep

                                   Life is a treasure house of gifts                   Lovelight

Not what we give,

but what we share,

For the gift without

the giver is bare.

–James Russell Lowell

A Gift for you of Pumpkin Cheesecake, I wish I could just send it already made to everyone.

Here’s what you need:


3 eight-ounce packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups pureed pumpkin
3 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (or to taste)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pie pan

Crust
2 cups of powdered nuts (we often use almonds)
1/2 stick of butter melted
2 tablespoons of maple syrup

Begin by cooking your pumpkin. You can use any type of winter squash for the recipe. Besides pumpkin I also like acorn squash.
Of course you can use canned pumpkin for this recipe, but there are growing concerns about the chemicals found in canned food, so look for organic canned pumpkin.

To cook your pumpkin, first cut it into several pieces and remove all the loose pulp and seeds. (Save the seeds for roasting!)
Put the pumpkin slices in a large baking dish and cook at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour until a fork easily slides into the pumpkin.

While the pumpkin is cooking you can prepare the optional crust.

Combine the powdered nuts with the melted butter and maple syrup. Mix well and then press the nut mixture into the bottom of a pie pan. Set aside.

After the pumpkin is thoroughly cooked, let it cool until you can easily handle it. Separate the pumpkin meat from the outer peel.
Measure out 2 cups of pumpkin and add it to the rest of the ingredients.
Using a food processor, hand mixer or your own biceps, mix all the ingredients together thoroughly
Pour the pumpkin mixture into the pie pan.
Bake at 350 for an hour. It is done when the top is browned and a fork goes into the middle and comes out clean
Let it cool on the counter for thirty minutes and then chill it in the fridge for four hours before eating

Peace and Joy to All

 

Disappointment

Drowning in disappointment. We’ve all been there--when something we expected to happen doesn’t, or someone doe’s something totally different then we expected or none of our dreams work out or family members change and become argumentative. Our hopes, dreams, plans, ideas all go up in dust. The unfair, unexpected, unresolved, unexplainable, undeniable, unacceptable disappointments of life. Drowning in disappointment.

We try to make sense of it all. Try to understand, try to put it into some category or slot that will make it easier to bear. We over think and over analyze trying to resolve and grasp something to help with the disappointment. But maybe we aren’t meant to understand. Maybe we just need to let it go and move on. Hold on until another dawn and with the birth of a new day, everything always looks better.

Sometimes when we are disappointed we need to remember that disappointments serve to strengthen, if we look at them with a positive mental attitude. Sometimes if we just wait a bit we will see the reason for change in our plans and it might possibly be better for us in the overall picture of our lives.

Being disappointed in another person is sometimes even harder to deal with. Someone we love doesn’t follow through with their obligations or causes dissension and arguments, becomes abusive to them selves or others-----

So many reasons to become disappointed in and concerned for another.

When we have these feelings of disappointment we need to realize everyone is on his or her own path and each is in a different place on the path. Allow them to find their own way. All we can really do is pray for them and ask God and the Holy Spirit to give them guidance and then give of your love, unconditionally. Also ask for inner calmness for yourself. For guidance of how to remain loving and peaceful and centered in your soul. Then you will be better able to know how to help when these frustrating disappointing situations arise.

Live without expecting results from yourself or others. If you don’t expect results you can’t be disappointed. Expecting results puts a burden on yourself and others. Live your life so results won’t matter because you have walked in God’s guidance and done all with love and peace. Just let all things come and go and walk with God.

I am not discouraged because every wrong attempt discarded

is a step forward.

                                                                                                                     Thomas Edison

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

                                                                                                             Martin Luther King, Jr.

Peace and Joy to All