I adore playing with my Nikon DSLR… but I don’t always have the patience to read the manual (never) or the attention span to watch Youtube self help videos. So, I just play. I randomly test and spontaneously shoot and sometimes magic happens. Like above. Rain back lit by low light. But I don’t know if I could repeat this. And I’m OK with that. LAE
A continuation of paying attention to the details, taking notes, and persuading my heart to be grateful:
546. eye feast, soul banquet, in every direction…
547. son’s 21st birthday dinner
548. soccer success
549. air conditioning, home
550. love is all you need
551. Facebook void not as painful as might have been expected
552. dogs
553. irrigated lawn on a hot afternoon
554. relatives calling to wish him happy birthday
556. family life
557. a safe drive there and back
558. photographs
559. the ability to remember
560. brushing your teeth
561. finding a good gift of an experience rather than a thing
562. life is wonderful, God is good, God never gives up on us
563. more peace, more shelter
564. confirming words from listeners…
565. the ability to write a letter, post it, and have it arrive in another’s hands…
566. rest
567. grace
568. kale salad, kale smoothie, must try kale chips
May the fullness of this day be yours, May the generosity of God overtake you, May the loveliness of your presence be shelter for you as it is for others,
A friend of mine, recently posted a FB question about laughing. So, I thought about how often I laugh, what I laugh at, and asked the same of my FB friends. I got these answers;
Judith said, “English TV comedy; my cat Thomas in what he doesn’t say … and Kate, my housemate, who has the funniest dry one-liners in the whole world… always said at the most serious and trying of times. Really breaks me up.”
Suzan said, “Laughed at something my husband said. My kids and my husband are guaranteed to crack me up, they are the most clever, funny people I know.”
Anne said, “Working with adults with Learning Difficulties never fails to make me laugh.”
Norm said, “Books by Bill Bryson make me actually laugh out loud as I read.”
Pam said, “At supper tonight…my girls are guaranteed to make me laugh…and pull out my hair sometimes but that is a different story :)”
As for me, I always laugh at Monty Python, most British Comedy, ‘Airplane’ movies, and AFV – America’s Funniest Video’s. My Optometrist plays AFV in his office waiting room with no sound, and believe it or not, they are even funnier that way. And, like my friend Jeanette, I laugh when I read greeting cards in stores (and I cry too, sometimes) I laugh at my kids, I laugh at my dog, and even with all that I wish I laughed more often. What about you?
Remember Reader’s Digest, “Laughter is the best medicine”… well, do you think it is? Why do we sometimes not ‘feel’ like laughing? Why are certain types of humour more effective for some people than for others… like slapstick, or dry humour like my English Grandfather’s type of joking around? Why do we laugh at potty/bathroom humour sometimes, even though we know we shouldn’t. Why is it funny when other people hurt themselves… on AFV and (even worse), on movies like ‘Jackass’? And why do we laugh when our kids do or say things that are ‘naughty’… is it a defense mechanism? So many questions around laughter. Oh, maybe I just need to lighten up, stop taking myself and others so seriously, and laugh out loud more often. Maybe I’m just out of practise!
Here’s some funny stuff my kids are busting a gut watching on Youtube lately… and if you don’t find this funny, I hope you laugh out loud at something today!
When the weather is grey, and Spring seems like it will never come, I sometimes get confused, lose my perspective, and feel like there’s not much hope. My regular everyday life feels overwhelming, and it’s all I can do to get out of bed and carry on. My faith takes a beating, and God seems far away. I know he’s there, but I just can’t seem to find the right frequency to connect with him. So, I wait for change. I keep taking my vitamins, keep doing the things I’ve been given to do to the best of my low energy ability, and wait. Because I know change and Spring will come. This morning I happened upon these videos and the small miracles in the voices of these kids, and a shift happened in me. I looked up to see the sun coming through my Winter windows. I considered going outside with my dog.
So I ask you, if there’s no God, then why is there music? Where does it come from?
1. 6 year old Connie sings, ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’;
2. Cover of Lady Gaga, ‘Born this Way’;
3. Brendan MacFarlane, from Perth, UK, sings, ‘I got a woman’;
1. A big shout out to my friend Heidi McLaughlin on the release of her most recent book, ‘Sand to Pearls’. Watch as Heidi introduces her thoughts on how to make choices that will enrich your life. Yahoo, Heidi!!! I’m excited to read your book, and to feel that tingle up and down my spine when I see some of my own words in print inside! You continue to inspire me in writing and in life!!!
2.
“The secret to great writing . . . is . . . WRITE!
No, really. It’s true. Too many people spend the majority of their time talking about writing, reading books about writing, wishing they could write, dreaming about the writing life . . . you get the idea. But the fact is, writing is work, and to be a writer one must write and write and write some more.”
Kay Marshall Strom
3. Speaking about being intentional in the daily (writing and everything else), here’s something else to watch and consider… yes, it’s a writing theme today!!! Tim Schroeder, Pastor of my very own Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna, shares some insights from his book, ‘Life by the Hour,’ in this excellent interview today on ‘100 Huntley Street‘. Another must for my reading plan!
4. Stories… everyone has them… and they are uniquely written parts of our lives.
Stories are gifts. SHARE., as I was reminded this winter in Starbucks most recent advertising campaign. So, I did!
Here, with the permission of the author (me) I will share again what I had the great privilege of sharing at the Christmas Eve Program at Trinity a couple of weeks ago. A number of other brave souls shared their stories as well. I hope to post a video of the program soon, if one is available.
“Hi my name is Lesley-Anne. My mom had breast cancer, and in the back of my mind I wondered if it might happen to me one day. Even so, it’s surreal to me when recently, my doctor calls me back after a routine test. Next thing I know, I’m being rushed in for more tests and day surgery. And as I wait for results, I’m thinking, “How can this be happening?” I’m thinking the worst. I’m angry. I’m disappointed. But, there is this point where I just say, “OK God, I know you are bigger than this. And I want to believe you are enough for me, no matter what.”
At the same time that all this is going on, I decide to join the Worship Choir and help with the Christmas Program here at Trinity. I want to sing, to praise God openly, like I’m taking a stand on what matters most in the middle of my messy life. So I audition for choir and I make it!
The very next weekend we’re on stage, singing a song called ‘Surrender’, and suddenly I’m crying, because the words are so personal, and I’m standing there giving God all my junk, my fear, my anger, over what I’m going through. And in my heart I’m saying, “Yes, I surrender all of it to you God.” I feel God’s peace inside me.
Soon, we begin rehearsals for this very service. First time we meet, the director explains to us how the music, drama and experience of the Christmas services are all pointing to one central theme; God IS with us… All Shall Be Well. You can’t imagine how I feel as these words sink in. I am overwhelmed by God and how he knows me so intimately. I made it about my promises, and my worship, and my surrender, proving my trust in God. I almost miss it! So God whispers,“I’m here. I love you.”
“All Shall be Well Lesley-Anne… I am with you.”
God is with us.“
Post Script… I received good news from my Doctor… and now I will begin a more vigilant lifestyle… testing more often to ensure everything remains OK. Still, no matter what comes, I stand on the one truth that will sustain me… God is with me.
BUDDY BREATHING 