God is Painting The Sky...Right NOW

Greetings Everybody,

It's nearly 3: 30 am right now.

Couldn't sleep.

I went to bed early last night, but tossed and turned.
Mostly because I wanted to be outside, on the porch, looking at the ocean tonight.
Like a little kid, I didn't WANT to go to bed, I wanted to stay up.

And understandably so.
The ocean was and still IS calling to me.
And so, I got up, brewed a cup of coffee, and went to the little table on the porch.
And I found that God had prepared quite a show for me.

We are 18 floors up.
The wind is blowing.
The sea is crashing.
There is salt in the air.
And the sky is flashing.

No we are not at home.
We are on vacation, in Florida, on the Emerald Coast.

And God is painting the night-time sky...RIGHT NOW.

There is a most delicious lightening storm on the horizon.
And God splashing all sorts of color sprays onto the darkness of the sky.

Some orange here and there, some yellow, and white...
...and a gorgeous shade of what can only be referred to as Dreamsicle.

And if you are old enough to remember Dreamsicles, then you know exactly the blend of orange & pink that I am talking about.

So here I sit.

Despite the growing storm, I find the sound of the ocean is so relaxing.
But I am conflicted because the visual effects are so exciting.

And when God added the sounds of thunder just now, my poor mind didn't know how to respond.

So I just stood up, went to the railing and cried tears of joy.

It was too much for my mind to hold.

I serve a mighty God!
I serve the maker of the ocean and sky.
I serve the one who stirs this wind and creates that booming sound.

He is big and I am small.
And I love HIM!

And now I understand why I couldn't sleep.

It wasn't the ocean calling me...
It was GOD!

And in answering HIM, I saw things in the wee hours of this morning that MOST of the people in this town probably didn't see.
What a treat and what a blessing.

Life is like that.

When we answer God's call, we are shown the glory of His Majesty.

And it makes us so incredibly glad 
that we answered His Call.

In HIM,
Grace

Are You Blooming!

Greetings Everybody,
It's good to be back home. 
We went out of town this past week and visited with lots of family at an annual get-together out in the boonies!


Lots of stories I could tell you about that, lol
But for now, I'd rather just talk about this flower, because I think it can teach us all a few things.

I took this photo back in May but just haven't had a chance to post it for you guys yet. Hope you enjoy it.:)

It's a pretty thing isn't it.

Relatively short lifespan.

But while it's alive,  it's Living.

REALLY LIVING!

It's not holding anything back.

It copes with Sunshine and Darkness and Wind and Rain.

And it thrives.

It thrives because it CAN.

And PEOPLE are like that too.

Though we certainly live longer than flowers, 
still, we have a relatively short lifespan.

We Face Sunshine in the Happy Times.

Darkness in the Hard Times.

Wind in the Storms of Life.

And Refreshing Rain that Restores us if we let it.

So here's your question...

Ready???

Are YOU Blooming like this?

Are YOU Living Without Holding Back.

Are YOU Thriving?

I hope so.

Really Truly Hope So.

May you soak up the "Son-shine".

May you rest assured in HIM through The Darkness.

May you bend & not break when the Stormy winds blow.

May you Rejoice during the Gentle Healing Rains.

May you choose to THRIVE and REALLY TRULY LIVE!

Blessings to you all!

In Him,

Grace

We Rest In His Hands

Greetings Everybody,


Got a photo I want to share with you tonight.
Take a look...and then let's visit about it.

Taken after Crossing The Golden Gate Bridge Leaving San Francisco: Pacific Ocean just outside the San Francisco Bay 

It was a Dark, Cloudy, Foggy day.  
A Dreary Day.
And A Perfect Day for Seeing This Scenery and Contemplating Life.


We had taken a good number of photographs in and around San Francisco. 
We had been under the Golden Gate Bride at Fort Point.
And then we went back up the hillside and crossed over the bridge, stopped, got out and stood there.


Almost everyone else was contemplating the Bay and the Bridge and I did my share of that too.


But what caught my eye was NOT man made.
It was not of metal.
It was not symmetrical.


It was undulating and it was windblown and it was mist covered and it was more than a little bit breath-taking.


I was the Sea.
And it was The Cliffs.
And it was the Rock Island in the Distance.


And it caused me to think...this is earthquake country.
Just two weeks ago San Francisco had two earthquakes...not big ones...but enough to make the news...and here I was standing on land that would surely be considered a dangerous place to be in an earthquake.


But I had no desire to leave.


All I wanted to do was contemplate what was going on in the Sea and the Sky above it and in the Earth below it.


Basically we live in a big ole metaphorical "SANDWICH" don't we...Sky Above Us...Earth Below Us
We are between two things that are so large that we can never fully comprehend them.


I stood there thinking of God.
And I stood there knowing I was in The Sandwich.
And I stood there knowing the name of the one who HOLDS it all together.


NOW don't take this analogy too far...I do not think God is going to take a bit out of that sandwich. lol 


But I do want you to know that it is comforting to me to know that we rest in His Hands.
And it is comforting to me to know that I don't have to fully comprehend the Earth and the Sky and the Sea and the Wind or the rest of the wondrous things that fascinate me.


All I have to do is remember that God is GOD and that HE knows the number of hairs on my head.

"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Luke 12:7


That must mean that I am important to HIM.


So I stood there thinking about how Big God is and how Small I am ...and really diggin' the thought that the World and Everything in it will fit in His Hands.


In Him
Grace