Words That Give Grace

"Communication is like a little path into a person's heart and words spoken in a positive way give the listener life."
Julia

I am SO not perfect and sometimes, especially with certain people, I just lose it...
Here is an excellent post (with gorgeous photos) on the legacy we leave behind by the words that we allow to come forth out of our mouths.
Do we like the book of our lives that we're all writing? It not there is still time to make the next chapter better:)
 
Blissfully Content: Words That Give Grace

Blessings,
Aimee

Photo: along the Salmon River in Oregon's Coast Range (summer, 2012)
Notes: Julia, of Blissfully Content also has many great ideas for home and garden! Did I say she is also from the PNW?? :)

The WORD on Wednesday: Head to 'Higher' Ground (A Bit Earlier This Week)

And the sign said:

"Flood Zone

In Case of Earthquake,

Go To Higher Ground."

 

 

So this weekend,

 

 

when I was feeling sad, stressed and a bit 'shaken'

from the ever-increasing challenges of this life,

 

 

I headed to a favorite spot along the river...

 

 

and there I was again reminded,

 

 

that in troubling times one should ALWAYS obey the warning signs

 

 

and head for 'HIGHER' ground.

 

~  ~  ~
 

Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life,

what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.

Is not the life more than meat, and the body than rainment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;

yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.

Are ye not much better than they?

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?

and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
 

~  ~  ~

What do you do when you're feeling sad or stressed out

and in need of a change in focus?

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

Photos:

One of my favorite places to go along the Clackamas River.

 

Bible scriptures:

Matthew 6:8b, 25-26 KJV

Matthew 10:29-31 KJV

 

After the Storm (Does God Cry?)

 
 
 
The storm has passed...the rain has ceased for the moment.

Droplets of rain lay like glittering little crystals on leaves and flowers alike.

 

 

So much pain in this world;

so many tears.

 

Not one week seems to pass without bringing more news

 of suffering, loss, sorrow and death.

Such has it been since Cain lifted his hand to take his brother Abel's life.

 

 

Does God cry I ask as I lift my eyes towards the heavens?

Does He feel this family's pain;

does He feel my pain?

 

 

I know Jesus wept...

for the Bible says so and I believe what is written there.

It also says that

the only begotten Son of the living God

knew pain and sorrow firsthand.

 

Verse after verse, I read accounts of His walk among mankind... 

 among those experiencing storms of disease, loss and oppression--

those with little or no hope.

Yes, Christ saw the cruelty of man against his fellow man;

He saw a world where the Golden Rule was not followed

and

He knew well what that cost those He had come to save;

those He gave His life's blood for.

 

 

Does God cry?

I don't know the answer, for the Bible doesn't say...

 but I DO know God loves those who cry

and I know He longs to comfort them.

 

Today,

I long to comfort a family 

experiencing great sorrow in a nation far from my own--

a family I do not know,

but a family known to God.

Today I also long for a world where we love one another as He loves us.

 

Blessings,

Aimee

 

 

Thou tellest my wanderings:

put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?

Psalm 56:8 KJV

 

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,

 neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:4 KJV   

 

 

The WORD on Wednesday: Forgive

 

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,

even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32 KJV

 

 

A new commandment I give unto you,

That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.

John 13:34 KJV

 

 

And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary,

 there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do...

Luke 23:33-34a KJV

 

 

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy...

He hath not dealt with us after our sins:

nor rewarded us according to our iniquities,

For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west,

 so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

Like as a father pitieth his children,

so the LORD pitieth them that fear Him.

For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.

Psalms 103:8, 9-14 KJV

　

　

 

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.

Ephesians 5:1 KJV

 

Blessings this day,

Aimee

 

Photos:

Northern Oregon coast

(another part of my Mother's Day trip)

Part 2 of Into the Forest soon...

Maundy Thursday + Good Friday Reflections

Now before the feast of the passover,

when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own which were in the world,

He loved them unto the end.

John 13:1 KJV

Jesus didn't just talk about love,

He put love 

into action.

 

Imagine this...

in the next few hours Jesus will see three of His disciples fall asleep instead of keeping vigil

with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

~.

Jesus will then be betrayed by the kiss of one who had

walked with Him for 3 1/2 years,

heard Him teach,

 shared His food,

seen Him heal the sick and even raise the dead.

~

Christ will before that night is over see

all His closest friends

desert Him,

and later

He'll hear one of them--

the one who confessed that He knew Jesus was the long awaited Messiah--

deny Him not once but several times.

~

Finally,

Jesus Christ 

 will be put through an illegal trial,

 scourged,

beaten,

publicly humiliated

and then executed between two criminals.

~  

And so what did Jesus do in those last few hours before He walked the Via Dolorosa...

the Way of Suffering?

Well the only begotten Son of God,

was about His Father's business.

 

We find Him eating with those who will soon desert Him;

we see Him humbly washing their feet--

(even the one He knew would betray Him). 

 

We hear Him praying for them

(and for those coming after who would also believe)

and we see Him continuing teaching;

 comforting and preparing them for the hard times ahead--

 

 Now that, is love...

true, agape, pure, perfect, sacrificial,

I Corinthians 13 love,

and that is the type of love we are to have one for another if we are His followers...

that is the type of love I am supposed to have.

 

A new commandment I give unto you,

That ye love one another; as I have loved you...

John 13:34 KJV

 

Blessings from me to you on this Maundy Thursday evening,

Aimee

 

Links/Notes:

The story of Christ's last passover on earth--

the Last Supper is told in the following chapters:

Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 13-17 and also in I Corinthians 11:23-25.

 

Maundy Thursday:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maundy_Thursday

 

 

Month of Love: Day 15

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,

 that we should be called the sons of God...

Up late (because of several factors) I awoke to this beautiful blue sky
and after taking care of our smallest dog, went for a stroll in the gardens...
what a gift such a day like this is!

Everywhere I looked I could see the first signs of spring...
and I almost felt like crying--
not from unhappiness or pain but
from sheer joy:)

And now,
as I sit comfortably curled up on our recliner,
with light streaming through the window
(which by the way is opened all the way),
listening to my favorite radio station playing 'Friday favorites',
I can't help but feel loved by Him who made all this beauty around me
and sent His only begotten Son to save me:)

Is it sunny where you are?
What beautiful scene have you seen lately?

Wishing you all a happy weekend whether your weather is sunny OR cloudy:)
Blessings,
Aimee
 

Notes:

I John 3:1a KJV

Photos:
plum (Shiro, a Japanese plum) buds
camellia sasanqua
(thank you DSLR for finally getting the pink right -- LOL)
daphne odora
(I'm on a fragrant flower watch...)
daisies (lawn or common---although I think there is nothing 'common' about them)
AND
sunlight--
beautiful, wonderful, incredible sunlight!

Month of Love: Day 13

Charity (love) suffereth long, and is kind;

charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

Doth not behave itself unseemly,

seeketh not her own,

is not easily provoked,

thinketh no evil;

Rejoiceth not in iniquity,

but rejoiceth in the truth; 

 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things,

Charity never faileth...

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three;

but the greatest of these is charity.

 

I love you Farmer Boy.

May God enable me to love you even more:) 

Blessings, Aimee

 

Notes:

Scripture from I Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13 KJV

charity=αγαπη (agape) unconditional, perfect love

 

Photos:

My wedding veil and gown.

DH and I on our wedding day.

Month of Love: Day 9

"Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it..."

Blessed Saturday to you.

This has been an eventful week...

a short visit by a virus

(ick!)

 a very scary discovery

(which later on. thank God, was revealed to be not quite as bad as I had thought at first),

a lot of progress on the alcove area (cabinets and moulding now finished),

garden discoveries

 (a camellia sasanqua STILL full of blooms;

a dapne odora that has buds on it now, 

continued bulb stalk growth)

and more.

Spring cleaning and organizing continues with a few bright sunny days to remind me that spring is just around the corner...

well almost.

Oh, and little reminders of the day of love are beginning to appear around our house:)

Anything happening at your place?

Blessings, Aimee

 

 

Notes:

Scripture is Song of Solomon 8:7a KJV

 

Photos:

The cute couple above is a salt and pepper shaker that belonged to my mom.

I am not sure how old it is but I really love it!

Our daphne odora

I can hardly wait for the buds to open....mmmm

Valentine Tree

The WORD on Wednesday: God's Unfailing Love

Sometimes I feel like God has deserted me...

that I am alone;

that He longer loves me.

Sometimes

 I even feel as if the words spoken on the cross by Jesus Christ could be my own...

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"

(Matthew 27:46b KJV)

Others have felt this way before me;

even King David, a man after God's own heart

 (see Acts 13:22 KJV).

In Psalm 42:9, He writes

"I will say unto God my rock,

Why hast Thou forgotten me?

why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"

~

You see
 (and I am reminding myself here)

these feelings that God has deserted you,

that He doesn't love you,

that He doesn't care for you or your needs...

are just that--feelings;

NOT reality.

~

The truth; the reality can be found here

in these verses also written by King David,

under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

  Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens;

Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

your justice like the ocean depths.

 You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.

How precious is Your unfailing love, O God!

All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings...

Psalm 36:5-7 NLT

~

So the truth is

you and I are not alone,

God has not deserted us.

And despite the circumstances that you and I are facing

God loves us

and

He wants you
and I to know that.

~

O God,

Pour out Your unfailing love on those who love You...

Aimee

 ~

Photos:

Central Oregon coast range wildflowers

Gleneden Beach

A view on a rural road in Lincoln County, Oregon

Notes:

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Last scripture verse Psalm 36:10a KJV

The WORD on Wednesday: Never Alone

O LORD,

You have examined my heart and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.

You know my thoughts even when I'm far away.

You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.

You know everything I do.

You know what I am going to say even before I say it, LORD.

You go before me and follow me.

You place Your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too great for me to understand!

 

I can never escape from Your Spirit!

I can never get away from Your presence!

If I go up to heaven, You are there;

If I go down to the grave, You are there.

If I rise the wings of the morning,

if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there Your hand will guide me,

and Your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me

and the light around me to become night-

but even in the darkness I cannot hide from you.

To You the night shines as bright as day.

Darkness and light are the same to You.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body

and knit me together in my mother's womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!

Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,

as I was woven together in the dark of the womb,

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in Your book,

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are Your thoughts about me, O God.

They cannot be numbered!

I can't even count them;

they outnumber the grains of sand!

And when I wake up,

You are still with me...

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

Point out anything in me that offends You,

and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Psalm 139: 1-18, 23-24

NLT

Notes:

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Photos:

Downtown Portland Sculpture

Historic PNW Cemetery

Oregon coast.

My youngest granddaughter.

Should I Fly Tonight

When I was younger,

sometimes I would dream about flying above the land.

These were good dreams then;

these are good memories now.

And so are the memories of waking up

with sore 'wings' (arms) from the night's flight.

If I were to fly in my dreams tonight,

I would fly to each of my childrens'

and

grandchildrens'

bedsides.

Then

I would quietly kneel by each of their beds,

say a silent prayer and blessing over them,

and whisper softly in their ears

that I love them,

before flying home again. 

Yep,

that is what I would do...

should I fly in my dreams tonight

(I am really hoping for sore 'wings' tomorrow).

Good night; pleasant dreams...

Blessings,

Aimee

Do your dreams ever take you above the countryside

 like a hot air balloon or a bird in flight?

Has any of your dreams ever come true?

Photo: taken at the Oregon coast.



Lenten Reflection

My robes have become muddied again.

They are heavy with angry words and bitterness;

they are dirty from wrong priorities...

they no longer shine with the brightness of God's love.

I drop to the ground; it is cold and hard.

Kneeling is not easy--

it is hard to humble oneself;

 it is hard to admit one is wrong.

It is hard to get beyond human pride.

 It is stormy outside...the ground is wet, the wind blowing.

I feel alone, abandoned in the storms of life.

I ask forgiveness from the Father; I ask for Him to cleanse me from all unrighteousness--

for Him to wash my robes once again.

And then I see...there is another beside me; One who has been there all along.

One who was there during the angry words and bitterness that I spoke;

One who was there during the hurt that poured out from two human souls;

One who was there when I again chose the wrong priorities...

One who was always there waiting and calling me patiently.

The One?

 Well it is Him; He who died for my sins over 2,000 years ago.

He who died to cleanse me and to bring healing to my soul.

I couldn't see Him before--when my robes were muddied--but now Heavenly Grace has opened my eyes and I see He was there all along, touching my shoulder gently;

calling me to live a life of true love, complete peace and deep joy.

I smile and then I rise, robes clean and white again.

I rise forgiven and cleansed; a child of the King.

I rise because He is the reason this Friday is a Good Friday.

May you be blessed.

Aimee

Did you know that a kneeling position "provides more stability due to (a) lower position of gravity" and that "a kneeled person is much less visible from a distance"? I think there is a spiritual application here...if we were to humble ourselves before our Maker more, would we find that we have greater stability in life? Would we find that the darts of the enemy of our soul more often miss us? (source of quotes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kneeling)

Photo taken at Mt Cavalry Catholic Cemetery, Portland.

Lent Begins: Ash Wednesday

In this life on earth we travel many paths...

The year we lost mom, I traveled this one with my dad and best friend.

This path was new to me then and each curve of the road revealed more of the beauty of creation...

Valley, hills, mountains, woodlands, forests, rivers...it was truly beautiful and I eagerly 'drank' in each new sight!

Shortly after we turned onto this new path that year, I remember stopping at a wide pullout and getting out of the car.

Walking as close to the edge of the cliff as I dared, I saw what looked to be some kind of waterfall...but so much of my sight was obscured by the seasonal growth of weeds, I had a very limited view of its true beauty...

Recently my DH and I returned to that same spot. The ground was wet and muddy; secure footing seemed unsure in the area I had stood before. But then my wise hubby pointed out another place where it was drier and cautiously I walked towards the edge.

I looked out and down, this time through the minimal foliage of wintertime and this is what I saw...

Today Lent begins...another opportunity to focus on the Creator; another chance to let Him remove the 'weeds' in my life (politics, TV, bad choices, wrong priorities, etc) so I might see more clearly what is true and what is not; another chance to more fully realize just how much our Abba Father loves His children...just how much He loves me.

And though I will never fully see or know Him on this side of eternity--just as I could not see the whole waterfall even with a lot of the weeds gone that day; I know God will reveal more of Himself if I set apart time to meet with Him. And so the 'drawing nigh' time begins anew...with a refreshing of the Spirit to follow.

Lenten Blessings, Aimee

Note: Three Rivers Highway, Cosper Creek Falls.

Birthday Gifts

When someone has a birthday it's normal to give them gifts.

But this year, on his special day,

my beloved Farmer Boy

showered me with gifts:

a day with our DDD (darling daughter dog),

a day filled with beautiful scenes of bay,

and ocean;

sand

and wild, wild surf.

A day

in which I received the gifts of gorgeous pink flowers...

and a yummy gourmet, artisan pizza!

And when the day filled with these gifts and much, much more was over,

and I reminded him he could have had whatever he had wanted for his special day,

I received the best gift of the whole day...

because he told me what he wanted most was to make me happy:)

That is love;

that is my DH.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Blessings forever,

Aimee