We've Shifted House

I've got a new address... and I'm excited about it!

It's just like shifting house... and I've done that a few times :)

We ('we', because all the members of my family get roped in in one way or another)  are still finding our way around and making things fit just right. It's a process that takes time, but we are functioning...'LIFE'  is happening over at the new house.

It's the same me, the same family, the same desire to find all the gifts that HE has graciously given to us each day... just a new house that's in a better location for us, with better access for all of you.

The new address, so you know where to go, is http://fruitofgratitude.com/ ... real easy! Click on this link and it'll magically transport you through the streets of cyberspace to our new place. It'd be great to have a visit with you. Click like or even better, leave a comment ... love to hear your thoughts.

If you like visiting enough and want to return, then follow with email, facebook, twitter, or networked blog, so that I come to you each day... easily!

See you soon

                                                                          LyndaJoy

When I am down I must...

3 Gifts Learned...

I've been here before...      
and what did I learn?

remind myself...

Do not ask myself "How I feel?" Feelings are not what I am.
 Feelings are just flags to things happening deeper down.
What is it really? Ask the deep questions... unlayer the onion...

Tears overwhelming me... I pick up the phone. Dialing his very familiar number... my darling.

I have learned I must talk it out. I need to voice those thoughts that roll around inside. Many of them will become visibly foolish when spoken...I need to see them disappear... bubbles bursting.

with grateful thanks LomaPhotograpy©

Needing to be patient as I help his male-mind connect the dots already formed in my rabbit warren female-mind. His once disdained, logical viewpoint is now highly valued and sought after. He shows me another viewpoint.
He reminds me I am loved and I am grateful.

The second thing I have learned is to look at surrounding situations.
Am I too tired? Yes, YES, and YES!!!
Am I feeling frazzled with too many things on? Are there issues sitting unresolved in my heart that are causing my emotional reservoir to leak?
I have a sleep.

with grateful thanks LomaPhotography©

Talked through and somewhat refreshed by a sleep, I have learned to get up and do, and in the doing...sing.

Sometimes I cannot sing- too many emotions still close to the surface...brimming over, so I play music and let the words and the music wash over me.

I soak in the positive words... the God-praise.


So, I am off to clean my room. Fold clothes and put them away, tidy up and dust a little.
Maybe change my earrings and run the comb through my hair... and sing!

with grateful thanks LomaPhotography©

Lift up my eyes to the hills which is where my help comes from. Psalm 121:1

~~~~~

"1000 Gifts"...

#173  Inclusion

#174  Saturday

#175  Water fights as boys clean the cars

#176  Listening to my kids laughing together

#177  A sleep

#178  Emergency emotional download calls to my darling

#179  His patient listening ear

#180  Messages reminding me that my story matter to HIM

#181  Light through afternoon sun showers

"Happy Birthday to You!"

A gift of Life, Growth, Decline...

Birthday thoughts swirling... again... 50 times over.

with grateful thanks Loma Photography©

I ponder where I am going in this life-gift He's given to me.

Youth thought it was forever...new depths of realization dawning as to the proximity of my 'use-by-date'. What might that be? Do I have 20...30...40 'good' years left?
If more than, or at least half, of my time is over, what have I accomplished? What do I count for?

with grateful thanks Loma Photography©

I talk to others older... further along.
I listen to experience and wisdom...

They tell me tales of oak trees that spend 50 yrs on only growth... growth slow and sure... roots deep, branches wide. Only after 50 yrs of preparation does the time of fruit come. What the oak tree was created for...

I hear of some with great lists of accomplishments, tell me it all means nothing...it's the lessons they have learned in showing love to someone close that they consider their greatest work.

with grateful thanks Loma Photography©

Drawing it around themselves like a heavy cloak, I watch people slowly put on old age. Bodies frail and failing... pace slowing, but with prayer becoming their constant companion. Warriors of heaven... champions of those still coming.


It would seem as if these human bodies we are gifted with, are the cocoon for the emerging butterfly of our spirit.


Becoming a friend of God... forged in this life... growth nurtured through years of relating to Him... Decline of the body heralding the greatest work of all... two becoming one.

~~~~~

"1000 Gifts"...

#155  Girl talks with our son

#156  Impromptu photo sessions

#157  Blue eyes twinkling

#158  Dog indulging in warmth of the sun

#159  Giggles with daughter

#160  Coffee date set

#161  Running tongue around clean teeth

#162  "Aha!" moments with new ideas

#163  Friends who send 'spot-on' youtube clips... thanks for listening to His nudge

#164  Strawberries & vanilla ice-cream

HE Loves me, HE loves me more,...

3 GIFTS LOVED...

My darling is the first gift loved that comes to mind.
Second is definitely my children.
Third?...
I hear Him say gently, "You."
"Me?"
"Absolutely! I love you." 
"OK, but this is a list of things I am thankful to YOU for...gifts that YOU have given me."
"Who gave you life?  ... Are you thankful that I created you? ...I sent My Son so that you & I could have a relationship."
I've already had hard lessons here. I am now thankful that He created me. "Yes, Lord. You love me and I am thankful."
"Does your darling love you?" 
More hard lessons are brought to mind. "Yes, Father. He loves me and I am thankful."
"Do the children I gave you love you?"
"Yes, those children love me."
"So, are you not a gift I have given that is loved? 
I smile... "Yes, Father. I am a gift loved."

I am grateful.

Do you see yourself as a gift loved?

with grateful thanks Loma Photography©

Soul Restoring

Clear blue skies,

Beautiful drying weather,

Together,

Enjoyment,

Gardens,

Pruning,

Sons helping,

Daughters laughing,

Peace,

Reading,

Learning,

Time,




For all these gifts, I thank you.

3 GIFTS FOUND TODAY IN SOMEONE OLDER THAN YOU

Today was Mum's opportunity for a massage.

It's a special time for us. Just the two of us for an hour and a half, while I relax and lengthen, effleurage and stretch...

And we talk unhurried... about all the deeper things. We listen... with caring ears. We take our time and wander from one subject to another, completing each before moving on. A mother and her daughter - two women each with a family intertwined - two hearts committed to each other.

As we talk we share ideas, thoughts, plans. Once she taught me how to walk - now two separate paths with the same destination. She's further down her path than I am. Wisdom is one of the garments she wears gracefully. She shares it with me often. I am grateful.

I continue to work systematically up her body and over...exploring, finding, working, releasing...
As a grand finale I apply a hot towel for a facial massage... a little bit of heaven... and that's where we go. Time stands still as we pray for us and our's. She goes here often for me and mine, but today is special.  Together time.

Gift #1 -  A friend

Gift #2 -  Wisdom

Gift #3 -  Prayer support.

3 GIFTS FOUND IN LIGHT

To be found: 3 gifts in light.

I love light!  In science we have played with light as we marveled at it's abilities. The colours of the rainbow being a spectrum of light from the sun reflecting off droplets of moisture on the earth. Have you ever closely examined all the colours in a single drop of water?...it's magnificent! And then to try and capture them on paper...it sends my senses into artistic heaven. With delight in His wonderful creation brimming from us, we grabbed our cameras and were happily mesmerized.

So, come delight and ponder with me...


"And God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light" Genesis1:3


God made light.

with grateful thanks to Loma Photography ©

All of the life that He created needs that light to exist. Even the things that live in absence of light require food that was made in the light.
Nourishment...warmth...vision...happy feelings...Light Life gifts from a God who cares.

Light pierces the darkness. Light exposes.
His light exposes the issues of my heart.


"The Lord is my light and my salvation" Psalm 27:1 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." John 8:12




I become light when I receive His light.

with grateful thanks to Loma Photography ©

Reflections...

3 GIFTS YOU BECAME TODAY IN SERVING

Labels...


'servant' is not really on my list :( It's not that I don't do things for others, but rather the attitude I see when I look into my heart.

It's on my darling's list. I've watched his example for many close-up married years...felt threatened and in awe all at the same time. Keep putting it back in the 'not today' box.
But today's '3 Gifts You Became Today In Serving' makes me bring it out and begin to unpack this unusual gift.
What is serving? What do I become? And there's the problem!...
I see fear in my heart of becoming a doormat... of loosing significance... It's the 'What about me?!' Syndrome.
But Jesus calls me to be a servant to everyone...to be the lowest... the last. It's that whole 'upside-down' Kingdom thing.
It's in loosing myself that He is found
It's in becoming insignificant that He is seen
It's either Him or me.

It's in my humbleness that He is made bigger
It's in showing His love to others that He is exalted.
It's in time absorbing His love that I have the capacity to love.
It's in being grateful for the opportunity to serve that I find joy

Now to begin putting it into practice...

3 GIFTS THAT MADE YOU REALLY SMILE

I do not know their name, but after a day of rain these beautiful flowers just spring up seemingly overnight. I love it! I feel such delight when I see them showing their pure white faces, even though they are as short-lived as the time it takes for them to form.

Today, I felt like I had bunches and bunches of them blooming in my heart.

The book "One Thousand Gifts" is helping to connect so many dots. I just love it! In fact, I can only read so much before I can't read any more for the tears clouding my vision. But for all the tears on the outside, my heart on the inside is so overjoyed...yes, it does feel like overjoyed - too much joy to be able to contain it. I have to put it down and savour the new ideas. Yet, it's not  long before I find myself wanting to read more and am finding a quiet corner again so I can see what comes next.

I have had to keep my Bible close, as I've found myself saying "Really, does it say that?" and have gone to have a look. For 50 years I've heard these stories, yet these little points that are so full of meaning have previously gone unnoticed. I feel like it's a new book that I should go and read again. I am excited!

In between my readings I have phoned my darling to share with him the joy of what I've just read. Having someone to share your journey with is such a blessing. It helps me to have to verbalise and put it into my own words. I love that he is always so positive and affirming towards my revelations. A true friend.

Today was a day with lots more than just 3gifts that made me really smile. What a gracious God!

3GIFTS IN WHAT YOU ARE READING

Reading is a journey that I love to indulge in. I used to indulge in large 'out-of-control' doses. Now, I've learnt to indulge in small bite sized portions- to savour each mouthful, to absorb it more deeply. Maybe that's the mellowing of age...

Reading is an opportunity to grow...to learn...to expand the horizons of my world.

Reading is to partake of another's ideas and thoughts...to see inside their world...to gather a wealth of information that garnishes and enhances my present world, opening doors to places I've never dreamed or even conceived of.

Communication...

" Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things.
The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
Philippians 4:8-9