Puddle Time!!

Tonight I ran around in the rain with one of my greatest friends Taylor. We splashed in puddles, laughed and jumped in the rain and just had a blast. I love the rain but sadly, most of the time I don't take the time to go out and enjoy it. I have taken to stopping and enjoying the little moments recently. I don't know when it started, but I quite like it. It's nice to enjoy the quiet and beauty that God has given us. I hope and pray that I don't stop doing this as the years go by. I want to be able to enjoy that little things every day of my life. I hope that I can be inspired by the little things and that I can inspire others with the little things in my life. 

Oh and I get to wake up early to call my dad in the morning... it's his birthday!!! 

I am...

Frustrated
Stressed
Exhausted

And praying for peace...

Anis Mojgani performs Shake the Dust at HEAVY AND LIGHT.

What more can I say other than, this is beautiful. Listen. And be blessed.

This speaks to me...

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering." Hebrews 2: 9-10

Prairie Dreams

A wide expanse of sky

Before me, behind me, beside me

Alone on this ridge

Alone in this vast space

Alone, but not lonely

I feel the breeze caress my face

The sun smiling its warmth on

My face, my arms, my body

The tall grass brushes against my jean clad legs

In a dance, a tango with the wind

Upon the wind is a faint scent of flowers

The flowers among the grass

Are being visited by buzzing bees and butterflies

A huge old oak down the hill

Spreads its gracious branches

The shade beckons, calling me to lie beneath

Its limbs to share the space with

The birds and squirrels enjoying its open arms

The clouds to my left are growing

Dark and heavy with wonderful rain

The smell of wet earth will soon be here

Comforting and beautiful

There is a distant ringing

Pulling me, leading me away from this prairie

It is time to wake up and go

Prairie dreams will stay here

In my dreams, in my memories

Time no longer standing still

But marching its continuous march

Trust Me...

Beautiful Path

I see her dancing
but not in the graceful
beautiful way of a ballerina

she is dancing on wobbly
diseased legs that barely hold her
the crutches that she clasps
are her one support in this beautiful struggle

she was born with this disease
she did not ask for it
is was written into her genes from the beginning
passed along her blood line

this disease has crippled her body
but her spirit is not touched

her graceful beauty shines
from deep inside this beautiful girl
and makes you forget
the marred beauty of her outer shell

watch her dance her way
along the beautiful path her life is taking
and see the beauty she sows...

Death That Leads to Life

A great poet once said
"You have never lived because you have never died"
It got me thinking about how
Dying is sometimes more than closing your eyes for the last time

You can die simple sitting
Letting your life pass by
Letting the life you could have
Take its bow and walk out your front door

You could die
Along with your loved one
Lying on their death bed
Little pieces of you dying slowly beside them

You could die
Wasting your time on
That person who doesn't value you
That only uses you for their pleasure

You could die
From a disease
Passed to you from that other
Who didn't have the courtesy to tell you

Death could meet you
Walking down the street
In the eyes of the vagrant
Begging for change in front of your favorite coffee shop

You might find death
In the eyes of a young girl
In a rundown brothel
Who's life has been stolen from her by money hungry owners

You might see
Death in the eyes of a woman
Who has been abused all her life
And can see no way to out and continues to take abuse she doesn't deserve

Or you can find a death that leads to life
In the arms of a God
So powerful and beautiful
That His presence in your life will help you, Truly. Live.

Shattered

There is a tearing
Somewhere deep inside
Like an earthquake there is shaking
Breaking me in two

There is a leaking
A bleeding of the old me
Oozing out through the wounds
My pores

Is this simply change
Or some form of creation?

The shaking is giving way to breaking
Which is giving way to shattering
That gives way to complete and utter brokenness

The breaking must come before renewing
But the pain is something you have to live through

Beautiful stuff... just listen...

the day that death died.

One of the people that I follow on twitter wrote today that Easter is "the day that death died. hallelujah!" I was reminded why Easter should be celebrated. Its not about the bunny or who will get more eggs at the easter egg hunt but it is about a revolutionary who came to the earth who was fully God and fully man. Its about that man who spoke for the outcast, took a stand against the "rules" of the era and showed that following God is all about love. Its about the Son of God who died for his creation to save them from eventual death, eternal death. And all this because He loves us. I feel so humbled when I think about this because many times I feel so unworthy of this love because it is so... well big. It is more than I can comprehend right now. I thank God for sending His Son to die for me and for you, because eternity will be the best days of my life! I also pray that I can walk in the footsteps of Jesus and love the downtrodden, that I will find the strength and courage to stand up for those who have no voice, and to help me love those who I can't seem to love on my own.

Legless Abandon

Legless Abandon by Brigitta Beam

Every time I look at this picture I want to know the story behind why the chair has no legs and was left at this abandoned house. Why did the people have to leave the house? Why has no one bought the house and repaired it to its former glory? I almost didn't get this shot. I thought I was finished shooting at this sight until I got in the car and looked out the window and saw the chair sitting alone without legs and I wanted to capture it. It's funny how sometimes the things we almost miss are the things that hold the most beauty. Take some time to slow down and look around and capture beauty.

Love?

I believe in a God that is love. A God that asks us to love others as we love ourselves. And still I see many who claim to follow this same God that express hatred for people who live lives that are not necessarily what you would see in the church daily. I don't understand how they can be professed Christians and still not love others as Christ loves. Maybe this is me being judgmental but I am just trying to call it as I see it. But I believe deep in my heart that God wants us to love others no matter what because when Jesus walked the earth the people that he hung out with were the people that society shunned. Just thoughts I wanted to get out there.