Work has been a consistent theme in my life for several weeks now. What it means to work as unto the Lord. As I read this blog post today I was encouraged and inspired. I hope that it does the same for you.
There are people who won’t appreciate your best work.
They may criticise it.
They may reject it.
They may laugh at it.
They may not understand it.
They may not find it helpful at the time.
But don’t let that stop you.
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What can be more representative of love than a stolen moment on the wedding day?
Here is the northeastern part of the states it has been very cold, frigid even. Temperatures have dropped to single digits overnight, “warming” to the teens during the day. I don’t know about you but in weather like this I don’t want to make any more trips out than absolutely necessary. Hubby and I have spent our evenings enjoying the under the warmth of a cozy, fleece lined blanket, sipping herbal tea and reading.
So what is your preferred way to pass the time on long, cold winter nights?
We met via an online Christian dating site. After weeks of emails I finally agreed to call him, it was shortly after that we scheduled our first date. It would be truly “blind”, neither had seen a photo of the other…pretty bold, huh? We were meeting at a restaurant about thirty minutes from my home. As planned I arrived a few minutes early. I peaked into the bar and didn’t spy anyone who appeared alone and waiting, so I made my way over to the hostess. There was a reservation in his name. No he hadn’t arrived yet, I was told, shall I show you to your table? We made our way over to a lovely table in the middle of the restaurant. She left 2 beautifully bound leather dinner menus on the table and handed an extensive wine menu to me. Since I had no idea what he liked to drink I placed it alongside the other menu’s on the table.
It was my first time at this restaurant. Since is was a weekend night the tables were beginning to fill with other patron’s. I watched as servers brought some delicious smelling meals to nearby tables. The layout of the place was interesting; several partitions separated a somewhat large room into smaller, more intimate settings. The lighting was not so low that you couldn’t read a menu(I have had that experience) and not so bright that you felt like you were in the school cafeteria. I was still taking in my surroundings when the hostess briefly reappeared and showed a man the table where I was seated. I saw him shake his head “no” and chat with her for a moment before making his way over to me. Pausing by my side he said, “Are you Paige?”. Yes, I am. Are you Steven?
Steven frequently tells the story of how when we met for the first time he told the hostess that I was not who he was meeting. When he glanced at my table he saw 3 menu’s and assumed that it was not the correct table. Luckily she corrected him. We will celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary this June.
The incentive for this post was a writing prompt over at the Daily Post. Writer’s liberty was used personalize the post. Thanks for reading.
Beyond, the topic for this weeks photo challenge. Draw the viewer to look beyond. The top photo was taken December 2011 on the Jersey side of the Hudson river. The attraction was the spectacular sunset, capturing Lady Liberty made it a WOW.
Lady Liberty holds her flame high beyond the city limits
This past Saturday marked the 3 anniversary of the massive earthquake that shook Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, to its core. The death toll exceeded 200,000, the destruction beyond imaginable. I traveled to Haiti post quake and then again the following year to work in a hospital caring for the beautiful Haitian people. This photo was taken on the second trip. Our group traveled to the Citadel. Hiked a mountain that seemed quite massive, at an altitude none of us northerners were used to, in heat and humidity that would make anyone’s hair curl. The views from the top were impressive. There is a reason Haiti is known for its Mountains beyond Mountain.
There is a reason the country of Haiti is known for its mountains beyond mountains.
My pastor and other bible teachers will tell you that God created “time” for us. We require the ability to break it down into smaller, bite size chunks. Imagine for a moment what the world we be like without “time”. A chaotic mess would exist, don’t you think? And time is a funny thing too I think. Sometimes it drags, like on a Friday work day. Other times it flies by; most weekends for instance. Earlier this week I was driving down a road that I last traveled on a beautiful sunny day last fall. As I passed by the location where I spent several hours on that October Saturday morning before heading off to meet a dear friend for lunch I thought to myself–that was 3 months ago already–yet in some sense it seems as though it was just last week. How about that eerie de’ja vue experience? I know it happens to all of us, right?
I just completed an audio book by the masterful storyteller, Stephen King, titled 11/22/63. The entire book is focused around an ordinary guy who goes back in time through what he calls a “rabbit hole” to right the terrible wrong that occurred when JFK was assassinated. He discovers however that when you change that past a whole new future is created, seems obvious huh? As the narrator reads the tale aloud I found myself reeling at the changes in the world since 1960. At one point the protagonist’s girlfriend asks about the future and he responds by telling her that a black man is president. She is stunned. This is before desegregation so to hear that less than 50 years in the future a black man would hold the highest office in the country was amazing. And it is, don’t you think? Time is weird. In some ways we can look back across the half a century and be blown away by the speed of progress yet when we look at the age of our now young adult children we can wonder…how did it go past so fast.
Today, like many other days, I left my house in total darkness. A few mornings this week I could see the sliver of the moon still high in the sky as I pulled out of my driveway to begin my hour commute north to the capital city of Hartford. A short time after leaving my home I entered the commuter lot where I would park my car and climb into the Easy Street van to “let someone else do the driving”. As I relaxed my back against the seat I caught a glimpse of the sky to the east. Pink and purple were exploding in the sky. God’s handiwork in all its Glory.
There are many occasions when I am blessed enough to witness such beauty and always pause at the splendor with gratitude toward the Creator. Today however I chose to post my observation on Facebook. All day long I have been blessed by my friends and even a few strangers commenting on my page. It truly amazes me just how good He is. When we take the time to thank Him and share His glory with the world, He blesses us even further.
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”
― Bil Keane
This photo was snapped in July as I watched the sunset on Boston Harbor.
Sunset over Boston Harbor
