Still and Quiet Morning

Psalm 46:10 -" Be still and know that I am God" has been one of my life's anchor verse and this morning  driving through Lake Townsend, God was gracious to open my eyes and heart to see and feel the meaning of it without words.

With Christmas season soon winding down , I am unusually calm knowing that my Christmas to do list is still not done much more checked off. Along with the upcoming medical treatment plans which seem like another form of torture (as most cancer treatments are) , how gracious God is giving such still and calming opportunity to prepare me for what is to come!

It's interesting how our perception changes as we go through life despite our anchors. Experience no doubt is a big factor for change like crucible for silver furnace for gold .''If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is,infinite.''( William Blake ). It's hard  not to agree to such profound idea. In my mind's heart it's -IMAGO DEI.. created in the image of God therefore been given , in fact gifted if not hard wired with connectivity to infinity! What a fascinating thought particularly this time of the year!

I have driven by the same path of Lake Townsend a million times but I have never perceived the same ordinary scenery the way I did  this morning ... the stillness of  the water reflecting the image of sunrise's hauntingly golden hues,  pillars of clouds as if bellowed from a smokestack just for the occasion and bare trees ready for winter's sleep. How befitting to behold the beauty of God reflected in nature He created. How humbling for such mortal like me given a glimpse of heaven!

                                             PEACE, COMFORT  & JOY

 

 

A portrait of GRACE

There are mornings that are simply different from all others. This morning is one of them. Coffee mug at hand and bible on the other ,I sat by my bedroom's bay window ready to meet with God. In one corner of my eye I saw a pinkish hue in the sky and I just thanked the Lord for such a  soft and tender feel of the sky. I heard the early morning forecast earlier - cloudy and 40%  chance of rain before noon....  no big deal so I went on with the more important task at hand.


No later than 15 minutes , I looked up again and the sky is now reddish purple and just could not stop looking and the next thing I knew camera, hat and jacket were already in my hands as it was still reading 30 by my indoor thermometer.

What a treat to have such a beautiful morning to start my day with after all I have not been feeling well the past 3 days.The burst of beautiful , colorful , magnificent, enormous sky was healing and the storm and rain that soon followed was cleansing. Not only did I read God's word  about GRACE , He gave me an illustration  of what grace looks like. Only God!

           

              

    

CHRISTMAS, a feline perspective....

My name is Itsybitsy, I am 8 yrs old and currently the youngest of the 3 hairy bunch. I am looking forward to that milestone most humans say " cats have 9 lives".  I don't understand what all that means exactly but all I know is my older step brother Ethan was 19 yrs old when he left us to go to cat heaven 2 yrs ago. Sad as that was, our human mom assured us that she LOVES us  no matter how young or old , well behaved or misbehaved! In other words , there is nothing we can do  and not do to make her love us more or less. WOW that is too complex for a little guy like me to wrap around my Santa hatted head!

All of 8 years combined I have grown bigger in size than my name and I am mighty glad my adoptive mom did not change my name just  to catch up. I love the sound of my name, I am tickled pink when   I hear little children sing song about me too, even if I am not a spider. Humongous , Obese, Overly nourished or even Malnourished would have been  more appropriate terms of endearment for me. I love to hear the 'Mal Morris' thingy though because it sounds like the more popular Morris the cat everyone loves on TV! If I were skinny  and tall I could be Tigger if not Hobbes but considering my size and stripes, I am closer to Heathcliff and Garfield. Not bad huh !

The real reason why my mom adopted me was because I resembled her childhood favorite cat named Tana. She tells me it was more of an emotional reason than cerebral. But whatever the real reason is, I am just glad she gets emotional sometimes!I love the idea of adoption too , Jews and Gentiles but I don't want to be cerebral and biblical. I am happy to be a cat , a fat cat for that matter!

Last night she asked us to be her little elves and help put our  Christmas tree up. That was a chore and I was exhausted. I think the other elves were too. This thing about Christmas , I just don't get it yet. Last year we did not have a tree at all , other people were with us like auntie Fran and Karoline , we hardly saw our mom! All she told us was, we need to behave,  she will be gone to a place I have never been called Philippines and will be back in no time ! I wondered what all it meant but one thing we knew, we missed her and hoped that she missed us too.

With the tree up and our pictures taken , it's looking like a different Christmas this year. I hear loud music blasting  from a black boxes close to the ceiling, she called it Christmas songs to bring out the Christmas spirit ; she hums , she sings and sometimes carry us along in her arms as she bounces around and dance. Boy that was fun! I hope she does it more often than just brushing our hair on Saturdays when she does not work.

We were concerned about her early this year though , I heard breast cancer and a little advance stage. but I again did not know what it meant. There were other people at our house to help us take care of her. We know when she is not feeling well when she sleeps on her favorite sofa. We take advantage of it so we can keep a closer eye on her. Chazzy takes the head part , I take the other end and Little One takes the middle. Boy, we are a good team! Much as we like being in close proximity to her that way, we like it better for her cancer to go away!

Last week, I heard from the radio my mom was listening to that Christmas is all about the LOVE of GOD sent to earth through little baby named JESUS. Did you hear JESUS was born in a manger with sheeps and donkeys. I sometimes wonder why the cold and lowly manger while  I have a beautiful , cushy, fluffy bed under a warm brightly lighted Christmas tree right now. If I heard correctly , Jesus is King and will come again as King , doesn't he deserve a king size bed? The manger is more my type but just between you and me , I sometimes don't want to share my bed but king Chazzy sometimes invades me and my bed and I just let him , is that LOVE?

                               

I am still pondering what all that mean but one thing I know and feel is LOVE! It's easy for cats  to say so because  we PURRR our LOVE away, we chase and wag our love tails off , we self groom our love hairs , we love to eat, sleep and play. When we make messes , we love to see our mom clean it all up for us. If love is but give and take , we sure take a lot and I believe we have it made. Isn't that  what Jesus did , gave a lot , sacrificially to clean up the messes of human kind? Boy am I glad I am a cat , I don't have to understand such complex exchange. May be when I get to be 9 yrs old I will get it together by Christmas of 2015. For now.....Meowrry Christmas to all.

 

Crazy Lady out last night

The day before it was the moon that was crazy , last night much as I don't want to admit it , it was this lady that has gone crazy , perhaps moonstruck.... the hunter being hunted and haunted perhaps! Other than being sleepless last night, all is calm , all is bright.... the moonlight through the bay window just don't want to be ignored. 

This may be cliche but the outing last night reminded of the famous phrase " make a lemonade out of a lemon " . Well , I had plenty of lemons last night , enjoy the drink!  I now realize how interesting  and merciful technical errors could get . Reminds me of God's sovereignty - paraphrase of Romans 8:28 - He makes all things work for the good of those who love him.

Heart Moon

Dog Bone Moon

Wind Swept Tree Lights

Hide and Seek

Crazy Moon out tonight

Coming home tonight from a communion service and business meeting , I was driving through a thick fog in some areas and clear on  others but when I looked up as I was nearing home,  the sky was strangely blue full of fluffy cummulus white clouds like you see in daylight running around what looks like close to a full moon.

You guessed it, I have not learned to leave home with camera in tow. Not only was I in a hurry to get the camera , I couldn't recall a thing about what I've read a month ago on moonlight photo shoot tips except to open wide the aperture to maximize the light coming in. I couldn't find my hand held tripod either. So endure ( instead of enjoy) the crazy results below.

XOXO Moon

Fiery ring around the moon

Double Ringed  Moon

Rainbow Ringed Moon

Crowned Moon

                               

Surprised by the ordinary

I have been wanting to take pictures of the lacey looking flowers of an ornamental grass by my side yard ( miscanthus sinensis - maiden grass) before they totally dry up at fall's end.  A ray of afternoon sun on the  grass flower caught my eye as I was leaving for church. I knew for sure the fast setting sun will not wait  long enough for me to get a camera much more compose but I did it anyway impetuously that is. Something you just have to take chances!

For sure I missed the sun's ray which caught my eye in the first place and was left with more diffuse and harsh lighting but what I captured nonetheless caught me by surprise - this ordinary looking flower upon closer look revealed much more than I expected.

This is not to give credence to human being's infinite capacity for self rationalization. Though I was a little bit late for church , on the way there I was already thanking the Lord for such awe and wonder. beauty and  grace of ordinary and little things He created!

    

High- water mark to Hallmark

My mind needed a short escape today so I decided to look through 2014 pictures with the thought of organizing them and start the 2015 album.

Well , there are too many and it looked like hard work.... and my mind and energy is just not up to the task ; a lot easier to procrastinate.... lol.  However, one caught my eye for one reason or another. I hope to discover the reason while I am writing this blog. I don't think if I've  seen or noticed it before but my memory is not that great either. Funny thing is it is not even my shot. I am certain it is either JR's or Ye's as Fred is in the middle ground. The picture itself has great composition and has great potential  for a Hallmark card pick!

What caught my eye are the delicately embossed high water marks, polished and defined by the wispy stalks of baby sea wheat grass. The huge pinkish blush of clouds in the background dwarfed  Fred recording another scene and event in a shore a washed with unending beauty and mystery while a colony of mature wheat grass standing tall with hope and strength, claiming and defending their own purpose and destiny as they harmoniously co-exist with the vast and distant shore sometimes threatening their very own existence.

Where do sea water come from, where do they go to rest; what makes the surf billow and roll? I often wonder why wheat grass abound, what role do they play? How do they defend themselves from the ebb and flow of the tide? What role do I play in this whole ecosystem? Why I am here in the first place?

Do you ever ask the same existential questions? In reading an old book last night before sleep - Windows of Hope , St. Augustine said it best ... "Men go forth to wonder at the height of mountains, the huge waves of sea - and forget to wonder at themselves. "

You see, yesterday I struggled with the thought of starting 5 yrs of oral chemo as I am about to finish radiation. It seem like 5 yrs is way too long a treatment with no guarantee of cancer not coming back. After talking to Fred about this yesterday , I realized am giving voice to my FEAR of recurrence instead of HOPE and FAITH.

It's no wonder why the water mark caught my eye. It perhaps represents the scars and mark in my chest  from biopsies and surgeries. Like the watermarks, they will soon be gone when high tide rolls around. The looming, huge pinkish cloud I may have seen as 5 yrs of  oral chemo treatment but the lump of wheat grass I now see as the bearer of  STRENGTH, FAITH and HOPE.

Deeper still , I think, this composition represents the very essence of our trip and friendship. Thank You for coming and making it hapen!

 Cheers... more margarita?! Whats your pick? Lets pick the top five. I hope you'll take up my challenge. I am dying to know.

adventure to strength, faith , hope, and courage