Shine

To reach past the noise toward the quiet whisper ... is to feel the presence of God.

Noise

Pushing through the disappointment here and home.       

Here: With Black Friday only days within reach, it seemed a perfect springboard for this month's post and the newness of this website.  Have you ever stood in line for hours only to be turned away?  Have you ever pressed the update button only to realize you have to begin anew?  

It happens with our phones, software programs, video games; everything that seems familiar and comfortable is constantly changing.  Next, you get the dreaded impersonal computer voice for help.  We live on a fast pace technology highway where the road signs are constantly in flux. 

Having worked really hard on this website, I pressed the dreaded update button which was a clause for software use.  Basically it said I can no longer use music or video in my website.  That seems a simple and straightforward policy for a business client.  The only problem?  This website was never about business or making money.  My entire intent is to reach people for the sake of the gospel through music, video, pictures and stories.  A personal investment of my heart to yours on the super highway of technology.  

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heart: the central
or innermost
part of something 

Home:  I worked really hard through years of being on and off a field, gym, dance floor, classroom, benefit concerts, birthday parties, doctors appointments.  I stood by to support an upward and mobile career. 

​Then, i pressed the update button and the kids grew up, became independent and self-sufficient young adults.  My husband pursued a lucrative career position out of town. 

​The home I created never was about me but surrendering those I love in order for them to thrive. In a download of the latest operating system.  They are growing and learning and so must I. 

​I pause to breathe in God's story.   

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Inspiration

Song: ​The Wonderful Cross by
Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman

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About the same time i pressed the update button for this website, I was tagged with a social media challenge:

Seven days.  Seven pictures.  No people.  No explanation.  Nominate one person a day.  

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Image strip or bitmap strip: My faith caused my heart to calm and reach into the deep reservoir sprung from writing for this website.  In a quick snapshot of pictures, my life tells a story and so does yours.  

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Pictures of black and white are transformed into color on the inside out where God casts his sunlight and water across deep, rich soil. 

Quiet Whisper

Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And, the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  Matthew 22:37

My driver's license expires on my birthday this week.  As I waited in a long line and efficient numbering system of letters and numbers flashed across a black and white video screen, I paused.  The DMV never looked like this and everything had changed. 

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Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, perfect and pleasing will.  Romans 12:2

I was pretty disappointed when I pressed the pause button.  At the same time, access to my purchased pictures disappeared too.  So I went back to the old-fashioned way of doing things and took these seven pictures this week in a variety of locations.  I also did the vintage approach to faith and dug deep into the well of truths.  I am a beloved daughter of the King.  My faith in Jesus Christ is deeper and wider than I had ever imagined.  The love I have for a community of fellow sojourners on the jeep trail of discovery is more authentic than I could ever have imagined. 

I realized I had two options with this website, give up or step out in trust. 

We all are in a constant state of pressing the update button.  This website is about inspiration, information and engaging in a relationship with Christ and a community of believers.  I realize you only have seven pictures and a handful of words to figure out if this website is worth your time. 

The only thing I can offer ... is my heart and my eyes toward a story much greater than my own.

May this Thanksgiving give you a smile, a hug and words of encouragement.

What else is there on a jeep trail?  Welcome to the road; Jesus is the map.

... and my birthday wish?

​that your pictures be illuminated with light, color and a quiet, loving, whisper of your name

and that I continue to walk with faith, hope and love
but the greatest of these is love
​blessings

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timbreNote

#gratitude

they never stopped preaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is Christ.  Acts 5:42

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