Monday, March 30, 2020

" gold in them hills..."

“But if we'd only open our eyes 
We'd see the blessings in disguise 
That all the rain clouds are fountains 
Though our troubles seem like mountains
There's gold in them hills 
There's gold in them hills 
So don't lose heart 
Give the day a chance to start
Every now and then life says 
Where do you think you're going so fast."

-Ron Sexsmith, “Gold in Them Hills”


































“The mountains may disappear,
    and the hills may become dust,
but my faithful love will never leave you.
    I will make peace with you,
    and it will never end.”
The Lord who loves you said this."
 Isaiah 54:10 (ERV)

Sunday, March 22, 2020

"...stillness and packwood cabin..."


A busy time yet a time of rest and stillness.
 -a welcomed time of the lack of connectivity to all that has been distracting via internet and media
- the smell of sunshine in hair after a day skiing
- the warmth of the of the afternoon suns rays on the porch and on their feet 
- the sound of the wind in the tall pines- natures sound machine 
- the chattering of siblings playing outside on tree stumps and the woodshed
- smell of wood burning and fresh coffee

So how can I better focus on living the present moment?

“Even during a quiet evening at home, all we’re thinking about is the list of improvements that need to be made. There may be a beautiful sunset, but instead of taking it in, we’re taking a picture of it.
We are not present... and so we miss out. On life.
On being our best.
On seeing what’s there.
We do not live in this moment.
We, in fact, try desperately to get out of it–
by thinking, doing, talking, worrying, remembering, hoping, whatever.
There is only this moment.
Who is certain that they’ll get another moment that they can confidently skip over this one? The less energy we waste regretting the past or worrying about the future, the more energy we will have for what is in front of us.
"and finally He said to me, 
“My grace is enough to cover and sustain you. "
2 Cor 12:9 
We want to learn to see the world like an artist: While other people are oblivious to what surrounds them, the artist really sees. Their mine, fully engaged, notices the way a bird flies or the way a stranger holds their fork or a mother looks at her child. They have no thoughts of the morrow. All they are thinking about is how to capture and communicate this experience.
An artist is present.
And from the stillness comes brilliance.”
- Ryan Holiday, Stillness is The Key



You may be sure that you are at peace with yourself,” Seneca wrote, “when no noise reaches you, 
when no word shakes you out of yourself, 
whether it be flattery or a threat, 
or mearly an empty sound 
buzzing about you with unmeaning sin.”
 In this state,nothing could touch them, no emotion could disturb them, no threat could interrupt them, and every beat in the present moment
 would be theirs for living.
...stillness. 
To be steady while the world spins around you.”
- Ryan Holiday, Stillness is The Key










“Think how much grace one saint requires,
 so much that nothing but the Infinite could supply him for one day; and yet the Lord spreads his table, not for one, but many saints, not for one day, 
but for many years; not for many years only, 
but for generation after generation." 
(CHS - Evening 3/4)

"To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven."
 Ecclesiastes 3:1 NKJV





“In this stillness, trust that morning
 still overcomes darkness,
and there is a miraculous place 
you have been invited to.
Breathe through.” 
-Morgan Harper Nichols