water.

i love the look of an infinity edge pool. the sharp and clean lines of the pool, in combination with the ethereal nature of floating in water that appears to balancing precariously creates a magical landscape.  there is a lot of technical skill that goes into creating an infinity pool, but the finished product is more than worth it, no?

sources:http://photosbymartin.com/images/greece2006/target10.html

http://www.kerensabvi.com/assets/html/the_pool.html

http://realestate.halogenguides.com/archives/665-luxury-destination-cabo-san-lucas

nouveau

i am at peace and feel more and more blessed with His pure grace.

source: https://www.iesabroad.org/IES/Students/PhotoContest/studentPhotoSpring2007.html

before i am gone #2

6) spend time in Napa Valley

7) learn how to create glass art

8 ) float a lantern

desert oasis.

if you haven’t picked it up already, the concept of the desert and how it relates to spirituality absolutely fascinates me. to me, it represents many traits. the desert can be solitude, peace, comfort, solace. the desert can be refreshing, calming, still. the desert can be alive, moving, touching. i love the imagery a desert oasis creates of this lush paradise found amongst the arid and hot environment.

a poem.

How wonderful it would be if one could only
be worthy of hearing the song of the grass.
Each blade of grass sings out to God
without any ulterior motive and without expecting any reward.
It is most wonderful to hear its song
and worship God in its midst.

The best place to meditate is in a field where things grow.
There one can truly express his thoughts
before God…..

The best place is to meditate is in the meadows outside the city.
One should meditate in grassy field, for grass will awakent the heart

Nachman of Bratzlav
Trans. Aryeh Kaplan

remote area medical.

learning about this organization has assured me that there are non-profits whose focus is truly on the needy and providing for them, free of cost.

the man in charge, Teddy Brock, has no salary, no family, and no home. he lives in an abandoned school that is leased out for use by RAM for $1 a year. he used to take showers in the courtyard with a hose.  this is a man wholly devoted to helping those in need.

RAM operates on a $250,000 budget yet last year treated 17,000 patients!! the people profiled in this 60 Minutes clip truly broke my heart to see that there are millions like them who suffer from health issues with no opportunity to afford treatment. this is an organization that i plan on giving my support to.

60 Minutes Profile

surfing.

i am inspired.

peace.

i love to rest in the comfort of His peace and strength.

If peace be in the heart,
The wildest winter storm is full of solemn beauty,
The midnight flash but shows the path of duty,
Each living creature tells some new and joyous story,
The very trees and stones all catch a ray of glory,
If peace be in the heart.

–Charles Francis Richardson

streams in the desert II.

Rock Flowers

“Thou hast shewed thy people hard things” (Ps. 60:3).

I have always been glad that the Psalmist said to God that some things were hard. There is no mistake about it; there are hard things in life. Some beautiful pink flowers were given me this summer, and as I took them I said, “What are they?” And the answer came, “They are rock flowers; they grow and bloom only on rocks where you can see no soil.” Then I thought of God’s flowers growing in hard places; and I feel, somehow, that He may have a peculiar tenderness for His “rock flowers” that He may not have for His lilies and roses. –Margaret Bottome

The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish a man’s business but build up his character. The blow at the outward man may be the greatest blessing to the inner man. If God, then, puts or permits anything hard in our lives, be sure that the real peril, the real trouble, is what we shall lose if we flinch or rebel. –Maltbie D. Babcock

“Heroes are forged on anvils hot with pain, And splendid courage comes but with the test. Some natures ripen and some natures bloom Only on blood-wet soil, some souls prove great Only in moments dark with death or doom.”

“God gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.”

a time for everything.

this passage is one that i try to spend a lot of time meditating upon. my heart fills with a mix of emotions when i read it. upon my first reading, i realize i place too much strength upon myself, and am not relying on god and what great things he has blessed me with. who am i to question his divine timing on the occurrences of my life now and to come? that moment of realization occurs almost every time. i also rest deeply in the truth that god, through his son jesus, gives me so much grace for my depravity and things i have done wrong. he knows what is best for me.

thank you god.

eccl 3

1There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.