Unexpected Gifts

Talking photography and all the ideas surrounding it  is one of my favorite pass times. This morning I had the privilege of sharing ideas, tips and projects with three fun, interesting ladies. Now, you need to understand, one of my visitors was a family member, but the other two I just met. Truthfully, I wasn't sure what to expect, but we had a great time. How could we not?

1. We were all females - conversation was NOT a problem.
2. We all had our cameras.
3. We all had Nikon cameras.
4. We all love taking pictures.
5. There was delicious food involved.

All in all it was a recipe for success. Once again, the Lord put people in my path that I wound never have expected and enriched my life with new friends. We all inspired each other and parted ready to move up a level in our photography.

One thing I love about photography friends is swapping photos with each other. I get to enjoy their family, their vacations and their creativity all through their photos. And movies! And scrapbooking, and on and on and on. It's a never ending  process - there is always another level. There are always new products on the market and new techniques to learn. It's good to stretch ourselves forward and at the same time reach out to help someone else to a new level.

Life is better when shared with others. Creativity sparks creativity and the success of another causes us to yearn for more from ourselves. Good relationships bring out the good in us and challenge us to keep learning and improving. Our God-given talents are precious gifts from our Father and I believe to use and improve them makes Him smile.

Yes, this morning was a sweet gift of time with some special ladies and hopefully the beginning of new friendships.

So we , being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Ro. 12:5

Days Of Our Lives

Like sands through the hour glass...so are the days of our lives. That phrase has been running through my mind for a few days now, so I thought why not just give in and wander down that path?

Back in 1965 when Days first premiered I was a very young mother with my first baby boy. Life was easy and good. My "days" were filled with taking care of a baby, learning how to make a house a home and generally moving into a grown-up world.

I remember the hype surrounding the show that would be starring MacDonald Carey, who was a rather important actor in those days. He was not one you would expect to see on a daytime soap opera. Thinking back to those days, the memory that grabs my emotions is one of my Grandmother. After years of raising six children, long hours, hard work and certainly no T.V., Mama S had finally arrived at a time of relaxation ... and discovered daytime soap operas.

Although she had been an integral part of my life, our relationship was not a "chatty" one. Everything changed with the entrance of Days. She and I talked once a week about the show, the characters, the plot; all as if they were real people with real problems. I loved seeing her as a person rather than just a Grandma as we chatted away about it all. Sadly, the new wore off, our interest in the show faded and we moved on with our individual lives; but Days gave me a little place with my Grandma that I have not forgotten.

Years later that same baby boy went away to college. One day he mentioned in a phone conversation that he had to go because he didn't want to miss Days.  His daily routine included watching Days in the locker room with a group of players. Man! We had come full circle. The same show he cut his teeth on while in diapers he was now enjoying during his initial break away from home. I'm thinking even Jesus snickered about that one. But that too passed and life moved on. I seriously doubt that he has watched a soap opera in many years, he probably doesn't even remember Days, but Mom does.

Isn't it interesting that something as insignificant as a daytime soap opera has connected three generations?  I had no idea Days was still on the air until I did some checking before writing this post. I had never stopped to think about the connection between my Grandma, my son, me and Days. 

So, OK - this is not a profound, make-you-think kind of post, but its a reminder to me of how life winds around and comes back to make me smile. It reminds me to take advantage of every opportunity, no matter how small, to share something with a loved one.

Its been years since I thought of my phone conversations with Mama S, but I cherish the memory. In my heart I carry something special that came about because of a shared interest. It's funny that I haven't watched Days since back in the 60's, but the interest isn't important, the sharing is. Our lives do slip away like sands through the hour glass, but the memories remain and they make me smile.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Vikings & Warriors

It's been a while since I posted anything. Life has been busy with travel; sports are in full swing with frequent visits to various ball fields; our house is still on the market and we've had several showings; all in all it's been a busy few weeks. I just completed a rather large video project so now I'm putting photos on the back burner for a bit so I can catch up with my writing ideas.

Do not be fooled, I have been writing--- in my head, in my journal, in my little purse notebook, on napkins, toilet tissue -- you get the picture. My mind does two things almost constantly  - write and take pics. I look at daily activities and see photos; I walk through my day and organize thoughts in my mind for an article. Perhaps its a disease; perhaps its a gift; or perhaps its just weird. Either way, it is how I am.

One of my ramblings lately has been about wounds and scars. Where the one is painful and needs healing, the other is an indication of a victory of some sort, a badge of courage so to speak. I like that. Fortunately, I have very few scars on my physical body but also fortunately I have many on my soul.

This is how I look at it. We all have battles in our lives, some are small skirmishes while others are intense all-out wars. There is no way of getting around that. The secret is the healing of the battle wounds. When the Lord invaded me back in 1979 and turned my life upside down, I had many wounds in my emotions, in my mind and in my heart. Years of living in open sin and rebellion against God had left its mark deep in my soul.

The Holy Spirit, however, was not intimidated one bit. He set about to cleanse, heal, restore, rebuild, reconnect and reeducate me. Oh my! What a time we had. Bit by bit, layer by layer He uncovered and healed. Some were so small the fresh pink skin completely removed any remembrance of the wound. Others He chose to heal with a scar. Oh, He could have removed all signs of those too, but I'm glad he didn't. Those are the ones I can point to and say, "I once was blind but now I see!"

I don't ponder on my scars anymore, neither do I exploit them, but I do remember. I remember His gracious love for me. I remember His unyielding determination to make me whole. (We are still working on that one.) But the point is, I am not ashamed of my scars; they prove I've been in a battle and they prove He has been victorious on my behalf. He never loses, He never retreats, He never stops moving forward.

Of course there have been many battles and many wounds since 1979. Life is still full of battles. One of my favorite verses is Matt. 11:12

And from the days of John the Baptist until the present time, the kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault, and violent men seize it by force (as a precious prize - a share in the heavenly kingdom is sought with most ardent zeal and intense exertion). Amplified Bible

Violence. Its a part of our lives if we are moving forward with God. And violence sometimes brings wounds. But the secret is in the healing. The wounds become scars and we stand as evidence of His amazing grace and love. God is good and He loves us. He sees our battles, He joins with us in them and even though we are sometimes wounded deep in our soul, it is never too much for Him.

Joyce Meyer often says, "you can be pitiful or powerful, but not both." It's true. We either choose to hold on to our wounds and be pitiful or we forgive, repent, stand up and allow the Lord to heal us and move on.

There is power in a battle tested soldier that stands up once again, squares his shoulders and with a twinkle in his eyes, a joy in his spirit and a spring in his step, raises his shield of faith with a scarred hand  and moves forward with the ranks of the redeemed.

Bittersweet

My husband and I were travelling last week when we received news of a tragic accident. One of our extended family members was taken home at a very early age.  The shock of it was painful and mind boggling. There did not seem to be a way to rationalize it or understand it. We immediately went to the Lord in prayer and the Holy Spirit spoke to our hearts the words: "he is safe."

The comfort came and went during the next few days as we joined with other family and friends to surround the immediate family in His love and faith. It was amazing to see the strength that was imparted to all of them, the way they were able to not only function but actually comfort others. God's grace always amazes me. The  Comforter is just that: The Comforter and no one else can take His place.

And so, on a beautiful fall afternoon with a clear sky and crisp cool air, we stood around a fresh grave and said goodbye - for now. As the grave site ceremony finished, Mom very nervously began to sing,

"Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name.
Master, Savior, Jesus, let all heaven and earth proclaim.
Kings and kingdoms may all pass away,
But there's something about that name."

Bittersweet. We know our loved one is safe with Jesus and that is so sweet, but the bitter taste left in our hearts from the loss is something only the Lord can heal. But listening to Mom's shaking voice full of emotion and pain as she sang to Jesus tells me that healing has already begun.

It's Who I Am

I originally started this blog because I wanted a place to vent all the fun and frustrations associated with making what I call movies. It is actually taking my photographs, adding music, transitions, journaling and burning it on a DVD. Movie making is my favorite hobby these days; I can spend hours working on the smallest details of each slide.

My family reunion and finding my mom's hand written book made me see the importance of leaving a record of my time here on this earth.  I treasure Mom's book and can only hope my family members will find my story half as interesting.

But then  I noticed that no matter what I tried to write, it ended up in some way involving my walk with God. After struggling with this a bit, I have surrendered. Walking with God isn't only what I do, it is who I am. It is impossible to separate what I do from who I am - a child of God.

As a result, I have a new challenge. I want to write about daily life, relationships, good times, not so good times in order to show God's presence in our everyday life. Emmanuel, God with us. And He is with us in every aspect of our lives, through every valley and up every mountain of course, but also in the daily activities that take up the majority of our time. He is interested in everything we put our hands to; even making movies, even leaving our story for others who come along behind us.

He will never leave us nor forsake us and He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.

The Kitchen Church

This weekend our son-in-law and five of our grandsons came for a visit. If you read my previous blog, you understand how excited I was to have them here. And of course their joined-at-the-hip buddies they had not seen since moving away, came for a sleepover as well. It was wonderful to have the house full again; pizza and cokes flowing, video games running, laughter and tussling (that's an old fashioned word for mixing it up in fun), all of it was fun, tiring, and wonderful.

Sunday morning came all too soon. The long drive home was imminent. It was however, Sunday morning, and Sunday morning is church time. So, we had Kitchen Church. We had a message from God's word,  Dad's exhortation to the boys about keeping the godly heritage alive. Then came granddad's view on the subject. Finally there was prayer all around.

Simple. Easy. Worship without music. Prayer without an altar - oh, wait, there was the kitchen counter - that works.

I do love gathering together with God's people, standing in the congregation and lifting up hands to honor and praise Him. I enjoy relating to God's people and praying together over our needs and sharing our testimonies. But, sometimes it isn't practical. Sometimes we make an altar out of a kitchen counter, a stool becomes a pulpit, and our congregation plays with a light saber while service is going on. But the constant is Jesus, and He doesn't mind the kitchen stool nor the counter... the light saber - not too sure 'bout that - but  the point is, Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Where we are, He is. When we gather together He is there. When we lift His name in worship, He listens. Emmanuel, God with us. Wherever we are; whomever we are with; no matter the surroundings:  we worship, we learn, we connect. Ever learning, ever growing, ever loving, ever becoming more like Jesus, who taught wherever he walked. I think He liked our Kitchen Church almost as much as our Porch Church! Blessings on you this day.

New Seasons - New Joys!

It appears that fall has finally decided to honor us. This is my very favorite of all seasons - the colors, the temps, the sports - I love everything about fall. This year I am following a football team, a softball team and two soccer teams. Whew - being a grandma with a camera is not for the faint of heart.

Since my blog is entitled Seasons and Memories, it seems appropriate to post something about the season change. That was the first paragraph. Now for the real season change: my life! Goodness, I sailed through the first empty nest syndrome with flying colors. By the time the last child had moved out, the first ones had returned with grandkids in tow. Grandkids ease the pain - no matter what it is - they just have that ability to make me laugh and enjoy life. This time however, the empty nest involves most of my grandchildren. We have gone from 15 who push and shove for their turn at weekend sleepovers to two who come occasionally.

Now, don't get me wrong; our older grands still love us and we have a great time when they come. We still talk and interact and play games and hug and eat and laugh - it's just that it doesn't happen as often as it did before. In addition, two of our children have moved out of state and are happily making a life several hundred miles away from us. Although I am thrilled for both of them, it still leaves two more empty places here in GA.

We will see them every few months but it isn't the same as popping in mid-morning for a cup of coffee, coming home from church and enjoying Sunday lunch together, or meeting at Barnes & Noble for a latte. Not surprisingly, the Lord has been unusually close to my heart during this transition. I am more aware than ever that He will never leave me nor forsake me; that He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Families are wonderful and I love mine with a deep, unconditional love; but this love of God - well, it's different. I fully understand and acknowledge that I could never love even my own little darlings unless He put that love in my heart. So, I guess today's post is actually a thank you to Jesus for His wonderful love. Thank you for the love you placed in my heart for you and for others and thank you for the love you show to me every moment of my life.

Walking in the Light does expose much that  I would just as soon not see, but it is well worth it to experience this amazing love that lets me be me; lets me love with abandonment; holds me when I hurt and confronts me when I hurt others. Thank you Jesus. I love you! :-)

Families change, children and grandchildren grow up and make their own lives. It is a good thing. But this grandma is growing and changing too. I'm ready for this next season and whatever the Lord brings to me. Yes, I sleep a little later in the mornings and stay up later at night, yes, I enjoy that second and third cup of coffee on the porch,  but that's OK. My life is exactly where it should be and I am right smack where God placed me...for now. Tomorrow? Who knows? Maybe I'll take on something new and exciting. I can still do that. But for today I think I'll just relax here on the porch with my grandson who surprised me with a visit. We'll discuss the state of the world ... through his eyes. I just may learn something.  Love it!!