Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

And I'm Back!

Hello Dear Friends!

What was an unintended mini hiatus has turned into two months away from my Blog-dom. Yikes!

Between the packing, unpacking, settling, learning, searching, vacationing, adjusting, gardening and all the living that has been happening around here the Blog had to be put on that back burner for a bit. We also squished in a wedding, two family reunions, a visit with great grandma, multiple softball and baseball games, a bit of sewing, a whole lot of a homemaking, and an enormous amount of yardwork. We are very blessed to have found a beautiful rental farm house on the edge of a town the size of pig's eyelash and I couldn't be happier with it. 

 God is Good.

All the Time.

 Blessed be the Lord,
    who daily bears us up;    God is our salvation. Selah
~Psalms 68:19


Pictorial Time Line: (May through June, including our vacation that was pre-emegency-have-to-leave-your-home planned. :))





























Bless the Lord, O my soul.
O Lord my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty,

You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use,to bring forth food from the earth,

~Psalms 104: 1,14


Blessings, Gretchen :)



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Saturday, April 6, 2013

A Psalm of Life ~ Longfellow

Waiting to Sail

A Psalm of Life 

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 
What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
   Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
   And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
   And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
   Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
   Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
   Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
   And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
   Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
   In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
   Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
   Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
   Heart within, and God o’erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
   We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
   Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
   Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
   Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
   With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
   Learn to labor and to wait.
Be not Slumbering in restlessness or be Languid in your thoughts. Instead seek to leave behind footprints in the sandy, slippery life that may encourage another. 
Labor not in vain. Leave your trail to help another take heart.
Before me someone left footprints that help to buoy my soul when I am feeling lost on that beach. Some other Soul Labored in and out of the waves that seek to pull us down and I benefit from their wisdom of jumping waves.. 
So now I am Learning to Labor in that muck and to Wait........
 
Always Blessed, 
Gretchen 
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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Easter Worship~ I See the Lord


6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;the whole earth is full of his glory.” ~Isaiah 6:1-3



Happy Resurrection Sunday!


Now because the lyrics are amazing and I have an eclectic choice in music please check out 116 Clique as well. Even if it isn't your preference you can be blessed.



LYRICS:

I See The Lord lyrics

(feat. Sho)

[Verse One]
Cast down my crown to worship you in spirit and truth
As I see You on the throne, I see Your train fills the roof
I'm on bended knees, hands extended closed eyes
Holy, Holy, Holy is Lord the Most High
Woe is me, I'm a man with unclean lips
And I live amongst a people whose on the same trip
That when one Seraphim flew to me with coal in his hands
He touch me on my lips, said I was a brand new man
As the foundation shook He's asking, who shall He send
I said, "Send me Lord, I commit to faithful men"
Sometimes Lord, I feel like I don't give you enough
The kind of pure joy to persevere when times get tough
So I keep a concentrated relationship fixed on you
I keep my eyes to the hills so I can have a right view
I stand in awe of You
How You measured the earth with the palm of Your hand
and yet, and still you want to be friends with such an unclean man
So like John I fall prostrate on this island of life
I worship You, recognizing you are power and might
Glory and light, eternal in sight, blameless and right
Creator of life, thief in the night, Jesus the Christ

[Chorus]
I see the Lord, seated on the throne, exalted
And the train of His robe, fills the temple with glory
And the whole earth is filled, and the whole earth is filled
And the whole earth is filled, with His glory

[Verse Two]
The sun suspends in the air
I can feel Your winds everywhere
You care to the grains of my hair
Divine works all around me
I can't get past the evidence
The fact that your invisible, to me, is irrelevant
I know your heaven sent, straight to the virgin birth

Gave me a second chance even after man's curse
A third, a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth
You wore my crown of thorns, you took my licks as they spit
In ya face, off the cross a sinner you embraced
Now I understand whats the meaning of grace
I war against the flesh, can't wait till the day that you come
Cause everday I'm rewriting Psalm 51
From the weak to the dumb
You make us shine like Pearls
Got a new engagement, broke up with that girl named world
The relationship was unfruitful, I was Satan's pupil
They told me you was an unfair God, I believed those lies
I know the truth now, cuz you've been fair since creation
Man fell, and then you gave man emancipation
I know the saying one sin can make man fall
But with one drop of blood, he can save us all
I'm a living sacrifice, I lay my life upon the altar
I pray to have faith that don't forsake you, like a martyr
I have a desire, thats to know you more
I have no choice to live holy cuz I see the Lord

[Chorus]

[Isaiah 6]
For Whole earth is full of his glory
And the foundations of the threshold tremble
At the voice of him who called out
While the temple is filled with smoke
I said to myself Woe is me
For I am ruined
Because I'm a man with unclean lips
And I live amongst a people with unclean lips
For my eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Hosts
Then one seraphim flew to me
With burning coals in his hand
He touched me on my lips
Said my iniquity is taken away, and my sins forgiven
Then I heard the voice of the Lord say
Who shall I send?
Who will go for us
Then I said
Here I am, Send Me

Always Blessed,
Gretchen :)

 
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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Tuesday's Gifts ~ Light


Light.
Here from the very Beginning of time.

For our benefit. So we can become time keepers.

Alpha and Omega

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ~Genesis 1:14-18

So we remember His Power.

His Protection. His Encompassing, Covering Love.

Trinity Lights

 16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you established the luminaries and the sun. ~Psalm 74:16

Enduring forever. 

Sunrise, Sunset. 

Sunrise, Sunset.

Warm Embrace

 7 who made the great lights,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
8 the sun to rule over the day,
    for his steadfast love endures forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule over the night,    for his steadfast love endures forever;

~Psalm 136: 7-9


In the End, we will Be Again. 

We will then Shine like the sun.

El Fin
43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears listen! ~Matthew 13:43
 And Our LORD will be all the Light we need.

23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ~Revelation 21:23
Always Blessed,
Gretchen :)

All pictures are courtesy of my sister Sara Rose Nissen. 
Check out her artwork over at  as seen through my eyes.  

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Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Tuesday's Gift ~ Hope

Hope. 
 
Hope in the Lifting Up.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand. ~Psalm 37:24

Survive.

Hope in the Assurance of our God.
 
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
The help of my countenance and my God. ~Psalm 42:11

Turn your face unto the LORD.

Hope in the LORD as my God and My Ultimate Help in all circumstances.
 
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God, ~ Psalm 146:5
Stretch.

Hope is a gift given by our LORD himself to encourage us on this journey called LIFE.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. ~ 2 Thessalonians 2: 16-17
Every Good Work

We must only Seize Hope as we accept Christ as our Savior...
...we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered, having become a high priest forever... ~Hebrews 6: 18b-20a

Anchored Safely
I am Thankful for the Gift of Hope, an anchor for my soul to rest upon.
Always Blessed,
Gretchen :)

All pictures are courtesy of my sister Sara Rose Nissen. 
Check out her artwork over at  as seen through my eyes.  

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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Tuesday's Gifts~ My Shepherd

Psalm 23

The Divine Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;

verdant
 
3     he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
    for his name’s sake.

right of way


4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff—
    they comfort me.

shadowed


5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.

Overflow
 
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
    my whole life long.

I am Thankful for My Shepherd.....

"The metaphor of the king as the shepherd of his people goes back to ancient Egypt. Perhaps the use of this particular convention is due to the fact that, being stupid, affectionate, gregarious, and easily stampeded, the societies formed by sheep are most like human ones."
~Northrop Frye 

.... because I am often a perfectly imperfect sheep.

Always Blessed,
Gretchen :)
 
All pictures are courtesy of my sister, Sara Rose Nissen.  
Check out her artwork over at  as seen through my eyes. :)



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