We Really Are All In this Together

Simply skimming the surface here..
                                

People need people. We all no matter how fiercely independent we may be, need a certain amount of interaction with others.

Like plants need air and oxygen, so people need other people around them breathing life into their souls.

I find it incredibly fascinating how linked together

everything is.                                          

No man is an island. So true. Is anything an island really? 
Isn't everything connected?  Lagging dollar reflected in the fuel costs, which is driving food prices up, which affects the supplier and ultimately the consumer.

I had been experiencing some back pain recently.It seems my alignment was off...This landed me in an office where I was shown a replica of a spine, and could see how intricately connected our design in anatomy is as well. 

                                       

              

The refugee crisis recently again was a powerful reminder of how key connections have become..what importance they play universally.

I came across this amazing old Celtic quote in a newspaper recently..
We live in the shelter of each other. That shelter is found not only among our own kind- people with similar eating habits,skin colour, ways of thinking and manner of dress...but also in the shelter of others who are different from us. It is a shelter in which we can explore our differences,eat each other's food, cry and laugh with each other, and dispel our false notions about each other.

                                         

  We must not forget that together is a force, and we belong together.
                                            

Reaching around the globe to care, pray, lift and love...hearts relating to each other connecting us all into a large small world.

                             Happy Friday,thanks for visiting!

Window Expressions

I have this uncanny penchant for windows...
                                         

especially beautiful, open or filled with a fusion of floral. The aura of mystery they evoke captures my attention and intrigue. 
                 

This fact was evident as I sorted some photos recently.. Come join me as we peek into a few of the many I photographed this past summer in Old Montreal, Quebec and area...
                        

                                                              love the romance this exudes..

                             
                                                 and the simplicity here..

                                                          charming perfection..

an invitation waits

simply enthralled 

a poetic soul must live here..

also here...

I picture musical notes drifting out of these windows, or lyrical laughter floating away on the breeze.

They speak volumes inaudibly. The message is gentle, but strong.

Live free. Life is much too short.

Inspirational Song

We all have those songs that every time we listen to them, they hit us a fresh...

This is one of those songs for me...my prayer always..

To live a faithful life. To one day hear the words..

" Well done good and faithful servant. " ( Matthew 25:23)

Wishing you peace in your heart today.

Lucy~

                                              

Mid Life Afternoon

         Tool sheds take on a mysterious persona in the winter...                                        

  Afternoon;
the time of day between morning and evening..
                                            It was the perfect winter afternoon. After yesterday's busy day of hosting and the previous one of preparing, she carefully stacked and placed the Sunday china back into the painted hutch. The good flatware, saved for those special occasions was tucked away...

                                                   

The bouquet of carnations purchased at half price as a gift to herself when buying groceries last week looked promising,a little like afternoon...

                                          

She'd had a difficult time choosing a bouquet. She was bent over examining each hue and colour, when an older gentleman came by, confidently picked up a red bouquet and left.
The last red bouquet was hers..

Outside the snow drifted down. The whole world felt muffled and under warm wraps... She boiled more water for tea, and nibbled on a dark chocolate.
There were projects she had saved for days like today.
But she knew they'd wait longer...
                                          

Afternoon wouldn't last forever, so she decided to bask in the ambiance it bestowed her...

After all afternoon is a wonderful stage of life...

                                      

                     My afternoon got away on me after I wrote this...:)



                                                    

Domestic Detox

There are times when the world is simply too much...
This is when I escape. Sometimes I escape to laundry..

Yes, I am odd that way,but somehow when I am folding a basket full of clothes, or ironing a shirt to it's crispest best. I feel a sense of relief, like somehow I have helped the old world become a better place.
                                              

(I am honestly not sure how hubby ended up with this many dress shirts when he works a blue collar job..:)

There's a type of cathartic measure to placing my hands on top of a stack of neatly folded towels...
                                                  

I exhale deeply and consider all the blessings laundry bestows...
I let go of what is beyond my scope of reason while I smooth, fold and stack.

It's a wholesome medicine and it seems to help this old soul  take on the world again.
                                        

In today's hectic and technology driven world, solace still remains simple.

A Touch Of Softness

    A lovely pink sky seemed so fitting to this post today..  
                   

                          

The white room has a new chandelier. It's just what I didn't know I wanted until I saw it there on sale at Canadian Tire.
That's the way it works in treasure hunting, sometimes you find the treasure, sometimes the treasure finds you.
I love the pink softening the edges...

                                                  

Been thinking about the word softly. Softly speaks loud sometimes. 
I had laryngitis this week, and not being able to use my voice as much had me whispering to be heard sometimes...

                                  

Got me thinking about how misunderstood softness can be. after all don't we all crave a soft place, a comforting place to land with whatever we may be carrying?
                                                 

To my word renew,I shall add the word softly.

                                                 

                                  enjoyed this classic during the holidays..

and as my voice returns and is renewed, I will look for ways to soften the hard edges of life.

                                            

        Thank you for your soft presence here...

Settling On My Word Here

It's the first Monday of the new year. Routine has showed up and mornings made sweet and special by lack there of, have been replaced by it's stout greeting. I welcome it back as I sip my coffee and revel in some solitude.

The temperatures are frigid here, and I began the year a little under the weather too, with a terrible cold....

It was a good weekend to read alot, so I did...
I read this book. I was immediately intrigued  by the forth rightness of her writing. I borrowed the book, but if I hadn't it would of been filled with highlighting...

                                     

                             

I've been thinking about my word for this year...

and I've decided it will be renew.

Renew a right spirit within me..(Psalm 51:10)
and to renew my mind daily in the Word.

I also discovered Mary Oliver please tell me where I've been! Such lovely writing.
Bring on 2016, come what may I say. My prayer is to live renewed and alive!

                                                                                


                   Have you chosen a word this year?

                                               

It's The Little Things...

Call me old fashioned, but I still like having a calendar hanging up in my kitchen.
Of course this can't be just any old calendar...it must meld into the decor, and suit my style, just so...
Of course this hanging of the calendar than becomes more than just hanging up a calendar..
It's a pursuit and an event....

and then it stays, quietly recording life's dates and times...for one whole year... unless of course I decide to change it half way through...but that's another story:)

Here unofficially is my calendar for 2016.

                                      

The 'runner up' and the has been...

Do you use a wall calendar?

A Glance Back To See Ahead

As each year closes, inevitably I seem to find myself in contemplation of sorts.
Life is busy, but at the close of a year I find myself craving the luxury of contemplation and commiseration.
                                                                                 

A year has a way of changing things, and in the process we are changed. Our carefully executed lives are no match to God's plans and purpose.
One can only glance into life's rear view mirror to know that very often we hear ourselves ask, "how did I get here?" 
                                                 

The good and not so good at the time experiences in a fleeting year make me feel small. I would almost feel insignificant were at not for God's undulating grace that flows in and through every place I have been in the past year.
This grace is the current that propels me forward in place of looking back too long and dwelling on situations that must pass like water under the proverbial bridge. 
I read recently that the reason the windshield is much bigger than the rear view mirror is because we are going forward not back. Life is always a forward motion. But there is a mirror to glance back into. I think it may be there to let us know where we have come from. To remind us and help us remember experiences and lessons learned at times along the hard road.
                                             

 The other day as I pulled into the driveway I caught the line of a song playing low on the radio. The unshakable lyrics from Meghan Trainor's catchy song played through my head for the rest of the day...

                    I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you
                            I'm gonna hold you like we're saying good bye
                            Where ever we're standing I won't take you for granted,
                             Cos we'll never know when we'll run out of time.
                             So I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you..
                             I'm gonna love you like I'm gonna lose you.



Life holds no guarantees, and in almost an instant can at times change what once we were. I observe people whom I know and love lose their spouses, their careers or their health. Children keep wanting to grow up and try on independence and I keep needing to adjust with every facet of change. 
I am glad my heart doesn't know what 2016 holds. Like this past year it will surge and ripple until it too passes away. So let's love intensely like we are saying good bye, because we never know when we'll run out of time.

                                            

My youngest daughter and I back in May on a spring boat ride.

                               Blessings to you in the coming year!