"Love....is not rational...love cannot be proved scientifically. Neither can beauty, Light cannot be proved scientifically, yet we all believe in light and by light see all things.
There are plenty of things that are true that don't make any sense.
God doesn't [make sense]....faith...[is] a mystery...spirituality...cannot be explained,
and yet it is beautiful and true...it comes from the soul." ~ D. Miller

"Lord, we want our eyes to be opened!" Mt 20:33

I so want to see what is beyond my comprehension and yet surrounds me everyday ~
love, beauty, truth...the very face of God.

*********

Well, my girls are at our annual church camp out, mid-state, by a lake in the high desert. Pretty quiet around here. Good practice for the years ahead!
I'm learning to live by a different rhythm these days.
Different sometimes feels funny and awkward, you know - but, it's not bad.

We join the girls and other folks from church on Friday, for the weekend.
 Meanwhile, I'm working this week on my mother-of-the-groom dress for Jon's upcoming wedding in August. I like the material.

And I always, enjoy some of my closest backyard neighbors, who in their own way reflect that beauty I so long to see and only need to take the time to appreciate fully.

 

It's all right there...I only need to pause and keep my eyes open.

"To look for the best in a situation is to take a trusting stance toward God...
It says, 'I know there is a possibility here.' " ~ W. Carmichael

"By His mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more
than we would ever dare to ask or hope." Eph. 3:20

"Hope looks for something fresh to feed it every day..." ~ H. Sienkiewicz

"My hope and expectation are from Him." Ps 62:5

I'm not one who is naturally a bubbly, positive thinker. I think it's just antithetical to who God made me to be. I'm much more of an inward contemplative than I ever realized when I was younger, and by definition I think that precludes a more effusive personality. But, I am one who hopes, and when I latch on to His grace to do so, I hope tenaciously, and it brings me great contentment. I'm always hoping for much - for myself, for those I know so well and love so fiercely, for those I know not yet, but who move my heart. More than anything, my biggest hope for us all is to lay hold of Jesus and to have Him lay hold of each one of us. Therein life hides, no matter what circumstances swirl round about.

************
I so enjoy the flowers I encounter in my days.
These were from a hothouse on an estate we toured earlier in the spring.
So soft. So lovely.

And, a dried bouquet hanging in our dining room...

Beauty is one grace that feeds and freshens my hope every day.
So grateful.

It's raining here. Often. And bountifully. Summer hasn't totally settled in yet.
The girls still have 8 more days of school, after today, so I guess it's fine that vacation weather hasn't truly landed in full force yet. I grew up in upstate NY and can so readily remember sweltering in school gyms as we took our annual Regents Exams at the end of every school year, all throughout highschool. No air conditioning, sometimes noisy fans. Intense stress causing your palms to sweat all over sticky papers and number 2 pencils. Sniffs and sighs and surreptitious glances around the crowded room.
That last day of school couldn't come soon enough.

My, oh my....

**************
"We pray anew every day, when we open our eyes in the morning and when we close them at night, that God will enlighten the eyes of the heart." ~ D. Bonhoeffer

"Lord, I want to see," is probably one of my most recurrent prayers. See Him when He seems hidden. See truth when lies abound. See beauty when my heart is tempted to focus on what is hard and challenging. See His image in every face. See myself as He sees me.

"I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand..." Eph 1:18

I'm fascinated that seeing is more of a heart issue than a thought matter.
Yes, Lord. Change my heart, again.

**************
These are from our Easter trip to Utah. I never tire of western skies.

 

So much worth seeing....