Behind Falling Water

There's a place wherein lies the ancient thoughts
Behind waters that fall, roaring,
From sides of mountains large as moons,
Etched by time and guarded by a thousand willows

Enter there, should you desire, along the halls
Paved in moss, warm and rich,
Scented of earth and stone and shades of green
The softness bidding welcome to the weary

Further still, yet near enough,
The ladder rungs do grasp
And set thy feet where no one chanced
To go with true and willing heart

There, they wait, wings though flawed, unfurled
The keepers of the secrets deep, entrusted them
From time begotten, or yet perhaps this dawn,
The gift that I left there, for you
And answers held within.

- Rachelle LeCount

O Lovers, Lovers it is time
to set out from the world.
I hear a drum in my soul's ear
coming from the depths of the stars.

~Rumi

What We Could Use

I love the Indigo Girls anyway and I've heard an older version of this song, but I hadn't seen or heard this one.

I absolutely love it. I was very moved. And it's so true.

We sure could use "A Little Good News"

I don't have much to say today actually. The next few days will be fairly busy and filled with last minute Christmas preparations as well as necessary business related to finances and probate court matters.

I just wanted to post some quotes from a book I was skimming this morning.

I hope everyone has a nice day and in case I don't get to say so later.... Merry Christmas.

Love is the vital core of the soul. And of all you see, only love is infinite.
~ Rumi

As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on thing and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you.
~ C.S. Lewis

The truest characters of ignorance are vanity, and pride and arrogance. ~ Samuel Butler

What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined - to strengthen each other in their labors, to rest on each other in sorrows, to minister to each other in pains, to be one with each other in silent, unspeakable memories.
~ George Eliot

Riders & Victory

Words finally come. Even if incomplete and sparse. Barely formed together, but they come.

I'll probably work on this more at some future point. But this is the natural process. The beginnings. A friend of mine said it is "Automatic Writing"  That might not be totally accurate but, for what it's worth...

Familiar Riders

in the distance
a spotted pony awaits
as familiar riders approach
their forms distant at first
yet closer they draw
the sun warms their skin
across the field of golden blooms
at the foot of lavender mountains
while star dust rains down
he runs beside her as she dances
beneath the rain of stars
yes running and dancing
they come
across the expanse of time
to this place of innocence
all is restored
they meet again
the promised reunion
of the spotted pony
and her riders

© Rachelle LeCount
12/16/2012

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I think I may meet a friend later today and catch up on what's been going on in our lives lately. Her church is performing Messiah. That might be uplifting and get me out of the house for a while. We'll see how the morning goes.

Humility, Grace, Thankfulness

I just don't know what to say about the recent shootings in Connecticut. The lives of 27 more people were cut short. 20 of them innocent young children.

What a wretched world we live in. I feel so badly for the parents and families. To have a child snatched away in such a bloody unnatural way and such evil circimstances. It makes anything I might be going through look pretty minimal. It really makes me think.

Sure, I can talk about love or lost love or emptiness or whatever else, but in the end... wow. I'm just so humbled.

Repeatedly lately the verse has come to mind. I've received cards with the verse on it. I open the bible and there it is. I see it surfing around the internet. I keep 'stumbling' on this verse over and over. It must be significant.

It's all about Love. Love isn't selfish. Not true love. Though I realize we in our temporal flesh aren't capable of perfect Love.  Of course we aren't. The flesh too often gets in the way. Pride, envy, etc, all get in the way.

True love never boasts. It's humble. It "vaunteth not itself." It is not selfish, puffed up or proud. It's is patience and long suffering. Love is like a seed and it should grow and grow. Be watered and nurtured. It spreads. It is contagious. When we love, our ability to love increases. It doesn't diminish. When we ARE loved, likewise, we then are empowered to love in turn. It's better to give than to receive. Greater to love than be loved.

If I keep coming across this verse again and again... yes, I believe I must cling to it. Take it into my heart. Remember it. Live by it, the best I can in, while in this puny human form. 

Love. And love that is full of Grace. That is my goal. In the end, that's all there is. That's all that is worth anything. And I am humbled to have had whatever measure of it I have had in this life.

I could focus on what's lost or gone or passed on or what I can't presently see or hear or feel as readily as I could before. I could focus on childhood pains and losses or people from my past, but what's the point really? I know I was loved. Yet at times I doubted or became afraid. My goal now however is to remember that in whatever measure, large or small, by one or a multitude, I must be humble and thankful for every single drop and morsel.

Yes I was loved. I AM loved. Healed by it, built up by it, chastened by it, wizened by it, made strong and bless through it. I am thankful for love. I am humbled by love. Glorious wondrous love.

Two Trees. Each different from the other, yet both beautiful in my eyes. Both remind me of love and peace.

I'm glad I got them decorated. Having them both to look at brought a little light, and even a little whimsy into my day.

 

Poetry

Since I can't seem to write any of my own (which is probably for the best right now since it would be dark and dark never was favored as much) I'll post one written by my favorite poet, Rumi. I love this one and it feels right for today. I totally get Rumi. His writings are abstract (which is very ME) and they are also quite multifaceted (also very ME).

Who Says Words With My Mouth

All day I think about it,
then at night I say it.
Where did I come from,
and what am I supposed to be doing?
I have no idea.
My soul is from elsewhere,
I'm sure of that,
and I intend to end up there.
This drunkenness
began in some other tavern.
When I get back around
to that place,
I'll be completely sober.
Meanwhile, I'm like a bird
from another continent,
sitting in this aviary.
The day is coming when I fly off,
but who is it now in my ear
who hears my voice?
Who says words with my mouth?
Who looks out with my eyes?
What is the soul?
I cannot stop asking.
If I could taste
one sip of an answer,
I could break out
of this prison for drunks.
I didn't come here of my own accord,
and I can't leave that way.
Whoever brought me here
will have to take me home.
This poetry,
I never know
what I'm going to say.
I don't plan it.
When I'm outside the saying of it,
I get very quiet
and rarely speak at all.

Goals, Sighs, Words and Struggling

I guess my last post was a bit bleak sounding, even with all the talk of love and light. Everything is compounded now and it seems dark around me. I try to reach for the light and hold onto the love. I want to. I'm trying to.

I know I'll have days like that.. like these. I don't like them. I'd rather focus on hope and truth and eternity. 

My life goes. Though True Life isn't this life. I know this is some sort of life however and God has me here, for now. There must be something left to do or some task uncompleted. I have no idea what that is.

How do you take what you've learned about God and love and put it to work in your life, when it all seems so empty and dark?

I have to remember, it's one day at a time. Perhaps even an hour at a time. That's all I can do. Maybe I'm not supposed to do anything.

But there are voices within... reminders, encouragements and responses to my thoughts. Who knows for sure which are my own and which are God's and which are those of love that remains in my heart?

I want to write. I want to lay my thoughts and feelings out on paper, as I was encouraged to do so many times, but I can't quite get there. These posts illustrate the struggle well enough. There are simply too many things that I am not able to express. So I lay out all these words and sentences.

{sigh}

Today I'll attempt once again to decorate a tree. I have two small ones. One is artificial and has lights already on it. That will be my angel tree. Someone gave me a miniature live tree for my birthday and I'll decorate it with the various odd and end things, bears and hearts and trinkets that I have around here.

As for other goals, two are to be able to watch a movie, beginning to end, and enjoy it. The other is to be able to read a book again. I hear the encouragement and feel the nudging and prompting to do so. I will try. It's important and I understand why. I know it's true.

I am brought full circle. Back to "Who Am I Now"

I dreamed about a raccoon last night. I don't remember anything else, though I wish I did. I'm not remembering dreams well lately. But maybe the dream is a good sign. Someone once called me "the raccoon whisperer"  That makes me smile a little. A slight smile, even if only inwardly, is a nice thing.



 

Unanswered

Some questions must remain unanswered in this lifetime.
While some answers remain unquestioned.
In eternity, I suppose, it will all make sense.

They say it is a fertile void.
Right now I just feel the void.

Still, I must focus on God and the gifts of love He bestowed upon me.
I must recall the lessons of faith and life and truth.

It's all supported and verified by the written word... The word of God.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:14)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Meaning upon Meaning

Odd, how things can have such deep meaning and you understand that meaning, even if only in that wordless spirit language, yet something happens or shifts and there is even more meaning than before.

Like a Kaleidoscope, changing form and shape.

Like this song:

Everything In Its Own Time
 
There is no way I can express the meaning(s) or count the number of layers. It's too profound and multifaceted and I'd never do it justice.

On another note (or perhaps, in a way, the same note since I'm speaking of numbers and meanings) tomorrow is 12-12-12, which equals 9. Though the full date, 12-12-2012, equals 11, which equals 2. 

Were you able to follow that? 

But anyway...

Numbers have meaning and spiritual significance. I wonder how many (or sadly how few) see the connections.

For me, the number 9 has always been of special significance. I'm what some would call "a perfect 9" (no perfection of person-hood implied). Also the numbers 12, 11, 8 and 3.

I seeing connections, without even trying. I become aware of them without effort. I see them all around, all the time.

God gave me two words, many years ago: Awareness and Connectedness. In essence the one always leads to the other.

Dedicated...

To a beloved friend.





Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing is not boring—it is peace.

Author Unknown

No Such Thing

There's no such thing as an accident or a mere coincidence.

That's all I can say today.

Flavors, Friends and Love

There are many kinds of love in this world and many types of relationships. Even amongst our friends and family members, each one is unique.

I often liken them to flavors of ice cream. While we may have favorites, it's nice to have a variety. Vanilla with strawberry sauce, pistachio and chocolate with chocolate chunks and marshmallows.

How wondrous that God, who is the author of all love, has created so many different flavors.

I'm not the sort of person to have dozens of close friends, though I have more than dozens of acquaintances. But true friends, for me, are more limited in number. This is mostly a simple matter of my natural born tendencies and preferences. I have fewer relationships but they tend to be deep. While others prefer to have quantity and large numbers of relationships. Neither is wrong, per se.

Of course many, if not most of us, have that one special relationship with a spouse or significant other. But I speak more in general here.

I do have some special friends. One or two I've known all my life. There are a few who were more active and present during some periods and years and not as much during others, but they are always there and usually we can pick up where we left off, as if no time had passed. Some are fairly new friends, and at times people who were only mere acquaintances can suddenly grow closer and more valuable to you, or you to them.

Lately, due to a particularly sad and difficult event in my life, these thoughts and many others have been part of my daily thoughts and ponderings. Relationships, loves, losses, bonds, sharing, caring, God and how He moves through these things, and all the occasional difficulties and boundaries involved in all that... these things have been on my mind a lot. That and faith. Faith in love. Faith in God, as He IS love. Faith in the enduring nature of it. If love never dies then even if a person is not with you, love still lives.

Physicists say that energy never ceases to exist. It can change form but never stops being energy. I think all things are energy or made of vibratory energy, in one way or another. So, yes... Love never ceases to exist. If it's real it is enduring and everlasting.

Well, now I'm 'waxing philosophical' I suppose, but as I move about and am busy with various tasks throughout my day, I think about these things.

I think about the people God brings into our lives. It is my belief that we aren't always aware of just how extensive God's purposes are. We know what someone means to us. Or at least we think we do, even if that, in itself, changes flavors slightly time. Hopefully deepening and growing in it's joys and pleasures. But for the most part I think it is impossible for us to fully comprehend all the reasons God has for bringing various and sundry people into our lives.

Why do our paths cross the paths of others? Spouses, friends, mentors - even those we assume are only in our lives due to birth. Sometimes we may not even like some of those people. Or the relationship goes bad or turns sour or we lose them for one reason or another.

We lose them due to death, or divorce. We lose some due to distance while at the same time it seems distance doesn't impact some of those relationships. We lose people due to misunderstandings or for any number of reasons. And we gain friends and are blessed with new relationships along the way. To me it all seems quite mysterious.

But when we lose someone that we love so very much, it can be more than we are able to bear. God says He will not give us more than we can handle. I confess I have questioned that many times in my life. The 'why' of it all... often unanswered.

I'm sure I'll talk more later about the particular event and loss in my life recently. I haven't mentioned it here, because there are so many thoughts that I'm not sure I can separate them all enough to put it into words that would do the matter justice.

For now... just saying... more later.

Well, probably.

Yet, in closing, I will say, remember that love is always a gift from God. Love in all it's many flavors is something to be thankful for.  Each time I have experienced it, whether for a brief period of time or spread over the course of many years - whether the giver or the receiver or both - anything that is love, is always a gift. Always cherish it and know that it is a gift from God, who is the author of all love. Love is priceless.

To those of you who've sent messages wondering why I haven't posted much lately, thank you for your concern. For those who read and know me best, you already know about my ups and downs and the reason behind them. Thank you for your concerns and thank you also to those who have been so very supportive. True friends are a treasure, as love is a treasure.

A long post for today. It's not my norm. There are things in my mind and questions that weigh heavy on my spirit. But there it is. For what it's worth.

Remember

remember everything i told you
keep it in your heart like a stone
and when the winds have blown things round and back again
what was once your pain will be your home
all around the table the white haired men have gathered
spilling their sons' blood like table wine
(spilling their sons' blood)
remember everything i told you
everything in its own time
the music whispers you in urgency
hold fast to that languageless connection
a thread of known that was unknown and unseen seen
dangling from inside the fifth direction
(dangling from inside the fifth direction)
boys around the table are mapping out there strategies
kings all of mountains one day dust
a lesson learned a loving god and things in their own time
in nothing more do i trust
we own nothing
nothing is ours
not even love so fierce it burns like baby stars
but this poverty is our greatest gift
(nothing is ours)
the weightlessness of us as things around begin to shift
(the weightlessness as things begin to shift)
remember everything i told you
(remember everything i told you)
keep it in your heart like a stone
(keep it in your heart like a stone)
and when the winds have blown things round and back again
(when the winds have blown things round)
what was once your pain will be your home
everything in its own time
everything in its own time 

Interesting Version

This version of Comfortably Numb is different, by far, from the Pink Floyd version but it gets to me nonetheless. I like it. Perhaps it's the haunting quality of the female vocals.





The original, by Pink Floyd, has always held special meaning for me.

I was reading this morning and came across this verse: "Comfort, comfort my people," says your God. (Isaiah 40:1 NIV)

Now, just how that relates to the above song... well, that's probably not within my ability to put into writing. At least not right now.

Couldn't Drag Me Away

At the shooting range....

Thanks to one of my daughters and her sweetie for getting me out of the house. Everything is so difficult right now. At least for a few hours it was nice to do something other than sit here at the house and mourn.

A tribute to my dear husband who has passed on to the next life.





When I get where I'm going
On the far side off the sky
The first thing that I'm gonna do
Is spread my wings and fly

I'm gonna land beside a lion
And run my fingers through his mane
Or I might find out what it's like
To ride a drop of rain

Yeah when I get where I'm goin
There'll be only happy tears
I will shed the sins and struggles
I have carried all these years
And I'll leave my heart wide open
I will love and have no fear
Yeah when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here

I'm gonna walk with my grand daddy
And he'll match me step for step
And I'll tell him how I missed him
Every minute since he left
Then I'll hug his neck

Yeah when I get where I'm goin
There'll be only happy tears
I will shed the sins and struggles
I have carried all these years
And I'll leave my heart wide open
I will love and have no fear
Yeah when I get where I'm going
Don't cry for me down here

So much pain and so much darkness
In this world we stumble through
All these questions I can't answer
So much work to do

But when I get where I'm going
And I see my maker's face
I'll stand forever in the light
Of his amazing grace
Yeah when I get where I'm goin
Oh When I get where I'm goin
There'll be only happy tears
Hallelujah
I will love and have no fear
When I get where I'm going
Yeah when I get where I'm going 

---------------------------------

I truly can't address this event - this loss - at this time. It's all too fresh and far too deep.

More Catching Up

I've been so busy reading I've been neglecting my blog.

There's more 'catching up' to do, which hopefully I'll get to some time soon.

We went to Helen, GA, for the opening of Octoberfest and made a trip to Zuzu's Petals Rock Shop where I bought an amazing book and some lovely bloodstone.

More on that soon. Fingers crossed.

Catching Up

It's obvious I've been neglecting my blog lately. That's partially due to the fact that I've been reading a lot. Presently I'm working on the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series by George RR Martin. It's not quick reading but it's good.

I've also been learning to make birdhouses from a form of paper mache. But not the traditional kind. This is shredded newspaper that's then boiled for about an hour. After it's drained well and cooled I add a mixture of flour, glue, salt and linseed oil.

I'm making them over empty milk cartons (recycling). Once completed, they get 3-4 coats of linseed oil, then are painted and sealed.

Supposedly, they hold up quite well for several years outside. I have my first one hanging outside now as a test. It's rained a couple times. I've checked each time and there's been no noticeable damage or problems of any sort.

I'm adding doors in the back (or in some cases a hinged top) for clean out, as well as drainage and air holes.

So far I enjoy working with this paper pulp. I'm calling it "paper musha" since it's really pretty "mushy" LOL.

Here are pictures of three, in various stages of completion. 

Always

Beautiful song...

Who'll call you baby
When your hair gets grey and your body sags
When your steps get slow and tend to lag behind you
Who'll call you baby
when your children grow and leave the nest
the years you gave them all your best

When the mirror says stop
But the mind says go
And the old eyes shine
And the spirit glows inside you

I'll call you baby
From now until forever more
I'll call you baby

Who'll call you lover
When your soft side yields to passing years
Wisdom grows from all your fears
Who'll call you lover
When you don't feel pain from circumstance
And the things you've seen have built a wall around you

When your arms are weak
But your passion's strong
And you still need love
But you're sick and tired of asking

I'll call you lover
From now until forever more
I'll call you lover

Who'll call you always
When the days go on and the nights are long
Time slips by and all your friends are gone
Who'll call you always
When memories of your younger days
Shine through the curtains like sunrays

When your mind is wise
With your failing eyes
And your wits are sharp
But you seem a bit forgetful

I'll call you always
From now until forever more
I'll call you always.

Freedom!!!

Another Repeat

The Two

when i discovered the two
i could not help but feel the intensity
it was round a campfire
where songs were sung by which i was muted
in awe of these strangers singing my story
the ones who never knew me
yet with unequaled harmony recalled my life
my ears and heart hung on every breath
an awkward moment tossed in
mercy, they said, mercy
it was an unforgiving honesty

i heard behind the tune
i stared into the core of my self
fascinated and fixated i listened
losses and crosses and strange circles
queens and kings mounting stairs
leading to towers and trees by the roadside
on the way to revelations

do you see them
arms open like shutters flung
releasing what would otherwise suffocate
it the motion that lifts
emotions that carry
burning and burying
reaping and keeping
bare feet touch not the ground
clouded and crowded
the internal fight and the flight
they bring it all into focus
yet no one else can see
no one else can hear the same words

i wish i had said it myself
but then i might have missed the point
year upon year
they are always with me
is it they that conform or only myself
or is it merely dictated circumstance
the chance of romance or simply self fulfilling
was it from before or what was to come

and still today i am fixed on the memory
around the fire where bare feet leave traces of light
and i remain mute even now
in wonderment of the ones who never knew me
yet with unequaled harmony could recall my secrets
my heart hang on their breath
mercy, they cried, mercy
it is an unforgiving honesty
that flings open the shutters with a force that shivers
to the depths of my understanding
and i ask, do you see my heart wide open

Rachelle LeCount
11-2011

This Week

For several years, it has been our custom to vacation in Helen Georgia during the week of July 4th. Last year the heat took more of a toll on me than I was willing to admit, even at the time, and we decided to consider moving our regular Helen trip to a cooler time of the year.

Also, we had family visiting from out of town.

The one thing I missed most was visiting Zuzu's Petals Rock Shop.

But I must remind myself that sometimes change is necessary and "to everything there is a season." [Ecclesiastes 3] 

I am behind a bit this month in regard to blogging. I've occupied a good bit of time this last week in word studies and hopefully I'll get around to writing about some of that.

The topics have ranged from the seven declarations made from the cross, to circumcision of the heart, and then some.

More soon. God willing.

Weekly Wisdom

I like this site christnotes.org. There a message of the day and lesson for the week.

Weekly Wisdoms for the week of June 25, 2012

Jesus is the way -- not an add on, an extra, an option, or a supplement.

In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." There is no other way.

Yet many people think that they can be saved through other ways. Religion is not the way; your pastor is not the way; baptism is not the way; church membership is not the way; doing good things is not the way. There is only one way to be saved: Jesus.

As a well-known song proclaims: There is only "one name under heaven whereby we must be saved" -- Jesus!

Salvation comes down to this: Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him (John 3:36).

Similarly, 1 John 5:12 says, He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. It is clear that Jesus is the only way.

You are valuable not because of who you are, but because of whose you are.

What is it that makes you valuable? What makes you feel important? Is it your wealth? The fact that you're well educated? Do you feel important because you get lots of cell phone calls, so that must mean you're popular? Or do you feel valuable because you have a high position of leadership at work?

While it certainly isn't wrong to be wealthy, well educated, popular, or in leadership, we must not let those things define our worth and value, because things can (and likely will) fail us. Cars break down; houses burn down; profits sink down; and with them, our self-worth falls down.

But God declares that you're worth everything to him -- you're worth all Christ offered. You are not your own; you were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). That price is the life of Jesus.

You are precious in God's sight -- you're his child (Ephesians 1:5). Almost every parent would agree that his or her child is the most precious thing in the world; and that's the way God views you! It's no wonder God labels his people as his treasured possession (Deuteronomy 14:2).

Don't let wealth, education, popularity, status, or anything else define your value. Know that you worth everything to God, because you're His.

Something I wrote a while back.


Folds of Eternity

Time folds around itself
Even though there is no crease
No turn and no set direction
Continually and simulatneously
All things are one
Boundless and limitless and eternal

He created
He spoke
Not at the beginning
But within The Beginning
The Lord created all that is
There was no beginning as we think it to be
Just as there is no end

Eternity folds in on itself
Shapeless and formless
But not without order and purpose
It expands and it dances and shifts
Eternity is not a constant fixed measure
It is not a line from here to there

Out of the vast free and formless nature
Of Love itself
He created all that is
And all that ever will be
As tomorrow existed in The Beginning
So I also
I existed even then and was with Him.
A created child
Not begotten but eternal
As I’ve been promised The Eternal Future
Also have I an Eternal Past
They are one in the same

© Rachelle




Lyrics
I'm so sick and tired
of all these things
that drag me down
I've got no where to go
they say that life
is in these hands
you give everything
you give yourself away you give
and still you choke
and find yourself running for the door

come and take me home
lead me to your door
take me where you are
lead me to your door
at least just for a while

its some kind of life
forever days
we're in the cold
unfamiliar way
so take this fear
and fade it out
it won't make me sad
cause I get sentimental lord
in other ways
and I don't want to let me down here anymore

so come and take me home
lead me to your door
take me where you are
lead me to your door
and let me in
just let me in
and let me leave
just let me leave this world
come on now let me leave this world
at least just for a while

Proverbs 31

The passage begins with "Who can find a virtuous woman?" (click link for context). Wow. That's a lot to try and live up to.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

She is like the merchants ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

She girdeth her loins with strength

She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

She looketh well to the ways of her household

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates. 

That sure if a lot to try to live up to. I wonder how many women read this and become frustrated because either they don't feel they can live up to the ideal or because even their efforts go unnoticed, try as they may.

Nonetheless, it's written there for a reason. It's always been a favorite of mine and even though we may never fully achieve it, it's a goal worth striving for and all those things are qualities to be desired.

If Heartaches Were Nickles

New Playlist

Playlist.com won't let you embed anymore. Bummer. There are very few embeddable playlist sites out there. You can, however, create a playable list with youtube, but unless you go to an outside site and get a special code the video window is way too large. I even tried one side that lets you make a small audio only player but there's no option to skip to the next song, which is a problem too.

For now I have a small playlist available (see side column) which will allow skipping past one song and on to the next, but you cannot see the list itself without clicking the link and looking at the playlist on the youtube channel.

Oh well. That's life.

Playlist

Uuugh. 

Playlist changed it's site. The old playlists don't work now. This means I'll have to search for each song again to make a totally new playlist and embed the new code and adjust the width.

Oh well.

P.S. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was wonderful. Absolutely riveting.

Appreciation

During my morning reading and meanderings around the world wide web and my Bible verse of the day, a common theme seemed for form in my mind.

Too many people don't learn to appreciate where they are and what they have. Always in pursuit of what they believe is better... the proverbial Greener Pasture. But that pasture is an illusion.

God has asked that we learn to find our contentment in what we have. That's the key to happiness.

Happiness isn't about being overwhelmingly giddy or always jumping for joy. Happiness is about acceptance and finding the beauty in the everyday things. Someone who's there for us... the little things they do that we often take for granted.

We all do it at times. We all fail to see the beauty that lies in our own back yard. At times, our own gardens and lawns and walkways don't seem quite as lovely as our neighbors, or those we see in magazines. It's a shame, really, that so many of us believe in the "if only..."

If only, I had that. If only, I had something different than what I have. If only, I had a fancier car. If only, I had a sexier woman/man. If only, I had more money. If only my house were more luxurious.

Well, "if only..." is an illusion and the Bible teaches us that. Where your heart is, that's where your treasure will be. And God knows, if you can't learn to appreciate the treasure you already have, those other things aren't really going to make you happy either. So we must set our hearts on things that are truly of the most value; always remembering that only God Himself can help us see precisely what those things are.

It's all a matter of perspective. All a matter of what you choose to see and focus on.

We should all spend more time enjoying what we have, right in our own back yard, instead of wishing we had our neighbor's. Keep in mind, their yard has weeds and pests and leaves to rake, too many rocks or too few flowers. You simply can't see it from the distance.

What's Going On?

As is obvious, I haven't posted much lately. That's due to several things, one of which is that I've been reading the Hunger Game series by Suzanne Collins. Very good reading. Well written. 

I haven't seen the movie, as I don't go to the theater. I always wait until it's out on DVD. It simply costs too much to go out to see it and I can't pause it and there are more distractions.

The series is great though and I highly recommend it.

Also, our boy shih tzu, Griffin, swallowed a bandana from the groomer. Who'd have thought he could do that? It ended up costing us a trip to the emergency vet (anyone checked those prices lately?) and some serious surgery.

And there was Mother's Day and some doctors appointments and several other things thrown in there. Enough to keep me muddled a bit and not terribly focused on blogging.

I recently saw two of the cardinals (see previous posts). At least two of the three survived. Possibly all three but I have only seen two. I know it's them because they have a strange mohawk head. Two females. They look well fed and I'm thinking they have just left their parents.

Anyway... that's my update. 

Stay tuned for an actual blog post some time soon.

Cover

When another group or person covers a song like "Comfortably Numb" is has to be really good to interest me much. Particularly a song as close to perfection as the original Pink Floyd version. But this one does intrigue me and there's a dreamy quality to the vocals... something ethereal that they brought to it. I like it. It won't replace the original, but it's pretty good.

Far Away

It's not uncommon for me to become overwhelmed by the multiple thoughts in my head. Until it calms down, it is simply too difficult to articulate.

I will say this, however... I wonder how many people understand how to crawl inside the music. Crawl inside and pull it around you like a blanket, until you don't know, for that brief time, where you end and the music begins.

Anyway, I'll just post a song for now. This is a nice one for today.

Far Away
Dishwalla


Just the other day, I was looking for myself again
Trying to put back all the pieces, back to the way they were
Sometimes it's not so easy, when you have so many voices tell you what to do
I think I've got it now, but I can't be too sure

Far away as I shoot across the sky
Far away to the corners of my mind
Sooner or later it will slowly come back to me

If I could build a spaceship
Would you fly away with me, or would you stay?
A million miles an hour
Flying circles as we orbit round the earth
If I stuck my head out the window, do you think it'd clear my head or would it burst?
I guess it's all the same, but at least it wouldn't hurt

Far away as I shoot across the sky
Far away to the corners of my mind

And the voices in my head
I think they've finally gone away
Far away (far away)
Far away (far away)
Sooner or later they will slowly come back to me

Fledgeling Cardinals

The third post/update on our little Cardinal chicks.They are fledgelings now and I can't believe how much they have grown in just 9 days. It's amazing. I don't know how many more good pictures I'll be able to get now that they have left the nest. They'll soon be a handful for Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal and difficult to keep up with.

Cardinals still feed and tend to their young for 25-50 days after they've left the nest. Then they mate again and have a late summer brood.















At 8 days old, they have grown so much they fill up the nest.














Leaving the nest at 9 days, I can't believe I actually got this shot.













Posing for his picture.














This one looks a little more disheveled.

Happy Easter

"Easter says you can put truth in a grave, but it won't stay there."
- Clarence W. Hall

"Thy dead men shall live , together with my dead body shall they arise . Awake and sing , ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead."
- Isaiah 26: 19


This is an old song by Carmen. A musical skit, of sorts, more than a song. It has a touch of humor but it's actually quite moving. The lyrics are included.

More Cardinals Nesting

The three babies cardinals are thriving. I'd estimate they've tripled in size, if not more. Here's a picture of Daddy Bird and the growing babies at 3 days old, then at 6 days old.













Above, a fine looking Daddy Cardinal.













Above, they are 3 days old, they are finally audibly chirping.













Above, at 6 days old, you can tell their eyes are beginning to open. The one on the far left hasn't yet swallowed the little green bug that mommy bird just poked in it's mouth.

More on the nesting habits of Cardinals HERE

Cardinals Nesting

A pair of Cardinals built a nest in a large bush outside our bathroom window. We've been watching Mrs. Cardinal lay and brood her eggs for about two weeks. Finally, this morning, the first one hatched. Then the next and, at last, the third.

I've been talking to her through the window and occasionally opening the window and talking to her through the screen. She has tolerated me more than I expected. A few times she stayed on the nest even while I pushed the screen out far enough to snap a shot. Photos aren't so clear when taken through window screen. Go figure.


Above are three speckled cardinal eggs.


Above, the mother cardinal broods her three eggs.


Above, the first hatched baby, just minutes old.


Above, we see all three eggs have finally hatched.
This is their first day of life. Weak and wobbly, and very tiny.

Time

This song has special meaning for me and it's also
one of the Stones' best, In my opinion.


Time Waits for No One



Lyrics:

Yes, star crossed in pleasure, the stream flows on by
Yes, as we're sated in leisure, we watch it fly

And time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me
And time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me

Time can tear down a building or destroy a woman's face
Hours are like diamonds, don't let them waste

Time waits for no one, no favours has he
Time waits for no one, and he won't wait for me

Men, they build towers to their passing yes, to their fame everlasting
Here he comes chopping and reaping, hear him laugh at their cheating

And time waits for no man, and it won't wait for me
Yes, time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me

Drink in your summer, gather your corn
The dreams of the night time will have vanished by dawn

And time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me
And time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me

No no no, not for me....

The Newling

This may need some tweaking still. It potentially could be part of the Anwyn story (See Right Column). But I haven't yet decided.

How I Came to Be

The great one dreamed with me. I, the Newling, remember. "Come, and I will show you" he said.

Hunched at his feet, arms wrapped around up-drawn knees, I listened to tales, time-worn. I heard not as if hearing with the ears but rather as one examines relics from erstwhile ages. This is how I came to be.

The first morning I arose to a sun rooted in the horizon. It's plush roundness seemed a celebration of my arrival. The sensation was not unlike riding through the sea on the back of a dolphin, above the surface there are glimpses of sparkles of light bouncing off the water. A quick breath, then down where watery colors sway like mingling curls of gold and green. Then up again, crashing through the taut surface to take another quick breath. Disorienting then illuminating, in turn. This is how I came to be.

The first night, as I lay down atop the warm sand, the great one dreamed with me. I, the Newling. "Come, and I will show you" he said.

The night-sky's lights, shone upon that same sea. Then out across we walked. Together we moved along an avenue of glass, through which the swirling currents below were still visible. As we did, he spoke of many things, and I saw all of that which was before - before the great one dreamed with me. This is how I came to be.

© Rachelle LeCount

Mansfield

When it comes to blues harp, Darrell Mansfield is The Man!!!
This is some totally rockin' stuff.



http://www.darrellmansfield.com/

Blues for Sunday

Nice!!



Lyrics:
Empty promises that were etched in stone,
Scattered by the wind to places I have known,
All the burning lamps by the window pane,
lit for their return, but they never came,
I lose myself in deep regret,
still I hear a voice that I can't forget.

It says we will run where roses grow, our feet unbound at last,
Laugh as morning dawns; the night forever passed,
See the face of glory, feel the river flow,
Hear the voice of God and run where roses grow.

Fading hope is gathered as the sky grows dim,
Somewhere it's raining, but it's drought... drought within,
Out across the desert - was it fate or was it chance?
I saw clouds approaching where I took my stance.

They say we will run where roses grow, our feet unbound at last,
Laugh as morning dawns; the night forever passed,
See the face of glory, feel the river flow,
Hear the voice of God and run where roses grow,
Hear the thunder rolling - can you hear the horn?
I'm climbing Jacob's ladder up through the storm.

Stand with me at the mercy seat, with mounds... mounds of ashes spread about my feet,
You know who I am, all I think I know,
See it in the marrow, buried deep in the bone,
How is there no anger in the words I hear, only love and mercy erasing every fear?

You say we will run where roses grow, our feet unbound at last,
Laugh as morning dawns; the night forever passed,
See the face of glory, feel the river flow,
Hear the voice of God and run where roses grow,
Hear the thunder rolling - can you hear the horn?
I'm climbing Jacob's ladder up, up, up through the storm.