At The End Of The Rainbow

Morning stalker that I am ... Most days you will find me creeping into the briskness of post dawn air. All is quiet ... my landscape awaits. It never fails to tantalize my senses. Disheveled hair, robe still on, Fugi camera in hand... I must look a bit like a crazed old lady. I have on several occasions startled my neighbor who lives with his wife on the boat next door. I am anxious to see what deliciousness will meet my eyes in my land of island beauty on Hummingbird Haven where I live.

I have learned that morning and evening are the best times of day to capture what the Lord has painted on His landscape. I photograph day after wondrous day... paintings done by my Makers hand. I have lived here for 22 years and only this last year have begun to truly appreciate the colors "at the end of the rainbow" ... as others have dubbed the land where we live.

What is the Lord teaching me as I take the pictures of His Creation? One is ... for those He has given eyes to see He will reveal what He is doing on a daily basis. That if we look deep into His handiwork there is truly a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

^{And most importantly is the lesson of "waiting on the Lord" ... oh how hard is it to wait? I am one, who when I receive a thought or "once a good notion" I am sometimes compelled to grab that notion and run like the wind for the goal line. Sad thing is .. often it is the wrong goal and the "other side"  has me on the foul. I think photography is teaching me a tantamount lesson... found in the following verse.}
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Then there is the last pictures of the day ... not a lot different than the ones of morning light but different just the same .. waiting for them is worth it all. And waiting on the Lord is more than worth it. Sometimes the waiting may indeed save a life maybe even your own. Listen to what He is speaking to your heart. He has a message for each one .. He taught me long ago to find His word and to fill my heart with it. It is from the word He leads us ...

Psalm 25:1-15 

In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

² I trust in you;
    do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³ No one who hopes in you
    will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
    who are treacherous without cause.

⁴ Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.
⁶ Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
    for they are from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth
    and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
    for you, Lord, are good.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord;
    therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.
¹⁰ All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
    toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
¹¹ For the sake of your name, Lord,
    forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

¹² Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.^[b]
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
    and their descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Tales from a Craggy Old Tree"..."Wisdom speaks when one has ears to hear ...

There she is the white queen of the forest ... In the winter of her life and the winter of her sisters lives, it is hard to discern the dead tree from the living. You would think there is no life in these "ladies in waiting" but come spring they will bring forth new life ... while the white craggy queen with her top gone from lightening, decay, and winds ... will still stand tall... but no leaves will come to signal life's cycle goes on.

But oh for sure... in this season she still has lessons to teach and her very presence reminds all... of days gone by. One day she will topple in a wind and be gone forevermore. But those who stood with her in winter garb will remember the whisper of her leaves and hear the tales she told..  when in the summer of her life, she was glorious.

Seasons come and seasons go .. we would do well to mark the days of our lives as the new year approaches. Be very sure of your calling, for one day .. you too will be taking the "winter journey" ... like the winter queen is now. Look beyond her smile to the heart full of lessons .. what deliciousness if you would/could but side step even one of her mistakes and gain one of her successes by reading the "Book of life." ...

love from a craggy old tree on Hummingbird Haven.

Hebrews 12:1-13 NIV 1984
  

God Disciplines (teaches) His Sons and Daughters

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:

“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,

and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,

because the Lord disciplines those he loves,

and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”a

his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

 Try reading this in many translations you won't be sad you did.