"his teacher" - a photo assignment this week
This is what you should do: Love the earth and sun and animals,
despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks,
stand up for the stupid and crazy,
devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants,
argue not concerning God,
have patience and indulgence toward the people...
reexamine all you have been told in school or church or in any book,
dismiss what insults your very soul,
and your flesh shall become a great poem.
- Walt Whitman
* * * * *
(I am still laughing)
It is a gift to see the beauty in your own life some days, isn't it?
I think this place is quaint and quiet, a homey little pioneer town in the mountains. But it is definitely not as beautiful as other places I have lived.
I have lived in the heart of the Midwest (Northern Indianapolis) where the haze lays over the fields and the fireflies bounce around in the dark evenings. I have lived in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where *quaint* originated -- the beauty out my doors was breathtaking -- lavender wisteria blooms falling from pine trees, honeysuckle growing wild across the back fence and the humidity softening hard edges.
I have also lived in the east valley of Phoenix, Arizona, in cotton fields and wild desert. I fell in love the starkness of sand and twigs, and the expansive open spaces. Warm reds and oranges against the purple of the Superstition Mountains ~ gorgeous.
I have lived in visual splendor.
And now, I am in a tiny farm community with dust, rust, and sheep...
Every move has been a hardship and a great learning experience. I don't regret a single home. Each stepping stone on this path has been an great upturning of fallow ground, seeds planted and watered, and harvests of understanding grace, real friendship, and divine truths. Do you know these blessed gifts in your life, too?
Some lessons are only learned when our hearts are fully ripe to hear...
Now, as the seasons are changing and the sheep are getting ready to come home (remember they have been up in those high mountains camping), I am again grateful for the chance I have to live in this sweet (sheepy) place.
It is great teacher, a visual liturgy, and a messy canvas for my head and heart~
It is also a perfect fit for a silly girl like me. I am home.
(one of my sweet puppies last year)
May you see the beauty in your life today. Take a sketch pad or a camera and gather an image that inspires you. Our God loves to put His glory on display!
love & lambs to you,
jj
I love your dusty, rusty town! However, Indiana is my favorite state...and I would love to see any pictures you may have/want to share! I really miss it.
ReplyDeleteLauralee
May I come and live with you? I'll do the laundry!
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe you could live in the ugliest place on earth (wherever that might be) and you would find the beauty in it. It's in your soul and you take it with you everywhere you go!
ReplyDeletegirl i love the way you express yourself. i find myself a little weepy because i'm still in that "learning to love my new surroundings" place. it will come. i know it will. i might just do that today. capture His beauty with my pen and pad. thank you for inspiring me. have a beautiful weekend in that sheepy land:)
ReplyDeleteRunning in the dark this morning i saw the sun breaking through the clouds. Streams of light, yellows and whites bursting through the darkness. It was beautiful. Thank you for reminding me to look at the beauty around me. BTW: I am from the northside of Indy....maybe we crossed paths somewhere in our lives. :)
ReplyDeleteI've been wondering about the pups. How are they?
ReplyDeleteThere is beauty in every place - like Cheri said - it's in your soul. Love that Cheri!!
When I first moved to New Mexico I thought it was the ugliest place but now I see the beauty all around, in everything. Sometimes it just takes time, sometimes it takes an attitude adjustment!
where was the top picture taken at?
ReplyDeleteyes, if we were front porch friends we wouldnt ever get a thing done. what a beautiful post, once again, speaking to the heart of the matter.
ReplyDeleteI was wondering about the camera you use to take all your beautiful pictures with. What exactly do you use?
ReplyDeleteMost people would probably not call northern Missouri beautiful but I think you can find beauty wherever you are. A glorious sunrise, paint swirls on a palette, faces across the table. Having eyes to see beauty is key, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI may not have the vistas you have around you where I live/have lived/come from - I'm a city girl - but I have learnt to love what I see and find the beauty in the urban landscape. It's wonderful to see what you see and to imagine how strange that would be to have right outside my door! I'm so happy that autumn is here - it's my happy time of year and I find myself smiling more and more as the days get shorter, the colours get stronger and the mornings get mistier.
ReplyDelete