bits of sunshine

the tetons :: paragliding :: no, not me, not this time, but i got to watch

no, those aren't feathers.  that's what maddie thought they were on the tiny image she saw on the cell-phone screen.  they are paragliders.

and last friday evening (just over a week ago, now) ben and i got to sit in a high meadow, behind the elk refuge in jackson, wyoming, with these paragliders and watch them take off and glide and land and take off again.

if i had had some cash with me - like extra, over what we used for gas and groceries for our trip, i could have had a tandem ride . . . i think i would love to glide . . . it looked so gentle . . . the massive, colorful wings floating through the evening light . . .

and the view . . .

these people have found a way to live and work and play in one of the most beautiful places . . . they all give rides and teach lessons for a living, during the day.  then, in the evening, if the air is right, they head out to this special meadow and just glide.  and drink in the beauty.

sounds like a good way to live.  drinking in beauty.  finding bits of sunshine. 

and maybe someday, i'll get to glide . . .

 

the tetons

since, in all my 33 years, i had never seen a mountain, ben took me to the mountains

and everyone we saw said he had ruined it for himself by bringing me to the best ones first

i say, he didn't ruin anything

and if his goal was to make me fall in love with the tetons, to make me want to climb the grand, to make me begin scheming about how to live in this wild beauty - if this was his goal, he accomplished it

faith to reach and to touch the hem of His garment

it is 7:00 am

the sky is grey, the air outside heavy and humid

i am at my table, reading about the woman who had bled for twelve years, and tears are pouring down my face

twelve years . . .

twelve long years . . .

maybe she felt like Job

maybe she cried in her heart

oh that You would hide me in Sheol 
that You would conceal me until Your wrath be past
that you would appoint me a set time and remember me!

my face is red with weeping
and on my eyelids is deep darkness
although there is no violence in my hands
and my prayer is pure

even now
behold
my Witness is in heaven
and He who testifies for me
is on high

my eye pours out tears to God

my spirit is broken

all my members are like shadow

and yet Job said, and she believed, and i believe

i know that my Redeemer lives
and at last He will stand upon the earth
and after my skin has been thus destroyed
yet in my flesh i shall see God
whom i shall see for myself
and my eyes shall behold not another

i'm listening to this, and feeling like i just have to know how to

come up behind him in the crowd and touch his garment

and even at the end of her twelve long years of bleeding and pain and searching and trying and trying and trying to bring her overwhelming, over-taking, over-arching blighted condition to an end, after twelve years of spending money and seeking counsel and accepting treatments and things going from bad to even worse, she was bled of every last resource she had, and yet should could say and believe

if i touch even His garment, i will be made well

i will be made well.  i will be whole.  i will have peace. 

reach out  
touch the hem of His garment

the hem of His robe fills the temple
and in Jesus, the curtain that hid the holiest place
the place where God dwells
was rent asunder.
there is no separation anymore.
in Jesus, the holiest place is accessible to us,
the hem of God's robe is there for the touching

i am reaching 
putting my faith into trembling motion 
oh, that my faith is enough.
i am with the long-suffering woman 

we need an answer 
we need an end 
we need a new beginning 
after twelve long years 

may my faith be enough and Your grace be sufficient
and in Jesus, my Witness, He Who testifies for me in heaven,
i will touch the hem of Your robe
and when Your time is right, You will tell me to

go in peace and be freed from suffering

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

scripture references  Mark 5:24-34, Job 14:13, 16:16-17&19, 19:25-27, Isaiah 6:1, Matthew 27:51

 

words + quiet sunshine

i dropped them off for the second day in a row.

we weren't late.  not a chance.  they were hurrying me along.  

then i took my sweet time.  not hurrying at all.  to look in some shops that i felt like stopping in.

when i returned home, there was this brown-dog waiting for me.

so, i played with her, in the lovely, warm, quiet air.

and admired my flowers

and the little trees that i've been nurtuing along, ever since i found them growing there, three summers ago

and i thought about words.  a lot.  and how sung, or written, they can make me feel.  feel so deeply. 

out in the quiet sunlight of the late morning, i was peaceful.

keep the earth below my feet 
for all my sweat, my blood runs weak 
let me learn from where i have been 
keep my eyes to serve, my hands to learn

words and music found here

me + miss n

just me + miss n

my kiddos are at day camp this week.

so, today, will miss n napped, i made phone calls, wrote messages, and organized my calendar.

while she was awake, we sat by each other and played quietly with a toy, the fringe on the pillow and each others' fingers.  then she worked a spatula and a bottle-nipple while i mixed up some homemade granola bars. 

now, she'll nap again? while i write this and switch laundry and wash dishes . . . maybe . . .

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

i haven't been here so much again because . . .

ben got to come home early!  and the 4th of july holiday fell just right to allow him to be home for 12 days!  now, he could be called any day again.  but we all soaked up lots of each others' company, and i'm ready to share him again.

and sunshine.  we've been soaking up sunshine.  i've been known to count days of sun . . . so far, july is 8 for 9!  and the not-sunny day was really nice and warm, just cloudy - which was ok - it saved the day from being unbearably hot.

we've also been out in the jeep.  a lot.  and out at the lakes around here, jumping in and swimming and floating on air mattresses and dumping each other off air mattresses . . . and we've had some get-togethers.  and tubed in the river.  and mowed the lawn.  and fed the pigs and chickens . . . over and over and over again.  and lit some fireworks.  and watched some fireworks.  and had a few naps.  and some late nights.  and taken the kids to lots of swim practice and a meet. 

i've been trying to keep up with some extra research and paper work that i have on my plate right now.  and that isn't always fun.  but looking toward the end result and knowing that God is in control helps keep me motivated to stick with it. 

.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..

so, while miss n is asleep, i am going to switch out my laundry and wash the bit of dishes in the sink!

{no, i am not wearing a sweater today!  thank goodness!  this was from a few weeks ago . . . }