Are YOU full today?....

Full…

Is how I feel today.

My heart is full of the amazing blessings of the people in my life.  Young, old, and in between.  Friends who are like family—some I have known for years and some who are newer in my life.

My heart IS FULL.  

But I don’t always FEEL full.  

And usually that’s when I’m not paying attention.  

Not paying attention to the good things in each day, no matter how small they may seem.  The Bible says “every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father…”, (James 1:17) and He does give us so many incredibly wonderful gifts if we will have eyes to see and hearts to understand.

When I go for a walk along the canals 

with my three favorite red-head boys,

I feel full.

When I get an unexpected card in the mail 

from an out-of-state friend, 

I feel full.

When I look out my window at work and see the sun in the bright blue sky and the hummingbird darting in and out amidst the blossoms of the bird of paradise bush, 

I feel full.

When I think about the fact that I have gas in my car, food in my refrigerator, clean drinking water coming out of my faucet, clothes on my body, a bed to sleep in…. 

all these things make me feel full.

Paying attention.

That’s the key.

And remembering… 

and recounting… 

the many ways God touches us, 

provides for us, 

and speaks to us throughout each day…

It is then I feel full.

It is then I know what it is to BE FULL.

*   *   *   *   * 

In Your presence is fullness of joy; 

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

~Psalms 16:11

(ps. I could have come up with many more, 
but I was being true to the 5min limit!)

With this post I am participating in Five Minute Friday over at The Gypsy Mama's blog.  Today's writers were to write for five minutes (w/o tweaking, rewriting, or critiquing!) on the word:  FULL.  

Here's how it works:  "On Fridays around these parts we like to write. Not for comments or traffic or anyone else’s agenda. But for pure love of the written word. For joy at the sound of syllables, sentences and paragraphs all strung together by the voice of the speaker.  We love to  just write without worrying if it’s just right or not. For five minutes flat."

gotta love those sweet potatoes....

As you know, I so enjoy finding bits of love scattered about.  Recently I was having dinner with friends-- ham, green beans, and sweet potatoes.  When I mashed my potato, this is what it looked like:

 

I didn't do it on purpose but, of course, I couldn't help but see and appreciate the shape!   A good dinner with dear friends....

served up with love.  

For this I am grateful...

the joy spread by the kids in our lives...

Though I don't have kids of my own, I love the kids and grandkids of my friends. They bring such joy into my life, and I am grateful for them.

This New Year's Eve, my friends had two of their grandkids with them for a few days. I, always in for a good time, was invited to their house for New Year's Eve and a sleep-over. (I think I was probably the "out" so they didn't HAVE to stay up till midnight with the boys!)

The day and evening were full of fun, food, games, and just enjoying each other's company. While cooking dinner, I was handed a pen and an envelope by the 8yr old, and inside the envelope was the following note:

Translation (in case you can't quite get it):

Dear Shree:

[short for Shri-ri, a name they all call me due to boy #3 saying my name that way for a short time]

How are you doing?

(blank box for answer)

and what and when are you going to play with us?

(two blank boxes for answers)

And [till] what time will we stay up?

(blank box for answer)

I responded to the questions with the following:

excellent

after dinner and dishes

games? (uno?) later, a movie?

To which he responded with a note on the back of the original card, stuffed in the envelope again:

The above note was preceded with shouts of delight in response to the "stay up till" answer!

...for these kids in my life, I am grateful!! Thanks, God, for the amazing ways You bless us with others in our lives!

"...their children will be a blessing." ~Psalm 37:26b

2011... day 2....

(butter on my cornbread)

He gives food to every creature.

His love endures forever.

~Psalm 126:35

2011... day 1...

(strawberry in New Year's Day breakfast cereal)

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
~Psalm 107:1

i am...

These are just simple words... but I'm wearing them around my neck these days. Words are oh, so very powerful-- for blessing or for cursing, for bringing hope or for bringing despair, for causing joy or for causing sorrow. God warns us continually about our words (our tongue) and the harm or the good they can do to others... and to ourselves.

They can also form our attitudes ... or be a reflection of the same.

I'm wearing these words to remind me every time I look into the mirror...
Or when my hand strays to touch the necklace at my throat...

...to remind me that I AM well and truly blessed...

and that I AM (to be) thankful and grateful...

Bind them always on your heart; fasten them around your neck. When you walk, they will guide you; when you sleep, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. ~ Proverbs 6:21-22

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. ~ Proverbs 3:1-4

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ~Deut 11:18

love eggs? ...or, paying attention...

I've been in a bit of a funk the past couple of weeks, and when that happens, I tend to question God... and doubt His love for me. And, I don't pay attention very well either.

This morning when I was eating my breakfast (frittata), I did notice a little something there... (come on... you know what you're looking for!)

And, in case you're like me and not very good at paying attention sometimes,

here's a closer view...

OK. Call me crazy if you want...

but we do have a Father with quite a great sense of humor!

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

~Lamentations 3:21-23

love in the parking lot...

Parking lot love.

No, not as in "parking"....

Just a bit of love I found today in the parking lot at the bank. It was pouring down rain (which, by the way, I LOVE!), and I was hurrying into the bank when I spotted this lying on the rain-soaked pavement:


...and me without my camera!! :)

So, when I came back out of the bank, I grabbed my handy cell phone and snapped these wet photos of a wonderful bit of love! (I'm sure the folks in the parking lot were wondering what in the heck the crazy chick was photographing on the pavement in the pouring rain!! but some things just MUST be done!)

Last time, it was aluminum foil... this time a wet towel (or a wet blanket??)...

May we continue to see God's love in our daily lives...
And may we stop and give Him thanks...
even when it's raining...

HE has arrived!!

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them,

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

(Luke 2:8-15)

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.

There He is... the newborn King.

The Savior.

Jesus Christ our Lord.

(Shhhhh.... I think He's sleeping!)

...with the Shepherds...

...with the angels...

...with all of heaven and earth...

REJOICE!!

ttmms... (things that make me smile)

(Ok. The next time I post someThing That Makes Me Smile, I shall just use the initials.)

I love to travel... to go to new places, see new things, eat new food! (oooh. mmm! eat new food!) I don't get to do it as much as I would like, but I probably am blessed to do it more than some folks. I am grateful for the times I get to go away from home, to stay in a hotel.

One of the things I love most about staying in a hotel is... (are you ready? you may think I'm weird after seeing this, if you don't already!)...


Yes, I'll admit it! I love toilet paper with the little points folded into it!! I do!! For some reason, I just love it when I am in the bathroom going about my business, and I discover the points on the toilet paper!! Oh, what joy!! :) I smile and smile!!

I'm not sure what it is about it, but I love it!

Maybe it's because it makes me feel so special-- I mean, someone actually took the time to fold my toilet paper into cute little triangles!! my toilet paper!! Just think about it for a minute and let the amazement sink in....

(And if one can be amazed and delighted by such as this, just THINK what it's like to ponder the fact that the Creator of the very UNIVERSE has chosen me-- ME!! -- to be His own treasure!! Wow!)

I am immensely grateful... for both!! :)

heart on the pavement...

Yesterday I was having kind of a hard morning -- bad news at the dentist followed by a flare-up of a painful and frustrating eye problem. I needed to run an errand for work, so once my eye stopped watering enough so I could see to drive, I set out for the office supply store.

When I was leaving the store and walking back to my car, I was looking down at the ground (due to the sun irritating my sore eye) and I noticed something shiny..... (oooh! shiny object!!)... and this is what I saw at my feet:

a shiny piece of foil pressed into the pavement in the shape of a heart!!

God is so good!! I love it when He addresses the weariness of my heart...or just a frustrating day... with a special bit of love just for me!!

ttmms (you know--"things that make me smile")...

This past weekend two of my young friends were in town visiting their grandparents. On Saturday I went over to spend the day with them all at Mimi and Poppa's house. The younger of the two, B (age 7), loves to help with whatever we may be doing in the kitchen, so Mimi, B, and I made lunch together.

We sat out on their balcony in the lovely Southern CA fall air to eat our lunch. After his older brother said grace, B asked if he could pray, too. Mimi and Poppa said 'of course!' The following was his prayer...

"God, thank you for this day and for our lunch and thank you that I got to help my two best friends, Mimi and Sharilyn, make it. Amen."

Talk about things that warm one's heart and make one smile! Who could ask for more??

...for this I am grateful!...

they're heeeerrrre...

Last week they were budding....
this week they have arrived!!

The crepe myrtle trees are bloomin' all over the bloomin' city right now!
These are shots of the tree right out in front of my office window...

pretty in pink...

...and still more buds waiting to burst forth into
glorious pinkness!

I love the frilly edges of the dainty petals!

* * * * *

Thanks, God, for such beauty this day!

love, sweet love....

I was munching on some blueberries today, enjoying my day's supply of vitamins and antioxidants.... and look what I found!!!!

I do LOVE blueberries...
...and I think they LOVE me, too!!

(and tell me, how can that NOT make you smile?!)

celebrate the Sabbath...with baptism...

What a great way to spend the Sabbath! I was honored to spend today with friends and to join with them in the celebration of baptism! My friends' two oldest boys --ages 9 and 7-- and their two cousins from back east, and one adult friend of my friends all were baptized today!


There were about 30 or so friends and family members who gathered at the beach for the baptisms.... we started it off with an explanation of what baptism is-- symbolically joining Christ in His death and resurrection and bublically proclaiming to the world (and all those near us at the beach!) of one's decision to follow Christ, prayer, and then each of those being baptized waded into the water.

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. ~Romans 6:3-4

Each one proclaimed his or her decision for Christ and was baptised there in the ocean... buried with Christ and risen to a new life.

(no, the bird was not baptised!)

After the baptisms, we all played at the beach for an hour or so and then went to a friend's house for bbq'd ribs and chocolate cake! What joy to celebrate life in Christ on the Sabbath!

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ~Galatians 3:26-27

here they come...

If you were one of my readers one year (and one day) ago, you would have read my post about the glorious view out my office window. Gorgeous pink blossoms on the tree right in front of my office.

This year the tree is a little behind schedule, but.... here... they... come...

...anticipation....
...anticipa-a-tion...
(think of the old Heinz ketchup commercial tune!)
They're making me wait...
They're keeping me wa-a-a-iting!
...but they're coming!!

What says "CALIFORNIA" better than a blue sky and a palm-tree-lined street?!

Here's to a California evening yesterday... (yes, that IS the hood of my car, and yes, I took this on my cell phone camera while driving!)

And this was the sun setting as I arrived at my Bible study group...
Lovely, don't you think?

Thank You, God, for yellows and blues...

and crazy Dr. Seuss-looking trees!

Thank You, God, for another day of life in You...

take a walk in the woods...

...something to think about today...

If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day,
he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer.
But if he spends his days as a speculator,
shearing off those woods

and making the earth bald before her time,
he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen.
~Henry David Thoreau

...and while you're taking that walk in the woods,

don't forget to give praises to the One Who made them...

the green leafy boughs above your head

the brown earth beneath your feet...

the clean earthy smell of nature...

the sounds of birds in the trees...

mmmmm... Creation!

Thank You, God! You are good to us!

Oooooooooh!!

Aaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

Wooooooooooooowwww!!

No, your calendar is not wrong. It's not the 4th of July.

Nor is it Chinese New Year.

But, it IS a special day for me today...

It's the ONE YEAR anniversary of my blog!!

My blog's 1 year birthday!!

I am celebrating today, a year of (& 365 posts celebrating!) ...

• God's amazing grace
• opening our eyes to see God's hand and HEART in the details of daily life
• learning to hear His whispers of love in the midst of a shouting world
• encouraging words and heart-felt comments left on my blog
• amazing people who have visited me here
• new friendships with cool people from around the world
• God's incredible faithfulness
• His unbelievable unrelenting inexplicable love for you and me!
• finding things in daily life for which to be grateful!

For all of this, and for all of you who have been here with me...

I am incredibly GRATEFUL!!

Thanks for joining me in this HEART ROCK LIFE!!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ~Ephesians 3:20-21

Perhaps you remember that I love dandelions...

For some reason, these partial fluffs struck me as very artistic and beautiful...

...so perfectly designed...

...so intricately detailed...

...so lovely in form and design...

I give thanks to the Designer and Creator of such magnificence!