Friday, October 22, 2021

I had an opportunity to spend some time with nature recently and I would like to share my short journey with you. It is my hope that this virtual experience will fill you with peace, hope and renewal. The colors are not as vivid as I had hoped and I did not let the rain and drizzle detour me from my adventure.

“The autumn equinox is a time when the sun rests above the equator, and day and night are divided equally. It heralds a season filled with change, celebrates the harvest, and ushers in the brilliant beauty of death. Autumn is a season of transition, of continual movement.”

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, Sacred Seasons: A Yearlong Journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year – A Self-Study Online Retreat

Friends, thank you for stopping by today. I am truly blessed by your support.

“So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul — then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.”
— Deuteronomy 11:13-15 —

https://www.biblegateway.com

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The Autumn Morning

See! the pale autumn dawn

Is faint, upon the lawn

That lies in powdered white

Of hoar-frost dight

And now from tree to tree

The ghostly mist we see

Hung like a silver pall

To hallow all.

It wreathes the burdened air

So strangely everywhere

That I could almost fear

This silence drear

Where no one song-bird sings

And dream that wizard things

Mighty for hate or love

Were close above.

White as the fog and fair

Drifting through the middle air

In magic dances dread

Over my head.

Yet these should know me too

Lover and bondman true,

One that has honoured well

The mystic spell

Of earth’s most solemn hours

Wherein the ancient powers

Of dryad, elf, or faun

Or leprechaun

Oft have their faces shown

To me that walked alone

Seashore or haunted fen

Or mountain glen

Wherefore I will not fear

To walk the woodlands sere

Into this autumn day

Far, far away.

— C. S. Lewis

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

Friday, October 15th, 2021

“[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” — C. S. Lewis

Wow! I love this for so many reasons. This reminds me of conversations I have had with a dear friend, “often when individuals accept/ask Jesus into their hearts, to be their Lord and Savior” one could easily take the credit for choosing God. When in reality, we (unknowingly) already know God because He created us. He chose us long before we were ever born. This process is not easily understood or conceivable until after one submits themselves to Christ, placing ones [Faith in Christ]. ***Disclaimer, this has been my personal experience, I am not a theologian and I would never assume my experiences mirror those of others.

Here’s a picture I grew up seeing every Sunday at church, it’s a familiar feeling to me. Feels like home.

The door/path to Jesus is found all along the human spectrum of life. Some find Jesus early in life while others come later in life; the most important is meeting Jesus. Meeting Jesus is like coming home, a place you never knew you missed until you are there…feels like home.

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As far as the “obeying” and “reward” of course I want to obey, but I fail often. The importance is the “wanting” and “striving” to obey, failing is part of our humanness, not an excuse by any means; it’s an opportunity to seek forgiveness and to try again. Jesus does not hold us to a standard of pass or fail. He loves us and wants only the very best for each of us. Heaven is our forever home, that’s where Jesus lives and He wants us to be there too.

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“Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” — Matthew 7:7-8 (NRSVA)

“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
— Luke 11:9-10 (NRSVA)

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“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” — John 10:9 (ESV)

Thank you friends for taking your precious time to stop by my blog, I’m am blessed by your support. May the Lord richly bless you today and always. 💙🙏🏻

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/c-s-lewis-daily-quotes-inspiration/id407107626

https://www.biblegateway.com/

https://dribbble.com/alicehodgedesign/collections

https://www.warnersallman.com/collection/images/christ-at-hearts-door/

Thursday, October 14th, 2021

Here I am, just another day in the life of Charlotte, just holding on. Holding onto everything stuck inside me, wanting to be released, on the brink of bursting out. Writing is a great release and provides an outlet for the thoughts and words spinning in my head. I have great support for the days that are heavier than others. I am very blessed to have friends and family that support me. I try to be kind and understand and ask the same in return. There is beauty in helping others, truly we are surrounded by the beauty of God’s creation. We must open our eyes to see the beautiful things that surround us. People, places, things, buildings, parks, art, nature…everything. I am often in awe of nature speaking to my soul. I love taking pictures of water, the sky, the moon, buildings…outdoors! I feel very connected to God through these things. I also love music and how it can transcend you to the past and make you dream of the future.

I read this quote recently and it tugged at my heartstrings…

“She walks, as if from a dream, into your life,
ribboned hair unraveling, brown eyes
like cups of tea, come to whisper
a secret into your trembling ear.

— Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, excerpted from “Crossing the Divide” in The Wisdom of Wild Grace: Poems

Wow…that’s beautiful.

For more quotes from Christine Valters Paintner check out the references below.

Thank you for stopping by today. Wishing you a beautiful fall day. You are a blessing to me! 🍁🌻🍂 Keep holding on!

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.

References:

https://mailchi.mp/abbeyofthearts/daily-nourishment-from-abbey-of-the-arts-march-30-2231280?e=128ba1455f

Home

Wednesday, October 13th, 2021

Good is indeed still alive! We must be open to receive the good will and gestures from others. The KEY is to be OPEN. It is so easy to expect the worst of people, so much so we cancel them before they even have an opportunity to show us differently.

Today, as I was loading my groceries into my car a lady approached and ask if she could return my cart for me. I was pleasantly surprised and responded with “Yes, and Thank You!” In this time of cancel culture and social distancing and fear, this simple gesture warmed my heart. So to the kind lady from the Walmart parking lot in Plainfield today, thank you for your kindness.

This and acts like it are exactly how God wants His children to interact with one another. Even with our walls of caution we can and should be kind to each other.

Here’s a wonderful article “24 Bible Verses About Kindness To Help Us All Be Better.”

https://www.womansday.com/life/inspirational-stories/g31010618/bible-verses-about-kindness/

Thank you for stopping by today, may the peace of God be with you today and always.

~Charlotte, Seeker of unexpected Comfort, Happiness, Joy and Patience.