~ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

 

It being the first day of fall, the start of a new season, I happened to think of one of my favorite hymns.  It's one of the sweetest you'll ever hear and is entitled, "All Things Bright and Beautiful."  The lyrics were written in 1848 by an Irishwoman named Cecil F. Alexander (1818-1895).  She may have been inspired by a verse from the poem, "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner," by an Englishman named Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834).  This verse can be seen in the painting above, which is by an English illustrator named Margaret Tarrant (1888-1959).

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ALL THINGS BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL

All things bright and beautiful,

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful,

The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,

Each little bird that sings,

He made their glowing colors,

He made their tiny wings.

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

He made them, high or lowly,

And ordered their estate.

The purple headed mountains,

The river running by,

The sunset and the morning,

That brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter,

The pleasant summer sun,

The ripe fruits in the garden,

He made them every one.

The tall trees in the greenwood,

The meadows where we play,

The rushes by the water,

To gather every day.

He gave us eyes to see them,

And lips that we might tell,

How great is God Almighty,

Who has made all things well.

~ ~ ~

In high school chorus we sang the John Rutter arrangement, which you can listen to here:

 

I have been looking through some of my family photos over the past couple of days, and a specific theme has emerged. My nephew, Taric, and I have always liked taking walks outdoors, during which we find all sorts of bright and beautiful curiosities. Here are some photos of him when he was 4-5 years old.  He's now 9, and we still like to go for a wee romp in nature every now and again.  These days, he tends to peel off down the street on his Big Wheel, leaving me in the dust; notwithstanding, he will brake for natural phenomena.

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Taric and I are like peas in a pod...or berries in a leaf ☺

 

 

Who can resist the call of the dandelion?

 

As you'll soon be able to tell, Taric and I love mushrooms...

 

We came across a tree which was teeming with caterpillars--or as Taric used to say back when this photo was taken, "cate-ur-peelers."

 

 

Gardenias and goose feathers...

who could ask for anything more? ♥

 

 

Find out how the ladybug got its name here, here, and here--you might be surprised to find out the Virgin Mary had something to do with it ☺

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Upon reflection, I would like to thank my sister very much for sharing her precious little boy with me. 

Now that is a beautiful thing ♥

~ ~ ~

~LITTLE WORKS OF ART

"We can do no great things;

only small things with great love."

~Mother Teresa~

Sometimes after I finish a blog post, I start to feel like
(or feel accused that) I spent too much time on it, particularly since it's not work for which I'm going to be paid.  And it probably won't be read by very many people.  And I probably shouldn't even be blogging anyway.  So that happened after I had done my last post.  And then I felt like the Lord said to me, "A little work of art for Papa."  And then I thought about how much I delight in and appreciate the artwork my nephew, Taric, makes for me, whether in school or on his own time.  I've loved receiving his little works of art since he was old enough to hold a crayon.  He's now 9 years old and in the 4th Grade, and I hope he'll still be gifting me with his creations when he's 75! ☺

Here is something Taric made in preschool; it depicts the life cycle of the butterfly with a paper plate, construction paper, pipe cleaners, a cotton ball, and tissue paper. 

Here he is at his preschool graduation party wearing a tshirt that was stamped "by hand." ☺

Paintin' rocks!  No, I don't mean that painting is cool, I mean that he was painting rocks ☺.  I took these pics in 2007.

These belong in the Smithsonian--or perhaps the 

"Smith-stone-ian." ☺

Here's Taric in 2008.  By the way, there's only one person who loves Play-Doh more than he does: his Auntie!

Here is a Play-Doh cupcake which Taric made for me.

As you might be able to tell, I keep it on a bookshelf with lots of other colorful things I love. The shelf is falling apart, as I semi-unsuccessfully put it together myself. Sometimes I can't help but think: I hope these shelves don't give way--my sweet little cupcake might be damaged in the fall!

These pictures were taken by Taric's mom (my older sister), Allura, outside their home in 2009.  Allura attended the School of Visual Arts in NYC before Taric was born.

In fact, I love it when she creates something special for me as well!  She made this card for me because when Taric was younger and I would babysit him, she would often ask me to give him his bath.  My special formula: LOTS of bubbles! ☺

Here is the bday card that Taric made for me this year.

Yes, that cat is holding not only a balloon, but a cupcake too --my little nephew knows me so well ☺

And while we're at it, I suppose I should show off some of my own artistic skills--if that's what you'd call them.  I painted this in kindergarten.  I don't remember very many things from when I was that young, but I recall doing this.  I was in art class, and I didn't know how to make puddles that would look real, so I simply painted big, blue ovals (and that's exactly how I'd do it today, mind you).

Also, I remember that I had finished painting the little girl and was about to start on the umbrella; however, I realized that I wouldn't be able to portray her holding it, as she had both hands on her hips.  So, I did what any skilled, creative artiste would: I simply propped that umbrella on the back of her arm! ☺

~ ~ ~

~COUNT IT ALL JOY

"God will let you laugh again;
you'll raise the roof with shouts of joy."
~Job 8:21~

"Thanksgivings will pour out of the windows; laughter will spill through the doors. Things will get better and better. Depression days are over. They'll thrive, they'll flourish."
~Jeremiah 30:19~

"Their sorrow turned to joy, mourning somersaulted into a holiday for parties and fun and laughter."
~Esther 9:22b~

"Then it was time to go home. They were sent off by their new friends with laughter and embraces all around to report back to those who had sent them."
~Acts 15:33~ 

~ ~ ~

Tonight, the "floaty scene" (as I like to call it) from the movie "Mary Poppins" came to mind (for some bizarre yet most likely not random reason)...

Shortly thereafter, my mind whimsically wandered to a wedding I went to last weekend.  The Scripture verses the bride and groom chose to be read during the ceremony were James 1:2-4.  When the pastor started reading, I realized it was the same passage from which the bride has taken a snippet and put on her facebook page; it caught my eye, as I had never seen this portion of the verses extracted and set apart by itself; it was neat, and it made an impression on me.  Here is what it quite simply says:

"Count it all joy."

And next, my thoughts bobbed along and then agilely alighted upon one of my favorite quotations from one of my favorite books, Jesus Calling (in which Jesus is speaking to the reader):

"Don't take yourself so seriously.  Lighten up and laugh with me.  You have me on your side, so what are you worried about?"

I don't know about you,
 but that sounds like a plan to me!

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SMILE, God loves you!!! ☺

...I mean it!

~ ~ ~

"God has made me laugh,

and all who hear will laugh with me."

~Genesis 21:6~

"Is there anyone around to save Israel? Yes. God is around; God turns life around. Turned-around Jacob skips rope, turned-around Israel sings laughter."

~Psalm 14:7~

He gets angry once in a while, but across a lifetime there is only love. The nights of crying your eyes out give way to days of laughter.

~Psalm 30:5~

"On your feet now - applaud God!  Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence."

~Psalm 100:2~

"We laughed, we sang, we couldn't believe our good fortune. We were the talk of the nations - 'God was wonderful to them!'  God was wonderful to us; we are one happy people.  And now, God, do it again - bring rains to our drought-stricken lives.  So those who planted their crops in despair will shout hurrahs at the harvest, so those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing."

~Psalm 126~

"...she laughs with no fear of the future."

~Proverbs 31:25b~

 "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to weep, and a time to laugh."

~Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4a~

 "Likewise I, God, will comfort Zion, comfort all her mounds of ruins. I'll transform her dead ground into Eden, her moonscape into the garden of God, a place filled with exuberance and laughter, thankful voices and melodic songs. "

~Isaiah 51:3~

 "Young women will dance and be happy, young men and old men will join in. I'll convert their weeping into laughter, lavishing comfort, invading their grief with joy."

~Jeremiah 31:13~ 

"God blesses you who weep now, for the time will come when you will laugh with joy."

~Luke 6:21b~ 

"Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down."

~Romans 12:15~

"You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him - with laughter and singing."

~1 Peter 1:8~

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*The quote from Jesus Calling is from the March 16th entry.  The entry for June 17th is also on the topic of joy and laughter ☺.

 

~ ~ ~

~REST

"This is what the Sovereign LORD,
the Holy One of Israel, says:

'In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength.'"

~Isaiah 30:15~

From many wise teachers of the Word I have learned that to rest in the Lord and even to wait on Him does not involve passivity; though it may seem paradoxical, it is an active state: an active resting, an active waiting.  This does not mean one should pack as many activities into one's schedule as humanly possible, even if they are "good" ones.  Each of us needs to do only those things which He has appointed for us personally (John 17:4).  That being said, I'm sure it would be wise to remember that being at rest does not mean one should refrain from being spiritually alert (Matthew 24:42, 1 Peter 5:8), only that one should be at peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16).  And of course we mustn't think that by invoking rest, Scripture is encouraging us to oversleep (Proverbs 6:9 and 20:13); however, if we are indeed at peace with God, then that will be the case not only when we are awake, but also when we hit the sack--or the sofa, whatever the case may be (Proverbs 3:24).

"You will live secure and full of hope;

God will protect you and give you rest."

~Job 11:18~

Barnes' Notes on the Bible, of "rest" in Isaiah 30:15:
"That is, by calmly reposing on God for assistance." 

(I love that--reposing on God--as if He's a big
 hammock or something) ☺

~ ~ ~

~FAR-FLUNG FRESHWATER PEARLS

"Each one of them is Jesus in disguise."

~Mother Teresa~
Matthew 25:40*

While my mind is on those who travel afar in serving the Lord, I must post this photograph which was taken by an acquaintance of mine while on a missions-related trip in India.  These two men are stringing/hand-knotting freshwater pearls (a favorite of Darting Sparrow Designs) which are imported from China and then sold as jewelry.

I have recently been surprised to learn that a greater percentage of India's population is Christian than Buddhist and that less than 1% of its population is Buddhist; I had thought that Buddhism was much more prevalent there.  I also hadn't realized how prevalent Islam is in India, in that its Muslim population is the third largest in the world.  This might have something to do with the fact that India is the second highest populated country in the world.

~ ~ ~

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is a game, play it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrow, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

Life is a struggle, accept it.

Life is a tragedy, confront it.

Life is an adventure, dare it.

Life is luck, make it.

Life is too precious, do not destroy it.

Life is life, fight for it.

~Mother Teresa~

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*Barnes' Notes on the New Testament: Matthew 25:40

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