season change

multiple trips to the yard

now frosted, Kona the puppy

quickly self-trained

but her whimpers at the door

call for quick response

cold settles in to the deepest

pain in my bones

still, I can appreciate

beauty, snow burdened branches

painted skies

and the hush

of a season that comes

wanted or not

open heart

my trip to the mountains

resounded with gasps

"wows" and tears

beauty opening my heart 

to unexpected wonder

having seen

I cannot un-see

having felt

I cannot un-feel

what God has done

what God can do

around, in

and even through me

bold in beauty

no crisis of identity

this flowers stands

singular, unafraid

no surrounding clusters

uncluttered, no need 

for comparison

bold in her beauty

wild, bright, free

proclaiming the glory

of her Creator

would I be as brave?

If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, 

most of them never even seen, 

don’t you think he’ll attend to you, 

take pride in you, do his best for you?

Luke 12:28 The Message

towers and tiles

Photo by Nextvoyage from Pexels

The other evening, as I closed my eyes, I saw an image of the Eiffel Tower and later, a picture of beautiful mosaic work. Yesterday, I asked the Lord if He was trying to say something through these pictures. This morning, He answered, plainly.

Think of the shape if the Eiffel Tower, it grows narrower as it grows taller. So too shall our work together be, little one.

At the base, the beginning, it is broad, wide.  What we first look at in your life will be basic and general. But as we elevate, the things we will target together will get more focused, more specific as the air thins and there is less of the world. Where there is little solid ground, you will not be able to depend on what you know but only lean on Me.

But the view, oh the view, child, when you begin to see what I see!

The mosaic is simple. It is beauty created from brokenness. It is a picture of how I see your life, a reflection of My glory.

Do not despise the breaking.
Do not fear the thin air.
I Am the Master and I Am at work.

sorrow escapes

dreams that die

leave empty space, openings 

where sorrow escapes

what room to fill

as light invades

and dreams are birthed anew

wonder

May I never lose this wonder

the surprise of beauty

unique, peculiar

and unexpected

Only God Himself

constant in creation

knows what waits

for our eyes to behold

His peace

Last Malawi road trip

seeking comfort and calm

found in the beauty of Zomba Plateau

this, may my heart remember

Peace I leave with you; 

My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. 

Not as the world gives do I give to you. 

Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 

[Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; 

and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated 

and cowardly and unsettled.]

John 14:27 Amplified

psalm 24

psalm 24

when I stop, breathe

cast a glance, up

down, around

there You are

beauty, power, glory

inescapable and undeniable

only a fool contests

everything must change

day by day

we have watched
 the transformation

of a single rose

moving from glory

to glory

may it be unto us

the very same

as everything must change

 

amid the razor wire

Today is a first! 

My beloved husband is guest posting here at Flickers.  

He has been moved by what his eyes have seen.

So, without delay, here's Rick!

Pretoria is a beautiful city.  Hilly, so challenging to walk.  But if you are able to walk there are a great many things to notice.  In the more prosperous areas the people love to have gardens with flowers, flowering trees, and rare, unique plants thriving in an area where anything grows.

However, practically everything is protected by either an electric fence or high fences topped with coils of razor wire and steel gates at the driveways!  Most homes also subscribe to the services of security businesses some of whom advertise that they respond armed.  Thus the homes are guarded and display ugly security system signs but there is still much beauty amid the razor wire.

 

beauty strewn

beauty strewn

scattered, protected 

safety in the cracks

holding on to glory

not yet forgotten

As my glorious presence passes by, 

I’ll set you in a gap in the rock, 

and I’ll cover you with my hand until I've passed by

Exodus 33:22 CEB

 

beauty here

there is beauty bursting forth

contrast of colour

against red dirt

weaver birds blazing 

yellow feathers and blue bills

jacaranda trees stretch 

lavender blooms against the sky

and the frangipani opening fresh

dripping sweetness

there is beauty bursting forth

here, and something new

being birthed

in our hearts

 

unplanted

Rick did not plant

this year, knowing

we are leaving 

mid season, why spend

time and money

on what we can not harvest

and yet

a few flowers

are springing up wild

amongst the weeds

a delight of colour

a gift, unexpected

a tickle 

from a loving Father

His beauty on display

 

beautiful things

I see beauty fresh

wild

perfect in imperfection

 uniquely designed

by the hand 

of a Master

 intricate

impossibly fragile

yet strong

delicate depth 

to get lost in

silent space

to be still

and know

 Let be and be still, 

and know (recognize and understand) 

that I am God. 

I will be exalted among the nations! 

I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:10 NIV

jamming with Bonnie about beauty

 

Something beautiful

I have felt like broken glass

sharp, cold

shards and splinters

able to cut deep

needing to watch that my words

build instead of break

myself and those around me

I am broken glass

sharp, cold, scattered

useless to shape any good thing

and yet

and yet

there is a hand that crafts

with unimaginable skill

fragment by slivered fragment

something of use

and beauty

that He chooses to call His own

singing an old song today:

Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But he made something beautiful of my life

walking with Emily and the redeemed