BEAUTIFUL BLACKBERRY BLOSSOMS

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BEAUTIFUL BLACKBERRY BLOSSOMS. 7-17-11

In the part of the country where I live, Himalaya blackberries, large-kerneled versions of the wild blackberry, grow – well, they grow like ubiquitous weeds! Uninhibited. Deep-rooted and hard to dig up. Sprawling, thriving, and thorny, twining tendrils amidst other plants. Overgrowing the garden beds, if not kept under strict control.

Most Himalaya blossoms are white. But those that grow in deep shade may be a delicious shade of pink.

Pinkly silken splendors,
Petal-soft contours,
With fairy-crown centers.
Beautiful blackberry blossoms, out-standers.

Shady places are their tenders,
As Nature renders
Fairy tale wonders.
Sight of beauty pink petals: my heart ponders
God-given rainbows and sun-tours
And unmerited grace-extenders,
And blush-pink to be mood-menders.
My spirit is touched with God’s gift-bloom grandeurs.

Copyright 2011 by Marilee Miller
Feel free to link to this post, but please no copying for public viewing without permission.


This post is shared with L L Barkat's "Seedlings in Stone"


and with Laura Boggess' "The Wellspring"

LIMNS UPON A LIMB

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LIMNS UPON A LIMB 6-28-11

I’d missed out on getting to the beach for a long time. So when an opportunity came up for me to go, I was so glad. The lovely sunny day gave promise of a chance to enjoy beauty. However, on arrival at the beach, the ocean was blanketed with fog. Most of the gentle waves showed only as blurs. Nor did the mist lift as the day progressed.

When one kind of beauty is obscured, it becomes imperative to look for other signs of the unexpected, of liveliness and God’s presence.

The foghorn blared its rhythmic toot. Three pelicans flew by in formation, just far enough away to be a bit blurred by fog, but recognizeable in shape. And the close-in landscape gave a clear perspective. Several dozen seagulls lurked in the parking lot, in hopes of mooching some tourist’s leftover food. Dogs romped in the sand. People searched for agates, strolled along the sandy strand (ultimately disappearing into the fog), or lounged with their backs to great logs.

I took pictures of beach pebbles deposited in great flowing masses by the tides, tumbling rivers of stone upon stone upon. And then there were the driftwood logs, bleached silver-white by sun and weather, scoured into shapes and showing knobs and slivers and grainy patterns.

There amidst the strewn drifted woods, I discovered the drawn lines/signs on a longish, whitened log limb –
They had been limned in charcoal (perhaps taken from a campfire?) by an unknown passerby.

I’ve been to the beach many times. But this is the first time I’ve happened on charcoal drawings, or a log used as an artist’s canvas.

Some of my days seem blanketed with fog. With a mist which doesn’t wish to lift. So that my future steps, and even motivation for the present moment, seem blurred and not very hopeful or lively. But even in such times, God leaves his limns/signs for me to seek out, or come across unexpectedly. He gives me cause, and pause, to appreciate the Great Artist of all Nature, the Mighty Creator of all Life.

I take heart. “I am my beloved’s, and he is mine; his banner over me is love.” And that thought is comfort which never leaves me out-on-a-limb!


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This post is also shared with:
L. L. Barkat's Seedlings in Stone
"On, In and Around Mondays"



and Laura Boggess' The Wellspring,"
"Playdates with God."

FULFILLMENT

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FULFILLMENT

So many dreadful things are happening in this poor, tired world;
Many lives are being turned upside-down.
Constant bad news is enough to make us fearful creatures,
Unsure whether we can survive,
Even when we try to believe God knows what he’s doing,
That he “knows our frame is dust”
Yet we can’t seem to help our timidity,
But must only keep permitting him to be the fulfillment of Christ within us.
To remember that he counts our hours and our days.

The transparent bottle, before, held dishwashing soap;
The first two rinses were myriads of tiny crowded bubbles,
But the third rinse created a few large and sparkly cells,
Also a crown-like medallion of wonder.
Ephemeral, fleeting soap bubbles
Gleaming in the midst of wearying kitchen choring;
Lustrous designs influenced by the shape of the bottle.

My heart soars again,
My trust of God rebounds no end!
If his natural laws for this Earth
Can bring forth beauty out of nothing-much,
Then let me no more be a fearful creature,
But instead believe that I/we will survive
And live forever with the Lord;
He promised! We are influenced by the shape of his clear Bottle.
His love gently holds our human fragile vessels,
To bring forth the beauty of Christ-in-you-and-me.
Let me have faith that God really does know the perfect way
To transform the wide world, and you, and me!

Copyright 2011 by Marilee Miller


This post is shared with L. L. Barkat's
On, In, and Around Mondays


And with Laura Boggess'
Playdates with God

Bright and Wonderful Things

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Bright and Wonderful Things


Oh bright and wonderful Creator, God,
You have fashioned so many bright and wonderful things
For all to enjoy.

Thank you for creating
A bright and wonderful universe
With myriad starry treasures.
We applaud your making
Our bright and wonderful Planet Earth --
Just brimming with sights and pleasures.
Praise you for the ground that’s tilled,
And waterways with glory spilled,
And bright and wonderful animals
For all to enjoy.

Thank you for thinking
To send bright and wonderful angelfish
To splish and plash in the tropical sea.
You also gave your human beings
The bright and wonderful gift of creativity:
We carry out, through art, and life, a nativity
For all to enjoy.

For all bright and wonderful things,
(And the special gifting us with Yourself),
We thank you, Creator God!


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A while back, I posted on this blog my “sea” backgrounds for artworks, of aqua house paint on cardboard, over which was drizzled indigo batik dye powder. Later on, I showed my line drawings of angelfish that were to be placed against the backgrounds.
And now, here they are – 1. the painted (tempera) angelfish, which were then cut out. And 2. The finished collages of bright and wonderful fish pasted onto the “sea”.


art and text copyright 2011 by Marilee Miller
You are welcome to create a link to this post. But please, no copying of art or text without permission. Thanks.


Bright and Wonderful Things is also shared with L. L. Barkat's
"On, In, and Around Mondays"





and Laura Boggess' "Playdates with God"

SHINY SILVER

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SHINY SILVER

What is that shiny silver,
Object intangible,
Spinning toward me?

It may be a bellissimo ball
Of renewed hopefulness
To bounce away my discouragement.

It may be a mellowish moon
Of sought-after rest
To melt away my weariness.

It may be a sparkling sun
Of heaven-sent joy
To spark away my desperation.

It may be an imparted idea
Of my greatest wish come true –
To be inspired away from all faithlessness.

What is that shiny silver
Of heaven’s love tangible,
Spinning throughout me?


Copyright 2011 by Marilee Miller
You may keep a copy on your computer. Feel free to post a link, but please, no public distribution by any method, without permission. Thanks.


“We have become gifts of God that he delights in...” (Eph. 1:11 TLB)

“Delight… in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart” [to receive His Fullness!] “Commit your way to him; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” (Ps. 37:4-5)


This post is also shared with:

L. L. Barkat "Seedlings in Stone"
On, In, and Around Mondays

Laura Boggess "The Wellspring"
Playdates with God

A WAKE UP CALL?

I have been much concerned and in prayer about a report on the "News from Israel" website about 3 weeks ago, and later from a Christian organization, that there are many sites on Facebook calling for an intifada against Israel on May 15. They are written in Arabic, so most people don't know about them. But the statement has been made by these sources that millions of Arabs have signed up to participate in protest demonstrations against Israel. I don't know exactly what this means, but it could be very ominous.

The bin Laden affair, which happened later, has led to more strident threats of retaliation against the US. Will we have catastrophes and demonstrations on our own soil? And Hamas is joining Fatah, but the former's vow still is to wipe out Israel and the Jews. Yet the rest of the
world is trying to force Israel to negotiate with Hamas-Fatah-PLO to partition the land. How can Israel be expected to agree to give part of its land to a group that has pledged the Jews' complete extinction in the entire land? And why has the media remained silent about the May 15 (uprising?)? If we had an arch-enemy who demanded part of the US for their homeland and had vowed to extinguish us, we wouldn't passively accept it and bow to the "whatevers". So why think Israel hasn't a right to defend itself against sworn arch-enemies?

My belief is that we're seeing the books of Daniel and Revelation come alive in the daily news. So many have taken those words as allegories, or said they shouldn't even be in the Bible. But every time I pick up a newspaper lately, I can see the words of Daniel and Revelation starting to come true. I believe the world is shaping up for the Great Tribulation.
Maybe not starting May 15, but soon.

What will we all do if this becomes a time of war and terror? A time when we don't feel at all safe? A time when the things we say or do can cause us to become targets? When the old familiar habits and ways no longer get us through? What will you do? What will I do? Will we turn to God and entrust ourselves to him? I think the day is coming when we can't trust
governments to help us or be on our side. We're already seeing that the world leaders don't really know what to do. And partisanship and bickering and anger and self-interest seem more important than being for the "common good of the people."

I have to cling to this:
"Though an host should encamp against us, my heart shall know no fear; Though war should rise up against us, in this will I be confidant: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple. ...In the secret places of his pavillion will he hide me, and set me up on a rock." (I don't know how to "know no fear." In fact, I am full of fears. But HE isn't afraid. To me, the rock is my belief in the delivering power of Jesus Christ. And I certainly do want to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, and to ask him to keep my eyes focused on the beauty of the Lord. No matter what's going on in the outside world!)

I can't do much to change my future or the state of the world. But, oh how I can keep praying for God's mercy, his love, his keeping-power. God knows the future. And he isn't afraid for our present or for our future. He says whenever we see bad things happening, to "look up, for your redemption draws near."

A WAKE UP CALL?

I have been much concerned and in prayer about a report on the "News from
Israel" website about 3 weeks ago, and later from a Christian organization,
that there are many sites on Facebook calling for an intifada against Israel
on May 15. They are written in Arabic, so most people don't know about
them. But the statement has been made by these sources that millions of
Arabs have signed up to participate in protest demonstrations against
Israel. I don't know exactly what this means, but it could be very ominous.

The bin Laden affair, which happened later, has led to more strident
threats of retaliation against the US. Will we have catastrophes and
demonstrations on our own soil? And Hamas is joining Fatah, but the
former's vow still is to wipe out Israel and the Jews. Yet the rest of the
world is trying to force Israel to negotiate with Hamas-Fatah-PLO to
partition the land. How can Israel be expected to agree to give part of its
land to a group that has pledged the Jews' complete extinction in the entire
land? And why has the media remained silent about the May 15 (uprising?)?
If we had an arch-enemy who demanded part of the US for their homeland and
had vowed to extinguish us, we wouldn't passively accept it and bow to the
"whatevers". So why think Israel hasn't a right to defend itself against
sworn arch-enemies?

My belief is that we're seeing the books of Daniel and Revelation come
alive in the daily news. So many have taken those words as allegories, or
said they shouldn't even be in the Bible. But every time I pick up a
newspaper lately, I can see the words of Daniel and Revelation starting to
come true. I believe the world is shaping up for the Great Tribulation.
Maybe not starting May 15, but soon.

What will we all do if this becomes a time of war and terror? A time when
we don't feel at all safe? A time when the things we say or do can cause us
to become targets? When the old familiar habits and ways no longer get us
through? What will you do? What will I do? Will we turn to God and
entrust ourselves to him? I think the day is coming when we can't trust
government to help us or be on our side. We're already seeing that the
world leaders don't really know what to do. And partisanship and bickering
and anger and self-interest seem more important than being for the "common
good of the people."

I have to cling to this:
"Though an host should encamp against us, my heart shall know no fear;
Though war should rise up against us, in this will I be confidant: That I
may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the
beauty of the Lord and to enquire in his temple. ...In the secret places
of his pavillion will he hide me, and set me up on a rock." (I don't know
how to "know no fear." In fact, I am full of fears. But HE isn't afraid.
To
me, the rock is my belief in the delivering power of Jesus Christ. And I
certainly do want to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
and to ask him to keep my eyes focused on the beauty of the Lord. No matter
what's going on in the outside world!)

I can't do much to change my future or the state of the world. But, oh how
I can keep praying for God's mercy, his love, his keeping-power. God knows
the future. And he isn't afraid for our present or for our future. He says
whenever we see bad things happening, to "look up, for your redemption draws
near."