Jewelry Giveaway

On Valentine's Day Sandy from Faith Hope Love blog and little ole me will be hosting a GIVEAWAY of three pairs of her earrings.

You can find Sandy's jewelry here at her Etsy shop--

To be eligible to win, between now and February 14, please hop over to her shop, either favorite her shop or 'heart' at least one pair of earrings (to 'heart' just mouse over a pair in the upper right hand corner), come back here and leave a comment on Valentine's Day.  That's it!  That's all you have to do to have a chance to win a pair of her beautiful earrings.  And if your name is one of the three chosen out of the ones leaving comments, then you WIN!

Here are pictures of two of the three pairs to be given away.

©All art, photographs and text property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise notes, 2008-2014, all rights reserved.

Then Came A Gentle Whisper

To hear--another wonder of the world.

So much of what we hear is selective.  What do we choose to hear?

As I write down some of the beautiful and meaningful things I've heard in my lifetime, would you be thinking about yours?

I would love to read just one (your welcome to leave more) of what you have heard that is music to your ears.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

--The crunch of the first ripe apple eaten off one of my grandmother's apple trees--

--The Amen corner of my little church when I was growing up--we had corners all over that little room!--

--Summertime sung by Leontyne Price--so it was on YouTube but it is one of the most incredible sounds I've ever heard in my life time.  I read that she received a 42 minute standing ovation one time.  I used to teach my students about that and have them stand up and applaud for one full minute.  Try it--you cannot believe how exhausting it is--talk about a cardio workout!

--Here is a link to it--

--The pounding waves of the Pacific, the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.  The soft lapping of the water as the tide receded--

--The click of the shutter when I knew I had captured the perfect shot--(a rare event)

--The swish of thousands of basketball nets--

--The voice of my blind grandmother telling me my Christmas baby doll was very pretty--after her sweet hands had followed every curve and contour of her face and hair--

--The first time I played a "chord" on the piano--

--The excitement in my mother's voice when we would wake up to a winter wonderland of snow--

--The sound of my college choir as I blended my "not so strong" voice with theirs--I couldn't believe we could make a sound that heavenly--

--and speaking of heavenly, the choir of Westminster Abbey, an all male choir--boys and men--

--The strains of the wedding march as my father walked me down the aisle to my future husband--

--I love you whispered gently in my ear--

--The understanding voice of a teacher who cared when I was scared to read aloud in front of the class--
--The soothing voice of my first Sunday School teacher who assured me that God loved me and sent Jesus to die for my sins--

--The cry of a newborn grandchild letting me know everything was okay--even if it was a bit delayed--

--The first time I heard Sandi Patty in person--at a medium-sized church in Tulsa several years before she became a household name--


--The first time each of my three sons called me ma-ma for the first time--

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a list that could go on and on but I will stop there.

And I would say that none of these could compare to what I hear from God but that wouldn't really be true because I believe they are

THE VOICE OF GOD

IN ALL HIS FULLNESS AND POWER,

IN ALL HIS MIGHT,

IN ALL HIS TENDERNESS,

IN HIS MAJESTY AND SPLENDOR,

IN ALL HIS GENTLENESS AND GRACE,

IN ALL HIS GLORY

I hear him in a million different ways

and I especially love it when He whispers personally to me

words such as these:

One morning during my devotional time I "heard" these words in my spirit--  "You are my servant.  I have chosen you and not rejected you.  So do not fear, for I am with you,  Do not be dismayed for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you,  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."  Even though I love the physical gift of hearing, I believe those who are deaf hear as much as I do (maybe more because they learn to listen with the spirit) if they know God.  Oh to hear all that He has to say to us.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.   After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.  And after the fire came a gentle whisper.  From 1 Kings 19

Let us listen for His gentle whispers today, no matter in what form they come.

I will be listening, what about you?

Turning another page with love,

 Elizabeth Dianne

Joining the group at Spiritual Sundays located HERE.

Joining Barbie and friends at The Weekend Brew.

© all photographs, art and text property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise noted

The Seven Wonders of the World

I wrote a series of posts last year shortly before Valentine's Day that I would like to post again.  Thank you for indulging me.

This week I would like to explore 7 wonders of the world.

The first one is "see."

To be able to "see."

 Oh, yes, I've seen some awesome things in my lifetime.

 --The birth of a baby-just watched my 4th two months ago--

 --The Eiffel Tower--

 --The stamens of a soft, dewy flower--

 --the gorgeous beaches of Rio de Janeiro and Corcovado Mountain, Christ the Redeemer Statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain--

--the eyes of a small nephew as he gazed upon his first jack-o-lantern--

 --the Aleutian Islands seen from five miles up--

 --a laughing brook with the one I loved beside me--

 --the Tower of London--

--the towering skyscrapers of Hong Kong--

--the smile of a mother who was a saint--

--the white sands of Florida, the unbelievable Royal Gorge of Colorado--

--Disneyland and the Crystal Cathedral--

--Multnomah Falls and the rugged coasts of Oregon,

--the eyes of my husband on our wedding day--

--the flickering of the fireflies on a warm, humid southern night--

--the Golden Gate Bridge--

--the cornfields of Ohio and Iowa--

--the eyes of a student when they finally "get it"--

--the Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina--

--the eyes of a drug addict when he's gone from hopeless to hope-filled in a matter of moments--

--the hospitality of Mississippi and St. Charles Blvd in New Orleans,

--the perfect mud pies made playing in my grandmother's yard--

--the Alamo, Cowboys Stadium and the blue bonnets of Texas--

--the plains of Oklahoma, the deserts of New Mexico--

--the Great Salt Lake of Utah seen from five miles high--

--Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur Basilica, Piccadilly Circus and Stonehenge--

--the White Cliffs of Dover and the English Channel--

--the Petrified Forest, the Painted Desert and the haunting beauty of the Camelback Mountains of Arizona--

--the pot-bellied stove, the slatted pews, the crown-braided woman playing the tambourines in the little country church on pastel-hued spring days--

--Washington D.C.--

--the Naval Academy--

--the Air Force Academy--

--the 26 miles across the sea to Santa Catalina Island, the St. Louis and San Diego Zoo--

--the child, the grandchild who is flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone though it's hard to understand--

--the green pastures of Kentucky, the Nittany Mountains of Pennsylvania--

--my grandmother's cellar filled with glistening jars full of the labors of her farming, harvesting, canning--

--the quaint beauty of the mountains and people of south China--and riding a jet boat over the South China Sea--

--the Louvre, Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa--

Yes, I have been privileged to "see" many things in my lifetime, but none of them,

NONE OF THEM COMPARE

with what I've seen in Jesus.


In Him I have seen

--a tiny babe for whom the stars stood still--

--a man who walked on water--

--One who made demons flee at his command--

--One who spoke a word "peace" and the winds and the waves obeyed Him--

--One who let a former prostitute wash His feet--

--One who dined with the down and out, the societal outcasts, the lepers, gossips, and murderers--

--The train of His robe that filled the temple--

--One who has the appearance of jasper and rubies--

--One whose throne is encircled by a rainbow that shines like an emerald--

--One whose foundation is built on righteousness and justice--

Oh my friend--we have seen a great light.

I am so glad I do not need human eyes to "SEE" this glorious light.

Yes, one of the seven wonders of the world is to "see."

To see Him.

With. Spiritual. Eyes.

The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."  Matthew 4:16

Another page turned,
Dianne

©All art, photographs and text property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise notes, 2008-2014, all rights reserved.

Triumph Through Mercy!

Is there someone you would like to triumph over today?

 Then show them mercy.

 Yes, mercy. That's what God's Word says--Mercy triumphs over judgment!

 Oh, how our carnal minds love to sit in judgment over others. But when we choose to have mercy and show mercy, God's power is unleashed in that simple choice that causes forces of the spirit world to take over.

 When that happens, we are winners, we are conquerors, we are more than conquerors, we triumph in a way that brings glory to God and sets in motion all the power of the Holy Spirit to bring redemption and restoration to that person or situation.

 Why would we choose less than mercy?

Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!  from James 2

Of course, our hearts must be right with God before we can sincerely choose to have and show mercy.

When our hearts are right, it won't be a matter of winning for our sake, but winning for the sake of Jesus, for the sake of peace, for the sake of saving relationships.

And I don't know about you, but I also need all the mercy I can get so I need to show mercy so that I can be shown mercy.

Have a wonderful, mercy-filled Wednesday.

Your Very Own Personal Message

While talking to one of our young men at Renewal Ranch today, he mentioned (again) the book Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.

This is to take nothing away from the book or from Young but I really tried to hammer home the point to him that God wants to give each of us our own personal message each day.

And I am a big believer in journaling what He says.

Numerous times in the Bible we are told to write God's laws on the tablets of our hearts.

It helps me to do that if I also write it out on paper.

I appreciate Young sharing with the world her insights and God's messages to her but those are messages to her, for her at a specific moment in time.

Yes, we can benefit greatly from them, but how much more will we be touched by God's Word if we seek out His personal, individualized message to us each day.

 It is my thought that for most of us it is just easier to read a devotional written by someone else.

Getting down to the nitty-gritty, searching for our own message from God is a true spiritual discipline.

And I am not saying that I have a franchise on this.

As I wrote in a post recently, I struggle from time to time with my devotional life, with my seeking, with my journaling.

But I do believe with all my heart that God has a personal message for me and you each day if we truly take the time and discipline to seek it out.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

This seeking might look different for different people but for me it includes Bible study, concentrated prayer, meditation on God and His Word and a constant clearing of my mind of my own thoughts until I am positive that the thoughts I am hearing are from God.

One way we can be sure of this is if the thoughts that come to us are scripture.

My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  John 10:27

God says that His sheep hear His voice so we know this is a biblical practice.  He wants to commune with us.

This is a very good reason for memorizing scripture or at least reading it repeatedly over the years so that we can paraphrase it accurately.

To those of you who would like to start this or try this if you never have, I am including an excerpt just to give you an idea of how God speaks to me.

A Word from God to me from my 1998 journal--

"Will you be blown to and fro or will you stand tall like a mighty lighthouse that sits among very troubled waters?  

Only a small light is required but this small light can be seen from great distances on the troubled sea of your life.

Do you feel that your light has gone almost completely out?  Have you, in your own eyes, failed Me so completely that you think your light can never shine brightly again?

Today, give that light a little oxygen, a small breath of air.  Fan that small flame with even one scripture from My Word.  Remember, My Word will NOT return to Me void.

I will come and rescue you, my child.  Is my arm too short that I cannot reach to save you?

Is my ear deaf so that I cannot hear your cry?

Call to Me and I will show you great and mighty things which you don't know.

Hold fast to your confessions.

Seek My face, turn to Me in your time of trouble.

In the midst of confusion, I am near.

In the midst of troubled waters, I am a calming sea.

In the midst of the fire, I am the balm of Gilead.

Come unto Me, lean on Me, rejoice with Me, be happy with Me, cast all your cares on me.

Can't you see how much I love and care for you?

I made you.  I love you, Dianne, yes, even you, Dianne.

You are beautiful to me.

Because of Jesus, you are beautiful to Me."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Wow!  My own personal message from the Lord--what could be better than that?

I bolded the third sentence from the bottom because there is something really sweet and personal in there.

One morning (before the above was given and journaled) as I was beseeching God to "teach me" something and feeling like "I knew everything there was to know and how in the world could He possibly teach me anything else"--I'm sorry but sometimes I fight those kind of "proud, sinful" moments--right after I prayed that, I opened the Bible to this scripture--

 So that your trust may be in the Lord,
    I teach you today, even you.  Proverbs 22:19

I was astounded that morning when He answered me like that.  He really got me back for my prideful arrogant attitude but He did it in such a loving, tongue in cheek way.

He knows just how to teach me--just what to do and say so I will "really learn" and not forget.  That has been many years ago and I have never forgotten where that is found in the Bible.

So when He spoke to me in the passage above at a later date and said to me "I love you, Dianne, yes, even you, Dianne," I knew He was playing with me--sincere but just kinda kidding with me and reminding me how clever He is.  Oh my goodness, my God is so smart.  His genius blows me away.



And He has a very special message for you too today.

Praying that you hear His voice and feel His great love.

And your own personalized message might be from Jesus Calling today or Oswald Chambers, or Charles Spurgeon, Dietrich Bonhoeffer or She Reads Truth or from a myriad of others--I read all of these from time to time, many times every day, but I still want to give God the opportunity to speak His very own individualized, personalized, "just for me" Word today.

©All art, photographs and text property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise noted, 2008-2014, all rights reserved.

My Favorite Blessing From Last Week

This is really crazy trying to choose a favorite blessing from last week.

I mean, really--wouldn't I have to say that salvation was my very favorite.  I think so--but if I chose that one then I would have to choose that one every week, right?

So, all of the obvious ones aside, I have chosen the 3rd Annual Anniversary Celebration of Renewal Ranch as my favorite.

Renewal Ranch is a residential home for men with drug/alcohol addictions.  There is no cost to the resident--Jesus paid the price.  You can read more about it here.

What a glorious time we had at Saturday morning's jubilate service--how do you possibly celebrate the new life given to 60 men over the past three years, 70% of whom are holding fast to their commitments.

Here is just a small glimpse--

When the guys come to us, they say themselves that they are a menace to society, selfish and irresponsible.

Here they are singing to the leadership, supporters, teachers, mentors and volunteers--Thank You For Giving to the Lord--

Several men come each week to our chapel service on Saturday in desperate hope of securing lodging and rehabilitation at Renewal Ranch.  Here are our current residents and graduates praying over several guys who had the guts to come forward admitting that they cannot do this alone.

I always love seeing their cardboard testimonies.  It never gets old to me.

That was my highlight blessing for the week.

I do want to be thankful for all things that come into my life, even the trials and tribulations.

We are to count it all joy the Bible says.

And something that may seem bad at the time to us may be what God uses to save our lives and those of our families.

Just think what would have happened to Joseph if his brothers had not sold him into slavery.
Genesis 50:20 says:

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

So thank you, Lord, for all.  I love you.

©All art, photographs and text property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise notes, 2008-2014, all rights reserved.

Who Is the Fairest of Them All?

The lake is still, lying there, looking up--reflecting the glory of the sky--

Oh my goodness, I read the best devotionals today!  The one by Dietrich Bonhoeffer was priceless and too detailed and intimate for me to comment on here.  If I did, you would immediately x out of my blog because the post would be so long.  But someday, yes someday, I want to write about it.

It you would like to read it, here is a link.

The other great one I read is from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers.

It is basically about "beholding" God.

I remember when my father-in-law died in 1981.  We Shall Behold Him, the song by Sandi Patty, was relatively new and I could not hear it enough times.

Having someone so close to me who was now in heaven gave me such an intimate feeling with God when I stopped, gazed upon Him, focused on Him and beheld His beauty.

I literally could NOT get enough of "beholding Him."

Chambers describes it as "unveiled frankness before God."  Oh yes, that and so much more.

He says, "by beholding we become mirrors--mirrors of the Lord's own character.

That is so much my heart's desire.  When you come to visit here, I want you to KNOW that I have been alone with God, that I have spent time gazing upon His beauty, so much so that I reflect His character, and in so doing bring glory to Him.

"You always know when a man has been beholding the glory of the Lord, you feel in your inner spirit that he is the mirror of the Lord’s own character. Beware of anything which would sully that mirror in you; it is nearly always a good thing, the good that is not the best."  Oswald Chambers

Praying that you will have occasion today to behold Him--He alone is worthy. 

He is the Fairest of All.

©All art, photographs and text property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise notes, 2008-2014, all rights reserved.

Photo by my brother-in-law, Mike Shue.

Around the Next Corner

Going through some old files today and found this--I'm sure I have probably posted it before somewhere--

Philippians 3:7-14 7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. 

A number of years ago I used to run 3 miles a day. 

With stress fractures, a touch of arthritis, bursitis, knee problems, getting older and such those days are probably gone forever. 

 This morning as I was thinking about the verse in Philippians, my mind went back to a poem that came to me as I was running one day way back when— 

 As I remember the day, it was very windy and as long as I was running south, west or east was not 

that strong but the instant I turned the corner to run in a northerly direction that noreaster took me by

 surprise and I barely had the strength to run against it and in fact thought 

I would have to give up and walk—

Almost as soon as this thought came to me of giving up, I looked up and saw a big curve in the path and a big cedar tree which blocked my view of what was up ahead and this is what came to me at that moment:

Around the Next Corner

 If I knew around the next corner 

Your blessed face I would see 

How fast I could run against the wind 

To catch a glimpse of Thee. 

 If I knew across the next ocean 

Waves of love would soon enfold me 

How strong I could swim against the tide 

To be held so close to Thee. 

 If I knew across the next mountain, 

Your faithfulness awaited me, 

How sure my feet on slippery slopes 

To be kept for eternity.

 If I knew across the line They called finish, 

A crown of righteousness would be presented to me 

How I would press on and not give up, 

To place it at the feet of Thee. 

 Needless to say, after these thoughts came to my mind, I ran a little faster and a little swifter. 

 As I thought back over this poem today,

 I realized that what I was really doing was longing for the appearance of Jesus. 

 I longed for his face, I longed for his arms

 In 2Timothy 4:8 we read these words: 

 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, 

which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — 

and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 

 Prayer for today Father, today would you reveal yourself to us through your son, Jesus Christ. 

 Jesus said, “I and the Father are one. I do what I see the Father doing.” 

 We know that your son healed blind eyes so they could see, 

gave restoration to crippled limbs so they could serve, 

gave forgiveness to sinful hearts so they could have life everlasting. 

 Today we pray for healing for our bodies, Lord, but most of all we pray for healing for our sin sick 

hearts and attitudes—

hearts that rebel at times to our given situations. 

We offer our attitudes, hearts, and minds to You. 

 Renew us, give us Your heart, Your attitude, and Your mind. 

 Minister to each one of us in a most intimate and unique way—

minister to our specific needs Dear Father. 

 We know that you are the Giver of every good and perfect gift 

and so today we ask for wisdom and we ask for faith. 

 We act upon our faith to tell You that we believe your son, Jesus Christ,

 is the only way to You and we ask to know You more intimately. 

 We ask for eternal life and we know that in the book of John you said: 

 “Now this is eternal life : that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, 

whom you have sent.” 

 Father, we turn from our ways of faithlessness asking You to forgive us and make us whole. 

 We long for You to show up in our lives, 

to appear around the next corner, 

to make yourself known to us in a most real way. 

 Give us eyes to see you because our faith tells us that You really are here with us. 

 We pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Whatever You Do!

I had fun today painting this watercolor--it's about 9" by 12" and went fairly quickly.  Well, I say quickly but by the time I had watched several watercolor tutorials and painted three of these, I guess quite a bit of time had gone by.

My favorite tutorials were by Joseph Zbukvic and Alvaro Castagnet.  This particular painting 

was patterned after one I saw that Castagnet had done.  

Mine doesn't even begin to compare with his but at least it gave me some inspiration. 

I have never done any street reflections so that was fun.

Hope your week is going well and you are accomplishing a lot.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,  Col. 3:23

The Lord Is Mightier

I am taking Beyond Beyond, an online course by Kim Klassen. 

My assignment was to take her photo, Open Beach, and edit it in Photoshop. 

 I used Lightroom first of all and then added the text and two layers of Kim's 0802 texture at 25% Multiply. 

 The psalm is from the Bible--Psalm 93:4

My prayer is that you see the mighty works of God in your life this week.

Happy Monday!

Weekend Worship at Union United Methodist Church

If my people who are called by my name, 

 will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, 

 and turn from their wicked ways, 

            then will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin, and heal their land. 1 Chronicles 7:14 

 So my friend, if we are one of God's people, it looks as if it is up to us to humble ourselves and pray and seek God's face and turn from our wicked ways, 

         then God will come and forgive us and heal our land. What a wonderful promise from God!

I pray that God will show us what our wicked ways are.  It sounds like such a harsh, cruel word but God's definition can be something as simple as gossiping about our brothers or sisters.  God give us eyes to see and ears to hear without being offended.

Happy weekend to you.

May we truly worship Him in spirit and in truth.

©All art, photography and text property of Elizabeth Dianne 2008-2014 unless otherwise noted.

a repost from past pages

Are You Ready To Give Up?

The following was written by one of our graduates from the Ranch.

For those of you who don't know, my husband and I volunteer at a residential home for adult men addicted to drugs/alcohol. It is totally faith-based.

The name of the campus is Renewal Ranch.

I am providing a link if you would like more information about the facility.

One of our recent graduates, Jeremy, wrote this and posted it on Facebook.

I asked Him if I could share it with you here because I know there is much hopelessness in the world and I think he has the answer for you if you are one of those ready to give up.

Whether or not you are in a hopeless situation, I pray this speaks to you.

Oh, by the way, Jeremy recently graduated and has come on staff.  We are so glad to have him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Every day we face obstacles and sometimes just down right difficult things in our lives. 

Some of us prosper and push forward through them to see and experience the other side and many of us see these obstacles and difficulties and just want to quit and/or give up. 

When I think about people giving up, my father comes to mind, my brother comes to mind, my mother comes to mind, my past decisions and my own struggles come to mind and then Jesus comes to mind.

My father and brother both quit and gave up by committing suicide, my mother quit by just giving up on life in general and continues to live a self defeated life. 

When I think about myself, I remember many of the things I gave up on and wanting to ultimately give up in life choosing the same fate as my own father and brother.. 

And then Jesus comes to mind. 

My lifeline, my comfort, my refuge, my strength. I'm sure he wanted to give up or quit at times.

Praying in the garden, he asked that this cup pass. 

He saw all the pain and suffering and torture he would soon go through, but he stayed on course.

He was thinking about me and everyone else and saw it not as loss but gain. 

He gave His life so that we might have life. 

I thank you Jesus for not quitting and giving up. 

I thank you that you thought more of us, than yourself. 

I thank you for a chance to commune with you in life everlasting. 

I challenge you that when something comes your way and you feel like quitting and giving up, think about what Jesus did when faced with death, torture, cruelty, at our expense. 

Something great awaits on the other side, will you endure and push through? 

If you struggle, listen to this song... Don't give up, by Calling Glory. Have a blessed day and week."--Jeremy

©All text, photographs and art property of Elizabeth Dianne 2008-2014 unless otherwise noted.

A Wreath of Gracefulness

Proverbs 1 says that heeding instruction and listening to teaching is like a wreath of gracefulness on the head or a gold chain adorning the neck.

I love the poetic lyricism of the Bible.

 A week or so ago our world was adorned with a covering of ice--sure does slow things down--more thought is given to where you go, what you do, even each step that you take.

When we heed the warnings of those Godly people who love us and the Words of the Bible, I like to think that more thought is given to where we go, what we do, and each step that we take.

 Praying Godly wisdom for you today.

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  James 1:5

©All art, text, and photography property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise noted 2008-2014

The Book of Books

Oh the comfort, oh the joy contained within one book--

I've read hundreds of books over the years

and still go back to my favorites

day after day--

but none can compare to the precious Word of God--

Thank you Lord for your written Word--they are Words of Life to me each day that I live.

A single line in the Bible

has consoled me more than

all the books I have ever read.

Immanuel Kant

©2008-2014,All text, photographs and art property of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise noted.

Searching For His Glory

I've finally chosen my word for the new year.

It is glory.

I went searching for His glory this morning.

In my very brown and drab backyard I found this.

A small nandina bush hidden over behind some dead looking stuff.

I snapped off one branch and brought it in the house.

Put it in a vase of water--

and started clicking--

oh, photography--one of my greatest joys--

I took it from room to room--

from table to table--

and window to window--

set it in front of a watercolor I had painted of my granddaughter

which turned out looking almost exactly like my 8th grade school picture--

and realized when I saw the eyes--

that yes, I had seen His glory

He had given me eyes to see His glory this morning.

the glory of the only begotten of the Father.

Praying you see His glory today.

©All text, photography and art property and copyright of Elizabeth Dianne unless otherwise noted

My God, Search Me!

“O Lord, You are the God of the early mornings, 

the God of the late nights, 

the God of the mountain peaks, 

But, my God, my soul has horizons further away than those of early mornings, deeper darkness than the nights of earth, higher peaks than any mountain peaks, greater depths than any sea in nature. 

You who are the God of all these, be my God.  

I cannot reach to the heights or to the depths; there are motives I cannot discover, dreams I cannot realize. 

"My God, search me.”

--the words of Oswald Chambers--

© ALL ART, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TEXT PROPERTY OF ELIZABETH DIANNE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Morning Has Broken

I am starting the new year with several different devotional plans--one of them is a 40 day journey with Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  This morning he challenged us to journal about how we spend our mornings and if we are satisfied with the way we spend them.

For many years I was faithful to morning devotionals but when retirement came and I "had more time"--I slipped--

There have been few days that I have not had some type of daily devotions but 

"having them at my leisure" has also carried with it a "not so urgent"aspect to my prayer life.

This year, twenty fourteen, is a brand new year and I want to go into it as I did some years ago when my alarm rang with an urgency--

when I KNEW that my prayers and devotional life needed to be in the early morning because

of exhaustion later in the day--

school teacher, wife, and mother of three sons--

This is not to undermine the importance of "praying without ceasing" all day everyday.

But for me, I need the spiritual discipline of early mornings prayer, Bible reading and meditation.

 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.  Mark 1:35

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;

    in the morning I lay my requests before you

    and wait expectantly.

Psalm 5:3