Posts from the ‘Front Porch Musings’ category

Think on these things

The sorrows of our earthly world have been receiving an enormous amount of “press”. I, and I imagine every one of you reading this post also have some private sorrow, hurt or worry that feels overwhelming.

And, not that there is not a time for sadness or grief, but I believe that we are also called, by our Creator, to live with Joy and thankfulness, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

Father Tim, a character in Jan Karon’s Mitford series, often said to himself or to one of his parishioners: “Phillipians 4:13 for pete’s sake!”

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength”

And earlier in Chapter 4:

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Verses 5-7

Powerful stuff. When I feel like it is impossible to not be anxious, I hear Father Tim’s voice in my head: “Phillipians 4:13 for pete’s sake!”

And then a verse right smack dab in the middle of those above…

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. […] And the God of peace will be with you.“ Verse 9

I don’t need to look very far to find things that meet those conditions:

Sunshine through the trees. A driveway that might reappear soon. The promise of Spring evident in the light, the melting snow and the hint of new things coming to life.

My boys.

My choice on what to think on is these things: these simple, lovely, pure, excellent and praiseworthy things.

Peace

Between world news, the snow/ice storm in the U.S., the cyclones in the South Pacific, and a horrific local couple of news items…the sadness of all seems a bit overwhelming to me today.

I took this photo on my phone, Monday afternoon.

I love the sun and the shadows and Karl and the memories and thoughts and story that it tells.

I’ve been looking at it and thinking serenity, love, grace and peace.

Peace.

A sunshiny day

Moonshadows, moonset and sunrise…not a cloud in the sky…

Cold, but clear making a nice change from the gray, drippy days of the past week – a sunshiny day.

Moon shadows

Yesterday evening, the temperature dropped and the sky began to clear. Karl’s and my last walk was my moonlight, albeit still cloudy moonlight.

I woke in the night to a moonlit house.

This morning, a moon so bright that even filtered through the trees in the woods, we walked over now crunchy snow and ground without house or flash light.

I took my first cup of coffee out to the chair and sat with Karl watching and listening to morning sounds. On moonlit nights, the wildlife feed all night. There is more movement, more sound, more life in the night and very early morning. The crack of a tree limb as the deer moved below us made Karl huff and briefly bark but then seeing that they were moving on and not across his yard, he quieted. A gust of wind rose in the pines and faded away. The air smelled clean – too cold to smell of pine, no smell of snow yet – just clean.

As I sat in the quiet, several decisions were made…or rather they “occurred”. Nothing monumental, just a few things that have been rolling around in my head with no resolution for some days. It was as if I tossed all of the pieces of a puzzle into the air and they fell to the ground all in their proper places. Inside, warming up with a second cup of coffee, I sat with Bob at my feet and felt great peace.

It is a new day, with new possibilities – started in the clear light of moon shadows.

Finding a place to walk

The temperature has stayed above the freezing mark since last Thursday morning.

At this point, I am rooting for it to stay warm until everything melts…we might as well start Winter over from scratch!

Karl has been mostly taking himself for his walks while I watch from the safety of a snow patch. And even he is walking gingerly with his toes splayed out for a better grip.

Bob is fairly happy as the melt has opened up more area around the house and trees for latrine digging :)!

Yesterday, although it was raining, dripping and mainly I wanted to stay by the woodstove, I also needed a walk. I warned Karl that it might only be a car ride as I was not going to risk an ice walk.

We headed to Somers. I thought the asphalt trail walk might be our best bet and if not it is on the way to the grocery so I’d gather a few items.

Montana Highway 82, the “Somers cutoff” borders the northern end of Flathead Lake. I turn south toward Somers on Somers Rd. past a favorite farm pictured in the photos from Frosted Farm and Frosted Farm and the Summer Version posts.

Just past that farm, the road curves 90 degrees to the west and continues along a bit of the lake….

…before arriving in Somers.

The green field – a beautiful contrast to the dark sky, misty clouds and gray lake.

The walk trail was dry and clear…a relief as Karl was watching excitedly and kissing my ear as we approached the small parking area. It was not raining when we arrived. We enjoyed a brisk walk because for the first time in days we could walk briskly. Pleasure in the simple things…a bit of green in Winter and finding a place to walk.