Escape Into Winter
27 Jan 2012 5 Comments
in Faith, Nature, Philosophy, Photography, Poetry, Winter, Writing Tags: Colossians 1:16-17, Tranquility
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An escape route that leads nowhere
but away.
Some days
away is where I want to be.
I could slip from the room unnoticed
but not reach the bend
out of sight,
thanks to that fence.
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There is always a fence.
.
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Eyes linger
where my feet can’t go.
There is perceived respite…
a moment of visual escape
in burnished branches and untouched snow.
A moment of tranquility.
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For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
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[Colossians 1:16-17]
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Catching up with memories
25 Jan 2012 11 Comments
in Faith, Family, Life, Praise Tags: Barrie, Hualien, Ontario, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Taiwan, The Rev. Murray L. Garvin, YuShan Theological College
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I returned last night from a 4,500 mile round trip to attend a memorial service and celebrate the life of our brother. There is much I need to digest… so many photos to look through, and memories to hold close. But at this moment the only thing my brain will think about is going to bed. Please forgive me if I simply share these few photos today and postpone a “real” post for later in the week.
“Every intricacy of twig…”
23 Jan 2012 7 Comments
in Art, Faith, Garden, Nature, Photography, Praise, Weather, Winter Tags: Beauty of Nature, Psalm 24:1, Snow, William Sharp, Winter
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There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature, wherein every spray, every blade of grass, every spire of reed, every intricacy of twig, is clad with radiance.
[William Sharp]
The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof;
the world, and all that dwells therein.
[Psalm 24:1]
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A Winter Wander, and Contest Winners
20 Jan 2012 8 Comments
in Creativity, Garden, Giveaway, Nature, Photography, Reading, Weather, Winter, Writing Tags: Chickadees, Contest Winners, Snow, The Winter Garden
Footsteps crunch a path through powdery snow and wisps of breath trail on frigid air. An abandoned bench mourns a friendlier season… a time when garden beds didn’t snooze beneath a layer of crystalline insulation, but beckoned with fragrance and colour. Now the bench serves only as a temporary resting spot for chickadees and juncoes en route to the birdfeeder for their hourly dose of calories. My well padded bottom rejects the deceptive white cushion, so I bypass it and return to the house where I reclaim my mug of tea, and settle into a more welcoming seat.
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Wednesday I complained about the excessive snow we’ve had, and offered a $10 Starbucks gift card for the most creative comparison of plots and weather situations. Not everyone caught my suggestion of a literary-weather analogy, but there were some wonderfully descriptive ones. I jumped the gun and announced a winner Wednesday evening (I’ve been a bit brain dead this week), but there were more entries today that couldn’t be ignored, so I’ve chosen a second winner.
WEDNESDAY’S WINNER – Ramblingsfromtheleft (Blog: Florence Fois in the City)
“Standing by the sea wall, the Brooklyn Narrows is shrouded in a dense fog, the lights of the bridge struggle to break free. It moves like a gathering of white gray clouds above the water wake and like the moments just before we wake, it holds the world suspended, the mystery of a new day. Soon, soft winds sweep across the horizon, and we see.”
THURSDAY’S WINNER – Sandra Heska King (Blog: Sandra Heska King)
“Often we get weather reports that cause anticipation and excitement–even apprehension. The kids get ready for a snow day. We check the snowblower. We get ready for the “big one.” But nothing happens. And we are disappointed. Like we might be when we get our hopes up for a good read.
Today the forecast was for flurries. But we had more than that, wind, a drift in front of the garage, and icy roads. Totally unexpected. I like surprises in my books, too.”
Congratulations, Florence and Sandra! $10 gift cards from Starbucks will soon be winging their way to both of you. I hope you’ll consider steamy mugs of yummy goodness a suitable reward for your effort.
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The Plot… er, the Snow, Thickens (There’s a Giveaway, too!)
18 Jan 2012 15 Comments
in Environment, Giveaway, Nature, Photography, Weather, Winter Tags: Giveaway, Mystery, Snow, Winter
Chilly west coasters are coping with the intrusion of an Arctic ridge of high pressure. It’s creating strong outflow winds and bringing frigid temperatures from the Interior of the province into our normally balmy south coast. As the front pushes towards the coast it’s meeting warmer Pacific onshore currents, producing… what else? More snow.
Just what I always wanted! I already have as much as I need, thank you very much. It has the perennials nicely insulated, shrubbery beginning to bow under the weight, and the early Snowdrops buried in icy graves. Now I’m starting to worry about what’s coming next.
Funny… that’s what it’s like when I’m reading a mystery story. The foreshadowing is there, the clues start piling up, and while I wait for the damage to hit, I’m gnashing my teeth that I didn’t pay more attention earlier in the season… um, in the story.
By the look of the forecast, I might as well throw another log on the fire and make myself some hot chocolate. This story has to play itself out and I want to stick around to see if the ending fulfills the earlier promise. The plot is thickening as we speak!
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Is it my imagination, or are there other plot similarities to be found in weather situations? I’m offering a $10 Starbucks gift card for the most creative comparison. Leave yours in a comment under today’s post before tomorrow (Thursday), 6:00 p.m. Pacific time, and I’ll reward the most innovative writer with the means to wrap cold hands around a hot mug. 
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Sunshine, Shadows and Moving On
16 Jan 2012 10 Comments
in Community, Faith, Life, Nature, Philosophy, Photography, Writing Tags: Bereavement, Discouragement, Encouragement, Faith, Perseverance
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As much as we might wish it, life isn’t full of blue skies. There are clouds and shadows, too — a lot of mountaintop and valley experiences. We know that.
Blog posts from fellow bloggers illustrate that many have faced staggering obstacles and struggled through difficult times.
The internet has made it easier to share our troubles and our faith, as well as our support for others. It helps to know we aren’t alone, but most often we’d prefer resolution to empathy. We’d rather have health than sickness, life than death, tolerance than bullying, peace than war – and, in the world of writers, publication rather than rejection. But those positives are elusive.
We all look for answers, but the reality I’ve found is that the only way out of the valley, out of the shadows, or past rejection, is to keep moving. Sustained by faith, we keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Occasionally there are magic and miracles, but often as not we simply have to persevere on the journey. A hand along the way makes the going a bit easier. It gives us the opportunity to look up from the rocky path and see the sunshine in the distance. A glimpse of hope. But we still have to keep moving.
Have you reached out to accept, or offer, a hand of encouragement lately? What difference do you think it made?
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Sending prayers and wishing sunshine to those in the shadows.
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Thou art the Sun of other days. They shine by giving back the rays.
(John Keble, “The Christian Year: Easter Days”)
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God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
(Psalm 46:1)
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He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
(Psalm 91:1-2)
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Hoodoos
13 Jan 2012 22 Comments
in Nature, Photography, Travel Tags: BC, Dutch Creek, East Kootenays, Hoodoos
Shadowed sculptures make their stand
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Stark and eery
Weathered columns etched from sand
Dry and barren
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Rippling pillars mark the land
The Hoodoos at Dutch Creek near Cranbrook, BC
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“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”
[Psalm 24:1]
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Remembering…
11 Jan 2012 15 Comments
in Faith, Family, Life, Nature, Photography, Praise Tags: Murray Lloyd Garvin
“It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night.”
[Psalm 92:1-2]
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(July 5, 1934 – January 10, 2012)
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~ Our much loved brother and our only sibling ~
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A service of celebration and remembrance will be held on
Sunday, January 22nd, 2012 at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church,
47 Owen Street in Barrie, ON at 3:00 pm, followed by a reception.
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Monday Musing
09 Jan 2012 16 Comments
in Life, Nature, Philosophy, Photography Tags: Jean Paul, Moon
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Gray hairs seem to my fancy
like the soft light of the moon,
silvering over the evening of life.
[Jean Paul, 1763-1825]
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Hrumph! Upon looking in the mirror this morning, my comments were considerably less poetic. How about you? If you could wiggle your nose and instantly change your hair colour for a day (without all the dyes and drippy stuff), what colour would you choose, and why?
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So, how’s your writing journey going?
06 Jan 2012 12 Comments
in Goals, Holidays, Nature, New Year's, Photography, Travel, Winter, Writing, Writing a Novel Tags: Cascade Mountains, Coquihalla Highway, Motivation, Purcell Mountains, Rocky Mountains, Travel, Writing
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Sometimes it’s clear sailing, and sometimes… um, it’s not.
During our December travels we encountered all kinds of weather. For the most part, the roads were good. On the homeward portion of the trip, as we left Cranbrook, BC, we traveled north for a time in a trench between two mountain ranges. It was a glorious day!
To the east of the highway were the rugged Rocky Mountains…
… while to the west were the Purcell Mountains.
Eventually we had to leave the easy-to-navigate valley highway and turn west. The remainder of our trip was through the mountains … sometimes literally, via tunnels or snow sheds that are designed to deflect avalanches.
From the summit of the Coquihalla highway south through the Cascade Mountains the weather began to change again, the road conditions were conflictingly described as “bare, snow packed, some slippery sections” and we drove through snow and slush until we got closer to the coast where rain washed everything slick and shiny. Driving was anything but a pleasure.
My recent Christmas trip has comparisons to my writing journey. Any objective, whether a holiday destination, a writing goal or picking a tree clean of its crop, requires some kind of journey. Success first requires desire – we have to want that ‘something’ badly enough to pursue it, regardless of the obstacles. Then there has to be forward momentum.
On the Magical Words blog yesterday Kalayna Price said, “When the words are flowing and the muse is generous, writing is easy, sometimes even euphoric. But when the writing gets tough and every word has to be dragged out with jagged, rusty hooks – that is when you have to apply BIC [butt in chair] and slough through it.”
The beginning of a new year is often a time of re-evaluation. For me, it’s also a time of recommitment. My goal hasn’t changed but too often detours have sidetracked me. The journey itself brings satisfaction but every journey needs to have a destination to fulfill its purpose. It’s time to settle my butt in the driver’s seat and start chalking up the miles.
How about you? We’re almost a week into this New Year. Have you made measureable progress on your 2012 journey?
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“By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” [Philippians 3:14 MSG]
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