In the Quiet

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I found a few blessed moments of quiet yesterday afternoon on my front porch. (And can I just say that I would love to hug the inventor of front porches? 🙂 )

The things I saw in the quiet:

– Green, green everywhere. So many different shades, so many different shapes. The leaves seem to be riotously enjoying their greenness before the start of autumn.

-The first three leaves that had fallen from the trees in the cooler air. They lay on the porch looking shocked and a little indignant for their too early demise.

-A male and female cardinal chasing each other from the dogwood to a neighboring elm.

-My fuzzy cockapoo enjoying himself and looking for blue tailed skinks. (One of his favorite pastimes)

-Spiders spinning webs furiously. This brought a certain amount of consternation in me, as I daily try to keep them off the porch. But I had to admire their tenacity, and I thought about the fact that spiders have to eat too. ;/

Things I heard in the quiet:

-Blissful times of absolute silence. Nothing.

-Occasional cars and trucks passing by on the road

-Neighbors working outside.

-Various insects and crickets

-The tapping of my dog’s toenails on the wooden porch when he tired of searching for the elusive skinks.

-My occasional sighs, as I released tensions that I was holding deep inside.

Things I felt in the quiet:

-Peace

-Hope

-Joy

-Wonder

-Excitement

-Creativity

-God’s presence

Thanks for reading this far. I encourage you to carve out even five minutes of quiet today. See what happens. Or what doesn’t happen, which is sometimes better.

Blessings, Lisa

The Beauty of Quiet

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Valentia Island, Ed Lyons

“A quiet tongue shows a wise head.” – Irish Proverb

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.” – Anne Frank

“Truth hath a quiet breast.” – William Shakespeare

“I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.” – Albert Einstein

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”-Isaiah 30:15

Blessings, Lisa

The Secret of Flight

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The little bird learned to fly early. She loved the wind, the air, the sun on her wings.

As she grew, scales and packages and weights were added to her back. She realized that she did not enjoy flying as much as she once did.

Her father saw the packages and weights, and started to remove them, one by one. Each day she flew a bit higher, a bit lighter.

Until the day all the burdens were gone, and she flew as she once did. High, soaring, free.

The wind carried her, and she sang a sweet song.

If your wings are sagging or heavy today, lay down your packages and weights at the feet of Jesus. He will carry them.

Love, Lisa

In Mind of Ireland

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County Sligo, Ireland
County Sligo, Ireland

It is a soft, misty morning here in Virginia.  The clouds are draped softly on the trees, the grass, the ground.  The white swirls around as I drive.  I feel as if I am wrapped in a soft fluffy blanket, and I am instantly, happily, back in Ireland on a similar day. 

A low whistle, the uillean pipes, the guitar, the lyrical stories in song fill my car’s speakers.  I begin to smile, to imagine, to be there.

Sitting in the pub, on a soft misty day, eating an amazing fresh-caught fish, a lovely Smithwick’s pint to wash it down. 

Not knowing exactly what will happen next, but blissfully not worrying about it. 

Listening to the session musicians, watching the set dancing….people much older than me who could dance as if they had springs underfoot. 

The dark, warm wooden tones of the pub wrapping you up to insulate against anything the outside might throw your way.

What a lovely morning of imagining, of remembering, it has been.

Slainte, Lisa