Tag Archives: Hope

On the Other Side

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In this case, the grass definitely is greener on the other side of the fence. 🙂

Ben Bulben, County Sligo

But seriously, how many times do I miss God’s blessing because I am too afraid/lazy/stuck in a rut to open a door?

Being stuck on one side of the gate is safer, predictable, controllable.

If I walk through to the other side, embrace an adventure of any sort, I am risking a stray sheep gone rogue, or ankle turning in a bog, or a sudden fog to engulf me.

Or, it could be the greatest adventure ever, with beauty and wonder and newness. A day to see new things the Lord has made. A day to trust Him whatever the outcome.

If God is calling you to a gate, maybe He wants you to open it.

‘So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” – John 10:7-11

Blessings always, Lisa

Photo Credit – Ed Lyons, 2015, Ben Bulben, County Sligo, Ireland

Dusting Off

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Old friend rediscovered

The dust is off

The hands are rusty

But the strings are true.

How many times we lose track of something in the crazy busy pace of life. The dust accumulates, and we forget. There is such joy in the rediscovering of something that was lost.

Be it friend, family, hobby, faith. The dusting off reveals the beauty of the once was and still can be.

“You have forsaken your first love…..repent and do the things you did at first.”- Revelation 2:4-5b

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ ” – Luke 15:4-6

Blessings, Lisa

The Romantic Now

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The knight rides his white steed over impossibly green hills. He rides toward the hard stone of the castle’s protection, but mostly, he rides to see his love. He needs to make sure she is safe before the battle. His horse senses his need; his hooves seem to fly over the soft ground.

Aaahhh….the romance of the past. As I think of scenes such as this, it is all glory and grandeur and amazingness. In reality, the knight was probably cold, exhausted, and underfed. His body hurt from the hard days on horseback. The castle would be very cold and dark when he arrived. But his love…..that is the same as in my daydreams.

Love has the ability to transcend conditions, circumstance, history.

People of the past had no idea that their reality would be romanticized in the future. They just knew they were living and doing the best they could.

Challenge to myself? To live today as if it were a movie. Glory, grandeur, drama, love. Because life does have all of that. If I will just open up my eyes to see it.

Our home is our castle, now. The romantic now.

The saying, “Write your story well” comes to mind. So true. Let your character soar today.

Blessings, Lisa

Images: Donegal Castle, Ireland. 2015 Ed Lyons

The Beauty of the Unexpected

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A sudden shift in melody, an unexpected pause

The change in light at daylight’s end that brings a sudden thrill

A new taste swirling ’round the mouth

The wakening pulse with travel

The unexpected brings with it refreshing change of perspective

c2022 Lisa Lyons

I am challenging myself to embrace the unexpected this weekend. To not react to it with anxiety and trepidation, but with openness and excitement. Something different. Something exciting. A new challenge. An obstacle to figure a workaround. A change in my too stubborn mindset.

Here is a treasured photo of my son at age 7 embracing the unexpected, circa 2001. We were doing the tourist thing at the Cliffs of Moher, and a kind musician saw his interest in his accordion. He immediately offered Joshua a go at it. Better yet, Joshua jumped right in and went for it, with little knowledge of the instrument. Beautiful memory, wonderful encouragement and joy for all of us.

Blessings to you as you embrace your unexpected surprises this weekend, Lisa

Music to the Rescue, Again

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I just want to say for the hundredth time that I am so very thankful for music. The right song at the right time……aahh….instant relief, or pick up, or energizing, or whatever it is that I need.

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.” – Leo Tolstoy

“Music… will help dissolve your perplexities and purify your character and sensibilities, and in time of care and sorrow, will keep a fountain of joy alive in you.” ― Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.” ― Martin Luther

“I would rather write 10,000 notes than a single letter of the alphabet.” ― Ludwig Van Beethoven

It was a hard morning. Enough said. But as I drove in the car, I put on a favorite CD, cranked it up, and voila! After two minutes, I was singing, tapping the steering wheel, squiggle dancing in my seat. And what was that on my face? A smile. Truly miraculous.

Here are two musical selections for you pick from this morning if you need a pick-me-up. First one, if you need to dance. Second one, if you need to chill. Both great. Or find your own favorite style of music, put it on, and turn it up. Aaahhh….

Early Corrs, 1995, Haste To The Wedding
Nathan Carter, 2013, Caledonia

Blessings, Lisa