Tag Archives: Ireland

Perspective…perspective…perSPECtive…PERspective

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It’s hard to see the houses for the flowers.  It’s hard to even notice the beautiful water, or the rocky beach, or the hillside.  My eye is just drawn  to the flowers.  The camera’s perspective is focusing, aiming, and adjusting to capture the flowers.

The people living in those houses over on the far hill can’t see these flowers from where they are.  They are living their everyday lives, and they are not thinking about those flowers.

When I am stuck in a situation that seems overwhelming or all-consuming, I sometimes can’t see anything else.  I don’t see my flowers.  But I am trying, with God’s merciful help and love, to change that.  He’s showing me that in the middle of everything, He is there, and beauty and truth and love is still there.  And that I need to stop, take many deep breaths, and look.  God’s mercies are new every morning.

Slainte, Lisa

Traveling with the Little Darlings

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Traveling with children.

The best and the most challenging of times.

Enough said.

Ok, ok, I’ll say some more.  My husband and I like to travel, and we have three children.  Our family travel memories are amongst the very best of our collective memories, and I pray that we can collect a few more over the years.

These pictures are of a VERY long, windy, bumpy car ride on tiny, narrow Irish roads.  Everyone was getting a bit punchy, as you can see.  However, our reward for such an endurance test was pictures and experiences such as this, on top of Blarney Castle.  Is it worth it?  Definitely.

I think the key to traveling well with children is to plan, plan, plan before the trip, and then relax, relax, relax once you get there.  Now this is a funny statement if you know me.  But hey, I’m working on it!  One day I’m going to be the most chilled out woman around!

Speaking of travel, I am going to post a poll for ALL of you to take today on your travel preferences.  Please take it, and it may provide fodder for another interesting post to come!  Enjoy your weekend!     Slainte, Lisa

Shhh….It’s a Secret!

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What is it about secrets and secret hideaways and secret treasures that makes us want to know more?  Most of us have an intense desire to know what’s in the box, what’s in that unreachable garden, what that whispering person said, what lies after this life.  The odd thing is though, finding out the answers is not always as satisfying as we imagine.  There is something thrilling and exciting about not knowing, about waiting and imagining.  Sometimes the expectation of the secret itself is the treasure.

The older I get, the more I am learning to enjoy the unknowable, the mystery, the secret.  My children can tell you of many times when they ask me an unanswerable question, I shrug my shoulders, smile, and say, “It’s a mystery.”  And that’s half the fun; life would be utterly too predictable and boring and overwhelming if we knew it all.

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God.”  – Deuteronomy 29:29a

Treasure the mysteries and secrets.  Trust God to work out the ending.

Slainte, Lisa

The Bovine Ladies of Portmagee

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These cows are the cows of a certain Portmagee, Ireland farmer.  These cows are unafraid and unwaveringly trusting of that farmer.  In the three weeks that we stayed next door, we watched these cows walk up and down the roads, going from one field to another, never checking for oncoming cars, just assuming that they will stop.  And the cars always did, sometimes for 10 minutes at a time.

This post is really part two of my prior “Leap of Faith” posting.  These wonderful mooing bovines had so much faith in their “shepherd.”  (Yes, I realize they’re not sheep, but you get what I’m getting at…)  Their leader said move out of this field, and they do.  He knows that there is better and newer grass over yonder; the cows don’t know that, but they trust him and go.  Now, the interesting part….we are smarter than these sweet cows, right?  Yet, God will try to lead me and I resist.   I pull against the change and plant my feet wide in protest.  May God be patient with me, and help me to trust and not fear.

Slainte, Lisa