• "Be happy. Cultivate gladness. If there are times when it comes by itself, and the heart feels the unutterable joy of the Saviour's presence, praise God for it and seek to maintain it. . . . . If at other times feelings are dull, and the experience of joy is not what you would wish, still praise God for the life of unutterable school to which you have been redeemed." -Andrew Murray, Abiding in Christ, 1888
  • Standing in the pre-dawn dark of my kitchen I resisted the urge to turn on the lights while I filled the coffee pot. A little voice reminded me to linger and take a few moments to simply look and listen. . . . I've been reading #TrueYou by @michellederusha and words from last night's chapter came to the surface. Thoughts about resisting the urge to d o something and just be present in the moment were in the back of my mind. Instead of beginning the day with a fluorescent accompaniment, I glanced out the window above the sink to the line of cars in the distance, headlights gleaming on the horizon as all the worker bees headed off to their appointed rounds. . . . I might have missed noticing them if I'd switched on the lights. Instead I chose to pay attention. The Holy Spirit spoke gently, "Diamonds shine best in the dark." ****** . . . Friends, the glitter and shine of jewels God is placing in your life are produced and revealed in the dark and pressure-filled times of your life. Instead of praying to get out of our difficulties or those times when God seems faraway in the distance, it's good to remember He is working in the deep-down, underground where life begins. And the place where diamonds are formed. . . . ."Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." James 1:2-4, The Message Bible ....... #Godspeaks #notetoself #Scripture #TrueYou #listen #spiritualpractice #quiet#wordfortheyear
  • "Listen to your life and then respond to what you are hearing." @shellymillerwriter #RhythmsofRest Revisiting Shelly's book.... "quiet" is my word for the year (last year it was 'listen"). They go hand in hand... #Spiritualpractice #silence #pauseforpeace
  • The only way to hear Jesus' voice is to be close to his chest, with your ear turned towards Him. Walking with God is a daily balance between moving ahead with what he's given us to do and being open to his redirects along the way. He carries me, not because of my weakness, but because together we can image forth what the journey of dependence and joy look like. #faith #trust #joywins
  • I first learned the root meaning of the word 'amateur' in Robert Farrar Capon's, "The Marriage Supper of the Lamb," a book with recipes and so much more, particularly the love of food and cooking and the kingdom of God. (If you haven't read it, find a copy. It's a fascinating and rich read.) . . . 'Amateur' is from the Latin 'amator', lover (root 'amare', to love). Playing with watercolors this year, stepping into the unknown of allowing myself to be creative, makes me feel like an amateur. According to Webster's, an amateur is, "One who engages in an art, science, study or athletic activity as a pastime rather than a profession." . . . In other words, it's something one engages in because they want to, not because they have to. Of course, the other distinction is that amateurs don't get paid for their work, whereas professionals do. It is rather freeing, in my opinion, to not be pressured by the idea I would be paid for my artistic endeavors or have to produce or perform in order to be successful. (That would hardly be the case if you looked at the little color studies adorning my desktop.) The release that comes when we spend time doing what we love--baking bread, taking photographs, arranging flowers, playing with art (whatever the medium)--leaves us with open hands to receive from Father God the creativity He wants to pour through us. Producing out of love and freedom also makes room for more of God's joy to flow in, the joy we take in our play and the joy He sees in our creativity as we image who He is in the world through our many expressions. So here's to being an amateur--what are y o u loving today? . . . #creativity #watercolors #koiwatercolors #photography #paint #play #spiritualpractice #baking #beautymatters
  • There's a Bible verse we often quote when we're in the midst of despair where Jesus says the Devil comes to steal, kill and destroy. Well, he does (stupid Satan) but why is it that we so quickly recall the negative more than the positive? There is something to remember in the other half of that sentence separated by one small semi-colon. Here's to memorizing the most important part of the equation, the Jesus part. John 10:10 #godsword #truth #Scripture
  • #Fridayfollows Have you ever noticed that God begins a gentle nudge in a particular direction when He is opening up something new for you? Or that you hear a 'sacred echo' as Margaret Feinberg termed it, of a particular practice showing up over and over again in your life? . . . In the middle of a particularly crazy, busy season last year (August through December) I was casting out lifelines any way I could to land on something that would lift me up above a daily schedule that was burying me. I willed myself to stop as often as I could during the day, particularly when I was outside, and pay attention. That's all. I began to notice the simplest kind of beauty in color or light when I took the time to focus, even for 5 minutes. . . . About the same time I happened upon an Instagram account curated by a local writer/gardener/artist here in the Seattle area. @gardenercook had a practice on her daily walks of finding something alive and growing then bringing it home to paint a palette encompassing all the colors she saw. A simple practice but so doable. I wanted to try the same thing myself, playing with color and paint and it has been fun. . . . I am continually inspired by @gardenercook's daily posts here on Instagram. I would highly recommend you take a moment to check out her IG feed--Beauty abounds there. #fridayfollow #beautymatters #creativity
  • On the 7th day of Christmas remembering why Jesus was born.... to give us a new start. #twelvedaysofchristmas #twelvetide #Livingtheseasonwell
  • Mother Teresa “People are often unreasonable and self-centered, forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives, be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies, succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you, be honest and frank anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous, be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow, do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough, give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God, It was never between you and them anyway.” #amen #truthandkindness #notetoself
  • Mornings investing in rich reading are my favorite mornings. You? . . . What're you reading? #amreading #amwriting #friendswithpens

Jody Lee Collins

Inform~Encourage~Inspire

Poetry ·

slow down…..

                

Grandson Hanan Samuel, 3 ish

Watching Hanan see the World

Spider, bug,

Ant and bee

In my garden,

At my knee.

Provide a show

For this young one,

Eyes tuned tight

In midday sun.

He alone can see them move

We pass so fast his dawdling proves

Were we more still

We’d find delight

In this wee world

Through childs’ sight.
~~~~~~~~~~~
I wrote this several years ago when our son and his wife and Hanan lived with us. I remember when he was a toddler and he enjoyed crawling around in our yard….there are spiders galore this year–he would love it!
He started back to school a few weeks ago and is now a fourth grader; the years have gone by so fast.
Life especially seems to gear up and get going each Fall as school begins again. I thought this was a good reminder to   s l o w d o w n….
Linking with the fine folks at dVerse Pub for Open Link night 63.
More good reading over there!

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