Joleyn Larson Photography & Design

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. to these i commit my day. if i succeed, i will give thanks. if I fail, i will seek his grace. and then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

Posted from WordPress for Android

choose only a date who would make a good mate.

don’t let your parents down they brought you up.

be humble enough to obey, you may give orders someday.

be master of your habits or they will master you.

choose companions with care; you become what they are.

don’t let the crowd pressure you; stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.

remember the Lord’s day.

don’t be a showoff when you drive. drive with safety and arrive.

serve the Lord faithfully. He has a good retirement plan.

it’s been a while since I last thought of her. my friendship with stacey, was not a long one. we had met through a mutual friend, and on occasion we bumped into each other. we attended a marriage encounter with our husbands together. we emailed more than we saw each other, and chatted on messenger a lot. our boys were about the same ages and we tried to schedule play dates in the park together…but we never got to do it.

emotions hit hard today, for whatever reason, it struck at my heart, made me stop and breath…intentionally. it’s always amazing to me how God brings such gentle reminders of people…in guided steps…such as things happening today.

i had made a memorial for my friend’s husband and her boys after her death. they kept it, made copies for their hope chests. it made me feel good…like maybe i had helped them in some small way…preserve some small memory of their mom and wife…today i got a note from her husband saying they were ready to make her memorial bench, and they had chosen the keepsake i had created to be forever etched in the granite. honestly…i cried,  so many memories surfaced. it took my breath away.

as i sit in remembrance, i am reminded that my aunt passed away too on this day. way to soon, in my opinion. 5 years ago about 10 o’clock in the evening…she let go of her aching body and went to see her Jesus in heaven. i miss her. she was such a gentle spirit. one of pure kindness and compassion. i know as i type this, some other friends from my hometown are losing their mom to cancer. she has fought long and hard like my friend..and her body is now exhausted…but her spirit is ready to see her Jesus. it’s such a tender moment these last days, hours and seconds. i hope that they are blessed today by the moments to come as they share them with their loved one. life is so precious, but life with Christ is much more than one can put into words.

i feel hope and comfort in knowing that all of these women knew Him intimately…as their one and only savior.

 in the purity of God’s love, we find meaning. in the power of God’s truth, we find strength. in the light of God’s wisdom, we find clarity. in the silence of prayer, we find an answer.

may the Lord keep watch between you and me while we are apart. genesis 31:49

i’m in your heart. i now live where harmony, true beauty and serenity abide. and though we cannot share a hug, a smile or tender touch, i hope you know, i’m in your heart, and i love you ever so much. 

Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.” (Matthew 11:29,  The Message) 

Learning to live means taking that shakey first step in faith…toward his rhythms of grace, letting go of what was and moving toward what is to come.

I heard daddy whispering quietly one night,
He said you were sleeping while his ear was pressed tight.
I pushed out my little hand in search for the sound,
He must not have noticed for his head did not turn around.

Daddy went on to say, “We 4 are waiting for you,”
I said to myself, “four? I only know of two!”
I know of Mommy and Daddy, who else could he mean?
I’m starting to remember, I’ve heard them talk of the BEANS!!

Daddy said, “Listen little one, you have two big brothers.”
And we are all so excited to see you, especially your mother.
Then Daddy mentioned something about maybe 1 week
Maybe he meant that’s when we will finally meet!!

“How exciting”, I said “Maybe I can finally come out!”
Daddy then said, “Hold on there, there’s still someone to think about”
“Your Mommy has been working very hard for you, three more months it would be a year!”
“Let’s make this day easy for her, that day being when you appear.”

I said, “Ok, Dad…I’ll do my best—
Cause Mommy already told me that she would do the rest.”
Daddy said one more thing to me, so I sat up tall..
“You’ll find out soon enough but, you’ve got the best Mother of all!”

“Mom, I think I’m going to like this new little nest,
Because You, Daddy and the Beans sure sound like the best!”  

How will YOU spend these 40 days?

“Lent is the liturgical season of forty days which begins with Ash Wednesday and ends with the celebration of the Paschal Mystery (Easter Triduum). Lent is the primary penitential season in the Church’s liturgical year, reflecting the forty days Jesus spent in the desert fasting and praying.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church) During the season of Lent, there is a special call to prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We can fast from negative things in our lives, such as complaints about weather, work, food, and others’ treatment of us. For us, Lent represents a look at our lives and our relationship with God and each other.

Give up bitterness; turn to forgiveness. Give up hatred; return good for evil. Give up negativism; be positive. Give up complaining; be grateful. Give up harsh judgments; think kindly thoughts. Give up worry; trust Divine Providence. Give up discouragement; be full of hope. Give up anger; be more patient. Give up pettiness; be more mature. Give up gloom; enjoy the beauty around you. Give up jealousy; pray and trust. Give up gossiping; control your thoughts. Give up sin; turn to virtue.

Belief :: I rise out of the old and into the new.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season. It affords us an opportunity to turn away from beliefs that limit or bind us. Some think of this time as a period of fasting from special foods or outer pleasures. Others believe it is a time to give up certain states of mind, certain words and ways that are not in keeping with the Jesus Christ ideal.

No matter how we may choose to keep Lent, let us turn our eyes from the darkness to the light, our ears from strife to peace, our words from negative to positive, and our hands from destruction to construction. Keeping Lent in this way will prepare us mentally, physically and spiritually to rise out of the old and into the new.

–Adapted from Daily Word, February 11, 1959

Is not this the fast that I choose?–Isaiah 58:6

love yourself.

make peace with who you are and where you are at this moment in time.

listen to your heart.

if you can’t hear what it’s saying in this noisy world,

make time for yourself.

enjoy your own company.

let your mind wander among the stars.

try.

take chances.

make mistakes.

life can be messy and confusing at times, but it’s also full of surprises.

the next rock in your path might be a stepping-stone.

be happy.

when you don’t have what you want, want what you have.

make do.

that’s a well-kept secret of contentment.

there aren’t any shortcuts to tomorrow.

you have to make your own way.

to know where you’re going is only part of it.

you need to know where you’ve been too.

and if you ever get lost, don’t worry.

the people who love you will find you.

count on it.

life isn’t days and years.

it’s what you do with time and with the goodness and grace that’s inside you.

make a beautiful life.

reflections for a daughter on her birthday

thanks mom and dad….i love you.

THE GIRLS IN MY CIRCLE

When I was little,

I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,

And then I started to become a woman.

And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,

God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you’re going through things with your man..

Another friend is needed when you’re going through things with your mom.

Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities.

Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.

One friend will say, ‘Let’s cry together,’

Another , ‘Let’s fight together,’

Another , ‘Let’s walk away together.’

One friend will meet your spiritual need,

Another your shoe fetish,

Another your love for movies,

Another will be with you in your season of confusion,

Another will be your clarifier,

Another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life,

On whatever the occasion,

On whatever the day,

Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back,

 Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself ..

Those are your best friends.

i found this little note from my peanut today.  oh how i heart this little one…to the moon and back i do. {sigh}

Our week begins with “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete means “rejoice” in Latin.   The spirit of joy that begins this week comes from the words of Paul, “The Lord is near.”  We again light the candles of hope and love. Today we add the PINK (ROSE) candle of joy. Prophecy has been fulfilled. The long-awaited Messiah has come. Joy is the mood of all earnest seekers.

we celebrated one of my most favorite times of year last night. in the darkness we sat with only one light…our first advent candle. we sat and talked and ate our dinner. we thought about what it means to wait for something.

what it means to wait for something so big that you can hardly stand it. we talked about what we could do differently this season, how we could turn our focus towards giving more and getting less….being more thankful and less covetous (i know big word…but they got it), being more content and less critical…waiting…a time to silence yourself. a time to think about everything and nothing at the same time. i loved it all.  happy advent.

Light the First PURPLE Candle which symbolizes hope. For many years the faithful looked forward to the coming of the Messiah. We look forward with the eyes of faith. 

As we begin Advent, we light one candle in the midst of all the darkness in our lives and in the world.  It symbolizes our longing, our desire, our hope. 

In this season of Advent,
as we gather to wait
in the darkness of winter nights
for Jesus our Light to come,
may our hearts be filled
with your joy and promise.

we had quite the dinner. turkey, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, stuffing, cranberries…all the favorites and then some.

Thanksgiving is today, and I find myself more thankful this year than years prior. As i sit here and remember all the things we have done this year i feel pretty full…and not because we ate so much food today that we could all use a good run into town…literally. Full in a sense that i couldn’t want anything more in my life at this time. Maybe it is the bible study I did this fall {change my attitude} that is still so fresh in my mind, maybe it’s the new study I just started on contentment that is keeping me focused on daily gratitude. Maybe it’s my appreciation for family that has grown insurmountably over the year. Or maybe just how God has a way of moving in our lives..so subtly at times…one breath at a time… whether we want him to or not….always at his pace and not mine….teaching me to trust Him more and more.  Maybe it’s learning to remember that God has it all covered….even when…I do not and for that alone I can be thankful. I’m so thankful for my husband. His enduring love he shares with me daily. His hard work never going unnoticed in my eyes. His job that supplies our every need….allowing me to stay home…allowing me to take the kids and the neighbor kids to school…when bus 15 doesn’t show up because it broke down.  I’m so thankful for my kids and how they bless me with so much love at times i feel like i will burst. Their hugs, their stories their individual beings that are so unique and so different yet you just appreciate who they are becoming because it’s who they are.  I am so thankfully blessed I get goose bumps. Content. Happy. Blessed. It’s a good place to be.

I got this article on Thanksgiving from Walk in the Word :: The Weekly Walk by James MacDonald.I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. 

Thanksgiving

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south… He led them by a straight way till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” – Psalm 107:1-9

Psalm 107 is all about thankfulness. Very specifically Psalm 107 repeats one verse four different times.

“O, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His wonderful works to the children of men.”

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.

Praise and gratitude are inseparable. Praise starts from the soles of our feet and comes up through the muscles and sinews and joints and organs of our bodies and it bursts from our throat. It’s with all our hearts that we give God thanks. It is not something shallow or frivolous, flippant or superficial. Gratitude is the deepest expression of the soul in love with God. And he says, “With all my heart I give You thanks.”

The original meaning of praise was “to give public acknowledgement.” It’s the thought of telling others about something that means much to us. Not the normal term for giving thanks.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not negative on gratitude. What really bugs me, though, is when people express their gratitude today, late in November and then return to their self-centered, dissatisfied, hopeless and pathetic outlook on life the other 364 days.

Gratitude is more than an annual ritual performed hastily before diving into the Thanksgiving meal. It’s more than a holiday decoration, more than a snappy word that rhymes with “attitude.” Of all the human emotions, gratitude is the most powerful. So powerful is gratitude, it can obliterate fear, hopelessness and doubt. Gratitude can heal a broken heart, slow the aging process and restore broken relationships. Gratitude creates hope and hope brings joy. It is in joy, not fear, that we find strength.

Today’s Daily Word – I thank God for those who dedicate their lives to service.

Through the ages, people have stepped forward and served to make their communities, their homelands and the world a better, safer place. I am in awe of the courage and dedication they have shown. Their sacrifices bless us all.

I deeply appreciate the contribution of those who serve humanity. As part of our world family, I also do my part to promote a better life for all.

My prayers are one way to contribute to the betterment of humankind. Today I take time to honor and bless those who have committed their lives to courageous sacrifice and service to others. I give thanks for them and the significant difference they make in our world.

Serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.–Deuteronomy 10:12

once in a while when i am down and out, confused or worried, or just really afraid…or well just plain bored i find myself hanging out in cyber space…my quiet little prayer space.  sometimes i stop for a quick inspiration and sometimes i type out lengthy prayer requests…things that have kept me up at night, things that i’ve prayed over and over again, things that i hope for, dream of…things that don’t make sense to me. tonight was no different. sitting here late into the night, exhausted from a crazy flu-filled week, my kids tucked into bed…or at least i think they are. my hubby fast asleep….due to the amount of extra strength cough medicine he had to take….hoping to get a good night’s sleep. i was lonely, wallowing in my little pity party mood…probably more bored than anything…tired of being cooped up in this house for 7 days strait. everything i could have done…done twice.

my prayer space called me…welcomed me back like it always does…it’s my place where i find solace, my place where i find wisdom and peace, my place where i place my hearts deepest requests in a little yellow box and hit submit and off it goes into cyber land with a promise that somewhere out there, someone with a heart for Jesus will read, and will lift it up so high, that i will feel some sort of love or maybe even relief right at the moment.

i had intentions of going home this weekend. a dear friend passed away. it was sad. i didn’t expect it. i should have prayed more for her. {sigh} they celebrate her life tomorrow. and i will be home. i wanted so much to be there. to see her family. to see my friends…reminisce…the good ol` catholic school days…to celebrate her life together…many will be there…but i won’t. it’s hard being away in times like this. i know my family comes first. it always has. it’s just hard missing things like this. so i write tonight to clear my head. to open up my heart and let the tears out…to stop and unwind…to sit and be still…to soak it all in, so in the end i can function and do my job as mom and wife…with all the grace God has instilled in me. it’s all good. God is here. i feel him.

me, julie, allison, karissa and janelle

i know that tomorrow many will celebrate her, i will too in my own special way. i will share stories of her with my kids. i will take a walk around the block and count my many blessings and i will smile because i know she will be near. near all of us. so i let go, and take a deep breath…..rest in peace dear friend…rest in peace.

“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:15

words flowing like the tears on my smiling face…..i have my blog going and honestly the music brings me to tears more than my thoughts. it’s kinda goofy how music can do that to me. it moves me through and through…lifts me up and out of my very being….feels like I’m born again, feels like I’m living, for the first time…the very first time….it is only the beginning. her life….only the beginning.

“As you make a habit of not taking anything personally, you won’t need to place your trust in what others do or say.  You will only need to trust yourself to make responsible choices.  You are never responsible for the actions of others; you are only responsible for you.  When you truly understand this, and refuse to take things personally, you can hardly be hurt by the careless comments or actions of others.”

~Don Miguel Ruiz

Someday
by Charles R. Swindoll

Philippians 4:11-13

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, things are going to be a lot different. The garage won’t be full of bikes, electric train tracks on plywood, sawhorses surrounded by chunks of two-by-fours, nails, a hammer and saw, unfinished “experimental projects,” and the rabbit cage. I’ll be able to park both cars neatly in just the right places, and never again stumble over skateboards, a pile of papers (saved for the school fund drive), or the bag of rabbit food—now split and spilled. Ugh!

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, the kitchen will be incredibly neat. The sink will be free of sticky dishes, the garbage disposal won’t get choked on rubber bands or paper cups, the refrigerator won’t be clogged with nine bottles of milk, and we won’t lose the tops to jelly jars, catsup bottles, the peanut butter, the margarine, or the mustard. The water jar won’t be put back empty, the ice trays won’t be left out overnight, the blender won’t stand for six hours coated with the remains of a midnight malt, and the honey will stay inside the container.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, my lovely wife will actually have time to get dressed leisurely. A long, hot bath (without three panic interruptions), time to do her nails (even toenails if she pleases!) without answering a dozen questions and reviewing spelling words, having had her hair done that afternoon without trying to squeeze it in between racing a sick dog to the vet and a trip to the orthodontist with a kid in a bad mood because she lost her headgear.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, the instrument called a “telephone” will actually be available. It won’t look like it’s growing from a teenager’s ear. It will simply hang there . . . silently and amazingly available! It will be free of lipstick, human saliva, mayonnaise, corn chip crumbs, and toothpicks stuck in those little holes.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, I’ll be able to see through the car windows. Fingerprints, tongue licks, sneaker footprints, and dog tracks (nobody knows how) will be conspicuous by their absence. The back seat won’t be a disaster area, we won’t sit on jacks or crayons anymore, the tank will not always be somewhere between empty and fumes, and (glory to God!) I won’t have to clean up dog messes another time.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, we will return to normal conversations. You know, just plain American talk. “Gross” won’t punctuate every sentence seven times. “Yuk!” will not be heard. “Hurry up, I gotta go!” will not accompany the banging of fists on the bathroom door. “It’s my turn” won’t call for a referee. And a magazine article will be read in full without interruption, then discussed at length without mom and dad having to hide in the attic to finish the conversation.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, we won’t run out of toilet tissue. My wife won’t lose her keys. We won’t forget to shut the refrigerator door. I won’t have to dream up new ways of diverting attention from the gumball machine . . . or have to answer “Daddy, is it a sin that you’re driving forty-seven in a thirty-mile-per-hour zone?” . . . or promise to kiss the rabbit goodnight . . . or wait up forever until they get home from dates . . . or have to take a number to get a word in at the supper table . . . or endure the pious pounding of one Keith Green just below the level of acute pain.

Yes, someday when the kids are grown, things are going to be a lot different. One by one they’ll leave our nest, and the place will begin to resemble order and maybe even a touch of elegance. The clink of china and silver will be heard on occasion. The crackling of the fireplace will echo through the hallway. The phone will be strangely silent. The house will be quiet . . . and calm . . . and always clean . . . and empty . . . and filled with memories . . . and lonely . . . and we won’t like that at all. And we’ll spend our time not looking forward to Someday but looking back to Yesterday. And thinking, “Maybe we can babysit the grandkids and get some life back in this place for a change!”

Could it be that the apostle Paul had some of this in mind when he wrote:

I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. (Philippians 4:11)

Maybe so. But then again, chances are good Paul never had to clean up many dog messes.