Sleepless

Sleepless in Silver Cliff! I've laid awake for awhile, thoughts cruising through my brain. Some nights I just lay there fighting the thoughts, tossing and turning but now I was up.  It was 3:00 o'clock in the morning!

As I came out onto the porch in the dark I couldn't see any shadows of life outside; I didn't want to turn any inside light on, just in case....not wanting to scare the wild life away.  Then I turned on two outdoor floodlights.

Oak Trees Near Deck

There on the platform feeder was a flying squirrel. That's all I saw at first, but no, there also was a deer only a few feet from the oak tree, close to the deck. Where did she come from?  As I sat quietly, I saw another deer over by the crab apple tree, pawing through leaves.

It's amazing to me that when I have been entertaining one "channel" in my brain, and it's a frustrating one, sometimes it pays to go see what might be on the "outdoor" channel. Often it is wise to find a "floodlight" to help me see what's out there, too!  Then it was time to go back to bed...wondering if it all was a co-incidence.  I'm glad someone explained what a co-incidence is: "God's way of remaining anonymous." I was no longer sleepless in Silver Cliff!

Unbelievable !

Source unknown

Yes, unbelievable! Sunday was the playoff for the NFC Championship and if ever you wanted the road to yourself, that was the time to drive. All of Packer Country was glued to their TV's as the Packers and Seahawks went at it. I was blessed to have been invited to watch the game with friends down the road.

Well, I'm preaching to the choir by rehashing any of the game but to the non-football world, of which it's hard to believe exists, but I know does, WE, the Packers, had the game sewed up UNTIL the last three minutes! Heart wrenching, to say the least.  UNBELIEVABLE! We were the underdogs, played our hearts out, were ahead all of the game and then, 3 lousy series, done! Seattle won! They were great...awesome! 

Speechless, shell-shocked, defeated again at the threshold of another great title, we sat in disbelief. There was something though that caught my attention and that was the way both teams behaved, especially the way the coaches and players of each team carried themselves as gentlemen...words of praise, all taking the high road.

How do each of us react, then respond and live when we encounter a huge defeat? This defeat could be for any reason: unexpected unemployment, a serious illness, relationship issues, even death. What inside of us helps us face adversity with grace?  Not everyday do we face a type of NFC playoff adversity but most of us, sooner or later will. What is it that helps each of us not give up, to finish the game and to face it all in a way that we can be proud of?  Taking the high road...that is unbelievable in itself!!

Good Things

What good things is your higher power/God doing in your life.  How are you responding to that love?  What blessings did this day bring? Ask God to help you recognize and ponder in your heart all the good He does for you.

Lemon...pondering his day!

The "Outdoor" Channel

It snowed the other night!  "Big deal," you say, "what do you expect? it's wintertime in Wisconsin!"  Snowstorms here always touch my heart! Overnight deer came in, rabbits, even mice...tracks all over but no critter was seen. Now, the blue jays and a pair of morning doves, as well as squirrels

Gourmet meals!

and woodpeckers are on the feeders...all squawking at one another. Oak leaves still hang on the tree, resisting the fall to earth that other leaves have long taken, rustle with the gentle breeze.  Everything else stands tall, quiet and majestic, smiling to be among God's creation.

Pure Joy!

Some friends have asked me, "How can you stand to be alone at the cabin with no TV or radio on?"  It amazes me that they even ask. I would miss all the details that this "outdoor" channel has to offer if I couldn't hear and see all that was going on  out there.  Being observant to creation around me helps me to know a greater sense of the divine within. Reception is great, too! Only a "personal" antenna is needed! Let it snow!  It's winter in Wisconsin!!

21 Below Zero!

The thermometer read minus 21 degrees...that's 21 below zero, this morning here in the woods! That brings me to thinking of times when our hearts might read that cold, especially when misunderstandings occur in families and friendships, when emotions rise, perhaps words are spoken, then regretted.  The aftermath of these situations become a challenge. Sometimes like pipes in our cellars freezing because of the subzero temps, we need to do something to keep them from bursting, causing major havoc! So too, our hearts.

Roof Rake For Snow

So, what do we do when the freezing "pipes" of our own lives challenge us?  This is the third week of January...Christmas isn't too far past. Christmas is about love.  How have we taken this message to heart, or have we? How are we being attentive each and every day when "artic blasts" want to send us running rather than doing something like bundling up and dressing warmer. How? Where do we go to find spiritual warmth and protection?

How do we stay spiritually fit? What practices help our spirit when life challenges us? Each one of us could write a chapter for ourselves with many suggestions. Do these practices include the love we so publicly proclaimed just weeks ago when we celebrated that wonderful day of Christ's birth? How do we nurture our spirit in order to keep from dealing with below zero temps?

A Candle

Beacon of Hope

"Alone, the candle is a fragile flickering light.  Shared by millions, it becomes a shining beacon of hope." 
                                                                                  From a card by "it takes two", Inc.

Sunrise...Sunset

It may be too early to notice the time the sun has been rising but I was looking at the Sunrise-Sunset table and noticed that from January 2 to January 30th the difference will be about 30 minutes...the days will definitely be longer. I ponder all this, thinking how difficult it is to see small changes in our life for the positive. 

When time gets long, when challenges come, sometimes a person can get heavy-hearted, scared and not know how to deal with a situation. Some situations are really heart wrenching.  Sometimes a person sees no option in it, even to the point of wanting to harm himself/herself. Life is like the sunrise, sunsets. 

Beautiful Sky

Day by day it's hard to see what difference one minute will make.  Over a month or so, it becomes clear. How can each of us live one day at a time, one minute at a time, especially when life gets challenging, dark and scarey. It might help simply to reach out and call someone, to take a walk, to say a little prayer or to visit a neighbor.  Each day there will be a new sunrise and a new sunset.