And then there was Grace

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When I’m feeling hurried and stressed by the demands that I think the world is projecting onto me and I think I will explode if I’m slowed down by one more obstacle…
…He opens up the heavens and reminds me that He knows and He cares…
this is not my home…and red lights aren’t always a bad thing.

Five Minute Friday: Expectation

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Joy

When I read the word “Expectation” as the subject for our 5 minutes together today, I immediately thought of Matthew 6. Only I couldn’t remember that it was Matthew 6 so I had to google the key words and verses. (Just keepin’ it honest with my imperfections.)

I have been thinking a great deal about nature and the way that it surrenders to the Master’s plan. The intricate detail displayed in a spider’s web is fascinating to me. Today’s post is illustrated with examples of creation and the lack of expectation as it knows the Father is taking care of every need.

^25-26“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

^27-29“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

^30-33“If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

³⁴“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” ~Matthew 6:25-34

OK, are you ready? What does Expectation mean to you?

2. Link back here and invite others to join in.

3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

Thank You~Gracias~Grazie~Danke~Arigato

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Joy

I want to take this opportunity to say, “Thank you.”
Sincerely, from the depths of my heart.
I am so grateful for each of you reading this.
The fact that you would take a break from your busy life to read what I have written is not only humbling, but motivating and encouraging.

Thank you for allowing me to process the shock, pain, anger, regret and all of the other emotions that I have written through over the last 10 months.
As you know this journey with Elliot has changed me. In a good way.
She has changed me and will continue to.

I know the posts have been deep and sometimes dark, but I could not have experienced the peace that I have had were it not for those of you who are reading, sharing, commenting and praying.

I will continue to write about my beautiful friend. How can I not?
However, I will also get back to posting on life in general.
I will try to center most everything around experience, strength and hope.

Thank you…for embarking on this pilgrimage with me.
It is often bumpy and at times I cannot see much further than my own face, but it is worth it. You are worth it…I am worth it.

If only we could see more than a fraction of our worth.
Our fear would dissolve in the truth of our potential.
We were born with a great purpose in mind. Each one of us.
We are being groomed for greatness.

On the days when you feel anything but great (and those days will come), if you remember nothing else, remember, you have been given this gift of life. With this gift comes the freedom of choice, the blessing of opportunities, the realness of humanity. I don’t care what you’ve done, what you’re doing or what you will do, nothing on this earth has the power to strip you of your potential.

Eleanor Roosevelt said it best, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Friend, You were born to be blessed. Don’t allow anyone or anything to tell you different.

Love and Light,

Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Joy

Summer in the south is many things.
To capture them all would mean hundreds of photos.
The word summer brings up many emotions and awakens certain memories in my senses.
Here are a few of the things that I think of when I look towards summer…

The fragrant gardenias in the flowerbed that greet you when walking to our front door.

Gardenia

With the flowers, come the bees
the beautiful butterflies
and other interesting insects.
Summer in the south means, popsicles on the front porch
Sticky fingers and faces.

It means little lizards soaking up the sun while blending into the grass.
Summer means that everything is green…winter has passed and spring has brought new life.
The birds return to the feeder and sing their songs of thanksgiving.
Summer means blowing bubbles in the grass until your lightheaded.
It means dirty feet at the end of the day from running around barefoot until well after bedtime.
It’s different now, as an adult, experiencing summer.
Not bad, just different.
My children get so excited about summer! That is by far the best part of the record temperatures and soaring humidity.
There is much to come in the next several weeks.
There will be watermelon and ice cream sandwiches, water balloons and cook outs, slip n slides and human cannonballs into the pool.
When my boys come in from a long summer day smelling “tired” I know that it has been time filled with moments that they will one day recall and smile.

Interpretations of summer by some other stellar photographers and bloggers:
Where’s my backpack?
Nature Through The Lens
Chronicles of Illusions
The Great Escape: Life from behind a lens

When I was a Christian

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Joy

I grew up in a loving home surrounded by “God-fearing” parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors. My mom says that I prayed to receive Christ at age two. Though she was unable to decipher my words, she’s certain that’s what I did.

I distinctly remember at age seven, sitting at the kitchen counter, across from my mom, when my dad called to say that my grandfather’s long and painful battle with cancer was over. And just like that I learned of mortality…

To continue reading this post, please visit Leanne Penny’s site here where she has started a unique series called, “Beautiful Scars.”

Breathing in Grace…Breathing out Praise

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Joy

Never am I more present than when looking through the lens of my camera. Everything that has been heavily on my mind is somehow lifted. I think only of the subject in front of me.

Ever since I can remember, nature has fascinated me. As a child, we would take long road trips as a family and I would stare out the window for hours making shapes from the clouds.

I have been reminded of that childlike wonder through my first L glass macro lens. Chris knows what I need on such a deep level. A level that can be reached by no one but him. He has brought to life parts of my being that I know would have otherwise never surfaced. And because of that I live a richer, fuller, more meaningful life…with him.

The following pictures were taken at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Several of the flowers had bloomed and were now coming to the end of their beauty, but they were no less exquisite. The splendor of my King was all around me. I love it when God shows off.

The dance of the bee
© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012

Legs are absolutely coated in pollen
© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012

I love the reflection on the water
© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012

We always collect things along our journey that must be captured in the moment
© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012

Your typical house fly
© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012

When looking at all of the detail that went into making the flowers and bees it takes my breath away. God spent even more time on us. I love Psalm 139. It is a life verse for me and one that has kept me encouraged.

We are a masterpiece, you and I.

A work of sheer genius.

There’s nothin’ I hate more than nothin’

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Joy

I have so much stirring in my heart…my mind…my gut. Yet, when I sit in front of this screen with a blank page of endless possibilities before me, just waiting for my words to create thoughts that explain something about this crazy journey I’m on…I got nothin’.

So I have avoided coming here…to this place where I bare my soul and reveal my idiosyncrasies. After reading this quote from Anais Nin, “If you do not breathe through writing, if you do not cry out in writing, or sing in writing, then don’t write, because our culture has no use for it.” I am back here…in this place…where I can breathe.

There are many things that have been brewing deep down in the parts of my being rarely visited. Things that have been around for a while that I push back down whenever they attempt to surface. The problem is, I’m tired of pushing against the inevitable. Those things needing to be dealt with will eventually burst through, leaving me with no choice but to sift through the wreckage.

Who enjoys that?! Certainly not I. In order to sift through my wreckage I need more than some disposable plastic gloves. I need waders at the very least, but preferably a hazmat suit. It’s ugly and it hurts. It’s like cleaning gravel from a fresh wound. Hurts like hell, but the only way to prevent infection is to destroy the threat.

So here I am…beginning the cleansing process…Of what, I’m not exactly sure…yet. But just as the past has proven, more will be revealed.

I have been looking through pictures as they usually calm my spirit and I came across these two that I love. I love them for many reasons. One being that the first one was taken only minutes after my son was born prematurely via c-section. Another is because his life represents so many wonderful things. Defying the odds. Proving wrong one scary diagnosis after another. This little boy and me, we are not only survivors, we are conquerors.

And there is one very obvious fact that I cannot deny.
It’s this…God is good.
He is faithful.

And because of that, when words fail me, even if in a whisper, I must speak the beautiful name of my Savior.