Tag Archives: The South

Travel theme: Sunset

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I love this week’s travel theme. A sunset for me means closure. The end of a day. Bad or good, it’s coming to a close. The possibility for rest and rejuvenation.

It is my reassurance, when the sky explodes in color and beauty just before nightfall, that there are better days ahead.

“Dusk is just an illusion because the sun is either above the horizon or below it.
And that means that day and night are linked in a way that few things are.
There cannot be one without the other yet they cannot exist at the same time.”
~ Nicholas Sparks ~

© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012.

© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012.

© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012.

© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012.

© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012.

“Clouds come floating into my life,
no longer to carry rain or usher storm,
but to add color to my sunset sky.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore ~

Five Minute Friday: Connect

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Around here we write for 5 minutes on Friday. I love today’s topic as I have been learning how important it is to “connect.”
GO

© Joy Cannis and Even A Girl Like Me, 2012

I tend to forget how important connecting is until I am in desperate need of it. I go about my day feeling ostracized (usually by my own doing.) At times it takes a close friend with genuine concern, inquiring about my feelings to snap me out of it and make the needed connection.

As a woman especially, I have a heightened sense of urgency to be and stay connected to other women who are a source of encouragement and beauty in my life. Those whom I can share openly and honestly with and they will point me back to God’s grace.

I watch my children play and interact with each other and others. They have no problem connecting when they need to. And it can be as simple as, “Hey, wanna race to the deep end?” that re-establishes the community that they share.

For us it may be asking a co-worker, “Wanna grab lunch?” It doesn’t always have to be a deep, emotional conversation/connection. The important thing, for me anyway, is remembering that we were created with a need to connect.

Whether it be with my husband, children, friends, or co-workers I use this word as if referring to a life source, because it is.

Who will you connect with today?

STOP

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Growth

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Growth is something I’m going through now, only I don’t have a picture of my insides to show you. (Thankfully, right?!) I do have a few examples that involve tangible objects.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside,
somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God.
Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be
and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.
As long as this exists, and it certainly always will,
I know that there will always be comfort for every sorrow,
whatever the circumstances may be.
And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
~ Anne Frank ~

Want to see more incredible interpretations of this week’s challenge, click here

Five Minute Friday: Here

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This post began as a Five Minute Friday post, but continued long after the timer sounded. Something in me could not stop writing and I think that’s okay. There is much stress in life, right now, today. And so my mind drifts…to a place far less stressful…a haven…here.

Here there is no shortage of beauty
The wildflowers grow just beyond the moss sprinkled fence and
roots intertwine to make an adventurous pathway
Here, where the trees touch the heavens
and the mushrooms look like artwork
Here, where the spider spins his masterpiece
while the river cascades over rocks and branches
down a path not yet discovered
Here, where the only thing heard is the sound of
the earth beneath our feet as we walk to the
waterfalls that willing flow down the granite to the body below.
Here, where little boys are transformed into giants,
ninja’s, pirates and superhero’s
Here, where the fire is warm when the sky opens up
to water the earth
Here, where the mountains ascend from green grass
and reflect their magnificence onto the water below
While cotton like clouds sit suspended against the blue sky

Here, where nap time is not only encouraged, it’s required
Here, where I long to residebreathing in deeply while the
sun warms my face and the breeze cools my neck under my long hair.

Here, where heaven is everywhere and God makes Himself known without saying a word.
Where is your here when the noise of life becomes intrusive?

Wordless Worship Wednesday: Sunset

Image

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“Serenity Now!”

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I find myself using this phrase quite a bit when I am attempting to find my “happy place” during moments of stress. Well, I found it and it’s too good not to share with you.

Meet Rebecca. She is responsible for some of the most beautiful plants and flowers I have ever seen. Specializing in dahlias of all colors, shapes and sizes. Truly, I have yet to find their equal.

She has other various types of flowers as well. We brought home a beautiful hibiscus plant that will brighten up our front flowerbed. I have assured her I will send a picture as soon as we put it in the ground under the crape myrtles.

Rebecca is located in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina, in the town of Cashiers, near Highlands. We have driven past her sign many times and never stopped, but on this particular day, I couldn’t help myself.

With macro lens in hand, I walked up to her porch to ask if I could take a few pictures of the exquisite garden. She was hesitant at first and the more I talked to her, the more I understood.

Rebecca is not only about surviving, she is about thriving. She raised 4 children as a single parent. Three boys and one girl, they are grown now and quite successful. She takes care of this plot of heaven on earth and calls North Carolina home.

She encounters all kinds of people from day to day, especially during the summer. Most are vacationers. Fortunately, she has wonderful, faithful customers. Unfortunately, she also has people drive up and start taking pictures of her beauties without even asking and when confronted, they shove their “I’m a professional photographer” garble in her face and make false promises to send her prints.

I compare that kind of behavior to someone coming up and snapping pictures of my children without my permission and then using the pictures for personal gain. NOT okay. So you can see why she was wary of me.

I had tucked my camera away and after a few minutes, she said that I was welcome to take pictures. When I say that I could have stayed there for hours capturing every intricate detail of these elegant masterpieces with their dainty petals, I am not exaggerating. And Rebecca is beyond knowledgeable about every single flower. She speaks of each one with such passion and adoration.

All of her plants are hand watered and they only receive organic nourishment. There are no pesticides or artificial anything added to them. The soil, the fertilizer, everything is prepared in such a way that the health of the flowers and their foliage is beyond reproach.

The reason I am sharing this with you is because I almost missed it. Do you hear me? I almost missed learning about this incredible lady who worked 17 hours a day to ensure that her children were fed, clothed, educated and had more than a roof over their heads.

Now, her fingernails stained with rich soil and her hands evident of the work she does, she tends to her gardens and shares the beauty of creation with anyone who wishes to partake. If you are in Cashiers, NC, you must stop by Rebecca’s Natural Gardens. Make sure you don’t miss the gift as I almost did and be sure to stay awhile and bask in her wisdom of God’s creation!

Below are pictures of my top 5 favorites. I was going to do 3, but it was too difficult to choose. And I thought 10 was too many. SO, here they are, in no particular order.

This is a dinner plate dahlia. It was larger than 10 inches and can grow to 12 inches around. Hence the name, dinner plate dahlia. I was completely enamored of it.

Look at the colors…the vibrant center. The camera doesn’t do them justice.

This is one of my favorites. We have a front row seat to the intoxicated bumblebee from the nectar of this flower. Clearly he prefers to only eat organic.

Magnificent

Clicking on a picture will open the gallery and allow you to scroll through. If you love a picture, please leave a comment under the one you like the most.
I’m a words of affirmation girl.

Magnificent
wild fushia
Look at the colors…the vibrant center. The camera doesn’t do them justice.
Stunning

1-Minute Meditation: Choice

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IT’S QUIET.
It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep.
The day is coming.
In a few moments the day will arrive.
It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun.
The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day.
The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race.
The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions
to be made and deadlines to be met.
For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands.
It is now that I must make a choice.
Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I choose love . . .
No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness.
I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.

I choose joy . . .
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical . . . the tool of the lazy thinker.
I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God.
I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than
an opportunity to see God.

I choose peace . . .
I will live forgiven.
I will forgive so that I may live.

I choose patience . . .
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so.
Rather than complain that the wait is too long,
I will thank God for a moment to pray.
Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments,
I will face them with joy and courage.

I choose kindness . . .
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
Kind to the rich, for they are afraid.
And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I choose goodness . . .
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one.
I will be overlooked before I will boast.
I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I choose faithfulness . . .
Today I will keep my promises.
My debtors will not regret their trust.
My associates will not question my word.
My wife [husband] will not question my love.
And my children will never fear that
their father [mother] will not come home.

I choose gentleness . . .
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.

I choose self-control . . .
I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.
I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control.
I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith.
I will be influenced only by God.
I will be taught only by Christ.
I choose self-control.

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.

From When God Whispers Your Name
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1994) Max Lucado

 For the pdf version click here

More Meditations:
1-Minute Meditation: Jesus
1-Minute Meditation: Affirmation
1-Minute Meditation: Fear
1-Minute Meditation: Awareness
1-Minute Meditation: Merton Prayer
1-Minute Meditation: Focus
1-Minute Meditation: Peace