blossoming – JAM, A Day In My Life

I took myself on a wonderful walk through Riverwalk in Hillsborough, North Carolina. It was a glorious spring day in the middle of February. I put in my headphones, cranked up my walking music and really enjoyed the day.

I enjoy walking once I get myself out there; it is the getting myself out there that sometimes is the challenge. Just laziness or procrastination, if I am honest. This is my time, my time to commune with God. Nothing deep – just me sharing how I feel, what is happening in my world, questions, concerns and such – – you know – Praying

“And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there; none other has ever known. “

As I became tired, I found a comfy bench and sat down. In another day and time, I may have been a cat. I love to sit and bask in the sun. The warmth of its rays on my skin invigorates me, lifts my mood and just feels good. As I closed my eyes and tilted my face up into the sun; I felt the love of the Son beaming down on me, and I soaked it in.

As I sat there I began to think of His goodness and His love for me.

As a photographer the camera allows me to express myself, to show and express the beauty and love of life around us. During photo shoots I work to put the client at easy, compliment them and help them to feel beautiful. Most times, the lens is not focused on me. I am too quick to find my faults or “I wish this was different” items. But as I sat there in the sun, with the Son all I felt was His love and His reminder of how He sees me.

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. ” Psalm 139:14

And I allowed myself, to see me as His beautiful creation.

As the Lord encouraged me, I would like to encourage you…. see your own beauty. Stop being so quick to see or point out the negative. We all have something that we would like to change or could work on, work on it. But let your focus be on encouraging yourself, taking care of yourself, sticking up for yourself and LOVING YOURSELF.

Be a source of inspiration and encouragement for others. People face things in their lives that tear them down and cause them to feel negatively about who they are or who they can be. Let your life, your voice, your very countenance be one of hope, encouragement, and show forth the love that God shines on all of us. Be the sunshine in someone else’s day.

Sometimes you have to simplify in order to expand….

There is a churning in my spirit that kind of seems to defy words. A yearning to launch out, to expand, to delve deeper. So I have found myself doing a lot of introspective looking. What I found is that I have engaged in quite a few activities, projects, groups and things that draw my time. With each activity I found myself thinking the same series of questions…Does this matter to me? Does this help me reach a goal? Is this geared to my purpose? My Passion?

I found I was doing somethings on a whim, to join in or out of fun. Nothing wrong with that but I also found that those things that are my passions where being put on the back burner for these other things. This is when I realized that sometimes you have to simplify in order to expand. Simplify what I am engaged in so that I can expand and grow that which is really purposeful and meaningful for me. Pruning time.

My mind went to the Bible, John 15:2 “He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t pruning produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” Notice what He does. First, the cutting. He identifies those things that aren’t productive. Projects that are started on a whim and not leading anywhere. Groups I joined that talk about nothing. He eliminates those things that don’t point towards the purpose, plans or growth of the tree.

Next, the pruning. Growing up I had a plant, and I learned that periodically I had to nip the top of it. Clipping it this way encouraged it to be bushy and produce more blossoms. You’ll notice in that scripture that pruning is exactly what God does next. I am identifying and reevaluation those things I am passionate about, things that cause my purpose to blossom, plans, goals and hearts desires. I am being purposeful in how I proceed in these areas.

Pruning is strategic and done with a purpose and plan. How you prune has a bearing on the shape a plant take as it grows. Pruning requires vision. I am seeking God, about those precious thoughts he has towards me and the wonderful plans he has for my life, and formulating a plan for how to grow forward. To help me with this I am creating a Vision Board as a visual reminder of where I want to focus and how I plan to proceed.

At first it seemed like I was going backwards, but then I realized that pruning is about fine tuning. Honing in on what matters and planning how to carry it forward.

Pruning is necessary. Simplifying brightens the perspective and gives clarity in how to move forward.

Category: blossoming

Basking in the Sunshine

I took myself on a wonderful walk through Riverwalk in Hillsborough, North Carolina. It was a glorious spring day in the middle of February. I put in my headphones, cranked up my walking music and really enjoyed the day.

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. ” Psalm 139:14

And I allowed myself, to see me as His beautiful creation.

Pruning Is Necessary

Sometimes you have to simplify in order to expand….