2021 Home Photo Challenge 2-6-21

The Home Photo Challenge was fun for me last year. Since I do not think much is going to be changing for me in the way of travel this year, I am going to continue the challenge for myself into 2021. This year I am going to add a little twist. I will give a brief description of each photo I take and write a Haiku to go along with it

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUN.JUST TAKE A PHOTO IN OR AROUND YOUR HOME AND WRITE YOUR OWN BLOG AND POST THE LINK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW IT.

This little Christmas bell blows in the winter wind adding it’s music to our sphere.

Winter bell rings on.

Beyond the Christmas season

Makes winter less bleak.

It Takes a Little Longer Now

Those of you who follow me closely know that at the beginning of this year I made some changes to my artistic and blogging priorities. Over that last few years I have really been consumed with the idea of building an audience.

Photo by Wendy Wei on Pexels.com

Someone told me that was important for the writing portion of my life. Platform Size! Platform Size! Platform Size!

For some reason I listened and it has taken God a while to break through that false word….

Last year I was posting at least four times a day and I was garnering several hundred hits a day….but it felt really empty. I was getting more hits than ever and loads of likes but I felt most of the time like I was running alone.

Photo by Maksim Romashkin on Pexels.com

In my prayer time at the end of 2020 God showed me that none of my work is done for the size of my audience. It is done for the glory of God and to build a community that brings honor to Him.

Photo by Dio Hasbi Saniskoro on Pexels.com

Community does not depend on numbers or on likes. It depends on relationship, collaboaration and communication among other things.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE IMPORTANT BUILDING BLOCKS OF COMMUNITY IN YOUR MIND?

So I had to shift the way I blog, and that has further shifted the way I live. If it is about relationship, collaboration and communication then it cannot be about hits and likes. It has to be about conversations…. and sooooo……

Photo by William Fortunato on Pexels.com

I have had to slow things down. I have had to post less, and post more conversationally. I have had to start reading more with the mindset of finding those posts I want to comment on.

It takes a little longer now to blog this way. I get less hits….fewer likes…..fewer bloggers are reading my work….but more of you who do read are commenting and I am entering into some interesting conversations and some have even begun to private message me to have side conversations over things we have discovered in common.

I am not saying the way I did it before was wrong and now I am doing it right. I am saying what I was focusing on before was not working FOR ME. What I am doing now is working FOR ME. In the end this is about ministry, artistry and community. I fell like I lost sight of that for a while.

I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ABOUT HOW YOUR BLOGGING HAS CHANGED OVER TIME.

2021 Home Photo Challenge 2-5-21

The Home Photo Challenge was fun for me last year. Since I do not think much is going to be changing for me in the way of travel this year, I am going to continue the challenge for myself into 2021. This year I am going to add a little twist. I will give a brief description of each photo I take and write a Haiku to go along with it

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUN.JUST TAKE A PHOTO IN OR AROUND YOUR HOME AND WRITE YOUR OWN BLOG AND POST THE LINK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW IT.

The last remnants of a dead tree stuck in the antique hydrangeas. I have two more trees in this area of the lot I want to take down. The Conservation Commission is slowing up the process.

Life cycles move on.

Regardless of our wishes,

Old trees will still fall.

2021 Home Photo Challenge 2-4-21

The Home Photo Challenge was fun for me last year. Since I do not think much is going to be changing for me in the way of travel this year, I am going to continue the challenge for myself into 2021. This year I am going to add a little twist. I will give a brief description of each photo I take and write a Haiku to go along with it

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUN.JUST TAKE A PHOTO IN OR AROUND YOUR HOME AND WRITE YOUR OWN BLOG AND POST THE LINK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW IT.

The bones of the trees can be seen best in winter.

Fingers reaching out

To grasp the snow, tell the truth

Of trees’ intentions.

Sudden Shifts, Big Problems and How God Helps Us Overcome Them All

This has been a year of seismic shifting for the whole world. It’s left all of us feeling a bit out of breath and a bit cracked. It’s left us reeling at the sudden shifts in culture and the big problems those shifts have seemingly caused.

Photo by Maria Tyutina on Pexels.com

Here’s the thing….all of this is part of God’s plan and if we can accept it, it is happening for our blessing. Not that it is all a blessing but…we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Sometimes I doubt that verse…DO YOU EVER DOUBT THE PROMISES OF SCRIPTURE?

Well when I find myself in doubt I have learned a few habits that help me regain my equilibrium. HERE ARE FOUR:

  1. I PULL MYSELF BACK, AND TAKE A BREAK UNTIL I CAN LOOK DOWN ON THE PROBLEM RATHER THAN LIVING IN THE PROBLEM.
Photo by Shaan Johari on Pexels.com

2. I REALIZE WHILE THE WORLD MOVES FAST I DON’T HAVE TOO. I SLOW DOWN AND TAKE THE TIME I NEED TO MAKE THE DECISIONS I NEED TO MAKE.

3. I REALIZE THAT SMALL SUCCESSFUL STEPS ARE BETTER THAN BIG MISSTEPS. SO I FIND A SMALL STEP I CAN TAKE.

4. PART OF MY PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS IS TO REALIZE THAT SOME PROBLEMS ARE NOT MINE TO SOLVE. SO I FIGURE OUT WHICH PARTS OF THE PROBLEM CAN BE SOLVED BY MY GIFTS MIX AND WHICH PARTS I NEED TO ASK HELP FROM OUTSIDE.

There are other habits too, but for the sake of space we’ll stop here. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.

2021 At the Vicarage Week #5

Jan. 29th– Final day of quarantine! Freedom lies before us…..It has always been within us.

Photo by Snapwire on Pexels.com

Jan. 30th– Today was our first day out of quarantine.

I did the grocery shopping which was very exciting for me. I love grocery shopping. Then Amanda and I had a meeting with our lead Pastor. He has felt the leading of the Lord to a new church in Tennessee. He will be leaving on Feb. 14th.

Once again I must consider whether the time has come for me to let my name stand for the position of lead pastor of Cornerstone.

Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com

Jan. 31st.– Pastor Dan preached the final sermon of the 21 Days of Fasting and Prayer….Souls Saved and Lives Changed…..

Afterwards he resigned officially to the board in the presence of our Network Superintendent. I was asked to meet with Pastor Nick afterwards just to get to know him and to lay out a timeline for the move forward. This is a season of honoring the Lewiston family for their work among us and prayer to discover God’s plan for what is next.

I am sensing this is heading in a certain direction for me. The road before me is set by God who has ordained the path from the beginning. I will walk into His will.

Photo by Johannes Plenio on Pexels.com

Feb. 1st– Big storm coming in today.

Feb. 2nd– The phone calls and FB Messages have begun picking up with people asking me what my intentions are as to Cornerstone Church. I am trusting myself to the process.

Ray Parker came to help us clean out our driveways……BIG SNOW!

Feb. 3rd– Pastor Dan and I hosted The Wall Prayer Meeting tonight.

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FCornerstoneChurchWinchendon%2Fvideos%2F260456439033312%2F&show_text=false&width=560

Afterward we talked until about 10 P.M. I am going to miss our conversations .

Feb. 4th– Music lessons this morning and then grocery shopping with a lady from church tonight.

2021 Home Photo Challenge 2-3-21

The Home Photo Challenge was fun for me last year. Since I do not think much is going to be changing for me in the way of travel this year, I am going to continue the challenge for myself into 2021. This year I am going to add a little twist. I will give a brief description of each photo I take and write a Haiku to go along with it

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUN.JUST TAKE A PHOTO IN OR AROUND YOUR HOME AND WRITE YOUR OWN BLOG AND POST THE LINK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW IT.

An ice sculpture has grown by the Vicarage squirrel corner

Blue and green and white

Thousands of frozen droplets

Tell winter’s stories.

2021 Home Photo Challenge 2-2-21

The Home Photo Challenge was fun for me last year. Since I do not think much is going to be changing for me in the way of travel this year, I am going to continue the challenge for myself into 2021. This year I am going to add a little twist. I will give a brief description of each photo I take and write a Haiku to go along with it

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUN.JUST TAKE A PHOTO IN OR AROUND YOUR HOME AND WRITE YOUR OWN BLOG AND POST THE LINK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW IT.

The Vicarage after a Nor’Easter

Nor’Easter blowing.

Winds paint the sides of houses.

Hope in crystal form.

Share Your World 2-1-21

Great Scott! We have already accomplished one whole month of this new year!!!! We have walked through 4 share your worlds already and today it is time to SHARE OUR WORLDS for a fifth time in 2021.

sywheart2021

In case you do not know, Share Your World is a weekly challenged hosted by SPARKS FROM A COMBUSTIBLE MIND. In this challenge Melanie asks us several questions and in answering them we all share our worlds! This week’s questions and my answers are found below. Once you have read my answers please hop on over to Sparks… to see what Melanie’s other contributors have said.

NOW ON TO THE QUESTIONS……

If the government offered to suspend all laws, and law enforcement for 24 hours, letting you (and everybody else) do whatever you wish… Would you be in favor of it, or not?  (Credit for this question goes to Cyranny and her Daily Quickie Question)

OH HECK NO! We have seen what can happen in less than twenty four hours when law enforcement and laws were still in place. How much more dissipation would there be without any safe guards in place?

What would be the creepiest thing you could say while passing a stranger on the street? (We’re suspending the whole social distancing and Covid involvement in this scenario)

Ummm….Yeah…..I will not be upping my creep factor by answering this question.

As a child, what did you think would be great about being an adult, but isn’t as great as you thought it would be?

Somehow I thought making my own decisions would be a lot cooler than it is. Things look so black and white when you are young. The older you get the more you understand that most decision do not fall into the strictly right or wrong category. There is lots of gray in the world.

What, in your opinion, has been blown way out of proportion?

The importance of opinion.

Gratitude Section (Optional as always)

Where is your ‘happy’ place?  My happy place is the prayer place.

2021 Home Photo Challenge 2-1-21

The Home Photo Challenge was fun for me last year. Since I do not think much is going to be changing for me in the way of travel this year, I am going to continue the challenge for myself into 2021. This year I am going to add a little twist. I will give a brief description of each photo I take and write a Haiku to go along with it

IF YOU WANT TO JOIN IN THE FUN.JUST TAKE A PHOTO IN OR AROUND YOUR HOME AND WRITE YOUR OWN BLOG AND POST THE LINK IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW IT.

The clouds over the catywhompus garden

Clouds flying above

The Catywhompus garden,

Speak of coming storms