The owl.

The day had been long...

And sometimes I just like to take a minute...  realize what the Lord is trying to say to me...   and let the words in my heart come of out of my fingers.

Just give account to how much Jesus really.. really does love us.

Big or small. Bold or silent.  Young or old.

We had finally made it home...  after such a day! Busy as most are...  My bed was actually in sight as I pulled in the driveway a few weeks ago. Jonah had been talking about a toy he liked...  and asking if he actually had to take a bath that night. (As boys always do!) ... Upon telling him, "Of course he did.." and taking him out of his carseat...  My eyes caught sight of something ... extraordinary. 

At the very end of our driveway...  sitting on a powerline...   with a streetlight shining ever so brightly down on it...   was a beautiful ... massive white owl.

It took my breath away.

I had never seen one in real life.

I instantly called my husband to come look as Jonah and I stood in complete awe of this magnificent creature. 

We walked very slowly towards it and it wasn't until I got closer.... that I realized sitting right under it on the street was a small orange cat ...also amazed by the bird.

I'm a photographer...  and I was awestruck.  On most occasions I would have grabbed a camera and went to town... But, for some reason.. I couldn't move...

We watched it for several minutes... and then in one giant leap it spread those wings...  and took flight.

Wow.  It was so beautiful...

Jeremy picked up Jonah and took him inside...   But me.. I just stood there a while...  Looking up... remembering what we had just seen.

 And that's when I noticed...

The cat.

It was still there.

I really looked this time...   It's tail had been bobbed...   it's face was scratched and mangled... so skinny and in complete honesty...  it was the saddest looking animal I had seen in a while. I'm not sure why but instead of a normal cat-like meow... It let out  a sort of squeak... 

I bent down to touch it's head... and it backed up quickly...

I thought... "Poor little thing...   It's wild."

I walked down the driveway...   opened the trunk and began unloading my vehicle...  I noticed the cat didn't leave. It just kept watching me..

Right before closing up for the night...   I put a tiny pile of cat food that Jonah told me to keep for a new pet he was wanting.  I shut the door... and watched the cat devour it through the window.

The next night,  the little cat came again and this time inching a tad bit closer.

Then the next night it came back....  and the next...  and the next...  and I started to notice the scratches were healing...   and it was putting on weight.

I have never given the cat a name...    She wasn't mine.  She's been wild.

But tonight, before coming in...  I sat down outside... I took a few breaths of the cool crisp air...   I needed just a few moments of silence after a long day.

Then I heard it.

Right behind me... a familiar squeaking.  I turned around and noticed the cat...

...she walked up, sat down right beside me and looked straight up at me.

I knew I'd made a friend.

And there was an unsaid gladness that just filled me.  I never tried to pet her...   But sitting beside her...  I heard her purring.

That's when I really saw the big picture...

Even though that owl caught the attention of my eyes...   It wasn't the owl that needed me.

And really,  It wasn't the owl that makes this story beautiful.

After nights of watching that  little cat grow ....she had caught the attention of my heart.

And I thought... That's how Jesus must feel about us.

So many of our lives will never glisten like those white wings in the moonlight.  But in that little mangled animal...  so hungry...  so scared to get close...  scars and scratches...  and yet, in all of our imperfection....

HE is hope.

We make His heart glad.

And He is so patient with us..  He waits as we inch nearer and nearer.

He sits quietly...  As we in learn to put our trust in Him. 

Then finally, it's so good...   just to sit close to Him. 

Just to be near him.

For what a friend we have in Jesus.

Awakening...

GC@2013

I've had more free time in the past few days than I've had in a very...very long time.

Jonah has spent some time with my parents...I've battled a little over the past few weeks. Tooth problem. Infections. Now Strep throat...

Not fun.

And the question from the human in us says..  "Well, when it rains... It pours."    Or...  "There is so much to do!! I have no time to feel bad!"

I think I've  done more staring at the ceiling in the past few days than I would normally in two lifetimes.

And then today... Something happened. 

I had a little awakening.

Jeremy had already left for work...  Jonah wasn't there... 

It was so quiet and I noticed my bible had slid down between my bed and nightstand. I got down and picked it up...

 And a memory came to me.

I used to sit on the floor beside my bed.. on the left side...exactly where I was at that moment... In the house I grew up in ...and read that precious... precious book in the middle of the day so often.

It wasn't that my Mom never put chairs in my room. She did... It's just that's always where I ended up.

Today, I ran my fingers over the faded leather of the cover and recalled the countless times I had met the Master in the still of a little girls room.

I heard a song the other day..

They'll be hilltops I'll have to climb..

And rivers I'll have cross...

They'll be trials that I won't understand...

But there will always be... Grace sufficient for me...

Until He Comes again...

... Right then and there I sat down and opened up my bible.

And I can't explain this...  Not really... 

But in the stillness of the morning it was like returning to meet a dear old friend.  And I realized, sometimes the Lord's ways are not our own. They do not fit our understanding or our schedules.

Even loving our families... And serving them...

It was good to take myself back... Where it began for me... to sit at the foot of that rugged cross... 

He saw a need...  That I hadn't seen...

The Creator of this great and vast universe knew that I needed a little bit of time with just Him.

I have been so caught up in a fast pace...

Today it was almost as if I could make the words of Jesus  a reality... "Come unto me... All who are weary and heavy laden... And I will give you rest."

And when sleep wasn't enough...

The Lord gave me rest.

Healing and rest.

His Grace is truly sufficient for me.

GC@2013

Bringing in Wedding Season 2012!!!

green apples

Tonight...   I came in from taking pictures.

Not unusual. 

I uploaded them from my camera.

I put Jonah's pajamas on.

I grabbed a glass of water from my kitchen...   

And while I was drinking it...   gazing off into the wild blue yonder... 

I noticed a bowl of ripe green apples... I'd bought earlier this week sitting on my stove top.

I could almost taste that apple...   

I wanted one.  So badly.

But with much to do... I ignored my craving.

I got Jonah into bed.

I straightened up his room.

I checked on my pictures.

Thirty or so minutes went by...  

I jumped on facebook...

I ran to take the towels out of the dryer and as I passed by the kitchen.

There they were again.

green apples.

I don't even like green apples... and I wanted one so badly.

And once again...  I resisted the craving.

Two hours later...   While I was wiping off the kitchen counter...  and turning off lights.

I walked over to the stove...  and decided to indulge in a tasty apple.. 

I wanted one so badly.

As my hand reached for the bowl...    I felt extreme heat.

My senses jumped awake.

I checked the stove...

The burner had been left on.

If I would have looked closer earlier...  

I would have noticed that the second row of apples were completely cooked.

 It was very... very hot.  

I instantly grabbed the fruit bowl off the stove... and turned the burner down.

And then it hit me.

It really... really hit me.

God had been taking care of me.

He was watching over myself and my little family.

He was the one that had made those apples suddenly look so appetizing.

I sat down a moment..    and I just had to thank him.

The ruler of the universe.... took a moment in his busy schedule... 

To watch over ...a little nothing like me.

The burner had been on for several hours... and possibly could have burned down our home...  in the middle of the night. 

It was a grasp of reality for me.. 

Not just the green apples... 

The thought...   how many other times...  has the Lord tried to use my hearing... 

or my sight.. 

or my touch... 

....to change a situation.

To save a life.

Thank you, Lord... for those green apples and the understanding that came with them.

Help me to never doubt you have complete control over my life...   

and never fear what the next moment may hold.

But to trust you... 

And to be still...  and listen.

...six little princesses

I've realized that my entire life revolves around toy trains..   baseball bats... 

 cowboy hats...   trucks...  and slimy froggies.

...and as much as I love it, somewhere deep inside of me...

I long for tea parties..   silk ribbons..    and bouncy curls. 

This day I got the opportunity to work with SIX precious little ladies.

 I wanted to sit back and drink it all in.

If any of you...have ALL boys ... or only one "real" boy.

You know exactly what I'm talking about ... and you're

smiling right now...   and probably  nodding your head.

We love our rough little men.

But, the little girl in all of us...    if we admit it...     still walks past the aisle

in the toystore with the china dolls...      and runs our fingers over the

 pink tiny purses to go with those dressup clothes.

So I'm saving a spot in my heart...   for my "someday little girl"...

I can only hope she'll be as precious... 

and adorable.. 

and funny..

as these six.

~

{Kenny & Laurin}...

...They got sunshine...  on a cloudy day.

Laurin & Kenny... were so adorable.

Here we are in Northern Louisiana, we've been going through an extreme drought.

So it looks like this special couple got one of the best gifts of all...

...RAIN. 



I have to give it to them...   Instead of watching the rain fall..

We grabbed umbrellas and headed out.. to catch these priceless moments.

I LOVED it.

Guys,

You were beautiful and amazing.
May God bless you.. richly.

{Andrew & Anna}....

A portion of your soul has been
entwined with mine.
 A gentle kind of togetherness, while separate we stand. As two trees deeply rooted in separate plots
 of ground, while their topmost branches come together,
forming a miracle of lace against the heavens.

-Janet Miles

Anna & Andrew...

You are a beautiful couple...

May God lead you... and guide you on this brand new journey.

Thank you both for letting me be a part of your special day.

With love,

Genesis