After the Rain

It's amazing what some rain can do! Today the skies are beautifully blue, the clouds are brilliant white, the ocean is sparkling... I love how rain washes everything clean and makes our world shine again. Would that we all had that ability!

I was thinking today about the church season of Lent, which started on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18th. It is often referred to as a time of renewal, a time to change things, a time to reflect. Sort of like a day of rain. The rain falls & changes our world. We can stop to reflect and evaluate where we are headed, change course if we need to and change our world.

Here are a few pics of my rainy, reflective day on Sunday.

Valentines!!!

This year we decided not to do the traditional go out to dinner with a zillion other people and spend a ton of money for Valentine's Day. Even though I LOVE to go out to eat, it just wasn't what I wanted to do. So we invited some close friends over & had dinner here at home. What better day to celebrate love than with good friends good food, good wine, good conversation and strawberry shortcake!! It was a wonderful day preparing food for us and a fantastic evening! Thanks to our friends... you know who you are!!

Stop and Watch the Sunset

One of the things I struggle a lot with is living in the moment. Enjoying what is going on right now. It is so easy for me to dwell in the past (I should have.... Why didn't I....) or to worry about the future. Being in the moment takes a bit of discipline. And being willing to slow down to see what is right in front of you. I won't say I've made great strides but...

Last week I was driving home from work and I'm sure I had a lot of things on my mind, especially that "To Do" list that runs rampant in my head. I saw the sun over the ocean near work and thought, "That's pretty," and continued driving. About half-way home I couldn't ignore the beauty any more, turned right, drove down by the cliffs and got out of the car. Luckily I have been carrying my DSLR with me. I did spend some time enjoying the semi-foggy sky, the clouds, the play of the sun on the water, the set of waves coming ashore. The darker it got, the more the cliff stood out in dark relief from the water and the sunset. I was happy to be able to capture (a lot) of photos while enjoying the beauty. This is one of my favorites from that evening.

Sometimes, the dialogue  in my head just needs to be put on silent mode long enough to enjoy the silence. Seek out the beauty in your silence.