thankful.

thankful.

by Kathleen Moulton ♥ 1 Comment

I was thinking about the time during my formative years when I didn’t have a good foundation.  Many times I felt like a lost soul.

But I did have structure.

We know a building is only as good as its foundation. But there’s something to be said for a tent.

The tent is a structure that can provide protection. The structure I did have in my life was to be accepted for what it was and to be thankful.

tent

Whether your house is a mansion or modest farm house, the results are the same. You have a place to go.  There is food, water, and heat.

Humans are more resilient than we think. We can really make it on very little. We have expectations that aren’t necessary for survival. I know what you’re thinking. Who wants to merely survive?

If you can make life better, do it!  But if you can’t, accept it and find the good in it.

Everyone’s life is different for many reasons. Some things you have control over. Some things you do not.

Being thankful for what you do have will give you joy. Joy is being content with what you have. It is not dependent upon circumstances. It’s a constant, steady glow that doesn’t burn too hot or too cold.  Joy gives you the proper outlook on life. It opens your heart to seeing life at all angles.

It would be later in life when I would have a good foundation. But I am thankful for the structure I had which gave me something to be thankful for.

A 3 course meal or bread and water….both satisfy hunger and thirst.

~~~

Photo Credit: Kristofer Williams / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

trees.

trees.

by Kathleen Moulton

Have you ever thought about trees?

They begin something like this:

oak

Wind, snow, rain, and sometimes, even stepping on it will not harm it.

Even if a leaf is torn, or the bark is injured, this tree will withstand the elements and grow.

Underneath, where you cannot see, is a root system that not only nourishes the tree, but anchors it.

As it grows, it will compete with mature trees for sunlight.

Nevertheless, it will grow.

tree-leaf-canopy_l

And grow.

Not overnight, mind you. But many years.

God is not in a hurry. We are.

Even if your problems seem very big, and you seem very small, be patient.

You are stronger than you think. Let your roots be anchored to something that is stable, dependable, and will feed and strengthen you.

~~~

Photo Credit:

SomeDriftwood / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

blmiers2 / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

thoughts.

thoughts.

by Kathleen Moulton

Sometimes we let our emotions guide our thoughts.

Emotions have a place in our lives.

But emotions can lead us in the wrong direction if we let them.

When we are angry or sad, things may look very bleak when in fact they might not be. Even in the darkest storms the sun is shining behind the clouds.

hope-for-the-planet_l

This is hope.

Hope for a new day, a new beginning.

But think before you act.

~~~

Photo Credit:

 

kevin dooley / Foter.com / CC BY

 

dare to believe.

dare to believe.

by Kathleen Moulton

What if around the corner, everything will change?’

a-foggy-empire-united-states-new-york-city-5th-avenue-20th-st-cold-spring-night_l

 

What if you could step into another dimension and see life very differently than you do right now?

bokeh-blind-spot-check_l

Life is more than what you see.

Today may be grim with heartache and discouragement. You may be lonely and really believe no one cares.

Things are not always as they appear.

God has figured our sadness into the equation and knows you will smile again.

What if God has your concerns taken care of? And you just are not aware of it?

~~~

Photo Credit:

WanderingtheWorld (www.LostManProject.com) / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

christianyves / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

 

expectation.

expectation.

by Kathleen Moulton

Always live with expectation.

You never know what you will find.

nest

The autumn leaves fall. But look what is revealed!

Simple pleasures make us smile.

scripture friday.

scripture friday.

by Kathleen Moulton

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 121

denali-mountain-landscape-from-alaska_l

 

 

 

Photo credit: blmiers2 / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

read.

read.

by Kathleen Moulton

Pain is everywhere. We can’t eradicate it. We can only live with it.

But how we live with it is what matters.

Sometimes, I just want to give into it. I want it to do it’s work and be done with it. Those are the times when I can’t … or I refuse … to take another breath. Just let me die.

It’s then when we see God. Not because he always reaches down and pulls us out of the despair, but because he gets down in it with us, and breathes that next breath into us. It comes in many ways. When we least expect it, something catches our eye, makes us smile, and we know God is really there.

 

book

“Ann Voskamp’s story is not happily ever after.  As a child, her sister was crushed under a truck in front of her and her mother.  Consequently, her mother checked herself into a psychiatric hospital and her father couldn’t find God.  As an adult, she stood beside her brother-in-law as he buried his first two sons.  Voskamp is a wife and mother who does not grin through the pain but battles to believe that in God is joy, and that there are as many gifts amid the grittiness of life as in the moments of celebration.”

http://www.onethousandgifts.com

the hand of God.

the hand of God.

by Kathleen Moulton

It’s easier not to see God’s hand in your life. When things go wrong (and they will), there is a tendency to only see how bad things are.

I had several days like this. You know how it is – everything accumulates. And even though I’ve known God’s hand (his presence) in my life in the past, do you think I would remember it now? Intellectually, yes. Emotionally, no. I was hurting. And often, emotion clouds thinking.

While sitting in my car at the park, waiting for my son, I noticed the piles of pine needles between the abandoned picnic tables under the pavilion.

But wait! I have been wanting pine needles (or straw) for my newly planted strawberry bed. In a week, the pleasant fall days will come to a close and the temperatures will drop.  I had spent 2 weeks thinking about the need to winterize them, along with being dismayed at 2 farm supply stores not having straw.

I opened the trunk and grabbed two re-usable grocery bags and scooped up the pine needles that were “raked” by the wind. This simple find reminded me of God’s presence in my life. And it’s always the small things, isn’t it?

flying-leaf_l

The Bible says God’s ways are not our ways. We tend to “see” God in the big things. He wants us to see him in the small things. Because these are the things that are very personal to us. He wants that kind of relationship with us.

See the hand of God in your life. If you can’t, just wait for it. He will show up. I promise.

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

I Kings 19

~~~

Photo credit: MRGT / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA