This past weekend while I was wandering around the farm checking on a few new happenings (some cute, fuzzy, news coming up tomorrow!) I started using the viewfinder on our camera instead of the LCD screen. Just trying it out. I’ve got my eye on a new Nikon D5100, but my coffee can savings bank still has a lot more rattle than rustle in in. And I haven’t maxed out the abilities of our current camera anyway.

The view finder gives you a much different perspective on things.

And I thought about Ann Voskamp’s 1,000 Gifts (which I highly recommend!) where she said (I’m paraphrasing here) the only way to truly slow time down, is to practice gratitude. When you’re grateful for every moment, then you’re truly, fully present in every moment and can get the most out of it.

I actually didn't even know I captured the female in this picture until I went to edit it!

If you turn that around, I think it means that if you’re constantly rushing from lessons to sports to clubs, eating out because you’re too busy to cook, watching TV because you’re too tired to read, or buying new clothes because you’re too busy mend or iron what you have…then you’re letting what little time you have slip through your fingers.

A full life and a busy life are not the same thing.

The definition of "encroachment."

And I thought of Psalms 46. This is where “be still and know that I am God” (vs. 10) comes from. But the rest of that Psalm is full of hard action. Waters roar, mountains shake, heathens rage…We are to be still, not everything around us. The Word doesn’t say run away to a place that is still. God’s Word is talking about our spirits being still, not our lives. Everything around us can bustle and hum and thrive and race and strive…we’re suppose to stillness inside.

As much as I may strive to create a peace-on-earth within my home, within my fences, within my property lines…it’s all in vain unless it starts within my heart.

Time marches onward.

And I thought of how we have to train our children to cultivate stillness.

Stillness is not just about being quiet (oh, how the Cowboy struggles with this one!) it’s about emotional maturity and self-control.  It’s about spiritual consistency and faith. It’s about patience and humility.

It’s steadfast. It’s resilient. It’s firm in the face of external challenges.

It’s something I’m still learning to cultivate for myself.

Blue lynch pin--sounds like a media company name.

I never understood the fullness of grace until I was a parent. Only through unfailing grace and mercy can someone as flawed as me ever hope to raise up something wonderful for the Kingdom.

HE has what I need, when I don’t have what they need.

See how philosophical you can get when your walking alone down a farm path on a dreary day? {grin}