peace – Page 9 – Sugar And Spice… Among Other Things

A part of HIS Canvas

Posted on December 1, 2019August 11, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations.” (1 Chronicles 16:24)

Entering into the final month of the year, winter brings forth a lot of pleasant memories, realizations, personal goals as well as soul time for family, friends and self. Though every winter may differ from the previous, this season gives a chance for one to reflect their own canvas of life and the wonderful works done by His Hand.

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

From the rich fields of green fresh with the smell of the spring to the bare beauty and quiet of winter; one learns to appreciate life as God teaches us through the seasons. Every day is a fresh start to learn something new from own experience or through the perspective of the other. Nature itself has a lot of wonders to show and teach us. From the bare headed trees of winter to the flowers that flourish through the winter, each season has something that proves that if one really wants to, one can survive and come through with flying colours, against all odds. For it depends on how much one believes in own self and in His Mighty Works. Faith no matter how simple it sounds, has the more power than mustard seed or even dynamite.

“How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” (Psalm 104:24)

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

God The Artist
By Angela Morgan

God, when you thought of a pine tree,
How did you think of a star?
How did you dream of the Milky Way
To guide us from afar.
How did you think of a clean brown pool
Where flecks of shadows are?

God, when you thought of a cobweb,
How did you think of dew?
How did you know a spider’s house
Had shingles bright and new?
How did you know the human folk
Would love them like they do?

God, when you patterned a bird song,
Flung on a silver string,
How did you know the ecstasy
That crystal call would bring?
How did you think of a bubbling throat
And a darling speckled wing?

God, when you chiseled a raindrop,
How did you think of a stem,
Bearing a lovely satin leaf
To hold the tiny gem?
How did you know a million drops
Would deck the morning’s hem?

Why did you mate the moonlit night
With the honeysuckle vines?
How did you know Madeira bloom
Distilled ecstatic wines?
How did you weave the velvet disk
Where tangled perfumes are?
God, when you thought of a pine tree,
How did you think of a star?

More Angela Morgan

Source:https://vk.com/monahos

Family and Society, Life, Personal Musings, poetry, Reflections

More than Imprints

Posted on November 25, 2019July 29, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

These days, while driving for an out of the town workshop ( with attendance made compulsory from the head boss); the hassles faced in mapping out the course or drive isn’t as big as compared to any similar happening, lets say, around twenty years ago. With Google giving the directions, vehicles equipped with navigation, phones that function as maps and better roads; on the whole venturing into a new territory isn’t met with fear of getting lost anymore.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Rewinding back to those years, one relied on the passerby who were generous with their navigation advice and sense of direction. Many a time, getting on the wrong road resulted in one stepping out at the local roadside shop, asking for specific directions, enjoying a good cup of coffee and then heading back on the road with fresh directions and in better spirits. Those better spirits are in part, from the print left behind by those around us. Though these days, Google helps us to navigate; there are still imprints left behind.

“I am grateful for every precious moment life offers me. It allows me to see the miracle in each experience.” Emmanuel Dagher

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

From the numerous social interactions that we all experience, few stay on the mind stronger than before. May be it could be attached with pleasantness, a warm feeling and happiness or peace within; while other imprints may leave a bitter feel. Which ever way, we all leave our imprints in different ways. Just like the fellow passerby of yesteryear, when one chooses to leave behind heart-prints ( not just imprints) it makes life more beautiful. Over the years, as one realizes the more heart-prints one leaves behind, the treasure chest of memories, happiness and peace with contentment can be experienced in every waking hour.

“Every day in every way we are leaving our mark.” Rachael Bermingham

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Heartprints
Author Unknown

Whatever our hands touch –
We leave fingerprints!
On walls, on furniture
On doorknobs, dishes, books.
There’s no escape.
As we touch we leave our identity.

Wherever I go today
Help me leave heartprints!
Heartprints of compassion
Of understanding and love.

Heartprints of kindness
And genuine concern.
May my heart touch a lonely neighbor
Or a runaway daughter
Or an anxious mother
Or perhaps an aged grandfather.

Send me out today
To leave heartprints.
And if someone should say,
“I felt your touch,”
May they also sense the love
that is deep within my heart.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Christian, Daily, poetry, Reflections

His Peace at Heart

Posted on November 24, 2019August 6, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11)

As the weekend had approached, there was a sense of restlessness going stronger with each passing hour. Come the weekend, it was no better. Saturday was enveloped in preparing for the neighbourhood Christmas programme amidst the weekend chores. With the fellowship meeting at church on the same evening, is when the unrest slowly began to cease. One of the best places to unwind and cast the cares of the world onto His Hands, is the better ways of being in peace within.

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Inner peace is at times, an abstract term. After a week of confrontations, debates, schedules being completed or reschedules and redefined; each person needs an outlet to recharge, rejuvenate and relax. While some of us may find it in a book, few in the company of good friends in different relaxed surroundings, others following their creative interests and the rest seeking happiness in their home nest; the Christian peace is obtained through prayer and casting the burdens in His Hands. Such peace leaves not only one feeling content within but blessed by His Love and His Mercy. As nature, life and His Words have taught; inner peace mayn’t be as the world sees it, but as long as your heart and mind is at rest, one is happy. May His peace be in each of our lives and stay with us.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Peace
By Bessie Rayner Parkes

The steadfast coursing of the stars,
The waves that ripple to the shore,
The vigorous trees which year by year
Spread upwards more and more;

The jewel forming in the mine,
The snow that falls so soft and light,
The rising and the setting sun,
The growing glooms of night;

All natural things both live and move
In natural peace that is their own;
Only in our disordered life
Almost is she unknown.

She is not rest, nor sleep, nor death;
Order and motion ever stand
To carry out her firm behests
As guards at her right hand.

And something of her living force
Fashions the lips when Christians say
To Him Whose strength sustains the world,
“Give us Thy Peace, we pray!”

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

Daily, Family and Society, Life, poetry, Quotes, Random Thoughts

Little…but Add Up

Posted on November 22, 2019July 28, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together.” George Eliot

After the long two hour commute was dragged to three hours by being held up in the traffic, the mental list of “things to do” kept on going longer than the usual. Consequently while walking into home after doing the daily grocery shopping, instead of the expected mess in the kitchen, it was a pleasant surprise to witness the orderliness at the domestic front. With my “better half” in charge, the kids had instructed me to put my feet and to enjoy the hot steaming cup of Joe. Though eventually the domestic front had to be tackled, the few minutes of silence and solitude improved the frame of mind.

“The small things of life were often so much bigger than the great things . . . the trivial pleasure like cooking, one’s home, little poems especially sad ones, solitary walks, funny things seen and overheard.” Barbara Pym

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

One never realizes the importance of the little events of the day that stay etched in the mind. The recollections turn up at the most unusual moments. For the inner strength during difficult moments, the support when the temporary setbacks mount up and the drive to go ahead, all have few of their rots in the little moments of life, which now become among the treasured memories of happiness to give comfort and light for the rainy days.

“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

The Little Things
Mary Dawson Hughes

It really is the little things
That mean the most of all…
The “let me help you with that” things
That may seem very small
The “I’ll be glad to do it” things
That make your cares much lighter,
The “laugh with me, it’s funny” things
That make your outlook brighter…

The “never mind the trouble” things,
The “yes, I understand,”
The interest and encouragement
In everything you’ve planned
It really is the little things,
The friendly word or smile,
That add such happiness to life
And make it more worth while.

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Daily, Life, poetry, Quotes, Random Thoughts

Silent to Listen

Posted on November 20, 2019July 26, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“We went down into the silent garden. Dawn is the time when nothing breathes, the hour of silence. Everything is transfixed, only the light moves.” Leonora Carrington

With rising rays bringing forth the day, when the world around is absent of the daily noise from the street, appliances and speech; the music of nature can be heard. From the distant chirping of the birds to the quiet flutter of the leaves, fall of the coloured leaves and the fleeing swish of the patio curtains by the wandering breeze; all highlight how many things can be heard when the fruitless chatter ceases and one learns to listen.

“I tried to discover, in the rumor of forests and waves, words that other men could not hear, and I pricked up my ears to listen to the revelation of their harmony.” Gustave Flaubert

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Reflecting back, there may be many instances when one may have lost out on not really listening. Missed notes during meetings or sessions, wrong information imparted, silent indicators to the tenuousness of relationships and worse, misinterpretations as a consequence of the impatience attached to listening and the constant hurry. On the other hand, there have been occasions wherein one keeps silent when the right words would have been necessary to set things right. The pans on the balance may swing on either side.

Yet many are on the chase, than learning to listen, learn from the silence and live the dream. As one ages, the realization that the constant run may cause one to miss out on what has been there along the road. By the time, one realizes that we do need to stop at the right rest points to rejuvenate; the path travelled may have gone too far away from the right course. While the old bones try to remap their course and regain the silence to refresh; the younger ones should learn to appreciate their silent sources at hand, which help one to grow, rejuvenate and learn from the yesteryear.

“Silence is a source of Great Strength.” Lao Tzu

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Learn To Be Quiet
You need not do anything.
Remain sitting at your table and listen.
You need not even listen, just wait.
You need not even wait,
just learn to be quiet, still and solitary.
And the world will freely offer itself to you unmasked.
It has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
– Franz Kafka

Source:https://vk.com/thesemagicmoments

Christian, Daily, poetry, Reflections

Reach Out and Pray

Posted on November 17, 2019July 31, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Trust the unknown to His Hands of the Known”

During the days when things go wrong, such that one feels that the whole world is conspiring against them; it is certain words or emotions that echo through the mind preserving the sanctity and peace. Lost adrift in the rising tide, the options are stark. Cry for help, reach out for the help, cry and splash around in the water drowning in the process or remember HIS Words and pray for HIS Help to hold on to and find a way out.

As one tries to find a wave in the sea to ride along and get back the bearings; reaching out for His Known Hand may be what makes the difference in catching the wave, which helps one to reach the shore safely.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ( Jeremiah 29:11)

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

A Plea To The Lord
Rosemary Ammar

I woke up on Monday and looked up at the sky
With a pain in my heart and tears in my eyes
I said “Lord, please help me, I don’t know what to do.
I lost my job, I need some help, I have no one but you.”

The Lord looked down upon me with sadness in his eyes.
“The world is in a sorry state and I apologize.
For all the pain it’s caused you, there’s just one thing I’ll say:
“It’s okay to cry my child, but don’t forget to pray.”

I woke up on Tuesday and looked up at the sky
With a pain in my heart and tears in my eyes
I said “Lord please help me, I don’t know what to do.
The food is scarce, the kids are sick, I have no one but you.

The week dragged by thru Saturday and things seemed worse each day.
I remembered what the Lord said: “It’s okay to cry, but pray”
So I cried and prayed, I cried and prayed, with no relief in sight.
And I went to bed exhausted but couldn’t sleep that night.

I woke up on Sunday and looked up at the sky
With pain in my heart and tears in my eyes
I said “Lord I’ve had enough and I’m about to break
I think I might just end it all, for everybody’s sake.”

“I’ve not deserted you my child, I’ve counted every tear
Your burdens, although heavy, are not more than you can bear
Soon the sun will warm your face and make you smile again
So rest a little easier and trust in me till then.”

Then the Lord reached down and held me in his arms
With a gentle hand he wiped my tears and spoke these words so calm
“My child I love you dearly and have heard you pray your best
But there is no crying on Sunday, it is the day of rest.

I’ve heard you cry, I’ve heard you pray and I will not desert you
Your faith in Me will get you through these tragedies that hurt you.
So rest today and worry not and leave the rest to me
If you do that, I can promise you, the best is yet to be.”

Source:https://vk.com/slideshowarts

Christian, Daily, Reflections, Stories Around the World

Of Faith and Prayer

Posted on November 10, 2019July 11, 2019 by Sugar and Spice..... Among Other Things

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)

Lost opportunities, being unemployed, opportunities being cut down and so on. What drives one to go through the difficult times ? While it is true that the core inner will and perseverance may be strong; yet the pillar of support arises from different sources. One of the most strongest grounds is one’s own Faith. The faith that lies in His Grace and His Hand guiding one out of the current mess. For Faith is one of the most powerful aspects of life.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

The Christian faith has various facets. From steadfastness in the teachings and beliefs to being a gift of His Grace and His Mercy; faith involves not just prayer but living by His Will and His Word. Faith exists as a part of salvation through Christ but also as strength from the Lord for man to face the trials, temptations and tribulations. Faith is what gives water to the kernels of hope during the hard times, the times of self doubt and difficulties. Yet faith doesn’t grow by itself. It too needs it’s own nourishment through prayer and growth in the Scriptures. When one learns to grow in His Faith, miracles no matter how small they be or difficulties no matter how mentally overwhelming they may be, will be faced and brought down through His Love, His Works and by His Grace.

“….that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,..” (Ephesians 3:17)

Source:https://vk.com/public138314547

A poor woman from a small family was a believer. And one day, when there was not enough money even to feed the children, she called the radio station and left there an appeal to God for help. While employees of the radio reacted with understanding to the believing woman, one of the listeners was touched by her words.
He was a staunch atheist and decided to indulge himself by mocking the stranger. The man found out her address, called the secretary and instructed her to buy many products. What was her surprise when the boss gave the following order: deliver the products to the address and if the woman asks who sent the food, say it is from the devil. When the secretary handed the products to the stranger, she was so grateful that tears flowed from her eyes. She never ceased to thank and bless the girl. But when the woman had already begun to say goodbye, the secretary asked: “And you do not want to know who you these products?” To which the woman replied: No. It doesn’t matter at all, because when God gives an order, even the devil obeys.

“So that in the name of Jesus every knee of the heavenly, earthly, and underworld bows, And every tongue confessed that the Lord Jesus Christ was in the glory of God the Father.” Phil. 2: 10-11.