Grateful for Living Waters

I'm sitting here feeling so incredibly grateful for the amazingly beautiful and wondrous world that surrounds me...for the loves of my life...for the path I am walking (leaping, crawling) toward ordered ministry...for the movement of the Spirit and the mystery of life. The following words by David Steindl-Rast, shared in a video by Louie Schwartzberg called Gratitude, really resonate in my soul.

“It's not 'just another day', it's the one day that was given to you today. It's given to you...it's a gift. It's the only day that you have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness.”

“If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is…if you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life and the very last day, then you will have spent this day very well.”

“And on this day all the people you meet, all that life from generations and from so many places all over the world flows together and meets you here, like a life-giving water if you only open your heart and drink.”

“And so I wish you will open your heart to all these blessings and let them flow through you...that everyone you will meet on this day will be blessed by you...just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch...just by your presence.”

“Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you. Then it will really be a good day.”

Amen, brother. Amen.

Saturday Photohunt: Reflect

Try as I might, I could not limit myself to one photo for this week's theme! So here are six of my favourite reflections...

The lakeshore at the campground

Early morning (as in 4:58 am!) sun over the Gulf of St. Lawrence...as seen from the ferry to Newfoundland.

Clouds and blue sky reflected in River Philip in Northern Nova Scotia.

This one probably needs no description, but just in case...the iconic Ponte Vecchio in Florence, reflected in the Arno.

The moat of Castello Estense in Ferrara.

Reflection in the window above the main doors of the Anglican Cathedral of All Saints in Halifax.

You will find many more reflections on Sandy's Saturday Photohunt this week!!

Saturday Photohunt: Awesome!

Is there anything more AWESOME than a RAINBOW?

Here are a few  of the rainbows I've been blessed to witness...

You'll find lots more AWESOME photos on Sandi's Saturday Photohunt page!

Holy curiousity

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

~ Albert Einstein



Awake and give thanks

Wake at dawn with a winged heart...

and give thanks for another day of loving.
~Kahlil Gibran

Come live in the light...

Here I am in my new blog home!  Hopefully those who found my old blog interesting will make their way to this place, and continue to share my journey.

For anyone finding this without having gotten to know me on my old site...I hope you will find something here that strikes a chord, provokes a thought, gets your toes a-tappin', moves you to action, or perhaps just brings a bubble of laughter to your lips!

My blog title is a verse from Ecclesiastes that resonates with me.  Light IS sweet, both in a physical sense and a spiritual sense.  As those who know me can attest, sunrises and sunsets figure prominently in my photo collection!  The glorious swirl of colour and movement that spreads across the sky when the sun is close to the horizon is something that never fails to lift my spirits.  And that's the Sound of Sunshine...coming down.  (See the preceding post for the video to that delightful and uplifting song by Michael Franti and Spearhead.  It seemed a fitting way to open my new blog!)

I am also lifted by the movement of the Spirit within and around me, calling me to live in the light, and to let my inner light shine bright.  David Haas expresses this beautifully in his song We Are Called:

1. Come! live in the light!
Shine with the joy and the love of the Lord!
We are called to be light for the kingdom,
to live in the freedom of the city of God!

Refrain: We are called to act with justice.
We are called to love tenderly.
We are called to serve one another,
to walk humbly with God.

2. Come! Open your heart!
Show your mercy to all those in fear!
We are called to be hope for the hopeless,
so all hatred and blindness will be no more!

3. Sing! Sing a new song!
Sing of that great day when all will be one!
God will reign and we'll walk with each other
as sisters and brothers united in love.