Sweet July - Live in the Sunshine!

July, my favorite month. I have to wonder at such beauty there to refresh my soul.

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Rose Delight

Sometimes in the mornings, I want to go to the Basilica's garden and smell the roses. And yet, I don't. But I realize the flowers are not waiting for me. They have a beautiful rich life all of their own. And I am the other.

When our souls need refreshing, come enjoy the roses in front of the Basilica. When my father was wheelchair bound, I would drive him by just for the sight and joy of the flowers. He would smile, both of us refreshed.

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Light Upon Light!

Today we dropped Vanessa at camp for 2 weeks, and it is bittersweet. It is a time when the kids bloom and we rest. Like these flowers, my favorite because here they bloom at the end of July, the light shines through the girls and shows off their beauty in the fruits of the spirit.

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Never Worry About Tomorrow

So Slow to Anger and Quicker to forgive. Never Worry About Tomorrow. Find Joy in All the Sorrows. And let it carry me away - From Gordon Mote, Carry Me Away

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Honeysuckle Morning

The morning comes right from heaven above, greeting us with light and hope and sweet honeysuckle love.

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I Come to the Garden

I came to the Garden this morning, alone. And was refreshed. It felt as if the flowers were more than just flowers. They were friends, they were inspiration, they were singing glory.

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Play Misty for Me

When the storm hit the other night, we huddled together as it seemed the lightning was just outside our window crackling and crumbling the trees around us. In the heat and the storms, it's easy to forget that just as night slips into light, the mist and the morning are just giving us a peak into their inviting beauty.


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Come to the Quiet

Last night, I was reminded that Sunday for me is a time of coming to the quiet and re-energizing my soul with silence. At sunset, Lake Susan in Montreat reminds us that we are joyful creatures who want to live in beauty and love. And an inner quiet. My friends, Kirk and Deby Dearman, create beautiful calming music that uplifts the soul and brings us to the space of calm and quiet (Come to the Quiet) - just like Lake Susan.

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When all You Can Do is Crawl, Smile

What is so amazing about Asheville is the people, many who came from farms and factories to become a people so strong and yet so tender.

When I was 6, my father became disabled, starting 40 years of when he said his legs felt like sticks. When I was 10, he crawled to bed - with a smile on his face. And in the morning he arose with pure joy bubbling over. 

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Splash Down at Sliding Rock!

Splish Splash I was taking a bath - or cooling down at Sliding Rock!

Yesterday he was in mid slide and today ready to splash in. You all need to go - when it's 98 degrees the water is always cool, no it's cold there! 

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Hot fun in the Summertime at Sliding Rock

There's so much joy to be found in the mountains here - and cool (literally) fun! Sliding Rock in Brevard will certainly cool us off as the temperatures reach 90 today.

It's really Hot fun in the Summertime here!

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Good Morning Sunshine

Ever have one of those mornings where you wake up like Tigger, ready to bounce all through the day?

I had one this morning, but I think these flowers have them every day!

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Blood Red Sun

Last night, the sun in Asheville was a red ball of fire. It felt at once as remote as it could get, like something from the Twilight Zone and yet as friendly as a 3 year old's bright shiny red ball.

Sunsets here remind me that the mountains are like me, ready for bed but the sky has not finished with the day yet. They have one more spectacular show to put on for us.


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Waiting for You

Early morning always holds a special place in my heart. It's when the world is new and our dreams still linger in our minds. It's when anything is possible and joy and peace abound in our souls.

Here early morning is waiting for us to join and greet a new world of peace and possibility.

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The Meadow of St. James

My daughter and I want to walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela - the Way of St. James. But I think we already have. This is my father's meadow in Leicester - bright fallow fields. When Vanessa was born, we became servants, learning by washing his feet. From him, we learned humility and joy. We learned how to lose your leg and still dance in your wheelchair. We found our way just as my dad, James did.

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Summer Rose

The Secret lives of Roses. The Beauty. The Smell. The Touch. Always inviting. Just as summer is a feast for our senses, so too are roses. They abound in glorious abundance in front of the Basilica of St. Lawrence downtown.

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Bells of the Basilica

Sometimes when we are deep in our grief and thoughts, there's a reminder that hope exists. Last night, I was sitting on my porch totally exhausted from disturbing news, and I heard the bells of The Basilica of St. Lawrence. It was a reminder that all is well with my soul.


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The Wow of Clouds

Transcendence is supposed to be this big event, perhaps occurring in meditation or in some ashram. But for me the most amazing moments happen sitting on the porch or walking out of Ingles. Last night, we walked out of the Ingles on Tunnel Road and this display of beauty in color and light took my breath away.

Too often I have squandered the beauty of nature - either totally ignoring it or treating it like a backdrop to my life. But doesn't nature ignore me? And even if I exist for nature, am I not secondary to its mighty show of glory and force. If I drink in Nature, I feel peace, sometimes distress, sometimes indescribable joy but always alive.

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Blue Jackson

One early morning, my favorite time of day, I watched the sun rise from pitch blackness at my house in Montford, to the street lights in the darkness at the Vance Monument to the changing blue sky behind the Jackson Building. It is amazing how many shades of blue there are, some actually a bit disturbing, a bit messy. Sitting with that feeling and color reaches deep into our minds, the air stirs with morning approaching  and then the blue changes - to a blue like this one behind the sky, full of smoothness, a sense of aliveness, and a promise of bright joy to come.
 
But then I don't know, are the gargoyles friend or foe?

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Looking Glass Waterfalls, Majestic Joy

Looking Glass Falls, in our backyards, was created to manifest glory and Joy.

It's like a reflection of our souls, joy and light pouring out. I am reminded of the song "This Little Light of Mine." Odette did a wonderful version in which she recites Marianne Williamson's poem, "Our Deepest Fear." In it, we are reminded that  "We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone." 

When I saw Looking  Glass Falls, I had a momentary pang of fear. That I am playing small.

                               Your playing small does not serve the world.
                               There is nothing enlightened about shrinking
                               so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
                               We are all meant to shine, as children do.

As, the poem says, we are all bright shining lights of joy, just like Looking Glass Falls, right in our backyard.

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