Delightful Details

Perfectly fallen leaf in the sidewalk… I found it that way, honestly!

 

A good friend of mine tagged me on a Facebook post for a photo-a-day challenge, with a different theme or concept to capture and share each day. The post was by Operation TheraPic, an organization that promotes photography as therapy for veterans who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other negative effects of their military service.

Photography is certainly therapeutic for me, and I’m all for supporting our armed forces, so enthusiastically I accepted the challenge. After all, I already notice things that most other folks walk right past, naturally living life every moment as a scavenger hunt for blessings of all kinds, in both abstract and visual realms. The beauty of God’s creation especially draws my attention, but I also enjoy contrasting the natural with man-made structures and items. Overall, to me the world is a wonderland of colors, shapes and patterns, every perfectly or uniquely placed bug, flower, leaf, shadow or reflection is like a little love note from the Lord.

Here is a poem I wrote while reveling in nature, and how it points to heaven, our true home:

“Pause”

All manner of shapes
combine in harmony
Heralding with flicker of leaves
and sun-dappled symphony
The splendor of what’s to come
once our souls dispense of earth,
Holy communion with the Creator
and consummation of our rebirth.

All manner of sounds
– Nature whispers God’s love
Rustling leaves like ocean waves
point to the Father above.

Gentle avian choruses
bursting into exuberant throngs
foreshadow the glorious melodies
of worshipful heavenly songs.

All manner of evidence
of God’s providence and grace,
given freely, with ample to share
when we pause and seek His face.

7-1-07
©Ladeena Ashley

It feels good to discover and document life’s beautiful details in pictures, but lately I’ve collected more images than I have composed my thoughts in words. As often happens when out shopping, while looking for one thing to grab, there are dozens of other things that catch my attention. I’ve already taken more pictures than usual this month!

Details are a blessing, but I also can get caught up in amazement while totally missing the bigger scene. It’s like a colorful connect-the-dots but I don’t see the whole page. Instead I notice a few tiny circles in groups like polka dots, while others are tie-dyed or form interesting patterns. I get lost in child-like wonder. On the flip side, when I am anxious, I often miss what is most important while fretting over the minutia of life. In either case I must step back, review the situation from the beginning and connect those dots in order to see the bigger picture. I’m getting better at being objective.

Dogged by details?
They say the devil’s in the details – life is definitely more challenging than we all thought it’d be when we were kids – but we can navigate them with God’s help! He created every last molecule of existence, His handiwork shows His love, He delights in sharing it with us (Psalm 19), plus He sees the beginning and the end of it all (Revelation 22:16). None of our problems are too small that God is not concerned, nor too big for Him to handle.

When we’re overwhelmed and dragged down by worries, we must stop and pray, casting those cares on the Lord (Psalm 55:22). At times we simply need to step back and and take a deep breath every once in a while to notice the blessings around us, so we can once again regain that sense of wonder, purpose and joy. When we connect the dots and see the big picture of grace, then we can more joyfully move ahead into whatever adventure the Lord has for us next!

For me, the best kind of details are in God’s Word, worship, fellowship with other believers, and enjoying His creation. As I delight myself in the Lord and look to Him, He gives countless blessings along the way that keep me smiling (Psalm 37:4)!

Hopefully the photos I share for the challenge are a blessing for others. I always look for life’s little blessings and then look for ways to share that encouragement and hope with others! I hope and pray the same for you.

Blessings to you, this day and always!

©Ladeena Ashley
2018 All Rights Reserved (Blog content and photos)

Positively Thankful!

 

Today is a milestone: a year ago I followed God’s lead and created this blog. I set out on this electronic journey not knowing exactly what I would write, how many photos I’d take (hint: a LOT), or how long this trail would go. This endeavor has been both a challenge and a joy so far, writing and sharing what God’s been up to in my life.

This day I’m pausing to give special thanks to God for who He is and all He has done. I thank Him for my incredibly supportive friends and family, and I thank Him for all the blessings great and small that He has seen fit to grant me each and every day.

To those of you who follow my humble little blog, whether you’ve recently begun following, or you’ve been reading from the beginning, thank you so much. I have appreciated every “like”, comment and share, and look forward to hearing more.

I don’t know what the next year has in store, but I’m sure it will be good! It makes me smile to think that God is using me to inspire and uplift so many. Unlike some other websites, I’m not selling anything, but I am sold out for Christ! Liberally promoting positivity and kindness with every post, my hope is that my readers will pay it forward!

Looking through my poems, this one seemed to fit my thankful and reflective mood:

“Winding Trail”

Giddy expectation of heavenly reward.
Love follows love – and all from the Lord.
Grateful exultation of Christ my King,
Who alone understands me and gives me everything.
So very thankful, beyond what words express.
I’m loving more deeply, and happier with less.
Trusting God completely – no cause for doubt or fear.
For His promises are true; His mercy draws me near.
Grace propels me onward, great joy lights up my way.
Ever glowing in this valley, with faith as bright as day.
From blessing to blessing, each hour, wisdom grows.
As I walk in hope and peace, I conquer all my foes!
No matter what others say, my strength comes from inside:
For by His Spirit, I am free! Set apart, sanctified!
Traveling with Jesus along this winding trail,
I smile and sing His praises, knowing His love will prevail!

8-11-2015
©Ladeena Ashley

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1

Extra Credit
Colossians 3:12-17

Blessings to you, this day and always!

©Ladeena Ashley
2017 All Rights Reserved (blog content and photos)

Forget Her Not!

Forget-Me-Not  –  April 18, 2017

On this Mother’s Day weekend, I’m thanking the Lord for my mom, but also for my grandmother, because when I was the tender age of five or six she asked me if I’d like to go to church with her. In the years that followed, though not raised in a particularly Christian home, I was taught and embraced the ways of the Lord from an early age, in a small Baptist church family.

Here’s a poem I wrote about seeing God working to bring me to Himself, even before I fully understood His plan or answered His loving call and finally gave my life to Him when I was 13:

“God’s Been There All Along”

God was there before I knew Him,
and surrendered all to His plan;
Preparing the very bedrock
of faith on which now I stand.
God knew I would be receptive
to my grandmother’s invitation,
so attending church as a child
provided the basic foundation.
The beliefs I’d never question now
were built on clear Biblical truth
I’ve learned from countless sermons
and Sunday school in my youth.
So it’s not so strange to be strong
– so unwavering in my conviction;
For God’s been there all along,
gently guiding my life’s direction.
From a young age He prepared me
for all the struggles I would face,
so when many would fall away,
I trusted firmly in His grace.
I thank the Lord for such faith –
Without it, God knows where I’d be.
I’m so grateful for His amazing love
and His incredible work in me!

4-16-17
© Ladeena Ashley

Looking back, I don’t recall specific conversations, but I know I was loved by my family. I’m also realizing more and more lately that who I am and many of my core strengths and gifts have come from them.

In particular, I come from a long line of nature-loving amateur photographers. Third generation, you might say. My grandmother snapped copious shots of flowers, squirrels and scenery, especially in the summertime when she and my grandfather visited state parks in their camper trailer. My mother is also quite the shutterbug, and has created quite the collection of scrapbooks filled with images chronicling her explorations all over western Oregon, with a special focus on waterfalls, flowers and fungi. So it comes as no surprise that I too have an intrinsic love of nature and a deep urge to capture its beauty.

My mom and I have gone hiking together several times, and it always seems to take us half again as long to traverse a trail, as we both frequently venture off of it, pausing to get that perfect angle. I have the advantage of digital technology, but she still uses 35 mm film cameras, so every shot means more to her, as she is constrained to 24 takes in a roll. While she often moves branches and leaves to “set up the shot”, I usually prefer to make do with what’s there, finding great beauty in imperfections. Overall, it’s a joy to spend time with her, breathing the fresh air and sharing laughter while reveling in the wonders of God’s creation.

I credit my love of nature, photography and sense of humor to my mother and grandmother. I hope that you can point to either a mother or a mother figure in your life that helped shape you into the person you’ve become. Thank the Lord for them, because ultimately He’s the one who placed them into your life for His loving purposes.

My grandparents have been gone for a while, but their legacy lives on through me. I cherish the time I have with my mom, and I’m so thankful she’s always been my first best friend. (In fact, she came up with the title of this post!) I praise God for family, and for providing the opportunity for me to learn His ways and place my trust in Him.

Happy Mother’s day!

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

Blessings to you, this day and always!

©Ladeena Ashley
2017 All Rights Reserved (blog content and photo)

Reflections of Growth

Camera at the ready, I meandered through a nearby park the other day and caught this unique shot of a tree.

My immediate thought, besides how cool it was that its reflection fit so neatly into the sizable puddle covering the pathway below, was the phrase “reflections of growth”.  I thought to myself that it’s good to pause every once in a while to take stock of the positive changes, growth and blessings in our lives.

A long time ago, in a moment of repose beneath a similar tree, I contemplated how complex and messy life is, yet joyfully remembered in Whom my life is rooted:

“The Growing Place”

Tangled, messy
Crazy mass of limbs and branches
Reaching out
in all directions.
Yet all is in order.
Connected to a central support.
Origin of creation.
The growing place
Stronger, knowing
even in perfect chaos
God holds my life together.

5-9-02
© Ladeena Ashley

Patterns of Blessings
Whenever we’re tempted to be discouraged about the future, the best thing to do is look at the patterns of blessings in the past. Not only to reflect on how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown, but more importantly how God has shown Himself faithful time and time again. It’s so encouraging and easier for me to look forward with hope when I recall the various yet specific ways the Lord has blessed, nudged and otherwise spoken powerfully into my life as I sought His will above my own. Those patterns also give clues to how God may direct me through situations to come.

You can likely recall answers to prayers, uncommon strength in hard times and other pivotal moments in your own life when God was there for you, both in mighty ways and in gentle whispers. Yet it’s not always easy to recognize His presence, especially in the “perfect chaos” of our lives. That’s why it’s important to pause and count all those blessings, especially the hidden ones we miss while in the tangled branches, thickets and thorny times of life. As each gift is uncovered, a contagious joy and hope grows anew as we remember God’s faithfulness.

When we remain rooted in God and His love as our central support, staying grounded in His Word with grateful hearts, we will keep right on growing in grace by His power. In fact, we will never stop learning and improving until the day He calls us home.

Final Reflections
Reflect on what God has done in and through you.
Reflect on His faithfulness and love.
Reflect that joy and love into the world.

Make the most of every puddle!

“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

Blessings to you, this day and always!

©Ladeena Ashley
2017 All Rights Reserved (blog content and photo)