Cushion of the Sea

(Brother-in-law caught this crab- you can see is pretty fresh)

"And the peace of God, which transcends all our powers of thought, will be a garrison to guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:7)

There is what is called the "cushion of the sea-

" Down beneath the surface that is agitated by storms, and driven about with winds, there is a part of the sea that is never stirred. When we dredge the bottom and bring up the remains of animal and vegetable life we find that they give evidence of not having been disturbed in the least, for hundreds and thousands of years. The peace of God is that eternal calm which, like the cushion of the sea, lies far too deep down to be reached by any external trouble and disturbance; and he who enters into the presence of God, becomes partaker of that undisturbed and undisturbable calm-

Cowman devotionals (Streams in the Desert)

(R. Wurmbrand, imprisoned in Romania for 14 years)

“In our darkest hours of torture, the Son of Man came to us, making the prison walls shine like diamonds and filling the cells with light. Somewhere, far away, were the torturers below us in the sphere of the body. But the spirit rejoiced in the Lord.

We would not have given up this joy for that of kingly palaces.” 

  (Tortured For Christ)

  Armando Valladares (imprisoned for 22 years in Cuba)

When asked where he and the other political prisoners got the strength to stand up to all the torture, He replied-
"We have an inexhaustible supply, sir, an imperishable source.
That's what constantly feeds us. It's love." (Against All Hope)

(And those in the N. Korean Gulags- here)

Constant Half Embrace

We know Chameleon's camouflage themselves..

think he's got the same idea?

Portea Petropolitana Extensa -from Brazil
(A few of these Bromeliad macro shots were from a series I did on
Mother's Day last year)

My nonsensical musings followed by Kahlil Gibran~

Freedom:

"And my heart bled within me; for you can only be free when even the desire of seeking freedom becomes a harness to you, and when you cease to speak of freedom as a goal and a fulfilment.

You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief,
But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them naked and unbound.."

And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free? (you can continue to read more here)
(Kahlil Gibran)

How many Chameleons do you see in here?

Truth be told..they knew I was starting to get obsessed with the M word,

(I'll call it mid east termoil) so they gathered together like at the U.N. to hold a conference? But nothing seemed to help..evidently, Rainfields has been trying to find a way to cope with me too (grin)..it made me happy that there are actually bloggers who seem willing to stick with you..or pity you perhaps?

Suddenly I felt like Job of old!

**

*

Well, I decided to take a walk and met a man who offered me a Cuban cigar..

It was as though we could see the same picture, but neither of us could agree on a solution? 

He gave me a light and suggested I seek the oracle

Funny how I'd resisted?

Well then I happen to remember-

"..that the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does"

James 1:25

Looking Through A Barrel

Youngest son in a barrel..sadly I don't have a good enough zoom (his brother took this of him at Hakalou (a surf spot here on the Big Island)

(This is 2 Question Thursday, hosted by Self segacity) 
though feel free to comment-

Well, I'm told in 1 Co 13: 12, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known."

Spring is already here..time is ever moving and days swiftly turn into Seasons. I look back in retrospect and see how I've handled situations or the way I've treated people-  (many of them family).

Hmm..well you know I'm still dealing with most of the same people! 

Q. 1

Are you any better at weighing your words carefully now, (with a view to the future (so as not to jeopardise relations (lol)..(but keep a positive opening)

that's kind of how I see it?

Q 2

Have you had to work at mending relations do to past behavior and if so, were you successful? I suppose because we are all different, it could be the opposite (you may not of said or done enough)

Either way, just shoot your shot~

Lamp Beside The Golden Door, Pt. 1

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

The colossus earned a place in the famous list of Wonders. "But even lying on the ground, it is a marvel", said Pliny the Elder. The Colossus of Rhodes was not only a gigantic statue. It was rather a symbol of unity of the people who inhabited that beautiful Mediterranean island -- Rhodes
The construction of the Colossus took 12 years and was finished in 282 BC. For just a span of 56 years, the statue stood at the harbor entrance, until a strong earthquake hit Rhodes about 226 BC..the Rhodians immediately received an offer from Ptolemy III Eurgetes of Egypt to cover all restoration costs for the toppled monument, but rejected it after consulting an oracle?
For almost a millennium, the statue lay broken in ruins. In AD 654, the Arabs invaded Rhodes. They disassembled the remains of the broken Colossus and sold them to a Jew from Syria..Hmm?

(Emma Lazarus penned the the following in 1883)

"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame..
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name~
Mother of Exiles

From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Sunday marked the anniversary of Martin Luther King..and it made me thankful we live in a Country where we can see real change
  But I must digress..(Pt. 2 next)~

Possible Positions..

Sunday series

Can you believe this?

Notice the heavy leg resting on her stomach didn't seem to faze puddy..

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece"
  Leonardo da Vinci~

Don't you love this one?

My old gray sticks his tongue out all the time..

But I bet your really thinking I could use a little more sun!?

(ah ha ha)

"Derangement is the only possible explanation for owning a cat, an animal whose preferred mode of communication is to sink its claws three-quarters of an inch into your flesh"

Dave Barry~

“The cat would eat fish, and would not wet her feet.”

John Haywood~

Ever since she was little she's crossed her front paws like this..

(Elly May)

What's so darn funny?

"The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him her and not only will he she not scold you,
but will make a fool of him herself, too." 
 Samuel Butler

The Great Impression

We're experiencing an electrical storm and already losing power (but I will be by as soon as it clears)

Photo- the The Blaze\


This is 2 Question Thursday hosted by Self Sagacity
which I'm posting today, just in case you'd like to join.
If you'd like, you can simply answer the question-
 Not trying to twist your arm (smile)
OK, I was thinking not why.. but how things are and could begin to get worse. It appears that way, as gas is already up to $4.50 a gal. here. We also had a 24% rate increase from Matson (shipping)..so, we'll feel that spike shortly.

Many of us didn't live through the Great Depression, but I'd imagine they began to figure on what they could do without rather quickly..
maybe it was gradual?
1.) Have you made any serious changes within the last six months? For example, we dropped one land line phone some time ago (one is mostly for business now).

We pulled up to get gas and hadn't realized the former (gas and a convenient store) changed hands..but it was hard not to miss this sign in front-

2.) Do you think people need the government to nudge us into helping one another or do you think we might pull together and figure out how to do

so  on our own (more so now) without their help..maybe? 

 Wondering out loud questions (cough) (remember- only 2 you need to answer) 

if assistance would make it more difficult (either way) and

should church play a bigger role or do you think it will?