What Makes Your Heart Sing?

                                   Does it take your breath away 
              when you see a beautiful sunset?
               

            How about when you look in the eyes 
              of your children or grandchildren 
        and see them looking back with eyes of love?

                Does it brighten your day
                  and quicken your step
         when you come upon a beautiful flower?

       Or find a woolly caterpillar with no black?
      Can that actually mean a very mild winter?

               Discover the sun sparkling on the water                                  under an old bridge.

       Find the sun sparkling through

               ice covered trees.

          Find the first dandelion in spring.

                       Do you chuckle 
      when you find your kitty peaking out at you 
              from his latest hiding place?

              Or discover that he is an acrobat?

         Experience the magnificence
            of the mighty mountains.

           Or the delicate beauty of a butterfly.

   View the riotous colors of fall in Northern New York.

Find a barred owl perched just outside your home and are able to sneak up and shoot a picture.

Enjoy the friendship and love of friends and family.

Enjoy the beauty that God has created just for me to enjoy.

           I am blessed to be married 45 years 
                   to my best friend, Tim.

These and so many other blessings have brought happiness to my heart and a laugh to my lips.
Some have taken my breath away.
I am so blessed that God has placed me in a time and place where I can experience so many wonderful things.  
I am not a world traveler but I have found incredible beauty in my life. 
So many discoveries have brought me great happiness.
However, when I feel the love and presence of Jesus in my heart and soul, I am filled with an incredible JOY and peace that no earthly event can compare to.
That is why my heart sings!
Have you found that song in your heart yet?
Our Father is waiting patiently for you to reach out and He will freely give it to you.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.  Psalm 28:7

All  photos taken by Debbie McEwen

All bible reference from the NIV
     unless otherwise noted.

If you are interested,
    you can click on the Blog Archive
    dates on the top right side of this post
    to connect to previous blog posts.

I would love to hear from you either 

    on the comment section of this blog post
    or through my email.
    debbieamcewen@gmail.com
I usually post every other Saturday.

The next post should be about October 13, 2018. 

Some blog posts have been late due to my having extra Grandmother duties and enjoying my grand babies.
My apologies.  I will try to budget my time better in the future. 

      I took this picture from the Medical Campus 
              in Canton, NY yesterday.  
     It as a glorious day with mild temperatures 
              and a beautiful blue sky.
I could only say "This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."  
           Psalm 118:24      

I Hope to Sparkle

                      Photo taken on Rte. 56 between Norwood and Potsdam, NY 
                                        at Norwood Pond
                             When we allow and cooperate, 
                         Jesus makes us sparkle with His love.

I looked out the window and saw the sun shining on the fresh snow.  The snow lies flat reminding me of a frosted cake.  The sun is bright and individual flakes sparkle like prisms when the sun reflects on them.  The scene is so bright that it resembles of bed of diamonds shining in the sunlight.

Each snowflake is tiny and does not stand out but when joined with the thousands and maybe millions of flakes in my backyard, each does his part to make a thing of beauty.

These tiny flakes know only one thing, that is to be a snowflake, and each is the best snowflake he can be. 

It occurs to me that we are each very tiny in the scheme of creation and we may not feel very significant since  God has created billions and billions of people.  We may not feel that we stand out.  

However, if we each do our very best, we sparkle.

Our souls shine. 

                            This photo and the following ones 
                     were taken after the ice storm in Feb. 2016.

Each of us shines in our little place and each stands out to our Maker.  He individually chose us.  We were not random any more than the snowflakes that we are told are each shaped differently from every other snowflake.  

God has a special plan for each of us.  He placed us deliberately in a specific place and time with a specific job to do.

How do we find out what our job is?  

Good question.  

We pray. We evaluate out abilities and talents and gifts.  We develop those gifts and pray some more.  We listen and wait for that still small voice to speak through others, through what we read or even thoughts that come in our minds.

We read and study the Bible.  

When something is right for us, we will be at peace with it.  If is isn’t right for us, we will know no peace.

When we strive to find our purpose and then work to achieve it, when we do our very best, our souls will stand out like those fresh, clean snowflakes on the snow outside.

Then we will sparkle.  

I am still very much a work in progress and God has a lot of work to do with me.  

However, in due time, I really hope to sparkle.  

I hope you do too, my friend.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

                                The ice storm was serious and dangerous 
         BUT because the sun was shining, the landscape was gorgeous.
       Imagine what your life will look like when the SON shines through you.

    This and the next picture were taken on the back side of Norwood Pond.

Apologies:
I apologize for posting my blog a week late.  My 
computer wasn't working and had to be fixed.
I hope this is worth the wait.

Blessings:
I pray that God shines through you and your soul so you absolutely sparkle.
Blessings on you, my friend.

All photos taken by Debbie unless otherwise noted.

All bible reference from the NIV
     unless otherwise noted.

If you are interested,
    you can click on the Blog Archive
    dates on the top right side of this post
    to connect to previous blog posts.

I would love to hear from you either 

    on the comment section of this blog post
    or through my email.
    debbieamcewen@gmail.com
I post every other Saturday.

The next post will be next year on February 10, 2018.

            Even through the bitter cold of winter, there is great beauty.

                   God makes all things beautiful in their time.

                         Imagine what He can do for you, 

               the child that He chose before time even began.