Pollywog Creek

I {LOVE} Sunday::to walk in the light and know...

2012-01-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

But if we walk in the light,
as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus his Son
cleanses us from all sin.
1 John 1:7 ESV

Linking with Diedra's beautiful Sunday community...

{Photo}on my backyard swing

Week{ending}...

2012-01-28T07:18:00.001-05:00

This time last Saturday, a quiet weekend appeared before me. How grateful I am that it unfolded instead into all that joy and laughter and fun.

My only expectations for this weekend are that the Lord will be in it, as always, and if I open my eyes and be attentive to His presence, He'll show me wonders anew.

And you? I'd love to know what you hope your weekend will bring.

{Photos} a cloudy, rainy Friday morning on Pollywog Creek {thank You, Lord, for every nourishing drop}

Each word a gift...

2012-01-27T11:43:00.001-05:00

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,
but only what is helpful for building others up
according to their needs,
that it may benefit those who listen.
Ephesians 4.29 (NIV)

We talked about it earlier this week, Emily and I - that passage from Ephesians and the power behind our words to build up and encourage or wound and tear down.

But God has been showing me that my words not only have the power to hurt others, but to wound my own heart, sabotage my work, and worse yet - undermine and cheapen God's gifts in me.

You're too old.

A wannabe-psalmist-with-a-camera? Really?

Who do you think you are?

Please hear my heart in this. I'm not trying to be humble or scheming for compliments. I've an abundance of cheerleaders in my life, and I get it. Thank you - each of you - a million times over. Your encouragement spurs me on and gives glory and honor to the Giver of all that is good in me.

My problem isn't you, it's me.

When I disqualify my gifts in how I lack confidence to walk in them or speak {and think} falsely about them, I am denying the work of Christ in me - to equip and gift me for His glory.

For we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand,
that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 ESV

Ephesians 4:29 is interpreted in The Message...

Say only what helps, each word a gift.

What about you? Have you been gifting yourself with words that help or have you been speaking unkindly and undermining your gifts?

{Photos} it's spring-like in January in my Pollywog Creek backyard {My Project 366 photos are here.}

{Wordless Wednesday} Cardinal at dusk...

2012-01-25T04:59:00.001-05:00

To run the course with joy...

2012-01-24T06:20:00.000-05:00

A thin layer of fog floats misty over the river as the rising sun paints peach across the south.

I steer the car across the narrow bridge and continue toward the highway and my appointment in the city an hour from home - a weekly routine for over a month.

I must hurry. Once dawn gives way, there's no holding back the fiery orb's rise over the pasture just around the bend.

As I stop the car on the side of the road, my soul swells hallelujahs, and I remove my camera's lens cap - hoping to capture a glimpse of glory in the foggy horizon's blaze.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
Psalm 19:1-6 ESV

Nothing can hold back the sun or my praise - to run the course with joy.

God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone,
but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars.
Martin Luther

Project 366::Day 24...

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-05:00

{Photo} Project 366::Day 24 - learning to embrace 3:00am

The mess that's a gift...

2012-01-23T12:50:00.001-05:00

Without my glasses, I squint in the dark across the room. The red numbers on Louis' alarm clock on the dresser flash 3:12 am, and I sigh. It's much too early for prednisone, but I can't stay in bed, so I shuffle my way to the bathroom and groan at the bags under my eyes.

In the lounge chair in the living room I doze off and on for an hour or so - heating pad wrapped around my wrist - before I consider unloading the dishwasher and gathering up and sorting the piles of dirty sheets and towels and Emily's laundry from a weekend retreat and the tablecloth sticky with pancake syrup - and I smile. What a gift.

I decide to wash the bath mat first - the one black with dirt that I'd just washed last week before little boys played hard in the dirt pile and tracked black clumps through the house and into the bathroom to take off shoes - and I laugh. Honest.

It's the mess that's a gift - children and grandchildren laughing and playing {hard} and eating - and the mess that's left behind makes me smile.

It's the mess that means that people I love filled this place - that they stayed long enough to eat and bathe and change diapers and sleep and wake up to papa's Sunday morning pancakes.

It's early afternoon and the last load of laundry is spinning and I miss the mess already.

{Photos}a beautiful, dirty, messy weekend on Pollywog Creek

Project 366::Day 22...

2012-01-23T07:23:00.002-05:00

{Photos} Project 366:Day 22 - These two Hunter cousin cuties - the babies. By summer's end, there will be two new babies, but these two seem to be forging a friendship to weather soon-to-be-the-middle-child together.

I {LOVE} Sunday::to know God is my refuge...

2012-01-22T06:00:00.000-05:00

But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
and a refuge in the day of my distress.
(Psalm 59:16 ESV)

{Photos} female cardinal hiding in the frost-bitten flame bush

Linking with Diedra's beautiful Sunday community...

Project 366::Day 21...

2012-01-21T21:04:00.003-05:00

Week{ending}...

2012-01-21T07:36:00.000-05:00

What I had anticipated would be a wonderfully full weekend with family has opened instead into quiet with just the two of us.

I don't know what the day now holds as the sun rises on chilly 40's and Louis builds a small fire out by the pond, but it's offering abundant sunshine and warmth for whatever opportunities await.

What about you? What does your week{end} offer?

{Photos}Azaleas in my brother's yard in Winter Haven, down by the Caloosahatchee River, my Pollywog Creek backyard, a field in Ft. Denaud, in the Cemetery in Bowling Green

Project 366::Day 20...

2012-01-20T19:33:00.001-05:00

{Photos} Day 20 Project 366

Stained Glass Hearts - Patsy Clairmont Interview - Part 5

2012-01-20T07:25:00.001-05:00

Patsy Clairmont Interview Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Patsy Clairmont is a master at creating an image out of the ordinary (and even mundane) with words and phrases that stick. God Uses Cracked Pots and Normal is Just a Setting on Your Dryer are perfect examples I have pointed to on numerous occasions to inspire and encourage others.

Earlier this week, Robbi Cary, my friend and project collaborator, and I discussed several of Patsy's phrases that come to mind often - even weekly - years after they were written. Patsy's words stick.

While Patsy is a minister of laughter and teller of stories extraordinaire, it is her transparency that opens the way for us to acknowledge our own "cracks". With an arm around our shoulder, she tenderly reminds us that we are not alone in our brokenness, and that hope and healing, and joy and beauty are found in Christ alone.

Stained Glass Hearts: Seeing Life from a Broken Perspective is Patsy's latest book. From "cracked pots" to "stained glass hearts", Patsy weaves God's redemptive healing in her own life, and with the support of scripture, she helps us see how the light of Christ can reach into our dark places and shine through the brokenness in beauty. The “Art Gallery” exercises at the end of each chapter are rich and delightful adventures in music and art, making Stained Glass Hearts a book to savor one chapter at a time.

Stained Glass Hearts is my current Patsy Clairmont favorite, but I wanted to know if it was her favorite, too.

Of all the books you've written, Patsy, do you have a personal favorite?

As an author of multiple books it's very hard to pick a favorite because each one contains important events in my life. But if you twist my arm I would say my first book, God Uses Cracked Pots was especially exciting, Stardust on my Pillow because it was my first book of fiction, and Meatball my first children's book. First's carry some kind of sparkle that make them especially sweet.

What books by others are you currently reading?

Books at my bedside:

The Book of Great Books...A guide to 100 World Classics W. John Campbell

Tyndale: The man who Gave God an English Voice by David Teems

NKJ Bible

Patsy, thank you - for all that you do to inspire and encourage and bring love and laughter to the body of Christ – for sharing your life, your wisdom, your faith – and for your bold testimony to God’s abundant grace and power.

What about you? Do you have a favorite Patsy Clairmont book?

{Photos} Patsy with Anna Trent, and with me and my daughter Emily - WOF, August 2009, Tampa

Project 366::Day 19...

2012-01-19T15:27:00.000-05:00

{Photos} Day 19 Project 366:: at the park by the river - I just love all that blue

Apples of Gold - Patsy Clairmont Interview, Part 4...

2012-01-19T06:44:00.001-05:00

A word fitly spoken

is like apples of gold

in a setting of silver.

(Proverbs 25:11 ESV)

Patsy Clairmont Interview Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

In Proverbs 18, we are told that the tongue has the power to bring life or death. If you've ever had your hopes and dreams affirmed with words of encouragement or wounded by mockery or harsh criticism, you know that's true.

As I began sharing my journey (both publicly and privately) with chronic illness, I became acutely aware of how many of us (including me) don't know how to encourage others with life-giving words.

I asked the Lord to teach me - to show me how to be a better, more thoughtful encourager of others - an encourager like Patsy Clairmont, whose well-chosen, fitly spoken words are like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

For all I know, I might be the person who encourages the next generation of wordsmiths. The person who fans the flame in the heart of a writer, speaker, artist - a "Patsy Clairmont" of the future who will then speak life-giving, Kingdom-building, God-glorify words into the hearts of millions.

So I asked Patsy...

Was there someone who encouraged you - someone who recognized your gifts and spoke words of life to you as you were developing and expressing your gifts?

I have had many cheerleaders throughout my life thus far. I treasure their influence. In fact if God had not ushered them in when He did I would not have made it this far.

Along the way I have also encountered those who have been critical and disheartening. I have learned to listen to both and then discern the truth through God's counsel.

If people are vicious, separate yourself quickly - our spirits are tender and bruise.

Don't brood over rejection it will lead to bitterness.

Acquaint yourself with those who speak life. Take notes. Learn from their example, and tend to the content of your own conversations.

I've divided my interview with Patsy into smaller segments for each day on purpose. I sometimes miss the jewels when words are many, but taken in smaller portions, those wisdom-pearls can be sown deeper before I move on. That last phrase - tend to the content of your own conversations - is the one that grabbed me today.

What about you? What has Patsy said in my interview with her this week that has caused you to pause and consider more fully?

Patsy has been posted on her Facebook page that she is considering writing a book of questions and answers and has asked everyone to send her questions for the book. What fun! I have a lot more questions, and I bet you do, too. You don't have to be on Facebook. If you have a question you'd like to submit to Patsy, please email it to askpatsybook@gmail.com. She really would love to hear from you.

{Photos} Patsy Clairmont, WOF, August 2009, Tampa

Project 366::Day 18...

2012-01-18T19:59:00.000-05:00

{Photos} Day 18 Project 366: prickly seed pod...yeah...some days are like that

A word of advice from Patsy Clairmont, Interview Part 3...

2012-01-18T06:22:00.000-05:00

Patsy Clairmont Interview Part 1, Part 2

Patsy is a dynamo. She's an entertaining and engaging speaker - dancing across the stage with boundless energy and delighting the audience with her playful humor. Patsy is "good medicine." She captures our hearts with her gift of story, and as laughter tears run down our faces, she begins pouring truth from God's word into our souls.

Patsy is also the author of numerous best-selling books, both non-fiction and fiction - for adults and children.

My questions for Patsy today are about speaking and writing, especially for those of us whose hearts beat for the same opportunities. You might be surprised, as I was, to know what door opened her speaking and writing career.

Patsy, when did you know you wanted to be a writer? And what came first - speaking or writing?

I have always loved words. As a child I even loved Spelling Bees. Actually I loved the idea more than the reality because my heart would pound so hard it left me weak to be in the "spotlight" of people's attention.

Isn't it funny that now I have stood before millions and I love it. Who knew? Obviously...God.

I didn't know when I became a public book reviewer that it would lead to a speaking career and eventually a writing one as well. I fell in love with books because The Lord used them to companion and counsel me.

What wisdom did you gain from your early writing/speaking years that you can share with others who sense the same call to a writing and/or speaking ministry today?

If I were to offer a word of advice to speakers and/or writers I would say, don't force your ministry. Don't race ahead of God's timing it will only lead to regret and frustration. Pace yourself.

Also remember writing takes discipline, as well as blood, sweat, and tears. So expect it. And the speaking circuit is a trial and a privilege all it's own. Nothing is as simple as it appears. Roll up your sleeves, get down on your knees, rise up wiser, and proceed cautiously.

{Photo} Patsy Clairmont, WOF, August 2008, Ft. Lauderdale

Project 366::Day 17...

2012-01-17T18:21:00.002-05:00

{Photos}Day 17, Project 366: liquid sunshine

Patsy Clairmont Interview, Part 2, Freedom...

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

In How to Study Your Bible, John MacArthur recommends reading an entire New Testament book every day for 30 days. It's a method I adopted several years ago to study the book of Ephesians, and it was life-changing.

On the first day of this new year, Patsy Clairmont wrote on her Facebook page that her goal is to read the Book of Philippians every day this month, and she encouraged her Facebook and Twitter friends to do the same.

I should have included the following with yesterday's questions, but I didn't, so I'll give it a post of its own today.

Patsy, I know that you are reading the Book of Philippians every day this January. Has there been a verse that has really jumped out at you - that has been particularly meaningful to you - as you read through Philippians every day?

If you've ever been a prisoner, (and I have as an agoraphobic), you can't help but be impressed that Paul's book on joy, Philippians, was written while he was incarcerated. I think my favorite verse is in chapter 4 verse 4, "Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I will say rejoice." There's something about the word "again" that really encourages me. So many truths slip our minds and it is a safeguard to have them repeated.

Patsy talks about that agoraphobic season, the freedom she experienced in Christ, and the importance of knowing and memorizing scripture in this wonderful short video:

Project 366::Day 16...

2012-01-16T21:36:00.001-05:00

{Photos}Day 16, Project 366, Wash Day on Pollywog Creek, Jake gets a bath

An interview with the beautiful Patsy Clairmont, Part 1...

2012-01-16T08:05:00.000-05:00

The first time I heard author and speaker Patsy Clairmont, I was in the car - the only place I could pick up a strong enough signal to listen to the radio those many years ago. With my two rambunctious little boys strapped into their seats, I backed out of the garage and tuned the radio onto a Focus on the Family broadcast just as James Dobson was introducing Patsy and her "God Uses Cracked Pots" message.

We had very little discretionary money back in those early living-on-a-farmer's-income years - long before the internet and access to online resources, but after hearing Patsy's message, I had to order a copy. I was obviously not alone. Almost twenty years later, that message by Patsy remains on Focus on the Family's list of top 10 broadcasts ever. (A downloadable copy of a rebroadcast can be purchased for less than $2 here.)

Several years later, my mother heard that Patsy would be speaking at a Christian conference for women (what turned out to be one of the first Women of Faith conferences) that was coming to a large church near her home. Mother bought me a ticket, and since that conference in Lakeland, if Patsy Clairmont was part of the team, I’ve attended every Women of Faith event that my circumstances in life would allow.

Patsy's wit and wisdom inspired and encouraged me through years of raising those little boys (and eventually a daughter) into adulthood - inspiration I apparently passed on to them. A few years ago, one of my adult sons was in a difficult situation and as we talked about it over the phone, he said, "But I remember what Patsy Clairmont said...."

Patsy's wisdom continues to inspire me, and when she began speaking words of encouragement into my life a few years ago (like that comment in the sidebar), I was both humbled and thrilled. When she graciously agreed to an interview, I was over the moon with delight. Throughout the week here on Pollywog Creek, I will be sharing portions of that interview.

Patsy, how long have you been with Women of Faith (WOF), and what have you enjoyed most about your years of ministry as part of the team?

I joined Women of Faith at its inception. It began with four of us on the speaking team (nicknamed The Porch) and now sixteen years later it has grown to two teams of up to eight of us per team.

What I have learned from my years with WOF would fill a book. Perhaps a series of books. It has been a heart and life-expanding journey. The travel alone has taught me a great deal about myself and others. And you can't work with a team and not delve into your own character. People reveal who we are...and aren't. Let me say my years with WOF has helped hone my independence, given me years of stage experience, taught me travel disciplines, and expanded my understanding of the frailty and yet tenacity of the human heart.

With the WOF team I have traveled to places I would have never gone to, forged friendships with folks I would have never met, and experienced life up close and personal in ways I would have never dreamed.

I’ve always appreciated the openness and vulnerability of everyone on the WOF team to share deep personal hurts and struggles along with fresh insights that testify to an ongoing faith and devotional life. How would you describe your devotional life, Patsy, and how are you able to maintain spiritual disciplines with a very full traveling and speaking schedule?

Really being a part of WOF fosters spiritual discipline. We pray together, worship, encourage, confront, and counsel one another. We are all readers and that alone increases what we bring to each other. We all love to laugh, which helps us survive road life, travel disruptions, and at times each other. We are an odd lot with varying backgrounds and scads of opinions. Our common denominator is Jesus who enables us to maintain peace and civility in the midst of a topsy-turvy lifestyle.

I travel with an IPad which gives me access to great books and videos which helps to feed my spirit. I love at the press of a few keys I can listen to great preachers, outstanding teachers, and music that heals the soul. How fortunate we are to instantly have so much available.

{Photo} from Patsy's website here.

A winter sabbath...

2012-01-15T17:46:00.000-05:00

{Photo}Project 15/366 approaching dusk on a winter sabbath

{I LOVE} Sunday::to know His great mercy...

2012-01-15T00:30:00.000-05:00

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you...
(1 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)

{Photo} Day 14/366 {Not what you expected from me, I know} My denim jacket offered little protection from the cold as we stepped out of the warmth of the truck's cab and began wandering among the grave sites in this neglected rural cemetery. Many of Louis' family members, including his parents, are buried here, and the lack of attention the cemetery receives is sad and discouraging. The cold and frost-bitten ground only served to amplify the death represented in the disarray of tombstones and gravemarkers, but chiseled into the headstone of one of the graves were the words of life that those of us who know His great mercy can hope: "She has gone to a better land".

Linking with Diedra's beautiful Sunday community...

Week{ending}...

2012-01-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

As I had determined to do from the beginning, I held my plans for this week loosely, and many of them slipped out - replaced by interruptions and detours.

And that's okay. I'm not frustrated or discouraged. The overall goal for planning was to move forward and not idle or drift, and that was certainly accomplished - if not in the ways I'd planned.

On this Saturday morning, I'm deeply satisfied with how the week unfolded and even with the plans we have for today that were not on my calendar for the week.

What about your week? Are you satisfied with your accomplishments? Do you, like me, have new plans for the weekend you had not anticipated? I really would love to know.

{Photo}Day 13/366 bringing in beauty

To not fear winter...

2012-01-13T11:23:00.000-05:00

Just beyond all that lush green, there's fields of brittle-dry brown - almost as far as the eye can see.

I'm grateful for the winter grass seed Louis plants close to the house weeks before frost's first bite.

We're no longer grove owners, and there's nothing to fear about sub-tropical winters on Pollywog Creek, but that green winter grass makes me think of sowing and reaping and the passage in Proverbs that praises the woman who does not fear winter for she is prepared.

And I think of "sowing" as prayer and the "reaping" that could be the answer I want, but it isn't. The reaping is in the peace of knowing that I've "sowed" - that I've prepared for the future by leaving it with the only One who holds it.

{Photos} Day 12/366 autumn leaves still fall on my backyard swing, and a long-tailed moth rests in the sun on the grandlittle's swing

Links for 2011-09-26 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-27T00:00:00-07:00

Live with Flair: Would You Give Like This?
"I want to be the kind of woman that removes her own necklace because another woman might enjoy it. Might I see my possessions as just baubles to pass around?"

Links for 2011-09-23 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-24T00:00:00-07:00

The Blazing Center » Jumping Spiders, Robber Flies And God’s Glory
AMAZING!!!
Rust: A High Calling Gallery | The High Calling
My "rusty" photo was featured here...and the poem by Roseann is beautiful and worth the click over there....

Links for 2011-09-21 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-22T00:00:00-07:00

Gitz
Beautiful, faithful Sara is going home. If you've never read her blog, I suggest you find a quiet place to do so. Sara is a shining star if there ever was one. Go with God, Sara. You are dearly loved.
Our lives together make the gospel visible | Of First Importance
"Our lives together make the gospel visible." Trevin Wax
“Suffering for Jesus with joy shows his supreme value” – John Piper « The Works of God
And this is exactly what Sara has done...her joy has shown Christ's supreme value...

Links for 2011-09-14 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-15T00:00:00-07:00

Well Hello | E.S. Hunter
My Emily is the real writer....the one with wisdom that far exceeds what I had at her age. "Knowledge of Him is real power."

Links for 2011-09-13 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-14T00:00:00-07:00

Who will you Invite to (in)courage (in)RL? {A giveaway}
Just beautiful...and I'm thinking about hosting a gathering here on my {real} Pollywog Creek.. Want an invitation?

Links for 2011-09-12 [del.icio.us]

2011-09-13T00:00:00-07:00

when you need some peace … » A Holy Experience
"Somedays I am even brave enough to say that I am scared — I wonder if bends in the roads can break things"

Links for 1969-12-31 [del.icio.us]

1970-01-01T00:00:00-08:00

Laughter, the Unstoppable Force | The High Calling
"If you haven’t laughed in a while, what’s keeping you?"