happy T H A N K S G I V I N G 2016

 i am THANKFUL for...

(in 2 minutes or less...ready...set...GO!!!)

1. Jesus' unconditional love for me 2.my incredible husband and kids 3.Tuesday night sleepovers with mom and our Wednesday's together 4. lifelong friendships that grow deeper each day 5.the way my heart dances when I hear my daughter's laugh 6. long chats and laughs with my oldest son 7. that far away look in my younger son's eyes when he's making magic on his guitar  8. my husband's hilarious e-mails...such a funny guy 9.watching and playing volleyball 10. soft sheets and a warm bed to sleep in 11.my hubbie's warm feet when i sneak late into bed 12.long walks in the woods or by the river 13.the sound of water...rushing, crashing, trickling, splashing, lapping, rippling 14.morning mochas on the front porch listening to the birds or the rain, or the silence 15. good health to enjoy this life 16. our worship times at church...just gives me goosebumps to enjoy God's presence in this way 17. writing in my journal or re-reading old ones 18. favourite authors...books, words, poetry 19. watching my kids hug and laugh with one another 20. morning prayers all huddled in a hug at the front door 21.my sister and brother 22. car rides in the malibu with the whole family and the top down 23. scented candles and long baths with a breeze blowing in the window 24. soft jazz  on the piano or saxophone ...and big band music 25. impromptu parties with great friends and delicious food 26. everything artistic...i love when creativity just spills out and you can't do anything but surrender to it all 27. the respect my family shows one another...what a gift 28. times out on the boat with friends and family 29. long hugs...especially from husband and kids...the kind I have to reach up for now! 30.capturing magic with my camera 31. keeping gratitude lists around the house so that I can add to them any time I like....and then re-reading them

and so on, and so on, and so on....

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends this weekend. May your own list of thankfulness grow throughout this coming year...and may your heart lean closer into the One from whom all blessings flow.

xxoo

~melody~

P.S. Come join me over on instagram:  whisperingsoulstreams  and take a moment to spread the love by clicking on the "share" link below.  

words and images © Melody Armstrong 2016

the first day of fall

"What I mean by the first day of fall is that day when you suddenly understand with your whole body that the season has changed.  When the air feels snappier against your skin and the sky's blueness turns wistful, and the humming of insects shifts pitch, and you just know like you know your own name that summer is over."(Marisa de los Santos in Belong To Me) 

how is it possible

that the first day of fall

has come and gone?

I find myself

clinging to the hope

that fall will linger 

that sunlight

will still find leaves on trees

to bath in 

glistening gold

i catch myself

calling "noooooo"

to the wind

as I watch leaves whirling 

tumbling

lifting into the air

and away

leaving trees

a little 

less 

clothed

every day.

words and images (unless otherwise cited) © copyright Melody Armstrong 2016

life in transition

transitions

almost

imperceptible 

at times

a quiet whisper of change

  a slight shift of balance

a subtle transforming moment

when one thing nudges up against another

becoming new in the process

it can be a touch 

so gentle in passing 

that unless intentionally regarded

it slips away

unnoticed 

but sometimes 

like a growing, rushing wave

that meets the shore

with life altering force

transitions come

unexpected, untamed, unimagined

leaving us reshaped

unfamiliar

even to ourselves 

all that was buried

beneath layers of busyness

or soul distraction

or forward momentum

surfaces

everything is visible

uncontained

uncensored

just laying bare upon the surface 

of this life we've been building together.

It's a lovely sort of chaos

like modern art

hard to understand

but possibly beautiful.

words and images © copyright melody armstrong 2016