letting go

.....and here we have the breaking.......

words and images © copyright melody armstrong 2015

:: quiet moments ::

a few quiet days lately

(between spurts of high-energy

spring cleaning projects in january

such as pantry reorganizing, fridge cleaning, 

closet sorting, purging and donating, 

and basement painting ) 

to breathe

to be alone 

to be still enough 

to recognize the yearnings

of my heart

and willfully choose

to let my days 

be shaped by them

and so...long walks in the woods

luxuriously long soaks in the bath

immersed in favourite words

peaceful hours of creating.... 

a journal cover

 a few pages of random thoughts 

plastered in mixed media

unmeasured moments 

of thought and 

contemplation and prayer

sitting in my dreamy bedroom 

letting my eyes be washed 

by the soft light of these grey winter skies

i am seeing clearer

and what do I have to show

for this solitude

but a 

few pretty pages

for

the fullness of my heart 

can neither be measured

nor displayed.

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2016

fresh starts...happy 2016

My favourite moments of the Christmas season are those I spend alone or with loved ones, reflecting on God's gifts in my life.  The most immeasurable, indescribable, invaluable of all being God's gift of Himself to me -- to all of us. 

He is the gift of fresh, new beginnings; the gift of forgiven mistakes, forgotten pasts, and clean slates.  He is the gift of freedom for our souls.  

A couple thousand years ago, at just the perfect moment -planned before the beginning of time-

God did the impossible.  He became small.

The creator and mastermind behind all that we might wrap our wildest imaginations around, willingly inserted Himself into time and history, in the form of a helpless baby, born to a peasant girl who was engaged to a carpenter.  And His birth was announced to the shepherds, of course.  God lit up the heavens with stars and angel-choirs singing -- a show for the lowly and lonely and overlooked.  

This is what God always does.  He comes to those of us that want and need him most.  

He becomes small enough to be born in us,  if we choose to make any room at all for Him in our own soul's manger -- right there in the mess of it all.  

And then the Miracle grows in us.  God fills us and spills out of us.  We get to be transformed daily, if we choose, because the Creator is lovingly at work within us.

And just like Mary, who said "yes" to being a vessel wherein Christ could dwell, we have the same choice to make.  Are we willing to say yes, even the tiniest yes, to having God dwell in us?  Are we willing, even when we don't know what it means, when we're afraid, when we doubt, when we're confused and lost in our messy lives, to say yes?  

If we are, if we're willing to make any room at all for God in us, I can't help but believe that we might finally experience a widening of our imaginations and catch a glimpse of Christmas' true meaning.   

May 2016 be a year for fresh starts and saying "yes" to the best Gift of all.

Love and Hugs,

Melody

H A P P Y    N E W    Y E A R   T O   A L L    O F     Y O U!!!!     FROM ALL OF US!! 

all words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2016

the shining of your face

prayerful quiet

bathed in

soft, radiant shining

it is the shining of

Your face

i look for it

i long for it

and often

when my eyes are clear

i see it

on the pages

of my heart

on the path before my feet

on the lives of 

those i love - 

and You love more - 

who still feel lost

in dark

yet You have not

forsaken

this light

it is the shining of

Your face

Psalm 16:11

"Now you've got my feet on the life path,

all radiant from the shining of your face.

Ever since you took my hand,

I'm on the right way."

(from The Message translation of The Bible)

words and images (unless otherwise cited) © copyright Melody Armstrong 2015

autumn gifts

I can't help but share this one with you again...

while i adore summer

in all its dazzle and lustre

it is autumn that soothes my soul

if i settle into it

 and let it works its magic

for if summer is an exuberant laugh

autumn is an intimate whisper 

if summer is dips in the lake and dinner on the front porch

autumn is books by the fireplace

and homemade soup simmering on the stove

if summer is fast rides in shiny, bright toys 

that make us scream with abandon and delight

autumn is long, leisurely walks 

along broken down fences to old barns barely standing

lost in thoughtful contemplation

if summer is passionate kisses, kicked off sheets and windblown hair

autumn is a tender embrace under fluffy down duvet and

a favourite wool hat pulled over wild tangles

if summer is luscious peaches and cherry stained t-shirts

autumn is crisp, crunchy crabapples eaten right off the tree

and puckered lips that follow

if summer is the sound of lapping waves and steps splashing along the shore

autumn is the swish of dried leaves kicked into the air or scrunched along the sidewalk

if summer is the song of raindrops and the call of red winged blackbirds

autumn is the frenzy of honking geese en route to a party 

perfect V's silhouetted against foggy morning skies

if summer is a spray of blossoms and petals in flirtatious, rainbow colors

autumn is blushing, red leaves and shy pinecones and marigolds peeking through frost

if summer is cool drinks in iced glasses and barefeet hopping on sizzling pavement

autumn is steamy hot chocolate and toes cozy in brown leather boots

if summer is kids out late and not to be seen for hours

autumn is family tucked a little closer while daylight slips earlier into darkness

if summer is waking with the sun on your skin

eyes wide open to a world already beckoning

autumn is a gentle stirring 

a quiet tiptoe

into a world of stillness

barely lit by crimson sunrise

and so...

while i adore summer

in all its dazzle and lustre
it is autumn.....

if i settle into it

 and let it works its magic
that soothes my soul. 

words and images © copyright melody armstrong 2015

autumn gifts

I can't help but share this one with you again...

while i adore summer

in all its dazzle and lustre

it is autumn that soothes my soul

if i settle into it

 and let it works its magic

for if summer is an exuberant laugh

autumn is an intimate whisper 

if summer is dips in the lake and dinner on the front porch

autumn is books by the fireplace

and homemade soup simmering on the stove

if summer is fast rides in shiny, bright toys 

that make us scream with abandon and delight

autumn is long, leisurely walks 

along broken down fences to old barns barely standing

lost in thoughtful contemplation

if summer is passionate kisses, kicked off sheets and windblown hair

autumn is a tender embrace under fluffy down duvet and

a favourite wool hat pulled over wild tangles

if summer is luscious peaches and cherry stained t-shirts

autumn is crisp, crunchy crabapples eaten right off the tree

and puckered lips that follow

if summer is the sound of lapping waves and steps splashing along the shore

autumn is the swish of dried leaves kicked into the air or scrunched along the sidewalk

if summer is the song of raindrops and the call of red winged blackbirds

autumn is the frenzy of honking geese en route to a party 

perfect V's silhouetted against foggy morning skies

if summer is a spray of blossoms and petals in flirtatious, rainbow colors

autumn is blushing, red leaves and shy pinecones and marigolds peeking through frost

if summer is cool drinks in iced glasses and barefeet hopping on sizzling pavement

autumn is steamy hot chocolate and toes cozy in brown leather boots

if summer is kids out late and not to be seen for hours

autumn is family tucked a little closer while daylight slips earlier into darkness

if summer is waking with the sun on your skin

eyes wide open to a world already beckoning

autumn is a gentle stirring 

a quiet tiptoe

into a world of stillness

barely lit by crimson sunrise

and so...

while i adore summer

in all its dazzle and lustre
it is autumn.....

if i settle into it

 and let it works its magic
that soothes my soul. 

words and images © copyright melody armstrong 2015

September Rain

there's nothing like a few rainy days 

to inspire 

the shrugging on of a cozy, oversized hoodie 

and the rare indulgence 

of back to back episodes of a favourite show 

with anyone who's in the mood to watch

we've only a few evenings left 

that are gloriously unscheduled 

so perhaps we should just snuggle in

give ourselves over 

to the moody, grey clouds

and drizzled skies 

and enjoy this quiet, lazy pace 

borrowed, it seems, from a season that has 

quietly made its exit.

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2015

fall is in the air

My toenails are shiny pink -- too shiny for August's fresh-off-the-beach toes -- and the cool, dewy grass is still lush and green, but something has shifted within and without.  It feels like fall and I'm not sure I will comply just yet.  Perhaps my favourite jean jacket and boots can wait just a little while longer and I'll choose my white linen top and flip flops instead.  

There are still summer weeds in the garden yet to be pulled, and last night, after three hours of digging weeds, turning soil and planting tulips, we barbecued hamburgers and enjoyed them together on the front porch beneath the warm, low slanted rays of sun (dirt under my fingernails, and all!)

Here I am, friends.....practicing living in the moment -- whatever it brings.  For the time being, I am perfectly content to share another meal outside and give thanks for a day that began with a morning walk in the fog with a dear friend and came to a close with a stretch and one last sip of ice water from a muddy glass.  Ah....life's treasured moments.

Happy easing into fall......

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2015 (except where otherwise cited) 

letting go of summer...

my daughter...last moments of summer at the lake

from my journal just 10 days ago.....

I have already said goodbye to my family who have headed home and left me to happily finish the last of the cleanup and enjoy a final day at the lake by myself.  I am returning, just now, from a long, quiet stroll along the lake shore and I feel sad to think that summer is over.  Again, I've walked to the furthest stretch of beach I can -- all the way to the sandbars at the bend of the river's edge.  The warm splashes of water and soft press of sand in each step are a luxury I wish I could enjoy for just a while longer.  And of course, my pocket is full with a few more rock treasures to add to the growing collection on the fireplace mantle.

These daily walks along the beach, both alone and with those I love, have nourished this hungry soul of mine.  I have met with my Creator here.

it's just the swan and I......

The truth is, my mind hasn't quite caught up with the idea that summer really is coming to a close -- that daylight's long, golden rays have started yawning earlier these days, ready to take a rest from the extended hours of beautiful summer shining.  A part of me is still holding on, I think, to all that summer represents:  family, love, rest, peace, beauty, endless possibility.

Sandy Gingras, another women who loves water and beach, captured my sentiment exactly in these words:

We want to elongate the days, distill the memories, make them last.  At the same time we know that the beauty is in the evanescence....every wave comes in, then retreats.  Every day promises, then turns its back and slips away.  Every joy has a little tease in it, a give and take, and leaves a wake of longing......(from How to Live at the Beach. Emphasis mine)

Oh, yes,  "beauty is in the evanescence."  This phrase has such a profound impact on me.  If only I could really trust it to be true in the deepest parts of me, where I sometimes hold on the hardest.  And yes, how I relate to the "wake of longing" in the letting go.  Richard Paul Evans also phrased this idea so poignantly in his novel The Timepiece:  "At times I wish it were within my power to reach forth my hand and stop the moment--but in this I err.  To hold the note is to spoil the song." (Emphasis mine.)

It's eight o'clock in the evening now and I'm sitting in the sand along the water's edge.   The beach is a solitary place - just me and the gorgeous white swan I was hoping to see again, floating near the mouth of the river. There is a warm breeze teasing my frazzled, sun-bleached strands into tickles across my cheek.  The shore receives the subtle, rippled waves with a soft give -- each small lap etching a pattern further into its sandy embrace.

I am the shore.  I am supple to the shaping and moulding of all that has transpired this summer.  It leaves me feeling a little tender and vulnerable.  Each moment, happy and carefree or burdened and lonely, has etched its pattern into me.  I go home different than I came.  I have willingly reached out to new possibilities and in doing so, I have also let go.  This is good.

By the time I leave the beach tonight, the sullen sky shares no starry show...only dark, grey, billowy clouds that just might send a pitter-patter of rain song to lull me asleep.

words and images © copyright Melody Armstrong 2015 (except where otherwise cited)

softness

i put a petal to my lips

something exquisite

about this feather touch

in a world with such rough edges

i imagine how it would feel

to fold myself in the softness

of a luscious bloom

then i slip into our sheets

 next to you

and realize

i already know 

words and images © Melody Armstrong 2015