I have recently been reading about John being exiled to the island of Patmos. Speaking of John … does anyone besides me confuse John the Baptist and the Apostle John? 

Have you ever noticed that no one in the Bible is called by initials? Like, why can't John the Baptist be "JtB"?  And the Apostle John be "AJ"? That would seem to make things so much simpler. But no, it just says "John" and then I have no clue – are we talking about Jesus' cousin? Or the other John, the apostle? For the sake of this blog, I'm talking about the apostle … yea, that John.

There are numerous commentaries on why John was exiled and who sent him to Patmos. Make no mistake … God sent John to Patmos. Oh, he may have used someone else to help the cause, but it was all part of God's plan. John was exiled to the prison island of Patmos for refusing to stop preaching the Gospel. According to tradition, he was sentenced to death by being thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. When that didn’t harm him at all, he was sent to Patmos where there was no one to preach to. While there, he was visited by the Lord who commanded him to write the book we know as Revelation and then took him to the end of the age to witness everything. I believe that is why John was at Patmos … pure and simply to receive and write the book of Revelation. 

Do you ever feel like you are on an island? Do you ever feel alone? I am an only child and on more than one occasion, espcially when I was growing up, I knew what it felt like to be alone. There are still times now as an adult that I find God puts me on an "island."

There is most certainly an ebb and flow to life. There are times when you are surrounded by crowds of folks. You can't seem to find one moment of alone time – at work or at home, there is a always a crowd around.

Then there are other times when everything and everyone seems to be stripped away. You are completely alone … maybe more than you would choose to be. I have often wondered about why. Why is it that God moves people in and out of our lives? What is he trying to accomplish during the periods of long solitude?

That's when the story of the Apostle John came to mind … I wonder if sometimes God moves us out of all that is familiar to us. He takes us away from our current surroundings. He ushers the "crowd" one by one out of our lives. He strips everything away … until there is only us … and God. Maybe that's the answer. 

Maybe he has to get us to that point where he can finally have our undivided attention. Maybe it is there in our "aloneness," in the solitude and silence, that he can begin to show us greater things.

What is most amazing is that maybe it is there, and only there, that we really listen to what he has to say. When there are no distractions, no noise, no one else clamoring for our attention … perhaps then we really listen. We begin to hear things a little more clearly.

In John's case, the solitude was most definitely for a greater purpose. It was to write the Book of Revelation and to stand before the very end of the age and see everything that is going to occur. I bet that made the writing a little easier, huh? 

As for me or you … Well, I am not always sure what greater things God has in store, but I do never doubt that he has a purpose … So, if you're on an island and life is a little too quiet, perk up your ears because that is when God speaks the loudest.

I often think (and pray) about who my children will someday marry.

Some of the best advice that I’ve ever heard about choosing a mate I recently heard while watching a talk show. The guest said that instead of looking for someone to share the good times with, we should choose someone who we would want to go through the very worst that life has to dump at our doorstep.

I found that statement both wise and truthful. So many times we only consider the good times – the fun we will have – the laughs that we will share. And while all that is important, it is but a small portion of what life is really like. The truth is that the person you want by your side “till death do you part” is the one you would want to by your side when the absolute worst thing you can imagine happens ... because more than likely, it will! I pray that both of my children find that kind of person.

Me? Well, I have been very blessed. My husband “walks on water.” No, really! What is fascinating is that I had suspected this all along but just recently my suspicions were confirmed. Recently, Dewey shared a story with our BFG (that’s Sunday School for most folks) that gave me a bit more insight into the man that I suppose I will never completely know.

Dewey explained that one summer he and his friend Johnny had the clever idea to place cinderblocks across the creek just below the water’s surface. They were just a few feet apart and if you were careful you could step across each one and give the appearance that you were walking on water. They tested it out a few times and from a distance it really looked like they were really walking on water. This was just too good to be true.

This new found talent could not go unshared. The only thing left to do was assemble an audience to view their performance. Dewey and his friend decided it would be fun to play a trick on someone. They chose Mike, one of their more gullible friends. Dewey approached Mike and explained that he had recently attended revival at his church and that he was convinced that he, like Jesus, could walk on water. Of course, Mike thought he was completely crazy but it did pique his interest. What could it hurt to play along and more than likely watch Dewey sink like a rock in the creek? At least it would be good for a few laughs.

As in most small towns, the news spread about this miraculous performance and quite a few people gathered at the creek bank for the afternoon show. Dewey and Johnny raced to the creek eager to give their miraculous performance. The cinderblocks were carefully in place just below “see” level. They were so excited! No one would ever know their secret.

The only problem was that it was a sweltering, 102-degree July day and I guess the sun had started to bake Johnny’s brain. Before Dewey could perform his miracle, Johnny – yes, Johnny, the genius who helped Dewey carefully place the cinderblocks just minutes before – announced to the crowd that he was so hot that he needed to cool off before the performance could begin. Without hesitation, he leapt into the water, head first mind you and landed dead center on the first cinderblock. Fortunately, the only injury he sustained was a mild concussion. Unfortunately for Dewey, the miracle worker, the secret was out!

That story makes me laugh out loud! If you ask me, I’ll tell you that at least in my eyes, he still walks on water. I could not have chosen a better person to share the good and bad times with. My prayer for my children is that they find their spouse who “walks on water” (at least to them) to share not just the laughs, but the all that life has in store for them. Because Jesus, the only one who literally can walk on water said it best, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

I love the movie “Polar Express.” It is one of my favorite modern day holiday movies.

Of course, there is nothing that can take the place of the Christmas Story, but for the purposes of this blog I will not be reflecting on how not to “shoot your eye out.” Although being the mom of a young hunter who has amassed quite an arsenal of weaponry, I am intimately aware of the profound wisdom of that statement.

At any rate, back to Polar Express .. .One of my favorite scenes is when the Conductor makes his way through the train and punches words in each child’s ticket that suits their unique personality and needs: The girl’s says “lead”; the know-it-all says “learn”; and the lonely boy’s says “Count On, Lean On, Depend On”… and finally the main character, the young boy’s says “Believe.”

During both trips to Europe this year I had the opportunity to travel by train on numerous occasions. For a southern girl from Eastern North Carolina, it was a very different experience. We don’t travel by train very often. However, I do remember taking Amtrak from Sharpsburg to Rocky Mount once. It seemed like it took about thirty seconds. 

One of my favorite parts of the train ride was the conductor coming by to punch our ticket. I remember thinking about Polar Express and wondering what might be “punched” in my ticket. Sadly, it was a simple circular punch … nothing more … no hidden wisdom. Just a punch. I tried to pretend that it was more … maybe the simple circle represented a donut. Perhaps my special message was to eat more donuts! Could it be? LOL! I know, that’s stretching it a bit. But I try to look for signs pointing me to “Krispy Kreme” in everything.

I thought about the boy’s ticket being punched with the word “BELIEVE.” It sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Around this time of year we see that word on just about everything from Christmas cards to wrapping paper to yes, even spelled out in lights above Macy’s department store in NYC. “BELIEVE”—it is the simple message of Christmas.

Throughout this Christmas season, my prayer is that our belief will be strengthened and that we will find renewed faith in our Savior. For those who are without Christ this Christmas, I pray that they will come to BELIEVE in the Christ. The very simple, but all important, reason for the season. I pray that they will come to understand that sometimes seeing is believing and sometimes the most real things in the world cannot be seen.

A while ago my daughter was writing an essay about a short story that her class had read.  The assignment was intended to get the students thinking about what "truth."  They were challenged to define what "truth" is in the context of the story.  As part of that classroom discussion, she shared how a lot of people do not believe in absolute truth.  In fact, most students in her class felt that truth should be defined individually.  Many felt like "truth" for them might not be "truth" for someone else.  As our pastor says so eloquently…there is a Greek word for that---"Poppycock".  LOL!  It is ridiculous. 

I suppose there are some things that people might argue are "truth" for one person but not for another. 

Things like:

Coke or Pepsi

Apple or IBM

Hellmans or Dukes

Google or Yahoo

Twitter or Facebook

Chocolate or Vanilla

Jpeg or Raw

UNC or Duke

Ford or Chevy

Dogs or Cats

Hymns or Contemporary

Pews or Chairs

Running or Walking

Mountains or Beach

Snow Skiing or Water Skiing

Flare or Skinny

Latte or Capuccino

Caffeinated or Decaf

Whole or 2%

Well done or rare

Acoustic or Electric

Silver or Gold

Long hair or short

In the end, those things don't matter.  And while I might argue, quite passionately I might add, that Dukes Mayo and the Carolina Tarheels and Facebook and Shooting in RAW and Vanilla ice cream and walking for my daily exercise regimen and Fords are all better than their counterparts.  It is not a fact.  It is not an undisputable truth.  I know that because my best friend insists on Hellman's, my mom and dad pull for Duke, my very good friend shoots in JPEG, my daughter tweets on Twitter, my cousin is an avid runner and my son wants a Chevy truck. ):  So, yeah, we can each have our preference and define what we think is best in these type things. 

However, and this is a huge "however"….

There is one truth that cannot be compromised.  The truth that Jesus Christ is the Messiah.  The Son of God.  Died on a cross.  Rose again and is THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE.  And that no one comes to the Father but through HIM. 

See, the difference between this truth and all the others listed above is that this truth is not dependent on me and my preferences and my views.  It is an absolute truth.  It is not up for debate.  It has been decided.  It is "nailed" down, if you will.  You can be "absolutely" sure of that!

I've often thought that if I ever wrote another book I would entitle it, "Some things are taught, some are caught and some roll between your legs."  Then I realized people probably aren't interested in reading a book whose title is longer than the book!  It is a great concept though … and one that I find blog-worthy. 

There is a lot of truth in that statement. So many things in our life are taught to us. Our parents are our first teachers. They teach us to walk and talk and how to hold a spoon.They teach us to tie our shoes and look both ways before we cross the street. Then we start school and have "real" teachers. We meet friends and wow, do they teach us A LOT of things we never could have figured out on our own – some of which we’d be better off never knowing!

Then there are some lessons that I like to refer to as "caught." You sort of learn it through osmosis. You watch others and learn from their mistakes. You see them try and fail and try again and you "catch" the message. 

And finally, some lessons are neither taught nor caught … those are the ones that unfortunately roll between our legs. Any seasoned infielder knows that a ball rolling between your legs is about the most disheartening error you can make. There's no worse feeling than hearing the crack of the bat, carefully positioning yourself in the perfect spot to complete the play only to lift your glove and realize the ball has rolled right between your legs. It is sickenin ... Life is a lot like that. Sometimes you just don't get it.  You're poised and ready for everything life has to throw at you only to pick your glove up and realize you've missed the ball. 

These are the lessons that are usually the most memorable. The ones when we just do not get it. These are the lessons that we should have learned but just missed the boat. We had a chance but for some reason, maybe pride or stupidity or just plain stubbornness, we chose to ignore the lesson and do it any way. In fact, I almost shortened this blog title to "doing it any way." You know what I'm talking about These are the things that are forever burned in our memory. We wish we had a do-over on these. 

I'm going to share some lessons that WE've (let's include Dewey just because I haven't blogged about him recently) had roll between our legs …

When my husband was a boy, his family farmed. There was ALWAYS work that needed to be done …. and they worked A LOT!  This particular day, Dewey had earned some "free time."  I'm not sure if the sun had baked his brain from working all those hours in the tobacco field or if he had an out of body experience, but for some reason he told his dad that he was bored. Clearly he was not thinking …clearly. LOL!  That error in judgment ended about a day later with blistered hands after shoveling piles of sand from one spot to another … and back again ... That one “rolled between Dewey’s legs” but my children definitely caught that lesson. They have heard their dad tell this story time and again and to this day, the “B” word is taboo in our house.

My mom was the baby in her family. And as with most “babies” they seem to have it easier than their older siblings. She was allowed to “sleep in” and come to the fields later than everyone else – something I’m sure still irks her older sister to this day! Her grandmother would always have a biscuit with King’s syrup ready for her to eat on her walk to the field where everyone was working.

By the way, you have not lived until you have tasted a hot biscuit drenched in cold King’s syrup.  as anyone noticed that King’s went from using the “paint can” container (my personal favorite) to the glass jar to now the plastic? I want to start a campaign for King’s to go back to the paint tin. I really believe the syrup was a little sweeter in the can.  

Anyway, my mom would make her way to the fields with syrupy biscuit in hand. The only thing that stood between her and her destination was a rooster! That would have been reason enough for me to sleep an extra few hours as I have no use for anything that has feathers. Most every day the rooster would chase her and try to steal her biscuit. On more than one occasion, my mom went running back to the house with a tear-stained face and sticky fingers … but no biscuit. You would think that after this happening two or three times, she would have just taken another route.

I was racking my brain to think of a story to tell on myself. So much of my life things that have “rolled between my legs” ... on the ball field and off. As crazy as it sounds, I was probably more upset about the errors on the ball field than in life. One very strange thing that I do over and over is refuse to use an oven mitt. As I type this blog, I am looking down at a fresh scar from yesterday when I shoved my hand into a 400-degree oven to test the softness of a sweet potato I was cooking. As always, I misjudged and the top of my hand brushed against the top of the oven. OUCH! This happens all the time. It is like I cannot spend an extra ten seconds to put the oven mitt on. It is crazy!

I love that God gives us more than one chance. He understands that a lot of times we are not going to “get it” the first time. We are going to get punished or robbed or burned more times than we will want to recall. Things are going to slip by us ... So many lessons are going to “roll between our legs.” Yet, He is the God of second chances. If you don’t believe me, read Jonah. Jonah 3:1 says, “And the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the second time, saying …”  Jonah disobeyed God the first time and was a little worse for wear. In fact, he was fish food. While in the belly of the whale, Jonah “got it.”    

And there are no sweeter words than verse 3, “And Jonah obeyed…”

My hope and prayer is that we all “get it” ... the first time.

We have some good friends who own a vineyard in Aventon, N.C. In fact ,they were recently featured in the Rocky Mount Telegram. 

They grow a wide variety of grapes: Muscadine, Scuppernong, Pams* (these are extra special!), Nobles, and the list goes on. On a typical Saturday, they will have a number of people visit their vineyard to pick grapes. Like most vineyards, you can pick your own or you can buy a bucket that has already been picked.

My friend tells a story about some of the folks who came to “pick” grapes … I use the “pick” term loosely because sometimes picking looks a lot like eating. It becomes a mini-buffet for people if you know what I mean. And while I’m sure he doesn’t mind if people eat a grape here or there all along as they are picking, there is a balance. Anyway, one particular group seemed to be tipping the scale a bit and eating a whole lot more grapes than were making it into the buckets. He joked with us that when they were ready to checkout and settle up that he did not know if should weigh their bucket full of grapes or just weigh the picker themselves since they had consumed so many!  LOL!  That story made me smile. 

The bible says that we should bear much fruit. We should be yielding all sorts of fruits. Our buckets should be full! The fruits of our vine, or our spirit should be fuites like: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)

I wonder if our God ever takes inventory of us. I wonder if He were to settle up with us, what would He find? Would He find that we had kept all our fruits to ourselves? Would there be any tangible evidence or visible proof to show Him? Or would our buckets be full? Would they be overflowing with love and kindness? Would our friends testify of our gentleness and patience? Would our family share stories of how we are faithful and good? Would our co-workers recount times when we were self-controlled and peaceful? Or would there be nothing to see? Nothing tangible? No evidence? Would our bucket be empty? Would he have to weigh us instead of our bucket to get an honest accounting of our fruits?

One of my greatest fears is to stand before the Father having lived a life that is not pleasing to Him. My prayer is that our buckets are overflowing with fruits. I’m going to end on a country music note and quote the legendary Tim McGraw, “May we love deeper, speak sweeter and give forgiveness we’ve been denying …”

Over the past few weeks we have sustained quite a bit of damage. In fact, I made the statement that if bad things really do happen in threes then I hope we are done!  

First, Hurricane Irene dropped a very large pine tree across the roof of our house and poked through our attic. The next week my son, Nick, had a skateboard accident and broke his foot. The very next day, Dewey walked in from work and said that he had killed a 6-pointer. I looked at him sorta funny because I knew that he had been at work all day. He continued to explain that a very large deer had jumped directly in front of his car.

Fortunately, Dewey was fine, the car, however, was not. I had to laugh because when we first looked at the damage to the car we were thinking it was just a few hundred dollars. It really appeared minimal. The grill was broken and the headlight was cracked. How much could that cost? (More than you would think!!!)  

I am not sure there is any damage that could be done to a vehicle that would cost a few hundred dollars to repair. A feather could gently land on the hood of your car and it would cost more than a few hundred dollars to get the feather debris off the hood.

Anyway, I digress …  

My point is that we have had a lot of things damaged and broken. Some much more valuable than others. Nick's foot being at the top of the list. Nick was actually riding a "Ripstick" and if you are not familiar with a Ripstick or have never ridden one I would strongly advise you to avoid them if at all possible.  They are built like a skateboard but have only two wheels in the center of the board thus making it much more difficult to balance.I've included this photo for those of you who haven't had the pleasure of seeing one up close:

Nick is always trying to convince me to ride the "death stick" as I call it. I think they call it a "RIPstick" because you may "R.I.P. rest in peace" if you ride it. I have tried to explain that it will break my fragile body into thousands of tiny pieces and I just don't want to do that at this point in my life.  

Nick is actually quite a pro at the Ripstick. On this particular day, he was riding down a driveway and saw a car coming so he veered off into the grass. I guess the wheel got stuck between the driveway and the grass and the Ripstick abruptly stopped. Nick, however, did not. He went catapulting into the grass (thankfully not the asphalt) and landed with his foot under him. So all 80 pounds landed directly on his left foot, more specifically, on the bone that connects your ankle to your pinky toe (the one that goes "wee wee wee, all he way home"). In the words of our very close friends at Urgent Care, that bone snapped in half like a pencil! The bone on the top of the foot was cracked and he sustained a very bad sprained ankle. OUCH!  

So now he is sporting a boot and crutches for the next six weeks. That was the "original" version of the story and what I believe to be the truth. Today, a week after the accident, the story goes something like this. He was riding his skateboard (maybe that sounds more "extreme" than the Ripstick) and he was trying to jump from a tree limb to the roof of the house. He was grinding across the edge of the roof line when he did a double backflip to land in the driveway and he misjudged the distance, came in too fast and crashed. He landed on top of the car uninjured when suddenly out of nowhere his skateboard came flying through the air and crashed into his foot. LOL!!!

The Clarks have had a bad run. I hope three is the magic number and we are on the road to recovery. I thought about "things" being broken. We break things all the time. Most are tangible things that can be replaced or at the very least repaired. And if not, we learn to adjust and survive without them. I thought about how many times I've gone to God broken. Not with a broken bone or a smashed-up car or a leaky roof, but really broken … on the inside!  

If you've ever been broken hearted you will most likely agree that is much more traumatic than any outward break you could ever experience. The great news is that we can take all the tiny shivers of our wounded heart and all the fragments from our crushed spirit and lay it in a hopeless pile at the feet of God.  I love that! He wants us to come to him for repair.

So when your life has been reduced to nothing more than a few broken pieces strewn about, get on your Ripstick … No, do not get on the Ripstick … LOL!  Just checking to see if you were paying attention …

Instead just stop, right where you are. If you're on the Ripstick, then get off because I wouldn't advise doing much of anything when you're trying to balance yourself on that contraption … Just stop, drop to your knees and just pour it all out. Lay down all the broken pieces before the Father. Watch him, no ALLOW Him to repair your life.  

I promise it will be much more impressive than six weeks in a boot and crutches!!

Recently, Dewey and I had the good fortune to travel to London for our 20th anniversary. I love traveling to new places and exploring new cities. However, the plane flights leave something to be desired. 

I am not a "rider." It is not the flying that bothers me. It is the sitting still, the being confined, the boredom that gnaws away at my inner core. In an effort to fend off complete insanity, I usually try to plan a nap during the long flights …and this was one of those long flights. 

This particular leg of the trip we were flying from Boston to London. It was an eight-hour flight, give or take a tail wind. The very second we found our seat, I wasted no time – I leaned against the window, wrapped up in blanket and drifted off to sleep. In fact, I vaguely recall take-off. I slept through the snack cart, the dinner service, some turbulence (or so I'm told), a number of announcements, the breakfast service and the landing. My husband, on the other hand, was awake for every painstaking detail of the flight. He ate the snacks (three different times), tasted the dinner, nibbled on the breakfast, felt every bump and bounce of the turbulence, talked with the stewardess, listened carefully to each announcement, memorized the pamphlet on what to do in the event of a water landing, watched three movies, read a book, worked on his computer and felt the "not so smooth" landing.  All the while, I slept! 

When we arrived in London, he looked over at me in disgust and disbelief (and might I say … a little tired) and said, "How do you do that?  How can you sleep on a plane? Aren't you worried something will happen? What if the plane crashes?" In all honesty and seriousness, I said, "I am not afraid of flying. I figure either way it works out for me. Either I wake up at my planned destination or I wake up in Glory. I am at fine with either one."  

Dewey would probably tell you that my ability to conk out on an airplane has little to do with faith and a lot to do with just being able to sleep anywhere, any time in any place. In fact, most any form of public transportation is like "Ambien" to me. My body immediately begins to transition into sleep mode.

I love the verse that says God never sleeps or slumbers. I had to look up "slumber" because I was not sure how that differed from sleep. Slumber is defined as "To sleep. To be dormant or quiescent. To pass (time) in sleep: slumbered the night away. A state of inactivity or dormancy." OK, so I still am not sure what the difference is, but "rest" assured that God doesn’t do either!

Ps 121:4 says, "Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps."  I love that about God. He never has a period of inactivity. He is always working.  He works in us, through us and around us. Sometimes he works in spite of us!  Most importantly, He works all things together. There is never a time when we will call on Him that He will not be awake and alert and available. Now that's something to get excited about.

So when you are having a sleepless night or a turbulent flight or a long car ride, find comfort that He is there. Or if you are like me and have no problem falling asleep wherever you are, regardless of the circumstances, take heart that God is awake watching over you. Rest peacefully in the knowledge

I've shared before that I have a love of photography. There are unquestionably times of the day when it is best to shoot photos … I remember being a young teenager and having the late Ben Casey, a photographer in Nashville, take my picture. I remember Ben taking photos first thing in the morning. When I say first thing, I mean "first" thing … Literally I think the sun was coming up as he snapped his first shot! 

I remember being a young teenager and questioning his judgment on this. I wondered why we had to do this so early. He was interrupting my precious sleep! What was so great about sunrise? I remember him saying that the light was best first thing in the morning and it made for the most impressive photographs. 

There is an old hymn (Yes hymn!  I do love contemporary praise and worship but I was raised in a church with hymnals on the back of the pew and I have sung my fair share of hymns in my life.)  One particular hymn that comes to my mind is, "I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses."

That hymn reminds us that we are to seek God early in the morning as we begin our day. Perhaps, like photography, that is when the light is best! There is something about those quiet moments spent alone with our Savior, when the "dew is still on the roses."  There is a sweetness about that time that is like no other.

I remember hearing a story about a person saying this prayer, "Lord, today I have not been rude. I have not gotten angry. I have not yelled at anyone. I have not been impatient or unforgiving. But in a few minutes I am going to have to get out of bed and then I'm really going to need your help."  LOL!!! I Love that! That is honest, isn't it?  And it is biblical. 

We should start our day with God. We should ask him to help us get through all that is ahead of us in the upcoming hours. That is truly our only hope to survive! And if there is one truth that is for certain, each day hold trials unbeknownst to us. We are wise to seek him while the dew is still on the roses and the light is its best … 

This photo was taken at Westminster Abbey in London, England, while the dew was still on the roses!

Sometimes I get discouraged when things don’t go according to my plan or I feel like God is picking on me. 

Some days I feel like life isn't fair. I feel "put upon." I don't like the way things are going. Some days nothing makes sense and I wonder to myself, "God, why are you putting me through all this?"

I often reflect on those times and all that I've experienced in my life. I will share a few of those times with you … 

I've been hurt, really hurt.

I've cried myself to sleep.

I've cried until the tears just wouldn't flow any longer.

I've stayed up all night worrying.

I've watched someone die. 

I've been fired from a job.

I've lost friends.

I've been sick to the point of nearly dying.

I've buried friends. Some who I felt were far too young to die.

I've failed tests that I spent hours preparing for.

I've had heartbreaking disappointments.

I've tried my best and my best wasn't good enough.

I've broken rules and gotten caught.

I've watched God give and take away.

I've known better and did it anyway.

I've begged for something and finally got it … been miserable and wondered why the heck I asked for it to begin with.

I've had times when I wanted to die.

I've been so sad that I didn't think anything was ever going to be right ever again.

I've wrecked a car, got a speeding ticket or two … or three.

I've overslept, been late, never shown up, and totally forgotten things.

I've spoken before I thought.

I've had times when life was going great and in literally a split second EVERYTHING changed.

I've yelled and screamed and complained and didn't feel any better than when I started.

I've been chosen last and sometimes not chosen at all.

I've felt God's overwhelming presence in my life and the same day questioned if He heard my cries for help.

I've come in second, third and often last.

I've stood my ground when my opinion was not the popular one.

I've prayed and prayed and prayed and then had to accept that God's plan was different from mine.

Whew! That's a whole lot of living in a short time …

I bet your list wouldn't look much different than mine. In fact, you might be able to add a few life experiences to the list. There is something about having seen the worst. There is something about having gone through all those miserable things and yet survived to draw breath the next day that changes us. 

I find that when God brings people across my path who are going through some of the same things that I have been through, I am a little more compassionate. I don't tend to judge quite so swiftly. I feel for them … really feel something. During those times, I'm not just sharing words of encouragement, I've been there. It is from the heart! I've walked down the road they are on.

There is a connectedness that is difficult to explain when you know someone truly understands the depth of pain you are experiencing.  When you know that they have actually felt what you are feeling.  That is a comfort like no other. I thank God for the times He brings those people in my life to share my troubles. I thank God when He gives me the opportunity to be there for someone else. It is during those times that I experience a moment of clarity and for a brief moment … often too brief … it makes sense.  

I have a passion for photography. There is so much to see through the lens of a camera. There is beauty and life lessons and words of wisdom all around us in every direction if you just take time to notice.

These lessons, if correctly captured, can be framed in a carefully constructed photograph. I recently had the privilege of taking some photos of two precious little girls. I wanted to share some messages that I saw through my lens during that shoot …

1. Don't be afraid to stand out

2. We get by with a little help from your friends

3. Sometimes being a friend is hard work!

4. Never pass up a chance to show someone how much you love them

5. Take a moment to smell the flowers

6. Most days two is better than one

7. Hold hands

8. Sometimes life is disappointing

9. Some days you're going to have to get your hands and feet wet

10. Close your eyes and feel the sun on your face

11. Be silly

12. Remember we're in this together

13. Prop your feet up and relax

14. Love passionately