Studying...Serenity...Silence

Friday, Steve had a workshop in Oak Harbor. I went along so we could go out to eat with friends after the workshop. I brought my books and my computer and headed to the nearest Starbucks. I traveled all along the "coast" of Oak Harbor which I had NEVER seen before. I really wanted to just study and be able to look out over the water because...I found it is that scenery that energies me and I just really love the salt water. All along the water, there were restaurants, but no coffee shop with the serene view that I was after.

So, I went to the Starbucks where I had been before and got my coffee and settled into the comfy chair ready to spend the day there...


HMMMMMMM....let see, something wasn't right. The music, yep the music was way too loud. Concentrate...your kids can block this out...try....try....try....NOPE...couldn't do it. So I asked a gentleman sitting in the other comfy chair (which was way too close for me when I sat down...but I figured I would outlast him)...if he knew where the Library was. He gave me directions and off I went.

I went to the "Quiet Please Reading Area" of the Sno-Isle Library. The room was quiet but it was what was behind the blinds that made my heart sing....I(that is the Library) was up on a hill and overlooking the marina.

God is so good. I was able to study. It was silent (well almost. there was one older gentleman who HUMMED the entire time he was there.) but most of all I had the serenity and peace that I needed and I felt refreshed. And an added blessing, I finished another assignment.

I took most of the pictures from the library window. I got up and was ready to go to pick up Steve at the workshop. As I walked out, the mist had increased and the view was even more beautiful. Of course...cameras and real life do make it a bit harder to capture the beauty....

It always is such a blessing when God gives us what we desire and not what we deserve.

Praise His Holy name....and praise him for studying...serenity....and silence...PLUS...the ocean!

Cameras...pictures....wonder?

Have you ever tried to capture a picture of a spider's web?

What about a double rainbow? A hummingbird? A child's secret smile?

Have you ever seen the wonder of fall with the myriad of colors and taken a picture --only to get the picture back and it falls flat?

How do you describe what a fresh blueberry tastes like?

-the beauty and splendor of that last rose in the garden?

-the joy of knowing you will be with family soon?

The spider's web disappears in the foliage; the rainbows melt into the sky. The hummingbirds are a blur of flight; the child's smile vaporizes in the moment it takes to push the button.

There are so many wonders in our world that lack the words to describe and our inability to capture their essence.

This past weekend, Steve and I drove to Canada for the day. We saw beautiful color, torrential rain, dark gray clouds, and didn't take a picture. There are some things that just need to remain captured in our minds. These are pictures that remain in our hearts for years...the color may fade but the circumstances that surround them...keeps the color alive.

This weekend, we didn't take pictures. We just had a great day. How I praise God for the wonders of His creation and the ability to enjoy it. Our Creator God...He has given us so much...and we have so much to thank Him for. Praise His Holy name.