Weekly Photo Challenge: Serenity ~ God’s Perfect Peace

Serenity at Sea ~ Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

True serenity is not happenstance, as if found in some random place or elusive state of mind; rather, it is constant, emanating from an abiding landscape within, of a soul kept in perfect peace through Christ.
Sue Nash

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Last Fall, Jim and I were in Cabo San Lucas for his son’s destination wedding.  The tranquil setting above was lovely, especially at dusk.  This photo is one of my favorites and almost makes me want to take up sailing.

We both needed a break from all the medical drama last year.  Thankfully, God protected and enabled both of us to attend, and we had an enjoyable time.  We could not have done so, without His help.

Christ alone calms the storms we face and brings us an inner peace and serenity that nothing else can.

“You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on You,
because he trusts in You.”
Isaiah 26:3 ESV

“By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.”
1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭13-15‬ NASB

Close up at dusk

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Twinkle ~ A Twinkling Star

Twinkle

A twinkling star
In prophetic alignment
Brought distant kings
On a royal assignment.

A swaddled babe
In the lowliest stable
Secured our hope,
Where before none was able.

A tainted world
In deception and blindness,
No more need be
For God’s Light dispelled darkness.

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
Isaiah 9:2

Twinkling Nativity

I received my faux candle as a gift last year and am now using it as a back drop for one of my Nativity sets.  Watching it twinkle and swirl is so soothing that it is easily one of my favorite Christmas decorations.

Sue Nash/2014

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From The Daily Post

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threshold ~ Of Life

Threshold of possibilities

Chester loves waiting at the threshold of our front door, for the possibilities it affords:

A chance to bark at something, the ability to warm himself on sunny days or the possibility that someone will take him for a walk. 

Threshold of opportunities

I like walking across the threshold of a church door, because of the opportunities it brings:

A chance to fellowship with other believers, an avenue to show my love for God through worship and an opportunity to grow in my relationship with Him.

Threshold of life ~ this stone enclosure reminded me of the empty tomb

Jesus rejoiced crossing back over the threshold of the grave, by rising from the dead, knowing the accessibility to life it would offer us:

A chance for a brand new life through a restored relationship with God, the privilege of a Spirit-filled life through unrestricted admittance to His presence and the accessibility of eternal life through accepting Christ’s sacrifice for our sins.

Through Jesus, we can cross over the threshold from death to life.

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“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
John 5:24

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Words and photos by Sue Nash/ © 2014

Weekly Photo Challenge: Reflections ~ Anchored Secure

Reflections ~ Anchored Secure

Is your boat safely harbored,
Readied for each stormy gale?
Are you anchored securely,
Lest there come some rough travail?

Have you found quiet refuge,
Unconcerned by wind or wave?
Are you tethered completely;
Your hope, confident and brave?

Fear, need not loose your moorings,
Or trials your peace assail.
For within the fiercest gust,
There is a Way to prevail.

Why guess how you’ll navigate;
On your own think what to do?
There’s an Anchor for the soul,
Who will never forsake you.

Let go of reservations,
Fix your trust on God above.
Set your compass on His truth;
Your reflections on His love.

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“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”
Hebrews 6:19a
NIV

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From The Daily Post

Photo and poem by Sue Nash/2014

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside ~ The Shack

A peek inside my daddy’s shack

Inside this shed,
My daddy’s dear shack,
Are now rusted items
He once meticulously tracked.

Things that he loved,
Assorted relics;
Stuff others would discard,
Knowing they never could sell it.

Objects passed down
From his parents to him
And random oddities
He tucked in buckets on a whim.

Within its walls,
Dad’s off time was spent;
A place near his garden,
For tinkering to heart’s content.

Now that he’s gone,
When I go inside
Can’t help thinking of him.
Through memories, he still resides

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“The memory of the just is blessed…”
Proverbs 10:7a

© Sue Nash/ 2014

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From The Daily Post

Weekly Photo Challenge: Perspective ~ Barriers

A small sand wall formed by the tide

Sand frozen in time
Layered canyon sea barrier
Tide swiftly washes

When I took this photo, the tide was receding.  An entire section of the shore stood taller than that closer to the ocean, with the sand above separated by the collapse of the wet shore beneath.  The tide had formed a miniature sea wall, like a barrier.

However, when photographed from a close up perspective, the wall looked as large as that of the Grand Canyon, with the shells on the surface above mere spectators of the imposing scene below.

The wall was actually only about a foot high and was really no match for the next high tide. 

Varied perspectives in photography intrigue me, particularly close shots.  I like the details in things, especially in nature.  Things that others sometimes miss.

I also try to appreciate people others dismiss.  It is the reason that for years I have worked with adults with special needs at my church.  They are a group many consider as the least of these among us; cute when young, but forgotten when older. 

Those of us who work with them, though, have discovered a secret; one found only by interacting with them close enough to gain their trust, and by overcoming personal barriers of fear or disdain.

The secret is that those with special needs are some of the most loving, giving people.  Unconcerned and often unaware about their impairments, they instead spend their time just enjoying life and loving others. 

In my short time teaching them, I am the one who has learned.  Had I not overcome the barrier of my hesitations, and drawn near enough to see them from a perspective beyond their disabilities, though, I would have missed out on gaining their sweet friendships. 

As the tide quickly washes away a tiny sea wall barrier, I had to let God erase my fears of loving those viewed as unlovely.  By doing so, the one blessed has been me.

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“Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.“
Matthew 25:40

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From The Daily Post

© Sue Nash/ 2014

Weekly Photo Challenge: Threes ~ One Story

Three Views From the Pier

View from the pier

Together on the pier

Sam the Pelican on the pier

This week’s photo challenge is about threes, or telling a three-picture story. 

Readers who follow me regularly have already seen some of the pictures that I took while my husband and I were in Gulf Shores, Alabama recently.  Today, I will show more of what we experienced on our trip using this three-picture format. 

Three Views Along the Shore

Walking along the shore

Keeping off the dunes along the shore

Seagulls flying along the shore

I like the idea of using three images to tell one story, mainly because of my fondness for the number three.  It reminds me of the Trinity.

God manifests Himself as triune, which means three in One.  God the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. 

One God, as three Persons, revealing one magnificent love story for us.

“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.”
1 John 5:7

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From The Daily Post

© Sue Nash/2014

Weekly Photo Challenge: Treasure ~ The Greatest

The photo challenge this week is Treasure. 

I treasure the necklace my husband gave me on our tenth wedding anniversary.  It reminds me of the love we share. 

However, knowing Jesus loves me is above all else.  He is my greatest treasure.

“As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you”
John 15:9

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From The Daily Post

© Sue Nash/ 2014

Weekly Photo Challenge: Selfie ~ Broken

Like a framed picture of myself, only blurred and broken

This week’s Challenge is Selfie.  I decided on an artistic representation, and took a photo of my reflection in a mirror, with a broken picture frame glass sitting on top of it.  I then cropped out everything around the frame to make it look like a picture of myself, only broken.

My emphasis was on the blurred, broken glass for a reason.  Throughout my life, I have struggled with seeing myself as broken.  As damaged, flawed and inadequate.

The good news us that God welcomes the broken, lost and discarded.  In fact, He specializes in mending and then using them for His glory, despite shortcomings and flaws. 

I know, because He did so with me.  With God’s help, I don’t see myself as broken; rather, perfectly designed for His purposes.  And I celebrate knowing that He loves me just as I am.

“I am like a broken vessel.”
Psalm 31:12

“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3

Do you struggle with feelings of inadequacy and brokenness?  God can heal and use the shattered pieces of your life.

This is a wonderful song and video that speaks to how God mends brokenness: 

Sue Nash/2014

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Object ~ What Goes With It

For my Nikon D200

Sometimes, the object itself is not what is most important; it is what goes with it.

I need my lens cap, but the camera that goes with it is what I love.

I am fond of my wedding band, but my husband who gave it to me is whom I love.

I treasure God’s word, but it is the One of whom it speaks that I love.

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“Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me”
Psalm 40:7

Sue Nash/2014

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From The Daily Post