Praying for Balance

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Texas who have recently been hit by severe storms, with large hail, dozens of tornados and most recently (ongoing) flash-flooding as the Brazos and Colorado rivers overflow taking cars, roads and homes with their fiercely flowing torrents.  From drought --in subsequent several years-- to now flooding? ... Hope nature finds its way back to balance, and cessation of pounding storms, again soon.  God Bless one and all!

5/30/2015 And of course my ongoing thoughts, prayers and donations are with the people of Nepal as they work recover from the two catastrophic earthquakes which recently struck their country, back to back.

Drive By Shooting ...

Shot with my cell phone that is.  A glorious Texas sunset, as shot from a moving vehicle on the way back from the lake.  Taken the day before an extremely parched North Texas finally received some much needed rain. 

 "Texas Sunset:  Bring on the Rain!"

@2013 Copyrighted Photograph:  Isabelle Black Smith.  Non-profit Public Domain use permitted.

 

 

 

It was nice to completely unplug for an entire week++ and it was good to be 'home'.  Now it's good to be home.  Absence kind of helps with that whole appreciation, growing fonder thing, I think.  Hope it lasts for a little while, at least.  Stranger things have happened.

Saw that the world went mad, again, in my absence ... Praying for all involved in the mall shooting in Nairobi, Kenya.  The world seems to need a lot of prayers these days?
 

Thoughts & Prayers in the aftermath of Tornados

My thoughts and prayers go out to all those impacted by the recent bout of tornados sweeping through Texas and Oklahoma.  May God especially Bless and watch over the families who have lost loved ones to these storms.  May those who have lost homes find their way to healing and the resources they need in order to begin the process of re-building.

I saw on a friend's Facebook page this evening how a community is coming together to donate clothes, food and other essential items to storm victims in nearby towns via a school gym at a local elementary school.  Also saw postings for important items found in an effort to identify and reunite them with their rightful owners:  a high school sports letter jacket ... a camera with photographs of a new baby delivered in the hospital not long ago.  Kind of renews your faith in your fellow man to see such an outpouring of love and support.  God Bless one and ALL!

Image Source

(A close match for my recollection of my father's painting and the image,

in my own mind, of the actual twister from my porch-side view)

Thankfully, thus far, my family and friends in Texas and friends in Oklahoma have survived these storms without any major damage.  I actually remember witnessing a tornado, firsthand and up-close, when I was 5 years old, living in Oklahoma.  To the best of my recollection the tornado I witnessed back then was huge, muddy-grey in color and spiraling madly in the not far-off distance from our home in Stillwater.  For some reason, at the time, I had been sitting on the front porch of our old house eating dried cheerios, while my father attempted to paint --onto canvas-- the spiraling beast dancing about before us.  This particular tornado was probably about a mile or two away from us at the time, so we probably weren't in any immediate danger.  I remember watching this twister move across the landscape, uprooting everything in its path and spewing debris back out with a vengeance.  I was too young at the time to fully comprehend that I should have been afraid of this tornado.  I can still see this twister spiraling about before me in my mind, as if the cyclone were right in front of me in this very moment.  I recall feeling the immense energy ... the power and intensity wielded by this storm.  That tornado was definitely a force of nature to be reckoned with, showing no mercy whatsoever to those unfortunate enough to be caught within its grasp.  The randomness of the funnel's motion, its indiscriminate behavior in selecting targets still strikes me with a confounding significance even to this very day.  I remember watching the tornado funnel work its way right towards us ... and I even have a vague recollection of my mother --clutching my baby sister in her arms-- calling for my dad and me to get off the porch and under the house into the safety of the storm shelter as the twister closed the distance on us ... but just when it seemed as if this twister was going to come right down the street, to swallow up my house --and even then fear had not found its way into me-- the writhing fury suddenly decided it would instead take a ninety degree turn and head off in another direction all-together.  So I never did have to go down into that storm shelter, and my father's painting turned out pretty cool from what I am able to recall of it.  I guess we were some of the lucky ones that summer evening so long ago?

Humbly resigned to prayer ...

I have been praying for those directly affected by the Boston Marathon terror attack. I am still trying to wrap my mind around this senseless tragedy and I just haven’t gotten there yet, thus I find myself at a loss for words. I have said before “Do not speak unless you can improve upon the silence” and as, at present, I am unable to offer any ‘improvement’ upon silence:  I have not spoken.  This time, I think I’ll leave the words of wisdom to others and just humbly resign myself to prayer. God Bless one and all and may He help us to find our way to peace and healing.

Another Unnecessary Act of Violence?

Image Source

My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Aurora, Colorado, right now. When I am in writing mode, I don’t focus so much on news.   Heard about this tragic shooting just after lunch today.   Such a senseless tragedy ... I can’t yet even begin to wrap my mind around this act of violence?  So for now, I will just pray for those who have been injured --whether physically and/or emotionally: that they will heal quickly-- for those who have lost their lives and those that they leave behind.   May God Bless one and all ….

~M

6/23/12   Some thoughts upon reflection in the aftermath of this heartfelt tragedy ...This poem is dedicated to the victims of the Aurora Colorado Movie Theater shooting with much Love and many ongoing prayers.

“The Seeds of Hope”

Today, the landscape finds itself

Little more than tattered fields

Of endless, hopeless grey.

For the story has told itself.

There seems little more to say?

So silent prayers attempt to

Fill a wanting void,

In earnest effort to keep

The pain and heartache of

An unfathomable tragedy at bay.

Society’s ultimate betrayal

Unleashed upon the early hours

Of a most unfortunate night.

A moment, now forever frozen

In chasm of unrelenting Time.

Cruelest, senseless crime.

Violent chaos void of all

Reason or meaningful rhyme.

Loss of innocence. Loss of life.

The highest of prices

Was this day paid.

Yet seeds of Hope are

Somehow born

Into the air of tomorrow.

In the wake of heartfelt tragedy

Have these been laid.

And in due time these

Shall blossom a healing,

Heralding an understanding

That will grow to replace

Our current sorrow.

Gathering a newfound

Awareness of thankfulness

For each our blessings in

This life in the  moment

Unfolding right at hand.

Poppied fields of red,

Fields of Hope,

Now stand instead

To paint a memory of

What is today seeming lost

And left unsaid,

But tomorrow, with Love,

Shall never be forgotten.

@Isabelle Black Smith, July 23, 2012.

I have been pondering the resilience of the human spirit today.  It amazes me how we humans can bear what we would have once thought was the unthinkable ... the unfathomable ... and emerge from this bearing metamorphosis stronger, perhaps wiser, but still with an undying belief in some greater good, a reason for our being and a higher purpose for this journey we are on.

I found a piece of home ...

This image came up as a search tag for my blog?  Such a beautiful painting, is it not?  Wonderful illuminating vision by the artist, Elizabeth Osborne.  She surely transports me right into the middle of this field of glorious poppies.  I love poppies.  They are so wild and free.  One of my favorite flowers.  I have many wonderful memories of running through fields of these beauties ... barefoot of course ... chasing after ladybugs and butterflies.  This was during my days in northern California at about 9-11 years of age.

Image Source

I saw this painting and instantly felt such an overwhelming sense of peace.  This scene was a piece of home for me, a piece of me ... my own personal religion.  Think, this Spring I will have to drive down to California, kick off my shoes and go running through a field of poppies once again.  Been awhile since I went chasing after butterflies.  This will definitely be a photo capture for inclusion in my "finding my religion" photo series.

I did finally sleep and last night I dreamt of Syria.  I was a young mother, living there with small children ... My dream was so very real:  It was as if I was seeing the nightmare currently unfolding in the real world, in Syria, through the eyes of another.  In my dream it was the French who stepped up to the plate and finally got the ball rolling with respect to actually helping these people by sending in ground troops with NATO backing. We shall see if my 'vision' comes to pass?  In the meantime, I am still diligently and wholeheartedly praying for the women, children and men of Syria.  May God Bless them, each and everyone, and keep them safe until the rest of the world finds the courage to finally take decisive and meaningful action.

Beleive in Something Bigger than Ourselves ...

I am SO HAPPY today!!!

I have some TOTALLY AWESOME news to share!!  I just found out this evening that a very special little girl ...  a beautiful soul ... that I have been  dilligently praying for since October 2010:  Ally, Age 12 ... received her test results back for her MRI brain scan to follow up on a growth that her doctors had identified back in October.  This week, the new scan showed that Ally was 100% free and clear ... the suspected growth area was now nowhere to be seen.  Praise God!  Talk about a miracle and an answer to many, many prayers.

Ally had brain cancer three years ago.  They did surgery to remove the tumor, then followed up with chemotherapy. Ally had been cancer free for three years.  Then, this past October 2010 when she had her yearly scan a new growth showed up on the MRI.  When I heard the potentially devastating news, I immediately told her Dad to keep HOPE and then began storming heaven for Ally.  Tonight, I am so very happy for Ally and her family. Feels like we should be setting off fireworks or something to celebrate?! : )

God Bless you, Ally!!  Keep on sharing that beautiful smile and wonderful, uplifiting outlook on life with the rest of the world. Love you!!  Here is a post of one of my favorite magical and enchanting photos for you  ... I call this one "Driftwood Fairy Queen" ... I love this photo, because it reminds me that sometimes we just need to BELIEVE in something bigger than ourselves ... believe in magic ... miracles.


Your friend,
Michelle (a.k.a. Isabelle)

"Driftwood Fairy Queen"

@Copyright 2010 Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com.

All Rights Reserved.

(Thanks to an on-line photography friend's suggestion, I now have a circular polarizer ... so water shots (with blue sky like this)  turn out much more vivid and not so washed out.  Gotta love the internet and the on-line community : )

Terminal Diagnosis for Elizabeth Edwards ...

God Bless Elizabeth Edwards and her family.  You'll be in my special thoughts and prayers.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/07/earlyshow/living/parenting/main7125280.shtml

"Death is not the end "...  It is merely the doorway for what comes next.

(@Copyright 2010, All Rights Reserved, Michelle C. of whatplanetareyoulivingon.blogspot.com)

1/31/2011  Query:  "Is a terminal diagnosis always terminal?"  Answer: In my opinion: No, it isn't.  Not if you catch the disease early enough and if you believe in the power of prayer.  Let me know who you are, what you disease is, and I will pray for you specificially.  I truly and firmly believe in the power of prayer.  God Bless you my friend!  Keep hope ...

Sending Prayers and a Wish for a Rainbow Your Way!

(Fabulous photo by,  Christian Hardouin  at http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/africa/mauritius/photo81935.htm)

Floods in Southeastern U.S. ...

May God bless those in the southeastern United States who are being hit hard by relentless storms and flooding.  Let the waters dry up, the rivers recede ... and the recovery begin.  You're all in my most sincere and urgent prayers.  God Bless!


images:  Boston Globe.com

Looking for a USAF JAG Classmate ...

Heard a fighter jet streak by today and I wondered how you were doing these days?  Much better I sincerely hope!  

I have continued to pray for you since you posted your comment on my post regarding friends past.  Hope you were able to get in touch with Pat M.  He is a good man, with a good heart.  I feel as if good things and a sense of peace have finally come your way since you last wrote.  I will continue to keep you in my onging thoughts prayers though.  May God's continued peace, light and abundant blessings find their way to you.

All the Very BEST,
Michelle


P.S. Even though you may not see this message, per se, I still have faith that the universe will deliver my good intentions to you.  : )  I'm still trying to find a song to post for you.  If you happen to read this, maybe try and focus on a song or artist for me.  Then let's how close I get? Might be fun.

This is what I get from an initial reading ... just about you in general ...

Song:  "Kashmir", By Led Zeppelin ... from the album "Mothership"


I'll keep listening to see if I 'hear' anything else ...

3/15/2010 Okay, don't know if this is you, but this song popped into my head, out of nowhere this morning while having my morning cup of killer tea and I can't seem to get the soung out of my head.  I had to go onto Amazon and buy this, because I don't have it, but here it is.  Too noisy in my life right now to discern if this is you --sometimes my signals get crossed with lots of noise, personal strife.  Hoping after some quiet time alone tonight the signal will solidify. Then tomorrow I'll let you know for sure.

Song:  "Straight From the Heart", By Bryan Adams


Nope.  Signal cleared.  This wasn't you.  But someone was sending me this song?  I am still getting a metal vibe from you.  Am I right?

For A Precious Angel ...

'Boy and Angel', By Abbot Handerson Thayer

For Craig W.

You are in my special thoughts and prayers, Craig!

Hopefully one of these days, we will actually have a chance to meet face to face.

Until then, may peace be in your heart, your mind and on your lips.

You are a precious angel, Craig ... In God's eyes ... In the eyes of your parents ... your sister ... your family ... your friends ... and to all who truly see with love.

May Angels watch over you, comfort, protect and guide you on your journey ...

God Bless!

Michelle