Wind - Creating in Faith

Wind - Creating in Faith

Creating in Faith bookmark holder

I am like the gentle breeze blowing the dandelion stalks

taking them to their new destination and home. 

I move through the trees rustling melodies each singing their own song,

I gently tug at the clinging leaves, ochre, reds and golden browns.

I am the icy winds rushing through the roof tops,

it’s time to rest a while, dream my dreams of tomorrow,

wrapped up warm, there is a different crew, time for the layers

and don’t forget your ear muffs and snow boots!

I blow away the fallen leaves, time for a spring clean,

can you hear my new song of fresh beginnings whistling

as I breathe new life, whisperings of new growth. 

We dance again among the palm trees swaying as I greet you on the beaches,

warm currents carefully caressing your skin,

winter long forgotten enjoying the harvest.

But I am unpredictable

I can soar across the oceans

and bring tales of devastation to everything in my path,

bringing the thrashing waves

while I spread the forest fires, blazing in defiance. 

I can uproot trees and send buildings to their destination of rubble. 

I come by many names, breeze, wind, gale, tornado and hurricane

each variation in degree,

in its season,

in and out of harmony with the earth.

 Yes I can bring much pain in the flash of a moment and in the next

I remind you of summers filled with aromas, perfumed flowers and

 tomorrows that have yet to come

new growth, new life, new grace.

 © Amanda Trought

He who dwells in the shelter of the most High 

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty...Psalm 91:1

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind James 1:6

I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart Psalm 40:8

Sometimes I Write Poetry..

Sometimes I write poetry.........

when I cannot find the words I am seeking I let them flow from a place that has not yet been hit by the critic, via the back door where the meaning can be felt, when the mood takes me and the murmerings of my heart want to be heard from a different place. Where the soul and the spirit is illuminated and can just be......

I hope you enjoy my offerings when they come...

Heart...
Didn’t realise until it started, 

out of the blue, 

dissatisfaction ebbed its way in

then came the sadness and the loneliness.
Despair had crept in through the back door.

Now there is the longing yearning at my heart
Reminding me of what has not been said,

those missed intimacies,

now two strangers,

glances exchanged

will my life ever be the same?
What is it?

the longing

weighs me down
Where is it,

where does it live,

I try to identify make sense of it

My heart,

I hear a faint cry,

my heart is crying out to be heard,

I thought I knew what I wanted
I sigh,

my heart was never involved

only thought it was,

made practical decisions at the time
No one was supposed to get hurt

Amanda Trought

Gratitude and Celebration Journal - Week 12 - Brave

Gratitude and Celebration Journal - Week 12 

You are Braver than you think you are

Brave

Would you ever consider yourself to be brave? when you look back at your life and experiences have there been clear examples that you can think of?  There are people all round the world who do brave things that go unnoticed, whether it is speaking up against injustices and standing up for your beliefs to making a difference in your community and being a helping hand.  This page is a reminder to me how far I have actually come.  There are so many things that we dream of doing, and each and every day can be a challenge.  We have to be clear about where we would like to go then pick ourselves up and take another step.  Boldness in my work and confidence to share has been something that I have been working on, especially when it comes to the journal work.  It is in our braveness that we pave the way for someone else to shine their light. I celebrate and am grateful for the many opportunities to come.

Gratitudes and Celebration Journal - You are Brave!

As this week draws to a close can you think of examples where you have had to be brave?  Remeber if you made it through that day then you can make it through many others.  Have a blessed weekend!

Cereal Bag Art Journal - Recycled Projects

Art Journaling – Upcycled Cereal bag journal

My Cereal Bag Journal with tags

 I was inspired by Kristen Robinsons work who appeared in Cloth Paper Scissors Pages magazine Summer 2013.  She had made an upcycled Cereal bag journal, and I thought I would give it a try and  to make my own.  I am in a Journal making phase and will share with you some of the others that I have been trying my hand at.

I had always wanted to try and be more creative with recycled material and here was the perfect opportunity..  My journal measures 4 x 6 inches and is a working journal.  I have written some prompts and encouragements around the theme of time and there is still room to add more journaling when the mood takes me.

Love - she did it anyway - Cereal Bag Journal

Time is something that we all are given the same amount but it is how we choose to use it.  As I get older it feels as if time is moving faster, we are not sure how long we really have.  For my brother Robert he lived for 45 years of his life, my mother has lived for 90 years and is still going strong.  I increasing feel that I need to make sure that I utilise my time wisely as we have no promises of seeing tomorrow. 

postcards, travel and time - Cereal Bag Journal

My journal is about how we treasure the time, with the things we do for ourselves and to the relationships we have with those both near and far, some separated by land others by sea, and this is symbolised with the mini tag postcards, the images of clocks and the reminder to cherish the time we have.

Cherish the time - Cereal Bag Journal

We can often put of until tomorrow those things we know we have to do today and I soon found yesterday when I made the effort to complete an important piece of work only to find the next day my computer played up and wouldn't allow me to access any of the files, reminding me if I had waited I would have missed the deadline. I remind myself in the journal that time will not wait for us, so we have to act when the opportunity comes along, and then we can look back on our lives and truely feel that we lived a life worth living

A life worth living - Cereal Bag Journal

I also made some tags from the cereal bags that have sentiments of family, travel – postcard and a reminder of what love is taken from 1 Corinthians 13:4-9

Tags - Cereal Bag Journal

We have to be gentle yet firm with ourselves, there are so many who are encouraged by those things that you do, the ideas you come up with and share.  Who would have thought that out of something that served its purpose as a cereal bag and would have been discarded can lead to something that with a little bit of imagination and a dose of creativity produce something so meaningful.   I do hope you have a blessed day.