Reflections On Change - Grant Creek, Missoula, Montana

“We talk about “circumstances over which we have no control.”

None of us have control over our circumstances, but we are responsible for the way we pilot ourselves in the midst of things as they are.Two boats can sail in opposite directions in the same wind, according to the skill of the pilot. The pilot who conducts his vessel on to the rocks says he could not help it, the wind was in that direction; the one who took his vessel into the harbour had the same wind, but he knew how to trim his sails so that the wind conducted him in the direction he wanted. The power of the peace of God will enable you to steer your course in the mix-up of ordinary life.” 

-OswaldChambers (1874-1917), from “The Moral Foundation of Life” and “Knocking at God’s Door” (via Discovery House Publishers' “Peace” devotion plan in You Version app or www.utmost.org)

Amid Noise And Haste - Missoula, Montana

"Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence."

- from Desiderata by Max Ehrmann (1872-1945)


A worthwhile reminder for a new year. 
Happy 2017.

Storm-Kissed Peace - East Missoula, Montana

“There is peace even in the storm”

― Vincent van Gogh, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh

Waiting In Hope - Missoula, Montana

Trying to grasp that this world no longer holds my vibrant and beautiful cousin MJ, my repeated thought is that I do not understand. 
And that I will be glad to someday see answers beyond this darkly glass. 
I know the promises - that we wait not in despair, but in hope, and that there is a peace that bypasses our understanding (or lack thereof, in my case). 
Yet may our grip be strengthened as we desperately cling to these truths, ‘midst the waiting.

ASpire, St. Francis Xavier, Missoula, Montana

Passing the corner of Orange and Pine, I squinted to read, “Pray for peace, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.“, hand-lettered in Sharpie on paper taped to a small sandwich-board sign. Well, there’s a call to time well spent. And with parking in the shade, how could I not spontaneously offer even ten minutes of a Saturday afternoon toward such a worthwhile endeavor? I‘m sure my fumbling try at respectful genuflection was graciously ignored by the angels and saints gracing St. Francis Xavier.

River Meets Sky, Downtown Missoula, Montana

Mmmmm..... can you just feel the reflective peace seep into your soul? Not yet? Look longer, and breathe in, slowly; out, slowly. Repeat as needed.

Expanses of water and prairie always uplift my state of mind. The stretch of calm, stroked by rippling fingers of wind, provokes a feeling different from the craggy awe of mountains and roaring rivers.