"How Many Cups of Sugar Does It Take To Get To The Moon?"

 

I just love this painting of this woman enjoying her morning coffee, it's like me-the colors are so vibrant and rich, and I can just see me in this painting....yummy!



So today, I went walking through Descanso Gardens in Montrose, while here in L.A.  It was breathtaking, and I will share about that after I get home, as I have no way of getting the pics on here til I get home :)
But while I was walking, I noticed more than several people walking, and sitting on wooden benches drinking their coffee, and most of them were actually in personal coffee mugs/cups. 

      And I personally love coffee mugs, I am a collector, and will probably always be.  But something crossed my mind this morning, and that was the Cup I have been given, of my life.

         

    What goes inside of my cup?...Many things:

1. All the joys in my life, the things that make my heart leap, things that make me smile, things that make me love life, and my life in particular!!!!!

2.  All the things that make Danielle...well, Danielle!  All my quirky-ness, those little things that make me unique, unlike any one else who has ever been born, or ever will be!!!!

3.  My pain, my hurts, my sorrows, the things in my life that cause my heart to

ache or even break, cause me to frown on occasion, or cause me to cry.

4.  My worries...things ever present in my mind, or on my heart, that make me stress out, constantly worry about things in my life, or others', and causes my heart to beat a little faster.  

5.  My questions and my fears throughout my life, however big, medium, small or silly they may seem...either to myself or to others.

6.  My hopes and dreams, even though some may never have the ability to be accomplished, and although they seem to change as I get older, grow and learn, my dreams are amazing!



These are most of the things that make up my cup...and you know what?  Sometimes, I just don't like what's in my cup.  Sometimes, I just don't want What's been put in my cup...But there's a secret, that only some people know: 
That God doesn't waste experiences.

                                           

There are as many cups in this world as there are people, we each have one, and its design is indicative of us, our personality. 
And our cups are full of a mixture of wonderful, painful, amazing,sad, beautiful, tearful and joyous things...Life is not meant for the meek, and we so many times wonder, what am I supposed to do with THIS?  Sometimes we never get an outright answer, other times we do. 


Sometimes, we are forced onto a path we ought to have found for ourselves...and how our path turns out, largely depends on how we choose to see it. 

Am I grateful for the little things, along the steep and rocky roads?

Do I take the time to notice the small details that might change my whole mood, or a decision I must make?

I raise my hands to believe again...I raise my cup, in its entirety to The One who entrusted it to me.  And in the times when I smash my cup and shatter it to thousands of little shards, I can raise it again and again, in praise, because He lifts me.  Every single time. 

 If I raise my cup, in grattitude instead of degredation, how much more will my life be sweet?  How much more happiness can I glean? 

So much more than before...and because I raise my cup faithfully, no matter what I get in my cup, I can find blessings within it.

Wherever my cup takes me, I do not go alone; and I choose to be grateful for the cup that I have been given.

  

 

Ever So Thirsty...

            Doesn't this look inviting?  I would never want to leave!



Oh, I know it has been a long time since I had a real post on here...but it has also been a long time since I had any real time to be able to sit down, take my time and complete a post! :)

Today I am on vacation, visiting family in L.A., and I'm just L-O-V-I-N-G it. 
I will be here until Sunday, and then I head back for home...back to life as a mommy, a student, and all the other things too...It's a good thing, but I cannot say enough how sweet it is to be able to have a vacation like this, to unwind, relax, refresh, and just sit if need be!!

It's times like this, when I get to really slow down, and look inside the part of me that doesn't get much attention in the business and busy-ness of my life, and today, I have gotten to do that. 
It occurred to me that I am thirsty.  And I have been thirsty for quite some time, and trying to water my heart, and "me" but doing so at the end of my day, or my week, and it is the last thing to get done, so by that time, I'm to tired to realize how truly thirsty I have become.

So here's the deal:  I drink lots of water, and crystal light (Mojito is to DIE FOR!!!)  Because I do tend to get thirsty ALL the time, especially in the summer. 
But that's not really the thirsty I'm talking about.  I'm talking about how thirsty my soul is. 
Sometimes, you get to the point to where you feel like a ceramic vase, that was in the process of being finished, was left to dry, but left out for far to long; maybe even forgotten about momentarily. 


this is how supple it looks with enough moisture, water, and care...

      


This is how it feels sometimes when we don't quench our thirst, and we feel used up, and dry.

It no longer has that gummy, pasty feel to it, there's very little moisture left, in fact, it has even started to crack in various areas that were left unattended. 
It's feel is rough and rigid, not yet smooth by the maker's finishing touch, and by the looks and feel of it, it seems it has passed that point of being fixed, because clay has a very short "shelf life" once the creative process has begun, and each pice must be finished on a strict timeline to be completed, and look like new.   



  

 

I choose this beautiful, bohemian collection as my "finished pieces" because they fit me...my personality...my free spirit!! 

And where do we go when we allow ourselves to get to that point?
When my spirit is thirsty and weary, I know of only one place to go that fills me up.  I go to the river.  it's a river unlike any other I've ever known.  No other can ever compare to this one.  And all I have to do to get there is to pray.  No matter how cracked, dry or broken I get, the water in this river restores my soul, it refreshes me and I literally feel like brand new.  

I found this prayer in my worship bible, and I love it.

" O my God, My soul thirsts for You, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water"..."You bring not just a drop of water, not just a single drink, but a river which we can return to over and over again, a source that not only quenches our thirst, but that makes everything around us fruitful and beautiful.  Oh Lord, when I am poor in spirit, when i reach the desolate places of this journey, you meet me there with the living water of Your spirit."

And that is the kind of water I desire...something that will not only renew my spirit, but that will also GROW my spirit, and allow it to flourish, as opposed to just let it go along, never changing, but flourishing!  

The song sung (not originally) by James Taylor, How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You...seems to work nicely in here.  it is so sweet to be loved so deeply, that I'm not left to quench my own thirst, but that I can get nourishment and flourishment from the Only One who can love me so much.