Arise and Shine, Beautiful, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you!  ~ Isaiah 60:1

Good morning, Beautiful!   I don’t know about you, but isn’t it a beautiful affirmation and assurance knowing every day when we open up our eyes, there is someone so excited we’re finally awake solely because they just want to love on us and be in our presence? 

Oh, how we all desire to be loved like this.  That’s what makes this world flourish:  L-O-V-E!

We can’t forget about being serenaded by our Father God as He also rejoices over us (Zephaniah 3:17) singing, Good morning, Beautiful.  Arise and Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you (Isaiah 60:1).

Can we say amazing love?

I’ve been sitting in literal quiet for the past couple of hours this morning with my comfy blankee and coffee.  I feel like the royal queen herself.  It seems so foreign and almost uncomfortable to be laying here in the still embracing the magical hymns orchestrated by the “happy birds” along with Mr. Owl’s in sync whoot, whoot… pause three seconds… whoot, whoot!  Talk about rhythm without missing a beat. 

I’m like a little girl going through the doors at Disneyland unrestrained when my frogs start chiming in with their chorus filled with ribbits and rolls.  This Acapella is priceless!  Yes, a little secret, I collect frogs.  I did say I was a tomboy who always wore a dress, so…

These birds have been doing the happy dance with their lyrical enticement the past few weeks.  I don’t know if it’s because spring has arrived and has ushered in all these amazingly beautiful colors and fragrances or it’s because the grounds and foliage are covered in a new coat of vitality and strength.  These luscious oak trees are flowering with both topical growth and tillage nourishment due to the sprinkling of Love from all the rain we’ve received here in Northern California this past year.

I will admit, even the oak trees seemed to be swaying back and forth atop their newly toiled ground while doing their happy dance yesterday in sync with the gentle breeze.  Or it could have been from the side effects of the anesthesia, but I’ll choose my childlike wonder.  I kind of know how they feel because with all this rain, they won’t have to constantly dig deeper and deeper to be sustained while having their roots nourished.

These hundred-year-old oak trees survive and thrive each year by trusting and remembering where their daily nourishment comes from.  They know how to instinctively reach out towards the light for their needed manna to survive while digging their roots deep for stability.  Since they have been blessed with an abundant provision, their roots can now focus on rest and restoration and gratitude for being sustained during their lack and depleted times.

Sitting in total silence while resting and not rushing or feeling frazzled and ready for a breakdown to get out the door as fast as I can is refreshing and a much needed change in my life.  I don’t want to be that woman who gets slammed into the rocks by the crashing waves of an overwhelmed life.  I want to be present and sing my own tune each day as I skip along with a childlike heart and grownup responsibilities. 

Maybe that’s why I felt guilty and somewhat uncomfortable for laying in bed enjoying the concert.  I still am, actually, as I write my good morning greetings to all of you Beautiful Beloveds.  Not that I need(ed) an excuse to lounge around in bed in my nightie, but I can actually admit had I not been recovering from a surgical procedure, I’m not sure who would have won the tug-of-war this morning.  Guilt versus Need?  Better yet, more like Guilt versus Gift?

Doctor’s orders that I lay low and push through the pain, but even if I wasn’t recovering from a procedure, why would I feel guilty about picking up and receiving God’s gifts for me today?  Every day He lays out these precious gifts knowing exactly what we will need.  Rest and restoration is quite a gift, to say the least!

God doesn’t just want us to see these gifts and pick them up, but He wants us to open them with delight and a childlike heart.  There’s nothing more exciting than opening up a gift with childlike expectations.

How about you, do you feel guilty if you take the time to be still and quiet and do absolutely nothing but be refreshed like myself?  Or are you one of those women I definitely envy and want to become more like that can relax her heart, body, soul and mind as healing overwhelms and restores her soul? 

I’m trying and I’m learning, as slow as it is.  Old habits are hard to break, but with God, all things are possible, right?  Let’s lift up our eyes to see the hands and feet of God reaching out towards us just to meet and love on us just the way we are.  Peace is a Divine gift!

Until next time…

Thank You For Being Beautiful You!