´e Tutto Buono... It's All Good: July 2017

The photo above is from the Okavango Delta in Botswana at sunset. We had the privilege a few years ago to go out and explore this Delta on a boat one evening. After spending a few hours weaving in and out of paths made through patches of tall papyrus reeds and marsh grasses, stopping every once and while to observe the wildlife, we ended the evening with the boat just sitting still, watching the sun dip below the horizon. It was truly one of the most peaceful moments I have ever experienced.

We sat there, listening to the birds sing, hearing the hippos begin their nightly calls to each other-- which sounds sort of like a soft grunting noise-- and the various bugs adding their soft buzzing and chirping to the mix, with the water, perfectly, peacefully calm. On the air was the light sweet scent of the marsh grass and the sharp scent of the wild sage that grows in Botswana. The water here is crystal clear and crisp-- the grasses that grow here act as natural purifiers.

It was the perfect end to a busy day. It was a perfect end to a fun but very full and busy vacation.

Stillness brings with it time of reflection, feelings of deep satisfaction, calmness, and peace. We place a lot of importance in life on movement. Keep moving forward. Never give up. Don't stop. All of that is important-- we were not meant to remain still or stagnant. But we forget that times of rest are just as important.

We need those times to stop and reflect. We need those times to remember how much we have to be thankful for. We need those times to rest not only our physical bodies, but our emotional and mental beings as well.

And we need to be still and let God talk and minister to us in times of heartache and pain.

I have had a busy, but completely enjoyable week showing one of my nephews Washington D.C. I walked his legs off in an effort to show him all of the incredible and important history that is housed there. And I loved every minute of it! But some of my favorite moments? Those moments when I had a chance to be quiet and still, whether I was viewing an amazing piece of artwork, or gazing at a memorial that was spectacularly lit up at night.

This verse has been playing over and over in my mind these past few weeks:

"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

I don't know what is going on your busy life this week. Maybe chaos has been reigning and you are tired of all the craziness. Maybe you have been dealing with heartache or pain. Or maybe, you are just physically run down. If so, My advice to you (and to me) is to make the time to take a moment and be still. Stop, and let God speak to you. Stop, and let God love you. Stop, and rest. Stop, and be grateful. Stop, and reflect. Stop, and enjoy a moment of quiet. God is not unaware of where you are and how you are feeling. He wants to meet you right where you are-- you just need only be still.

That's it, no great words of wisdom today. Just something simple, yet so important. I pray that you find rest today. I pray that you find time to be still.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite songs from Stephen Curtis Chapman and a few more photos from that incredibly still water in the Okavango Delta.

"The beginning is the most important part of the work." Plato

Duomo in Milan, Italy

Old Cathedral in Montepulciano, Italy

St. Peter's Basilica, The Vatican

St. Stephen's Cathedral Vienna, Austria

St. Stephen's Budapest, Hungary

Notre Dame, Paris

By now, you are probably familiar with my great love for old European Cathedrals. I am fascinated by them. My goal in life is to visit as many of them as I possibly can. Really, one of my secret goals is to one day publish a coffee table book containing my photos from all the cathedrals I have visited. I doubt anyone will buy it, but I will put it on my coffee table within easy reach, so that when I am unable to travel, I can reach down and relive fond memories.

It's safe to say that my immediate family members (my husband and my son) are not quite as passionate as I am about these old churches. To quote my son, "I mean these old cathedrals are cool and all, but after visiting the 20th one in one day, you kind of loose your enthusiasm. Except my mom, my mom walks into every single one of these things and is still in awe, every single time." Yup, that's me. Guilty as charged. I just still find it amazing, every time I walk into one of these majestic old buildings, that people managed to build them without the use of modern equipment. That they were carved piece by piece, stone by stone, by hand. The artwork, the carved stairways, the statues and sculptures, even the original benches and pews that people have sat and worshiped in for centuries-- all made by someone's hand.

But probably the most amazing thing to me is that these buildings have stood for centuries. They have outlasted natural disasters, famine, poverty, wars, and in some cases even fire. Longevity. It's amazing!

This week our country will celebrate our 241 "birthday", known as Independence Day-- the day we claimed our independence from Britain. In essence, we are celebrating our "Foundation." Which circles me back to my previous line of thought and the longevity of my beloved cathedrals. So why is it that these majestic buildings have survived for so long? I mean St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican was built is 333AD (it received a facelift in the 15th century). That's longevity!

So, curious as to find some sort of answer to my questions, I began to do a little googling on how to build a long lasting solid structure. And everything I read came back to this one principle-- the foundation is important. The foundation can make or break an architectural structure. Foundations are important because your entire building sits on top of it. If you skimp on the foundation, you risk the failure of the whole structure. In fact, any mistakes you make in the foundation will only get worse as you go up. This is known as compounding defects and it means that mistakes grow bigger as you build up. Also, a good solid foundation usually contains a cornerstone-- a piece that helps transfer the weight of the building evenly to the ground- which helps to prevent one part of the building from bearing all the weight and thus sinking on one end. Hmmm.....

So next, I looked up the definition of the word foundation and here is what I found. Foundation can be defined as the act of founding or starting; a basis upon which something stands or is supported; an underlying base or support.

"Stability is everything. Be it emotional or physical. You need solid ground to build anything on."

"He set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand." Psalm 40:2

This foundation principle can be applied to our lives as well. In fact, it should be applied. Let's be real, life if full of what one can call natural disasters. Circumstances and events can cause things around us to feel shaky and uncertain. Metaphorically (and sometimes literally) one can experience times of famine, poverty, war, and fire. And when those times come, and they will for that's part of life-- your foundation will be tested. As you build your life, you will add more weight to your building. And it will either hold up, or you will experience structural failure.

So my question to myself, and to you today is this: What makes up your foundation? What makes a good, solid, strong foundation? I looked up Bible verses that contained the word foundation. There were a lot of them, but here are just a few (you want to know the rest? Look them up).

"According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it."

1 Corinthians 3:10

"So then you are no longer strangers and alien, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone." Ephesians 2:19-20

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand." Matthew 7:24-27

"Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed." I Timothy 6:18-19

There are famous quotes out there about the importance of a good foundation in life. There are a lot them as well. Here are a few:

"The foundation stones for a balanced life are faith, honesty, character, integrity, love, and loyalty."

Zig Ziglar

"The loftier the building, the deeper must the foundation be laid." Thomas Kempis

"Without a solid foundation, you'll have trouble creating anything of value." Erika Oppenheimer

"You cannot build a superstructure on a cracked foundation." Billy Graham

"Foundation is the key to longevity." Jeskilz

"It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; it's the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time." David Allen Coe

"Faith becomes the foundation I'm built on." T.D. Jakes

It seems like most people agree that a solid foundation is key, to both building and life structure. But what exactly does this mean? I by no means have this life thing figured out. I still am, and always will be, a flawed, messy human being. But what I know for sure is that without my solid foundation of faith in God, the life I have built (and am still building) could not have withstood the storms that I have been through. I will honestly tell you that there have been days where the only solid thing I had to cling to was the foundation/corner stone of my deep belief and faith in God. I have an amazing husband, but what really makes our marriage solid and stable? Our shared belief in God. Our marriage is built on the foundation of faith. The foundational stone of God provides stability in my life. God will never leave me nor forsake me is a truth that bears the weight of life for me. The fact that God loves me is a stabilizing force that allows me to feel secure, even when I am feeling my most vulnerable.

I want to make one more observation about foundations before I wrap this up. Did you know that sometimes a poor foundation can be fixed? It's not easily done. It involves a lot of time, hard work, and can be costly. But it can be done. Usually it involves them coming in and through a series of lifts and equipment, lifting the structure up off the ground, and then placing structural supports under the foundation to help strengthen and lift it.

If you find yourself struggling today. If you feel like the life you have built is listing to the side and about to topple over. Or if you even feel like you are standing in the middle of the toppled over ruins of your life, I would like to bring you gentle, heart felt encouragement. Go back to your foundation of faith. If you started out with that foundation-- simply find your way back to that corner stone. If you never had faith in God as a foundation, just like a I mentioned in the paragraph above, you can add God to your foundation now.

I hope you all enjoy a great week of celebrating our countries "foundation." I'll leave you with a few more photos from some of the most awe-inspiring (in my opinion) structures on our planet.