Category Archives: Nature

Nature art and photo gallery collection relating to lifestyle themes.

No Ordinary Rose

No ordinary rose

No Ordinary Rose – Photograph property of www.OntheWingofaDove.com

No Ordinary Rose 

 
 
”It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.” 

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

No ordinary rose…we all have something uniquely our own to offer to the world…

No Ordinary Rose

 

No ordinary rose, that’s true of us all,

No matter where we come from,

With roots planted deeply, we can stand tall.

 

No ordinary rose, as we develop and grow,

What we learn from life’s lessons,

Causes our inner beauty to glow.

 

No ordinary rose, I say of you and me,

We’ve got so much to offer…

Now it’s time for the world to see.

Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com 2018

 

I’ve long enjoyed the timeless wisdom found in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince.  The Little Prince’s interaction with his rose has always touched my heart.  I think it’s admirable how well the boy takes such special care of his delicate rose, protecting her from the elements, and making certain she has all she needs to grow.  In his eyes, his rose is the most beautiful rose in all the world.  She is one-of-a-kind and that’s what makes her so special.  When he later finds out that his rose appears to be the same as all the others, he is disappointed, because he comes to the conclusion that she is just an ordinary rose.

On the contrary, there really is no ordinary rose…and the same is true of you and me.  As with the Little Prince’s rose, although we may not appear to be remarkable on the outside, we all have something uniquely our own to offer to the world.  When we take the time to nurture those attributes that make us unique, there is nothing more beautiful than when we are in full bloom.

I challenge you to take the time to dig deep in your heart and find out what seeds have been planted, but need to be watered and cared for.  As time goes by, I’m sure you’ll be amazed at the beauty that begins to grow. Then, I encourage you share it and let the world enjoy it too!

Peace and love,

Felecia

I dedicate this post to my dad on his 88th birthday…Happy birthday daddy…you are in heaven now, but your are still with us in our hearts.  I’ll always love you!

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I Matter

I Matter

“I Matter” Photograph property of OntheWingofaDove.com 2018

I matter, though the world may not see…gonna reveal to the world all the gifts God has given me…

“It’s not what has happened to you.  It’s who you become because of it.”  – Ria Story
 

I Matter

I matter, you must know…

Within me a seed was planted, so long ago.

Yeah, I’ve made mistakes; haven’t we all?

But something inside me picks me up when I fall.

I matter, can you tell? Can’t you see?

There’s this power that resides in the deepest part of me.

Oh, I know, I’m quiet, polite and shy…

But, I’ve grown my wings…now it’s time for me to fly.

I matter, though the world may not see…

Gonna reveal to all, the gifts God has given me.

A life well-lived is not to keep to oneself…

So I’m opening myself up, like taking a book off the shelf.

I matter, what I have is unique and worth sharing…

And to everyone in my life, thanks for all of your love and caring.

Felecia R. Weber

OntheWingofaDove.com 2018

I Matter – The truth is, everyone matters, but sometimes we are the last ones to realize it.  We all have been endowed with  gifts that are uniquely our own. Be they talents for music, art or writing, having an aptitude for working well with numbers, or being able to build or fix things with ease…we all have something to offer others…including our own life experiences.

My challenge to you is to determine what it is you do best…that thing that makes you matter…and share it with those around you.  Sharing a part of yourself with others is what makes you matter the most!

Peace and love,

Felecia

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Roar – What’s in a word?

Roar

“Roar” Photograph courtesy of Marjorie L. Karimi 2018 (In memory of my late husband STEPHEN CULLEN WEBER, 2/09/1956 – 8/13/2014)

Roar – “What’s in a word?”

Roar – Fierce, strong, fearless, king…when you hear me roar, oh see the greatness I’ll bring!

Roar…What’s in this word for you?  If you can tell me, please do!

Roar – There are many images that come to mind when I think of the word “roar.” In most cases I’ll think of a roaring lion – you know, the one in which the lion has his mouth open wide with his ferocious teeth showing, ready to pounce on his next meal! This time my thoughts depicted a roaring lion as one that is very content, resting and at peace.  That’s the kind of roaring lion that I like the most…one who has already conquered, and is now enjoying the bounty of having won the victory!

Roar…with any challenge you set out to conquer,

 give it your all, and always do your best;

 keep going until you’ve achieved it,

then take time to enjoy; take time to rest.

Peace and love,

Felecia

I dedicate this post to my late husband, Stephen Cullen Weber.  When I think of the type of lion I like best, Steve certainly fulfills that image perfectly.  Steve carried a quiet confidence within him that enabled him to accomplish those things that he set out to do.  No matter how large the challenges were that he faced, his reliance on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, saw him through every time.  Even during his last, most fierce conquest, his battle with cancer, Steve showed a humble grace that brings peace to my heart whenever I think of him.  Now, like the lion I mentioned in my description above, Steve, because of our Savior, who conquered death once for all, is enjoying the bounty of the victory that has been won.  

I love  you forever Steve,

Felecia

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One Step at a Time

One Step

“First Steps” Photograph property of OntheWingofaDove.com (2018)

One step at a time

”In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.”  Proverbs 16:9

One step at a time

One step at a time,

So many directions,

Like typing out words,

Without making corrections.

 

We spin and we toil,

For most of our days.

When things fall apart,

It seems none of the effort pays!

 

One step at a time,

That’s all we can do.

For God has the answers,

I know first hand that is true.

 

So stop for a moment,

Although time won’t stand still.

You’ll be much better off,

When you seek and follow His will.

 

Felecia R. Weber, 2018, OntheWingofaDove.com

 

One step at a time, that seems simple doesn’t it?  If you’ve ever watched a baby take his first steps, you’ll realize that it’s not such an easy thing to do. When it comes to navigating through life’s paths, it doesn’t get any easier.  We’ve so many choices, so many responsibilities, so many demands, that sometimes we find ourselves simply standing still!  When that happens one step at a time may well be all we can handle, but not on our own.

One Step

“Footprints” Photograph property of OntheWingofaDove.com (2018)

As described in the well known “Footprints in the Sand” quote, when life gets to be overwhelming and we turn to God for help, he is not only there with us every step of the way, he carries us when we’ve lost our way.  He leads us to where he wants us to be…one step at a time.

 

Shout out to my sister, Marjorie…Happy birthday sister…I love you!

 

Peace and love,

Felecia

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His Blood Shed at Gethsemane

His blood shed

“By His Blood” (Detail), colored pencil drawing by Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

His blood shed at Gethsemane – such a heavy weight Christ carried in knowing what was to be…

“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”  Luke 22:44

His Blood Shed at Gethsemane

His blood shed at Gethsemane

What it demonstrated to me,

Not the loneliness wrought by betrayal,

Nor the tortuous suffering at Calvary.

His blood shed at Gethsemane

It revealed something much deeper than that,

For there is no greater suffering, no other loss that can compare.

Yet, because of God’s deep love for us, His only Son’s life He did not spare.

His blood shed at Gethsemane

Such a heavy weight Christ carried in knowing what was to be;

The agony that stood before Him; the decision that He alone did make.

I praise Him and eternally thank Him, for the gift of salvation He made possible for you and me.

Felecia R. Weber 2016, OntheWingofaDove.com

“Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.”  He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.  Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep watch with me.’…”  Matthew 26:36-46

It always touches my heart intently when I think of the grief and agony that Jesus suffered that night in the garden called Gethsemane.  Can you imagine it?  He not only had to deal with the fact that He had already been so wrongly betrayed, but He also knew that those followers of whom He had lead and loved so intimately and for so long, appeared only to have a vague understanding of what this incredible night was to hold for them in the immediate future.  His love for them and the entire undeserving world was so great, yet He knew that what He must do would be more than He, at least in His humanness, seemingly could bear.

But wait, there is more…the thing that caused His greatest anguish is something that we cannot even comprehend.  For Jesus knew that in order to make that deep love for all of us who have ever lived, and those who will come after us, be real and to free us in a way that nothing else could do…He had to make a decision that would lead Him to a place where only He could go.

I imagine we’ve all experienced, to some degree, the destitution of feeling completely alone.  With nowhere , or no one to turn to.  A place where no light shines and where all hope seems to have slipped through our fingers.  Where when we cry out for help, all we hear is silence, or worse yet, only the echo of our own tear-strained voice.  A place that is void of all that is good, and the vibrancy of life and joy.  Now try to fathom that feeling to be a million times greater and real.  Even then we cannot come close to where Jesus was to go.  For He would be completely separated from God the Father and God would turn His back on His beloved Son.  There would be no response from God to Jesus’ cries to Him.  His desperate tears would fall silently and God would not hear.

“Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  Matthew 26:39

For me, His blood shed at Gethsemane symbolizes the level of intensity of how much Jesus’ love is for us.  That, although He pleaded with God the Father to take that utterly bitter cup from Him, He chose to take it on, for our sake. Indeed, there is no greater love than that.

May you take the time today, Maundy Thursday, to ponder the decision that Jesus made on that agonizing night He spent in the garden called Gethsemane, and may it move you to take a step of faith and place your trust, your life in Him, who is the Light and the Life.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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A Hunger Within Us

hunger within us

“No Ordinary Rose,” Photograph by Felecia R. Weber 2016, OntheWingofaDove.com

There is a hunger within us that is not easily satisfied.

“The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread.”  Mother Theresa

A Hunger Within Us

There is a hunger within us that is not easily satisfied.

Sometimes we don’t even know it’s there,

For so deeply inside of us doth it reside.

Ah, but when it gnaws on us, and takes our breath away,

We’ve no choice but to face it, for a hunger so fierce, we cannot betray.

There is a hunger within us, it has no voice, nor a face,

But the heaviness, the weight of it, can drag us down to a lonely place.

No, we can’t ignore it, it must be fed if we are to survive.

For it is more essential than food and water; we must have it to stay alive.

There is a hunger within us, that once fed satisfies every need, every desire.

It sustains us as though our hearts are set ablaze with an unquenchable fire.

Felecia R. Weber 2016, OntheWingofaDove.com

What do you hunger for the most?  I believe that we all crave something that satisfies more deeply than food and water…and that is our need to be loved, to be cared for, to feel as though we matter.  Deny it all we want, but to love and to be loved is the most basic and essential requirement that we all have.  Sometimes it takes a long time to realize it, but it’s true.  Just the thought of it can be scary, for I believe that there is nothing that causes more pain and joy than love.  And, I suppose therein lies the beauty of it.

May you never go hungry when it comes to fulfilling your desire, your necessity for loving and being loved…and may you flourish because that hunger within you is being fully fed.

Peace and love,

Felecia

 

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Silent Night

silent night

“A Silent Night,” photograph by Felecia R. Weber 2015, OntheWingofaDove.com

Silent night so dark, yet so bright, oh the wonder the shepherds found in you…

“I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  John 8:2

Silent Night

Silent night so dark, yet so bright,

Oh the wonder the shepherds found in you.

Not a word spoken, Lord, could tell of your glory,

In the way that you’ve shown your love to be true.

Silent night so dark, yet so bright,

What treasure to the world laid there in that stall.

In you Lord, there is peace, triumph, joy and love.

May those who seek find in you their all.

Felecia R. Weber 2015, OntheWingofaDove.com

One of my fondest memories about the Christmas season is singing so many of the moving and heartwarming Christmas hymns and carols.  As young girls, my older sister Marjorie and I enjoyed that tradition almost every evening leading up to the holiday.  One of our daily chores while growing up was to wash the dinner dishes.  Although we took turns washing or drying the dishes, I think we’d both agree that it was certainly not our favorite thing to do…except during the weeks leading up to Christmas Day.

As the excitement of the season began to build, Marjorie and I would incorporate our holiday cheer into our dishwashing time by singing our favorite Christmas songs.  Between the traditional hymns that we sang in our church choir and the novel carols we’d learned in our music classes at school, we had quite a number of songs to choose from.  Even so, one of my favorite songs was, and still is “Silent Night, Holy Night,” (composed by Franz Xaver, lyrics by Joseph Mohr).  There is just something about the lyrics, “Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright,” that warms me up more than a  cozy fire, or a hot cup of cocoa ever can.  The scene that the words depicts is one that can brighten any darkened sky…for in the silence of that Christmas night, God bestowed upon us His one true and Holy light.

May the light of our Lord Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate during this Holy season never cause you to be silent…but may you resonate His saving grace and love throughout the world!

Peace and love,

Felecia

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I Promise You This

I promise you this

Photograph by Felecia R. Weber 2015, OntheWingofaDove.com

I promise you this – when you need me I’ll always be there…

“But before all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven nor by the earth, nor by any other oath; but let you yea be yea and your nay, be nay, that ye do not fall under judgment.”  James 5:12

I Promise You This

I promise you this,

When you need me, I’ll be there.

In times of trouble, whenever you call;

No matter what the circumstances, please know that I do care.

I promise you this,

In those times when others simply don’t understand,

When they can’t be bothered or don’t show up.

You can always count on me to be there, to lend a hand.

I promise you this,

I may not be with you physically, day by day,

Life has a way of pulling us in many directions.

But in the end, when it comes to being with you, I will make a way.

Felecia R. Weber 2015, OntheWingofaDove.com

Let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no; keep your promises and do what you say.  For others are watching to see if your word is true.  Let them see your integrity always shine through…may this be what you strive for, never anything less.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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