Category Archives: Inspirations

Inspirational art, photo and writing collection relating to lifestyle themes.

On Trust

On Trust

on trustA Quote to Carry You

March 30, 2015

“Perfect trust, perfect love, perfect peace, perfect joy!”  Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

On trust…To trust someone, you’ve got to know them and to know them you have to spend time with them.  Trust is the foundation for so much of what a relationship is.  I believe that having complete trust in someone leads to deep love for them.  In turn, a deep love between two people leads to an unshakeable peace that binds them even closer.  And of course, where there is peace…there is joy!  The perfection in all of these things comes when we put our trust in God.  May your trust, love, peace and joy be rooted in Him.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

Peace and love,

Felecia

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What Are You Hungry For?

what are you hungry for

“Tables for Ladies (Detail),” 1930, Edward Hopper. Image from a page of the 2013 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

What are you hungry for? When it comes to spiritual nourishment, what we feed our souls can be the most important meal we ever take in.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”  Matthew 5:6

What are you hungry for?  When it comes to food, that question is not hard to answer.  At least here in the United States, we are seemingly inundated with food to satisfy every type of craving our bodies can conjure up.  Healthy foods, junk foods, fast foods, gourmet foods, sweet foods, savory foods…you name it we’ve got it, and plenty of types of beverages to go along with them! For me, when I am hungry, and I crave something specific, no matter how ravenous I become and no matter what is offered to me, I will only be satisfied by that one food item that I crave.  Otherwise, I only fill up on something that is not what my tastebuds fully desire, and I end up full, but still craving something else.  And on it goes…

When it comes to satisfying the soul, the same process applies.  Whether we realize it or not, every one of us has a soul that can only be nourished by spiritual food.  Like when we continuously fuel our physical bodies with foods that supply too many empty calories and not enough quality nutrients, our health suffers and our bodies begin to breakdown.  If we do not start to eat the proper foods, sooner or later we begin to develop health issues, chronic or long term illness sets in which eventually leads to death.  That process sounds extreme I know, but it happens more frequently than we’d like to admit.  When that process takes place spiritually, the results are more dire than we realize.

“My grace is sufficient for you…”  2 Corinthians 12:9

In terms of our spiritual nourishment, how we answer the question, “What are you hungry for?” has much greater significance.  When we feed our souls with hollow spirituality, empty promises, or false hope, our spiritual hunger pains continue to grow because we’ve not fed our souls with what they truly hunger for.  We try filling our inner longing with material things, other people, or even ourselves.  The cycle goes on, yet we know deep down inside that hunger, that spiritual need still has not been met.  Being made in God’s image, we all have a hunger, a longing to be filled with spiritual food.  It is a hunger that is always there and it demands to be satisfied.   When we take the time to fill ourselves with what our hearts truly desire, we are not only fed, but as our souls are nourished, we become full and whole.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”  Psalm 34:8

What are you hungry for?  Are you hungry enough to taste and see how good the spiritual food that God has prepared for you is?  If so, my hope is that you will be fully satisfied in Him.

Peace and love,

Felecia

 

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When I Am Thirsty

When I Am Thirsty

“Christ and the Woman of Samaria Among Ruins (Detail),” Rembrandt (Rembrandt Van Rijn). Image from a page of the 2013 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

When I am thirsty and my soul is dry; it seems all I can do is question “why?”…

“‘Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'” John 4:13-14

When I Am Thirsty

(a poem about spiritual thirst)

When I am thirsty and my soul is dry,

it seems all I can do is question “why?”

Surrounding me there is an endless stream,

but sometimes, it seems only to be a dream.

When I am thirsty, I feel frail and weak;

I become so parched, I can hardly speak.

So what is it that will thoroughly quench my thirst?

Quickly, please tell me so that I may seek it out first!

When I am thirsty, isn’t there anything I can give?

For without sustaining  water I surely cannot live.

To me that water is like the blood running through my veins.

Without it, a shriveled up shell of me is all that remains.

When I am thirsty I long to be filled to overflowing;

an abundant supply that will help  to keep me growing.

When my soul is ready for God’s will to me to show;

Only then does His true life giving water flow.

Felecia R. Weber 2015, OntheWingofaDove.com

Being thirsty happens on both physical and spiritual levels.  It is generally easy to satisfy physical thirst.  Drinking the proper amount of water helps to keep our bodies functioning optimally.  But how can we quench our spiritual thirst?  As depicted in the illustration above, the woman at the well asked Jesus, “Where can you get this living water?”  In time, she realized that her answer was there right before her eyes…and He is here for us too, ready to fill us eternally.

May you seek out and find the oasis of “living water” that God has prepared for you today, and may it continuously fill your heart so abundantly that your soul will never be thirsty again.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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On Passion

On Passion

on passionA Quote to Carry You

March 23, 2015

“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough.”  Emily Dickinson

On passion…What is it that drives you, that motivates you, that propels you forward?  What evokes your most powerful emotions and musters up for you an insatiable appetite?  Whatever your passion is, there is no substitute for it.  In fact, I believe that one cannot truly live without it.  I challenge you to seek out and feed that thing that is uniquely yours.  Passion, experience it, live it, share it and inspire those around you.

 

Peace and love,

Felecia

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Restored and Renewed

Restored and Renewed

“The Early Bird,” circa 1979, colored pencil drawing by Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

Restored and renewed – life worth living…experience a restorative grace that beckons renewal and refreshment.

“The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.”  J.M. Barrie, “The Little White Bird”

Restored and renewed – life worth living.  Do you ever question what your purpose in life is?  Do you ever wonder why your life is worth living?  Those are tough questions to answer when life begins to seem like one unending day full of mundane events, peppered with annoyances and issues that cause us a lot of grief.  Or when happy and exciting times start to fade into the background, collecting dust and getting shoved behind the curtains.  What does it take for us to answer them in positive ways?  What is it that causes us to reach beyond the ordinariness of our daily grind…to be restored and renewed – full of life worth living?

Now that the weather has suddenly changed from an almost frigid darkness to a warming brightness, I’ve noticed subtle changes that fill me with the hope and restorative power of spring.  I love to feed the wild birds that find their way to the tree in my front yard throughout the year.  The way they flutter around and gather at the feeder can mesmerize me for several minutes at a time.  During the winter months when wild food becomes scarce, it seems mealtimes at the bird feeder are feverishly hectic.  My little flock of feathered friends seem to frantically wait for me to fill the feeder every day.  Now, however, with the marked onset of warmer temperatures, they seem only to pick, taking a mouthful of seed here and there.  No longer desperate to find food, their frenzied chirps have turned into delicate, soothing melodies filling my ears with a restorative grace that beckons renewal and refreshment.

Like the wild birds feeding outside my home, when we are hungry for restoration and renewal deep within us, we hurriedly hop from one problem or crisis to another.  We try to resolve issues that never seem to end; only to become flustered in the process and not having accomplished anything.  It doesn’t have to be that way, for we need only to ask for help.  God is always there ready and willing to provide the answers and to abundantly supply our needs.  I can tell you this from experiences in my own life.  When I begin to flap my wings seemingly to no avail…I stop and, in faith and confidence, cry out to God for help.  He not only provides the answers, (and always in the most amazing ways, I might add), my heart is calmed and filled with a peace that only He can give.  During those times, I truly am restored and renewed – full of life worth living!

As we enter into this beautiful season, may you pause and seek God’s help…let His love provide the answers that you are seeking and cause you to be restored and renewed as well.

A happy Spring season to you!

Peace and love,

Felecia

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Renewal – What’s in a word?

renewal

“The Path Through the Irises,” 1914-17, Claude Monet. Image from a page of the 2015 Desk Calendar, courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Store

Renewal – What’s in a word?

All things new, all things bright,

renewal, rebirth, a new vision in sight.

Casting off the old, putting on the new…

What does the word renewal mean to you?

Rejuvenate, begin again, resume, restore, revival, rebirth, replenish…and so much more!

What’s in this word for you?  If you care to tell me, please do!

This time of year, transitioning from winter into spring, certainly fills my heart with many of my favorite things!  I feel refreshed when I awaken to the low, soft cooing of a mourning dove.  I am warmed all over when my body drinks up the intense rays of the afternoon sun.  I also rest more deeply at the close of the ever-lengthening days that this season offers to me.  It makes me realize that life is a cycle of endings and beginnings.  Each day ends with another one fast on the horizon…like a continuous path that leads to the hope of renewal!

May you walk along the path and enjoy the beauty of renewal in your day today!

Peace and love,

Felecia

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On Restoration

On Restoration

on restorationA Quote to Carry You

March 16, 2015

“And after you have suffered a while, the God of all graces, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”  1 Peter 5:10

On restoration…Darkness has a way of making daylight seem so much brighter.  Illness has a way of making a healthy body seem like such a thing never to be taken for granted.  Having that special someone to love and care for makes coming home after a long, difficult day all that much more worth it.  There are many tattered things in life that can seem to be restored with little effort at all.  Some forms of brokenness, however, require restoration on a much deeper level.

When a situation is far more desperate than we could ever have imagined, where do we find hope of ever having the broken pieces put back together again?  Is there anything that is beyond the capacity of being restored?

Here’s a suggestion…try placing your broken pieces into God’s restorative hands and find out.

Peace and love,

Felecia

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Let the Good Times Roll!

Let the good times roll

This is the best photograph I could come up with that expresses how good I truly feel right now!

Let the Good Times Roll! Experience each one to the full.  Let laughter be the song for each day!

“It feels good to have something to celebrate.  It’s like life turns around and smiles back at you!”  Felecia R. Weber, OntheWingofaDove.com

Let the Good Times Roll!

Let the good times roll!

Celebrate when life is good.

Embrace that feeling and let your heart glow!

Let the good times roll!

Don’t keep your joy to yourself.

Smiles are contagious…share yours and find out!

Let the good times roll!

Experience each one to the full.

Let laughter be your song for each day!

Let the good times roll!

They are gifts that are meant to be opened.

So tear open the wrapping and enjoy!

Felecia R. Weber 2015, OntheWingofaDove.com

Good times may sometimes seem few and far between.  The “stuff” of life can weigh us down and take a long while to clear up and fade away.  Of course, I consider every day to be a blessing from God and I seek out the good things in each one.  There are days, however, when He opens doors of opportunity wide and good times rush right in.  Those are the times that cause my heart to fill up and burst with joy!  I am grateful for God’s goodness towards me…let the good times roll!

“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”  Psalm 23:6

May God’s goodness overflow in your heart today!

Peace and love,

Felecia

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