Tag: #reflections

Breezin’ Through Summer on a Cool Dewy Mornin’

Summer Mornings

Like the first dewfall
on the first grass

Morning has Broken by Cat Stevens

Summer mornings.
Shhhh.
Hear the birds?
They whisper it’s time to wake.

The air is cooler.
The dew is wet.
It’s quiet, first thing,
except for the birds,
who are singing their songs.

Mornings.
The coffee brews.
The mind awakes.
The body follows.

Moving slower.
Easing into the day.
No need to rush.
It’s your special time,
to be alone,
to relax,
to reflect,
to restore your soul.

Summer mornings.
They teach us:
to notice,
to linger,
to let the day come to you.

a kitchenette for slow mornings, a patio for unhurried evenings, and a porch where you can finally… just be.

–Nadia Crane, Sweet Dreams in Sacramento, Blog 8/22/25

This summer,

May your mornings be slow.
May you find a quiet corner to soothe your soul
as you breathe in the fresh dew of a new day.

Image Credit: “DayBreak” by ‘Playingwithbrushes’ is licensed under CC BY 2.0. 

#BreezinThroughSummer #Summer #SummerSongs #SummerMornings #LightAndAiry #SummerWhimsy #TasteOfSummer #ThePaisleyFrog #Seasons

Breezin’ Through Summer Pickin’ Peaches

Summer Peaches

I’m movin’ to the country,
I’m gonna eat me a lot of peaches.

Presidents of the United States of America

Summer peaches.
Pickin’ paradise
for a century long.
Year after year,
pie after pie.

Peaches.
Fuzzy.
Round.
Hanging low on branches.

Ready to be picked.
Baskets gathered.
Orchard full and ready.

Peach jam.
Peach cobbler.
Peach pie.
Peach tea.
Georgia. Arkansas.
Peaches everywhere.

Peaches remind us
To slow down.
To be patient for the ripening.
Sweetness comes to all who wait.

Peaches teach us to savor nature.
To gather in the fields and orchards.
To enjoy the here and now.

Rural Arkansas taught me to appreciate fresh fruits and vegetables more than I already had…
at the peach festival in July…

–Nadia Crane, I and Thou: The Veggie Box, (Blog 11/15/22)

Image Credit: “Peach tree” by Ruth and Dave is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

This summer,

May every peach you pick remind you to slow down
and wait for the harvest.
Sometimes the sweetness is worth the wait.


#BreezinThroughSummer #Summer #SummerPicnic #TasteOfSummer #Summer Vibes #LightAndAiry #SummerWhimsy #ThePaisleyFrog #Seasons

Breezin’ Through Summer Ridin’ a Scooter

Summer Scooters

I got my scooter, got my helmet on
I’m gonna ride it until the day is gone

Scooter by Claudia Robin Gunn with Dean Jones

Scooters.
A child’s twinkle.
A companion.
A mode of transportation.

Scooters.
To a child, it’s a passport of sorts.
A rite of passage.
A taste of freedom.

Scooters.
Helmet on.
Children playing.
Scraped knees.

Scooters.
Side by side.
Mom on rollerblades.
Fun on a summer day.

Scooters.
Humming.
Zig-zagging.
The sound of kerplunk, kerplunk,
over the jagged sidewalks.

Scooters.
They teach us to play.
Play outside.
Play with your kids.
Play in the day.
Into the night.

The opening scene plays.
Anne Hathaway slides down a pole, grabs her lunch,
and scooters to high school.

– Nadia Crane, Wine & Faith – 19 Days in Napa

This summer,

May you take the time to play outside like you did when you were a kid. May you close your eyes and imagine the wind and smile on your face as you feel that whoosh of being on a scooter.

Image Credit: “scootering in a dress”
by woodleywonderworks is licensed
under CC BY 2.0. 

#BreezinThroughSummer #Scooters #Summer #SummerSongs #SummerVibes #LightAndAiry #SummerWhimsy #TasteOfSummer #Seasons #ThePaisleyFrog

Breezin’ Through Summer Holdin’ a Popsicle

Summer Popsicles

Orange, lemon, cherry, and lime
Fudge, tutti frutti, and a grape that’s fine.

Popsicle by Jan & Dean

Popsicles.
Bells in the distance.
Ring, ding, Ring, Ding-
quick, come, the ice cream truck!

Popsicles.
Creamsicles.
Fudgesicles.
And ice cream bars, too.

Popsicles.
Wooden handles.
Dripping down arms,
melting fast.

Popsicles.
Stacked in the freezer,
in ice cube trays,
waiting for a hot summer day.

Popsicles.
Sticky smiles.
Colored tongues.
Coolness that refreshes.

Popsicles.
Beet pops.
Corn pops.
A mystery pop, too-
all for a Science Fair a long time ago.

Popsicles remind us:
to stop,
to take a moment,
to cool and refresh,
to return to our childhoods,
where summer memories wait for a taste.

Sipping reminds me of savoring.
Savoring a piece of pie or the last spoonful of ice cream.
Sipping is slow. It is a way of saying, slow down!

–Nadia Crane, I and Thou: Summertime Part 2, Blog 6/25/21

This summer,

May you feel excited as a child waiting for the ice cream truck.
And may a special summer taste linger just long enough to remind you that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

Image Credit:
“Organic Watermelon Popsicles” by Growing a Green Family is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

#BreezinThroughSummer #SummerPicnic #SummerSongs #Popsicles #TasteOfSummer #LightAndAiry #SummerWhimsy #ThePaisleyFrog #Seasons

Sacred Love: Being Delighted In

A Series of Longing from the Song of Songs

I welcome love that delights in who I am — not who I try to be.

There is a longing deeper than being seen or being pursued.
It is the longing to be delighted in.
That feeling of bringing someone joy.
Or causing someone to smile.
Or being the twinkle in someone’s eye.

Delight says,
I want to be with you.
I want to see you smile.
I appreciate you.
I enjoy your company.
I cherish you.

Think about that.

If you are not sensing these feelings in your relationship, it may be time for an honest talk.

In the Song of Songs, delight is everywhere.
It is spoken.
It is sung.
It is celebrated.

The lovers do not hide their joy in one another.
They speak it.
They name it.
They savor it.

Sacred love invites you into that same truth —
that you are not only wanted,
not only pursued,
but delighted in.

Delight is different from desire.
Desire reaches for you.
Delight rests in you.

Is your lover resting in you?

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.

— Song of Solomon 2:3

May you feel the sparkle of being delighted in.
May you find joy within you and around you. Amen.

“Tulips & apple tree | Tulipany i jabłonka” by Maciej Szczepaniak is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

#SacredLove #SongOfSongs #Valentine’sDay #Intimacy #Faith #Poetry #IntimateFaith #HolyLove #LoveJourney

Sacred Love: Being Pursued

A Series of Longing from the Song of Songs

I welcome love that seeks me and chooses me for who I am.

There is a longing to be pursued.
At least, that has been my experience.
Maybe it’s a female thing — maybe it’s a human thing.

It’s the longing to be wanted.
To be chosen.
To be treasured.
Not because it is “the right thing to do” but because it feels so right.

When someone pursues you, and the relationship begins to take root, there is a season of euphoria —
or maybe it’s desire, maybe it’s wonder —
that feeling of I can’t get enough of you.

Being pursued carries questions.
Will the time and effort be worth it?
How will the journey go?
Will it be smooth sailing?
Or will there be gusts of wind that throw it off course?
Or will the boat capsize, leaving no survivors?

Yet sacred love tells a different story.

In the Song of Songs, pursuit is:
Bold.
Eager.
Joyful.
Mutual.

And why is that?
Because God is navigating the boat.

The lovers row toward one another — with love, joy, and anticipation.

Sacred pursuit is about being wanted.
It is about someone seeing your worth and moving toward you because of it.  
And it is about God reminding you that you were created for connection —
that you deserve to be pursued with tenderness and intention.

It is a gentle invitation to commune with God in a way that stirs your heart, a way that makes YOU whisper, “I can’t get enough of You.”
Because the deeper truth is this:
God delights in you more than you can imagine.

Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends?

— Song of Solomon 1:7

May you feel the excitement of being pursued —
the beauty, the delight, the anticipation.
May sacred love draw you toward a lover who rows toward you, listening as God navigates the way. Amen

“Rowboat” by kkalyan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

#SacredLove #SongOfSongs #Valentine’sDay #Intimacy #Faith #Poetry #IntimateFaith #HolyLove #LoveJourney

Sacred Love: Being Seen

A Series of Longing from the Song of Songs

I welcome love that sees me and honors me for who I am.

We all have a longing.
To be recognized.
To be understood.
To be cherished.

And yet we often hide the very depths of our souls.
Those quiet places.
Tender spaces.
The place where there is fear.

We fear we are too much.
Or not enough.
Not worthy.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

One of my long-time friends once told me he loved my eyes — “exotic, almond‑shaped,” he said. Forty years later, I still remember those words. Why? Because in that moment, I felt noticed. I felt like I mattered. I felt valued.

How often do people notice a small sacred detail about you and then actually speak it?

What kind of world would we live in if we spoke the beauty we see instead of keeping it to ourselves?

How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are doves. Your hair is like a flock of goats descending from the hills of Gilead.

– Song of Solomon 4:1

May you truly experience what it feels like to be seen —
not for what you do, but for who you are.
May sacred love meet and guide you where you need to be. Amen.

Image Credit: “The Veiled Woman” by Koshyk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

#SacredLove #SongOfSongs #Valentine’sDay #Intimacy #Faith #Poetry #IntimateFaith #HolyLove #LoveJourney

Sacred Love: Welcome

A Series of Longing from the Song of Songs

Welcome to Sacred Love.
A month of longing.
A month of poetry.
A month of receiving real, sacred love.

Throughout this series, we will explore the longing that rises from the Song of Songs:
the longing to be seen,
to be held,
to be delighted in,
to belong.

This is an invitation to slow down.
To breathe.

To cherish the beauty of intimacy — emotional, spiritual, and physical.
And to honor the desire God placed within us for connection that is tender, virtuous, and deeply human.

I welcome the beauty of sacred love.

February invites us pause and reflect on love—
Not the commercial love of Valentine’s Day.
But the love that is felt before it is understood.
A love that stirs.
A love that is found in the sacred space within each one of us.

Song of Songs is a book of longing—
the longing to connect to another human soul.
One that is designed by God.
Blessed by God.
And breathed into our very being.
Yet it is only experienced when we invite God into it.

Take me away with you—let us hurry! Let the king bring me into his chambers.

—Song of Solomon 1:4

May your heart and eyes open to sacred love.
May you see and feel this love reaching for you more and more each day. Amen.

Two figures embracing by Joy Cho found on Athome.com

#SacredLove #SongofSongs #Valentine’sDay #Intimacy #Faith #Poetry #IntimateFaith #HolyLove #LoveJourney

Sacred Love: Introduction

A Series of Longing from the Song of Songs

Love is tender, poetic, and intimate.
There is no doubt that love rises from the sacred space within each of us.
It is the longing to be seen.
To be heard.
To fill the loneliness.
And to remind us that we were created for connection.

The Song of Songs is one of the poetry books of the bible. It is the 22nd book in the Old Testament. Some say it is erotic poetry. But it is far more than that.

Two lovers on a love journey, each longing for the other. Their story is filled with desire, delight, and devotion. Rich with allegory and vivid imagery, this book sings a song of longing and intimacy —
a song that helps us understand what love is all about.

This month, we will step into that longing. The place where we want to be known,
chosen,
pursued,
and deeply cherished.

Sacred love is designed and defined by God.
It is passionate.
It is faithful.
It is holy.
And it is reachable.

It is like nothing else on this earth.
Love is fragrant.
It is mystical.
It is emotional.
It is intimate.
It is sacred.
It reflects God’s love for us.

And so, we begin —
a month of love. And what better place to start than the Song of Songs.

“Pair lovers, null ida teichmann” is marked with CC0 1.0.

#SacredLove #SongOfSongs #Valentine’sDay #Intimacy #Faith #Poetry #IntimateFaith #HolyLove #LoveJourney

Welcoming Love

Affirmation

We welcome love. We open our hearts to its warmth and vitality.

Reflection

As January comes to a close, we have nearly completed the first whole month of 2026. Moving into February feels like crossing a bridge —
one that guides us toward a more authentic way of being. Slow. Steady. True.

January has invited us to slow down, to notice the sparkle, to breathe again.
To appreciate the small things life has to offer.
Now it invites us to open our hearts —to let love meet us where we are.
Not the perfect or polished version of us.
Just our honest, authentic selves.

Love is grand and has its own timeline.
Sometimes it comes softly —
in a kind word offered at the right moment, in a hand reaching for ours, or in the familiar comfort of someone who sees us as we are.
Sometimes it arrives loudly —
like a spark igniting a fire, full of sizzles, cracks, and pops.

What we do know for sure is that love shows up every day in the ordinary:
the warmth and joy shared over a piece of pizza,
the whisper of “I’m sorry,”
the courage to forgive,
the assurance that God is with us – always.

Love is God’s way of saying: You are held. You are seen. You are cherished.
Welcoming love means letting ourselves receive what we often give so freely to others. It means trusting that love is not scarce, not fragile, not earned — but offered. Again and again.

Prayer

God, teach us to welcome love — the love You pour into our lives and the love that flows through the people around us. Help us soften our words, calm our anxiety, and open our hearts to love. May Your love remind us that we are seen, heard, and valued. Amen

Image Credit: Freepik p. 43 Shared Meal

#Love #January #Welcome #NewYear #2026 #Affirmation #Prayer #Faith #Seasons #Reflections