A New Blog Is in the Works!

Dear Friends,

For a couple of months now, a new blog design has been underway, and I’m really excited about some new features coming.

I must confess, that while I love the writing aspect of blogging, some of the technological stuff stresses me out. Honestly, I’m clueless.

I’ve tinkered along okay, figuring things out as I go, but after three years of blogging, I finally enlisted some tech/design help. And I’m so glad I did!

Erin Ulrich at Design by Insight has been a delight to work with. She has been so patient with my technological-bumbling, and she has steered me in the right direction on some key points. I’ve learned so much already. (And I’m looking forward to learning more as I go.)

In addition to her technological-expertise, she’s so creative! She has taken my nebulous ideas — for color and scheme — and has brought them to fruition. She’s amazing! I’m thrilled with her work because she has brought about what I had originally envisioned for my blog three years ago but was never able to make happen on my own.

I can’t wait to share with you what we’ve been cooking up behind the scenes.

The domain will remain the same: denisejhughes.com

With the new site, though, all current subscribers will need to re-subscribe once the new site is up. I apologize for this inconvenience. Without re-subscribing, it won’t be possible to receive future posts. And I’d love to continue sharing this blogging journey with you.

Thank you for your grace.

If you have any questions, you are always welcome to write to me at: denisejhughes@gmail.com

Have you ever done a blog redesign?

  

Perspective

Descending into the ravine,
I hike along a well-worn path.

The towering Redwoods forbid the sunlight
from penetrating the tangled mess of branches above.

Thankful for the shade, I continue towards the basin.

The sound of moving water promises a creek awaiting.
Maybe even a modest waterfall.

A bridge leads me to another trail.

Skidding downwards, I land on a stone-bedded bank.

My toes take me to the water’s edge.

I kneel low. Camera poised.

Above. Below.
Across. Beside.

My feet never move, but from every angle, another scene emerges.

The bridge high above.
The trees all around.
The rocks strewn below.
The creek whistling by.

A situation comes to mind.

It’s so easy to convince ourselves
that we have complete understanding of any given situation.

It’s especially gratifying when our select group of friends
have the same interpretation, the same view.

But God is here.

He made the rocks, the trees, the water.

He speaks.

My feet never move, yet every picture I take
preserves another perspective of the same scene.

I am reminded that God’s perspective
is so much greater than our own.

God, forgive us when we convince ourselves that we know best, that we know all. Your ways are higher than our ways. And You see so much more than we see. Whenever we choose to consider a situation from a singular perspective, help us to see with spirit eyes — to see from Your perspective.

His light shines through.

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”
~ Psalm 119:18

 

*Edited from archives. (While attending Mt. Hermon’s Christian Writer’s Conference, I took a walk, and when I reached this spot next to the water, I snapped as many shots as I could in every direction without moving my feet.)

Dear Mom, You are Buttuyfull

This was the highlight from my Mother’s Day.

My 7-year-old son thinks I’m buttuyfull.

The unintended pun made my day.

Jeff tells me that Parker was adamant about what I would want for Mother’s Day.

Can you guess what’s inside?

Yep. My very own Nerf Football.

The best part? Parker’s right. I’ve always maintained that the only bummer part of Mother’s Day is that it’s in May and there’s not an NFL game to watch.

But Jeff brought home the new Mission Impossible movie, so once the kids are in bed later, we can wrap up the day with a good ole’ shoot-em-up flick. My favorite kind.

Wherever you are today, I hope you’ve been able to spend the day doing what you love most. Whether that’s flowers and brunch or football and movies.

What was the highlight from your Mother’s Day?