Nicole, a friend from Creswell, NC, a music teacher and writer/ composer loves to add photography to her music. She often finds photos to illustrate a a biblical scripture also. This week as change of temperature and November blooms were coming to an end until next season she spotted a win.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

I’m thankful to Nichole for her light and her generosity in sharing her work with me and allowing me to share,

Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand. All the women followed her playing tambourines and dancing.
—Exodus 15:20 (CEB)

“Lord of the Dance” is a hymn with words written by English songwriter Sydney Carter in 1963. It follows the idea of a traditional English carol, “Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day” which tells the gospel story in the first person voice of Jesus of Nazareth with the device of portraying Jesus’ life and mission as a dance.”

🎼I danced in the morning when the world was begun,
And I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun,
And I came down from heaven and I danced on the earth:
At Bethlehem I had my birth.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced for the scribe and the Pharisee,
But they would not dance and they wouldn’t follow me;
I danced for the fishermen, for James and John;
They came with me and the dance went on:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame:
The holy people said it was a shame.
They whipped and they stripped and they hung me on high,
And they left me there on a cross to die:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black;
It’s hard to dance with the devil on your back.
They buried my body and they thought I’d gone;
But I am the dance, and I still go on:

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.

They cut me down and I leapt up high;
I am the life that’ll never, never die.
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me:
I am the Lord of the dance, said he.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,
I am the Lord of the dance, said he,
And I’ll lead you all, wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.🎼

Do you feel so close to Jesus at times that you just have to dance?

I’m sharing an excerpt from an account of Eric Burnett’s reporting from Ukraine. The moment of Lucky, a goat, a gratitude…(see link to full interview below)

“Tell us what you saw in Ukraine and how it’s different from your previous reporting trip to the region, when you witnessed the transition into war?

I met a couple whose son was killed in the war. Their house was rubble, filled with rockets and bullets. Their backyard was a series of holes dug by Russian troops, still filled with the mattresses, sheets and cigarettes they stole when they lived there for more than a month. 

Vadim and Olga had lost everything. The day I met them, their goat, who was pregnant before the invasion, gave birth to two kids. Olga held them, inhaling their smell, and murmured that it was like milk, honey and eggs. She said, “We have new life.” 

Olga lost her only child in this war and yet she found joy in the newborn goats. I asked Vadim what word he would use to describe his life now — he didn’t pause. Lucky, he said. Lucky, because the Russians in nearby houses raped women and tortured people. 

Lucky, he said, because God helped them. They felt lucky. And there I was, unable to fathom their loss.

I learned from Vadim and Olga that sometimes, as much as a moment moves you and affects you, you cannot understand it. I was silenced by their ability to take joy in their goats and to find themselves lucky. 

I could only listen and witness their experience. 

I learned from them in a new way that this is something we humans can do for one another.”

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/01/world/inside-cnn-newsletter-erin-burnett-ukraine-reporting-cfc/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/01/world/inside-cnn-newsletter-erin-burnett-ukraine-reporting-cfc/index.html