Through Love's Eyes

I had mentioned in my last blog post that I had a special surprise for you.  This is something I've been working on for some time, and I'm quite pleased to announce that I have just finished publishing a book, complete with pictures I've taken, along with pieces of my writing and thoughts.  This book has been a culmination of a dream that began many years ago, as a child.  

Some of you may not know that I was born in Prince Edward Island. I grew up on the sandy red shores of PEI and devoured Lucy Maud Montgomery's books as a child.  I wandered the beaches with their wind-drifted sand dunes, walked the paths of the Enchanted Forest and lifted my face to the salty ocean breeze.  The beauty of the world around me there on the island settled deep in my soul.  Throughout my life I have always looked for the rich delight of nature around me while experiencing the love of my Saviour and seeing His expressions of love written for me, wherever life may have taken me. It was a dream as a child to one day write a book. 

Eventually I left the beautiful island shores, marrying a Texan, and now we reside here in North Idaho, where once again the beauty of the world around me captures my soul each day.  I've shared many of the pictures I've taken through the years here on my blog.  Sharing the pictures with you, my readers, has been a source of inspiration as well, and last fall, I took a plunge into deep uncharted waters and began to write the book I'd always dreamed of.

So today, I'd like to introduce you to my book.... Through Love's Eyes.

This is the front cover of the book

The back cover:

The back cover

Because the white font is hard to see in the photo, this is what it says:

About the Book

With over 100 pages of spectacular photos, inspirational writings and prose that accompany the images, this book is sure to fill your heart with joy as each scene is shared with a descriptive phrase, poem or thought from the author’s perspective. Marilyn Moseley’s skills as a hobby photographer capture the essence of her world and her writings seek to uplift the reader and ultimately bring all glory to the Creator who designed it all.

About the Author

Marilyn Moseley is an avid hobby photographer living in North Idaho who shares her photography and inspirational writings on her blog (MountainTopSpice.blogspot.com) and with the two writing groups she is a member of. Her love for the Lord and ambition as a writer began at an early age growing up in Prince Edward Island, Canada, the home of Lucy Montgomery. Leaving the red soil of the Island, she married a Texan, and now lives in North Idaho with her husband, two children, 20 chickens, two dogs and the reigning king of the home, Mister Simba the cat.

You can find the book online at Westbow Press, which is currently the best place to buy the book, as it does offer free shipping within the United States.  For those who are outside the United States, the book can be purchased here. 

I'll be sharing a little more about my book in the days to come.  The pandemic has certainly changed a lot of things for the publication efforts of this book, as book signings are not an option.  So I'm working on some creative ways to share my book with the world, and in a few days, I hope to share some of those with you.  

I want to thank each of you for your words of encouragement through the years, as they have culminated in pursuit of an opportunity to share my world through pictures, to a world that needs comfort, encouragement, and hope more than ever before.  Through Love's Eyes shares beautiful scenery coupled with encouraging scriptures, writings, and thoughts to encourage the reader's heart and ultimately turn our hearts to praise and worship of the Creator who designed it all for our delight.  

With all of the Lord's love, grace, and peace to each of you! 

Psalms 121:1-2

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.  

My help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth.  

Spring's Laughter

Amidst the difficulties that the world is facing right now... 

Spring's blooms have arrived in all their splendor!

Seen on my daily walk, these wild phlox are lighting up the landscape with their resplendent blooms. 

Someone who loves daffodils and hyacinth planted hundreds of them on a hillside in tow, with the river in view...
as I drove by my heart was thrilled with the sight of the happy yellow sunshine faces,
that I had to stop and take some pictures.

I could've sat there amidst their beauty for hours...
my soul drank up the liquid golden sunshine from their blooms deeply!

In front of our local nursery, these glorious tulips light up the world with their colorful offerings!

 

Plum trees are adding light to the world too... as their delicate blossoms charm the breeze... 

This old plum tree leans toward the hillside, yet in its old age, it puts on a beautiful spread to welcome spring... 

I could sit at the feet of this old tree, and listen to its stories for hours...

 After seeing some of the beautiful blooms that were filling the world with their delight, I wrote this little poem:

Pinks,  yellows and reds dance together

in gracious color symphony

A grand chorus that sings

its lilting springtime melody

A roadside plum tree drops its petals

red and yellow tulips sway in harmony

while daffodils lift cheery faces sunward

... and my hens think it's all just comedy...

I captured this inquisitive hen peering at me wondering what I was so excited about...
poor dear, she doesn't know how I've longed all winter for these tulip blooms!

I was driving down the highway when a truck meeting me blinked his lights.  I proceeded with caution, not sure what lay over the next hill.  To my surprise - and delight - this young bull moose was chomping on fresh greens alongside the road.  I was able to stop and capture a few quick shots of him.  

He wasn't interested in me at all.  I had rolled down my window, and said hello, but he completely ignored me. 

He wouldn't give me his name... but I did get his number! 

He certainly looked like he could use a few greens to fatten him up! 

Even though he never really acknowledged me, my zoom lens just happened to catch him warily watching me. 

Here is a link to a little video that I took of him... 

While working in the yard, I heard our resident Hairy Woodpecker chipping away at a tree stump. I was able to video him from a distance, and watched him pull lunch out of the stump! Here is a link to a video that I made of our resident Hairy Woodpecker finding lunch out of a stump (you may need to enlarge the screen to see what lunch was!)...

You can see the fresh drilling holes where he found lunch....
my dogs decided they wanted to check the stump out,
and my little hardworking friend flew away.

More feathered friends hanging out around the feeders...

This Evening Grosbeak was enjoying an afternoon snack while the rain poured down. 

This visiting American Goldfinch enjoyed the treats offered up ... 

These Brewer's Blackbirds, and a Purple Finch were making good use of my bird feeding station as well. 

And so it is that the delight of Spring's blooms and the joy of hearing sweet birdsong has been a precious thing in these last few weeks where our world has descended into a pit of despair.  I look around each day, and find so much to be grateful for, and that helps to keep my perspective in these very difficult days that we face.  Thankfully, in our little area here, we have been very blessed, and our world has continued on much as usual. But I know that for so many others, that is not the case.

On another note, I do have some exciting news to share soon, and I hope to share it in a post very soon.  {smiles}

I pray that the Lord's peace be with all of you, and that your hearts would not be troubled or afraid.  Our hope remains in Him, and there is an answer and a solution for all that is wrong in our world.  It is in Jesus!

John 14:27  

Peace I leave with you, 

my peace I give unto you: 

not as the world giveth, 

give I unto you. 

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

With all the Lord's grace, mercy and love to all of you!

A Season with Peace at all Times

Life continues gently on through these early spring days filled with wild weather (we had an earthquake here a couple of weeks ago with no damage), a strange virus and uncertain moments.

Yet, in the midst of all this, the seasons continue on just as they always have done, and that is comforting to me.

Song of Solomon 2:11-13

For now the winter is past; 

the rain is over and gone.

The flowers have appeared in the countryside;

the season of singing has come,

and the cooing of turtledoves

is heard in our land.

The fig tree ripens its figs;

the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.

The first signs of spring in my garden are the magnificent crocus that pop their heads out above the snow, and begin to bloom.  Tiny in stature, but bright and colorful in nature, they are a delight to first behold after a long winter's season!

In early April... a late winter/early spring snowstorm came and brought the earth what some call "poor man's fertilizer."

Seeds have been started in my greenhouse as we prepare for the gardening season,
even while snow falls outside, there is hope inside my greenhouse! Several years ago I had such wonderful results using plastic fruit containers for starting seeds that I have continued to use them.  They come with their own built-in lids, and are just perfect for getting seeds started.  Because our temps dip down so low at night still, I keep a heat lamp on at night. 

With flour becoming a commodity hard to find, I thought I would make homemade bread using wheat berries that we had purchased years ago from Wheat Montana.  They last a long time,
and are a wonderful way to store flour where it won't go bad. 

I used my NutriBullet to grind the berries using the milling attachment that came with it. 

This is a closer look at what wheat berries look like.  They are just hard-shelled little kernels of wheat. 

After I milled the berries in my NutriBullet, I sifted the flour.  The hard kernels that don't grind, I feed to my chickens :) 

Here is the recipe I used to make this bread. It is a King Arthur recipe.
I personally love King Arthur flour, but any flour can be used.
I made this loaf in the bread machine, using the dough setting.
When finished, I form the loaf and let it rise again. 

Just out of the oven! I brush my bread with butter after I remove from the oven, and then let it cool.
The butter helps to soften the crust. 

Homemade bread at its finest.  This bread was soft, tender, and perfect.
I highly recommend this very easy way of making bread for your family :) 

 Oh my, if this picture doesn't make you want to bake your own loaf of homemade bread...  {smiles}
I need to make some more! 

I've been busy making masks. This is the pattern requested by the local hospital. Many other people in the community are making masks too, and it is remarkable how everyone has pulled together to make a difference in the hour of need. 

On a beautiful afternoon with warm sunshine sprinkling the air with its delight,
my husband and I drove down to the little lake just down from our home.
It was so peaceful there. 

After the snow melted, it was time to get busy in my garden with early spring projects.  The first one on the list was to change up my little garden sitting area.  I had found this large blue "carpet" of sorts... it is plastic, and very very heavy.  It was the perfect size of my sitting area, and I had put it down last fall.
 We rolled it up and rototilled the soil and evened it all out. 

We added landscape timbers over the blue plastic carpet, and put down wood chips.
We are able to get these wood chips for free from a local mill. Such a blessing! 

It took about two truck bed loads of the wood chips, and then it was a full day's worth of work
to put my little area back together again after a long winter's nap. 

Here is my little area... it will change as I putter around and get new ideas.
But it makes me smile to have it done :) 

I rearranged my little she-shed as well.  I moved my two pink chairs inside, as they don't do well with outside weather conditions.  I also have an old school desk that I found at a garage sale.
I set up a "tea table" with a collection of my outdoor tea pretties.  

You may remember the tea quilt that I was working on last summer.  It has found a place to call home :) 

This little space brings me great joy, indeed. 

Welcome to my Prayer Garden!

On Easter morning, I went to the garden, and to my delight, there had just bloomed this daffodil.
This is an early variety that blooms without much height, but oh how beautiful the sight was to see! 

And also in bloom was this hyacinth.  My heart was blessed to see the color on this special morning. 

Our church held an outdoor sunrise service, which we do every year.  This year it seemed even more special
as we were so thankful to be able to gather together, and rejoice in our risen Savior! 

For Easter dinner, we cooked some meat on our smoker, and I made homemade rolls
with the last of the green beans from my garden last year.  

My husband cooked dessert in our Dutch oven... a family favorite, Huckleberry cobbler. 

Scrumptious! 

I want to share this familiar portion of scripture with you today: 

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8

To everything, there is a season,

and a time for every purpose under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to break down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to count as lost,

a time to keep and a time to discard,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

This is a troubling season that we are all facing.  The days seem very dark and dismal for many, as financial fallout from the virus in most cases seem to be worse than the virus itself. It is hard to fathom what the outcome of this will be.  

But I want to encourage you that it is just a season.  It is a time appointed that we will walk through, and someday we will look back and there will be heartache mixed with smiles, tears mixed with laughter on these days... but we will get through them.  Our faith in our Lord is a foundation we can stand upon.  His Word is true and unchanging.  

While the season seems rough, wild, and uncertain, He is constant, ever near and present, and will see us through.  I pray for hearts to look to Him, and that He would receive all glory in this time we are in.  

I do believe, with all my heart, that this event has not taken our Lord by surprise, and that He has a plan.  Remember Calvary... how dark the world turned at the time of Jesus' death, how dismal the outlook seemed, and yet three days later, how that all changed.  Our Lord is able to turn this situation around and use it for His glory and His eternal plan.  

II Thessalonians 3:16 

Now may the Lord of peace himself 

give you peace at all times 

and in every way. 

The Lord be with all of you.