That's a good Sunday lesson and illustration too. I couldn't help but notice the landing that occurred at regular intervals in the picture of the steps. I kinda think of Jesus as our landing when we're navigating the stepping stones of life. Thanks for helping me see that!

While real steps build our physical being, these life steps build our character.

Some days you just wonder how much more building your character needs. :)

Love to you

Careful, Sqrrrl. More talk like that and you'll end up all lopsided! You know hard it is to keep constructions crews on the job.

This is an awesome photo, Susie. It goes well with your post, of course, but you captured it at just the right moment. I love how the fence's shadow falls exactly on the steps--it zigzags and crosses them completely, without spilling over into the grass.

Sometimes I can't help but think, some of us get more steps than others. But they are still managed somehow. :)
Still in the process of building, most of us are. :) A forever process and that is a good thing.
Happy Sunday Susie!

There you go being all manipulative again... *sigh*

I'm all about perseverance... even when giving up sounds so simple and golden... but who wants to be mature? Huh? Huh?

Love you lots, Susie.

I'm with squirl...just how much more character do us characters need anyway?!?!?!?

Lovely pic as usual my friend.

Your attitude never fails to impress and inspire me, Susie. Hugs to you. :)

Again an inspiration. The version of the James passage that I read states that Trials should be considered pure Joy. Wow.

No truer words could express what I'm going through right now. Thank you.

katy, that is a lovely thought, and very true, for me. Thank you, for pointing that out. :)

squirl, I hear dat. I guess when those steps are put in front of us, it's a message that we're being called to something higher.

mrB, the rest of us may end up lopsided, but not squirl. She seems very well-balanced ;)

shawkey, thank you! As always, any resemblance of my photo to an actual "good photo" is purely accidental :)

happy Sunday, nina :) Your comment reminds me of one of those most challenging scripture verses, the "to whom much is given, much is required" one.

ck, given a choice . . . I don't know that I would choose maturity . . . well, sometimes . . . don't make me think, CK . . .

traci, I know. I woulda thought we had all the character we could stand, but God has something else in mind, it would seem.

ern, I'll take the hugs, and give 'em back. Not feeling very impressive, inspired or inspirational today.

william, wow, indeed. This is one of the more challenging scripture passages, one I certainly haven't mastered yet. One of those that I put under the category, "if being a Christian is easy, we're not doing it right."

mutha, it is true for you, honey. You're going places. Good places, from which you'll look back on this time and say, "I'm so glad I got to go through that, because that's how I got HERE." Promise.

I had to look up Marsha Sinetar on the web. She seems to have written a lot of motivational books. I think it would drive me crazy to read any of them though. (Too many bad cliches.)

But, uh, that's just me, I guess.

It's funny... I have a friend in real life who works in a large office building serviced by elevators. His office is quite close to the elevator, but he prefers to walk around the building to the back stairwell. He refers to it as his "private elevator" because almost no one uses it. I've often laughed with him about how his private elevator takes him to the same place as the other elevators, but gets him there in better shape. I hope that's true for your "stairs" too.

Just stopped in to hang around your place a little.

karen, I encountered M.S. years ago in a career counseling class. "Do what you love, the money will follow," was the book and the message at the time. Now, you've got me thinking, as you often do. Are all cliches bad? What makes a cliche bad? Good? I'm sure I don't know :) As often as not, I don't "know" the person I quote on Sunday. I am sure that I have quoted people whose views, writings, whatever, I wouldn't endorse wholeheartedly. I'm just choosing those words for that day, nothing more than that. I say this just to say, I'm not encouraging anyone to read her books. They may be great, they may be crap, I just don't know.

eclectic, I hope that, too. Trying to believe that :)

lynn, you are always welcome. It touches me that this is a place you'd want to hang out. Thanks for saying so.

The picture reminded me of a stairway to heaven!
I'm still reeling from a recent death, and I find comfort in many of the comments here, and at the sister's sites.

I havent read through all the comments...yet.

This picture is just...there is not a correct word to describe the perfection of what I see here.

I see the fence as the boundaries God has in place for me, the shadows on the steps the trials and difficult times. The shadows on the grass, within the fenced area the times where I am carried in His loving arms; the grass without shadows the place where I can lay down in peace. Each step is a step closer to Him, closer to where He wants me to be, whether in the shadows of trials or the bright sunshine of going forward with ease.

I set this as my desktop background because it has SO very much meaning to me. Thank you.

I read these verses after I wrote the comment above and OH BOY, so good. This part:

"because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. "

When I read that I immediately thought of the fence in the picture as the protection of being blown and tossed by the wind. With belief and no doubt, the fence protects.

Thats just my take on it, and I love it. Thank you so much for being you, and being so giving even in this time of difficulty.

Also- not to disregard Squirl and Bucky and Jess, but i'm visiting their sites as well.

The weirdest thing is on Saturday night (or rather really early Sunday morning) I had a dream that I was visiting Jessica Rabbit & Bucky. (what was weird was that there were not nearly enough cats and dogs around--in fact neither betard and only 3 cats). I went in and sat with them and (weird again that Squirl wasn't there) but it was just a time to be comforting--I remember giving Bucky a big hug and telling her that all would be OK and that we (the blogging community) were there for them.

I figured this would be a better venue to share my dream of Bucky & Jess because Nilbo says he's always having dreams with them in it--mine was nothing like that!

Loving the stairs--perfect photo...

Love & hugs & God's blessings!

Love the Sunday Post as always.

Emma (now Platypus)
x

Thinking of Squirl and Bucky. And you too, my love.

Great pic.