joy, faith and blessing
My signature and avatar reflect three important themes in my life right now: Blessing, Joy and Faith. My screen name, Benisse, is a form of the verb "to bless" in French. So both sig and avatar have "may God bless you" for text.
God has blessed me so deeply in terms of marriage, children, family and friends. And even in times of trial it is a comfort to know that in the midst of pain and difficulties I can truly say that although things may seem out of control, thankfully I know the One who Is in control, and it is He who loves me most of all...
My pictures capture moments of Joy in the Lewis sense: moments of wonder, beauty and awe. In my avatar it is a close up of the light orchid pink Chinese magnolia blossoms that bloom in our backyard, my family's personal first sign of spring. The flowers are large and seem to bloom all at once so the leafless tree goes from modestly budding to suddenly exploding in bloom -- like an outrageous exclamation mark of beauty.
The ground squirrel in my sig crossed my path at the end of my daughter's birthday party up in Kings Canyon National Park this past June. I was gathering up remains of cake and juice, packing up trash and art supplies to load up the car, when I saw my daughter and her friends hushed and frozen in an awed huddle on the trail to the parking lot. And there sat the ground squirrel, complacently snacking on some grass by a fence post. The timing was perfect, an extra gift of beauty and wonder to end a pleasant afternoon. One child even told his mom that he wasn't going home. He wanted to stay and live on the mountain
The subscript under my sig is a motto I made up while studying Chinese in Taiwan. It simply reflects my desire and focus.
Blessings,
Benisse
