Beauty Archives » Sondra Kraak https://sondrakraak.com/category/beauty/ Trails of Love and Grace Fri, 09 Oct 2015 14:13:12 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 It’s Time to Fall Again https://sondrakraak.com/its-time-to-fall-again/ Fri, 09 Oct 2015 14:13:12 +0000 https://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=1603 Fall. My favorite season. I close the windows of summer and bask in the new quietness of the inside. The spicy aroma of cinnamon, apples, and cloves overcomes the sweet fragrances of snapdragons, lilies, and roses. Nature walks lead to pockets full of pine cones, acorn hats, and seed pods. Tree limbs bow, yielding to […]

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]]> Places of Healing https://sondrakraak.com/places-of-healing/ Fri, 17 Jan 2014 16:05:08 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=1006 When Hosea prophecies the tender healing of Israel, he doesn’t paint a Psalm 23 picture. No green pastures or quiet waters. On the contrary, the words of the Lord to his broken bride are this: He leads us to the desert. That means that the barren place I find myself in might not be by accident, […]

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]]> Beauty in the Morning https://sondrakraak.com/beauty-in-the-morning/ https://sondrakraak.com/beauty-in-the-morning/#comments Wed, 15 Jan 2014 14:34:31 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=1002 I live at the bottom of a mountain. Several days a week, I jump on the interstate and drive up that mountain to the town where my church–and much of my life–resides. In spring, wisteria drapes the hillsides. In fall, brilliant colors cloak the vista. Some nights, I chase the full moon down the mountain […]

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]]> https://sondrakraak.com/beauty-in-the-morning/feed/ 1 What to do when beauty grips you by the heart and won’t let go . . . https://sondrakraak.com/what-to-do-when-beauty-grips-you-by-the-heart-and-wont-let-go/ https://sondrakraak.com/what-to-do-when-beauty-grips-you-by-the-heart-and-wont-let-go/#comments Fri, 04 Oct 2013 15:49:12 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=798 He stands on top of a mountain and feels the Spirit of God pulse through his body. Life. Breath. Grace. Good gifts that seem to well up within as he surveys the panorama of jagged peaks. This is Alaska. Wildness that reaches inside you and awakens possibility. Beauty that whispers steady hope to your weary […]

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]]> https://sondrakraak.com/what-to-do-when-beauty-grips-you-by-the-heart-and-wont-let-go/feed/ 2 The Redemption of the Body https://sondrakraak.com/the-redemption-of-the-body/ https://sondrakraak.com/the-redemption-of-the-body/#comments Sun, 11 Aug 2013 17:02:57 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=769 In the wake of natural disasters, we easily relate to Paul’s words of a groaning creation (Romans 8), and the decaying of our bodies proves that a final, eternal redemption is a necessary reality of the future. Since salvation affects not only our hearts and souls, but also our bodies, does it follow that our […]

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]]> https://sondrakraak.com/the-redemption-of-the-body/feed/ 2 I’m Just Normal https://sondrakraak.com/im-just-normal/ https://sondrakraak.com/im-just-normal/#comments Sat, 10 Aug 2013 15:22:31 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=771 I recently overheard this conversation between my eight-year-old niece and six-year-old daughter. Niece: “You’re skinny.” Daughter: “No, I’m not!” Niece (laughing): “Are you fat?” Daughter (increasingly upset): “No! I’m just normal!” I’ve intentionally kept the words “skinny” and “fat” out of my daughter’s vocabulary, knowing the brutal effect such words can have on self-esteem. But that […]

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]]> https://sondrakraak.com/im-just-normal/feed/ 1 Beginnings and Endings https://sondrakraak.com/beginnings-and-endings/ Sun, 27 Nov 2011 02:10:55 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=99 We come into this world not of our choosing, but by the actions of our parents and through the sovereign design of God. Birthdays are important celebrations of the beginning of our lives. Our celebrations of beginnings signals that we value the start-ups in our lives, be it the beginning of school, the beginning of marriage, the beginning […]

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]]> A Few Thoughts on Beauty https://sondrakraak.com/a-few-thoughts-on-beauty/ https://sondrakraak.com/a-few-thoughts-on-beauty/#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:52:42 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=82 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14 Just like you, I like beautiful things. Sunrises, flowers, songs, mountains, words of affection. Pretty clothes, shimmering lip gloss, shiny […]

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]]> https://sondrakraak.com/a-few-thoughts-on-beauty/feed/ 2 Lessons from the Beach https://sondrakraak.com/lessons-from-the-beach/ https://sondrakraak.com/lessons-from-the-beach/#comments Tue, 02 Aug 2011 21:42:25 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=62 Something happens when God snatches away familiarity through the passage of time. Rebirth. Revision. Renewal. And out of this newness comes remembrance. Standing on the beach after years of being inland, I remember my childhood. I see inprints of God in the sights and sounds that are now uncommon to me. I cannot help but […]

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]]> https://sondrakraak.com/lessons-from-the-beach/feed/ 2 Eyes-Open Living https://sondrakraak.com/eyes-open-living/ https://sondrakraak.com/eyes-open-living/#comments Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:41:53 +0000 http://sondrakraak.wordpress.com/?p=27 A few weeks ago I was driving up the mountain at dusk. The winter trees outlined against the darkening horizon atop the ridges looked like bristles on a brush. The color resting on the mountains looked like God had laid a blanket down on the hills and said, “Goodnight.” The spot of bright red sunset reminded me […]

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