Welcome!

On this journey of sharing BLESSINGS

I am accompanied by some friends.  You can visit them, too.

Jackie  at  Jackie McBride

Abbie at Abbie Johnson Taylor

And, I am  Lynda Lambert

Lynda’s Journal of Blessings – #784 – Ups & Downs

©Walking by Inner Vision, since December 2009.

__My Thoughts

©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, #784

>> Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto <<

I  have been in love with Mozart’s music for many years.  I was saturated in Mozart’s music and life in the summer of 1991.  This was my first trip to Austria, and the entire country was celebrating the 200th anniversary of Mozart’s death. Mozart and his music were on the for-front of everything we encountered that summer.  It was the gift of a lifetime, for me. 

I was in Austria to celebrate the successful completion of my MFA degree at West Virginia University.  I had made it, and I was overjoyed to be in Austria that summer.

Last week I asked Alexa too “play some Austrian classical music.”  The concert, “Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto,”  began immediately and I really needed a nice break in a busy day here at home. This week had some Ups and some Downs.  Moments when good news  arrived and I am so happy.  Then, there were  moments, that are not what I wanted to get. Heartbreaking days, and mountain-high celebration days.  All of it.

First

The rejection letter.  The three fiber art pieces I entered in a regional exhibition were rejected by the juror.  Bummer!  But, to be frank, I’ve been at this “exhibition game” since 1976, when I entered my first art show.  Getting rejections and acceptances is my normal life.  I put my work out for a juror to see, and I hope to be in the shows.

Writing is very similar.  I send my poems and non-fiction essays out occasionally, to editors of journals and anthologies.  Just like waiting for the juror to select or reject my artwork, this is the same.  My work goes before a juror, or editor, and selections are made.  Some get published, and some do not.  I have my ups and my downs, and that is my NORMAL way of life. We have to be willing to keep on going despite any set-backs we encounter.  And, at the same time, we are willing to accept the good news, too.  It is all a part of life.

In the early-80s,  I was studying painting at the Hoyt Institute of Fine Art.  I spent about 3 years there, in the weekly painting classes taught by David Ludwick. I was painting every day, for hours, in between the weekly classes.  I was on fire, with a desire to paint pictures. And, I was growing.

I learned from the painting instructor that if we got in 50 percent of the shows we entered, that would be fantastic.  Most of the time, it will be blow that number.  After putting work in for a juried show, it does not take long before the declines are not so disappointing, and the acceptances are even sweeter when they come.

Last week,  I had received the  rejection notice, I was listening to music as I was working at home.  I have Alexa in the kitchen, and typically, I ask for some classical music.  Most often, I ask for Mozart.

One particular piece really made me stop and listen for a while.  This was Mozart’s Clarinette Concerto.

I  included this music  today in my post because I have the hope  that you also find peace today wherever you are.

Even if is a week where troubles come calling and something happens that brings sorrow and pain.

Pause to listen to the music,  Listen now.

 

• Today, my focus is on the Ups and Downs that we experience  in life. 

Some days bring good news that makes me celebrate with a little happy dance. I  pause to say “Thank You” to God for this blessing.

Second.

Here is a positive notice that I  received, also.

I learned this week that two of my pieces of pottery were selected to appear in the Somatosensory Exhibition, 2026.  They were entered in this juried competition and 7 judges made the decisions  of artworks to include in the show, as well as artworks that will not be in the show.

My two pieces are sculptures that were created from slabs of clay in the pottery studio.

“Lemon Lily,” is a dynamic and beautiful bowl.  It invites visitors to touch it to experience the slick glazed surface, and the organic waves of the bowls design, that flares in and out,  The edges of this bowl have round and slick silky balls  of clay that were applied to give the bowl more of that feeling for a visitor to reach out and touch those edges.

Also, “Silver Iceflow,” is a wall piece that gives the viewer a feeling of standing on a frigid day in deep winter, and watch the ice flowing down stream, with rocks popping to the surface, here and there.  It glimmers in the darkness, with three different colors of stones embedded into the silvery surface that give the sculpture  a feeling of winter and storms that come in the deepest dark of the night.

Of course, I am delighted that my work will be on display and I hope to be able to be at the opening reception in November.

But just after I got the good news, I also had some tragic news, too.

Third.

Other days bring sorrows and tears, and are heart breaking. I pause to say, “God,  help me through this grief that is breaking my heart today.”

My tears were flowing as I caressed my precious cat, Miss Bessy.  She had reached the end of her life over the past 2 days.  She was beginning to die, and I know the signs from years of caring for my beloved cats.  An emergency visit to our veterinary confirmed my fears.  It was very clear that she was dying  as she stretched out on a warm towel on the table.  Because Miss Bessie has been an indoor cat ever since we rescued her in the summer of 2012, I knew that we simply could not bury her outside.  I decided to have her cremated and her name will be on the container that holds her  ashes, here in the home where she spent her life with her sister Miss Opal, and the other cats we rescued over the years.

There is a sad silence hanging over the entire house, it seems.  One less bowl of bedtime treats, and a deep sorrow in my heart as I serve one less cat each evening at bedtime.

Yes, we all have Ups and Downs, and sometimes, like it was this past week,  they all touch our hearts in some way.

__

__Scripture

3 Bible Verses for Ups and Downs!

I selected verses that will fortify us when we are celebrating victories or weeping tears in our defeats.

First of all, Our God will never leave us in any circumstances.  We are never ALONE.  Never.

Colossians 3:15 ESV

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Psalm 40:1-17 ESV  

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. .

John 14:6 ESV 

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

__Daily Action Plan

 

After reading the scriptures and listening to the music, write about your own ups and down this past week.

How can you  move on this week, despite any set-backs?

How can you celebrate your victories?

 

 

 

 

---

__©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026._

Please let me know how God  has shown you his faithfulness this week.

__

FYI

Final Note:

What inspired me to begin writing blog posts about BLESSINGS?

Your comments and prayers inspire the best in me.

Let me know if this message is helpful to you.

Thank you for sharing my Sunday Blessings posts with others to encourage them and share the Love of Jesus.

©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026.

FYI: My Background:

Professor Lynda McKinney Lambert taught fine art and humanities at a Christian college in Western Pennsylvania, She was a tenured professor, an actively exhibiting artist, and a published author.

My  courses  were studies across the disciplines – Art –
English  Literature – Humanities.

My courses were taught on campus during the spring and fall semesters.  In the summer, I taught in Salzburg, Austria for a month of travel and studies.

My passions in academia are poetry and fine art.  I author books and I create  fine art in several mediums – Painting  and  Fiber Art.

How I Found HOPEFULNESS in Unexpected Changes:

I discovered a new life after sudden sight loss. For the next two years, I learned to see the world and my place in it in an entirely new way.  I completed training for Personal Adjustment to Blindness, It took two years of training and lots of challenging work to learn to read and write using adaptive technologies for the blind.  Ad the months went by, God was showing me that my creative life would continue,, but in some new ways.

I began to write Divinely inspired life lessons

New experiences and God-directed Opportunities

New DISCOVERIES  to  share with the world

A NEW SEASON on the Narrow Path with Jesus.

 

365 Days – My ONE WORD for 2026

__

Lynda’s Latest Books are now available on Amazon and all retail booksellers.

LOOK HERE.

Interview with Lynda Listen Here!

 

 

Each Day Holds Some Small Joy – Collection of Haiku and Tanka nature poems.

 

You May Also Like:

 

Songs for the Pilgrimage…A Collection of Poems and short writings from journals and travels

 

Get Lynda’s latest books!

Songs for the Pilgrimage:  and Each Day Holds Some Small Joy: Poems.

Purchase  Lynda’s Books at Amazon

©Lynda McKinney Lambert, 2026. All rights reserved.

Photo: Courtesy of Allauthor. Thank you!
Books illustrated were created by DLD Books.
Lynda has 6 published books.
Memoir, Poetry, Non-fiction.

More About Lynda

©Lynda’s Journal of Blessings, 2026.

<<<<<LMcKL>>>>> 

 

 

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