Plaasabilities

"Heavenly Light" Morning light illuminates the trees at the Missionary Baptist Church in Cades Cove.  Great Smoky Mountains National Park © 2014 Kristina Plaas, All Rights Reserved This was the featured image on the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Facebook page this morning. It's the perfect image for a Sunday morning, especially on Memorial Day weekend when we remember the lives of those lost in the service of our country. This weekend many of us also choose to remember the lives of family and friends that have passed on. And so the illuminating rays of sunlight over the Missionary Baptist Church in Cades Cove speak to each of us and to those no longer with us. It's not hard to feel the spirit and the peace portrayed. This morning my friend, Bryan Nowak, noted that the sunlight looked like heavenly beams. I smiled knowing I had titled this image "Heavenly Light" shortly after the photograph was taken last June. The name is inspired by a sacred ...

April Benediction Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ©2015 Kristina Plaas, All Rights Reserved Life is a rollercoaster of ups and downs, highs and lows. We don't stay in the same place -- physically, emotionally, or spiritually -- for very long before something changes and we must also change. When we arrive at a high place, a low invariably follows. I'm sliding on the downslope tonight after arriving on a big high this morning. To fight the feelings that accompany downslopes, I pause to reflect on the good things of the past few months. Spring is my favorite season and April is my favorite month of the year. April is dogwoods and redbuds, tulips and daffodils. It's about Easter and Jesus Christ, it's about new life and second chances, it's a celebration of surviving a long, cold winter. April is an explosion of wildflowers that fill me with joy -- trillium, trout lilies, and lady's slippers. As I drove the Loop Road around Cades Cove last Wed...

"Sunkissed" Brilliant sunshine illuminates a colorful maple tree in front of the Sugarlands Visitors Center. Great Smoky Mountains National Park  © 2014 Kristina Plaas, All Rights Reserved I've had this weekend circled on my calendar for many months. It was Stake Conference for the Knoxville Stake, a regional cluster of 10 congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in and around Knoxville, TN. It was my responsibility to arrange for music for several large meetings. It takes time, much thought, networking, and a lot of prayer to make the music happen but in previous conferences I was able to do what was needed to without huge issues. I can't say the same this time around, mostly because I have been so overwhelmed with personal & family issues that I haven't had the energy to devote to long-term planning for conference music. When I'm in a tight spot and need things to get done and done well, I turn to trusted friends. I also smi...

Ramsey Prong, Greenbrier Great Smoky Mountains National Park © 2014 Kristina Plaas, All Rights Reserved I got home from a late church meeting tonight feeling very tired and sort of brain-dead. I remembered I had not yet written my daily gratitude posts but, in the moment, couldn't think of anything to acknowledge feeling grateful for. It's not that I'm not grateful for lots of stuff, I am, but sometimes I'm just too tired to think. I reflected back on the evening and could only seem to think about how stressed I was over the music and everything I needed to get done. In the middle of the meeting I had to give myself permission to relax and breathe. I took such a deep breath I'm sure I disturbed my friends in the surrounding pews. Seriously. Part way through the talks there was a piano solo by Lynette James of the YSA Branch. I had asked Lynette to play this specific number, her own arrangement of Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing , because I had heard her pla...

"Heavenly Light" Morning light illuminates the trees at the Missionary Baptist Church in Cades Cove. Great Smoky Mountains National Park © 2014 Kristina Plaas, All Rights Reserved For the last few months I have found myself dragging out the door to church on Sunday mornings, sliding into the pew physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. By the time I sit down, often a few minutes late,  my "tank" is on empty. Two hymns into the service I can't stop the tears. The Spirit, and my need to feel the Spirit, are that strong. I've discovered angels are working during and after the service. They offer hugs, kind words of consolation and encouragement, and prayers. Lots of prayers. I love those angelic acts of service. Today the angels must have known of my silent desperation as I struggle to prepare music for upcoming regional church meetings ("Stake Conference") and a Christmas Devotional program. I'm way behind on my planning agenda a...