Sane, Simple, Sacred: beauty

Showing posts with label beauty. Show all posts

Tiptoe through the Tulips

short-lived

and concentrated

in beauty

blooming for a season

then yielding place

to other

sturdier stock

till their time

comes again

as it will

(rlg, 5-2-2020)

Such a sweet time
in the sunshine with some
family at a local, city park
this week.

Pottery-loving People

On Fridays, I drive a friend to her hair appointment.

The salon is just up the street from one of my favorite thrift stores.

Yesterday, realizing I had very little cash in my billfold,

I almost read a magazine instead of checking out the shop.

I'm glad I went anyway.

I found this mug and spent twenty-seven cents for it!

"I have a hard time passing up pottery at bargain prices,"

I wrote on my Facebook page this morning.

Soon, comments were added to my post.

"Earthy, natural beauty."

"...something so 'real' about pottery."

'Midst the stream, I noted,

"It's interesting how pottery-loving people find each other!"

***

I'm thinking it's similar to genuine Christ-followers

and how they "find" each other...

Fading Fast

The tree in our front yard which only a couple of days ago

was vibrant in its fall splendor,

faded quickly as rain and winds took their toll on its beauty.

***

I thought of it as I bantered with a friend who'd joined us

for Sunday dinner at a local restaurant.

"Tell me I don't look any older than when we met ten years ago,"

I begged.

He was a good sport.

He knew and I knew that years take their toll on our outward appearance.

No wonder, the Bible has frequent reminders about beauty.

My ESV Bible says, "let your adorning be the hidden person

of the heart with the imperishable (unfading) beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,

which in God's sight is very precious".

And Proverbs 31:30,
"Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting..."
***
Particularly, in this season of my life, I'm thankful for the truth of the Word of God
and godly examples of unfading beauty,
Though outwardly I am fading fast,
inwardly I am being renewed day by day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16

Way Less Whizzing

Yesterday I pulled over

to take this photo out of the

car window...

Then this morning,

this post on Karen Mains'

Facebook page about a
field of sunflowers she saw...

Every year when I pass this field, whizzing by as I drive, I think, “Oh, how beautiful!” This year as I whizzed past, I stopped, parked the car, then walked back to get a closer look. It’s amazing, isn’t it, what we don’t see as we are whizzing along. In fact, as I age, I whiz less and see more. Something about getting to that place where there is no time—only space and light enough to really see. No whizzing at all!

I've noticed myself!

WAY less whizzing for me!

Finding Beauty

All the Time

She (to me): You see beauty in "everyday" things.

Me (to her): All. The. Time. Yes, I do!

There's NO beauty like God's!

To Crop or not To Crop

The other evening on a way to a meeting,

we saw this beautiful cloud formation.

I snapped the photo through the car window.

When I got home and showed it to my husband,

he suggested I crop out the telephone pole toward the left.

I informed him that if I cropped it out,

half the beauty of the cloud that attracted me in the first place

would be eliminated as well.

***

Almost immediately, a "life lesson" occurred to me.

I have my flaws.

Society suggests coverups.

And if those pressures weren't enough,

something inside me wants to "crop" out my flaws from the eye of the public.

Now, I'm not advocating letting it all hang out,

but I AM suggesting NOT putting up a false front

to the extent that I cut out a good part of the beauty that lies within me

because of the life of Christ Jesus in me....

Indeed, "Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me".

First Outing of the New Year

After supper Thursday evening,

the three of us sallied forth (almost on a whim)

to our local Botanical Conservatory.

Unbeknown to us, the first Thursday of each month

is $1 night!

Though the Christmas display has been up for several weeks now

and will be dismantled this weekend,

we enjoyed the outing immensely.

I've marked the first Thursday of February

to remind me to return!

A Beauty Break

Yesterday my father and I decided to ride along with my husband

who was making a hospital call (he is a Visitation Pastor)

So, after the hospital we stopped at the Rose Garden,

one of Fort Wayne's beautiful city parks.

The roses were past their prime, unfortunately,

but many other flowers remained.

All in all, it was a beautiful day...

well worth taking a break in our day!

Blue sky,

temperate weather,

health and ability to stroll and see...

for all this beauty, I am thankful

and more determined than ever to schedule even more "beauty breaks"

into my life

and the lives of those I love.

Making Beauty Where I Am

...and making beauty where I am

These words from Elizabeth's "About Me"

seemed to jump off my laptop screen and fix themselves firmly in my mind.

This is SO my desire--to make beauty where I am...

So many appear to do it so well; so effortlessly.

I, on the other hand, struggle.

Never quite satisfied with my attempts.

Last Sunday, our class lesson was on Creation from Genesis 1.

Once again, I noticed the words describing God's satisfaction at the end of each creation day:

"And God saw that it was good."

Today, with new resolve I commit to making beauty where I am

whether by music or meal,

gentle word or clean window,

arrangement or accessory;
and to see that it IS good...

“Father, free us (ME) from any need to be impressive today, or competent or celebrated.
Help us (ME) to rest in your love and to offer a kind presence.”
(Scotty Smith, Twitter)

Beauty

Maybe it was the bad-timing of an earlier frost that thinned out

the lilac clusters this year.....

No matter.

I'm surrounded by beauty on all four sides of our house!

This morning, I'm praying that the Heavenly Father will make ME

as beautiful inside as the exterior beauty of our trees and plants this spring...

♪ Beautiful, beautiful
Jesus is beautiful
And Jesus makes beautiful
Things of my life.
Carefully touching me
Causing my eyes to see
And Jesus makes beautiful
Things of my life. ♪

Simple Pleasures are the Best

On the way to my car after my physical therapy session,

I noticed the hospital's groundskeeper cutting back the hydrangeas.

The back of his pickup truck was loaded with them,

and he was still cutting.

I asked if someone had already asked for them.

He seemed a little stunned by my question and told me to take all I wanted.

I wish I'd taken more than an armful.

Simple pleasures really ARE the best.

the Wonder of Autumn

Though the sky was grey and rain fell intermittently,

nothing could interfere with my awe of and appreciation for

the beauty of nature....the enjoyment of God's creation!

I wish for a larger heart in which to store the memory of this day.

I am thankful my husband was with me.

Somehow, being able to share the wonder WITH someone increases the pleasure....

"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage

Sane, Simple, Sacred

Mercy