Showing posts with label life lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label life lessons. Show all posts

Downsizing


What started out a trimming of our old lilac bush
ended up being so much more!
Finding much old, dead wood,
he kept cutting back...
He would have gone further,
but I assured him I liked this interesting shape 
It has character, I think.

i give up
i've written that before
and meant it
about other things
and everything
but i'm writing it again
about something
and everything
and mean it again
as far as i know
(rlg, 6-27-2020)
...One of the daily ten lines I've written since Ash Wednesday...

Of Flowers and Fear

 Iris are the flower du jour
around here!
 It's as though someone (Someone?) 
gave the order and voila!
 I'm not sure why or how their beauty exists in my thoughts
right along with a few thoughts about fear...
Suffice it to say, that my thinking on the subject of fear these days
can be summed up in this statement
that is subject to change, by the way...
Fear does NOT equal caution NOR  uncertainty.
I'm not trying to justify my emotions
or response to the current challenges--
simply to understand and clarify them.
Right now, I DO feel both caution and uncertainty.
Not necessarily fear.
Does that make sense?

Two Calls

I received two calls within minutes of each other this morning.
The first was from a friend whose adult son had been
transferred to Cleveland Clinic after one of two heart valves recent
recently replaced had developed trouble.
His surgery would be tomorrow.
The second was an elderly friend confined to his room in 
a local nursing home.
He was waiting for his shower which had been scheduled for 10:00.
Of course, he'd been ready since 9:30, and he was still waiting
at 10:30.  "It's hard to be patient," he explained apologetically.
***
Thinking about the two calls,
I thought of their importance to each person.
  In the grand scale of things, we might be tempted
to rank the severity or significance of the two higher or lower.
But weighed in the personal circumstances,
 I recognize the importance of both issues--both calls.
More importantly, the Heavenly Father does--
He who knows and cares when a sparrow falls to the ground!
The Apostle Peter reminds us to cast ALL our cares upon Him 
for He cares for you/me/us. 
2 Peter 5:7
 

Nothing Wasted

We trimmed this bush yesterday afternoon...
Let NOTHING be wasted!
He said to his disciples, 
"...Let nothing be wasted."
John 6:12

Unexpected

This morning, 
my husband completed this very vintage puzzle.
From the faded box cover, I never would have expected this
beautiful end product.
(Reminds me of a few other vintage, faded "packages" I know!)

Because You Ask Not

"You have not because you ask not."  James 4:2

It's frequently true in prayer,
and it's often true in marriage.
Well into our 49th year of marriage, I expressed my
frustration at "always" having to turn my husband's stockings
right side out when taking them out of the dryer.
Without a word, he started turning them
right side out before he put them into the laundry basket!
What a difference it makes in folding the laundry!
WHY didn't I ask long ago?!?

Kind of Like Me

Noticed yesterday in opening my journal to write that there was a weakness in the binding.  Still holding together though...(Kind of like ME these days!)
Perhaps more accurate to say
"held together"!

The Highlighting

A friend posted this on her Facebook page this morning.
The responses followed.
I was interested to observe that the majority
commented and inquired about the beverage.
Only one referred to the
highlighting.
This, I believe, may be indicative of the fact
that we still have lessons to learn from the current crisis.
Maybe I'm wrong...

Ending Well

The sun making a 
valient attempt to
shine at its setting...
May I do so as well.

Living and Giving (Up)

Sometimes you get to live the dream... 
sometimes you give up the dream and pass it on to another...
Today, when I transport my friend to the beauty salon,
I will pack these two books
to give to her hairdresser
who I've come to learn lives in an old house in the country.
As much as I have enjoyed the "dream",
I realize it is not realistic at this stage of my life.
And so, I pass on the "fuel" to another.
***
This is a HUGE life lesson for me.
Something that I am slowly learning
and beginning to put into motion
in quiet, simple ways.

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...

A Paint-Over

Many moons ago I took an
unfinished painting I'd found at a thrift store to a painter friend.
I asked her to paint over it--probably
asking for flowers...
I'd forgotten about it.
Then just before Christmas
she called me to come over and presented
me with the finished product!
I'm  SO enjoying the cheerful and bold colors.  It reminds me to live cheerfully and boldly...
It also reminds me of Another who
skillfully paints over the unfinished canvas of my imperfect life.  
So thankful am I.

From the Lips of Children

Ollie:  “Look!  I’m making a train!”
Me:  “Be careful!  You’re going to fall over!”
Ollie:  “Umma!  Don’t make it not fun!”

This shared by my Facebook friend.  I couldn't help thinking of how many times God's Holy Spirit has cautioned me, and how many times I have thought He was squelching my "fun"...

Thanks, Eileen and Ollie.

It's Relative

(No.  This is NOT a Christmas post.)
He sat at the puzzle table and said,
"Boy!  It's hard finding all these border pieces..."
Meanwhile, I was at the kitchen counter
perusing a favorite cookbook in search of something to make for dinner.
"It's hard coming up with meals all the time," I said.
Then, under my breath--
"Hard is relative."
(Very relative!)

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

 

Putting on a Front

For several weeks now, I've slowed down
to see the progress on this new house.
While plain siding is the finish 
on the sides (and I presume, back) of the house,
the front is covered with
 brick AND stone AND Shaker-style shingles!
I call this "putting on a front".
The Urban Dictionary describes this phrase as 
'putting on a fake or false personality not keeping it real."
Putting on a front is currently the style on houses these days.
When it is being fake in personality or personal appearance,
it's less desirable, I think...
It is right, therefore, that we not just be called Christians, but that we actually be Christians.

on John 2:4

Our neighbor contributed this ball to our flower bed!
"My hour has not yet come."
His words oft puzzle me
until I meet disappointment 
or look on wistfully...
While others find their pleasures now,
I trust His perfect timing.
My preconceived ideas of pleasure
He's gently redefining.
I still don't know completely--
in this life never will!
But I am waiting, hoping, trusting,
and willing to be still.

(Written this morning after postponing an anticipated "pleasure")

The Beauty of Maturity





There's a mature beauty around here.
Our flower beds are crowded with aged plants,
strong and confident in their displays.
I recognize their strength and confidence
and pray for it in my life
as I navigate my later years.
 

It's Not Just Tomatoes!

The bigger they get, the more creative (and desperate) 
my husband gets to support 'em!
I think that's kind of
how it is with projects,
organizations, extended family, 
events, and numerous other things.  
It's not just tomatoes!

The Master Cropper

Photo taken on the way home from prayer meeting last night...
 from the back seat
of moving car
through dirty windows.
Cropped to cut out
unattractive car parts.

Life lessons:
Keep your eyes on the beauty.
Don't wait for perfect conditions to pursue the goal.
The imperfect (man-made power lines) adds interest to the big picture.
My Heavenly Father is the Master Cropper!  Able to make masterpieces out of unlikely subjects.

Writing a Song a Week #3

Writing a Song a Week #3
♪ I wait for the Lord; my soul waits and in his word I hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning ♪ (Psalm 130:5-6)