1. ANTICIPATE
Hello comrade friends!
This summer has found me quite stuck on an icy, delicious SunJoy from Chick-Fil-A and I’ve anticipated every chance I was near enough to get one. I’ve always loved Lemonade, but not sure when I became such an Arnold Palmer fan, or in Chick-Fil-A’s case, SunJoy.
I love the name they give their mix of tea and lemonade and the name alone causes a smile!
2. BEAUTY
My dear farmer man and I combined a farm business trip with 24 hours at Rocky Mountain National Park. We soaked in the beauty of the cool mountain air, beautiful scenery, chipmunks and marmots, and even a few elk. It was a lovely respite from our one hundred-degree temperatures in Kansas.
3. CREATE
I baked a yellow cake with fudgy frosting and white cupcakes frosted as flowers to celebrate my sister-in-law’s birthday. It had been a minute since I baked cakes and I was happy for the creativity in it.
Baking has been one of my creative endeavors since I was a teen.
4. DELIGHT
Two delightful parties this month……….
Renae and I met my sister-in-law and her littles at our lovely, local coffee shop. It was a fun couple of hours chatting and sipping coffee drinks. My young nieces love to meet us there occasionally and, naturally, I’m delighted they’re learning to love this tradition.
Renae and I planned a movie party afternoon. We both agreed there’s something delightful about curling up inside on a hot summer afternoon and simply enjoying a favorite movie. We watched Beauty and the Beast and we had macarons and chocolates. We anticipated the afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed creating it as an event. “Upgrading the Everyday” as I heard the term years ago and instantly loved the description. Renae brought down the candelabra that was my aunt’s and we lit it up all fancy! We’d also picked up hummus and made cheesy chicken croissants.
5. ENCOURAGE
Good News! Such good news!
I woke up with this verse sailing through my thoughts like a banner, and it was so hopeful and happy and encouraging.
John 1:5 “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
And, of course, it only made sense to back up and read about the Word who was in the beginning and who was with God, and who was God. All things were made through Him, otherwise, nothing was made.
Life was in Him and guess what? His life brought light for us all!
Such Good News!
Today, delighting in light….. sunshine and soft lamplight and dappled light as it dances through leaves. Windows streaming with beams and daylight weaving its hours across this day in time. Each sunlit bit of beauty directing our souls to sit and notice and reflect the Light of Life, the Word Come Down, our Jesus Christ.
6. FAITH
“Everybody can be great….because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make a subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr.
It’s true. From a four-year-old to an eight-year-old and on up and up and up, to twenty-two and forty-five and sixty-seven, we can all serve in some way. That’s the thing. There are a million little and big ways to serve.
We won’t do it all. We can’t do it all. But we can do something and it matters to the person we impact.
I know a few talented and gifted individuals who can seriously do fifty things to my every half thing. Does this intimidate me and bother me and make me feel less than? Of Course Not! ABSOLUTELY.
Yes, yes, I’m afraid it does. My insecurities and all the voices in my head start their constant refrain. They range from shouting out what a hypocrite I am, to a total failure, with a good side of reminders, such as my insignificance, the lack of meaning my life has, and my awkwardness and utter lack of talent.
Here’s the thing again. I know these voices are lies, even when I pause to listen and I let the poison of the words overwhelm me.
Negative Comparison is never, never, not-one-time, ever life-giving.
I have to remind myself again and again. Practice the habit of preaching truth to myself. I can rejoice in all that my neighbor accomplishes and the good she does. I can equally count for good my efforts, as meager as they seem.
It all matters. Whether we whisper prayers for the suffering or tap out a text. Whether we send packages in the mail or deliver a meal with all the trimmings. Perhaps it’s doing chores or rocking the baby. Fixing a favorite drink or paying an electric bill.
The ways to serve are endless.
What are your natural inclinations and ways you excel at serving? Maybe you have a gift for playing music. Perhaps you write words or share photos. Maybe babysitting is what you love or running errands for the elderly.
You may be the person picking up trash by the roadside or the barista writing happy notes on the side of the latte.
I see the mama speaking kindly to her little people and refilling drinks again. I see the man working long hours and depositing his paycheck to cover groceries and gas and electricity.
I’m convinced there are multitudes of unsung heroes through all the ages who have quietly and sacrificially served their time and age and capacity.
Thank you for all you do.
Honestly, most of the time, this image above is a pretty good capture of how I feel about my life and efforts. Teehee. Funny, but true. Therein is why I keep reminding myself of how much acts of kindness matter.
This month, my good farmer man and I hauled home to our farm, a new-to-us corn header. The above tire had given its all in service and finally gave it up, throwing rubber and tread to bounce along the roadway.
7. GRATITUDE
I’m so grateful for the chance to slip away for a bit with my favorite person to the above-mentioned farmtrip/mountain getaway. We stayed in Estes Park. We’d never visited this area of Colorado before, and it was fun to see it. I found this shop which was right up my alley!!! Pens + journals + paper combined with a coffee shop + pastries. What more could one ask for????? 🙂 Isn’t Inkwell and Brew a darling name?
Looking for an end-of-the-month challenge?!
What if we would intentionally thank three people for the little ways they add to our lives before August ends? What if we not only say thank you but also add, “I really appreciate it.”
A few different observances have me pondering how easy it is to take tasks completed and the hands and hearts behind them for granted.
I’m so grateful for the garbage truck workers who bump up our lane every four weeks to empty our dumpster.
For the prescriptions and antibiotics, doctors and pharmacists have helped me with when I was miserable and so very much needed them.
I appreciate the delicious cheese precisely sliced and packaged cheerfully at our local food store.
What a blessing to have friends and neighbors who water plants and feed pets for us when we’re away.
Every time a barista hands me a delicious coffee, I’m eternally grateful. 😄
I’m thinking about thank yous, and whether we speak the words to a cashier or text our best friend, or sit down and pen an actual happy mail note, words of appreciation are meaningful to the receiver and the bestower.
Gratitude + Appreciation = an Infusion of Hope
Shout out in the comments if you join me in a Gratitude + Appreciation Challenge!
“A house without books is like a room without windows.”
~ Horace Mann
CURRENTLY LOVING…..
- goat milk soap from my sister
- colored felt pens
- watching the sprinkler
- wooden clog sandals
- navy platform Crocs
- wooden mugs
- chicken croissants
- Luna weighted blanket
Books……..
- Prayer by Tim Keller
- Ways to Make Sunshine by Renee Watson
- Scripture Memory Spiral from Well Watered Women
- Blue Hen and Her Babies by Eva Zimmerman
- Married Sex by Gary Thomas and Debra Fileta
I’d love to hear what is an all-time favorite book of yours….or three or five or ten!
Off the top of my head 💖
I love:
• The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
• Chasing Slow by Erin Loechner @erinloechner
• Baby Island
• Flash by Rachel Anne Ridge @rachelanneridge
• The Harvester by Gene Stratton Porter
• Lizzy and Jane by Katherine Reay @katherinereay
I loved reading The Happy Hollisters and The Bobbsey Twins. The Penderwicks are a super fun series. Love the Little Golden Book, Baby Dear. The picture book, Let Me Hold You Longer by Karen Kingsbury. An old picture book, Katy Comes Next.
So many books to love! So much to be learned and experienced through story. I can’t wait to hear your titles and much loved pages to turn!
I enjoyed this podcast episode ~
It’s from the Passion + Purpose podcast with Louie Giglio
How to Steer Ourselves and Shepherd the Church with John Mark Comer
Five Fun Facts….
Share Five Fun Facts About You…with me.
I’ll go first…
1. Flowers and florals 🌺 Blossoms and blooms. 🌹
I adore them. Fresh bouquets. Floral prints. Embroidered Keds from @riflepaperco
2. I like color. It makes me happy. Red is my favorite, but I don’t want a red vehicle or a room painted red. 🤷
3. I rarely feel interesting. Mostly awkward. Not fond of potlucks, large crowds requiring small talk, or walking into unknowns. Introvert who loves coffee + conversation with a good friend.
4. Next-to-you with this man-of-mine is always my favorite.
5. Absolutely unathletic. Volleyball is the worst. Can trip over my own two feet. 😆 I like to shoot baskets. Love to swim, though calling it swimming is generous. I thrash and flounder my way across the pool. I like ping-pong and recently enjoying trying my hand at pickleball.
Currently reading Breaking Free From Body Shame by Jess Connolly.
Currently craving a raspberry latte from Rebecca’s Bistro.
Currently delighted to ride beside my farmer hauling fertilizer tanks to the field.
Currently wishing I could snap my fingers Mary Poppins style and magically make my house squeaky clean.
Currently listening to “The Silence of God” by Andrew Peterson.
I can’t wait to read your list! See you in September Musings!
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2021