Kaleidoscope:
Combined from three Greek words:
kalos (καλός), meaning “beautiful,”
eidos (εἶδος), meaning “shape,”
and skopos (σκοπός), meaning either “watcher” or “thing looked at.”
Kaleidoscope: beautiful shapes to look at,
observer of beautiful forms.
Kaleidoscope:constantly changing pattern,
medley, mixture.

Kaleidoscope living.

An observer of beauty. Paying attention to details. Noticing shapes and nuances. Giving gratitude for aesthetics and texture.
Our lives are stories.
Our stories are a constantly changing pattern made up of a mixture of excitement and pain, new and old, adjustments and routines.
A medley of music and beauty and creativity and inspiration runs along as the soundtrack.

A Prayer For Us

Jesus,
may your spirit find us,
fill us,
on this February morning,
softly,
with intensity and warmth,
giving grace,
bringing beauty for brokenness,
offering respite and restoration,
showing us shalom in the showing up,
reminding us how deeply we are loved,
how fantastically we are delighted in,
how infinite is your shepherding staff,
caring and seeking and saving,
curving waves of refreshing,
carving humility and dignity into our very bones,
and breathing gentle assurance over our angst.
Amen and Amen

Gratitude List

• bamboo pen
• Snickers bars
• fuzzy slippers
• yellow roses
• the color green
• blueberries
• Zoom calls
• writerly friends
• Highlander Grogg coffee
• insightful people
• popcorn
• folded laundry
• giggles

Kaleidoscope of Incidentals

Delightful table runners from Amazon! They’re silky and soft. They could be used as accents with a curtain, spread out as a small tablecloth or wound through taper candleholders.

We had an overnight Valentine pajama party for our nieces and nephews. We giggled and petted the puppy. Played games, read books, ate pigs-in-blankets and pretzels, cake and ice cream, fruit and donuts. We finished off the fun by going for lunch at a local taco place and then dropping them back at their respective residences. 🙂 I’m holding the idea in the back of my mind of making this an annual party.

Love this hot apple spice tea from Harneys.

I made these yummy peanut butter cookie bites this month.

Loving the metallics in this Stacy flexiflip ~ two sizes in one!

I’m eyeing this cordless rechargeable flat iron!

Aren’t these baby dolls adorable?!

We’ve had some nicer days and I happily pulled out these clogs to wear.

Theodore

• Truly Delightful •
At the core you won’t find me a head-over-heels animal lover.
Each puppy that’s entered our farm though, well, they enter my heart.
My dearie girl brought home this little guy and he is adorable.
His puppy antics….his soulful eyes….his silky eartips….his tail chasing….his attack-and-chew on his Gumby stuffie and blanket ties….
He’s laidback, cautious, snuggly, curious, funny, and playful.
He’s living, breathing proof of the joysparks small things add to our everyday lives.
He’s living, breathing proof that everything good in life requires care or cultivation, love and laughter, nurture and nourishment, time to treasure, service and stewardship.
Theodore ~ his name means gift of God. He’s living, breathing proof of all the small things God has filled our earth with out of His creative abundance.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” ~ James 1:17
What small things brought you delight this week?

All My Knotted-Up Life

All My Knotted-Up Life by Beth Moore. It’s a memoir, a very favorite genre of mine. I’ve been anticipating this book for over a year! I started listening to the audiobook on Thursday and finished it this morning. It’s read by Miss Beth and the writing and narrating are both phenomenal. To say I love this book, is so understated. I adore it and I know, even though it’s only February, this will be my very favorite book read in 2023. It reads like a novel, brings laughter and tears.

Beth Moore tells her story with so much insight and wisdom. She tells hard things, vulnerable things, in a careful way. She doesn’t write for drama or to trigger. She writes to encourage and help. She’s respectful with utmost care toward other people and lives knotted up with her story. And mostly, the thread of Jesus’ love weaves in golden thread throughout it all.

My hard copy arrived in the mail on Friday. My dearie girl began reading it on Saturday evening and finished it this morning as well. She adored it as much as I did.

I highly recommend both formats. The print edition has a photo section in the middle and listening to Miss Beth narrate her own story is so fantastic.

Book List

• Timothy Keller by Collin Hansen
• Tell Her Story by Nijay K. Gupta
• Spiral Bible ~ the Bible for Notetakers
• The Lives We Actually Have by Kate Bowler
• By Bread Alone by Kendall Vanderslice
• The Smallest Spot of a Dot by Linsey Davis

“If God became a human who spent most of his life in quotidian ways, then all of our lives, in all of their granularity, are transformed into the site of God’s surprising presence.”

~ Tish Harrison Warren

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