Small and Wonderful Things . . .

 

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best.



Pennies.  I've always saved them.  I've always loved them.  I heard a while back that Canada wasn't going to be making pennies any longer because it costs more to make them than they are worth, but I am not sure how true that is.  On their own, one penny might not seem like much . . .  but if you save up the ones you find, they soon add up . . .  and who hasn't made a wish upon a penny found, or had an extra little bounce added to their step because they picked it up and now will have a WHOLE day's worth of good luck in front of them!




These garden visitors that are once again visiting us.  The recent warm and sunny weather has brought us a lot of these peacock butterflies again.  I love to watch them.  They sit there on the buddleia feeding, their wings slowly opening and closing.  They are just so very beautiful.



Hope.   I live in hope.  Where would any of us be without it.  It springs eternal.  There are little pockets of my life that truly bring me to my knees, that break my heart into a million bazillion pieces . . .  hope rises like a phoenix from out of the shattered bits, and without it I don't know how I could still put one foot in front of the other.

We are all broken to some degree.  Some of us are just better at hiding it than others.



Daily my heart is filled with gratitude for these unsung heroes in my life.  I may not always say it, and I may even sometimes take them for granted, but my friends really are the asphalt of my life.  You all know who you are.  You touch my heart and uplift it in countless ways.  Friends truly are family you get to pick for yourself.   I love you all.




We had such a lovely day yesterday.  It wasn't all that different from any other Sunday, but it was filled with lots of joy and inspiration.   We always take a couple from our local area to church each week that we are going to our own chapel.   They don't have a car.  He has leukaemia.  He is always so positive about it all, as is she.  They inspire me.   Yesterday I had to give a talk to the children in Sacrament Meeting.  A lot harder than you think.  But I did it.  It was about Joshua and the Battle of  Jericho.

The Lesson in Relief Society was very difficult to sit through.  I wanted to walk out because my heart felt shattered.  It was all on the responsabilities of mothers and fathers.  There were ten points about what we should do as mothers.  I remember thinking to myself . . .  I did all of that  . . . aand mostly on my own . . .  to some it mattered and it was counted and appreciated . . .  but to a few it did not.  I should be grateful for the some it mattered to, but my heart will always grieve the ones it doesn't.  I don't know how to make it better.  Resting in the Lord for that.  He is faithful if I am faithful.  I cling to His promises.

Then after church was munch and mingle.  Always well attended.

Then last evening there was a special fireside on Indexing.  Indexing is the process of creating indexes for record collections. Having indexes allows researchers who are doing family history to more quickly find records for specific individuals; without them, researchers might have to look through hundreds or thousands of records to locate an individual record.  The members of our church are asked to do indexing and many of us do.  It doesn't take a long time.  You can even spend just half an hour a day.  It involves going through old records, census reports, etc. and putting the names into an index.  It's a very gratifiying activity when you begin to think of these as more than names and instead as people.   The person (s) who had organized the fireside had put together a couple of lovely films to watch.   They were touching and inspiring.

Biscuits and squash.  (Squash is like British Coolaid)

Then home to Mitzie and some telly and family prayer.



We've started watching Mary Tyler Moore again from the beginning of series one.  Boy, those sure take you back.It's hard to believe some 45 years have passed since that show was on the television.  I always enjoy them.  I don't think they make too many shows of that same calibre anymore.  Just simple and feel good, with no sex, violence or swearing.  I enjoy plenty of modern television as well, but those oldies but goodies are worth their weight in gold just in the feel good and nostalgia factor.




Phone calls with my mom and dad.  I love that I am still able to speak to them, even if only for a short time, every week.  These calls and my parents mean the world to me.

 And that is my small and wonderfuls for this week.  I had plenty more small and wonderfuls than this of course, but I  don't want to bore you!  How about you?  What were your small and wonderfuls this week?

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .


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When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you;
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
Your Saviour.
~Isaiah 43:2-3a
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Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Tex Mex Pasta Salad.  Delicious!

May the week ahead be filled with a multitude of small and wonderful things for you! Don't forget . . .
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And I do too! Happy Monday!