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 from the past week which brought untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best.   

 

 

 

 

I had to teach in Relief Society yesterday. I had spent a couple weeks preparing my lesson.  About halfway through sacrament meeting I thought to myself, did I bring everything I need.  (I had my lesson bag with me.)  I checked and horror of all horrors I had left my Ensign with the talk in it, and all of my notes and my lesson plan at home. Because we are on the new two hour block instead of the old three hour block, Todd was unable to make it home to pick it up and back again. there was only about 15 minutes left before I had to be ready to teach.  I felt sick.  I felt terror in the pit of my stomach. This is everyone who teaches greatest nightmare.  I quietly left the chapel proper and went into the RS room. I said a little prayer and then I started writing down as quickly as I could any questions that I could remember from my notes that I had wanted to ask the sisters so that we could have a great discussion.  I couldn't even get the talk to come up on my iPad.  Fortunately the RS President had her Ensign with her so I could reference that when it came time to teach my lesson.  I guess that is what it called truly teaching by the Spirit.  I somehow got through it and at the end and even later in the day received several comments that it was the best lesson they had had.  The discussions were great.  I think it went very well.  However, as good as it turned out to be, I am never forgetting my notes again!  Whew!  The end result could have been quite different.  Thank you God for that Angel you had sitting on my shoulder!  

 

 

Jon and Jake playing cards at the Ashram Camp that Doug and his family is attending this week back home.  I really hope they have a great time. I think that they will.  Doug used to counsel at the Word of Life Camp up near Meaford, Ontario when he was a teenager.  These camps are great for children, youth and families.  My kids always loved going and also being counselors at them.  I know that the boys especially will enjoy their time there and that it will be good for Doug and Kayla as well after all that they have been through in recent weeks.  I am so very grateful that Doug is still with us and on the mend and that he is well enough that he was able to not only drive over to Nova Scotia for the Camp but also to go and stay there for a week.  God is good! 

 

 

 

 

I am getting an early Birthday Present today.  You all know that somehow the motor to my Stick Blender disappeared a couple of months ago.  I have been lost without it. You never really know how much you have relied on something until you don't have it any longer.  I know it is silly to be so reliant upon a gadget as that, but simply put. I was and I am. Someone who is special and who has been one of my greatest supporters bought me a new one and it is arriving today. I don't want to name them because I don't want to embarass them, but I do want them to know that I am forever grateful for their kindness and generosity. I am humbled. 

 

I am one very blessed individual. Over and over again I have been visited by the kindnesses of others and I am grateful for each and every one. I don't deserve them, and yet somehow the windows of heaven seem to open up each time I am in need and pour me out another blessing.  God uses us as His hands to bless others and these blessings are great examples of that.  So thank you so very much to you know who you are. You are an angel friend. I will think of you each time I use it.  I am truly blessed.

 

 

 

Each Sunday when I go to church 

I fly into the chapel on the wings of generosity also.

You, too, know who you are. 

 

Have you ever thought about the word hope and where we would be without it??  I don't think sometimes that life would be worth living were it not for hope.  It is a driving force that helps to keep us moving forward, even in times of despair. Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on the expectation of a positive outcome. It is central to a happy life. It is a promise and a goal and a gift from God.  Hope is just one leg of a three-legged stool, along with faith and charity/love.  I am ever grateful for the presence of that three-legged stool in my life.  I may not always experience positive outcomes, but the outcomes I do experience are always delivered with a purpose and a meaning, even if I do not always see that in the present  . . .  in retrospect it always becomes clear.  I think that when we get to the end of our lives . . .  at least I hope so  . . .  that we will be able to look back and see them for the glorious experience they have been and that even when we look at our lowest most painful moments we will see that it was through them that we experienced the most growth. 

 

 

  

 

I have finally seen some bees in the garden, on the lavender and on the hydrangea.  I was getting so worried because I had not seen any. We need the bees. It was worriesome to me when I had seen none. My day was made much happier when I noticed not one or two, but several and for a few days in a row.  Whew! 

 

And with that I have run out of time.  I don't know where it goes, but it seems to disappear with abandon!  I suppose that is the sign of a busy and a full life . . . and might I add, a happy one as well.

 

A thought to carry with you   . . . 

 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *The flower doesn't 

dream of the bee,

it blossoms and the bee comes. 

~Unknown  ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 

 

 A metaphor for life.  Bloom wherever you are planted. 

 

 

 

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Lemon & Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs.  Delicious! 

 

I hope your week ahead is filled to overflowing with a multitude of small and wonderful things.  Don't forget! 

 

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And I do too!