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.  

 

This is my brother and sister-in-law's dog Betty. Isn't she a cutie pie?  This photo of her made me smile right down to my toes. Its so adorable.  I am a dog person for sure.  Speaking of my brother, he is having a shoulder operation today.  Can you please keep him in your prayers for a successful operation, speedy and full recovery.  Thank you so much! 

  

Jake and his mom on a Birthday Date!  Love this photo. Jake looks like my mom here. Its the eyes. He has his mama's smile.  Happy boys and Birthdays make me smile too. It was his 9th birthday. Hard to believe!  They are growing up too fast. 

  

This is becoming my mantra. As I get older I realise that I need things less and less. Less IS more.  I feel much better when the clutter disappears and clean, clear spaces rise up in its place. I have a ways to go but I am getting there.  

 

 

 I am grateful for a humble heart that is able to see beautiful in diverse places and most moments. I am not a Pollyanna by any stretch, but I  do like to look at the positive side of most things. It beats the alternative and life is much happier and easier to get through.  

  

Sometimes life can make you feel small and insignificant.  That is the world's way.  I am grateful for a heart and knowledge that knows that I am not small and insignificant, and that I have a Heavenly Father who is mindful of me and cares for me in a personal and individual way. I don't know how it is possible, but only that it is.  He has manifested His presence in my life in many, many ways. I know He is there, and that He cares and that He listens.   He mourns for and with me. He laughs with me. He loves me. I matter to Him. 

 

Be not afraid to shine. You are here for a purpose and your life has meaning. Turn your light on and shine, sparkle and pop! The best feeling of all is when your "light" touches others! 

 

This is true and its enabling and very freeing.  The only things I really care about these days is my faith, my family, my friends and my home.  if all is going well in these areasm then nothing else really matters. 

 

I am so grareful that I have had people in my life that I can truly mourn for.  Grief never goes away.  Missing never goes away. Holes will always be there no matter how much you try to fill them with other things.  Mourning someone means that you have loved and were loved back.  Love is eternal and neverending. Our loved ones are always with us and we will always miss their presence when they have gone on.  Grateful to know that this life is not the end and that we will meet again. 

 

Grateful for a sister who cared so well for my mother in life and now cares for my father.  Grateful for these glimpses she shares with  me, when I cannot visit for myself. I wish I could. My father bought the flowers this time.  I still cannot think about any of it without crying. It is the price of love and I am grateful for that. 

 

Yes, just yes  .  .  . 

  

And yes again  . . .  if you always take without ever giving, the pot will soon run dry.  

 

The difference between an abundant life and a life that is always in need, is all in how you look at it.  If you are happy with what you already have, then anything over and above that will always feel like a bonus. Happy mind  . . .  happy life. 

 

Being able to partake of the Sacrament each week and renew my covenants.  This is something I do for me and for nobody else.  It is the way I am able to refresh my spiritual battery each week. It helps me to be a better me.  It is a wonderful way to remember Him, and to take His name upon me, so that I can always have His spirit to be with me.  I am  not sure  how it works, but I know that it does. 

Spoke to Tony last night and Tina remains the same.  Can you believe that they are still waiting on the brace for her back to arrive?  They had hoped it would be there on Friday.   She is still in an incredible amount of pain, but the morphine is helping.  I am hoping that I can go to see her on Friday.  Mal was at church yesterday. I was very surprised to see her. No hugs of course. Too painful with broken ribs.  She said the greatest blessing of all was that no other car hit them.    I say praise God for that.  Things could have been so much worse. 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *Complain less.

Appreciate more.

 •。★★ 。* 。 

  

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Fireside Chili Skillet Supper.  Its a delicious doddle. 

I hope your week ahead will be filled with lots of small and wonderful things! Don't forget! 

 

 

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And I do too!