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.

 

 

Cindy does book-keeping for a small company not too far down the road from where I live a couple of days a week.  Most days she pops by on her way home. Sometimes she has mail for me or is picking something up here.  Sometimes it is just to touch base and spend a few minutes together. The cats always love to see her.  Its a different face than boring old me. She usually gets down on the floor and plays with them for a few minutes.  The other day when she was here Nutmeg crawled right in between her legs like this.  It was so funny.  I couldn't help but take a photograph.

This was from the other side. He thinks he's so smart hiding in there. It made us both laugh. He is such a little character. What a funny guy.

 

They have grown so much since then!

They were all ears and whiskers back at the start!

Both my cats bring me tons of joy.  Getting two cats was not in my plans, but when I saw them both I had to have them both.  They called my name and here they are and I am so happy to have both of them. They each bring different things into my home and are a great blessing in my life. I love them so very much.

Having reached a certain age I am in the process now of planning things out for the end. Not that I am being morbid and, God willing, it will be a long time before any of them need to be set in motion.  I do want things to be organized however so that things are much easier for those left behind.  Part of that is planning my funeral/memorial service or whatever.   I have decided on one piece of music I would like to have played at it. You can hear it here. 

I would like it to be the last song in the service.  Here are the lyrics.

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing

And the sky is clear and red,

When the summer's ceased its gleaming

When the corn is past its prime,

When adventure's lost its meaning -

I'll be homeward bound in time

Bind me not to the pasture

Chain me not to the plow

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow

If you find it's me you're missing

If you're hoping I'll return,

To your thoughts I'll soon be listening,

And in the road I'll stop and turn

Then the wind will set me racing

As my journey nears its end

And the path I'll be retracing

When I'm homeward bound again

Bind me not to the pasture

Chain me not to the plow

Set me free to find my calling

And I'll return to you somehow

(softly)

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed,

When the sparrows stop their singing

I'll be homeward bound again.

I know some people think that thinking about such things is morbid. I don't think it is morbid at all.  I want my service to be a celebration of my life and an opportunity for my loved ones to gather together with each other. I want them to know that it is not an ending, but the beginning of something new. I will have started a new journey.

Anyways, I thought putting it here, there will be no mistaking what it is that I want. Aside from that I really love this song.

Mayhap you will be tired of hearing it but I will never tire of saying it. I love my little life. It is not an exciting life as measured by some people's ideas, but it is just exciting enough for me.  When I was a much younger woman I might have found it a bit lonely or a bit dull, but at my stage in life it is just perfect. I have everything I need.  And I love everything I have. It all brings me joy. Anything from here on is just the icing on a very tasty cake.  Oh, I do have worries and fears. I would not be human if I didn't, but I try to put them into the Lord's hands as much as possible. He knows what I need and has a plan for me. I try to trust in that.

We were talking about miracles in Sunday School at church yesterday.  It was a great lesson and I really enjoyed it.  I think sometimes when we are "in" it we cannot see the miracle for what it is. It is often much later on, when we look back we recognize miracles for what they truly are.  I think about the many people in the scriptures who might have struggled to see God in the things that they were going through, in the hard times.  I think of Joseph when he was thrown into the pit by his brothers, and then sold into slavery, thrown into jail and imprisoned by the Pharaoh.  The list goes on, but eventually he found himself to be in a very high place in the court because he was a dreamer and he could interpret dreams.  All of those things that happened in his life brought him to that place, a place where he had it in his power to save a nation of people.  His people.  Our people.  God was with him in the pit, in the slavery, in the prison, etc. 

My patriarchal blessing says that I would be blessed to be able to return to my homeland and build relationships with my children.  I had thought it would happen much sooner than it did.  When I went to the UK, it was only going to be for two years. But then at the end of those two years I was told by my husband he couldn't immigrate because he had a criminal record for some stupid thing he had done when he was much younger.  I was heart broken because of that, but I settled myself into just making the best of the cards I had been dealt, and I did not think I would ever be able to return to my homeland, not really. 

And then the miracle, even if it didn't feel very much like a miracle at the time. The fulfilled blessing of being able to return to my homeland.  Now I need to work on the remainder of the blessing. The building of the relationships. God's promises are true.  When I start to feel down because the timing is not how I think it should be, I need to remind myself of that.

I was to my sister's for Sunday dinner again yesterday. I need to have them to my place for Sunday dinner soon, or at the very least Saturday dinner!  I love being included in these Sunday dinners. My sister puts a lot of work into them.  At least I think she does. I appreciate all of it and I hope that she knows that.  The food is always delicious, but . . .  for me, its not about the food at all. Its about the family. Its about being together and having a laugh. About feeling the love.  Family is no small thing. It is everything and I am very grateful for mine.

I just have to show you this this morning.  I was sitting on the sofa Saturday night listening to something and I was fooling around with those snap chat filters.  Believe it or not, this is me, but its really not me. This is how easy it is to lie to the world.   I was amazed at how easy it was to distort your appearance into something that is not real at all. And this is a modest filter. You can get ones that make you look as glamorous as a film star.

Which led me to thinking can we trust much of what we see in the world today?  We are surrounded by beautiful images. But are they real?  We need to learn to be much more discerning.

We need to be applying reality filters to the things that we see and measuring them against the things that we know will never change.  

It makes me sad in a way. I see all these young people using these filters and I think about how unhappy and dissatisfied  it could make them about how they really look.  

All those little square boxes that people post about their lives.  We don't get to see the chaos outside the box.  It can make us feel inadequate if we let it.  Don't let it.

My toaster should come today.  It actually was supposed to come yesterday but for some reason it didn't.  Hopefully today.  I know I shouldn't find such joy in something like a toaster, but just looking at it makes me happy.  I can't wait to make toast in it.

 

There is a local nursery that donates all of their produce which is not deemed pretty enough to sell to a local charity.  When the charity has used all that it can they bring the excess into our church. Yesterday there were three lovely big boxes of beefsteak tomatoes there for us to take as many as we wanted from. I got three lovely tomatoes and am looking forward to enjoying one sliced up today for my lunch.  If my sister stops by on her way home from work I will give one to her as well. I had meant to take one over with me yesterday to her place, but forgot.

Sometimes they bring in cucumbers.  I love cucumbers.

Facetimes with my boys.  Lunch with friends.  Having enough and then some. Answers to prayers. Kitkat love. Family. Faith.  My life is filled with abundance.

And with that I best leave you with a thought for the day. It is already gone 9 a.m. and I have miles to walk before I sleep!

A thought to carry with you . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

  ˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

 ˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*The greater part of 

our happiness or misery

depends on our dispositions

and not on our circumstances.

~Martha Washington•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today, Lemon & Poppyseed Sour Cream Muffins.  The small batch.  I had one for breakfast this morning, a day later and they are still delicious.

I hope your week is filled to overflowing with abundance of one kind or another.  Whatever you get up to, don't forget! 

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And I do too!