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.

 

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I saw this on IG this morning and I thought to myself, yes. Always.  I am so grateful for my faith in God which is that enabling power which gives me the strength each day of my life to keep moving forward. To keep hoping, to keep believing, to keep trusting . . . even when life might seem bleak and like there is nothing to look forward to.

I was listening to an old, old talk last night after I went to bed.  I do that every night.  I say my prayers, pray the Shema and then I watch and listen to a talk on my iPad. This talk was entitled "Yet Thou Art There," and it was given by the late Elder Neal A Maxwell back in October of 1987.

1987 seems so long ago now. I was still a very young woman and had yet to experience much of the loss that I have experienced in my lifetime. I didn't have the experience or the knowledge that I have gained through all of those years.

"But all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them” (Moses 1:35). 

 Enoch, to whom the Lord revealed so much, praised God amid His vast creations, exclaiming reassuringly, “Yet thou art there” (Moses 7:30; see also Jer. 10:12). 

 This same special assurance can see each of us through all the seasons and circumstances of our lives. A universal God is actually involved with our small, individual universes of experience! In the midst of His vast dominions, yet He numbers us, knows us, and loves us perfectly."

Sometimes I feel afraid.  At a time of life when most people are able to relax and enjoy the fruits of all of the labors of their lives, my life is lived very much on the edge.  This is largely due to my having made poor choices throughout all the those years, and trusting the wrong people.   Three men, whom I put all of my trust in, and whom left me worse off than before when things between us ended . . . each one taking from me more than the previous one, with the last one taking everything and leaving me with nothing.

I don't have anyone to share the burden of how I am going to get through this day, or tomorrow, or the day after that, etc.  I am totally reliant upon the income that I make from my food blog, and whilst I am truly very grateful for that because it is what helps me to keep a roof over my head, it is also a very scary place to be at times.  

That is where my faith helps me.  My faith gives me the assurance that God is very much with me and that He will not drop me.  He has always been with me and will always be with me. In all times, and in all places and in all things.  And in those wee hours of the night, when I am feeling alone, in a dark room, very much feeling afraid for an unknown future and insecure,  the words of an apostle of the Lord, spoken over 12 years before I ever joined my church, come forward to settle my fears and comfort my heart.

I am always saving things on Instagram. Quotes that I enjoy, things which inspire, recipes or cooking things I might want to try sometime.  I had saved this recipe/technique for using puff pastry and apples a week or so ago. It was a reel for these delicious looking Cinnamon Apple Pastries.  I decided to try them. I had picked up some Granny Smith Apples when I was out with my sister on Friday night.  Boy, those were a LOT harder to do than she made it look in the reel, and they didn't come out looking very nice I don't think.  The pastry kept stretching as I was trying to wind it around the apples.  I finally ended up not passing the pastry through the centers of the apple because it was impossible. The holes were too small and the pastry just kept stretching and stretching. I ended up folding it back and forth across the top and bottom. I was not pleased at all with how they came out and I won't be sharing it, but it was an interesting exercise.   They didn't taste all that great either. The pastry didn't cook up the way it should have done and the apples didn't really cook through.  Not all that glitters is gold.  This is a lesson that I am taught time and time again.

You would think I would learn, lol.  Sometimes we just have to be able to laugh and these did give me a good laugh.

 

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Grateful for a world filled with wonderfully creative people. This girl makes the most beautiful hand hooked rugs and mats.  I love her pansies.  She also does foxgloves, and coasters and lilies, etc.  Her work is amazing. I cannot imagine how she manages to do all that she does and all by hand.  Are we not so blessed to have such creative people in our world that can do such beautiful things. I am in awe of them.  I do not know how much she charges because I have never been able to see her stuff when it hasn't already been sold, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating her talents.

 

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Can you imagine being able to capture things in your camera's lens such as these baby robins and then being able to share this beauty with the world. We live in amazing times.

 

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Warm and sunny days filled with light and with love.  I am so grateful for them.   For each day that I am given.   Each day is a gift and I try to treat each day as such.

 

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I love that this world is filled with beautiful things.  Natural and man made. Oh, I know not all things are beautiful, but I try hard not to dwell on the filth.  I choose to focus on the positive and the things which bring me joy and that choice has made all the difference in the world to me.

 

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I see trees of green, 

red roses too 

I see them bloom 

for me and for you 

And I think to myself 

What a wonderful world 

 I see skies of blue 

and clouds of white 

The bright blessed days, 

dark sacred nights 

And I think to myself 

What a wonderful world

Yes, what a wonderful world.  The longer I live the more I realize it is about perspective and all in how you look at things . . .  how you choose to look at things.  Perhaps I am blessed and have not really been challenged, but for me, my glass is always half full, not empty.  I am so grateful for a heart that has been able to find the good in each day and to be able to dwell on that and not the negative.

Oh, there is negative, trust me . . .  but the difference for me has been that I choose not to hold the negative in my hand, or . . . . if I do . . .  I choose not to hold it for very long, and instead try to focus on the positives.

It is fairly warm already today but a nice breeze is blowing. The lady across the way has a flag on her garage and I can see it waving, not wildly, but gently. The sun is shining brilliantly.  I am not sure what I will get up to today but I have a few plans.  None of them involve me moving very far from my domain.  A nice and quiet day  . . . a gentle day.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

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

 *Each minute we spend worrying about the future,

and regretting the past is a minute that we miss 

in our appointment with life.

A missed opportunity to engage life and 

to see that each moment gives us the chance

to change for the better, to experience peace and joy.

~Thich Nhat Hanh  ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Grilled Steak with Onion & Blue Cheese Sauce.  This was quite simply delicious.  You could vary the cheese as you wish, but beef and blue cheese are really wonderful partners. 

I hope that your day is filled with light and love and that the week ahead is filled with a multitude of small and wonderful things. Our lives are built with the small and the wonderful. What a blessing that is.  Whatever you get up to, don't forget!

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And I do too!