Tag: Beauty

A Significant Bit of Life

Published on by arecordofgraces

“A click of the shutter, a crank of the film, and you’ve caught forever a significant bit of life.”-Willis Peterson

Every reminder-of-grace-moment I find to capture is significant. A flower, a sunset, time alone, and even a dog can add to the value of a day. My son and I used to play a computer game called, “Diner Dash”. The player was the waitress/waiter and each level grew more difficult as did the customers and the demands. The player was to deliver drinks, appetizers, food, and dessert to multiple tables. And refills on drinks. A good waitress will notice when to refill drinks, right? Each table had four hearts that started out filled or all red. If a guest table grew impatient for one reason or another, the player would ‘lose’ a heart. The heart would refill as a new drink was brought or food delivered quickly. If the guests were all fed, the hearts were all filled and the people happy. They also left a good tip. Now Jonathan and I have this saying when something brings a smile, “That made my hearts go up.” I think of this as I see different things throughout the day for my #straygifts posts on Facebook and Instagram. Catching significant bits of life does make one’s “hearts go up”. Did anything refill your heart this week? Here is this week’s collage of stray gifts:

Top Row (from left to right): “Pretty in pink” is the theme for the first two photos. The flower on the left is at the end of a very long stem. The seed came from a wildflower packet. My roses haven’t been doing too well due to the heat, but I saw this one the other day. On the right: For some reason, I can’t ever seem to keep mint alive. These few little stray gifts of leaves are hanging on, though.

Bottom Row: It’s rare for us girls to have some alone time together. The temps have only been in the 90’s with cloudy days and breezes. I spent some time sitting outside this past week talking to the dog and enjoying the peaceful day.  Next is a photo of me on the 4th of July. I finally found a t-shirt I like that isn’t paper thin, one that doesn’t need another layer under it for modesty, and one that was soft to the touch and not ‘scratchy’. JCPenney. Five dollars. …that’s a #straygift to me! I did not go in there to look for a patriotic shirt, but it jumped out at me (true story).  Later that day, my husband, son, and I could be found on the truck bed in the front yard, swinging our legs watching fireworks glow like stars. Our neighborhood puts on a nice display every year. Lastly, my husband had an exam in class on Friday and was done early. He called to tell me he was coming home to take me to lunch. During our time out he said he had a bit of a headache but actually felt “good”. He hasn’t said that in a long time. He has been taking new pain medication which takes time to adjust. He has had a lot of blood work lately, tests run, and some more to come for different health issues. A rare lunch out just the two of us and a “good” report… both unexpected, both made my “hearts go up.”

On the Hunt

Published on by arecordofgraces

I am still looking for those “stray gifts” I have mentioned in a few posts. I wonder each morning what I will see, what will grab my attention. I feel that if God brings my focus to something specific, He is asking me, “Do you see?” I answer with a resounding “Yes” when I physically stop to observe.

I live in a city where everyone always seems to be in a hurry. Confession: I think it is hilarious when someone passes me (speeding, of course) and ends up at the same red light as I do. Is that mean? Not very grace-full, is it?  I always feel ‘pushed around’ when driving around town. I am a rule follower by nature and I have never received a speeding ticket. I think I might cry if I did! I did get a ticket for running a red light once. In my defense, I was behind a big truck and didn’t see the traffic light change until too late. The ticket came in the mail, so I was able to grieve at home in peace instead of in front of a police officer on the side of the road. I have become more aware of my need for these stray gifts in my day. They remind me to slow down. Just because everyone else seems to be going at a frantic pace, that doesn’t mean I have to be.  The unexpected gifts bring perspective. They bring focus to the important, to the beautiful. And I am sure it lowers my blood pressure. Quite sure.

I enjoy being on the hunt for these gifts. It can be anything from flowers, the sky any time of the day, rain puddles (rain is rare around here), to just enjoying some alone time. There is no specific guideline as to what qualifies as a stray gift. God knows just what we need; an answer to prayer, emotional relief from certain problems,  lost keys that now are found, a note in the mail from a long lost friend, an old photo which brings back good memories. To see, to know, to consider, to understand that God’s hand was in this is quite powerful and has the ability to change how we see. It matters to Him that we notice.

Anytime we consider God’s hand and His heart, we carve in the dirt and the muck of this world a pathway to greater faith.

Here is this week’s captured stray gifts.

Top Row (left to right): Roses that hide in the shade;  Stray gifts found in climbing potted houseplants. I had no idea it would climb like this. My dad has one that is stretching all the way around his room. He keeps it away from his bed so it doesn’t decide to choke him in the middle of the night. He is quite serious about this. ((Can plants do that???); Finding gold in my front yard

Middle Row: Morning Glory blooms are finally here! This is the very first bloom of the year on these vines; Again with the Morning Glories..they are seriously popping up everywhere. These are wrapping around the red rose barrel; Filtered sunlight through trees.

Bottom Row:  Stray gifts in blue skies and sunsets; not because they just “happened” to be there, but because I happened to wander outside to look.

A Closer Look

Published on by arecordofgraces

On Facebook and Instagram, I started tagging different posts with the tag #straygifts. A few weeks ago, I posted this quote, “Pleasure is spread through the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.” -William Wordsworth, 1806. While a great quote, I questioned if anything was really a ‘stray gift’. These gifts throughout my day are things I notice that “just-so-happened” to be within arm’s reach. Something that stops me in my tracks to look a little closer at the details.  Are they there by accident or by Divine design? I’d like to think the latter. Here is a collage of just a few this week that caused me to stop and say, “I know that was you, God. Thanks.” For instance, out of a bag of wildflower seeds, only a few have done well. This collage is of the same plant within a week. I was stunned to see the flowers! I was curious to see what in the world this was going to look like. I felt as if God was drawing me outside whispering, “Look what I made for you!”. A friend of mine thought they might be four o’clock flowers.

Here is another collage I made with just some of the stray gifts in the last week. From left to right:

Top Row: (left to right) 1) Raindrops on roses (It rained!!), 2) Morning Glory vines winding their way up and around, 3) Puppy paws stepping through puddles (Did I mention it rained? It’s a big deal around here.)

Middle Row: 1) An ‘organized’ spider web which belongs to an orb weaver spider. An organized spider web, I was told, means that ‘a friendly spider lives here’. 2) Surprises in wildflowers

Bottom Row: 1) Something new growing with my marigolds. I have no idea what it is. A weed? A flower? I don’t know..but I like it. 2) Crepe Myrtles doing well in the heat 3) Sunbeams shining bright through front windows

 

 

As Regular As a Heartbeat

Published on by arecordofgraces

For sunny skies, for flowers growing, for life, I am grateful. For handwritten notes from friends, an herbal tea bag tucked in a card, for friends who care, I am grateful. For easy paths and hard paths, too, with lessons learned and strength gained, I am grateful.

“Gratitude to God should be as regular as our heartbeat “.

A heart doesn’t have to think about what to do next. It beats because it does what it was designed to do. I don’t always live grateful. It is my will vs God’s will. And when I let the seed of discontentment be sown in my heart, it doesn’t do what it was designed to do; to beat as one with His. One by one, each new thanks I give promotes rhythms of the heart which restore, renew, and revel in grace.

Stray Gifts

Published on by arecordofgraces

Pleasure is spread through the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.

William Wordsworth, 1806

I am always looking to capture something of beauty and after finding this quote about stray gifts, I have felt a different level of awareness of things that happen during the day. I use the term “stray gifts” often now when good things happen. I wonder, though, are there such things as “stray” gifts? Or are they put intentionally in my path and I am the stray? Because my thoughts ramble, my feet wander, does God put things in my day to cause me to stop in awe and reflect? Through God’s favor, I am given miracles every day. Do I notice? Am I looking for them? A handwritten note in the mail, a text from a friend sharing their stray gifts, a day when thunder rolls and rain comes to this desert land all count. The red-chested finches chirping at the bird feeder and bright orange mums returning for the third year in a row make for a brighter day. Morning Glory vines growing along the backyard wall that I didn’t plant are always welcomed. (I suspect a bird transported the seeds). Scents of honeysuckle, roses, and star jasmine on the breeze invite me to breathe a little deeper. Sunsets glowing red through back-of-the-house windows especially cause me to pause in the day. All these things and more I see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. These gifts are spread all over the place. When I stop and take note, I make time for God. And when I make time for God, I celebrate the time He designed for me to be with Him and to receive the gifts He placed in my path.