This title has been sitting in my draft folder since last October. I wasn’t sure what it was for then, but today it seems appropriate.
Being dated late October, I’m guessing it was about fall and the grand finale of the flowers bloom. This year I had some flower beds created in the front yard, so I can witness even more bloom. The front porch has quickly become one of my favorite places to be.
I’ve decided to take some time away from Blogging and enjoy the journey. There is a book or two that long to be written and my creative side wants to be let off the leash. Julia Cameron writes in The Sound of Paper, “We are too busy living a life, to have a life worth living.” It’s time to enjoy the here and now, but this site will remain in my absence. I didn’t want to leave you wondering.
Here’s the grand finale of memes. My darling, I hope that whatever you choose to do with this one beautiful life, you go all in.
It’s been almost a year since I’ve posted a Feel the Music. That surprised me, but even more so was looking through and realizing the first one was posted almost 4 years ago! I can barely remember what I had for breakfast yesterday, but I remember the day Feel the Music was born.
I was driving my truck down a back road, listening to the radio, and pondering my Blog. A song began to play, and it was Big Daddy Weave singing, ‘My Story’. Right then, I knew Feel the Music was supposed to become a series in my Blog. It contained those three words, like all my Blog titles did, but this was more than one post. It was going to be a regular thing.
I didn’t drive my truck very much last year, so some time has passed since posting one, but I still have a heart for music. It has helped pull me through some tough spots in my life. I’ve used it as an escape, and I’ve played it to chase after God. From cleaning a chicken coop knowing my marriage was at it’s end, to standing on a pier on 40 acres of land, surrounded by nothingness.
Music healed my heart many times.
Yesterday, I told my daughter something I needed to hear too. I said, “You didn’t come this far, to only come this far.” The inspiration for this song didn’t come while driving my truck, so I need to make myself available to inspiration other than my truck.
Someone in my Fearless community posted a meme of this song because he is halfway to his monthly goal. Maybe we are all halfway there and don’t even realize it. The one thing I do know is, life wouldn’t be worth living without a prayer. Enjoy!
I’ve been using the pour over coffee dripper for my coffee each morning for a while now. It offers flexibility in cup size, and on Monday we go big.
It will fill any size cup you choose to sit under it. You just have to measure the right amount of water for the size of the cup. This morning, I measured 16 ounces of water for the gooseneck kettle, knowing this cup could hold it, but I’ve miscalculated before and that was messy.
One morning I grabbed a large mug thinking it was just as big as this one and treated it the same way, with 16 ounces of water. I allow time for the dripper to drain in between pours, so after the third and final pour, I walked into the next room. A few minutes later I went back into the kitchen for my coffee, only to find it pouring over the rim of the mug onto the chopping block.
It had poured over alright!
Thank God the spill had stayed on the chopping block, but I must have crossed the 16 ounce line. It’s times like these you go with what you know and make sure your Monday cup is cleaned on Sunday night.
The coffee dripper adds mystery to my morning. I’m never quite sure what I’m going to get. It calls for the water measurement to be precise, but I’m doing good just to get the water into the measuring cup much less read the lines. It’s when I cross the line that life gets messy.
I have an email to send this morning, and it feels like I may be crossing the line. That’s not going to stop me from sending it because I don’t live my life in the safe zone. When God opens the door of opportunity, communication can be awkward at first, but we don’t really know where the lines are, if any, until we cross them.
When I first started this Blog, I could sit and write for hours and post daily. That has mellowed over time. I enjoy my pieces of life that don’t require Internet.
The dogs know my favorite time to write is around 9:00 am, and they become very still and quiet. It’s like they are giving me space to do what I love, or maybe they just see it as quiet time, because typing is not very rambunctious. I’m sitting at the kitchen table gazing out the window at the front yard. There’s a gentle breeze moving the trees and bushes, and birds are hopping around in the sunny spots of the yard. I can completely relate to the birds, because I love the sunny spots of life.
February and March are good months to be outside. In February, the temps will be in the high 60’s, and in March they’ll reach the 70’s, but by April we’ll be in the 80’s and then it’s on. I’ve lived here long enough where the high temperatures don’t really bother me anymore. You just praise God everyday for air conditioning.
We can look at our lives, and see what’s important. Our lives reflect an accumulation of small choices made daily. It’s a continual effort to weed out the bad and bring in the good, but we get to choose the life we’re sitting in today. With every action throughout the day, pay attention to the details. And if you find yourself gazing out the window like me, step outside and embrace the sunny spot.
We are in December, and there’s still no full size Christmas tree in our home. I bought a small one and it’s perched on the built-in cabinet in the back of the house. The dogs enjoy the soft glow of the lights at night.
This is our third year in this little lake house, and the last couple of years I’ve thought about hanging Christmas lights across the front of the house. I’d always talk myself out of it with a mountain of excuses, but this year there were no more excuses.
I had a tangled up mass of multi-colored icicle lights that have moved with me over the years. I began the task of gently untangling them, plugged them in, and to my surprise they still worked.
I began tacking them along the roofline, and don’t know why I saw it as such a daunting task. My mind told me it would take al lot of time, when in reality it took very little time and went along seamlessly. The task looked more difficult in my mind than it actually was.
I think a lot of things in life are like that. We tend to overthink our ideas, which prevents us from doing what the heart wants, and simply walking through. We are vehicles of the heart, and my hope is that you’ll follow yours. It may look daunting at first, but you’ll never know unless you try, and try we must.
There’s a lady who sells these handmade bowls at a farmer’s market I attend on the weekends. They are made from strips of fabric she refers to as scraps. Her display has so many colors and designs it’s difficult to choose, but if that’s my toughest decision of the day, life is good.
She wraps clothes line wiring with strips of fabric and sews them together to make the bowl. Allow me show you how simply beautiful scraps woven together can be.
Yesterday, I was on my Team Call through Fearless Warrior and told them I’ve decided to leave the Fearless Warrior Community. It was a solid investment of money and time well spent, but the heart knows when it’s time to move on. We’ve been meeting every week for several months and feel woven together, similar to this bowl.
We are all different ages with different ideas and beliefs and we live in various parts of the world, but we have a common bond. A mutual love and respect for one another. I have found similar souls here in WordPress. My Fearless Team has decided to continue meeting at least once a month outside the community to continue encouraging one another down life’s path.
When we stand alone we might feel like one strip of fabric, but together we can be woven with love into something meaningful and purposeful. Just like this bowl of scraps.
My daughter: “You haven’t done a Feel the Music in a while.”
Me: I don’t drive that much anymore.” I hear most of these songs for Feel the Music while driving, but I wasn’t prepared for this song to start playing as soon as I started my truck. It just started playing like it was queued up and ready, but I wasn’t.
The hard to listen to songs. The ones that bring back memories of a love gone sideways, or swept up by crashing waves and drug out to the middle of the ocean. You see, I’ve been listening to the hard songs all year, but at some point you have to dance to it.
This song is sang by Cody Johnson. Mr. Smith told me about Cody and I have his CD in my truck. I enjoy his music, but the first song on the CD is the one I share with you today. It’s the hard to listen to song I usually skip over, but today I was able to listen.
Just try to quit smokin’ and reel back the drinkin’ Don’t always tell her everything you’re thinkin’ And dance her when she needs dancin’
It’s bittersweet because there are parts of the song that Smith nailed, but there are also parts he didn’t. He couldn’t quit smoking, even though it was important to me. I wanted him to be around another 50 years. Smith shared at the beginning of our relationship that he knew how to dance, and was good at it.
I’ve always wanted to be good at dancing, and have a partner who would show me. He didn’t dance me when I needed dancing.
The part of the song he was always good at was listening. Smith never tried to fix me, but would offer suggestions on how we could fix my world when it cracked. When I would get upset I’d go sit in the middle of the bed. He’d give me some time, but eventually come in and lay on the bed as an open invitation to talk.
I wasn’t good at sharing what was wrong because I was always concerned he would laugh, or it think it was silly. That wasn’t the point though, he just wanted me to spill it.
Crawl up in that bed right next to her and listen Instead of having all the answers
It’s a simple country song, and the name of it is, “Ain’t Nothin’ to It”, but obviously there is something to it. To the couples who have made it through the years it takes to solidify a relationship, go grab your partner and dance them like they need dancing.
I’m taking steps this year, toward where I want to be this time next year. It takes some planning, but I keep an open mind. One of my most used prayers is, “God, if this is not your will, stop me now!”
I jotted down this note from 7/26 in the Jesus Calling book. “RELAX AND LET ME LEAD YOU through this day. I have everything under control.” The first sentence wasn’t capitalized by me, it’s in the book like that. They say using all caps is like yelling, so I can see the irony in this. Then there’s the whole giving up control thing and being willing to be lead.
If you haven’t read Stephen King’s, “On Writing”, it’s an inspiring read and one of the best books I’ve read this year. If you want to be inspired, read something inspiring. It’s that simple.
What you do now plays an integral part in what will happen next, but the most important part is to start. If there’s something you’ve been putting off starting, look at where you are now, start and watch for what’s next. That’s the funny thing about purpose. We were designed to be so much more than we currently are, if only we’d let go of our preconceived outcome and start.
I believe each and every one of us has a calling on our life, but we get scared. Then we start running our ideas by others and it’s hard for them to be supportive because they have a dream in their heart that scares them too. You can be scared together and encourage one another through the scary start. You will know if it feeds your heart, but you will never know until you start.
It’s okay to be scared, but I always tell my daughter, “What do you have to lose?” There’s usually nothing to lose, but oh so much to gain. Another line in the devotional says, “As you look to me, I show you what do do now and next.” Our roadmap for where this life will lead, if we’re willing, is in the now and next.
It’s easy to lose sight of a dream, but the more it rolls around the mind, the more refined it becomes. I believe God recently revealed a larger picture of where this dream is headed. Of course, I chuckled and shook my head like, “No way!”
The big picture feels overwhelming and out of reach. That’s why He only gives a glimpse at a time, but rest assured everything in life prepares us for the next moment, and the next until you’re standing right in the middle of your purpose.
Yesterday, I was arranging a vase of mixed greenery. I knew when I bought them which vase would be used. It’s called the ribbon vase, and I’ve had it for over 20 years. As I was working the greenery into the vase, it took me back to the days when we entertained large groups of business associates in our home.
This vase would be filled with fresh flowers and put on display on a massive formal dining room table the day before the event.
I’ve always loved making arrangements, but yesterday I saw real progress. I snapped a pic to share it with my friends on FB. It was still sitting in my kitchen with an old towel underneath to soak up the water I had spilled while adding water to the vase!
The arrangement before the clean up.
It’s exhilarating to see that vase full again, but I don’t own a table today large enough to display it. I’m humbled that my life doesn’t have to be on display anymore, even though you guys see a lot the pieces that make up this beautiful life.
When in doubt, use the coffee table Barb.
This morning, my daughter and I sat down at the coffee table to chat before her classes. The arrangement was so massive, we couldn’t see each other’s faces because of it. We had to laugh, but just for a moment I thought about adding flowers to it. I stopped that thought and enjoyed the simplicity of it.
That dream inside you has taken root, now let it grow. It’s nice to know I still have it in me to think big and use the ribbon vase.
My daughter is in England. She messaged me this morning, “We are on the coach heading to Manchester!” I said, “Are the horses pretty pulling the coach?” 😂
I appreciate all of your suggestions for Name This Meeting, but I’ve placed it back in drafts. That’s not how it’s done. The name of the meeting is chosen by the group, so for now it’s called Women of AA.
♥ ♥ ♥
My daughter loves to fly.
When I took her to the airport yesterday, it was empty. The media will cause fear and panic. Fear is like a flame that spreads like wildfire, but this made our experience better. She wasn’t on a crowded flight.
We make mistakes, but learn from them and move on. We’re not too proud to admit we got it wrong because we are willing to turn it around by doing what’s right.
My daughter reminded me of this.
It may look dark and cloudy, but once the plane rises above the clouds, you can see the sun. It doesn’t stop shining, and my God doesn’t stop handing out grace.
If a storm is brewing in your life, let me encourage you to rise above it.
