Tag: God knows your heart

Turn it Around

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I’m not sure what the next chapter of my life holds, but I’m excited to watch it unfold. There’s not a great deal of certainty in this world, but that’s part of the intrigue.

Recently, I noticed taking my laptop over to the kitchen table to write so I’d have a view through the window. Mind you, my desk is sitting 10 feet away, but it’s facing the den which is pretty, but a dead-end view. It’s soothing to hear the thump of the laptop onto the table, knowing writing would come next. I’m a big believer in the quote by Burton Rascoe, “A writer is working when she’s staring out the window.” I’ve written quite a bit about our view while writing and it’s imperative to me for the words to flow.

Once done writing, I’d take the laptop back over to my desk, and plug it in to begin working. It almost became a sort of ritual, like writing time is over, and now back to the real world. To put a stop to this back and forth was to simply turn my desk around, so it’s facing that window, and that’s what I did. I’ve been pondering the simplicity of it and know that what I did with my desk can be used in many areas of life. If we want a better option, there’s possibility in there waiting for a helping hand to turn it around.

Geninne’s Art

One Can Hope

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Standing at the kitchen sink, staring out the window I see God took care of one more thing in my life today. There’s a Bougainvillea hanging under one corner of the house, in hopes it will grow it’s way up onto the roof. It has a couple of long branches reaching that way, but this morning they had drooped from lack of water. It’s on my morning rounds with the watering hose.

After giving it some water I came in the house and started work. I didn’t give the Bougainvillea another thought until now. It soaked up the water and the long branches are tucked up under the roof again. I think it would be beautiful to have Bougainvillea blossoms all over the roof. I don’t know if that will happen, but that’s what came to mind when I hung it there.

God probably has something better in store, but I’m doing my part by keeping it watered. It’s in the right place for endless possibility, but we’ll have to wait and see what transpires. As I walk away from the window back to my desk I smile and think, one can hope.

We plan, but God decides.

Proverbs 16:9

The Good Life

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I stopped by the Water Gardens and saw three of them sitting on the edge of a wood table. Two were in bloom and I don’t believe I’ve ever witnessed such delicate beauty making this loud of a statement.

Similar to the pillow mentioned in Feel the Music, there was no need for another plant, but if it could be happy in my yard, I’d literally stare in wonder at it while it bloomed. Three days later, I went back to the Water Gardens and made my way over to where they’d been sitting previously. It blended in with all the other plants on the table, but there was one left. It wasn’t in bloom, but I recognized the foliage and not being in bloom is how it was overlooked.

Curcuma-Siam-Sparkling-Tulip

Last year the yard was all about the bloom, but this year it’s about watching and waiting for that one spectacular moment. There’s nurturing in between every bloom, but the rewards far outweigh the attention given. In the book, Simple Abundance, the author has been talking quite a bit about gardening. This reading is titled The Good Life, and she shares an excerpt from the book, Loving and Leaving the Good Life, by Helen Nearing.

  • Do the best you can, whatever arises.
  • Be at peace with yourself.
  • Find a job you enjoy.
  • Live in simple conditions; housing, food, clothing; get rid of clutter.
  • Contact nature every day; feel the earth under your feet.
  • Take physical exercise through hard work; through gardening or walking.
  • Don’t worry; live one day at a time.
  • Share something every day with someone else; if you live alone, write someone; give something away; help someone else somehow.
  • Take time to wonder at life and the world; see humor in life where you can.
  • Observe the one life in all things.
  • Be kind to creatures.

I’ve been helping a woman water the flower beds at church once a week and noticed she didn’t have a sprayer on the end of the water hose, so I brought her my rain head to use. I attached it to the hose, turned it on and handed it to her. Just the sound of the water the rain head gives and watching it shower over the plants was such a peaceful moment she didn’t want it to end. It’s moments like that you know you’re standing in the good life.

Practice the Always

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Always holds big meaning to only have six letters.

I have a few things that I always do, like I’ll always drink in house cold brew, and always brush my teeth before leaving the house. If you don’t, you’ll run into someone you haven’t seen in years, and they’ll want to hug and stand around and laugh, so it’s best to have clean teeth.

I’m becoming more comfortable with empty spaces. What works for me is looking at an area full of stuff, and emptying it out completely. Wipe the surface down and only put back the meaningful. It’s funny but even after putting back what was meaningful one day, they begin to lose some of their meaning the next. I’m excited to see what our house looks like by the end of the year, or better yet, one year from now.

After framing some art and having a wall of it in my room, I removed one painting and put it in the kitchen where it belongs. That’s where it was originally, but I used it to fill an empty space. I’ve been looking at that empty space along my bedroom wall all week, and knew what I wanted to put there. It’s a page from a magazine that was in another frame, but I utilized that frame and laid this clipping aside.

When people see it, they scream, “Is that Justin Bieber?!!” He was just a kid in this photo, and you can’t see his face, but his name is underneath the quote. I have signs hanging throughout our home as reminders of what’s important, and this is of the utmost importance.

It says, “I always thank God for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this talent.” ~ Justin Bieber

I bought a frame for it and filled in the empty space. This frame looked lighter in the store, so it’s probably going to be exchanged for another one, but it works for now. The word ‘always’ is what jumps out at me from this quote. We have all been given at least one gift and should be on the lookout for ample opportunity to use it. I’m guilty of not thanking God nearly enough for the opportunities He’s given me, but I’m willing to practice.

I see this photo as soon as I wake up in the morning, so at first light, let’s practice the always.

Queen of Everything

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After posting The Writing Robe, I reached out to my friend Jordan, and asked if she had a robe from Honest Cotton that I could try. She had two robes, and invited me to stop in anytime to try them on. 💖

To walk into Jordan’s studio is a treat for the senses. There’s low vibe music softly playing, and the temperature of the room is just right. You can smell the aroma of essential oils being used, and it makes you want to stand there and inhale deeply. Jordan specializes in Chinese medicine and owns Common Thread Wellness down the street from my home.

I tried on the robe in a khaki color and it felt great, but had to try on the other one in ecru, which is a candlelight color. This pale color amused me envisioning the short amount of time it would last after an explosion from the coffee bar, or the first time I sit in something on the bench outside, or when any of our three pets brushed by while wearing it.

This robe is plenty long. I’m 5’9″, and it tickles my ankles. There’s so much fabric to it, I have to roll up the sleeves to type. I love slipping it on first thing in the morning, and have it hanging on a hook near an A/C vent. It’s like enveloping yourself in chilled gauze. Walking through the house I can feel it flowing along behind me.

Honest Cotton Robe

Years ago my daughter came home with this little metal sign as a gift for me. She handed it to me with a grin, and it’s one of my favorite things. It’s hanging from a lamp that sits on my desk, as a much needed reminder on those difficult days. It says, “Queen of Everything!”

Strolling from my desk to the window scanning the front yard, lining up tasks in my head, I give the robe a tug and feel it resting on my shoulders. This robe makes one feel like Queen of Everything.

The featured photo is Jordan’s dog in studio. The mantra for her business is – ‘Connecting the common thread between body + mind + spirit.’ It’s not only used for her business, but how she lives her life.

It’s Own Time

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I bought a flat of impatient’s for the flower cart. It surprised the cashier when I sat the entire tray on the counter, and it surprised me too. I didn’t plan on planting many flowers this year, but plans change. The flower cart can hold a flat, or full tray, and they’re beautiful to see, but now I have 48 little impatient’s, patiently waiting to be planted. 😍

My God is sneaky. He knew I wouldn’t be able to look at an empty flower cart for long.

This week, I rearranged my bedroom, and moving the bed is always an adventure. It was pretty dusty under there, and I’ve written about it here. My daughter and I each have a long, rolling storage container for off season clothing under the bed. They had sat side by side with a small gap in between and captured all of the cat’s jingle balls. That’s a score!

Once the bed was moved, I had a semi empty wall. The artwork looked scattered, so I moved two pieces to fill the empty spaces. It all lined up perfectly, so I could see that was not my doing. On my best day I couldn’t do that, without scattering holes over the wall. This was seamless and took no effort. It’s like they’re resting on an invisible wall length shelf.

Local artist Rachel Brown. 💖

The wall of art gives an immediate feeling of calm and centered. I could add more art above this row, but that’s how it is with me. God lays it out perfectly, and I want to tweak it, but this time there’s nothing to tweak. And Dawn, when you read this you’ll know, the wall of art we spoke about in our letters, fell into place all in it’s own time.

From the post, ‘Just Say Yes.‘ Artist ~ Mrs. M

Be a Dreamer

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One of the most difficult parts of dating over fifty is finding a dreamer. Most men are semi-retired, already retired, or looking forward to retirement. They want to travel in an RV, or on a motorcycle, but here’s an update. You don’t have to wait to travel. It’s available at any time.

I have big dreams for my life, but sometimes I wonder if they’re big enough. As humans, we tend to dream attainable dreams. Things we know with some hard work and planning, they’ll come to fruition. My dreams are merely stepping stones to a greater plan, and that plan is a mystery.

We’ll use writing as an example. I don’t want to be famous, but I do want to write, and God can use my willingness to write in a big way. That’s the scary part. What is His plan?

Maybe you think you’re too old for dreams, or they were a part of your youth, but I’m not buying it. As long as there’s breath in our bodies, we still have a purpose. Don’t give up on your dreams, because if you woke up to a new day, your dreams are still in you. Be a dreamer.