Thoughts On Fall...

Every season has it's beauty.  Fall may be the most spectacular of the four seasons, in my opinion.  I sort of like the melancholy feeling this time of year and it's appropriate for me right now.  I'm enjoying the fading blooms, falling leaves and the way the earth is preparing itself for the coming winter. My flower gardens are withering away, getting ready for the months of frigid cold that are ahead.  I like the idea of starting over with each season and this one is no different. I'm looking forward to the upcoming holidays and staying inside spending time doing things that I don't have time to do in the warmer months.  As I walked around my yard yesterday, I tried to notice the beauty in all of the fading and wilting happening around me.  When I looked closely at each plant, area of my yard or portion of the sky ..instead of the whole fading and withering scene...I could really see it...The beauty in the browns and yellows and reds. 

I hope you, too, can see it wherever you are.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

For everything there is a season,
      a time for every activity under heaven.

Jackie

 

Inspiring Words...

These words just make me want to be better...to DO better...

Inspired,

Jackie

A More Beautiful You...

I'm 41 years old.  I'm Confident.  I've made peace with my choices.  I like my life.  But.  I'm human and a woman.  It's hard to live up to the standard of beauty our culture demands.  The standard is slightly different now as a woman in my 40's than it was for me as a 20 year old.  But the standard is still there.  You must look Young...Hip...Cute.

Enter Facebook.

Facebook is Good in so many ways and Bad in so many others.

I've been on Facebook for a few years now.  It's been fun connecting with grade school friends, high school friends and former co-workers.  I've chatted and shared photos with folks who I thought I would never see again.  All Good things.  Really Good.

Now to the Bad.  Facebook can be a time waster to the extreme.  It can also cut little notches into your self esteem.  A large majority of my Facebook friends are people I knew more than 15 years ago and haven't seen many of them for at least that amount of time.  I will sometimes open up a profile and start looking at their photos and realize they don't look any different than they did...say...20 years ago.

But...I do! 

20 years have gone by...2 kids...a few extra pounds.  Okay...more than a few extra pounds.  I look different.

Me in 1987 - Prom Night

Me - August 2010

On more than a few occasions after reconnecting with a former friend or co-worker I've had to remind myself of my own worth.  My own beauty.  Not in a self-centered way, but in a way to remind myself that I'm not going back to that young girl that I once was.  That is OK!  I like myself now.  I like being 41.  I'm proud of my accomplishments and the person that I've become.

What I know is that comparisons are a waste of my time.  My purpose in this life is bigger than small thinking like comparing my looks, social status and bank account to other people

When these negative thoughts start creeping in and trying to crowd out the more positive and productive thoughts I have a checklist of questions I ask myself.

Is it True?  ...Is what I'm thinking true or am I second guessing myself?

Is it Noble?...Is this thought dignified?  Is it something I should be thinking about myself as a child of God?

It it Lovely?...Is this thought gracious or is it a critical thought?

And finally a scripture that I carry with me in my index card binder (more on this important tool later)

Philippians 4:8

"Finally brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - think these things." 

If you struggle with this issue like I have.  Be encouraged.  You are not alone.

And...

There Could Never Be A More Beautiful You.

Chorus of 

A More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

February Beauty!

Look at this sweetly stitched strawberry. I was the lucky winner of this little strawberry giveaway. I won this beauty from Sharlotte over at The Happy Needle. If you haven't visited her yet...head on over there! Her blog is full of inspiring stitched projects that she is working on. I love to see what she has stitched up every week. Right now, it's hanging on our Valentine Tree and it will go in the kitchen when the tree comes down. Thanks again, Sharlotte...I LOVE it!


Well, it's February and it's still cold, snowy and dreary in our part of the country. I'm still looking for beauty...

Sedums in the Snow...

Gardens and Spring Cupcakes...

Yellow Tulips are lovely in the kitchen in February...

...and White Tulips in the Dining Room...

Galvanized Metal Love...

A Hot Spot in the Snow...Part of my newly landscaped front yard...more on that in the spring...

Footsteps in the Snow...Heading to the Bird Feeders...

Finding Beauty...

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul. ~John Muir

January isn't a particularly beautiful time in my part of the country but it's there and if I look I can usually find it. I'm looking for the brightness in this bleak and gray time of the year. For me, beauty isn't only something that I see with my eyes. Sometimes it's a small gesture or a kindness. Sometimes it's a feeling or an emotion. In January and February I'm usually seeking it out...this year is no different...

I'll begin my quest with photos from our Valentine Tree at home. This year both boys wanted to decorate the tree and I sat and watched them. They had a lot of fun decorating the tree and I had a lot of fun watching them. The tree isn't arranged as maybe I would have done it but ...the beauty of our tree is in our time spent together.





And...although I'm struggling with living in our construction mess right now...I saw a small, bright spot on top of our displaced dishwasher this morning. A sweet coffee mug mingling with the waiting supplies.



Where do you find beauty during the winter?