2010 March | chatting at the sky

76

March 31, 2010

No, he doesn’t have 76 toes. That’s the number of pushes I gave him on the swing before the others called me to push them on the tire swing. It’s really not that many, 76. You get into kind of a rhythm: push, lean, pause. Push, lean, pause. Push, lean, pause. It can be relaxing if you want it to be. On regular days, I’d rather be sitting on the park bench watching than pushing them on the swings. But on the days when I choose to live in the moment, pushing feels like a gift.

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beyond the sea

March 30, 2010

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1000 words

March 28, 2010

Spring is officially wrapping her sweet arms all around. I’m taking some days to enjoy it. I don’t want to disappear entirely this week, but I may post more photos than words, cuz you know what a pictures worth. For those of you who typically come around on Tuesdays to link up, Tuesdays Unwrapped will be back Tuesday April 6.

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my favorite places in the world are…

March 26, 2010

My South African friend Lisa-Jo has travelled all over the world and has one of my favorite ‘about’ pages on her blog. She is sharing some of her favorite places in the world today and has invited us to play along. And so I am. My favorite places in the world are…

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Harbour Town at sunset on Hilton Head Island, SC

sister

In the car with my sister.

blowing rock

Blowing Rock, North Carolina

mom's couch

Mom’s living room.

porch

My front porch in the spring.

There are so many more, but only these made the cut. Wanna play? Head on over to Gypsy Mama and link up.

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when it’s hard to see

March 25, 2010

Sometimes when it’s hard to see with the eyes I’ve been given, I strap on my camera and pray for new ones. I did that yesterday. It helped.

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flowers in the cracks

March 23, 2010

“Some days you’ll need a loaves and fishes miracle, other days it will be enough to see a flower in the crack of the sidewalk.”

-Susie Larson

I’ve been reading a book I received from my friends at Hearts at Home. It was written by Susie Larson called Growing Grateful Kids. When I saw this quote of hers, I couldn’t help but think of Tuesdays. This is the day we focus on celebrating the small in the midst of the ordinary, embrace the little things that make up the everyday and notice the flowers in the cracks. This is the tagline for her book: Teaching them to appreciate an extraordinary God in ordinary places. I haven’t finished reading it yet, but so far I have appreciated her perspective on cultivating thankfulness in the hearts of our children.

One thing she repeats throughout the book is that “we cannot impart something we do not possess.” To teach gratefulness, we must first experience it ourselves. And to experience a thankful heart, we have to first notice the gifts and receive them as such. So let’s practice. I look forward to reading your own posts on celebrating the gifts in the midst of the ordinary.

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on change

March 22, 2010

He wakes up first, makes breakfast and coffee. I choose outfits, settle hairband drama, and make their lunches. He walks them to school while the smallest one and I snuggle up to cartoons until he gets back. I could sleepwalk through our morning routine. It never changes and feels like home. But a year ago in March, I couldn’t have imagined everyday school, early early mornings, lunch without them at my table.

Things feel as though they will always be the way they are now and will never change. Until they do. And then that becomes normal for a while. Until it isn’t anymore.

Maybe you are leaning heavy against the door of change, grasping for familiar furniture to push up strong against that door. Maybe you are in the middle of a field of change, spinning in circles to find your bearings. Maybe you are stuck in your fear of change so much that you have traded in living for hopes of a risk-free existence. Still, change comes. And we get to choose what we’ll do with it.

Edie writes about change with the house that found her.

Melissa writes of making plans on her financial journey, but of things not going exactly as she thought.

A trip down memory lane helps Emily and her husband see the good side of change.

Lysa writes about an opportunity for a different kind of change, the kind that calls you out from behind your predictable routine and gently asks you to listen to that dream you’ve always had.

I love and hate change. I long for it and resist it, I welcome it and push it away, I dread it then forget it when the next change looms. How do you feel about change?

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