Fresh Air…
Time to throw open the windows and…breathe, don’t you think?
First day of spring, that’s today. Time for fresh air…
Changing seasons, changing us. Fresh air – like a cool, clear morning. A float down a lazy stream. A drive down a back road to…nowhere.
Fresh air – like toes in the sand and fresh ocean sea spray, hiking a mountain with blue skies above, a meadow bursting with wildflowers.
Spring with all its hopes and newness, has it become ordinary? But it isn’t – it’s still…miraculous. Baby birds, tiny lizards, new lambs, baby opossums. Green pushing up through warming soil, flowers dressed better than any fashion designer could dream.
How grand are the March winds giving way to April showers – how renewing the grass being mowed, soil being turned, the chatter of birds in migration.
Ordinary is us doing our day to day and missing it – until we don’t. Until we step out with kids in tow and breathe in fun. Barefoot and spinning in circles on the grass isn’t just for 4 year olds.
Inhale promise, exhale hope: the 13 year old inventor wowing men and women twice or more his age; the wrinkled face with glint in eyes remembering ‘back when’ but lives ‘here and now’ touching your soul…
Kissing the neck of the one you love, that oh so familiar, yet brand new scent. Walking in the cool of the day, exhaling serenity…
Fresh air – free for the taking, and for the sharing. Inhale His creation, no ordinary here…
Seeds of…
Eighteen years ago I dug up a tiny sapling from beneath the huge tree in our front yard. I went to the back yard and gauged where I thought it should go (seriously I thought it was way far from the deck). Today it has reached that maturity point where it is producing a kajillion seeds. At the time I planted it, it seemed like a good idea. My vision: It will grow as big as it’s parent and provide some shade and separation from the neighbors. Reality: shade, separation, lots of leaves (twice a year) and now these feathery seed things…
Kajillion is a number I’m sure – it’s just not countable. So what does one do when a kajillion seed things are everywhere? My husband decided a drastic trimming was needed, I’m not so sure – but we shouldn’t have any seeds for a while…
When at Home Depot or the Dollar Store and they have those displays of seeds showcasing all the things you can grow, for eating or looking pretty, I have to stop to look at them. Sometimes I can’t help it – I buy a few. Sometimes I even get around to planting them…
I have had sunflowers grow from seeds, really cool. I have had carrots grow from seeds, strange (see pic to see what I mean). Marigolds are really good to grow from seeds, beware they actually throw their own seeds everywhere and marigolds come up no where near where they started – that’s ok, surprises are fun…
I’ve noticed that the seed I put in the dirt never looks anything like what grows up reaching for the sky. Like us – we start out in the secret place of our mother’s womb and emerge a little person. As we grow, change, and mature at some point we become what God means us to be. Along the way we shed many leaves (disbelief, unkindness, worry) and produce fruit (faith, love, patience).
Plant some sunflowers – they’re easy. Share them when they grow, spreading sunshine. Has someone caused you to grow in unexpected ways? Do you have a story that will encourage another’s growth? Leave a comment and spread a few Seeds of Wisdom with the rest of us (pictures are welcome too)…
If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME! So glad you are here! Click on the Living Braver link at the top, perhaps fear is an issue you would like to chat about…
Handkerchiefs?
I have a collection… A little unusual as the use for these originally was to blow your nose…
My collection started when my Nanny, a.k.a. grandmother, died and I was sent a few of her things. Some were doilies she had crocheted and some were her pretty handkerchiefs. I have a feeling she never used them for their intended purpose, or at least she washed them well…
Since then whenever I wander around an antique store I am drawn to the linens. I love looking at the old tablecloths, napkins, quilts, pillowcases – and hankies…
Having grown up in the Kleenex era, I had to look up how the name handkerchief originated – putting together the various information it appears that kerchief was a covering usually for the head – these were for covering your hand when you sneezed, coughed, blew your nose.
Men continued to use the plain white ones well into the second half of the 20th century, I can remember my daddy and uncle pulling theirs out of their pockets and ‘using’ them (gross…)
I like the Renaissance era of handkerchiefs where the fair maiden dropped hers so the handsome courtier would pick it up for her…
My mother taught me how to crochet when I was little. Once I got the hang of using the crochet needle she showed me how to make a pretty pattern around a plain handkerchief. I taught my daughter how to cross stitch and embroider, one of the first projects she did was to embroider a rose onto a handkerchief…
When a friend’s child gets married I have started giving them a handkerchief as a keepsake of the special day (and to dab away the tears)…
Hand me downs through the generations, no telling what my grandchildren will make of my collection. In this age of disposable everything, it will be fun explaining to them what they were intended for…
the Violas are back…
I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like remembering — remembering their childhood, remembering crazy things they did, remembering a loved one, remembering God’s faithfulness, remembering how things used to be…
It is fun to watch the animated faces as people recall and often act out their fond memories. You should see us Floridians remember the hurricanes of ’04 and ’05 – our tales of being without power for weeks, blue tarp roofs, long gas lines…
Watch a senior tell how it was when they grew up, places that are big cities now were their stomping grounds as children…
Watch moms tell about their baby’s antics, or a dog owner his best friend’s accomplishments…
Watch a baby boomer tell about the concerts he went to or the clothes she used to wear…
Recently I heard the story of how a now sixties something woman used to go out to play in the morning and not be back home til dinner – the freedom and innocence of that time makes one wish for those days again. Or how we used to leave our doors unlocked when we left home and didn’t give it a second thought…
Women love to tell the details of their pregnancies – divulging information that the other person simply must know…
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“The way you live your ordinary days is what adds up to your one extraordinary life.” Ann Voskamp
The point is: tell your stories. Right now my story is how I planted a whole bed of violas last spring instead of vegetables. Just going out and looking at them as they spread and the colors changed brought such joy. Their bright faces always light up mine. So this year I put in some herbs at the end of the bed, but I couldn’t resist doing the rest in violas again…
L. O. V. E.
Do you know these people? She always shows up with a baked goodie when she comes over. He always gets called upon for help with home repairs. She has an infectious laugh that warms your heart. He has a way of putting his arm around your shoulder and calling you friend. These people are…
I want to be one of those people, someone Living Out Valentines Everyday…
Each year about 1 billion Valentines Day cards are sent (2nd only to Christmas in card sales). That’s a lot of love circulating through the mail… Speaking of which…
A year ago on Valentines Day Paris Renae The Stories of Our Lives was launched with a sweet love story from yesteryear. Today, a brief story called: Lost Valentine…
Charlie was 19 in 1969. He and Carol had been dating for a little over six months. The first draft during the Vietnam War was broadcast on television for all to see – and Charlie’s number came up. The holidays were bittersweet as they spent as much time together as they could before he shipped out for bootcamp.
Carol clung to Charlie outside the bus station in the small town they lived in. She told him she would be waiting for him. He promised to write and told her to look for a Valentine from him. True to his word a beautiful valentine filled with loneliness arrived from Charlie right on time. The last line read, we will ship out for Vietnam immediately after bootcamp.
Carol never heard from Charlie again, he was listed Missing In Action in the spring of 1971. A year later Carol married and raised a family. Now a widow she spent most of her time volunteering at the local hospital and one particular nursing home where a lot of Vietnam vets resided.
Carol made a big deal of holidays for all those she visited making sure everyone got at least a card and candy cane at Christmas, a card and a chocolate on Valentines day, and so on. This year as she sat assembling her cards and chocolates for Valentines day, the doorbell rang…
A mail carrier stood with a letter encased in plastic and explained that when an old mail facility on the other side of town was recently prepared for demolition a bundle of mail had been found and this one had been addressed to her. They had tracked her down through town hall records for the year 1971 and matched it to her married name. The carrier handed it to her “Is this you, ma’am?”
Carol recognized the handwriting on the envelope and shakily took the card. “Yes, it’s me. Thank you.” Closing the door she sat by the window in the waning sun. The stamped post date was February 7, 1971. The letter was a handmade Valentine.
“My dearest, Carol, forgive me for not writing all these many months. It’s all pretty depressing over here and I could never figure out what to write. But Valentine’s day gave me a happy topic. I have covered this in hearts and each one is a kiss and hug from me. They say I will be allowed to come home in March for a month. If you can forgive me and haven’t moved on, I will look for you at the bus station. Love xoxoxo Charlie”
Carol folded the letter – how many other Valentines never returned back home to those that loved them? Many that did often returned home to ridicule. More determined than ever, she decided each card should have two chocolates this year…
Thank you for allowing me to share each week with you. I would love to hear from you, you can email by clicking on Contact on the website…
If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME! So glad you are here! Click on the Living Braver link at the top, perhaps fear is an issue you would like to chat about…
Clean Your Drawers…
Ever wander around the house and even though you have a hundred things to do you don’t know what to do?
Sometimes I think we need to clear the cobwebs out of our brains… We need bright blue sky vision even when its cloudy. We need a walk with the wind in our face when we can’t leave the house. We need flowers in a vase when a bloom isn’t in sight…
I’m one of those people on a guilt trip if I don’t feel like I’m accomplishing something. I can’t just pick up a magazine and clear the cobwebs that way…
So recently, in one of those moods to do something but not wanting to do anything that ‘had’ to be done, I opened a drawer… Wow, what a mess, I wasn’t even sure what all was in there. The first drawer was filled with note cards and stationery stuff. A couple of desk drawers later and I was hooked…
I went to the bathroom and pulled open drawers. To the kitchen, to my bedroom… I filled a box of ‘give aways’ and a trash can of ‘get rid ofs’…
There’s something freeing about getting rid of clutter. Will I really use the that old lipstick, the sticky nail polish? What’s up with the old keys, the free stress ball?
This is just the beginning, a few drawers isn’t enough. There are boxes and paper piles and, oh my, closets…
Maybe stuff crowds out who we are… Maybe clearing some breathing space let’s us exhale some simplicity… Next time you’re walking around in circles with a million things to do, clean out a drawer…
Lighthouse for the Soul…
A few years back my best friend visited the area where I live. One outing I planned was to visit a lighthouse, climb to the top, look at the awesome view, and have lunch…
To the top was about 108 feet of winding corkscrew steps…It wasn’t until we were about two-thirds the way up that I noticed she was pale and trembling. Loving friend that I am I asked what was wrong – come to find out she has a fear of heights (I had no idea). As only a best friend would do I said ‘So you want to go to the top or not?’ (she did). Needless to say lunch was delayed while she regained her composure on firm ground…
Funny, isn’t it – we think we know someone so well and yet what should have been an obvious fact, goes unnoticed. We need a beacon showing us the way to the hearts of those we love. Shedding light on their fears, their dreams, their victories, their vulnerabilities…
Being a lighthouse keeper meant sacrificing a lot of comfort. It meant risking danger and well being to keep the light burning – so others could find safe harbor. Perhaps a bit more sacrifice on our part: time-giving, truly listening… Maybe we could light the way to safe harbor for our friend’s, our husband’s, our children’s unknown souls??
Fast forward a few years and outings since that lighthouse trip and once again we found ourselves where there was a lighthouse – one I hadn’t been to yet. This one towered 175 feet up. Walking in we craned our necks to see as far as we could. Up to the first landing we went, looked out the window, came back down, and…went to lunch.
Rather spend a long lunch knowing each other even better than trekking to the top to see the view….
Wander or Wonder?
Don’t we all wish we could retire (no matter what age we are 26 or 56) and just wander…
I love east Tennessee and the times I’ve been able to spend there always find me wandering… Wandering along a hiking trail, beside the Little River, driving through The Great Smoky Mountains – wandering in and out of antique stores, in and out of local restaurants or museums…
I wander around where I live now and then too – along the beach, a drive along the coast north, in out of the grocery store, the post office, the bank – oh yeah, I was setting the scene for all those perfect vistas…
I can wander without leaving my chair – my mind wanders to long ago days of childhood, or my children’s childhood – long ago days of newly married of young and full of energy – to times spent with girlfriends and now adult children…
We all wander whenever the opportunity arises – but how often do we wonder?
Take a look at the lizard on this rose leaf, if it wasn’t for his tail he wouldn’t be as long as the leaf, and the leaf was not much more than an inch long… what a wonder so tiny can be so perfect…
Don’t you want to wonder? The Creator of all that’s around us, in all the places we have been and have never been, has made everything a wonder – so that we can be awestruck and that we can give Him praise. It is wonder that we are knit in a womb, that a caterpillar emerges a butterfly, that a seed emerges a stalk of grain, that water invisibly evaporates and becomes cloud, that the earth spins at a 1,000 mph!
It is a wonder that man’s brain can conceive a light bulb, a telephone, a computer, the internet – transplanting a heart, soaring into space…
Take time this week to wander into wonder – as the old song says ‘What A Wonderful World’ – may this week be Wonder-Full…
Fresh Pillowcases
I have a favorite chore: laundry. I don’t understand why people don’t like doing laundry – you put it in the machine that cleans it, you pull it out of the machine that dries it…
No other chore is that easy – guess it’s not that way everywhere, but I’m guessing most reading this do have the luxury – even if it means going to a laundermat to use theirs…
I remember the first laundermat I ever went to, I was about four or five living in a tiny little town. The laundermat was next to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store. At this laundermat you put the clothes in the washer but when they were done and water drained out, there was a ringer attached to the top that you rolled them through to get the excess water out… and then we took them home and hung them on the line outside.
We’ve come a long ways – thank goodness. I love the smell of clothes out of the dryer – (I don’t use scented dryer sheets) – especially the cotton loads… Pillowcases and cotton night gowns pulled fresh from the dryer – I bury my face in them and breathe deep…
I can’t put my finger on why I like that smell so much – but I’m certain it must remind me of some time in my life that was really pleasant or maybe the smell just reminds me of simpler times…
Fresh sheets on the bed and fresh pillow cases are always a treat that first night you crawl in. Such a simple pleasure, one we take for granted…
I’m thinking we shouldn’t take any pleasures for granted for they could be gone in an instant – we never expect this time to be the last time, or surely we would savor every moment. But what if we did live a little like this time could be the last time? What if we linger over the clothes fresh from the dryer, the drive out of the neighborhood, the shopping cart we push through the store?
Fresh pillowcases – a reason to pause, inhale and exhale, take in the ordinary to see how fabulous now is…
If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME! So glad you are here! Click on the Living Braver link at the top, perhaps fear is an issue you would like to chat about…
parisrenae 
Delight…
Posted on March 6, 2015 by Paris Renae
2 Comments
Did you know its both a verb and a noun? Something you ‘do’ – and something you ‘get’. Sometimes we hold back and don’t describe things with fun words like this…
Homemade apple pie with vanilla ice cream and crunchy crust is delight-full. A blue sky spring day complete with birds chirping, a lawn mower going in the distance, and slight breeze is delight-full! A little toddler looking up from mud pie making with chubby toes and pleased smile is delight-full!
The next time a friend asks me to lunch I think I will say “Yes, that would be delight-full!” At the store when they say “It’s senior discount day, do you qualify for our 15% off?” instead of thinking ‘yuck, yes’ I will say “That would be delight-full!”
Finding a front parking space, getting to your appointment five minutes early, a hairdresser who hides all your gray, a $5 off coupon for eating out, the way a cat sleeps without a care in the world — these are all, you guessed it, DELIGHT-FULL…
Thinking… What about the verb part? How can we delight others? As in our smiles, words, thoughtful notes, phone calls, emails, encouragement, helping hand, teaching how to make something – with these and many more we can be delight-full to someone else…
I want to hear from you… What delights you? How have you been a delight lately? Join in, leave a comment, you never know – what you share just may delight another – for sure it will be a delight to hear from you…
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