“Such is beauty ever ~ neither here nor there, now nor then, neither in Rome nor in Athens, but wherever there is a soul to admire. If I seek her elsewhere because I do not find her at home, my search will prove a fruitless one."
~Henry David Thoreau
Beauty at home. Your home-home, your home church, your home town. If you can't see it there (and it is there....oh, it is there!), then you simply do not have eyes to see.
Pray for the eyes to see.
"They Are What They Contain..."
Here is one thing I know for sure: you can have an amazing house, and it not be a home. A home is far more than an architectural style, far more than its materials, or even its location. A home is the very essence of the people who live there...if the husband and wife truly love each other, there is a winsomeness and a peace in that home.
Another Day is Done
Watching the flooding in Pakistan on television this morning, I was struck by the fragile flower that life is. (I know...this is a heavy way to begin a post - and on my twin daughters' birthday at that! Stick with me, I hope you'll be encouraged.)
Our life is a vapor, Proverbs says, and then it vanishes away. I saw a man in Pakistan, about my age or older, clinging to a large chunk of something, hanging on for dear life, in all those raging flood waters. I will never know if he made it out alive.
But I have him to thank, whoever he is. For some reason, it hit me with vivid reality that life is lived one long day at a time. Thousands of days that man had lived, and it all came down to what may have been his few final minutes. I watched that man, for a moment, and was overwhelmed with the fact that he was born, had a childhood, probably loves someone, or several someones. A lifetime of memories were right there, clinging and fighting just so that one more day could be lived. That man, if he lived, will never again have an ordinary day.
I hope I don't, either.
Someone said "the days are long, but the years are short" and they were exactly right. My life has been lived, thus far, one minute...one hour...one day at a time. I was born, I had a childhood, I've learned a few things and loved a whole lot of people. Countless moments, one after another, add up to what is my whole life today. Much effort, many prayers, tears, laughter, pain, and joy have gone into my one life already.
And it could easily be all over in a matter of minutes.
The human body cannot go ten minutes without oxygen. In ten short minutes, my whole life, all its hours and its days and its years, could be finished. Final. Any thoughts yet unspoken or unwritten would die with me, unexpressed. Memories that are mine alone will slip into eternity with me, they will not be left behind in a box or gathered up with my things. Why do we not spend more time reminiscing? The Lord has been so good, and I am commanded to remember! So that my children, and their children, will remember. So that my friends will not forget.
Anything, to be remembered collectively, must be talked about, and more than once. Time has to be taken, around dinner tables and over telephones, and in cars and in front of the fireplace. Moments must be stolen back, and memorials made to the faithfulness of God. "Remember when...??"
And how about these words: "I love you."
And, "I am sorry. Let's begin fresh, slates wiped clean. You - a spouse, a parent, child, or a friend and child of God - you with an eternal spirit, you are far too important to be abandoned this way, and I want to come back and rebuild that which is eternal: our relationship. Quick! Hurry, let us go back to loving each other before the sun goes down, and this one precious day is over!"
Fragile woman, I am. Because my life is as a vapor, no day is ordinary. Every day is a gift. Life is far, far too short to not place urgent and immediate value on my relationships. Theoretically, in less than ten minutes, all that has been left unsaid, will never be said, this side of heaven. Every wrong not made right, will be left just as it stands in the heart and memory of someone I say I care about.
This day was not ordinary. It was not common. It was filled with the atmosphere of eternity, and loaded with value. I pray I have invested it well.
Because I will, one day, stop breathing. Less than ten minutes from that moment, I leave it all behind. Ten short minutes.
I began it by filling the house with sunflowers - always sunflowers for my girls' birthday.
Stopped by this shop
For a dozen of these. Oh...my...heavens. So good.
Justin and Hannah brought this home from an antique shop today. Timothy Paul will be joining us for dinner here, by this time next year.
Dad and a few of his kids, playing "that game".
And playing...and playing...(it is nearly eleven, as I type, and they are playing it again!)
Happy Birthday, my Sarah Howe! Your first birthday as a married woman, and you are more beautiful than ever. As the sunflowers will always say, "I am so proud of you!"
No...it has been no ordinary day. Tomorrow will also be absolutely stunning in its unique opportunities and responsibilities. The sunrise will be God's encore of the miraculous. The moment my eyes open, it will be time to be about the business of loving God and loving people. Oh, God! May I live tomorrow's minutes and hours with full awareness of their worth!
It's A....
Tim and I drove our daughter Hannah and her husband to their ultrasound appointment...
....a little bit of a hike to the doctor's office...
Hannah decided to tell her mother and father-in-law by baking cupcakes with either blue filling or pink filling inside the cupcake! Guess what color icing was in this delicious dessert?
Yes! Our very first grandbaby, who shall be named Timothy Paul McConnell, is doing very well!
::squeal::
IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!
It seems to me I've loved you since the day your mother was born. I am beside myself with gratitude and joy! You are being born into what is becoming a long line of Bible teachers and preachers. Your great grandfather Gilreath , your grandfather Atchley, your daddy (a Bible teacher in the making)...and now you. You truly have "a goodly heritage".
Should the Lord tarry, I plan to live to be a ripe, old age. I love you now, and I will love you even more then. My prayer prints have been all over you, since before you were conceived. Soon, I will hold you for the very first time. You may have been a surprise to your parents, but I've been expecting you for almost as long as I can remember. We are going to have a ton of fun together. Hope you like to be read to. (And fish, and shoot guns, but those are papaw Atchley and papaw McConnell things...)
I can't wait for you to meet all my friends. They are all excited to know you are on the way. I can't wait to see your momma and daddy bring you to your church, that very first Sunday. I can't wait to see you take your first steps, hear you say your first words, hear you preach your first sermon. And play your first song.
I am blessed and highly favored. Take good care of yourself, and we'll see you sometime during the Christmas season!
I love you to the moon, little man!
Grandmommy
Guess Who Has Photo Shop?
Shop!
I've already had a brief, basic tutorial this evening after worship practice, from son-in-law Jonathan. Hannah can also teach me a lot, from her days as merchandising manager at Goody's...she did all sorts of cool stuff with this program every day!
I'm sooooo excited. This is one of the pictures I've worked on so far...all I did was make the background black and white, and re-color my daughter Sarah and I, on her wedding day.
This is a learning curve unlike any other. Whew.
Tomorrow!
Tomorrow, we find out whether our first grandbaby is a girl or boy! Hannah asked me to accompany her and Justin to her ultrasound appointment. Can't wait, can't wait...
Of course, I'll be jumping on here to tell the world!
Of course, I'll be jumping on here to tell the world!
"The Trouble With Scotland..."
...is that it's full of Scots!" (line from the movie Braveheart)
Actually, we love Scotland and her Scots. This precious man and his equally precious wife will be staying with us here at the cottage all of next week. This time, the blessing is mine!
::cheers, confetti::
I'm preparing what is, in this case, a literal "prophet's quarters". Knee deep in meal planning, guest room fluffing, birthday preparations (my girls' birthday is Saturday) and preparing my own message for the Master Builder's International Conference next week, I am busy in a blessed-and-highly-favored sort of way.
All the way from Scotland, Joe and Yvonne Ewen will be at Harvest Church on Sunday, August 8th. If you are anywhere within the vicinity, you won't want to miss it!
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