It smells like Spring. It reallllly does. Mmmmmmm. I think of past springs and reminisce over the times. What it was like to be younger. The older I get the more complicated life is. And I’m only 25. HA! I have feelings too. I don’t care to think about how much MORE complicated things will get as the years pass by. I am here. I am alive. I am well.

I saw this leaf on the road yesterday as I was taking one of my clients for a ride. I bypassed it and started to think about how I am much like this leaf. So much alive yet still has some beautifying to do. Some conforming. Some growing and changing. This leaf is partly dead, but it’s more alive than dead. Unlike this leaf, I will continue to grow and change and become better. This leaf is separate from the branch and vine, and will die. But I am a branch. And Jesus is the vine. I am alive through Him.

Like a spring plant drinks water from the stem as it filters up, providing nutrients and life and CO2, Jesus and His Word gives me the sustenance that I need.

I didn’t know that daffodils could be so beautiful. They’re everywhere. But if you look at the flower closely, you appreciate the beauty, the design. The delicate petals. The bursting color.

This flower is so tiny. It’s smaller than my pinky fingernail. But it’s so soft, bright, beautiful. Now if only the photo weren’t blurry.

And then we have the cherry tree. Ha, at first I wrote “cheery” tree. It is quite cheery, don’tcha think? Although I think it may be causing some of my allergy symptoms. Oh heck, I’m sure it’s all of the lovely spring things that’s causing them. I never used to be bothered with allergy symptoms before moving to Virginia. What’s the deaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal!!!!!!!!!!! But I’m still delighting. 🙂

And the wishing flower. You may call it a dandelion if you wish. But I call it a wishing flower. I have always made wishes on this little flower. And every time I see it I pick one and make a wish, given the opportunity! There must be 100 little seeds that float out from this one flower.

So then. Spring is here. April will be here tomorrow. I am alive. I am well. Things are blooming all around me for my eyes to see. And so many things are blooming that I can’t see as well! I’m sure of it. 🙂

Happy Springtime! What can you find delight in today?

xoxo <3 V

The clock striking 12:34 is a reminder of the inevitable interconnectedness of the Universe.

The Unity.

What I mean is, you and I, we’re the same. And I need you, wherever you are.

coffee on the screened porch

Dear Reader,

Today could be the last day to

… drink your morning cup of coffee and snuggle into your favorite spot on the couch.

… stroke your dog’s back and greet him with a scratch behind his ears.

… step out onto the back porch and inhale the freshness of the morning breeze

… crack two eggs into a cast-iron skillet and hear the sizzling butter working its’ magic.

… hear the quirky sounds of your best friend over the phone.

… get lost in the pages of a good book.

Every moment of every day is a gift. We are gifted with our eyes to see and ears to hear. We are gifted with our noses to smell and hands to hold and legs to carry. We are gifted with places to stay and food to eat and people to serve and enjoy. But we don’t always think of our days as gifts. In fact, it’s easy to take our days for granted, and we do. We curse our days and call them “bad”. We curse our gifts and compare them to others’ gifts. We crave more than what we have and aren’t satisfied when things don’t go our way.

family & tea

What if every day was really a gift? What if every day was a chance to be joyful about everything?

Even our missed alarms

broken-down cars

humid summers

technical difficulties

lost possessions

hurting bodies

broken relationships

uncomfortable feelings

tolling addictions

and unfair instances?

What if all parts of our lives were gifts to be thankful for — Good and Bad.

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summit of Mt. Monadnock at sunset, 7/16/16

I think they are.

I think we grow, like flowers in a rain storm.

I think we build up — like skyscrapers in a city.

I think we reflect nostalgically, like mirages in the water.

I think it’s all important; the successes and the failures. The losses and the gains. The peaks and the valleys. The ups and the downs. The broken and the healed. The strong and the weak.

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me & my two older brothers, 1994

I think we are all in this together — and the more we bring each other up, the more places we will go. The harder work we endure to live in comfort, the greater the harvest we can enjoy.

But if we don’t enjoy Today, we don’t enjoy tomorrow. I believe that the way we spend our days is the way we spend our lives.

Tag: happiness

Nothing can ruin my day

enjoy Today