Glittering Mica

“Life is made up of moments, small pieces of glittering mica in a long stretch of gray cement.  It would be wonderful if they would come to us unsummoned, but particularly in lives as busy as the ones most of us lead now, that won’t happen.  We have to teach ourselves how to make room for them, to love them, and to live, really live.”  Anna Quindlen (A Short Guide to a Happy Life) quoted by Katie Couric in The Best Advice I Ever Got   p. 228

These past days and weeks have been filled with these small pieces of glittering mica.  In fact, some of them were rather large pieces of glittering mica.  Truly filling my soul.  And for that, I give thanks to God.  And to those who have been a part of providing the opportunities to see the glittering.  I am so blessed.

Here are those pieces of glitter that have brightened my life.  The list of 1000 gifts continues.  (Some photos will be added once I am home on my own computer.)

291) the generosity of others

292) a Stampede BBQ 

293) the opportunity to catch up with people I hadn't seen in years

294) the sound of my name coming from the mouths of children I love

295) praying with children as they go to bed

296) God watering my garden with rain

297) field of pink along the highway

298) glorious scenery - rolling hills of green

299) sitting in the shade looking at a peaceful, idyllic lake

300) sounds of fish jumping in the lake

301) two turtles sunning themselves on a rock

302) children chattering as they "play" with crayfish

303) little fish swimming in the lake

304) turtle poking his head out of the water

305) remnants of history - old buildings with great character

 306) surprise detours/changes in plans

307) shade and a breeze on a hot summer day

308) sunshine sparkling in the ripples on the lake

309) the smell of freshly mowed grass

310) watching a turtle swim, climb on a log, and bask in the sun

Company has come, so I'll pause to visit.


Visit is done. It was good.


311) 2 deer watching us walk by
312) double rainbow
313) ginger lemonade frozen yogurt - YUM!
314) canola fields in the morning sun
315) watching a hawk dip into the lake and fly away with a fish in its talons
316) watching a turtle gather courage to climb back onto a log
317) sunny ripples in the water
318) watching a badger watch us as we were hiking
319) laying on the grass and watching the clouds
320) sitting cozily in the front of the boat exploring the lake
321) the delightful invigorating smell of the woods
322) the magnificence of the osprey keeping watch over its nest
232) the full moon and a clear starry night
324) the crackle of the campfire
325) watching 2 beautiful birds play with each other - one with a blue head and one with a red chest (not a robin)
326) nights that are cool enough to warrant the use of an extra blanket
327) cool, crisp summer mornings with the promise of a beautiful summer day to come
328) watching mist rise off the lake in the early morning sun
329) the magnificence of lightning during a thunderstorm
330) the comfort of shelter during a thunderstorm
331) the magic and mystery of a misty summer morning on the lake

332) the sound of birds' wings flapping as they fly by
333) how fast dragonfly's wings move - so fast you can't see the wings as the dragonfly flies by
334) the glorious yellow of canola fields ripening - against the backdrop of blue sky and darkening storm clouds

335) coming in to hugs from parents
336) a sister's delight when I answer the phone at our parents' house
337) an evening walk with my dad
338) the North Saskatchewan River valley as a backdrop for a morning walk

339) getting the Q on a triple letter score - and getting to double it with two words
340) an evening with family - celebrating the engagement of a cousin
341) hearing stories from the family's past
342) visiting with a family friend over coffee and tea
343) a sister's delight at progress on a task
344) remembering the gift of spending time with others - laughing and getting to know them so much better (Thanks, C.V., H.T., G.J., S.B., and R.B.)

Punctuation

If you asked anyone at work about what I thought about punctuation, you would likely be told that I'm a little bit of a stickler for correct punctuation.  I don't know if I particularly like the word stickler, but I will admit that it can almost be painful when I see some punctuation errors (especially when it comes to apostrophes).  So when I saw that there was a test on the internet to see what kind of punctuation mark I am, I thought it would be fun to try.  If you want to try it, click here.  I even did it just now, wondering if my answers would be any different.  They may have been, but the result was the same.  Here is what I was told.


You Are a Comma

You are open minded and extremely optimistic.  You enjoy almost all facets of life.  You can find the good in almost anything.  You keep yourself busy with tons of friends, activities, and interests.  You find it hard to turn down an opportunity, even if you are pressed for time.  Your friends find you fascinating, charming, and easy to talk to.  (But with so many competing interests, your friends do feel like you hardly have time for them.)

You excel in: Inspiring people

You get along best with: The Question Mark

I'm not sure if everything there is exactly true, but I do like what it says.  (Although I have no idea what it means to get along with a question mark.  I wonder what a question mark is like.)

I did manage to keep myself busy with friends and activities this week.  The activities were mostly walking and enjoying meals together, but a little sewing and reading did get done as well.  My fridge even got cleaned and my lawn got mowed, but those aren't exactly enjoyable pasttimes.  Just necessary ones.

Along the way this week, I received more gifts from God.
269) carrot ginger cashew soup
270) breakfast on the front step enjoying the morning sun

 271) walks and visits with friends - the gifts who are next on my list

272) KV

273) WA

274) HM-W

275) JN

276) GJ

277) JR

278) SB

279) JK

280) mosquito spray

281) learning bits and pieces about the amazing bodies God gave us

282) exercises that can help muscles relearn their work

283) physiotherapists who can teach the previous two gifts

284) virtual hugs through e-mails (thanks, KR)

285) whimsical sculptures

 286) Alberta landscape

287) flowers

288) annual day out with friends - to kickstart summer - held at the Saskatoon Farm this year

289) surprise hitch-hiker on my foot

290) the delight of discovering, while making this list, just how many gifts there have been in the last few days!

Moments of Happiness

"Happiness is not one long continuous state of being.  Like life itself, happiness is made up of moments.  Some are fleeting, lasting no longer than the length of a sweet song, yet the sum total of those moments can create a glow that sustains you."     Susan Wiggs in The Goodbye Quilt    p. 117

I was once asked if I was happy.  I had to take a few moments to think about that, wondering what the definition of happiness was.  Did I smile all the time?  Did I enjoy everything I did?  Does happiness mean bliss?  The answer to each of these was, for me, definitely "No."  But does that mean I wasn't happy?  In the end, I answered that I was happy, qualifying it (not sure why I felt I had to do that) by saying that I was content.  My life is good, filled with a job I love, wonderful friends, a community where I belong, and an abundance of blessings from God.

As I've walked through these past months, I would now answer that "Yes, I am happy."  And I think the quote above is more what happiness means to me.  Taking the time to notice and enjoy the moments and the gifts has enriched my life and helped me really see the multitude of gifts God sends my way each day.  Do I always smile?  No.  Do I always love everything I do?  No - I mean really, taking out the garbage?  BUT my life is filled with moments of grace and blessing.

Here are some more of those gifts, part of the happiness that sustains me.

245) clean air

246) word pictures such as this one -

"There is a story about two small roads that ran side by side. They chatted as they wound in and out of country places, laughing with the brook, sighing with the wind, and resting now and then along the level knolls. There they watched the trees put on their green gloves in springtime, raise their leafy umbrellas for summer shade, wind tawny shawls around their shoulders in autumn, and lace their limbs with snowflakes when winter came." Emilie Barnes in Walk With Me Today, Lord p. 145

247) feeling strong and energetic
248) flowers that close up at night and open in the morning
249) when life doesn't go as planned and pleasant surprises pop up
250) dinner with loves ones in the evening sun - overlooking a beautiful fountain and golf course
251) thanks from others
252) help from others - coming home and finding a crew raking the grass (thanks K.W.)
253) sitting on the step enjoying time and cold drinks with that same crew
254) going back to work (even if only for 2 days before being on summer holidays - or maybe because of that)
255) spontaneous walks in Griffith Woods with dear friends (thanks, S.B. and J. N.)
256) deer bounding across the pathway
257) a glorious summer morning, complete with walk and tea on the front step
258) celebrating the great country I am blessed to call home

259) bumping into friends and enjoying a picnic lunch in the park

260) iridescent colours on bubbles floating through the air

261) a BBQ with great friends

262) roasted red pepper hummus

263) the first strawberries of the season, fresh from the plants in my backyard

264) voices harmonizing in song

265) a new song that contains words that echo my experience (Jesus, Draw Me Ever Nearer)

266) irises and

267) tiger lilies

268) water droplets on flowers



Room in My Brain

I am truly enjoying this time where I have room in my brain to read some of the books that have been gathering dust on my shelves for a very long time.  I will admit to a bit of a book fetish and an incredible "need" for books.  I have been trying not to purchase books and to use the library.  And to some degree I have succeeded.  But I still have shelves full of books waiting for me to read.  (And yet, I have been going to the library on a ridiculously regular basis recently.)  Enough rambling.  Time to get to the point.

This morning I began a book that has already completely grabbed me.  I've only read the first little bit (and 15 of those were the introduction), and already there are 4 green post-it notes (on 15 pages) telling me to keep these thoughts and go back to them.  The book is by Carolyn Arends and is called Wrestling with Angels - Adventures in Faith and Doubt.  I know that I am a bit of an addict to her music.  And I like her blog.  And now, I might become a bit of an addict to her writing.  Hmm.  Wonder if she's written any other books?

Here is some of what I loved this morning.

"I was coming up with a mass of contradictions.  Life is short - don't waste a minute of it.  Life is long - don't rush it.  Life is cruel - watch your back.  Life is beautiful - open your heart.  I kept looking for the cohesive overview, a way to organize each of my observations into a neat outline.  But if one exists, I didn't find it.  Life is messy.  Life is a mystery."    p. 36

"...Life is worth living because of the God who made it.  A God who - if we look for Him at all - will keep surprising us with His presence in the midst of the craziness we've made of this world."  p. 37

"...My life has so far consisted mostly of a serious of seemingly routine moments, completely unremarkable except for the fact that the God of the Universe chooses to encode Himself in even the most mundane aspects of our lives."  p. 40

And, now I think I need to go listen to some of her music.  And be inspired to see God at work in my life.

P.S.  The fourth post-it note reference is being saved for another day.

Inspirations from Soul Survivor

I've been reading Soul Survivor by Philip Yancey.  In this book he tells about people who have helped him see what it truly means to be a follower of Christ.  The subtitle of the book is How My Faith Survived the Church.  Quite an interesting book to read.  And now I am inspired to read some other authors.  Authors I had heard of, but to be honest I thought they were a bit "heady" for me.  I just usually prefer lighter types of reading.  But now I want to read some of Annie Dillard's books and some of Frederich Buechner's books.  I didn't even know that Buechner wrote novels.  Here's a bit of what Yancey wrote about them.

It’s all a matter of keeping my eyes open. Beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will sense them. The least we can do is try to be there…so that creation need not play to an empty house. Annie Dillard quoted by Philip Yancey in Soul Survivor p. 232


What is the particular brand of holiness each day brings? Annie Dillard summarized by Philip Yancey in Soul Survivor p. 234


We go to nature once we have our theology and let her fill the words – awe, glory, beauty, terror – with meaning. Philip Yancey in Soul Survivor p. 235


Separate yourself from your work. A book you made isn’t you any more than is a chair you made, or soup. It’s just something you made once. If you ever want to make another one, it, too, will be just another hat in the ring, another widow’s mite, another broken offering which God had long understood is the best we humans can do – we’re forgiven in advance. Annie Dillard quoted by Philip Yancey in Soul Survivor p.246


In searching for God, many people tend to look for the miraculous and supernatural. Instead we should be attending to the ordinary: waking and sleeping and above all dreaming, what we remember and what we forget, what makes us smile and what makes us cry, what delights and what depresses us. In the most commonplace events of a day, God speaks. Frederick Buechner summarized by Philip Yancey in Soul Survivor p. 259


These quotes remind me to see God in the ordinariness of my life.  It is so easy to be blinded to what we see and experience everyday.  But when my eyes are opened and my mind is ready, I am so richly blessed as my heart and mind are pointed to God by what I see and experience in my life!

1000 Gifts

And the list of 1000 gifts goes on...

225) a few raindrops while walking which inspired me to shorten my route and make it inside before the skies opened up
226) random gift of a movie coupon while standing in line to pay for a movie
227) dinner and movie with a friend
228) chance encounter at a coffee shop
229) joining small group for devotions
230) long summer nights
231) a warm sunny day
232) no pain after somewhat strenuous activity
233) watching a bird hop across the grass
234) child's delight in planting carrots and watering the rows
235) clean windows - on the inside now, too!
236) a clean house, thanks to a friend's generosity
237) people willing to bend the rules and accommodate individual circumstances
238) a walk and laughs with a friend (40 minutes and no pain!)
239) the smell of freshly chopped herbs
240) new perspective after a man I met walking commented on how he used to be fit like me and better able to walk
241) clean water to drink
242) being able to cook dinner for a friend
243) a Saturday afternoon nap
244) playing Scrabble with a friend

Spiritual Slothfulness

One blog I check regularly is Wrestling with Angels by Carolyn Arends, a musician and writer.  Her recent entry was pretty thought-provoking (as they usually are).  You can read her whole post here.  Several times as I read (and re-read) her words, I found myself saying (well, thinking) "Ouch."

"Pay attention to God. If I don't, I'm guilty of spiritual sloth, no matter how hard I'm working. ....

Attending takes time without offering quantifiable results. It requires stillness in a culture that rewards industriousness. It's inefficient in a world that considers getting things done next to godliness......

God is not looking for leaders who take matters into their own hands. He values faithfulness over efficiency. It's no good to organize the whole world yet be oblivious to the God who created it and holds it together. ....

My job is to pay attention."    quotes from Carolyn Arends' blog.

I've had time these last months to pay attention.  And it has been so good for me.  I have been able to see and experience God and His presence in so many ways.  I don't have to go back to work for awhile, but I'm already starting to wonder how I can maintain some of what I have been able to do and the good habits I have been blessed to be able to cultivate.  Because I do want to continue to pay attention - to avoid spiritual sloth.  And not only do I want to do this.  I need to do this.  Maybe that is the first step - realizing it's a need and not a want.  Awareness is the first step, but I also need to consciously work to pay attention and see God.  A second step in paying attention is, for me, to continue to list the gifts I see from God. 

The list of gifts.....
214) smell of lilacs as I pass by
215) sunshine in the evening after a day of rain
216) glimpsing a rainbow while walking in the drizzle
217) curly hair that gets curlier in the rain
218) clean windows
219) fresh haircut
220) watching a 3-legged dog galumphing through a patch of dandelion seed heads
221) the word galumphing
222) shaved asparagus pizza

223) living in a country where women are free

224) making cards