"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." --- Romans 15:13
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The older I become (which happens speedily lately), the more I realize it's my responsibility to create a wonderful life. That is, if I want one.
And I do.
For me, it doesn't work to wait for anyone to give me a wonderful life. Oh, sometimes that happens, but it's occasional. No, usually it's up to me to create a life I especially love, me and the Holy Spirit who's the most creative person, ever.
Seriously.
So lately--to make up for 8 months wilting on the red couch--He and I have celebrated health and summer and books and gardening, cleaning house and mornings reading with my feet up on the sunny front porch.
And bookshelves in need of reorganizing and Pinterest and imaginative folks on Youtube. Being able to do laundry and climb stairs, flowers in pots and newly-poured sidewalk. Stocking-up on winter groceries, bottles and jars of food on glass shelves, groceries arriving at the door, snacks and drinks on the porch for delivery people and weekend meals carried right to our red door.
And Autumn's birth on Tuesday!
Sending gift cards or trinkets or books as surprises and praying for friends recovering from illness or discouragement or shock of losing loved ones. And still having this blog after 22 years when some have--whoosh!--lost theirs in a dreadful moment. **
Mine (and probably yours) is a simple life, but oh, the long, long list of what is ours to celebrate.
What remains is for us to keep our steady balance when this world would shake us to the ground in a sad, worried heap.
And we need not go anywhere but to that straight road at whose end is a Heaven waiting with the most wonderful life of all.
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Well, it was a hot summer (big surprise, right?). My leggings were too warm, so I bought these, below, and love them and do not wear them to bed as designed, but rather, all around the house, porch and yard for all to see. heh.
They're part of my creative, repurposing projects and they look nice given the fact of all the weight I've lost due to intermittent fasting, cancer and hyperthyroid issues. Alas. シ
Oh, and on cooler days they also look nice with leggings underneath. Highly recommended.
** Oh dear! Kim's Daisy Cottage blog is gone. All those gloriously colorful posts showing her creative genius using primary reds, yellows and greens with a 70's flair. And the posts of the tours she photographed of her friends' homes, vanished as well.
Typepad is no more, that's why. Darn.
With wild eyes (well ...) I contacted Kim at Instagram, hoping with all my heart she'd downloaded those hundreds of posts elsewhere, but no, she hadn't she sadly told me. I felt so bad for her.
But at least we have her Instagram photos from these past few years as well as some of her older photos online here and there. I was able to gather some into a Pinterest folder here. (You're following me there, right?)
Life goes on, yes. But the place in mine where Kim's blog lived will always remain an empty, much-missed spot, indeed. Though yes, I'm grateful for the years her blog remained online whenever I felt like visiting her special, colorful world.
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Oh. My. Goodness. This guy's home library! Give me one like that and probably I'd never come up from the basement for air. ツ Unbelievable, .
truly. (And like one guy wrote, "The way my jaw dropped at 4:28." Yes, mine, too.)
A tiny house filled with beautiful antiques and paintings. Wow.
Have you ever watched Wise Living After 50? Her money-saving kitchen ideas are awesome, but I really love her vintage-style drawings. Fun and nostalgic!
If you prefer old-fashioned, soft-color decorating.
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" ... recognize the fact that Life is a circle around you, tiny when you're a child, wider and wider ... as you grow older, and narrowing again when you're frankly old. You can keep it from shrinking for a long time, perhaps, but there comes a day when it's better to look on it as a small but enchanted circle and make it as pleasant a spot as you can."
-- from Bubbly on Your Budget by Marjorie Hillis
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Keep moving forward, one creative step at a time. You can do this!
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