"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful;
for beauty is God's handwriting -- a wayside sacrament.
Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower,
and thank God for it as a cup of blessing."
for beauty is God's handwriting -- a wayside sacrament.
Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower,
and thank God for it as a cup of blessing."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
(A few pics below from my iPhone from this weekend, when my in-laws visited :) We went to Bisbee, a quaint mining town and Tombstone, full of history. We also journeyed up to Mt. Lemmon to see some snow. It was quite an eventful 2 days!)
The quote above is part of what inspired the title of this blog. That, and the intentional quest during a new season of my life, to find beauty in the ordinary and extraordinary moments of my life.
It's easy to focus on the negative a lot of times. Have you ever noticed people's Facebook or Twitter statuses? A lot of the time it's whining. People wanting affirmation that how they feel is valid or that everything is going to be okay.
It was during some much needed girl time last night that the topic of contentment came up. One of my friends in particular has a lot of stuff going on in her life that she could be mad or frustrated at God about. And yet she is the loveliest, most gracious, positive woman. Sure, she has her bad days, but overall I would characterize her as one who is positively thankful-- even during the good and bad times.
During the conversation, we came back to the point that finding beauty in our life is a choice. No one can make us feel it; no one can make us genuinely thankful and content for the blessings that God has given us. It's strictly a choice when we wake up each day to say "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) And feeling joy is certainly an attribute that comes from a life lived rich in God's Word and in prayer because it's when we learn more about who God is that we acknowledge and know that who He is is GOOD.
I once heard that wanting to be in another season of life other than the one that God has placed you in is basically saying to God that what He's doing for you is not good enough.
I'm so guilty of wanting more... wanting the next season NOW. And yet God continually reminds me, during frustrating wrestling matches with Him that He is God, He is good, and that He's got it all in control.
"Thankfulness to God is a recognition that God in His goodness and faithfulness has provided for us and cared for us, both physically and spiritually. It is a recognition that we are totally dependent upon Him; that all that we are and have comes from God."
-- Jerry Bridges
(A few pics below from my iPhone from this weekend, when my in-laws visited :) We went to Bisbee, a quaint mining town and Tombstone, full of history. We also journeyed up to Mt. Lemmon to see some snow. It was quite an eventful 2 days!)
The quote above is part of what inspired the title of this blog. That, and the intentional quest during a new season of my life, to find beauty in the ordinary and extraordinary moments of my life.
It's easy to focus on the negative a lot of times. Have you ever noticed people's Facebook or Twitter statuses? A lot of the time it's whining. People wanting affirmation that how they feel is valid or that everything is going to be okay.
It was during some much needed girl time last night that the topic of contentment came up. One of my friends in particular has a lot of stuff going on in her life that she could be mad or frustrated at God about. And yet she is the loveliest, most gracious, positive woman. Sure, she has her bad days, but overall I would characterize her as one who is positively thankful-- even during the good and bad times.
During the conversation, we came back to the point that finding beauty in our life is a choice. No one can make us feel it; no one can make us genuinely thankful and content for the blessings that God has given us. It's strictly a choice when we wake up each day to say "This is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:24) And feeling joy is certainly an attribute that comes from a life lived rich in God's Word and in prayer because it's when we learn more about who God is that we acknowledge and know that who He is is GOOD.
I once heard that wanting to be in another season of life other than the one that God has placed you in is basically saying to God that what He's doing for you is not good enough.
I'm so guilty of wanting more... wanting the next season NOW. And yet God continually reminds me, during frustrating wrestling matches with Him that He is God, He is good, and that He's got it all in control.
"Thankfulness to God is a recognition that God in His goodness and faithfulness has provided for us and cared for us, both physically and spiritually. It is a recognition that we are totally dependent upon Him; that all that we are and have comes from God."
-- Jerry Bridges
"When we bless God for mercies, we usually prolong them. When we bless God for miseries, we usually end them. Praise is the honey of life which a devout heart extracts from every bloom of providence and grace." -- C.H. Spurgeon
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** I apologize in advance for the lame-o link up tool... I had to pay via PayPal for the LinkyTools and it will take a few days to process, so sorry! :( **
** I apologize in advance for the lame-o link up tool... I had to pay via PayPal for the LinkyTools and it will take a few days to process, so sorry! :( **
Cup Half Full Link Up Party
The goal of this link up party is to have a place where women can come each week and simply link back to posts where they find beauty in their life.
This is not a subject-specific link up party, but simply an overall theme of contented, thankful way of living. I don't really care what you want to link up, as long as it promotes a general positive, thankful, my-cup-is-half-full vibe.
This is not a subject-specific link up party, but simply an overall theme of contented, thankful way of living. I don't really care what you want to link up, as long as it promotes a general positive, thankful, my-cup-is-half-full vibe.
- Link up to your specific blog post, not to your blog's main page.
- Make this an interactive link up party by trying to visit a few other blogs while you're here and stop and show them some love-- because everyone loves comments! :)
- Grab a button or link back to this post so that your blog readers can come and join in on the fun, too!
- Thank you for stopping by!!
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