Wordless Wednesday

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The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY . . . January 8, 2013

Outside my window . . . still cold this morning, but we supposed to be warmer and mostly sunny. We are moving into another stretch of unseasonably warm weather. One of my pots of bulbs is pushing through the dirt.

I am thinking . . . what a relief it is to be feeling better. I am not 100% yet, but I'm much better than I was even a couple of days ago.

I am thankful . . . for a return to better health. I can't remember the last time I was so ill! I am so thankful to be able to care for my family again. I really missed mothering and wifeing.

In the kitchen . . . last night was Oven Fried Parmesan Chicken, corn pudding, and green beans. Yummy!

I am wearing . . . my flannel robe and slippers.

I am creating . . . still working on afghans although there has been very little crocheting while I was sick. Who knew it was so tiring! I repaired a rosary and finished another one yesterday.

I am going . . . to the Apple store today to find out what to do with a generation 3 iPod touch that doesn't work anymore. And to the Brighton store to look at a new bracelet. I got one for Christmas, but I think I want a different style since the one I got is going to be tight as I add charms and beads to it.

I am wondering . . . about returning to work on telling my story. I've not written about the abuse in quite awhile. I feel I need to write more.

I am reading . . . One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I got this book for Christmas 2011 and am just now getting around to reading it.

I am looking forward to . . . continued improvement in my health and a return to my normal routines.

I am hearing . . . dd chatting and listening to her music . . . quietly.

Around the house . . . I am actually enjoying putting things back in order. Huge kudos to my dd who did an amazing job of taking care of things while I was out of commission.

I am pondering . . . whether of not I can hold on to this more positive outlook that seems to follow an illness. Everything seems better after having been so sick.

One of my favorite things . . . seeing the smile on my husband's face when he surprises me with flowers, like he did yesterday. 

A few plans for the rest of the week . . . a trip to the mall this afternoon and hopefully Bible study tomorrow. That may be about all I can handle this week.

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing . . . 

flowers from dh

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Strivings

I live very much in the present. I have good intentions and expectations, but I'm often stymied by tunnel vision. I forget to stop and look around. I realize I do this in my literal walk as well. I watch each step as I climb a set of stairs. When Alan and I walk at Radnor Lake, I'm more likely to be watching my feet and looking out for roots than to be looking at the beauty and grandeur around me. If it weren't for Alan I'd miss all the deer and turkeys and chipmunks and mushrooms. When I first realized this, it didn't occur to me that I do the same thing in my attitude toward life. I'm so busy looking out for potential pitfalls that I forget to lift up my head and look at the beauty I'm dwelling in already.

I read a lot of blogs. Probably too many, but they have given me much fodder for thought and growth. Yet even when reading emily wierenga or Ann Voskamp, I find myself wishing I had known these things long ago so I could have avoided so many mistakes. "If onlys" will drive you right over the cliff. 

Last night, over a year since asking for and receiving One Thousand Gifts, I finally picked it up to read. And right there in the opening pages I found things:
"His secret purpose framed from the very beginning [is] to bring us to our full glory" (1 Cor. 2:7 NEB -- italics mine). There it was. My word for the year -- PURPOSE.
And then this:
". . . maybe you don't want to change the story, because you don't know what a different ending holds."

My story, my pace, my approach . . . maybe they are all part and parcel of God's secret purpose for ME. And constantly reproving and reproaching myself, maybe that's no different than reproving and reproaching God and His plan.

And so I am reminded again of Scrooge in A Christmas Carol having his epiphany to "live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach." And I pray that in living with purpose I too will allow for such strivings.