Beauty in the every day

Blessed to do life with him on daily basis  

Let's face it. Life can be rushed, chaotic, and time passes much too quickly. I have learned to slow down and take a moment to appreciate the beauty in the every day moments.

No matter how long the "to-do" list.

No matter who is waiting on me.

No matter (fill in the blank).

Why?

BECAUSE life passes so quickly and if we don't take the time to pause and see the beauty right in front of us, we will miss it. We will be too busy striving for the next thing that we miss the right now. I know this is not easy, we all have so much to do, and we are so overwhelmed. But, focusing on the beauty that God has given us brings light back into some of those dark places. Instead of giving into those feelings of overwhelmed, I can praise God for the beauty that He blesses me with on a daily basis. 

My day lilies bloom for a day. Sometimes two days and then they die. They only bloom for a short season, some start in May and some start in June. I forget how many months they will bloom. They have been accused of being weeds when they are not blooming. I am not sure how someone can look at them and think weeds, but it is also about perspective. They have never seen them bloom, they have not seen there beauty. They only seem to have a small useful season. However, God is still working on them even when they are not blooming. We can think of life like these day lilies. They are short seasons. We can see the beauty, or we can see the weeds. The choice is ours. We simply have to slow down and shift our perspective. If you look at all the pictures that I include in this post, you will also see that each one is intricately and uniquely made. Just like we are. They each have their own purpose, just as we do. The yellow day lily can't be like the orange and the orange can't be like the pink. We need to stop trying to be like others and be comfortable with who God made us to be!

Another thing that I think is beautiful and brings me joy on a daily basis and makes my life easier, is my new to me couch. I went to my friend's warehouse looking for a loveseat because Matt said we did not have room in our front room for a couch. However, I really wanted a couch, not a loveseat. My  friend said they had several small couches the size of a loveseat. When I got there I looked at the couches and immediately declined the first choice because the back was too low. The second one was comfortable, but was a beige/whitish color. If you know me at all you know it is not going to fly. We had our fill of white walls/furniture when we lived overseas and I need pops of color! Right next to the whitish couch was a red couch. My friend helped me measure it and they were about the same size. I was sure it would fit nicely in the front room so I bought it. Matt wasn't sure of the color or that it would look good with our walls. Once I got it in house he agree it was good :) Then, me being me, bought pillows to decorate it, threw a blanket on it for the dog, and life has been a bit easier as he LOVES being on the couch and will chill for a while so we can read or work! I set up a nice little reading corner with my books too. I love it and it brings me great joy. I also bought an outside dog bowl, which the dog needed, but I bought one that we can all enjoy as he drinks out of it :) We love Peanuts and Snoopy!!!

     

 

Another thing that I found of great beauty today was my clean Home school table and organized bookshelves. They symbolize the fact that I FINALLY caught up with the school year. Elijah's grades and transcripts are done. I have cleaned out years of books that I am obviously not going to use for anything. We have been done with school since the end of April and this has been hanging over my head. I have also ordered the little bit of curriculum that we will need in the fall, so once that gets here I will start planning next school year. Until then, that is one less thing I need to be thinking about. I am super thankful.

 

Another moment that I took a moment to appreciate today was Kayla driving. It is still not something she loves to do, but she is getting more comfortable with it. I am thankful for her and thankful that she is willing to pick Elijah up from work on the days that she does not work. She always has the choice to stay home and take care of the dog or go pick up Elijah, she prefers to pick up Elijah as she NEVER wants to take care of Junior. Works just fine for me 😀 Today I finally taught her how to put gas in her car (we will need a bit more practice) and how to pay for it and go through a car wash. The van had not been washed in forever. The funny thing is that she was so enchanted with it!! She's like "I haven't been through a car wash in YEARS!" But, she had never driven through one, so it was fun to watch her expressions.

   

One more thing I will touch on and then just have a few more pictures at the end of this post. I am thankful for that my kiddos are LOVING their jobs. I still have not taken a picture of Kayla leading worship, but she loves doing that. They also both love working at Chick-fil-A. I love hearing all their stories about work, what they are learning and how nice everyone they work with is. They are both enjoying making friends and learning new things. Kayla said one day that she thought a girl didn't like her (how can anyone not like her?!), but then she said maybe it was just the girls personality. My only complaint is that they have one uniform and Elijah worked 4 days last week and then is in the middle of 5 days in a row this week! That means I am doing laundry EVERY day. Kayla finally ordered them an extra outfit last Friday (and an apron for E because I am using a TON of stain remover for his clothes) and I can't wait until they arrive! Then I won't have to do laundry every day 😀 But, at least I have everything in my house to do the laundry and do not have to go to a laundry mat. It is a beautiful thing and a huge blessing, one I do not take for granted. Plus, with the food and drinks they bring home from work I am also saving money on groceries 😂

  

I hope this post encourages you to find the beauty in your every day. What makes you happy? What brings you joy? I would love to hear your thoughts.