My Simple DayBook-May 21, 2020

Our lives pass swiftly by! 

We must find our own quiet place to discover who we are.

Remembering and recording everyday

 moments are great gifts to leave behind.

The big things are important, but it is in the details

that our story is born.

The telling of the ordinary moments

are the threads from 

which the bigger stories emerge.

These things are important links to the outcome 
of what our posterity will inherit from us.

These Daybook posts are my attempt at it.

Just for today~May 21, 2020

Outside My Window: It is a lovely day.  Birds are singing, there's a cool breeze and our surroundings bring us great comfort in a difficult time.  The above photo is of our backyard and the beautiful raspberry colored umbrellas James got me for Mother's Day.  We have had various colors over the 42 years we have lived here but these are my favorite ones to date.  They just make me happy every time I look out the window or go outside.

Spiritual Thoughts: We are in the middle of the virus, Covid-19.  This pandemic, that has rocked the entire world and brought much uncertainty to the future of all of us in many aspects.  We've been "sheltering in place" now (known as SIP because everything needs an acronym, right?) This has brought with it some really good things and some pretty life-altering behaviors and practices.  The outbreak started in Wuhan, China, and has pretty much spread all over the world. We are only to leave our homes for absolute necessities and then we must wear masks, etc.  All of that is known as PPE or Personal Protective Equipment.  It has been frightening to see the stock market crash and the daily statistics on the deaths of many people all over the world.  It particularly ravages older people and causes major concerns for those with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, heart disease, or asthma.  

The reason I am writing things about what those of us alive already know all too well is that I want to leave some thoughts for future generations in our family.  My spiritual thoughts have centered around praying for protection for all of our loved ones and all those whom we don't know. Also gratitude for prayers that have been answered.

Considering I have been recovering from five surgeries in the last 18 months and ill health for the entire calendar year of 2020, I could easily have been very distraught.  I have been SIP since January 1, 2020.  The whole time I have felt a calmness that the Lord will take care of us and protect us. Faith and hope are such wonderful protection against fear.

Praying for: All of us to be able to sort through the media reports with discerning eyes. We are praying that we will do what is asked of us, in terms of social distancing from others.
This is hard for me I love hugging my people! We are still trying to find creative new ways to minister to others whose needs are greater than our own.  Prayers have been bringing great comfort to Jim and to me as we pray together throughout each day.  We have felt a comforting power in that.

What Can I Do To Make A Difference For People... this is a good question and one I have given a lot of thought to recently!  Ask yourself, what are my gifts?  The things that come so very naturally to me?  How can I use those gifts to bless others?  For me the first thing that came to mind was writing.  

I can lift and bless others through my writing. Like with social media posts on Facebook, my various blogs, and of course one on one correspondence with people. It just flows out of my fingers when I want to express something to someone that I care about.  When I write I can unjumble my thoughts and I love doing it.  People are needing friendship and reassurance now.  I can do that easily from home. And it is so easy for me.  Jim, on the other hand, is out helping some dear friends that are struggling with a life and death issue right now.  We can all find a way to serve in our own ways.

Quotes I Love..."I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear and my courage is reborn."  Anne Frank

And for my family history friends:  "We work with names and places.  Always the names but rarely faces. Sometimes it is easy to forget the face, the heart, the life, and worth of the spirit of just one soul in the eyes of God" Author Unknown

These quotes remind us of the individual...the one.  If we have neglected one of our gifts we need to start with ourselves and then quickly move on the others.  Often what we see that we need has more than one purpose.  It is not just for me or just for them, it is a way to lift us all.  What is your gift or purpose that may have been derailed because of life, in general?

Prettiest Photo on Pinterest Today...

There are many gorgeous photos to choose from but I like this one today.  The babies, our children are the hope of the future.  May we teach them all we can to make them happy, healthy, and productive.  May we teach them to have faith in the Lord and to love and serve others.

Thinking about...how things can just turn on a dime in this life. The only certain thing seems to be that change is always on the horizon.  Sometimes things are boring with sameness and then out of nowhere something changes in a huge way.  Then we long for that old familiar sameness but we may never see it again.  Life is a journey with so much goodness and joy, and also fraught with sorrow and pain and everything in between.  Sometimes it's like a surfer riding a wave.  We just try to keep our strength and our balance and our agility as the waves crash down on us and hope we come out on the other side of it.  We usually do and that is the part we need to concentrate on and remember as we go forward.  Worries have never helped us as much as preparing ourselves temporally and spiritually for what may come.

I Am So Pleased About...the fact that we have been able to adapt to not seeing family and friends by using technology to keep us closer.  Now we are using Zoom to meet with our family twice a month where we can talk and celebrate various things and it has been fabulous. Every other Sunday evening we meet with our kids and all the grandkids.  This is more than we have ever seen all of them with the milage between us all.  We have shared some great times and have even played some games that have been very entertaining. We have felt closer to my brothers and our cousin as well with a dinner date every other Tuesday via Zoom also. Try it, it is fun!  We are also texting more and calling each other more.  We have to find the silver linings in our troubles.

Feeling Excited About...feeling better.

I Must Be Getting Old Because...I am still here!

My Near Future Holds...getting more of everything done now that I am feeling better.

Movies We Have Seen Lately...The Color Purple.  So well done and worth revisiting.  Very sad and thought-provoking.  We also saw Yentl a couple of weeks ago and you can see it free on Youtube.  It was excellent. We are watching the TV series Madam Secretary which is a 6 season great show.  We watch an episode or two every night that we can. And it is almost Friday night again, not sure what movie we will see this week.

Books I'm Reading...I have a bunch of things going with Audible.  I really like it and have a lot to finish before I get anything else that is new. I have a crazy variety of things all cued up depending on my mood at the moment.

A Photo I am Sharing...

Our Neighbor's front yard!

Our birdhouse on our porch banister.  

Two little wrens have featured it for their babies.