Small but Significant

30 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

“I strive for a sense of optimism, a feeling that as small as I am, what I am doing still matters in the scheme of things.”

p. 41, Finding Water  Julia Cameron

As I start my Friday and head into the weekend I find myself reflecting on the past few weeks.  It seems like a flurry of activity.  Rain today makes decisions for me.  I must work indoors today.  That is okay with me, as there is plenty to do.

I plan to be aware again this weekend of the many beautiful things in my world and fill up another “basket of beauties”. 

The grass is so vibrantly green it nearly glows!  That is one beauty for my basket. 

Have you noticed the forsythias and flowering crab apples trees around town?  They are way ahead of schedule, just as eager for spring as we are.

The magnolia trees are in bud and ready to pop open any minute. 

petunias on the porch saying Good Morning

Praying for a friend today

29 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

A friend and her family is in need of prayer today.  She taught me a few years ago that there are no “He loves me not” with God.  He only has “I love you, I love you, I love you”.  So today I’m praying for lots of His love and comfort flowing around her.  This collage I made was inspired by her daisies.  Blessings today my dear friend.

Musings on a Psalm

28 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized

Psalm 63:5:  “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.”

This is such a beautiful verse for a soul such as mine.  A soul that struggles with food.  A soul that uses food to satisfy longings that have nothing to do with hunger.

The psalmist is proclaiming to be satisfied with the LORD, soul-satisfied.  I want to learn to be that satisfied with the Lord, the kind of lingering pleasure in Him.

I know when I’ve had a really great meal, with tasty food, well-cooked, well-seasoned.  I know the kind of lingering delight that stays with me.  Lip-smacking, finger-licking, yummy-in my tummy goodness.  A meal I might remember for days.  A meal I want to repeat again.

That is the kind of satisfaction. 

Chew on this for awhile (pun intended!): In order to have soul filling God goodness, I have to give my lips and mouth something else to do besides eating.  Instead of “smacking”  my lips should be singing!  Instead of chewing, my mouth should be praising!

This week, I hope and pray that each of you, my dear friends, will be able to find some healthy substitutes for the habits that get you side-tracked.  Search God’s word and find a verse, like I did here, and cling to the hope you find.

Share it and pass on the blessings!

Love and peace, Vicki

Consciously Choose or Unconscious Lapses

27 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

One of the greatest freedoms we have as human beings is the freedom to choose.   It is a freedom given to us by our Creator whether we acknowledge one or not.  Even people who don’t recognize their Creator are making a choice!

One of the  greatest bondages we shackle ourselves to as human beings is living unconsciously.  Maybe eating the first candy bar is a choice, but the next eleven go down unconsciously.  It’s like living in a trace-like state.

To live a life fully inhabited, I need to be more conscious, more aware of the moment to moment choices that I make.  One of the best choices I can make is  to commit my life and will to God’s care and control.

I make hundreds of choices every day.  Big choices and insignificant choices.  Sometimes the little insignificant choices become a habit.  That habit can become destructive.  A destructive habit can inflict more damage over a lifetime than one big bad choice.

When I feel like I have no choices left to me a situation, that’s when I feel hopeless.

I need to be reminded that I always have a choice.  It is never too late.  No matter how many bad choices I’ve made, I can always get a fresh start and  begin making better, wiser choices. 

2 Corinthians 1:9  “Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death.  But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God. . .”

Proverbs 3:6 “In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.”

My grandmother used to tell me “Make it a good day.”  That stuck with me and made me realize I had a choice.  I try to remember that even on days when not so much good is happening, I can choose to MAKE it a good day.

So much depends on attitude.  And my attitude IS MY CHOICE!

Make your day a good day today,

Blessings, Vicki

Shoes

26 Mar 2012 1 Comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

I’d like to say some things about shoes.  It is generally assumed that all women LOVE shoes.  However, there are subdivisions among the shoe-lover women that I know.  There are those who can walk into any store that sells shoes and find cute, adorable, fashionable shoes.  They can actually try the shoe on in their size from the nice little boxes the stores keep in the back room or right in the showroom.  They can buy these shoes and immediately wear them.  All the while, they are oohing and aahing over “how cute is this?”.   Then there are the comfort shoe creatures.

These are the women with challenged feet.  They have fallen arches, bunions, corns, blisters, extra wide feet,  arthritis, sensitive heels, sensitive toes, crooked toes, fungus toes.  These women look for shoes that will cradle their tender little paws in softness and air pillows, not patent leather or leapard print.  These women don’t look for five inch spike heels, they look for no heels.  They look for treads on the bottom for traction in icy weather.  They love shoes, but they love them for comfort.

I happen to have challenged feet.  I happen to be friends with women who are in the first paragraph.  I go to stores with them while they shop for shoes.  I look around and admire.  I wince, I cringe.  I cannot try any of them on.  I silently wonder how anyone can or would want to wear some of these monstrosities.  I love my friends and envy their shoe buying abilities.

I have to shop in special stores where the prices are not friendly to the budget-challenged, as I am also.  I can afford one new pair of shoes a year at a store like that.  I can shop online for shoes that will accomodate my challenges, but I cannot try them on.  It just doesn’t seem fair.

I am dreaming of making shoes for myself out of bubble wrap and duct tape.  Imagine the endless possibilites.    I could design with different size bubbles, different colors of duct tape, open toes for summer, extra layers for winter.   I could even add velcro for flair and perfect fit.  They could be bedazzled for special occasions.  Do you think it is a trend that would catch like wildfire?  Soon everyone could make their own shoes!

Psalm 40:2b “he set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”  Thanks, Lord, that’s what I need:  a firm place to stand, not staggering on tippy stiletos.  And I don’t want shoes that make my feet look like rocks.

Time to Dig Up Weeds

23 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

I am thinking about digging up weeds today.  After a beautiful rain like we had last night and this morning, the ground will be nice and soft.  The weeds will come up like melted butter.  If you’ve ever dug up weeds, especially dandelions and thistles, you know that getting the roots out is crucial.

If you don’t get the root, the weed will just grow right back.  I like to use a little gardening tool I call my dandelion digger.  When you stab it into the ground right next to the root of the dandelion and then lean the tool into the root, it snaps off with a very satisfying crunch.  It’s an addicting activity.  And then you viciously pull that bugger right out of the ground and say, die, die!  Pulling dandelions is also a great activity for burning off anger issues!

There are some correlations here between pulling up weeds in the garden and pulling up “weeds” in my life.  “Weeds”  like unhealthy behaviors, bad attitudes, negative thinking, etc.  I could just try to deal with the issues in a superficial way, like just put on a happy face mask and pretend nothing is wrong.  I’m fine, really.  That is much like just taking dandelion leaves or flowers and leaving the root in the ground.  The root grows in deeper and stronger and pretty soon the leaves and pretty yellow flowers are back for another season.

If I want change in my life that is lasting, if I really want to be rid of bad behaviors for good, I’ve got to get down to the root.  I have to do a little digging to discover why I sabotage myself.  When I get the root of the matter, I can expose it to the Light and the Son.  Like a dandelion plant dug up by the root, if I leave it out on the driveway to bake in the light and the hot sun, it will shrivel and die.  So, too, my bad habit, dug up by the root, exposed to the Light of God’s word and the Son, it will shrivel and die.

Then there will be room to plant desireable plants:  lush flowers, yummy vegetables, sweet fruits.

Happy digging today!

Blessings, Vicki

Two Piles of Mulch

22 Mar 2012 3 Comments

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized Tags: , , ,

Well the big pile of mulch arrived yesterday.  At first we just stared at it.  Then we walked around it to take it all in.  It smelled.  It smelled of rot, cedar, and manure.  I’m surprised the neighbors stayed indoors (written with sarcasm).  It didn’t look THAT big.  We could take on this pile of mulch.  It didn’t hurt that our strong, strapping twenty-something son showed up to change the oil in his car and felt sorry for us.  He went home and brought over another wheelbarrow and helped for almost two hours.

Two hours later, after “one shovelful at a time”, the pile looked about the same size!  I was starting to feel overwhelmed.

It’s all a matter of perspective.  If I choose to look at the areas where we applied the mulch, it looks beautiful.  Almost like professional landscaping.  Almost.  If I choose to look at the big pile of mulch still left, I feel defeated.  When I choose to dwell on how stiff and sore I feel this morning after shoveling, pushing the wheelbarrow, and raking, I think “I’m way too old for this”.

I have another “big pile of mulch” I’m dealing with in my life right now.  It’s fifty pounds of overweight.  I’m trying to get rid of it “one shovelful at a time.”  I’ve been attacking this pile for a month.  So far, seven pounds are gone.  Its one day at a time, one moment at a time, one meal at a time, one pound at a time.  Its one prayer at a time.  A big pile remains.

So, I have to keep a good perspective.  It’s easy to be overwhelmed with the pounds still to lose.  A lot of hard work and sweating will be involved.  When I choose to look at what seven pounds lost has done for me, its a beautiful thing.  Clothes are too big, I have more energy, I’m eating healthier, I feel better.

Here’s to the start of another great day of shoveling big piles of mulch “one shovelful at a time”.  I think getting rid of one pile will help me get rid of the other.  Lots of hard work and sweating is involved.  Anyone want to come and help?

Happy Sweating,

Vicki

P.S.  Remember:  sweat is just FAT crying!

The Big Pile of Mulch

21 Mar 2012 3 Comments

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized

It would be nice to know when the huge pile of mulch is coming.  We called to order the delivery and they said they would call us, and someone needed to be home when it was delivered.  But which day?  We were on stand-by.

Now, when a big pile of mulch is coming, I would like to be prepared.  There’s some old ratty garden clothes to find.  Some old shoes.  The work gloves.  We need to dig out the wheelbarrow, the shovel, the rake.  We might need to warn the neighbors.  And when a big pile of mulch is coming, I like to be prepared.  I might put off other strenuous chores so I have the energy to tear into the mulch.  I might have to reschedule appointments or prepare dinner ahead of time.  Did I mention that I like to be prepared?

I started thinking that sometimes life just dumps a great big pile of mulch on your front lawn without calling ahead of time to warn you that its coming.  I hate that, don’t you.

I like to be prepared.  Sometimes life happenings just don’t give you much warning.

I don’t have any deep theological arguments to give you or me that can put it all in perspective.  I’ll leave that to the theologians.

My plan is to just prepare what I can ahead of time and then just enjoy the days.  When the big pile of mulch comes, I’ll know it.

And then we tackle the pile one shovel at a time.

And the big piles of trouble or bad news that get dumped in our lives, I think, have to be handled in a similar way. 

If you are prepared by having a right relationship with God, good relationships with others, then enjoy life!

When the big pile of bad news arrives, you will know it.  And then you handle it one shovelful at a time. 

“Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Jesus, in the New Testament, Matthew 6:28

Have a worry-free day, Vicki

Life: Fully Inhabited

20 Mar 2012 1 Comment

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized

                                “But I am living one life in particular, and that life must be fully inhabited for me to thrive as an artist.”  Julia Cameron, Finding Water   p. 38

 

I found this quote  last week while reading this book on creativity.  I really like this quote.  I think it applies to all human beings, not just artists or those aspiring to be artists.  I have thought about this all week:  what does it mean for me to live a life fully inhabited?  Is my life fully inhabited?

I can answer the second question more readily.  I live partially inhabited.  Part of me lives like I want to live someone else’s life.  I don’t always embrace the life I have. 

Even writing that, I cringe.  In writing that, I have to admit to petty jealousies,  small envies, and blatant ungratefulness.

So, what will I do to fully inhabit my life?  LONG PAUSE  Honesty:  I have to start with confession. 

            Lord, I’m sorry for not fully appreciating the life I have.  I’m sorry for sticking my nose over the fence to sniff around someone else’s newly mown lawn.  I’m sorry for thinking that lawn doesn’t have weeds and it’s not fair!

Next, I have to realize I have the rest of my whole life to fully inhabit it.

I don’t have to do everything on my “bucket list” today.  I can pace myself.  Start small.

I don’t have to have it all figured out today.  Whew!  All that I have to do is the next right thing.

I intend to spend the rest of my life discovering what it means to fully inhabit my life.

“Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  Paul, letter to the Ephesians chapter 5,verse 15. 

 

 

Basket of Little Beauties: the conclusion

19 Mar 2012 3 Comments

by lifefullyinhabited in Uncategorized

Some beautiful things I noticed this weekend:

Changing bedding from flannel to cotton

Dragging out summer clothes.  In March! (and they fit!)

A new bird’s nest under the porch rafters

The earth oozing with life: bugs, birds, bunnies, buds

Warm days, cool nights, low humidity, sunshine:  my favorite weather!

All my houseplants are sporting new leaves and really leaning toward the light from nearby windows

Buying potting soil and pansies.  In March! 

Some people this weekend were worrying about whether the weather would hold.  Will we get snow again?  Will this last?  Is it really spring?  Summer? 

I don’t really care, I tried to fully inhabit the beauty that surrounded me each and every moment. 

I hope you did too!

Blessings, Vicki

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