“Your words have the power to hurt or heal. Choose to be an encourager; the world already has plenty of discouragers.” Tonight I went for my bike ride along my typical trail. I don’t aspire to be a competitive rider, but I do try to put everything I can into my workouts. But, as with…
Category: blessings
My Buddy the Diva
Lord, give me the heart of a child, and the awesome courage to live it out as an adult. — Catherine Doherty A few months ago, I became a Big Sister to a sassy, sweet, and altogether adorable 7-year old. Essentially, I’m allowed to be a big kid and friend — and I get to…
It is Well With My Soul
“I love myself for I am a beloved child of the universe and the universe lovingly takes care of me now.” – Louise Hay Today I went on a really long bike ride along my usual trail. It was all pretty standard at first — 98 degrees, sun blazing, my skin and clothes grimy and sweaty. I knew…
So Over It
This was the scene at the foot of my bed this morning. Violet wanted nothing to do with daylight or consciousness. When I pulled up the covers to make the bed, she was dragged right along with it. The girl is totally over this week. Me, too, honey. Me, too. Today I was grateful for: 1….
Cheat Sheet…
I had to laugh when I received my daily email from Tiny Buddha this morning with the subject “100 Reasons to be Grateful Today.” I had just said in yesterday’s blog post that I wanted to start working on a gratitude list. Only mine wasn’t as ambitious as a list of 100 things. I could…
21 Days of Gratitude
I’ve been slacking on the blog front lately — and on the gratitude front. So I’ve decided to do a 21-day gratitude commitment to help me with both. I’ll list three things each day for which I am grateful for 21 days. (It’s a tool rooted in Shawn Achor’s 5 ways to create positive change.)…
Are We There Yet?
“Small progress is still progress.” – unknown This weekend brought a road trip to Kansas City to see my bestie — and my second half marathon of the year, the Hospital Hill Half. My bestie and her family were at the start line by 6:30 in the morning to see me off. It was a…
Free Inspiration
One of the best parts about exploring Washington D.C. is that you’re never inhibited by cost. Practically every museum, monument, and attraction offers free admission, so you can discover amazing gems in venues that you wouldn’t have stumbled upon otherwise. And this gem turned out to be my favorite discovery of the trip. We dropped by…
A Quick Adventure – Part II
Combined with my jaunt through the National Zoo, I covered more than 11 miles on foot yesterday. After paying respects to Mr. Lincoln… …and countless war Veterans… …both living and deceased… …in the process of making the ultimate sacrifice… …for the love of country… …and the protection of our future generations… …in the most eloquent and…
In a Word…
“This is why your race times are so bad.” That thought crossed my mind so many times tonight as I took photos along my running route. Including when I took the above photo of what I presume to be a discarded ice cream cone wrapper in the grass. Which was along the same street as this. This…
Full
Tonight I made dinner. I realize this is neither extraordinary or newsworthy. I didn’t make anything complicated. Just homemade calzones. Strawberry (and blueberry and blackberry) shortcake. Garlic breadsticks. Simple stuff. But I put it together. We were all home to be able to sit down together at the table and eat. And I’m happier than…
Some Thoughts on Mother’s Day
I had an odd relationship with Mother’s Day for many years after becoming a mom more than 20 years ago. While the responsibilities of being a mother have happily consumed my existence from the start, it took me a long time to feel like the celebration of Mother’s Day encompassed “someone like me.” I’m a single…
Lost and Found
“I like gardening – it’s a place where I find myself when I need to lose myself.” – Alice Sebold, writer I would amend this to read, “I like gardens – it’s a place where I find myself when I need to lose myself.” This sums up my visit to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens at the…
Pause
“Learn to pause…or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.” – Doug King, poet Today is the first day of the 21-Day Reverence Challenge that I’d mentioned in an earlier post (link here). I loved it and wanted to pass along: “Drop Into The Present Moment: Busyness is an epidemic in today’s world. Our calendars have…
Life Lately
…according to the iPhone. And a few small lessons learned: – Life would be better if approached with the enthusiasm of a dog. – Sometimes it’s liberating to run in the rain. – With photography, sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. – Sometimes fixing things in your house – even if it costs a…
Reverence: The Sacredness of Existence
“The stronger the reverence for natural life, the stronger grows also that for spiritual life.” – Albert Schweitzer, French-German theologian Today I signed up for KindSpring.org’s 21-Day Reverence Challenge. I’m super excited about it. Here’s how they describe it: “Beauty lies in details. To notice it, you have to be paying attention. In a world…
Morning Affirmations & Stuff
This morning an email landed in my inbox from Spirituality & Health that included a wonderful list of “20 Morning Affirmations.” Here is a link to the full list, but below I pulled out a few examples, accompanied by some of my recent photos. – I greet the day with joy and gratitude. – I am so…
Some Thoughts on Trials
This afternoon brought a trip to the oncologist to get the results from my older son’s recent MRIs and labs. And the report was a good one: his tumors are stable and, for now, all is well. We’ll take it. But something interesting happened during this visit. We took a different elevator today that dropped us…
What’s the hurry?
I’m pleased to share that I have a Distracted Churchgoer post that does not include photographs from church. It nearly killed me, but I promised myself ahead of time that I’d leave my phone in my purse during the service. First temptation: a man with four children slid into the pew ahead of me —…
Unusual Beauty
“The world is full of nice people. If you can’t find one, be one.” Tonight, I found a really nice one. We’re back at the hospital for another round of the dreaded MRIs. The same MRIs that confine my kids to a claustrophobic tube for anywhere between three and four hours a pop. A recent…
Hey…and Other Random Surprises
“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.” – Dr. Seuss Every now and then, when I rummage through my photo library, I notice that my recent photos follow some sort of pattern or trend. Lately, that pattern seems to be random moments of surprise while going about my daily business. Moments…
We’re All Stories in the End
May every chapter be beautiful.
The Real Deal
I saw this sculpture at the art museum last weekend and I keep coming back to this photo of it. This piece made me stop and stare for the longest time. Have you ever seen Jesus portrayed as a joyful baby? Or Mary gazing at him with the love a real mom has for her…
Well, That Makes Sense.
It’s interesting (and entirely appropriate) that the first day of spring coincides with the International Day of Happiness, don’t you think? (Even if ours did start with an unexpected snow shower.) Hello, Spring. Hello, Happiness. Here’s to the season of renewed hopes, new beginnings, and fresh starts.
An Irish Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, and rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand. This is the Irish blessing the Monsignor sang acapella…
hey there, friends 