The Cherry Blossoms Are In Bloom

This morning we left early and made a quick trip downtown to see the cherry blossoms. We have been to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D. C. a few times now, but it's just so busy. And while our small town can't compete, in many ways I think I much prefer this setting, smaller, quieter, these are things I am seeking more and more in my life these days.

Spring is in the air, and after a legendary winter, at least in my lifetime, I am ready. I worked outdoors for awhile for the first time this season, clearing the patio of all the leaves that have piled up. Over the winter my husband and I decided that we built our raised beds on the wrong side of the yard and with the location of our water sources, it would make more since if they were on the opposite side. The materials we used are also not holding up that well, but thankfully can all be repurposed. So we've decided to downsize our gardening goals this year, anything we grow will be mostly in pots, maybe a few small beds if we're able to manage it, but we are going to use a different design. The space where we feel the garden needs to be is currently where we have our fire pit, but thankfully that's portable and easy to move. Anyway, it's all going to be a rather huge project and most likely will take at least two seasons to see it through. I do like the idea of a smaller garden this season, and growing things in pots will help to determine if there are enough hours of sun in the area where we want to move it for it to be successful.

Spring cleaning is next week. I had planned to begin this week but a few appointments came up, and I prefer, when possible, to undertake such things when I have a string of uninterrupted days, and as of today next week is wide open. So today I'm looking over my lists and finalizing my plans and come Monday morning I'll set to the task. There are a few jobs that will most likely bleed over into the following week, and that's fine. I'm not holding myself to any time frame here, other than I do hope to get the bulk of it done in a weeks time. 

Another type of cleaning on my agenda is digital downsizing. I simply have too much saved in far too many places and it's overwhelming. There are so many good ideas out there, and it's so easy to bookmark, pin or like things. But the truth is there is no way one person could accomplish it all, and honestly, who would want to? With that, I'm going to try to be more mindful of the things I pin/bookmark going forward, and only save things that I honestly think I might want to try. But first, I need to weed through and delete a lot of content I have already saved, as well as find a way to mainstream it all so that it's in one place. I'm not sure what that might look like just yet, but between Pinterest, Instragram, Facebook and my web browser, well, let's just say I've got my work cut out for me.

And speaking of pins, I came across this lovely thought on one my boards today and wanted to share.

"Experience one beautiful thing a day. However small. However trivial. Read a poem. Play a favorite song. Laugh with a friend. Gaze at the sky just before the sun's final tumble toward night. Watch a classic movie. Eat a slice of lemon drizzle cake. Whatever. Just give yourself one simple reminder that the world is full of wonders. It always helps to remember that there are things in this world to enjoy."

- AUTHOR UNKNOWN

Here are some beautiful things I experienced this week;

- To my delight, I discovered little buds on both of my lilac plants that we planted in autumn. I was worried, with winter being so cold this year, that they might not make it, but they both appear to be fine.

- While helping my husband haul off some limbs to the outer skirts of our property, I came upon a natural path leading into a field. The field belongs to the county, but unless they are working on the electrical lines they are never there. It is surrounded on each side by tall, majestic pine trees, and the entire setting reminded me somewhat of a cathedral, and thus it is now named. We hope at some point to clear out more underbrush and add some decorative elements, perhaps, to add to the loveliness, but it is beautiful even now, just as it is. I plan to visit it frequently.

What about you? What are some beautiful things you've experienced lately? I'd love to hear.

Until then . . .

❊

 

On Earth As It In Heaven- Making Our Homes A Haven

Good Monday morning, my friends! How are you? Did you survive the time change and losing that extra hour of sleep yesterday? To be honest it's the change in autumn that typically messes with my rhythm more than the spring, which you might think would be just the opposite. But for whatever reason, it's gaining an hour that takes me a couple of weeks to recover from. In some ways I wish they would just do away with this nonsense altogether and leave time be, but, I must admit, I didn't mind that extra hour of sunshine last night one little bit. Still, left to its Creator, this would all happen naturally anyway, so why not let it? But now I'm getting sidetracked so let's move on.

I'm currently participating in a lovely Lenten reading of This Beautiful Truth by Sarah Clarkson (you can learn more about that here) and I wanted to share a short passage from my reading with you this morning.

"Where my parent's dwelt, home was rich and heaven was close. Even as a child disturbed by change, my childhood was largely secure. For the moving van would barely have lumbered away when my mom would locate the kettle and unwrap the cups for tea. In every home we lived in there was art on the walls and music in the air. There were family dinners eaten by candlelight, stacks of books in baskets, our bedrooms made colorful, our beds soft. My mother set to the work of beauty. Where she lived, the rooms were lovely, the meals delicious and the space claimed for love. 

But the older I've gotten, the more I realize that she did not act alone. My mother was dependent upon God's life creating within her the vision she could not sustain alone. The Spirit who brooded over the vast and formless void at the dawn of time is the same one who broods within our hearts, and the words he speaks within us are the ones by which we act with and in him, calling light out of darkness and form out of the shaplessness of our fallen lives. 

All that's required of us is a willingness to come home. To be made welcome by God and to let our belonging transform not only the inward rooms of our hearts but the outward rooms of our lives, so that where we are we dwell in heaven, though we yet live in the broken earth."

- SARAH CLARKSON

This Beautiful Truth

The reason I wanted to share this passage is because if there's one thing I've come to realize more and more as the years pass, it is that I can do relatively little about the changes that are happening in the world outside my door. But, there is one domain, one atmosphere, that with the Lord's help I can influence and that is in my home. This is where, in partnership with the Spirit, I can strive for just a bit of "On earth as it is in heaven." I just found this so inspirational and uplifting, and couldn't we all do with a bit of that in today's restless world?

10 Ideas For Making Your Home A Haven

And while we're on the subject of ushering a little heaven into our homes, here's an article that speaks a bit to that. What other ideas do you have, or things that you do that make your home a haven?

And now I'm off my friends, to tend to my own home! The temperatures are warming up nicely this week and that's re-energizing me, which is a good thing because spring cleaning is on the horizon!

Until then. . . .

❊