Tag Archives: God knows your heart

The Water Bowl

It became easier to not add flowers to my yard once I stopped frequently visiting my happy place that you can read about here. My favorite garden center that feeds my very soul simply by parking my truck nearby. Sunday was the day I couldn’t hold myself back any longer.

If it’s possible it felt more magical than last year as I strolled along the dirt path looking at the plants and listening to the splash of the water fountains. I wasn’t looking for a plant, but of course I found one that needed a good home. My mission on that faithful day was to find a bowl to hold water for the birds. Even though I stopped feeding the birds last winter because the seed was attracting more than just birds, they still flutter through my yard looking for water.

I’ve tried using bowls from my cupboard that are rarely used, but that didn’t feed my heart. I sat a bowl outside that we used to use for mashed potatoes, and it was a beautiful bowl, but every time I saw it, I envisioned it filled with mashed potatoes. Looking all over the internet didn’t spark my heart either, so the lesson here my darling is…when looking for a water bowl, go where they sell bowls for water. Even there it took some time and I had to incorporate an employee’s assistance in my search because most of the bowls I’d seen had a hole in the bottom.

The employee guided me toward the Pro Shop where the front porch held stacks of bowls. I’ve never walked this far along the property to find this shop and the choice of outdoor bowls was overwhelming! So much so, the employee left as if she didn’t want any part of the decision-making process, but once I stood still amid the intricately stacked choices, my heart knew which one to purchase.

Since our part of the lake dried up, I haven’t been able to see water on a regular basis and that’s a need for me. My soul is refreshed with every gaze that lands on the water bowl.

Make Your Heart Soar

How easily forgotten are these meaningful aspects of life once they’re no longer in view. These random moments that fill your heart with pure joy and in that instance, you realize that life is meant to be lived.

A fellow blogger/friend of mine recently wrote a post about taking a 3-minute break in between zooms to step outside and stretch. Within those few minutes a stork flew over her head and it was an exhilarating experience in a brief amount of time. The stork, or Great Blue Heron has always been a part of my heart and journey, but I haven’t seen one since living here except down by the lake, but the lake isn’t within walking distance anymore.

I still recall the feeling she described and didn’t realize how much it was missed until reading her post here. A few days ago, I remembered a picture I have of stork and went in search of it. The artwork was tucked away in the “I don’t know what to do with” pile because it was given to me by someone who knew my heart, but no longer holds it. Pulling it from it’s hiding place, I changed the frame and hung it on the wall as a visual reminder of what makes my heart soar.

I hung it above my typewriter and instead of feeling poignant about the way it came into my life, I’m grateful for still having it and can see it for the piece of artwork it is. One of the promises in AA states, ““We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.”, and that promise has come to pass many times, but it’s worth remembering today. Our past prepares us for our future.

Hold onto the pieces that make your heart soar.

Feature Photo by Jeremy Hynes on Unsplash

Put In the Call

Each moment you can choose to practice My Presence or to practice the presence of problems.

Sarah Young

When we pray those urgent prayers, it’s like putting in a call to God for help. I didn’t know what was happening when the truck pulling a wood chipper drove up and parked in front of my house. The emblem on the passenger door revealed it’s from the city, so stepping outside I waited for the driver to appear.

He had a work order to trim some tree branches away from the power lines in my front yard. I smiled and chuckled because I’d forgotten about placing that order in January. After the ice storm I began a mission to get these oak trees under control and it’s been a challenge to find a reputable company at a reasonable price to trim them. If you’re new to this Blog, my home sits underneath a canopy of multiple 100 year old (minimum) Spanish Oak Trees.

It may sound silly but, from January through March I’ve prayed over the well-being of trees and I’ve learned, you can’t trust God and worry at the same time.

During the ice storm, people came to help and showed up as the best neighbors a woman could have. The trees are not yet as safe as they need to be, but God knows the state of these trees and what they can handle. He knows the same thing about us. Whenever I was tempted to worry, especially during high winds, the feature photo for this post was my screensaver on my phone. Three months later the city shows up, but they did show up, so God heard my heart.

All I did was put in the call.

The Longer You Wait

I believe it began with an early purchase of the wreath for the front door. I knew I’d need to wait until Winter passed to hang it, much to Gary’s sadness, but holding firm to my first week of March debut has been a challenge. I think about hanging it everyday, but there’s a sweet spot to be found in the waiting.

The same with flowers. The garden centers are open and brimming with the first round of seasonal beauties, but I’ve resisted walking into one. My self discipline with flowers is minimal, so it’s best to stay away because here’s what I learned about doing things early. The earlier you do them, the longer the upkeep.

By late February, of 2021, my flowers beds were filled with flowering inpatients and I was instructed to water them every other day for weeks to establish their roots. By mid March they began to grow and by June they were absolutely stunning to see. July and August are the hottest months in Texas and inpatients take a lot of water, so, here’s Barb, hose in hand watering every flower bed at least 3 times a week in 100 degree temps. I don’t want to do that again.

June 2021

Last Winter, I brought two of my favorite flowering plants indoors to stay warm and rest. They went dormant, but now are exhibiting signs of new growth, so I’m easing them back outside. I’m perfectly content with those plants and am looking forward to the day they bloom, but in the meantime I’ll wait to see what my heart says about this yard. Possibilities arise in abundance the longer you wait.

Relax and allow me to read this to you:

The Classroom of Life

I correspond through letters with several WordPress writers. The first time Dawn, at Aging With Grace mailed me a letter I was intrigued by her return address stamp on the face of the envelope. It’s round and I hadn’t seen anything quite like it before. She sent me the link to where she purchased it, but I didn’t want to order one just like hers, even though there was something about it that sparked my heart. Whenever I scribbled my return address on the corner of the envelope, I knew there had to be a prettier way!

Last November, I saw some Christmas cards on Etsy that were beautiful in their simplicity. I ordered a few and they did not disappoint. I had forgotten the art of embossing until seeing these cards and remembered how I used to love going to the bank to get something notarized just to watch them use the embosser! (I know, it doesn’t take much) After some Googling I found a company that makes an embosser to reflect return addresses and my heart squealed!

Dreams by the River

After weeks of waiting and the delivery being rescheduled several times, the embosser arrives, but Barb is not happy with it. The words are spelled out in all caps and I was careful to choose a font that wasn’t all caps. I went ahead and used it on some envelopes and mailed the letters, but it bothered me to no end. Plus, the word, ‘Street’ had been abbreviated to, ‘ST’ while there was ample space to spell it out. I sent a Marco Polo to the Marvelous Mrs. M and whined about my disappointment with the embosser.

I shared with her about it being a custom order it cannot be returned, but she encouraged me to call the company to see if anything could be done, so I did and they were wonderful to work with. Come to find out, there was a technical glitch during the order process and auto-fill kicked in on their end capitalizing all the letters! Explaining to the customer service rep how I wanted it to look, compared to what I received, he discovered the technical glitch and offered to make a brand new one to my specifications for free.

Barb is happy. I think a lot of times in life we’re tempted to settle for the hand we’re dealt, but God wants His children happy. It’s up to us to keep inching forward for the desired outcome even when logically it seems impossible. I’m so grateful Mrs. M nudged me to dig deeper and reach out to the company, otherwise I probably would have stopped using the embosser and eventually discarded it. That would have been like throwing money in the trash.

Life is our classroom. May you pass every test.

Take a break from reading and listen instead.

What a Saturday Morning Feels Like

I did something this morning that I haven’t done in a very long time. I sat down in one of the overstuffed Parson chairs, grabbed my red throw to cover my legs and read a few pages from a book that’s laying on my table of books. I believe a writer should be surrounded by books. It’s inspiring to read what other writer’s wish to share and it’s encouraging to know deep in my bones that eventually there will be a book written by yours truly.

I was Marco Poloing with the magical Mrs. M this week and we were joking about the amount of books we live with. She went as far to purchase a rolling cart like you see being used at the public library! I just think that’s the coolest thing ever, but I don’t have a huge amount of books lying around, although you will find a stack in many of the rooms. If they are in a stack, they’re waiting to be read and on a shelf are some of my favorites that I don’t want to lose track of.

I think what I did this morning is considered normal, but I was amused that it felt planned. Yesterday, I published a newsletter for work entitled, ‘Slow Down December’ and thought it best to practice what was gently preached. I heated a chocolate chip scone and laid a slab of butter beside it once heated. Poured a cup of Christmas blend coffee in a retired Starbucks mug and sat them on the table of books. Anyone could find something at this table to suit their reading needs.

It was just getting light outside as I soaked up the stillness and thought…

This is what a Saturday morning feels like.

The Christmas Tree

My neighbor whom I refer to as Hercules didn’t put his Christmas tree up this year. He shared he only did it for his granddaughter and since she moved away there’s no need. My daughter moved out this year, but the tinsel tree made it’s appearance before Thanksgiving.

I bought this tree the year my daughter went to England for Christmas and it’s absolutely obnoxious, but it brings a smile to my face every time I look at it. This morning I was sitting near the tree reading my devotional and gazing at the ornaments within view. The tree tells a story of a single Mom and her daughter and their love for pretty. There are still a few ornaments hanging on from years ago when we decorated our first tree while living on our own. Over the years, the ornaments became better quality, so you can tell my income increased.

This morning my devotional says, “I am working on your behalf. Bring Me all your concerns, including your dreams. Talk with Me about everything, letting the light of My presence shine on your hopes and plans. Spend time allowing My light to infuse your dreams with life, gradually transforming them into reality.” (Jesus Calling page 362) That’s where I am on this journey.

Maybe men have different viewpoints than women about the Christmas tree. When I first met Mr. Smith he didn’t have a tree, but he did the following year and my guess would be it’s become more elaborate over time. Then again, my daughter’s boyfriend loves everything about Christmas and they were thrilled to decorate my tree for me, so I’m perplexed. Feel free to share your views.

There’s still time to buy a real tree, or the closer it gets to Christmas, you can buy an artificial one at a really good price. The ornaments will start to go on sale and after Christmas they’ll be 75% off, so if you’re not feeling the Christmas tree this year, you can plan to have one next year. I have faith my life story is already written, but December is the one time a year we can see something larger than ourselves, holding snippets of our life and it’s mesmerizing.

Here’s a single Mom, in an empty nest, with an undying love for the Christmas tree.

Feature Photo by Bao Menglong on Unsplash