Amazing Day #30: Awesome

I keep thinking of that word.
Awesome.

During this month of amazing days...
Of watching for the amazing...
The word "awesome" often comes to mind.
That which inspires awe.
Or expresses awe.

Some think we over-use this word.

That we use it flippantly.

I suppose that could be true, but it’s a good word.

An important word.

There are lots of things in this life that inspire awe.

That evoke appreciation and gratitude.

That cause us to stop and notice.

I do not take this thing or this word lightly, but I do wish to notice the awesome.

I choose to watch for it.  

Sometimes even to search for it.

I think it is a worthwhile quest.
…

There is also much in this life that is not good or great.

There is much that is wrong.

Oppression and injustice are rampant.

It is easy for me to focus on the bad or the downright awful.

Yes, I’ve written about that before because the struggle is real.

Pessimism comes quite naturally for me.  Perhaps for most of us.

Worry, frustration, fear, and even panic can settle over us too quickly.

...

So which will I look for?

As much as I can manage to do so, I will think on the good things.

The things that are noble and true and right.

The pure.

The lovely.

The admirable.

The excellent and praiseworthy.

I will think on such things.

Amazing Day #21: Beauty

Riding our bikes on the river trail along the shore of Mott Lake

Hard to believe it is late October.

Lots of fishermen on small boats

Even the riverboat is out - the Genesee Belle!  That's fun.

Riding through the woods

Leaves covering the paved trail

Crunching under our tires

A canopy of glorious leaves still on the trees.

What’s that?  Sounds like a train.  

Sure enough; the Huckleberry Railroad - chugging along on the opposite shore.

What a day!

What a ride!

Exhilarating

Exhausting

Rewarding

Wonderful

Beautiful

Amazing


...

Photo cred:  Bob Sims

Read about other amazing days here.

Unspoiled

The overlook

Unspoiled by men

Untouched

Untamed

Not colonized, not commercialized, not civilized

Just natural beauty

Pristine

Wild

No sign of humans

No roads, no railroad tracks, no pathways or trails

No buildings, no bridges, no power lines, no cell towers

Nothing to interrupt or interfere with the beauty of nature

Simply unspoiled

Sunday tidbits

Sunday morning at the cove
Some of the fishermen headed out early today.
I can hear the guards slapping the table as they play dominoes.

...

Hammock day - under the palm trees!
What a lovely spot! And I think we have it to ourselves this morning because the neighbors have gone to church. I wonder if we will have sunshine today.

...

Absolutely perfect weather - hot sun, cool breeze, puffy clouds floating by
Sure enough: Our first sunburn, but not bad

...

How bizarre it is to wash out Zip-lock bags again
I have a feeling that Dominicans don't know much about food storage - because they probably rarely have food to store. I suppose that they buy the food as they need it and that they rarely have leftovers. We Americans, on the other hand, like to have a pantry filled with food and we need lots of containers in which to keep leftovers.

...

Bob is reading "Travels with Charley" and I'm reading Shawn & Maile Smucker's new book about their four-month trip in the big blue bus - the trip that I followed so closely on his blog because it coincided with the beginning of our big adventure. Two similar books from two very different eras, both so pertinent to our journey.

...

And now the unexpected and wonderful chance to get online again - AND to have some Facetime with the little munchkin!!! How absolutely awesome!

What a great day.

Amazing Day Number 27: girl to woman

It is amazing to me how a young girl could grow up with a mom who was somewhat judgmental and inflexible, not very patient or understanding at times, more than a little selfish and lazy, and how that young girl could still turn out to be such an incredible woman. Even more amazing is that all three daughters could become women with such high levels of creativity, sensitivity, integrity, ambition, kindness, and compassion. Maybe I did some things right after all – or maybe I am just wonderfully blessed.

Amazing!

Oh, and another amazing thing has happened. In hanging out with such incredible women, I think maybe a teeny bit of the grace and integrity has rubbed off on me. Maybe even I have matured in the process.
Who knew?

Celebrate life!!!

On Easter week-end I declared that I was going to observe a "celebration of life" ritual. Instead of giving something up as some do during Lent I was going to add something each day to celebrate life. I got the idea from a friend but wasn't sure I would have the creativity or consistency to follow through. I had fun brainstorming a list of ideas and tried out a couple of them, but then I got "too busy" and dropped the ball for a few days. Ironic, huh? how life got in the way of celebrating life?

I watched my friend play out his Lazarus Experiment, asking what Lazarus might do after being given a second chance at life. He came up with some really cool stuff and documented them each day on Facebook. His list began to look much more spiritual than mine. He looked for opportunities to serve while I had been thinking more in terms of what I would selfishly enjoy.

I could be tempted to be sad - either that my experiment didn't become a grand thing or that my ideas weren't as meaningful as his. But then that would be just silly to be sad about that. I suppose that my old self might have seen this as some kind of failure or cause for discouragement. But no, I choose to celebrate.

I celebrate life.
I celebrate creativity.
I celebrate joy.
I celebrate fun.
I celebrate health.

I celebrate the fact that I have slowed down to smell the roses. AND to smell my favorite perfume. Yep, during & after chemotherapy, I abandoned perfume because of the constant low-grade nausea. So now, to celebrate life and health, I wear it again & let every whiff remind me how good it feels to feel good again. That's celebration.

Thanks to an early spring, my shoulders are already a bit tanned - and it's barely May! I have watched for chances to catch some rays - again because I CAN - something I was unable to do during chemo & radiation. Not only CAN I sit in the sun, but I'm SUPPOSED to - getting my daily dose of vitamin D to combat the toll that cancer drugs have taken on my bones. So, yay for sitting in the sun. I celebrate sunshine.

I've done only a few ideas on my list, but they have been joyful.

I spent a whole week-end with my daughters and celebrated those amazing women!

I've gone an extra mile on my morning walk - just because I can - and rejoiced that I am able to do it.

I have made some decisions that were healthy and fun for me, and I've made some sacrifices to serve other people.

I have eaten some of my favorite foods and look forward to many more. Yes, I'm going to try a peanut butter and banana sandwich!

I celebrate being alive and healthy.

I celebrate who I am - that I am willing to try new things and establish new rituals.

Most of all I celebrate that I live by grace now instead of by a list of rules.

Let the celebration continue!!!