I am here today to take you on a little photo tour of our home in everyday real life. I am here as a simple wife, mother, and homemaker striving to live and treasure each and every moment. I am learning to grasp and seek out the treasured gifts in each day as they fly by my oft absent eye. I long for eyes to see.
And as I open my lens each picture captured is another gift bestowed to me. As I begin this scavenger hunt, my heart leaps within me to discover the joy around me. True joy results from looking beyond the mundane to see the beautiful.
“Wherever you are, be all there. It is only possible in the posture of eucharisteo (thanksgiving). Give thanks and see God. Full attention slows the current. Simplicity is a matter of focus. That keeps the focus simple.” – Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts
“The joy of God is the human being fully alive. And the life of the human consists in beholding God.” - Arasmus
Where do I behold God? How can I enter into His very presence in each moment? By seeing Him radiated in everything around me.
“It is up to each of us to set the example, to show by our actions our respect for intimacy, contemplation, and wonder. This is perhaps the greatest legacy we can bestow on our children: the capacity to be enchanted by the quiet gifts of everyday life.” – Katrina Kennison, Mitten Strings for God
And thus my gift list continues….
#357 – Little girl dressing up like a bride
#358 – The sweet helpfulness of 2 year old hands
#359 – Spring sun peeping through the clouds
#360 – Titus singing so beautifully on pitch without words
#361 – Blowing kisses to daddy
#362 – Titus making sure Daddy doesn’t forget to kiss Mommy goodbye
#363 – Little musicians strumming and banging to make music
#364 – For the daily workout of two stories of stairs
#365 – For a pile of dishes in the sink showing our bellies are full
#379 – Sketches across stone walkway
#380 – First blossoms of spring on the trees
“When I stop speeding through life, I find the joy in each days doings, in the life that cannot be bought, but only discovered, created, savored, and lived.” – Katrina Kennison
And thus the journey of savoring every moment continues…cultivating thankfulness, the key to the fullest life.
What a great idea! This post was so encouraging to me. I think I need to carry my camera around with me one of these days…
I needed to be reminded that my sink full of dirty dishes is a reminder that we have full bellies. Thank you for that!
What a beautiful post! I love that you listed a sink full of dishes as something to be thankful for – I lose sight of that so easily and just get bogged down by the mess that cooking real food for my family can produce! I need to remember that those dishes worked to feed and sustain us. Thanks for that!
I can tell what book you are reading too! Thank God for cameras that discipline us to start to see our world in a different perspective. Thanks for sharing what you “see.”
Savor each one, we do not know how many we will have. Tomorrow is not a guarantee, we must not let the future consume the now. Today is truly a gift.
Lindsay (and contributors!),
Thank you for your posts (over the past month especially) that so beautifully and gracefully remind us of the truly important things in life and where our ultimate focus should be. As a homeschooling mother of four, I need these reminders daily as I frequently find myself overwhelmed with all of the things I “need” to get done, but when I open my e-mail to find such encouraging words, I truly breathe a sigh of relief as I’m reminded to turn over my selfish desires to our Lord and seek out His will for my day.
The pictures and comments above are beautiful reminders of how to honor the Lord with our thoughts by CHOOSING to look at things that would easily be a discouragement (sink full of dirty dishes) with a thankful heart for the Lord’s blessing and provision.
I praise the Lord that He’s using you to speak to us!
I loved this. I was just feeling tonight like my thoughts have been in a different place when I am with the people I love and I am missing out on what matters most when I allow myself to do that. Thank you for reminding me.
yes, such a beautiful post; it reminds me of how deeply I desire to be thankful and intentional, but how often I take everything for granted.
Nice message! i often get overwhelm with household chores and our toddler. I have a lot of things to be thankful for.. a healthy body to take care of our place and my family..a very healthy and happy daughter and for a very hard working, loving husband who never fails to remind me that im the best wife and mom.
what a cute post!!! Inspiring!!! Thank you!
Truly love this post and something God is bringing me to, stopping to to give thanks. I am also reading Ann’s book. You have a lovely way of reflecting what the Lord is teaching you about eucharisteo!
I need to be like this more often!
A beautiful post , thank you.
This was a real inspiration to me today. Thank you! Makes me realize that there is much beauty in life. I am very grateful for it. Trying not to tear up!
Thanks so much for sharing this reminder, Lindsay!!
Beautiful pictures, and beautiful attitude of gratefulness!
I love the quotation about the glory of God being the human being fully alive. The correct source, though, is St. Irenaeus of Lyons, in his work “Against Heresies”, written in 185AD. The larger context is “The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is the vision of God. If the revelation of God through creation already brings life to all living beings on the earth, how much more will the manifestation of the Father by the Word bring life to those who see God”. For more information about St. Irenaeus, please see:
http://www.catholicity.com/encyclopedia/i/irenaeus,saint.html
Loved your gratitude. Such a wonderful way to stop and remember God’s goodness. Lovely photos.
Love it!
Nicely said!