ragged life

 there's a small patch of carpet in our house that is different from all the rest. its colors of gold, black, brown and a tinge of red show its age. it has stains and spots, ragged and old with time. yet each time i run my vacuum over this spot, I can't help but smile. the small paint splatters here and there cause me to reflect on when we were painting this house together. not married yet, excitement for our soon-to-be life together had built up to the roof. I remember sitting on that very patch of floor together. as we laughed and grinned while painting, I remember feeling absolutely giddy in my heart. a joke was made that we should just stay there at our new home together for our honeymoon instead of going to the mountains. these were made in only half jest. we just felt so happy there together. we didn't have one care in the world sitting there on that ragged carpet. all we had on our minds was a happy, care-free future together. 

 now married, that carpet has served to remind me that marriage and life in general is dirty, stained with scars and not perfect. sometimes you feel ragged out just like that carpet. but time and again i've been shown that if you keep pressing on, you'll look back on those "spots" as sacred. God has been and will be there through your marriage and so will your best friend, your spouse. laugh, cry and get paint on the floor. you'll never forget the memories made together.

I sit inside on the red couch while baby naps, screen door sun shining through. I listen. all is quiet except the fridge humming. 

the silence is broken with one other thing. its body is so small but that doesn't stop it's soul-song from being so big. its lighthearted whistle-tune comes from a feathery body and small beak. the bird sings and I listen. 

then I wonder if they listen too. do we impress them with our soul-song? do the words we utter and breaths we breathe cause them to pause? the bird becomes silent but my thoughts do not. I think. 

think. 

think.

think before you speak. do your words create a song others want to sing? 

"a meaningful silence is always better than meaningless words."

on a tuesday night.

on a tuesday night we eat at my favorite place. where the people are friendly and they know us almost by name. mcalister's deli never tasted better as my empty stomach soon comes to satisfaction.

on a tuesday night we dance it out in the car on the way to the tea party meeting where the new county commissioner (my dad) has been invited to say a few words. he inspires others by his thoughts he speaks and his family is introduced to the small crowd there. caught on camera, silliness abounds as dallas imitates a policeman's wave as we drive in town.

on a tuesday night we nearly freeze at the meeting. marli and i bundle up in a lone jacket that the tea party leader throws into our lap. we make silly faces as the growing chill bumps on my legs stand out.

on a tuesday night i realize just how much i love my family. it's on simple nights like these spent with them that life feels whole.

i'm always ready for a tuesday night.

the sweet, sweet life

friends and five guys

hanging with the cute neighbor girls

ball game blues and cheers for our winning team

picnic with the sissy and playing with the new kitty

cute little kids and parents holding hands

{giveaway love}

city girl, country heart

repetition.

every night before bed, the five of us sit down. all is quiet, the lights are dimmed, dusk has fallen outside. scattered on couch, chair and floor here and there, we close our eyes and open our hearts to God and each other. sometimes dad says one prayer, often we say our own aloud. starting with youngest (me), the talking to God begins.

mine usually goes like this:

God, thank you for this day. thank you that we got to do ________ __________ today. thank you for this ______ (new blessing in life). please heal ________ (sick person mentioned at church). please bless ________ (blog friend requesting prayers or someone at church). please forgive me of my sins. help us to sleep well and have a good day tomorrow. in Jesus's Name, amen.

then it continues around the room until each of us has said our own piece of words to God.

i like hearing my family pray. but here lately, i've noticed my prayers have gotten... bland. repetitive. even just reading what i wrote out here i see the blandness. i see repetition. i do more asking than i do thanking.

remember when i started a list to journal a thousand gifts (or blessings) several months ago? i want to pray that way. with eyes open to every detail. God sends good and sometimes it seems bad but what if i prayed thanks for everything? how different would my prayers be then?

so with this comes thoughts of a thirty day challenge. thirty days of just thanks. thirty days of not asking God for anything but thanking Him for everything. this includes my private prayer time in the mornings, prayers with family and even silent flare prayers during the day. instead of asking God for something, i'll thank Him for something i already have. instead of asking God to heal someone, i'll thank Him that He has that person in His healing Hands and that He is already in the process of healing them.

thirty days of thanks. starting now.

twins.

my dearly missed friend, natalie, texted me this picture of her after she saw mine wearing this shirt on my blog tuesday! love this girl and am thankful for her so much. so grateful for the good times we have had together.

first time thirty

 

            

1) reflection on laptop outside 2) colour necklace 3) newspaper mail

4) my church family brings all the happiness in the world 5) tiny - because yummy poptarts just aren't big enough 6) a special treat for lunch - papa john's pizza

7) running shadow 8) my vera bradley wallet 9) rolled legs and mohawk were my greatest attractions as a baby tike. (ha)

10) cold day calls for skinnies and cardi 11) big fluffy chair perfect place for breakfast and reading  12) our stairs

13) discovered a funny app 14) how you feel - self explanatory 15) sunset out the back truck window

16) neighbor's field with wildflowers 17) don't like wet towels 18) curls

19) orange - dad's commissioner pamphlets 20) distracted at church so i drew this 21) silly brother messing with my water bottle

22) rue21 shirt - last thing i bought 23) vegetable - salad for lunch 24) because i could never express enough thanks for the Words of Life

25) looking down at bass pro shops 26) black and white gate 27) somewhere i went today

28) 1 pm - working on graduation picture slideshow 29) circle stepping stone 30) an empty m&m bag would make just about anyone sad, including me

completed my first photo a day challenge this April. let's go May!

(giveaway)

savories of life