Wonder

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Sharon

What’s your one word for 2013? If you haven’t chosen one yet, I encourage you to give this some thought. A word can shape your outlook. And it can inspire us to be on the lookout. It can enrich us, spur us on, color the year.

My word last year was BRIGHTEN. Looking in the rear view mirror at 2012, I know I missed countless times I could have brightened someone’s life. I also know sometimes it worked. Because people would tell me, along the way. They said things like “I was feeling down when I came over, but after talking with you I feel encouraged.” Or “You were one of the few who took the time to come by.” Sometimes I saw the brightening in a smile, in a step that was a little springier, in a connection that cheered up me, too. In a thank you when I put in extra effort, when I became part of a team to make the whole better. I’m betting these happened more often because I was purposely looking for little ways to brighten someone’s day.

I’m in the habit now of looking for ways to brighten up my little corner. Now it’s time to move into 2013 and choose a new word. Here it is:

Why “wonder”? I believe this is how we should view our world and each other — with wonder. Age and years and day-to-day life make it easier to lose the wonder. This is my daily reminder to look around me and really see, really appreciate what is there. To get off automatic pilot and actually notice. I’m not good at this. I plan to get better at it.

On New Year’s Day we hiked at Torrey Pines, a preserve above the ocean in La Jolla. The fragile sand hills, the scrubby pines, the endless deep blue, the changing skies — breathtaking beauty that invokes a response of wonder.

That’s Day One of this year. So keeping in the front of my mind my word, I’ll be looking for wonder every day. Here’s what Oswald Chambers writes: “It is this attitude that keeps you in perpetual wonder–you do not know what God is going to do next.” I’m looking forward to a year of perpetual wonder, through whatever happens.

How about you? Do you have a word of focus this year?

My one-word button is a gift from Melanie at Only a Breath. She’s a generous blogger who’s offered to make a button for all of us! So choose a word and go for it!

Linking up with This or That Thursday, Sweet Shot Tuesdays, Mary de Muth’s Pic4Year, Bigger Picture Moments, and Communal Global.

The Storyteller in All of Us

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Sharon

Do you love a good story? Of course — we all do. Stories capture truths and convey them in a way that resonates with us. A story sticks in our minds and influences our thoughts and actions much more than a list of facts or pages of dry instruction. Stories spur imagination and bring delight.

On a recent visit to Disneyland, we wandered around Downtown Disney and happened onto a restaurant that is all about stories (and gourmet food). The Storytellers Cafe greets guest with this inscription in the floor.

Here’s a place dedicated to the age-old tradition of storytelling.The waiting area is decorated with this quotation from author Geoffrey Chaucer to get you thinking about reading and stories before you even sit down to eat.

Diners enjoy large canvases depicting scenes from favorite California novels. Food servers zip by and hungry tourists relax in the presence of stories.

This one is from Mark Twain’s The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. It’s about miners training frogs to jump and betting on which could jump highest and bilking each other out of money.

Here’s The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley. Zorro is a horseback-riding champion of freedom. He brands tyrants with his flashing blade, leaving behind the mark of Zorro.

The painting on the end shows the young woman from Island of the Blue Dolphins. This suspenseful and uplifting adventure by Scott O’Dell won the Newberry Medal.

Our lives are stories, too. Some chapters happen no matter what we do, but others can be written and steered in one direction or another by us. We are, just by living our lives, all storytellers.

How about you? Are you satisfied with the story you are living? Are there parts you’d like to “write” in the chapters to come? Is there a step, small or large, you can take to start designing the next part of your story?

Photos are of The Grand Californian and its Storytellers Cafe in Downtown Disney.

Linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesdays, Communal Global and Texture Tuesdays. Photos are edited with Kim Klassen’s textures Kristen and Carol.

Lessons from Kids on Wheels

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Sharon

Young boys naturally love anything with wheels. It’s more difficult for them to be still than to move. Every road is there to explore and conquer, and away they go.

We move through life at different speeds, we travel different roads, we journey in various styles. Boys give us a picture of how to approach life, even when we’re long past the pudgy-legged, towheaded stage of our days.

Lessons from kids on wheels:

1. Those we love may get ahead of us, but they will check back and make sure we catch up before they lose sight of us.

2. Training wheels keep us upright until we can balance ourselves. Little helps along the way are just fine.

3. Change can be fun. From wide streets to long sidewalks to driveways, variety can be embraced. A change from bike to car keeps up interest. Adding new “scenery” and learning new things can enhance our day-to-day lives.

4. Even in comfortable, colorful cars, we will be sad sometimes. Life is never 100 percent joy. Go with it; better times will come.

5. If we travel long enough, we will sooner or later lose the path. We may get stuck. What to do? Think through the situation, get your bearings, steer back to the road.

6. Try out shiny new big wheels even though it will be awhile till you’ll actually drive them. Dream.

What matters is that we keep going. Pedal and pump so we feel the wind in our face. Learn a new skill, tackle a knotty problem, drive into that scary place. Those who love you will keep an eye on you, so don’t be afraid. Just keep movin’!

How about you? Do you need encouragement to keep moving in some area of life this week?

Linking up with This or That Thursday, Sweet Shot Tuesdays, 52 Weeks of Happiness, and Communal Global.

Numbering Our Days

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Sharon

The changing colors of the leaves signal fall and decorate the landscape and make us catch our breath at the beauty.

Fall reminds us to step back and look at the landscape of our lives, too, In this season between summer fun and winter cold, we can evaluate the hills and valleys, the highs and lows. We can look at what we want to keep in our day to day agendas and what needs to fall off the trees of our time to make room for new growth.

As the seasons go round and round, I like to think of the Bible prayer, “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” I struggle with how quickly time goes by, how the seasons come faster each year, which activities to hold onto and which to let go of to make way for something different. This fall, once again, I’m wrestling with questions of time and fleeting days and how to fill them.

One of the secrets of fall is that change can be not only difficult but lovely. We can learn to drink in the beauty of the colors, sit under the leaves as they fall and welcome whatever lies ahead.

How about you? Do you find that fall is a good time to think about changes? Do you tend to fear change or embrace it?

Here’s to a fall that’s full of welcome changes and new starts. And beauty!

Linking up with Bigger Picture, This or That Thursday, Sweet Shot Tuesdays, Communal Global and Texture Tuesdays, where the theme is “orange,” as in fall leaves. It’s still hot and summery where I live, so I’m posting photos from a trip to the Berkshires in Massachusetts in early fall a few years ago. Photos are edited with Kim Klassen’s texture Evolve2.

When Life Is Confusing

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Sharon

Have you ever been in the middle of a problem so daunting that life seems to spin out of focus?

I imagine it’s something like learning to play a keyboard. All the keys may look the same at first. It’s so confusing.

Here’s the view looking down.

Looking up.

We see a long procession of black and white without form. It’s easy to understand how newcomers to the keyboard may see chaos. It may be hard to grasp even something simple like which way is down, which way is up.

Piano students start out not knowing anything more than that there are sure a lot of black keys and a lot of white keys. They say, “How will I ever make sense of this? How will I be able to play a song?”

As a teacher, I get to help students see patterns in the bewildering sea of notes.

Black notes are in a group of two, then a group of three. Then you start over. All the white notes fall within these black ones and the pattern repeats over and over.

Soon, the student sees more clearly. She may even notice the context of the keys: the burnished wood of the piano, the colored glass pieces handblown in Italy, the light streaming down on the music book.

With instruction and practice, even the young ones can master it.

Fingers fly over the keys and strike the correct ones in a certain order and — a song fills the air!

Life can be chaotic. Sometimes we’re not even sure what’s up and what’s down. It’s all blurry. Then someone helps us begin to make sense of it. One sentence, one thought is presented, and we calm down. We can focus on one small part and see more clearly. We can step back and see the black times in the context of our lives. The light was there, streaming in, all the time. Eventually, the music rings out.

What about you? Who has helped you make sense of a chaotic time?

Linking up with This or That Thursdays, Sweet Shot Tuesdays, Communal Global, and Texture Tuesdays, where the theme this week is “Looking down.” Photos are edited with Kim Klassen’s textures Phoebe, Be Still, Sunday, and Evolve.

How to Be a Champion

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Sharon

The Olympics fascinate us and compel us to cheer for these young athletes. We’re inspired as we witness the result of years of dedication of the participants. We marvel at their gracefulness.

A day at dog beach this week made me realize some similarities between the disciplined Olympians and these furry athletes. First, you will notice that all kinds of dogs are here, just as so many nations are represented at the Olympics. Lots of greeting and meeting goes on.

Here you will find the elegant and powerful.

The stunning.

The comical.

The magnificent.

Let the games begin!

Here’s one where a human tosses a ball into the waves.

Running lickety split takes place all over the beach arena.

Leaping through the waves is a favorite event.

This one requires the dog to jump high to retrieve a treat.Lovely spectators watch from the stands.

Ball sports rule.

This player excels in stick retrieval. Synchronized events are fun.

Then there’s digging to the center of the Earth.

Besides the events themselves, you will find necessary aspects of winning a game.

Keep an unerring eye on the ball.

Focus on the goal.

Stay poised and hold your head high.

Priorities, focus, confidence. This is what we’re seeing in our amazing Olympians. This is what I see in these beautiful dogs on the beach. This is what we can all aspire to in our everyday lives. That’s how we can all be champions.

How about you? What has inspired you in this year’s Olympics?

Linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesday, Communal Global and Texture Tuesdays.

Those Who Smooth Our Paths

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Sharon

Sometimes when we are exploring out in nature we will find places where people have provided some help for us. A few unobtrusive steps, for example, on the path that winds upward.

Even those of us who are not as surefooted as mountain goats can gain elevation without slipping.

We can reach new heights from which to view the creation below. The ribbon of road looks far away; we’ve come a distance up already.

Looking ahead, we see that we still have a ways to go to the top, though, and it’s steep.

We may feel so small among the rocks of life.

Just knowing someone came ahead of you to help you lift your foot higher — isn’t that encouraging?

It doesn’t matter whether the steps are fashioned of wood or rock.

What counts is that you are able to continue safely on your way.

Who has climbed the path ahead of you and taken the time to leave helpful “steps”? Who has left markers to follow?

For me, at the top of my list are my mom and dad. And my college piano teacher, who provided daunting challenges and believed in me so strongly that I didn’t even know I should be afraid. How about you?

Linking up with Sweet Shot Tuesday, Community Global, and Texture Tuesdays. Photos were processed using Kim Klassen’s textures Felicity, Autumn Burst, Let Go, and Sunday.

Good Reads: The No Brainer Wardrobe — Part 3

Posted on June 28, 2012 by Sharon

This is Part 3 in a 3-part review of The No Brainer Wardrobe by Hayley Morgan. Part 1 covers how to identify the core of your wardrobe, and Part 2 helps with purging those clothes that are more of a hindrance than a help. Now we’re ready to tackle the shoes!

My shoes tend to spill out of my closet. They refuse to be contained. This is a chronic condition, so I was excited to do some purging and organizing. Can you relate?

Following the No Brainer Wardrobe approach, I swept all my shoes in a pile. Here’s part of the pile.

I found some pairs hidden in the dark corners that I hadn’t seen in a long time. Well, hello, silver sandals!

The pile contained everything from shoes still new in the box to some very worn old soles.

Sorting out shoes is more emotional for me than going through clothes. These dainty sandals aren’t comfortable, but I wore them to walk the aisle at my wedding. How could I part with these?

These hurt my feet, but they are Guess brand and so appealing. How could I put these in the discard pile?

After much deliberation, I was able to weed out what I wouldn’t wear because they induce pain, and what I really didn’t need. How many pairs of silver sandals could I wear in one summer?

The result? Shoes neatly contained inside the closet doors (at least for now). The best part is that, with the unwearable pairs gone, I can choose what to put on faster, with less fuss.

All the thinking about shoes brought to my mind so many stories of people who have no shoes to wear. Some of my give-away shoes were new, so donation options were open. Here are a couple of suggestions, if you want to give away shoes you bought and didn’t wear. Of course, you can always buy and donate, too.

Shoes for Kids: Started by a young lady whose parents travel with Compassion; she saw firsthand in Kenya children who didn’t have shoes. She came home and did something about it. Check out how her dream to give away shoes has come true.

Soles 4 Souls: Collects shoes for those in need; my church sponsored a drive for this organization.

If you’re looking for new shoes, check out the growing number of styles offered by Toms. With every pair you purchase, Toms will give a new pair of shoes to a child in need.

I hope you’ve had fun looking at your wardrobe in a new way!

To order Hayley’s book, just click the cover image. Note: This book has been such a help to me, so I signed up to be an affiliate. First time I’m trying this because I believe Hayley’s suggestions will help you, too!

Good Reads: The No Brainer Wardbrobe — Part 2

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Sharon

This is Part 2 in a 3-part review of The No Brainer Wardrobe by Hayley Morgan. If you missed the first post, which is an introduction and Step One, you can read it here.

Time for Step Two: Purging Your Clothes! Here’s what inspired me to take action and organize my crammed closet—at once. I found this dress on sale.

It has polka dots, which make me smile, so I couldn’t leave it in the store. But I couldn’t jam it in my closet, either. It needs some space to hang and breathe and look cute. So here goes!

First, writes Hayley, take everything out of your closet so you can see what you actually have in there. Then start sorting.

Keeping in mind what I learned from identifying my core wardrobe of go-to clothes, as well as figuring out what doesn’t work well for me, this process turned out to be far less complicated than I imagined. The pile of clothes that I continually pass over began to form.

(My cat Emily is definitely not part of the reject pile; she just thought it was a great place for a nap.)

And grow.

My core clothes and others in my favored colors stacked up in the “keep” pile, then I hung these back up. Here’s the top and bottom of the finished closet, cram-free.

What I learned from this:

Motivation matters. The bottom-line motivation for the No Brainer approach is making time for more of what I have a passion to do in life. I have tried cleaning out my closet using methods such as counting how many items I own and the one-in-one-out rule. Nothing has motivated me as much as being able to focus more on reading, writing, photography, hiking, visiting with friends and family.

Bag up the reject pile, then wait a bit. I felt freer to choose the reject pile knowing I was going to give myself time to rethink decisions. I grabbed a faded red sweat jacket out of the bags the next morning and I’ve worn it several times since. It’s okay to have second thoughts. So far, I haven’t missed anything else that left my closet that day. I couldn’t even tell you most of the items that are gone.

If I don’t feel good wearing something, it doesn’t need to stay in my closet. This week I wore a purple top (love the color) that is almost new, bought on sale (a good deal) that made me feel frumpy. Instead of keeping it, I’m going to wash it and pass it on to someone who will enjoy wearing it. This goes against my thrifty mindset, but I’m learning to lean towards what I actually like wearing instead of wearing everything I purchase until it’s worn out. I would rather have fewer items I love than a crammed closet.

Your turn! Set aside a bit of time and try this and let us know how it goes!

Coming up:

Part Three — Purging Your Shoes

Good Reads: The No Brainer Wardrobe

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Sharon

Raise your hand if you have plenty of time to do all you’d like to each day. No? Me neither. I’m always struggling to fit more of what I enjoy into each day. One place I spend too much time in is the bursting-closet-can’t-figure-out-what-to-wear area of life. If I could simplify getting dressed, shopping for clothes, and care of clothes, I would have more precious time to do things I really want to do.

Recently I discovered an ebook that’s really helped me. It’s The No Brainer Wardrobe, written by Hayley Morgan, a mother of youngsters who wants exactly what I’m after — more time to devote to what we’re passionate about, streamlining the parts of life that don’t move us toward that goal. Like pondering too long in front of the closet each morning.

“How many items do you own? Is your closet so stuffed you can’t even see the whole garment without taking it out? Is it so disorganized that you can’t find the shirt you’re thinking of ? Is it full of clothes that you never wear and doubtfully will again? (Now I’m raising my hand high.) If so, you are like many women.”

In simple steps, The No Brainer Wardrobe helps you pare down your closet to a more manageable level. The book is chock full of practical ideas. We’ll be looking at three steps I’ve followed so far. Try them and see if these will help you slash those “What should I wear today?” moments. I’m seeing an improvement already.

Step One: “Identify 10 pieces you love and wear often. Think about why these are your go-to clothes. Color, fit, fabric, style, a combination of these?”

I approached this step as “What would I take to a desert island if I could grab only 10 items from my closet?” Well, at least a desert island where I still do go to my office job. Surprisingly, this list came quickly. Here are my top 10:

“Then look for 10 items in your closet that you just don’t feel comfortable wearing. Why? Color, fit, fabric, style, a combination?”

Color is something I have down. My closet is red, pink, purple and blue with basics of black and gray. I own nothing green, yellow, orange, or brown. Your closet may be the opposite. You may own every color of the rainbow. These colors may all be found in just one dress. You may love to experiment with color.

This exercise made me realize I struggle more with choosing styles and fit. Here my success rate is not always great. Focusing on the items I love and those that I avoid showed me that sometimes I go for a trend that just isn’t “me,” wear the cute-on-the-hanger item once, and then pass it by forever after.

When you’ve figured out what works best in your choices, then you can more efficiently plan your future shopping. If one of your favorites is wearing out, keep an eye out to replace it. My flared black skirt is so old it’s literally falling apart; I can’t include it in my top 10 because it should be retired; so if I’m in a store, I’ll be looking for a replacement. Collect styles you like on Pinterest and figure out what it is you like about them.

Meanwhile, you can place your core items front and center to grab on those mornings when the coffee hasn’t quite kicked in and you need to dress in a hurry.

So, your turn!

Take a few minutes and jot down or mentally list your top 10 clothing items.

Bonus step: Add a second-tier 10 to get an even better idea of what pieces are your go-to clothes. This helped me see more clearly what to keep, what to purge, and what to add.

Then think about 5 items of clothing that hang in your closet that you continually pass over. Figure out why — color, fit, style, all of these? Give them to someone who will enjoy wearing them.

A few sessions of analyzing what you have now, what is only confusing you by hanging in your closet, and what you want to add someday will truly give you more time to enjoy life! Tell us in the comments how it goes!

Coming up:

Step Two: Purging Your Closet — the Clothes

Step Three: Purging Your Closet — the Shoes

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