Little Things and Heavy Days

 

I was so encouraged by your response to the post I wrote last week pondering "little things" and their place on the blog. You reminded me that little things and little moments are what life is made of, and it does not deny the hard things to appreciate the little things. 

Because there have been heavy days this week.

We are all well here. But there are friends and loved ones (blog friends and near friends and extended family) who are suffering illness and loss. And when you love those who are suffering, you suffer too. 

But I will share with you some little things (which are really the big things) in our world this week.


~  Autumn light

~ A little anniversary getaway

Our 43rd wedding anniversary was in August, but August is crazy so we waited until Ron had some days off in September. It was short and sweet, but so refreshing! 

~ antiquing ~ coffee ~ relaxing ~

Our selfie game is not good 😂,
but here we are enjoying our first of many coffees on our two day trip.

~ Autumn potpourri that is making our house smell amazing! 

~ Autumn at the farm stand 

~ Autumn at the back door 

I will leave you with some beautiful music that Bekah played at church last Sunday. I love this wonderful old hymn! May it be an encouragement to you today! (In case you don't know the words, I have pasted them below. They are rich!)

 

1. HE LEADETH ME
   lyrics by Joseph Gilmore
   
   He leadeth me, O blessed thought!
   O words with heav’nly comfort fraught!
   Whate’er I do, where’er I be
   Still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.
   • Refrain:
     He leadeth me, He leadeth me,
     By His own hand He leadeth me;
     His faithful foll’wer I would be,
     For by His hand He leadeth me.
2. Sometimes ’mid scenes of deepest gloom,
   Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,
   By waters still, o’er troubled sea,
   Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.
3. Lord, I would place my hand in Thine,
   Nor ever murmur nor repine;
   Content, whatever lot I see,
   Since ’tis my God that leadeth me.
4. And when my task on earth is done,
   When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won,
   E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
   Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

Little Things

I have found my blog languishing again . . . 

When I look back through my old blogposts in search of a date or a photo, I see enthusiasm and amazing frequency of posting. How in the world did I post so much when I was in the throes of homeschooling? How did I have so much to share and so much to say? When did I find time to do it? 

Well, I am very busy in my "retirement." My family is larger. I do my best to stay connected and involved in all of their lives. I am more involved in my church. I make time for friends (although I feel like I fail at that much of the time). We are juggling two vehicles among three drivers which complicates the schedule. 

Also, I am slow. Always have been. Even more so as I get older. 

And . . . maybe it's this as much as anything else . . . I sometimes feel like I need to have something Grand and Important to say to jump back in after a blog lag. Anyone else? 


But the reality is that the little things are God's graces and those are always Grand and Important! So I am going to make an effort to take a few minutes more frequently to post a little thing or two. 

* * * 

Here is a little thing that brings a smile: 

I love to  s l o w l y  decorate for autumn, collecting little bits here and there and scattering them inside and out throughout the season. (Sometimes, the whole collection finds a home on my Thanksgiving table.) I picked up these Baby Boo pumpkins at a farm stand the day after Labor Day. Then this week, I decided that I needed a mum on the Shaker table, so I rose before dawn to take Ron to work so that I could have the van, and was at Walmart before 7 am (who am I even?) and picked out this lovely little burgundy one. 

Yes, these little things make me smile.