Tag blessings

Again.

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My prayer list is about a mile long and yet God continues to send me reports of answered prayers for others. It makes my heart happy…and then, just to top it off, He also sent me this…

Don’t overlook the small stuff. Not every communication from God involves a rolling thunder or a flash of lightning. His is the still, small voice and the tiny details we are often too busy to notice.

May we all be reminded of His great love for us today and may our prayers be so aligned with His will that all we have to do is celebrate His goodness while we wait on His timing.

Grace and Peace!

Family

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“”Family is family, whether it’s the one you start out with, the one you end up with, or the family you gain along the way.”

–unknown

I come from a large biological family. My father was 1 of 9 and my mother, 1 of 10. It is a powerful thing to know the love of that many people who share bloodlines and as many differences as they do commonalities. The same can be said of the family I married into so many years ago, and the ever-growing one of those who have the distinction of being my chosen family.

This week has been a tumultuous one on the chosen family front with praises for a miraculous new life to celebrate, prayers for those dealing with loss, several unexpected changes, long phone calls, successful medical procedures, and news of healing that still feels too long in coming.

This mix of joy and pain experienced simultaneously is the stuff of life and it always reminds me of a quote by Angie Smith as she wrote, “I can distinctly remember the way grief and joy danced together, as if they had a right to.”

Today is a special day for me as I celebrate the birth dates of my incredible husband, my wonderful sister, 2 precious friends, and 3 other small souls whose lives added love, comfort, and laughter to my own for so long. I never cease to be amazed at the graces afforded to me by those with whom God has blessed me.

I will be taking some time off from blogging to celebrate, minister to, host and love on some of those who have been gifted to me. Who knows what stories, blessings, and laughter may come of it?

See you shortly!

Grace and Peace!

Without excuse

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According to my calendar, Spring is still officially 10 days away, but as the sun comes out after yesterday’s rain, it looks like Spring to me.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Romans 1:20

Grace and Peace!

Combinations of grace

Becky Childs 3 Comments

With apologies for borrowing a phrase from Jane Austen, when I was growing up it was “a truth universally acknowledged” that reds and pinks just didn’t go together. For confirmation of that admonition, just ask my #4. (Ha!) It really was a thing.

I didn’t agree then and I am even less convinced all this time later. That’s why it felt like a no-brainer to join up the pastelly pale violet, the darker salmon-y pink, and the deep, deep crimson blooms as I freshened up the small flower arrangements around the house today. I love the pops of contrast within the same color family, the way they play off each other for both shade and shape, and how the “survivors” from the bouquets I bought 2 weeks ago are still hanging on and being beautiful. Longevity in cut flowers is a trait I greatly prize.

Another prized combination hit my palate last night in the form of freshly baked bread, softened sweet butter, and a generous dollop of blueberry jam. The bread was a gift from a precious new neighbor who chose to share the gift of her friendship in the deliciousness of a loaf still warm from her oven…along with the tantalizing promise of more bread experiments to come in future days.

The combination of her friendship and her desire to share her baking skills are a pleasure to savor, as well. I love it when God arranges for so many variations of delight and beauty all in one day!

Father God, thank you for the beautiful gifts of color, texture, taste, and friendship. Help us to be enthusiastic partakers of the delights You share with regularity and eager sharers of the grace we find as beloved children of the God who created us for His good pleasure…in so many beautiful combinations. Amen.

“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

1 Kings 3: 9-10 (ESV)

Grace and Peace!

Noticing November

Becky Childs 2 Comments

“For those who are counting, this is our 7th year to embrace this practice of positivity. Looking back, I noticed that I’ve developed somewhat of habit of waffling about whether or not to personally participate and blog about NCN over the past couple of years. As I scrolled through some of my previous posts, I was also reminded that God has consistently used NCN as a way to help me regain my focus…and, each year, He has shown up and reminded me that my blessings far out strip my capacity to count them.”

Becky Childs, quietambitions blog, November 1, 2022

The quote above is from my Day 1 post for last year’s #NoComplainNovember. Every detail remains the same…well, almost every detail. This year, a job change, subsequent move, multiple rounds of Covid, travel schedule, and other life details meant I COMPLETELY forgot about No Complain November until about 5 days ago…just before company arrived for a nice long weekend visit. I haven’t had much time to “waffle” about NCN, but I have been sensing the need to make a change, just the same.

I’ve spent the last 6 months handling every single item we own multiple times as we sold, donated, dispersed, packed, loaded, unloaded, unpacked, and began settling in place again. I have been incredibly tired and unspeakably blessed all at the same time. There hasn’t been a single moment when I wasn’t absolutely certain that God had orchestrated this move and has a plan for our good in this process.

Change. It’s not always easy and it’s not always bad. In this “year of many changes,” I have decided to make yet another one. In Scripture, the number 7, signals and symbolizes a time of completion. With what I feel is God’s blessing, I will be observing No Complain November in a different way this year. After seven years, I think I’ve gotten the hang of it and have even expanded the practice throughout MOST—well…many, anyway!–(insert wry grin here) of my other days, though unfortunately, not all…at least not YET. I still hold out hope for that!

THIS year, I will be writing posts about what I am Noticing this November. As the season changes and both the leaves and temps drift downward, I want to share some of the things that I notice about what God is doing in this new season of life change for us. It does us no good to stifle our complaints if we also fail to notice our blessings and consider what God would have us do with the changes He is consistently bringing into our lives.

It is my hope that you will join me in join me in both endeavors this year and actually share what YOU are noticing that God is bringing into your lives, as well.

Grace and Peace–and no complaints!

A Pop of Color

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Each year, we eagerly await God’s paintbrush across the mountains and enjoy the pops of color as they begin to arrive. Our recent rides through the countryside provided ample opportunity to enjoy both the beauty of the fading summer season and the coming days of autumn.

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.”

Genesis 8:22 (NIV)

I love that from the very beginning God chose to create changing colors and make that part of our way to experience His constancy. How many gifts of His we see without recognition or acknowledgment of our Giving Creator!

What will you tell Him “THANK YOU!” for today?

Legacy

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My new-to-me table and chairs make me smile every single time I look in that direction. When I tell you that is often…well, you can’t imagine how accurate (and understated!!) that is.

One hard/rock maple table and 8 matching chairs made in Tennessee, purchased and used for decades in Mississippi, now brought back from Indiana to North Alabama. They’ve been well traveled, and well loved since their purchase by my grandparents for use at my mom and dad’s wedding reception in 1962. Thirty years later, my husband and I sat in these chairs behind the table piled high with gifts celebrating our wedding, too.

I never got to meet my maternal grandfather, so in my mind, these have always been “Grandmother’s table and chairs.” Much of my childhood involves memories of this table groaning under the weight of more desserts and holiday snacks than most people have ever seen in one sitting (the “real food” stayed in the kitchen!), the aunts and uncles sitting around it solving world issues while children ran in and out for “one more piece” of whatever had drawn their attention that day.

Rock maple is plenty hard and heavy. It NEEDED to be to hold up to all those family gatherings, celebrations, weighty discussions, and the ironworker breakfasts and card games while it was in Indiana with my Uncle Joe and his family, but these pieces of wood are also heavily saturated with love. They’re covered up with love, too, in the form of a custom-made 1960s gold tablecloth made by my grandmother’s younger sister, Aunt Pearl.

Yes, the table and chairs have passed to me now, and I am celebrating with every look in that direction, but the real legacy is lots and lots of love. May you also be so blessed and make love your legacy, too.

Grace and Peace!

Sharing

Becky Childs 1 Comment

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero

After packing more than 26 boxes of books for our move, I can tell you this for certain: Marcus was wrong.

You also need people you love to share in the joy of both the books and the garden.

Monday Mission accomplished.

Grace and Peace!