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One Thousand Gifts

 
When I saw the package from Amazon, I tore into the thing thinking for sure it was one of the photography books I just ordered.

Instead, it was this book.

A book I didn't even remember ordering.

For a moment, I got a sick feeling thinking I just ripped open the neighbor's mail. And then just as quickly hoping it wasn't the same neighbor...you know, the one whose package I accidentally opened at Christmastime.  

Looking at the order sheet it definitely had my name on it. Whew. In fact, I preordered this book back on November 13th. No wonder.

Oh my.

Go get this book.

"A book destined to become a classic; the sort of book you dog-ear and re-read for the sheer joy of cherishing the words and experiencing the depth of the heart that wrote it." ----Mary DeMuth, author of Thin Places: A Memoir

I'm only a few chapters in and I wholeheartedly agree with Mary. And I don't even know Mary...never heard of her. But she's right. I have underlined so many passages...

...here's one I put to some photos I snapped yesterday.

It begins: "...I wonder too...if the rent in the canvas of our life backdrop, the losses that puncture our world, our own emptiness, might actually become places to see. To see through to God."

 
 

 
 

A Rosey Winter Day

Day FOUR of schools closed, no mail, freezing temps, and an icy blanket of snow covering metropolitan Atlanta.

 

Thank goodness on Saturday, during our pre-storm grocery run I grabbed this bunch of pink roses to bring home.

 

They were just meant to be enjoyed...

 

...and perhaps to even take outside, tuck into a tree and photograph.  

Surprisingly enough, these little fellas proved to be quite hardy. The afternoon outing in freezing temps didn't ruffle, droop, or discolor their little petals one single bit.

I think there's a lesson from nature tucked in there somewhere for me.

What I wish...

Besides wishing that those weren't our vehicles sitting out on the driveway instead of inside our garage...

 
...especially since Atlanta just got clobbered with about five inches of snow...and intermittent periods of:

 
...with the potential for more on its way...

Besides wishing that the ice would stay away,

and that our vehicles were snuggled inside the garage...

...more important than those types of wishes,

 I wish for:

 
The kind of peace that wouldn't allow the heartbreaking events of Tucson, Arizona to take place.

 
The kind of peace where violence, and anger, and hatred, are not the chosen methods to solve whatever issues, or problems one encounters in life.

 
And I also wish for an outpouring of prayer. Prayers that would reach the hearts of all those whose lives have forever been changed by this senseless act of violence.

Oh, let there be peace.

***

credits: all textures used on photos by Kim Klassen.

A New Year ALREADY?

 
2011? Already? How can that be? I haven't even posted about Christmas yet.

 
Or about our Christmas Day snowfall! The first measurable snow for Christmas in Atlanta in 128 years {according to the newspaper}. Even for someone like me who far prefers

* balmy 90 degrees temps

*and sunshine

*and flowers everywhere

I have to admit it was quite ***heavenly***!

 
But December was a blur. Our youngest had to have hand surgery on the 20th {yes...just before Christmas} to repair torn tendons in his hand. {basketball injury}  And another child moved into a new apartment mid Dec., and on and on.

In other words...."life".......................but despite it all, and perhaps because I chose to be okay with all the things I wanted to do, but couldn't, we really had a special Christmas together. {true confession: i don't receive consistently good marks in being okay with life's circumstances. add it to the "will strive to do better list" i know i would do better if there weren't so many circumstances...ha ha}

{Note to self: Attitude vs. Circumstances. Attitude will prevail every time. So will it be a good attitude, or a stinky attitude?!}

 
Okay, and I'll also confess, an obsession with my new camera and lenses can also be blamed for a little of my MIA as of late...not to mention computer woes that still remain unsolved and continue to worsen....worsen because "moi" tries to use her own set of computer skills {which hover close to the "none" mark} to fix things.... 

But there's a whole new year ahead of us...time to say good-bye to the old, and hello to the new.

Personally, I'm glad to say so long {good riddance?} to 2010. It's been a rough one. The kind of stuff that can send you to a dark pit if you allow it to have the last word. No doubt a lot of you can relate. Yet, I am convinced that without the harder pieces of life, we would never become our best. {assuming of course that we allow these experiences to make us better}

Yet, in fairness, I could fill pages with the blessings that have been mine as well. 

So with that said, here's wishing us all, a New Year filled with endless possibilities............ {like consistently good attitudes!}

 
...and a new voice..............

I'm still contemplating "my word" for the new year...but I think the word "wisdom" is speaking the loudest to me. How about you?

Xo, Sue