I love a greenhouse. They look so charming, on the inside and the outside. I have lots of pictures of beautiful greenhouses pinned on my Pinterest boards. In my fantasy world, I would be able to grow luscious plants and fill a backyard greenhouse full.

Here’s the problem, I really don’t like gardening that much.

At the beginning of the summer, while having lunch with a group of friends, I made the comment that I love early summer.   I said I loved the first days that the pool is open, flowers blooming, going on picnics. 

When we got to that point, my friends said, “Picnics? Do you go on a lot of picnics?”  After that, we had a conversation about what constitutes a real picnic. I think they were envisioning picnics to be the type of thing that needed special baskets and blankets out on a lawn under a tree.  

It’s summer! Time to play and have fun! Don’t we all love to hear those words? Most of us know how to have fun in big ways, like vacations and big parties. However, sometimes I wonder if we remember how to have fun in small ways. Is there more fun out there in tiny morsels if we were willing to savor them?

What do I mean by that? I mean finding whimsy. These are small, playful things in our lives that bring us joy. They are different for everyone. Most of the time, whimsy is temporary; something done “on a whim”. If you can’t think of an example, how about fairy hair and flash tattoos? Or dressing up in fun costumes at Halloween? Some people find whimsy by adding a drink umbrella to their cocktail while others paint their bodies to support their team before a big game.

Have you heard? There is a new style trend called Coastal Grandmother. It is trending on Tiktok and other social media platforms. The term was coined by 26 year old influencer Lex Nicoleta. You don’t have to be a grandmother or live at the beach in order to enjoy it. The aesthetic applies to personal style as well as home interiors. Those who seek a comfortable, breezy look will fit right in.

What we focus on is important. In fact, it has been said that what we focus on expands. I was telling myself that one of my focus areas was peace. However, a few years ago, I realized that everything on my to-do list was related to something else.

I had items about organization, fitness and goal-setting. Things related to work projects, my children’s well-being, other people’s problems, and church volunteer work. If you had analyzed my schedule, you would not have found one thing linked to the pursuit of peace.

Once this awareness dawned, it raised some questions for me. Did I really expect to become peaceful without any effort? I guess I was expecting some peaceful magic to occur. At that point, I made a shift and added some new practices into my routine.

At the beginning of each year, like many others, I pick a word of intention. However, the many pivots of late has made the task of picking a one word that applies to a whole year pretty daunting.

Therefore, this year, I have decided to take things one quarter at a time. I will pick a word that applies to the first quarter of 2022…after that, I may need a new word…we’ll see. My word for Q1 is RESET

Getting a gift is a special event…you see a lovely package and wonder what is inside…tear open the paper and discover a gift. Sometimes, it is exactly what you wanted. Other times, you receive something that you thought would be a gift but it isn’t right for you at all.

My oldest daughter graduated from high school last spring and went to college this fall. As we approached this life event, there were lots of opportunities to reflect over the big moments of her childhood and relish the pictures we took. It is a special blessing to get to experience those moments with both of my daughters. However, many of the blessings I have had with my children were much more ordinary. There are thousands of everyday joys that happened of which we do not have pictures and probably don’t even remember.

Sometimes I wonder what God thinks when God looks at us. I wonder if we are living lives that are anywhere close to the lives God intends for us to live. Is God questioning why we don’t notice each different color of fall leaves on the trees? Or listen to all the soothing sounds of nature that can be heard when you sit out on the porch? Or enjoying the sweetness of each different type of berry? Why would God make a world full of so much diverse beauty and sweetness if it was not meant to be enjoyed by God’s creatures?

One of my favorite things to do is read…I’ve always loved a story. In fact, even when I choose things to watch, I’m mostly interested in the story being told on screen. I’m pretty sure that I’m not alone in this fascination with stories. Products even get sold by the stories that connect them to consumers. The face of a brand is often what catches people’s attention.

Life is increasing complex these days. In many arenas of life, the familiar and routine have been upended. Technology, the pandemic, our political divide, cancel culture…so many things are shifting the ways in which we relate to our world. Dealing with these complexities makes me yearn for simplicity. I feel pulled towards things that are straightforward and clear.

Resting seems like a simple behavior. The definition of rest includes “a brief pause; freedom from labor; and a state of motionlessness”. That is pretty succinct and do-able. However, just because something is simple, does not mean it is easy. Resting continues to be challenging for our culture. Most of that has to do with the link we make between being busy and feeling important.

Summer is a season filled with its own special magic…the days are long and filled with light. Living in the south, summer stretches from from May to September with heat and humidity. Our summer includes lots of time around pools, beaches or lakes. We spend time on picnics and porches.

This summer, my family was blessed with the opportunity to take a trip to a National Park and spent time outdoors hiking and enjoying nature. The views were spectacular and great family memories were shared. Due to the state of travel right now, there were many other people who had the same idea.

After a few days of hiking, I noticed something. When people are hiking, they tend to bring their most friendly and cooperative selves to the task

At some point, however, I realized that I wanted peace in life, but had not added any items to my to-do list to related to it. My quest for peace was more of a wish than an actual plan. When I looked at my calendar and my list of tasks to be completed, there was nothing on there that was in any way related to peace. I guess I thought peace would magically appear.

Over the weekend, I participated in our church women’s retreat. Due to the pandemic, it was virtual and I was on the planning team to prepare ahead of time. Our team had many discussions about how to create a connected experience amid a landscape where everyone is tired of life on screens. Prior to the retreat, I will confess that I felt a little dread. The thought of spending a beautiful Saturday staring at my screen was not exactly what I thought I needed.

In anticipation of my upcoming online course, I’ve been focusing much of my attention on life’s rhythms.  The course is called Restoring Life’s Rhythms and will assist participants in resetting their patterns to create peace and purpose.  To that end, I have begun to delve deeply into the concept of rhythm…what is it and why we need it in our lives?  

Each year, I select a word to focus on as a source of inspiration and tone. Last year, my word was brave. Who knew when I selected that word it how much it was going to apply to my year! This year, my word is INTENTIONAL. As I have begun my intentional journey, I took the concept a step further and selected an additional word for each month around which I would design my content for Create Harmony.