On seeing the small details…

Last week I sat outside with my older two children and read a book, which was very much not the plan I had envisioned for quiet time. Moments before I had been reading inside on the couch but soon I was invited outside to see their newly built fort.

They had the beach umbrella set up, the patio chairs arranged in a special shape, and the chair cushions were everywhere. When I neared their fort there was a gentle nudge from my oldest inviting me to take off my shoes before stepping foot inside. (Of course this happened!)

They were inviting me to read my book inside their fort; it was hard to disagree with them.

Above us, the sun was playing tag with the clouds and the sun was winning. After a long winter of gloom and gray, I was definitely rooting for the winning team.

Sunshine, you’re playing the game well.

(Good for you, my mom voice cheers!)

I peeked to my right and saw the beautiful blooms of our neighbors magnolia tree.

Just the night before I had listened to one of my favorite podcasts, At Home With Sally. As usual, Sally was sharing encouraging words, and as usual, this was my new favorite episode. This particular episode resonated with me because Sally was sharing about meal times and creating memorable environments with your children. As I sat outside with my two older children bits of this episode were replaying in my mind.

I felt the weight lessen of needing to create frequent teachable moments. (They will happen naturally, just be patient.)

I began to daydream about memorable environments. What do those really look like?

Grace.

Gentleness.

Beauty.

Slow-to-bloom smiles.

Tenderness.

Noticing the small details: a worm inching forward, the clouds changing shape, a marshmallow snack.

A meal shared together.

And then I began to think about wanting to notice more small details in our lives. I want to get lost in my beautiful life. (Do you want that, too?) I am praying the Lord helps me with this shift, with stopping what doesn’t make sense to finish, with the importance of community and being with others, with more time spent in prayer and thanksgiving.

I am so close to finishing the book, The Next Right Thing. Friends! This book has caused me to totally pivot with my thinking habits. I can’t wait to share more. Have you read it? Maybe you already know that I prefer paper copies of books, however if you prefer listen to audiobooks you should get The Next Right Thing as audiobook as Emily, the author, recorded it herself. And she’s got a wonderful voice. I’m so glad Emily has not only taken the time to notice the small details, but that she writes about them. Her words are an encouraging balm.

My thoughts are bouncing back and forth between what Sally recently shared in her podcast episode and what I’m ferociously underlining in Emily’s book. Almost every page has something underlined, and that is not an exaggeration.

The tide is changing for me. I’m seeing the small details. I’m finding myself in memorable environments. As Ann Voskamp once shared, and I’m paraphrasing here ~ consider reading through multiple works at a time. Let the authors speak to you, let the stories you read mix together inside your mind to create a new storyline. What are you hearing being said?

This is something I’ve done for most of my life. In fact, I can remember back to when I was hardly a teenager and my dad asked why I was reading three new books at once. My response was more of a facial expression that said: why wouldn’t I do this?!

It’s good for the storylines to talk to each other.

Memorable environments.

Healthy thinking habits.

Feeling warmth rise.

Sunshine, you’re playing the game well.

PS. I’m so glad my plan for quiet time didn’t last long… their plan was 200x better.