A Journal To Gratefulness... Week 7: LIGHT

The elephant in the room...

The events of the last month have just been pure insanity. Like mind boggling, sad, confusing, scary, and WEIRD! It seems most of us are trying to do whatever we can to not only make it through this, but also help those we love via distance. We're going to get through this. I know it's been said many times, but we are! We've got to keep that mindset in place. We may see some more drastic measures taken/changes happen, but most of the time things get worse before they get better. And that is O K as long as the better happens! So don't give up hope.


Now let me distract you a bit from the regularly scheduled program with some encouragement!

Though the solitude is killing me slowly (lol) I am STILL finding things to be grateful for everyday. With all of this downtime I have been able to pull out some hobbies I haven't worked on in while. I've been focussing a lot on building skills like piano playing and cooking/baking. I'm writing a lot more. I have started all the marvel movies from the beginning, watching them in order of the years they take place in the movies. I'm also working on a new business adventure to hopefully be up in the next coming weeks... you'll get the sneak peek right here! 😉

But one of the things I really felt I needed to pull out and focus on in this down time was painting. I'm not great, let's definitely preface with that lol, but its true therapy for me. Not to mention I usually only paint when I feel something in my heart from the Lord and I was definitely feeling something this week!

These scriptures kept coming to mind every time I would think about what is happening right now: Matthew 5:14-16

 “Your lives light up the world. Let others see your light from a distance, 

for how can you hide a city that stands on a hilltop? 

And who would light a lamp and then hide it in an obscure place? 

Instead, it’s placed where everyone in the house can benefit from its light. 

So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that the commendable 

things you do will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their 

praise to your Father in heaven.”

And this is what I felt in my heart from this verse...

Now is the PERFECT time for the church (the people, not the buildings) to shine so brightly. But how do we shine? How do we illuminate a world that is feeling very dark and heavy at the moment? We have to make the choice to walk in hope, peace, and joy. The enemy is trying to rob us of those specific things right now, but because we know the Giver of hope, peace, and joy we have an answer. 

Walk closely with Him and His amazing attributes will begin to reflect in us. When people are living in fear for tomorrow, we speak peace. When people are feeling destitute, we offer hope. And when sorrow overwhelms the world, we declare JOY!

It is not time for the church to hide (*see disclaimer below), but a time for us to use the resources at our fingertips to shine light. If we know the truth and don't share it, how neglectful that would be. To watch people suffer and not offer up the solution. But if we will climb that hill and allow our lamps to be lit brightly then the eyes of man will be turned to the Father! I know it because His word is truth!

(*Disclaimer: it is VERY important that we keep physical distance from each other right now as we try to snuff out this virus from being passed to those it can be very harmful to. So please use wisdom... you can use social media, phones, letters, literally anything besides physical contact to reach out.)

I'm so grateful that the Lord speaks to us. I'm thankful His word is alive and still breathes life with whomever it comes in contact. I'm also grateful that as His children we know His voice and can trust Him... because even the faintest whisper from Him could calm 1,000 raging seas. So let Him speak to you in this chaos and watch Him change the tone of what is happening... and then share that peace with the world around you!

So, with all that being said I'm going to show you the painting that came out of these thoughts, words, heart processings... be gentle with me lol it's not the best thing I've ever painted, but it means something...

Things I was grateful for this week:

• A home to social distance myself in
• H O P E
• Art

"Grateful: (adjective)

    warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful" - Dictionary.com 

A Journal To Gratefulness... Week 6: PERSPECTIVE

Happy Wednesday Y'all...

To say the last week has been an emotional one is an understatement. But just because it has been emotional does not mean it was a week to write off.

If you are not sure what I'm referring to you can read last week's blog (click here) to catch up.


I've seen so much beauty come out of a week of clearing out destruction and starting to rebuild lives. As is with most disasters, you see a gentleness and kindness come out in [most] people that may not show normally. As is true for the disaster that hit Middle Tennessee last week. We have had SOOOO many volunteers show up and the turn around has been crazy to watch. I am grateful I live in a place where people care for each other... politics aside, race aside, gender aside, all differences aside. It's a beautiful thing, and the way it is meant to be.

Because of all the work going on around here, I've tried to stay off the roads as much as possible. One, I didn't want to get in the way and two, it's super hard seeing the homes and buildings turned rubble. I think of the families and business owners that have a long road ahead of them and my heart hurts. I think of those who lost somebody and that ache it will continue to bring to their family. The businesses who are just trying to provide for themselves and their employees, and now everything is on hold... it's all hard stuff to process and empathy has got the best of me these days.

With that being said, I did have to drive in to town (what us country folk call our nearest town with a Walmart 😆) one evening this week. As I was driving home it had gotten dark and I needed my high beams to be able to see, which is definitely not unusual for country living. But something struck a chord this night. When I turned on my high beams I noticed so much more of what was around me. I saw more and I saw it more clearly. My perspective was different. When I had to switch back to my normal headlights everything narrowed; I saw less and what I did see was definitely less clear. And I had an AHA! moment...

When my perspective is widened and I see a broader picture it's easier to have understanding and be grateful. But when my view is narrow and unclear I tend to focus on the bits and pieces I can see and those become my focus because they're all I have. I'm finding that I have wasted a lot of time with a narrow perspective, but this journey to live a life of gratefulness has really stretched and started to broaden my view.

Yes, this week has been rough and yes, I'm processing through some anxiety from that stinkin' tornado... but every night when I sit down to journal I found myself having a long list of things to be grateful for.

NARROW PERSPECTIVE: fear, loss, anxiety, sadness
BROADENED PERSPECTIVE: community, love, kindness, hard work, unity, provisions, safety, hope, peace, rebuilding, and so much more.

So I want to encourage you this week... don't wait for a disaster to happen to begin to see beauty around you. Take a deep breath, look around, and be grateful for all that surrounds you. So when something does happen your heart and mind are already prepared to be grateful.

Things I was grateful for this week:

• Hearing and knowing the voice of the Lord.
• The therapy that cooking and playing the piano offers.
• Protection and provision.

"Grateful: (adjective)

    warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful" - Dictionary.com 

A Journal To Gratefulness... Week 5: 2nd CHANCE

This week's post is going to be a bit shorter than usual...

If you follow me on social media, or have seen the news, you know that a pretty terrible tornado swept through Middle Tennessee in the early morning hours yesterday, March 3. It touched down in Nashville and made its way to Cookeville (approximately 50 miles, could be 2 separate tornadoes, they still are not sure) doing quite a lot of damage, and taking many lives.

My heart aches for the destruction that has happened, and the families that have lost people, pets, homes, and livelihoods. I'm grateful that the tornado did not turn towards my town, but not at the cost of the lives that were lost.

Here's what my heart is feeling the most thankful for today:

I have a chance to learn from this traumatic and terrifying experience. I just moved here a few months ago and I was not prepared for the fact that tornados would happen... this was an eye opening event. I now know that I need to put some measures in place for safety in this house, I need to get my emergency bags packed for me and my animals, and I need to be more aware...

 But I GET to do these things! 

I have a second chance. 

So today I am thanking the Lord for second chances. I'm thanking Him for being close to the broken hearted and comforting those who are suffering. I'm thankful I can be here to pray and serve. 

If you think of Middle Tennessee in the upcoming weeks, would you pray?

 And if you feel like you need to help in some way here is the link to an organization I love and trust, who are already on the ground helping as we speak: Convoy Of Hope

"Grateful: (adjective)

    warmly or deeply appreciative of kindness or benefits received; thankful" - Dictionary.com