Beauty Through My Eyes

So loving everything autumn! Though the past couple of days have just left me shivering with the drastic dip in temperatures, I still love the ever-changing palette of color and beauty that accompanies this, my favorite season.

What's your favorite fall activity for a Sunday afternoon? I am heading for a hot beverage, an extra cozy blanket and an obligatory nap ( not really though . . . no one need force me to lay down!) see y'all later! I'm off to snooze and maybe watch some stuff on the Roku with the fam.

On His Adventure~
Pam

Can't Help But Smile

Do y'all have certain things in your life that make you smile regardless of how down in the depths of despair you may find yourself?

What is your "go to" when nothing else can coax a grin?

I have a couple. Pictured at left is one of my top five. I bought these red boots for myself as a late birthday present when I turned 40. From the moment I first saw them on the website, I knew they had to be mine.

From the moment they arrived at my house in Rome, GA, they have brought a smile. No, they cause a full-out toothy grin that emits 1000 watts of illumination just about every time I see them. I. love. these. boots!

They're a little scuffed now, and they have survived a number of moves since they first joined me all those years ago,  but they still bring me great joy. I can't help but smile when I see them. My sassiness factor escalates at least 10 points when I wear them. I almost skip. Well, I do skip! You would too if you could find them. Because I can't, I also have my eyes on these. I think they may need to be my second pair someday.

Another certain smile starter joined my list several years back. I don't even have to see it to have the grin start to steal away at the corners of my mouth. I can picture the photo in my memory and have a chuckle almost immediately escape my mouth. Let me be in the presence of said photo taken at the Georgia Aquarium, and my chuckle erupts into a literally rolling on the floor laughing episode. I'd share the photo here, but the faces of the innocent must be protected.

After several rough days emotionally and physically, I have needed these tangible reminders of better times. I have needed some confirmed giggles -- those things you can always count on to dispel the gloom. Just when I find myself convinced I can't get out of bed, I find one of these day brighteners just the boost of hope I needed at the perfect time.

Maybe you can relate. Maybe you have those days too. I'd encourage you to find some rock solid joy bringers that put you in a place where you "can't help but smile."

Have a great rest of your weekend!

On His Adventure~
Pam

Joy and Beauty

I know the whole idea of the 31 days is meant to be about writing. For more reasons than I can count, the writing didn't happen today. Here's to trying again tomorrow. Until then, I am headed to bed and clinging to the promise above.

On His Adventure~
Pam

Thursday Thanks Tank #213

A few months into my blogging journey I realized I wanted a recurring post. (Great idea in theory -- not so much in practice unfortunately). I came up with a feature I called a "Thursday Thanks Tank: Filling up the Tank with Thanks" and started making a list each Thursday of how God had been filling my "tank" that week. 

Here's this week's list:

• Color: I love to paint and create. I never cease to be amazed at the plethora of colors available to me. Shading, lighting and perspective all give the colors I love a new life. Hopefully you'll get a peek at what I have been doing with color lately very soon.
• Roku: This little creation has transformed our family TV watching. I may never ever watch live television again. What did we do when we couldn't stop and rewind? Currently loving The Voice, Red Band Society, and of course The Middle.
• Mercies New Every Morning: After a day like I just finished, I am so grateful for the promise of a fresh start every new day.
• Sleep: Simple. Necessary. God ordained. Where I am headed now. 

Have a great Friday! Take some time to be intentionally grateful this week. You'll be glad you did.

On His Adventure~
Pam

Beauty Beyond Being Alone

I've mentioned I am a writer. I am also an editor and proof reader by trade. Putting my journalism degree to good use has ebbed and flowed throughout the past 20 or so years as I've woven stretches of other jobs in its midst.

I freelance occasionally in the editing/publishing world and have gotten the chance to transition home to work and be better for my family. Just when I think we won't make it and figure I must be mighty creative with the last can of beans on the pantry shelf, I find a project needing to be edited. God has been faithful when I am faithless, and He routinely makes beauty out of the messes I make on my own.

Working from home has had its pluses and minuses. At different times in having the privilege of doing freelance work from my house, I have gotten very used to being inside these four walls. They can become a cocoon of sorts, but even the butterfly must eventually brave the world outside the cocoon in order to fulfill the purpose for which it was created.

The pluses to this kind of job are many. I can work in my pajamas. I can start my day pretty much whenever I want. I can take breaks or take no breaks if I choose. I have no time clock, no one looking over my shoulder, few parameters to confine me, and I get paid to point out and correct other people's mistakes.

I love my job. I still need more work to make it financially lucrative over the long haul, but I do thoroughly love what I do, and I am good at it.

The down side to doing work from the house comes when I've not left the confines of this building for days on end and find it difficult to wear anything but pajamas. Add to that the fact of homeschooling my teenagers who need to interact with someone besides their middle-aged mother, and it is a must for me to push myself out the door and into the big world outside my bedroom.

The very nature of my line of work draws the introvert, the loner, the one who flees a crowd rather than the one drawn into the middle of it all. I am all of the above. I would much rather chat with someone via instant message or text than do the tough work of mingling in person. One energizes me and brings me comfort. The other drains me, leaves me weary, and at times longing for the solitude of my bed.

Yet, though it is a struggle at times for me to push out of the safety of the home cocoon,  I press on and find God meets me in my hermit tendencies. He gives me strength. He has people cross my path that make the venturing out worth the effort. He weaves beauty into all I see outside my well-crafted and self-imposed prison of sorts.

God takes the mundane and ordinary, turning it into an adventure as I laugh with my children and enjoy the fall weather. Peeking my head out of my virtual turtle shell was a success today. I might get brave and try it again tomorrow!

If anyone else struggles with the idea of home becoming too much of a haven, let me know what your strategies are to fight the hermit in your head. I'd welcome suggestions. I don't want to miss a thing God has for me out there in that big world. Go check out some of the other posts in the Write 31 Day challenge.

As always . . .

On His Adventure~

Pam