Dear Friends,
Happy August! It’s been a long while since I have written a Monday Morning Inspiration post for you. Before I begin, I wanted to share some of my recent joys! July was a busy month, starting out with a hospitalization for my mother and then my birthday celebration on the 4th. Due to Covid19, we stayed home and celebrated in the garden, but the greatest gift was that my mother came home and was safe after her hospitalization in a Covid unit.
Russ built me the most beautiful stand for my harp. It was truly one of the most thoughtful gifts because he created it with his own two hands and then painted it with musical notes and fancy legs and it’s just the right height. I adore it and him. My adult children, Ashley and Daniel bought me a gorgeous crystal flute with hand painted roses. My birthday was extremely warm but we sat in the yard and played instruments. While we missed celebrating with our larger family, we are learning to make the most of our new norm (social distancing).
This pandemic has made our worlds much smaller, but slowed us down enough to feel fully blessed to spend time with those who are closest to us and to give thanks for our time together. It has forced us to ignite old passions and creative pursuits as well as reading great books, listening to music that brings us joy and a general sense of peace and happiness.
I would never have thought that I would be spending so much time alone with my immediate family at this time last year. We all have busy lives and pursuits that we enjoy, but this pandemic has invited us to slow down and celebrate togetherness. The gift of presence is something that we are all learning as we spend days together, talking and listening. Now more than ever, it seems important to hear what is on the minds and hearts of loved ones. Now more than ever, it seems appropriate to recognize and celebrate the inner strengths and victories of our loved ones. Now more than ever, it has become important to celebrate this small community and the priceless contribution that each person makes to an overall sense of collective joy.
In July, I finally got close enough to offer pre-orders on my next workbook, “Faith, Hope & Healing”, which will be out in November. This is a tremendous victory for me, as I have had so many setbacks with my own health and healing over the past year and so many new realities to accept in my extended family as we go through the hard season of ups and downs with aging parents. It’s been tough.
All good things take time because we have to go through the process of birthing them out of our own personal experience. Life gives us wisdom. In 2019, God gave me a vision for my work in 2020 and I wrote a year full of e-courses. I teach one each month and just completed the July course, “Cultivating an Inspired Life.” Since it is now August, we have started the “Cultivating a Joyful Life” e-course, so my personal theme for the month of August is “JOY”. Needless to say, I have been utilizing this quarantine time to do the inner work of seeking, praying and writing more regularly.
I feel confident that you are also learning new things during this pandemic-new ways of seeing, thinking and doing. New ways of loving and honoring the important people in your lives. We are all in a state of transition and we all need one another. This can be a time of great personal and spiritual growth if we are receptive to change. I encourage you to keep a prayer journal as much as possible in the coming months. We are living through things that our country and the world have never experienced.
Here is something for you–feel free to right click and download:
Enjoy every moment with those whom you hold dear. Take time to listen and be fully present. Make it a personal quest to think upon all that is good. I will end by sharing some fun garden quotes and a few scripture passages:
“The man who has planted a garden feels that he has done something for the good of the whole world.”
Charles Dudley Warner
“They kill good trees to put out bad newspapers.” James G. Watt
“There is just as much beauty visible to us in the landscape as we are prepared to appreciate–not a grain more.” Henry David Thoreau
“The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” 1 John 2:8
“Under His wings you will find refuge.” Psalm 9:1
“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8
Happy August to each of you! May you find beauty in the splendor of God unfolding all around you as we inch toward Autumn.
xoxo.
Mary