Ponderings

I’ve been reading some really good thought provoking books, having some really good discussions, and Rob has been preaching a really good sermon series on our churches liturgy. All of which combine with other random thoughts in my head.

In no particular order…

A dear friend of mine is working on a talk she will give this summer at the ACCS (Association of Classical Christian Schools) conference. Her topic is titled From Wonder to Wisdom and I am utterly smitten with the concept. For as long as I can remember I have loved Proverbs 8, in particular verses 22-31 “…then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the children of man“
Lady Wisdom herself wonders and delights in created world so who are we to not do the same? It doesn’t seem much of a stretch to view wisdom and wonder as two golden strands that are intertwined swirling one into the other over and over again. Much of today’s science (worldly wonder) seems to be severed from wisdom leaving it futile and surely lacking in wisdom. Thinking about this makes me wonder how it might connect to the teachings of Jesus telling us that we must come to Him as a little child? I think there might be a connection, don’t you?

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Speaking of wonder, I was walking the pups last night and sneezed. Oh my goodness, it was hilarious! They both froze for a second and then came up to me as if to make sure I was okay. They have been so fun to have around. They react adorably to singing too.
They keep a close eye on the horses behind us. Lucy is pregnant and due anytime now and we all are eagerly awaiting the arrival of her foal. I’m more than half way hoping she has it during the day and I can photograph it.
I feel like the foggy mornings make for a rather fairytale look, don’t you?

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We’ve been slowly introducing the pups into the house for short periods of time. We try to make sure the cats are tucked away but every now and then there is a stare down and as long as one of us is there to keep a hand on the dogs so they stay calm it goes okay.
Do you ever watch a cat and wish you could stretch they way they do? Or sleep? They can sleep anywhere it seems!

Other stray thoughts.

Angry people don’t always look angry.

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I want to be known as a hospitable person. Not just when feeding people, although I do delight in that. But the word hospitable means more than being generous with food. It also means “promising or suggesting generous and cordial welcome; offering a pleasant or sustaining environment.” I want to be a hospitable wife and mother and friend. Meaning I want my people to find in me a welcoming place for their hopes and dreams and stories of their day. I want them to know I am delighting with them in those thoughts and dreams and stories of how their day went.

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Nothing feels as nice as freshly laundered sheets when you get into bed at night.

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Last random thought of today. The first picture in this post I took the other morning because I was up early enough to see the sun shooting through the trees in all its glory. This last image I took of the sunset the other night while at a Super Bowl party at some friend’s house.

I highly encourage you to make the time to watch the occasional sunrise and sunset. Wake up early just to see the start of a new day. Stop what you are doing just to see the end of a day. I promise it’s good for your soul.

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The Common Daisy

This year in my gardening adventures I have discovered the daisy. Normally I look for flowers with bright colors and lush green leaves that fill up a space and draw the eye so I am not real sure how I stumbled upon them but I planted about a dozen little bunches of them in various flower beds.

They are actually considered a composite flower which means that the cheery yellow center (a disc floret) is a flower in itself apart from the white petals ( a ray floret) which is considered its own flower. Because the two combine so well as to seemingly be a single flower the daisy is oftentimes seen as a symbol for true love. They can also symbolize innocence and purity.

Because the white petals close up each night and reopen in the morning daisies were often referred to as the “day’s eye” in Old English and it is the origin of our phrase “fresh as a daisy.” Tradition has it that in the 1800’s the phrase “ups-a-daisy” was coined as a way to encourage children to hop up when they fell down because daisies are such prolific growers and are difficult to get rid of even after mowing.

Daisies are also edible with the leaves and petals being used in everything from salads to sandwiches. They’re also considered to have astringent properties and can be used for medicinal purposes. Wild daisies have been brewed in teas to treat coughs and bronchitis for hundreds of years.

What I have discovered is that these little unassuming flowers offer a steadfast quiet beauty. They’re not flashy. In my mind if they were a person they’d be the one that is self assured and goes about their business just being who they are and doing what they do simply because that is who they are and what they do.

I turned fifty this year. I am not sure what it actually feels like to be grown up beyond the somewhat sudden onset of odd aches and pains that remind me I have gotten older but I have decided I want to be a daisy in my old age. It endures with patience and without resentment and that seems to me to be a good thing to strive for. A sort of floral expression of meekness in the right biblical sense if I can be so fanciful about it.

The scientific name for the common daisy is bellis perennis which comes from the latin words for pretty and everlasting and calls to my mind the idea of of that gentle and quiet spirit that we’re told is beautiful in the sight of God. The kind of beauty that doesn’t fade because it really isn’t about the outside as much as it is the inside showing up in a way that displays contentment and settledness.

In all seriousness, albeit a whimsical way to think of it, this idea dovetailed with my pondering on the verses from Ephesians that I posted yesterday. Specifically verse 29 and how it relates to my speech imparting grace to the hearer. Oh, how I want my words to give grace more than proving my skillful sarcastic wit or disdain for what may very well be an inferior position.

If we are a people who live by the Word, by His words, then I think our speech is a garden of daisies with the composite blooms of life and healing. His words should shape our thinking. His words should shape our words so that we speak His words. Steadfast and quiet yet full of grace. Not big or flashy but patient, adorning our conversation and bringing relief from the sting of the world.

“Daisies infinite uplift in praise their little growing hand o’er every hill that under heaven expands.” ~ Ebenezer Elliott.

If you would like to enjoy some more pictures of my lovely daisies you can click here for a Wordless Wednesday post on the photography blog.