bsmiles and sunny days

  Every morning my alarm goes off just before sunrise. Some days I hurry out of bed to see it. I pull my chair closer to the window to get the best view of the wonder and brilliance of light filling the sky. Every single time, the words of a song echo in my mind. “I see Your face in every sunrise, the colors of the morning are inside Your eyes. The world awakens in the light of the day, I look up to the sky and say, ‘You’re beautiful.’ “ It never fails. I see His face in every sunrise. I’ve spent a lot of my Christian life wrestling with the “doing” for God and neglecting the “being” with God. With Him is where everything beautiful happens.  John Piper teaches that God is most glorified in us when we are most SATISFIED in Him. Sitting with God in the morning fills me up in a way that nothing else does. It disengages me from my life and my hustle and my role to join Him in His. And let me tell you, it is absolutely soul satisfying.  “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask wh

Found this little piggie in a blanket when I was cleaning out my corner cabinet. Usually I get the fever to purge my house a few days before New Year’s Day. This year it started a month early. When I finished my last library book, I was perusing the available titles and came across a book called “The Minimalist Home.” Minimalism has always appealed to me because I’m a hoarder by nature, and I loathe clutter. It’s the perfect storm for a family the our size.  I listened to the first chapter in the car by myself. It was so inspiring that as soon as I got home, I unloaded half of my closet’s items into a garbage bag for donation. The next day I listened to another chapter. Right away I started emptying drawers and cabinets, closets and storage areas.  I knew I would love how it felt to have less stuff, but I didn’t know I’d be excited to get out of bed every morning and get rid of more. I can’t understand why I keep things, but it has taken me years to finally let them go. I have noticed