Wide-eyed Wonder: Slice of Life

Dress-up and playdates are a big part of my life right now. This photo was taken one sunny day this winter when one of our neighbors was over playing dress-up with my daughter on our screened porch. They were dancing around modeling their dresses for me (they changed about every five minutes), while I had one eye on my tasks and one eye on them. I should have been soaking in their joy with both eyes instead.

The longer I looked at this image, the more I realized my longing to possess the wide-eyed wonder it captures. Stray strands of sunlit hair swing carefree, while delighted dances sing sweet with girlish giggles. The light captures and frames the chubby hands and pinch of cheeks that will soon be gone. Why do I sometimes wish it away too quickly? How have I lost this crazy, happy joy? Has growing older made me taller, yet smaller? Could there be an advantage to the childlike vantage point?

Yes. Yes, I think I agree with the writer, Ann Voskamp, who says it is the"perspective of smallness that cultivates surprised wonder, that grows gratitude, that yields joy." Smallness. Small on our knees. Small in our expectations. Small in our services. And so, I also agree with the words of F. B Meyer who said, "it is not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower, and that we have to go down, always down, to get His best gifts." Epiphany! I must become smaller in the world for it to seem bigger! To be filled with joy, I must be filled with the moment. Oh, look at the moon! Look at the wildflowers! Look at the moment! Maybe, I will not always enter every single moment with childlike wonder, but my joy moments can greatly increase simply by refusing to look over them. Instead, by looking them straight in the eye, I can capture many of my moments with childlike wonder and frame them with the beauty God has given to each.

"Anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven." Matthew 18:4.

Full Life: Thankful Hearts

"You will seek me and find me, when you search for me with all of your heart," Jeremiah 29:13.

My daughter loves life. She loves to smell flowers. She collects clover and dandelions in the spring like they are clusters of precious jewels. She told me just today that she loves the cold winter wind blowing across her face (and then she refused to wear her coat in our 30 degree weather...ugh).

I wonder why I don't love those things as much anymore?

Sometimes, in my hurry to the next thing, I forget to marvel at the wildflower. I forget that each flower contains a miracle of microscopic wonder. Why have I grown weary of pondering the pistils and stamens of the world? And why do I turn up the collar of my coat and resist the refreshment of the wind?

Is it this childlike wonder that makes for a full life? If it is, I want it back!

I want to see that each fleeting moment holds a tiny miracle to appreciate. Ann Voskamp says in her book, One Thousand Gifts, that living life fully begins with the giving of thanks. But to be thankful I must first recognize the things that I should be thankful for. That means I have to slow down and intentionally enter life moment by moment.

Ann also says that thanks makes now a sanctuary. "But the busyness of life often leaves little time for the source of your life," says Voskamp. (find out more about Ann and her book here: http://www.aholyexperience.com/).

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." John 1:4. 

Cherry Vanilla Chocolate

Last week was definitely a winter wonderland around here! Schools were closed all week, as we had up to eight inches of snow and ice...something we don't see too much around these here parts! :) It was also cold....brrrrrrr! It was hard, but I got this body out into the snow a few days to play with my daughter, and even my terribly cool teenage son ventured out with us to go sledding in the "Narnia-like" conditions. 

We made some good memories, including making hot-chocolate with a dip of cherry vanilla ice cream added (you should try it)...this became our daily "healthy" snack...it does have lots of calcium plus fruit, you know! :() 

I tried to capture a memory of a minute in one of those days last week in the above photo, and am including it in the winter wonderland theme over at  http://www.iheartfaces.com/2011/01/photo-challenge-winter-wonderland  or click on the icon below.  Check it out! Many more memories captured there!