I love loveliness.
I always have, it’s been a theme in my life since I was a tiny thing exploring the rose garden with my Grammy. She would count the leaves and cut each blossom just so. Then she would let me arrange them to be displayed in one of the thousands of nooks around her restaurant and inn. We celebrated the wonder of each bloom, the heavy scent and how even just one could lift the atmosphere in a room, and give it a cheerful air. She has been on my mind a lot lately, and I miss her so much! She was a valiant, practical, elegant, brilliant woman who had the gift of hospitality and could tweak tiny details to perfection. Even her letter openers were carved chopsticks! I learned from her and my mommy (who learned from her) that if you take the time to make the seemingly insignificant things in your world lovely, you create an atmosphere of delight.
This week she crossed my mind as I was simply taking notes of what’s in my fridge, you see, I would LOVE to menu plan, but I either overdo it -then burn out, or don’t do it at all because I want to do it “right.” Our family LOVES food from around the world and I cook based on what I have a hankering for – so, I must have the flexibility to follow culinary inspiration – whether it be PB&Js, French macaroons, Indian curry or grilled cheese. My solution? I keep track of meal possibilities that I have on hand and then pencil them in for no more than 1-5 days out. It works for me! :) BUT it usually looks UGLY. And that makes me sad…So, thinking of Grammy I took 10 minutes and made a pretty printable for myself -rather than my usual scrap paper… then I got carried away the last few days as I added a few others to the collection. (You can print them here:oneseedplanted)
As moms (especially homeschooling moms) it is SO easy to let perfectionism (aka fear of not finishing or not doing it “right.”) creep in and prevent us from ever taking the first step. It paralyzes us from simply jumping in where we are, but even if we are only able to take one teeny-tiny-itsy-bitsy step, it’s a step ahead!! One seed planted can yield abundant fruit. So, that’s why I made the writing areas small -so that I won’t feel pressured to over-plan or get too wordy. Especially on the one I made for God breezes and sparks… just enough space to take note of the Father’s whispers to heart.
So here’s my challenge for you sister: Take one teeny-tiny step in an area that you are feeling stuck. Is it Homeschooling? Dinner time or meals? Leaning into the Father’s heart and hearing from Him?
Here are a few idea seeds to get you planting:
1. Print out these pretties and tape them to your fridge (print it here oneseedplanted)
2. Write in the next meal – it’s totally acceptable to write cereal for ANY meal
3. Note one thing you are thankful for on the God Breezes page & one thing you love about Him. Ask Him to tell you what He thinks about you- and write it down. (It will be amazing!)
4. Open Homeschool Manager and give a child S.T.E.M. credit for a lego structure you saw him or her build, OR add a task for tomorrow that will spark joy in ALL of you. Perhaps tea while you read aloud?
You get the idea, you only need to do ONE tiny thing then celebrate it!
I am praying that everything around you today sparks JOY!
Another blog post with a printable is Delight Directed Discovery, and I share more about my struggle with the lie of perfectionism here…