Saying Grace

"You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” G.K. Chesterton

And, if I may add, "grace before I look at the snow that fell yesterday afternoon." We don't get much snow where I live so when the flakes start falling, this corner of the world tends to stop. It's not the snow that's the problem, of course. It's the ice it leaves behind for the next couple of days. Right now, bright sunlight is coaxing the snow to let go of leaves, branches, and pine needles. Large chunks are falling to the ground. Our neighbor's roof is still covered, though, and the whiteness of it is made brighter, almost blinding, by the sunlight. It's hard to look for long, but then, for this Southern girl, it's hard not to.

What beauty do you see outside your window? Or along your way today?

Snow!

On Sunday morning, we were sitting in our worship service listening to one of our elders systemically and sensitively build a case for faith. He was talking about intelligent design and laying out, one by one, pieces of evidence for intelligent design, for a Creator. I heard someone murmuring behind us but didn't hear what he said. The friend sitting next to me leaned over and said, "It's snowing!" I looked through the huge window that runs the length of our church and there they were: big fluffy flakes falling quickly through the trees on that side of the building. It was a stunning sight.

My daughter would be so excited. I was excited! We don't get much snow in our area so when it's a possibility, I always hold my breath like a little kid, especially now that I'm a parent.

Turning my attention back to the message, I smiled when I realized the elder was talking about the cells in our bodies with their intricate DNA, the length of which blew my mind. God created even the tiniest parts of our bodies, the stars in our vast universe, and snowflakes, too, each one of which is said to be different from all the others. It was a God moment for me.

Later, in our hats and gloves and layers, my daughter and I romped in our front yard while my husband snapped some photos. Our dog was confused and uncertain about the white stuff on the ground, but my daughter was having a blast. She and I stayed out in the cold for as long as we could, hurling snowballs, packing a small snow mountain (our version of a snowman), writing our initials in undisturbed snow. She made a snow angel, too, and my husband took a picture. The shot reminds me of one I took during the snowfall in 2004. The snow angel she made was much smaller, and our snowman was a snow dwarf so tiny it didn't show up in the photo. The hat, coat, and gloves she wore were different then, too, but her smile was the same as on Sunday: wide, dimply, and carefree. It was a God moment. A Designer moment.

25 Random Memories of Beauty

I'm posting a little early this week. I had lots of fun pulling this together. Hope you enjoy reading it.

Here's a list of 25 random memories of beauty that I love:

1. daily sunrise over the trees outside my bedroom window
2. that memorable sunset one summer night at my old house that had the best view in the neighborhood
3. my dog sailing through the air, her ball in her mouth
4. the view of the Alps from the first-class train in Switzerland
5. strolling the gardens at CS Lewis' home, The Kilns, in England with my husband, who loves Lewis as much as I do
6. my first deer sighting: the baby that stood silhouetted in front of my subdivision sign, surrounded by yummy pansies
7. the cheesecake last Friday night; the "braided" white and milk chocolate sauce was art on the plate (it tasted fabulous too)
8. the moments in front of Monet's Water Lilies that started my pursuit of art and beauty
9. the blue and purple hydrangea blossoms on the tables at my friend's July wedding; she was beautiful too
10. Handel's Messiah performances
11. the redwoods, tall and majestic
12. the wild sea at Carmel
13. the desolation and the promise of Mt. St. Helens
14. the surprise snowfall last January that actually stuck around for a few days
15. the orchid house at the botanical gardens
16. our wedding
17. butterflies as big as my hand landing on our butterfly bushes
18. the pink cherry and dogwood trees I planted for my babies
19. the large, vibrant Jar of Clay painting we bought for our 1st anniversary
20. the pears painting too
21. the Oxford Symphony Orchestra performing classical favorites
22. last year's performance of Cotton Patch Gospel at Theatrical Outfit
23. this line from Big River, the musical based on Huck Finn: "considerable joy, considerable sorrow"
24. the wild rose vine in the dogwood tree down the street from my parents' home
25. favorite books read and re-read like The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

What are some of your favorite memories of beauty? Please leave a comment and let me know.