Gentleness...

i am learning lessons in gentleness...

(the learning is not always perfect!)

my mind sometimes runs in circles

i'm fast, efficient! (she "proudly" claims!)

 (lots to be done, and i'm the designated driver 

much of the time)

these qualities do not lend themselves to gentleness...

and it is no secret that i value strong thinking;

freedom of ideas and equality of expression 

are extremely important concepts to me

there is (i'll say) Care missing in my life...

(there can be a relationship between what we're receiving 

and how much we're able to give, i think...)

but there is overwhelming Grace in my life, too,

and Grace makes our resources for giving more than 

we could even imagine in our own strength

i owe it to myself and to the people i love 

to show gentleness...

to do the things i do with kindness; 

not just because they need to be done...

i resolve to  call out the better, deeper parts of myself...

to be gracious, giving...gentle.

"Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in."

(1 Peter 3:4 Msg.)

my fall mantel

"Autumn was here...

the air was full of it's muted music."

(L. M. Montgomery)

i love Autumn...Fall...whatever it's called! i like putting up a few decorations every year, but i've never done much to the mantel. Actually, i'm not too much of a decorator...i like simple, easy, & cheap:) but (last week) i did something i rarely do...i looked at a few decorating blogs. My goodness-gracious, there are scads and scads of them out there!! truly overwhelming for my small (uncreative) mind! and a bit dangerous! Cause looking got me in the mood for doing! (there's a principle in there somewhere, my friends!) 

so....here are the results...

i'm very pleased with how it turned out... 

(an aside : taking pictures of a mantel is easier said than done...

it's tricky, let me tell you!)

(aside #2 : i spent <$25 total for this effort)

~ i bought the fall garland off of Etsy...when i saw it, i fell in love! it was very affordable...and the nice lady at This Cozy Life even made it precisely to my measurements and sent it right off. She made it of crocheted yarn and added mulberry paper leaves every so often : beautiful! While i waited for it to arrive, i panicked that it wouldn't work out...but it fits perfectly! my Mom and i both love it and are enjoying it so much!

~ since i'm lazy, i never like moving my pottery off of the mantel....so i knew it needed to stay. i really love how all the colors work together...i basically just used stuff from other rooms to get "the look" i wanted.

~ do you need reminders of how you should think? i do! and i need encouragement! so i used my framed "Love" picture. my cousin Rhonda bought me the little glass plaque in Italy....it's one of my favorite things and i think the colors work so well.

~ and i printed out some song lyrics that fit with this season of Thankfulness (that project took a lot more effort than one would think....i never did really achieve what i wanted, but i like it fine.) Found the frame at Goodwill:) and the pewter dish was given to me by college friends...good memories.

~ i have a thing for decorating with wheat in autumn....
always makes me think of the verse "Except a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone: but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit." (John 12:24)

~ not exactly sure what this decorating mix is called...but i like it. and i enjoy using my fall candle that Jenny & Maddie gave me last year. Again...good memories. Maybe that's part of the deal with decorating...preserving memories, pleasing our creative tendencies (such as they may be!), and finding reasons to celebrate and focus on good things. That's what i want my decorating priorities to be, at any rate. These small touches are easy on my eyes....

and make my heart happy.