As I sit at the window seat with a hot cup of tea and a warm blanket, I am gazing out at the wonders of His hands.  The beauty that bestows me is breathtaking.  There is a peace, a calm that has blanketed the earth.

Yes, I live in an area that has been hit with the winter storm which, left us with two feet of snow.  There are issues and problems at hand to deal with; yet, I have welcomed the storm in all of its beauty.  It has allowed me to step out of the rat race and the norm to be in the moment in order to take care of the simple things of life in which we need to survive.

Being snowed in reminds me to be grateful for all that we have.  Although we have not lost power, we did lose our TV, phones, and Internet for a while.  It was a strange feeling to not be plugged in to the outside world, but it felt good at least for a short time.  I suddenly became so grateful for all of our technology today as it has only been a few short years ago that we all lived unplugged.

In these moments of quiet stillness, I cannot help but be in awe of His beauty.  What I am seeing out of my window is His masterpiece. Who can create such a masterpiece as this?  Truly a reflection of  His glory.  After all, anytime an artist creates a piece of art, that artwork is a reflection of the one who created it.

When I ask, Lord, what parts of you are you reflecting, all I can hear are things like, quietness, peace, stillness, beauty.  And then I hear, “Be still and know that I am God.”

If you have never seen the work of Snowflake Bentley, you are in for a real treat. He has an amazing story that will leave you thinking about the awesomeness of God our creator.  Enjoy!

One of my mentors, Jon Benson, taught me the beauty of core values.  They are things in our lives that we live for and things we die for.  They are what makes us us and things we cannot live without.  Core values are what makes us tick, move, groove, fail, succeed.  They are the why behind all of our reasons.  A few examples …

God/faith  family   security
love   beauty   creativity
joy   peace   serve/service
wealth   order   freedom

The more we know and understand the beauty of core values in our lives and actually live by them, the more fulfilled we live.  And sometimes when we’re faced with a big goal and/or task it is imperative that we link our core values to the project.  Otherwise when the tough gets going we will have a tendency to give up.  We need to know our why – even – the why behind the why.

One of my core values is beauty.  I have learned the importance of having and creating beauty in my life.  Without it life becomes blah and I can become depressed.  Beauty motivates me and inspires me.  It can certainly make me move and groove.  Something beautiful can instantly bring me to tears as it touches my soul, that inner part that makes me me.

I never used to be a tea drinker.  Why do I bring that up?  Because years ago I discovered the beauty of drinking tea.  There’s a real art behind tea time and tea parties … and oh my gosh how I love that art.  It’s so beautiful to me as it appeals to all five of my senses.  It nurtures my soul and brings me incredible joy.

Taking it a step further, when sharing the experience of tea time with others it becomes an act of kindness, an act of service, which is another core value of mine.  A person doesn’t have to like tea to be nurtured by the whole experience.  And don’t think for a minute that the guys don’t enjoy it because they do even if they don’t want to admit it. =)

If you haven’t done something that feeds and nurtures your soul for a while and/or if you’re finding yourself  in a state of low energy maybe even depressed, pick a core value that’s important to you and act on it.  Have fun with it.  And if you want to do something but don’t know what?  Just choose a core value and become playful like a child.  I promise that your spirit will soar – it will leap with joy!

“Playfulness feeds the spirit and soul allowing for awesome moments of inspiration.”

In what ways are you feeding your soul, your spirit?  Learn the beauty of core values!