Urgent Message!!

This familiar message appeared on my printer this afternoon:

                                                                               

                                                       Out of Paper

                                     Refill with paper, and then press OK.

But for the first time I actually noticed that 

desperate little yellow exclamation point 

flashing off and on and off and on 

as if filling my printer with paper were a matter of life and death.  

Of course, I didn't dash for more paper, 

like that crazy point of punctuation would have liked 

because I knew where the paper was, how to replace it, 

and that I would do it later.  

After all, that printer is just a machine, 

programmed to scream that alert any time the paper runs out; 

it's just doing what it's designed to do.   

Dear God, help me remember that the flashing lights 

of "what if" or "oh no" in my head are usually just old programming.  

As I stay present and aware, 

I'll know where my resources are and how to use them.     

Skywriting

                                                     ~sweet early morning baby-sky~
                             (And who says boys and girls can't play together nicely?)

Blue Cars

Remember when you would decide to look for blue cars, 

perhaps to keep the kids entertained on vacation, 

and how many there were, once you decided to notice them? 

Well, I think the "blue car" phenomenon is at work in my life.  

It seems I can't stop "finding" those SFH experiences; 

they just keep showing up.  

And, as promised, I plan to claim and celebrate them at every turn.  

This one may not seem like a big deal, 

but it's another way in which the light through the stain glass 

in my Study-O window "plays" around the room. 

Cool, eh? 

My own personal light saber, 

perhaps, reminding me to, 

"Use the force!"

Huh?

Yes, another one today!  

I was entertaining Sawyer with some Smileboxes of him 

on the computer this afternoon, and when this picture appeared, 

he actually turned his little head upside-down, trying to figure it out.  

Dear God, keep showing me how little I know about the people in my life, 

including Sawyer, so I may always be surprised and delighted.

Another Sky-Painting!

                                                                             Wow!

SURPRISE!

This SFH actually appeared last Thursday, December 2nd, 

but I guess I didn't really claim it as that until later.

It's so easy to dismiss these because we're not used to seeing them 

as sources of "soul-feeling-happiness". 

It's a very different feeling, and it needs to be noticed.  

If you're wondering, 

the computer screen contains an invitation for me to do something 

I've very much wanted to do lately...

something I've really just been "thinking about" but hadn't actually 

"done anything to make it happen".  

How about that!  

So, I'm claiming it as another of those 

amazing SFH "surprise parties".

Forgetting

Well, I declare!  

I went out to get the paper this morning (December 3rd), 

and before I could even look for it 

(our newspaper tosser finds the most creative places to hide it), 

this magnificent display got my attention--

so much so that after taking this photo, 

I walked back into the house without the paper.

Dear God, may I more often than not forget what I think I want or need 

in the process of seeing the amazing gifts right there in front of me.