Faith is not an easy virtue; but, in the broad world of a person’s total voyage through time to eternity, faith is not only a gracious companion, but an essential guide.
~ Theodore M. Hesburgh
What keeps our faith cheerful is the extreme persistence of gentleness and humor. Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things: through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music, and books, raising kids — all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through. Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people. Lacking any other purpose in life, it would be good enough to live for their sake.
~ Garrison Keillor
I love the phrase Mr. Keillor uses, “where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through.” It’s such a wonderful way to describe the ordinary-magic moments in life. I had a few of those moments this morning, in quiet celebration with my husband.
I am 55 years young today. I see that number and think, “Whoa! How’d it get to be that late already?” I am reminded of those times when I am so absorbed in something I love to do that I lose all track of time. That’s a good sign, don’t you think? A sign of a life well lived?
By the time this post makes its way out, I should be at the beach or on my way home from the beach, probably freezing my tail off. The weather forgot that today is my birthday and brought clouds, wind, and chilly temperatures. That’s okay. I have my winter gear from all those years in the Bogs, and I know how to keep warm on the chilliest of days. Cold weather and I are old friends. Now that I think about it, maybe the weather didn’t forget at all. Maybe the weather remembered how I like it when it snows at the beach. I doubt I’ll see any snowflakes, but you never know.
Thank you for stopping by today, and joining me in a small and quiet celebration of life. I hope your weekend is going well, and that you are finding a few of those ordinary-magic moments sprinkled throughout your day.
Be good, be kind, be loving. Just Be. 🙂
I enjoyed the quote on gentle people. They certainly bring something special into your life.
I was looking at your photos of the water and they seemed like abstract paintings to me 🙂
Happy birthday to you on the beautiful day.
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Thank you, Colline. 🙂
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Beautiful post and photos! Kudos~
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Thanks, Cindy. 🙂
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Fifty-five IS young Robin, believe me, I know these things. 😉
I can’t imagine snow at the beach, but if you ever do see any, please take lots of photos. I think it would be a magical sight. Happy birthday, dear blogging friend. xxx 🙂
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Thank you, Joanne. 🙂 I’ll be sure to do that. I’ve seen it happen twice, and it is a magical sight.
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Thank you for celebrating your life with me! And sharing your gifts. Smiles!
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You’re welcome, eM. And thank you. 🙂
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Fifty-five will be a very good year, I can feel it. Happy Birthday, thank you for the Garrison quote…I had to stop at the gravy and read it again it was so good.
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Garrison is good at that, Dawn. Thank you. 🙂
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Happy birthday, Robin! Lucky you, only 55! I hit 58 this year. 😦 I love the new header on your blog (or maybe it’s been here awhile and I’ve been away too long!) You know you share a birthday with my youngest son, Adam. And of course Pearl Harbor Day! (I think we’ve talked about this before). I hope you had a lovely day. xxx
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Thank you, Cathy. 🙂 I think we may have. It’s an easy birthday to remember.
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Happy birthday my sweet and intelligent friend.
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Thank you so much, Mike. 🙂
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Happy happy Birthday ! 🙂
P.s. if you go to your general settings and tick the box at the bottom, you can have as many snowflakes as you like on your blog until Januray 4th. 😀
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Thank you, Sallyann. 🙂
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HAPPYBIRTHDAY ROBIN!!!! I agree, life lived well….
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Thank you, CM. 🙂
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Love your butterfly snowflake!! I hope you had a wonderful day for your birthday!
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Oh, and I meant to say – I really like the new header shot. A panorama of the Wabi-Sabi?
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Thank you, Karma. 🙂 Yes, it is a panorama of part of the Wabi-Sabi Ranch. 🙂
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I love the photos. This is a beautiful post. Happy birthday, by the way. Also, I wanted to tell you that I love reading this blog every day, so you’ve been nominated! http://lovelytl33.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-squee-award.html Have a great day!
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Thank you so much, Theresa. I appreciate the nomination. 🙂
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You are several years and one week behind me, so I can say with authority that 55 is indeed young! I’ll tip my cup of coffee to you this morning, and wish you many more of those happy years, and a well-lived very long life!
Sent from my iPad
>
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Thank you, Carol. Cheers! 🙂
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Happy birthday–once again! You are so young yet, only 55. Being 56, I can say this. 🙂
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lol! Thank you, Kathy. 🙂
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Happiest of birthdays and may you continue to see and feel “where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through”. What a lovely thing.
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Thank you, Joss. 🙂
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Happy birthday, Robin!
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Thank you, Amy. 🙂
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Happy birthday, Robin! I didn’t realize we were so close in age. I loved the snowflake butterfly – more of a kaleidoscope (?) effect actually. And yes, ordinary moments are the best.
Thanks for the letter. I did receive it but haven’t written back yet.
Nancy
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Thank you, Nancy. 🙂 Yes, it is a kaleidoscope effect, but it looked so much like a snowflake I thought it would fill in nicely for one.
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Happy belated Birthday, Robin! Hope you spent it JUST the way you wanted to.♥
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Thank you, Michaela. It was a great day. 🙂
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Happy belated birthday, Robin. You’re still a youngster. I’ll be 57 in March. We’ve got more than 20 more good years before we’re 80. And after that, who knows?
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Thank you, Christine. 🙂
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Happy belated birthday, Robin! I hope you had a marvelous day and that you’ve been enjoying the festive spirit since then as well. I absolutely adore that butterfly snowflake image!
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Thank you, Dana. 🙂
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