A few years ago, I was caught up in a friend’s project, as she identified beauty around her. Beauty that others might not see. Beauty in what is considered “not beautiful” – things like our grey hair, things we try to ignore, or cover-up.
The reality is, we’re surrounded by beauty – miraculous beauty – every day, but life moves fast (even more so, the older I get) and my sight seems to get more blurred by the speed of it. It’s too easy to miss what I’m actually seeing.
My daughter notices it much more so. She’s a noticer of detail and has been since she was a baby. Perhaps it’s because she’s closer to the ground? But her noticing, helps me notice. Helps me notice a ladybug; with its perfect spots. Notice a grasshopper; with its crazy legs. Notice a hot-air balloon. Notice the sunset. Notice the sunrise. And she reminds me that God made those things.
Like my friend, she’s choosing to notice beauty. Real beauty. In the middle of the mundane.
I’m realizing that part of the reason I’m not noticing beauty is because, with the busy-ness, it’s easy to worship the wrong things. To pay more attention to my job, my relationships, my craft projects, my home – than to direct my eyes to the One who can transform me into a more beauty-filled person, right in the middle of my life, in the middle of all those good things. Things that make me look at the gift, but not the Giver.
And I’m learning to behold the right things, bit by bit, so that I become more like the one who made me. It’s not a religious thing, but a relationship thing. The God who created beauty allows me to connect with Him through it. Such a mystery.
It’s what Ruth Chou Simons calls, “the art of everyday worship.” In this season, I’m picking this up as a practice. I was gifted a copy of Beholding and Becoming and it soothed and inspired my creative heart. It made me want to pick up my watercolours again and it made me look forward to quiet moments to read and soak in the art of this gorgeous book. Friend – the artwork is stunning. Page after page – more than 200 of them – of art interlaced with encouragement to behold the glory of the Lord all around us and in His words.
And here’s the thing: I’m reminded with each page that we become more beautiful the more we behold Him. Less frantic; more alive. Reminded to not worship the art but to worship the Master Artist.
It’s challenged me to stop and soak things in. To be conscious of where I’m directing my eyes. To wonder: do I even notice what I see? Am I seeing the One who created all things? And it’s made me more peace-full in the mornings. The funny thing is that my daughter, the noticer, noticed this book on my nightstand and asks to read it with me. She loves when there’s a song in the accompanying journal because we can sing together. We get to behold and become – together. What a gift.
Book Giveaway!
Since it’s my birthday week I get to gift one of you, my lovely blog subscribers, with your own copies (Woohoo!).
All you have to do is comment below about where you’re seeing beauty today to be entered to win a copy of Beholding and Becoming (thank you, Harvest House Publishers!). One winner will be chosen randomly at noon ET on Monday, October 21st, 2019 and posted here.
(And if you’re like me and wanting to get your Christmas shopping done before December 1st, this is a HUGE gift recommendation… such a stunning book and journal!).
Let’s accept Ruth’s invitation: to be transformed, one everyday moment at a time.
GIVEAWAY CLOSED. The winner of this contest was Tracey W.
Beauty today came in the form of meeting with two long-time friends…sharing coffee and cookies and laughing a lot!
I am learning to see beauty in the things around me… I am enjoying being part of a Dream Journal Workshop this month and it’s so interesting to see what I notice. Today I saw the beauty of rain when the sun was shining!! And the backdrop was colored leaves!! I love watching the rain coming down when the sun is peeking through.
A clear, cloudless blue sky
The kind, beautiful face of my co-worker helping me catch up
Beauty amidst a dreary rainy Vancouver commute home. Hearing people laugh and talk even amidst the sogginess of the day. Made me smile.
I see beauty in my work.That I was able to touch more young people and to help them focus on much greater things and to God.To be a teacher and a guidance facilitator is not an easy job but I see it as an opportunity to be a God’s ambassador of His word and His promise.It is my desire to glorify Him in everything I do and to give Him all the worship while I am serving in the school that I am and with the people that I meet.
“It’s okay to be small.” I love Ruth’s entry about putting our striving and accomplishments in perspective with the greatness of our Creator. Social media can end up being the bane of our existence sometimes because we feel the pressure to promote ourselves to keep up with everyone else. Ruth calls us to push back against the pressures of our culture to focus on ourselves. She writes, “We either become molded by our sense of self-promotion or shaped by our understanding of God’s preeminence.”
Thanks for recommending this book, Ellen!
I see beauty in the changing colours of the leaves, in the reflection of a swan on the lake, but especially in the faces of my grandchildren.
I saw a beautiful rainbow after coming out of a party for a friend who has just retired. I saw beauty in my daughters eyes and words as we spent all morning creating Christmas gifts! Taking time to pause, reflect and be happy.
I found beauty today in the changing season .. the colors of the leaves bright red, yellows and green .. I’m amazed everyday by the natural beauty of where I live 🍁🍂
I found beauty in the dreary dismal day when smiles came on the student’s faces when they discovered a mud puddle.
I see beauty in a friend’s smiling face when she greets me. I hear beauty in her voice when she telephones and wishes me “good morning”. Beauty surrounds me when I gaze at the Autumn leaves. Our world is filled with God’s bountiful beauty every where I look.
I’m seeing beauty in the early mornings when no one else in my family is awake. The house is quiet, a part from the beautiful rain coming down outside. The smell of coffee brewing. Me sitting open with my Bible. Nothing more beautiful in this moment.
Daily I choose to set my eyes, mind and heart on being aware of the beauty in the simple and ordinary things that happen on my everyday. Everyday it might look very different, so when I choose to see beauty , gratitude finds a place in my soul.
A perfect yellow maple leaf stuck to my wet windshield yesterday as I drove.. Instead of wiping it off, I enjoyed its beauty as I travelled.
I see beauty as we embrace fall and winter on the west coast and the rain comes and goes. One minute there is sun and the next there is rain. A changing of the season. I have been working on attempting to find more beauty around me to work on my heart to be thankful.
This is such a truly beautiful book. It serves as a wonder filled reminder of the beauty that is all around us and invitation to meet the Artist behind it all. Loved it!!
I’ve so enjoyed reading this gorgeous book! The combination of the beautiful art with the powerful words has been like a meditation, so soothing to my soul. I’ve also been challenged to look at what I worship and spend all of my time on. One of my favourite stories in the book is the one where she says she knows her husband is a better driver then her but she still prefers to drive. haha! The analogy is for our lives. We know God is a better driver in the car of life, but we still prefer to drive. It’s the control freak in all of us. So the challenge here is to trust God to direct our lives the best and not to try to take the wheel back. So many good thoughts in this book. Thanks SO much for sharing it with us Ellen.
Finding beauty in the small and often overlooked things in our life is so powerful. This book is not only visually beautiful but it is rich with insight. Loving the journey it’s taking me on.
[…] For Ellen’s full post about Beholding and Becoming and more comments, click here. […]
I was struck by the incredible beauty of the sunrise, just as I was reading the chapter in Ruth’s book on chasing sunrises and sunsets. I was travelling across Canada by train and we stopped by a beautiful lake just long enough for the sun to rise, for me to reflect on God’s beauty in creation, and then we set off again to experience more of his handiwork… but I still feel as though we were stopped there, just for that time for me to see and fully experience the sunrise.
This book was breathtaking – every page. Like fresh air for my soul. Thank you for your pouring out Ruth.