Maybe you’ve noticed a few of your sisters posting snapshots of everyday moments in their lives with the hashtags #beautyinthemundane (or #beautywithinthemundane), #refresher2014, and/or #marchphotochallenge. Two things I want to encourage you to do: 1) Understand what this is all about (I hope this blog will help) and, 2) Get involved already!
I have framed photos everywhere throughout my home. Even here on my desk are images I captured on vacations and during the big moments in life (graduations, grand openings, baptisms, etc). Seldom, though, do I take pictures of the everyday ordinary things and commemorate the minutiae. Maybe that’s because I frame the moments I want to remember most. I fill shelves and walls with the 1% of my life because it seems so much more worthy than the 99%. But, am I focusing on the right stuff? If a stranger walked into my home right now, what could they tell about me from the photos? That I’ve accomplished things? That I’ve traveled places? That I’m a mom? But, what about my heart? What about my ordinary life? What about what keeps me going every day?
You won’t find a picture of anyone’s refrigerator on his or her refrigerator. But, if you’ve ever been to a country where they’ve never heard of such an appliance or lived a day without one because of an outage, you realize how important that Frigidaire is to storing your food and keeping it safe for your family. It's an everyday part of life.
It’s unlikely that you’d see a photo of a laptop on anyone’s laptop. But, truth be told, your life would be drastically altered without a computer and the ability to connect with others- and to do work- from virtually anywhere you plug in.
I’ve never seen a shot of keys dangling from someone’s keychain, but keys represent incredible blessings. Each key gives access to a home or a car or a workplace. There are people who will never know what it’s like to have any of those. There are people who- at this very second- are praying their hearts out to have just one of those.
It requires an intentional effort to be aware of and to celebrate the beauty within the mundane. It often requires an intentional effort to have a grateful heart that honors God and the tremendous blessings we’ve been given.
What makes life beautiful? Sure, vacations and Disney moments are awesome, but they’re really just the icing on the cake. Without them, life wouldn’t be any less sweet. It would just be less adorned.
What makes life beautiful is God. What makes life beautiful are His blessings. What makes life beautiful are all the little things that inspire and nurture and keep us going. Just as God has numbered the hairs on our heads, He has provisioned for even the smallest of blessings for us. How well are we paying attention to those? How well are we thanking Him and allowing our thankfulness to buoy our spirits?
It is scientifically proven that gratitude changes attitudes. The Beauty Within the Mundane March Photo Challenge is an exercise in noticing the blessings around us, celebrating the everyday things that God has given us, and honoring His big love in small ways with the people who share life with us.
Let's take a moment each day, leading up to the RefresHER conference, and celebrate the beauty within the mundane. Share your photos on social media with the hashtag #beautyinthemundane, #beautywithinthemundane, #marchphotochallenge, and/or #refresher2014. Your hashtags will help others to join in celebrating your everyday blessings with you. Personally, I can’t wait to see more of what’s beautiful in your God-given life.
Briana Mackey,
RefresHER Blogger
I have framed photos everywhere throughout my home. Even here on my desk are images I captured on vacations and during the big moments in life (graduations, grand openings, baptisms, etc). Seldom, though, do I take pictures of the everyday ordinary things and commemorate the minutiae. Maybe that’s because I frame the moments I want to remember most. I fill shelves and walls with the 1% of my life because it seems so much more worthy than the 99%. But, am I focusing on the right stuff? If a stranger walked into my home right now, what could they tell about me from the photos? That I’ve accomplished things? That I’ve traveled places? That I’m a mom? But, what about my heart? What about my ordinary life? What about what keeps me going every day?
You won’t find a picture of anyone’s refrigerator on his or her refrigerator. But, if you’ve ever been to a country where they’ve never heard of such an appliance or lived a day without one because of an outage, you realize how important that Frigidaire is to storing your food and keeping it safe for your family. It's an everyday part of life.
It’s unlikely that you’d see a photo of a laptop on anyone’s laptop. But, truth be told, your life would be drastically altered without a computer and the ability to connect with others- and to do work- from virtually anywhere you plug in.
I’ve never seen a shot of keys dangling from someone’s keychain, but keys represent incredible blessings. Each key gives access to a home or a car or a workplace. There are people who will never know what it’s like to have any of those. There are people who- at this very second- are praying their hearts out to have just one of those.
It requires an intentional effort to be aware of and to celebrate the beauty within the mundane. It often requires an intentional effort to have a grateful heart that honors God and the tremendous blessings we’ve been given.
What makes life beautiful? Sure, vacations and Disney moments are awesome, but they’re really just the icing on the cake. Without them, life wouldn’t be any less sweet. It would just be less adorned.
What makes life beautiful is God. What makes life beautiful are His blessings. What makes life beautiful are all the little things that inspire and nurture and keep us going. Just as God has numbered the hairs on our heads, He has provisioned for even the smallest of blessings for us. How well are we paying attention to those? How well are we thanking Him and allowing our thankfulness to buoy our spirits?
It is scientifically proven that gratitude changes attitudes. The Beauty Within the Mundane March Photo Challenge is an exercise in noticing the blessings around us, celebrating the everyday things that God has given us, and honoring His big love in small ways with the people who share life with us.
Let's take a moment each day, leading up to the RefresHER conference, and celebrate the beauty within the mundane. Share your photos on social media with the hashtag #beautyinthemundane, #beautywithinthemundane, #marchphotochallenge, and/or #refresher2014. Your hashtags will help others to join in celebrating your everyday blessings with you. Personally, I can’t wait to see more of what’s beautiful in your God-given life.
Briana Mackey,
RefresHER Blogger