Spring in Tennessee

There are few things more beautiful than Tennessee in the spring. Dan and I love to see all the spring colors erupt in blooms and blossoms and watch the grass get greener and more lush. It is our favorite time of year. A time of new beginnings. Dan likes to plan his year from January to January but I find that from spring to spring does it for me! I want to "clean house" each spring. That does not mean just cleaning out closets and cupboards and wiping down cobwebs and dust bunnies for me. It also means re-evaluating where I am in pursuing the goals I have set aside for myself. I have a goal to finish a book I started years ago, to do another children's book for my grandchildren and to get some of my stories published. Problem is, I'm one of these people who like to have everything organized and in place before I feel I can treat myself to doing the things I most enjoy doing. For me that is writing. So I am making a concerted effort to set aside time just to write. I may have sixteen projects unfinished and in piles around me....a few dust bunnies in the corner.....and 200 e-mails waiting for answers...... but I am going to make myself do the one thing I know I want most to do and I will do it with gusto! I will do updates on my progress!

Gift From the Sea

At least once a year I like to revisit an old friend....a little book by Anne Morrow Lindbergh called "Gift From The Sea". It was originally written in 1955 but the principles are timeless and each rereading I find new truths. Every woman ought to read this book occasionally. It addresses the issues of multi-tasking and complicating our lives in a way that makes for a lot of introspection. Lindbergh says she wants "--to live "in grace" as much of the time as possible......an inner harmony, essentially spiritual, which can be translated into outward harmony." She talks about "how to remain whole in the midst of the distractions of life; how to remain balanced, no matter what centrifugal forces tend to pull one off center; how to remain stong, no matter what shocks come in at the periphery and tend to crack the hub of the wheel." I could go on and on quoting this tome but I hope I piqued your curiosity to buy it and read the whole thing! It is a book you will want to pass along to others who are special to you.

Spring Music

I have spent several days outside planting flowers; an activity that gives lots of opportunity to commune with nature. While kneeling down to put some starts into the soil I heard a familiar whizzing sound that I had been eagerly awaiting this Spring. I knew instantly what that sound meant. The hummingbirds are back. Dan and I love to watch the hummingbirds. We have two feeders full of nectar. One is attached to a window right beside Dans desk where he works on his computer writing and creating every day. He often has clients and associates sit in the big leather chair right next to that window. Only a couple feet away on the opposite side of the glass flit some of Gods most amazing creatures.........sailing to and from the tree to the feeder. The activity of those small creatures never ceases to amaze us and often entertains our guests.
In the past few days we have been watching a rose-breasted grosbeak and two Baltimore oriels at our feeders. The oriels are about 7-8 birds yet they eat from the hummingbird feeders. We were told these two varieties of birds are not native to this area but are only passing through on their way North for the summer. If we hadnt been in tune with our surroundings we would have missed seeing their beauty in our yard.
I wonder how often people miss Gods beauty right in their own surroundings because they dont take time to listen and observe. I am reminded of Ken Gires book Windows of the Soul. Gire has taught us both to look for God in art, in music, in movies, in nature and poetry and literature and yes, even in our work.
Tomorrow (May 7th) is Dans 60th birthday. We have been best friends for well over 40 years now. Where have the years gone? Perhaps it is because we are getting older that we recognize more the importance of listening and observing our surroundings. God is in abundance everywhere. We have never been more aware of that than since moving into our country home setting. We will take time tomorrow to walk together and perhaps go to the Frist Center For Fine Arts in Nashville. I know we will see God in many events of the day. Because we are looking for him all the time.....and listening.

My Home

I love our home place. We have lived here for almost seven years now and I plan to live here the rest of my life. We are creating memories here that will hopefully be enjoyed by our children and grandchildren long after we are gone. It is, by no means, a showplace or a mansion. In fact it is simply a modest 3000 sq. ft. farmhouse sitting on almost nine acres of land we have landscaped ourselves.

When we moved here we thanked God for allowing us the opportunity to Create a Haven of Peace...a refuge for family and friends and a retreat away from the hustle and stress of the world beyond our lane. We will always marvel at how many people tell us they breathe a sigh of relief when they drive down our lane and enter our property.

They tell us repeatedly how peaceful it is. Living here has taught us how rich is God's beauty all around us and how easily we can incorporate His beauty into making our home a showplace for his goodness and peace. When I started to write this blog entry I found it turned into a story of sorts. If you are interested in reading more click here...

My Gift to Dan

Almost five years ago I decided to take a drawing course titled 'Drawing From The Right Side of the Brain' taught by local artist Melanie Jackson (www.art-exchange.com - Art Search - melanie jackson). I had never been able to draw a discernible stick figure before the class and the first few sessions were taxing, to say the least. But I felt I needed something in my life that demanded discipline and would feed into my need to grow creatively.


My goal was not to become a great artist but to enhance my writing skills and other creative talents. I also felt this was something I could do to relieve stress and stretch myself. Now...years later...I have one of my pieces proudly displayed at our local library in an art show. My instructor has become my dear friend and humorously dubbed me 'The Best Artist Who Doesn't Know She Is An Artist!'

Drawing doesn't come easy for me. It is not a natural talent that I can just conjure up when I get in the mood. I have to work hard at it but when I get in that right brained ZONE, I can leave stress behind and enjoy making something of beauty to pass along to friends and family. I often make greeting and note cards from my drawings and enjoy sending out personalized notes different from the normal store-bought variety.

The art reception at the library was well attended by over 200 people. But what thrilled me was that four of the 48 Days coaches came to see my work. I was flattered that these coaches saw value in what I was doing and were eager to attend.

I had many people attend who knew I recently presented Dan with an original drawing of a collage I had put together representing two sides of his personality that I grew to love over 40 years ago. At that time he was driving a 1931 Model A Ford he had built from the ground up. It was souped up with a Chrysler Hemi engine, racing slicks on the back and chrome everywhere. Quite an impressive car and he used to scare the daylights out of me as I rode with him around the country roads in Ohio.

That car meant a lot to him and the fact that he built it as a high-performance vehicle seemed incongruous with the conservative country kid who grew up in the little Mennonite church his father pastored.

So I drew the car in the foreground and in the background I drew the church in which he spent most of his childhood. The drawing was a hit and hangs on the wall near his office door at home.

Here is a picture of the drawing for those of you who asked.

And below I've show a few more examples of what I have accomplished. Just about everyone I talk to says they can't draw and are sure they couldn't learn. Well, I am here to tell you that is a feeble excuse. If you have the desire and you learn the basics, you CAN draw. You may not become a Rembrandt or a Renoir but you will be surprised at how fast you will be able to draw or paint things you never dreamed you could. I encourage you to take a class if you feel the desire to learn. It could become an undiscovered talent you didn't know you had!

The Value of a Name

Last night I conducted a worship service at the Tennessee Prison for Women. I do this at least once or twice a month. It has become a highlight of my life. Those women bless me far more than I feel I give back to them. I learn a lot from the women in prison. One of the lessons I have learned recently is the importance of remembering their names. One young woman has a toddler who is being cared for by a loving couple while she completes her incarceration. I went up to this mother and called her by name and asked after her little boy. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and shock on her face. She put her hands on my arms and said "You remembered my NAME!" To see the astonishment in her face spoke volumes to me. To be remembered by name is a wonderful gift. That same evening another woman was crying and I went over to her and gave her a tissue and called her by name as I told her I had been praying for her. She smiled and thanked me. About a week later I got a letter from her telling me how blessed she was by my remembering her name when I had only met her once before...and that she would make a point to come to more of the worship services. Last night I had girls tell me repeatedly how impressed they were that I would remember their names. Such a small thing yet monumental to these women who have such horrible stories to tell of abuse, neglect, poverty and crime. It makes me weep to think how often just a simple gesture of kindness can make such a huge impact on the world. When I related to Dan how my evening went and the impact of this small gesture he gave me an old book off his shelves. I rolled my eyes (I'm good at that!) because I am reading about FOUR books right now and don't have time to read another thing! But he encouraged me to read just six short pages and I did so this morning. The book is Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. The section I read was on the importance of remembering and HONORING a person's name. Carnegie said "Most people don't remember names for the simple reason that they don't take the time and energy necessary to concentrate and repeat and fix names indelibly in their minds. They make excuses for themselves; they are too busy." Reading those few pages made me even more determined to implement this key rule of Mr. Carnegie's success principles: Remember that a man's name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

Where is the Smile?

I was recently shopping and rather enjoying myself with a smile on my face, a spring in my step and a good word for anyone I met along the way. After awhile, however, I began to notice how often I saw people who looked and acted as though a smile would be the last thing they wanted to do. This was especially true of the people who were getting paid to help me find, ring up, bag or carry out my purchases. These were the people whose job it was to make sure I would be a happy customer eager to return to their establishment.

I started thinking about how easy it would be for the clerk or salesperson to just look me in the eye and act like he/she was really happy to assist me in making my day a good one. Not so. Didn't happen very often.

Then I ate lunch in a little diner owned by a lady a few years older than I. You could tell she believed in Southern hospitality at its best. After my meal, which was served by a waitress who was smiling and attentive, the owner caught my eye as I headed for the exit. She hurriedly walked up to me, stretched out her hand to shake mine and asked me if I had enjoyed my experience in her establishment. I assured her I had and she went on to ask if I lived in the area and how long and we chatted a few minutes about how much we both love our little town of Franklin, TN. All the while this sweet lady had a huge smile on her face that would light up a room. You could tell it wasn't hard for her. She loved what she was doing and she wanted everyone who came into her place to have a memorable experience. Just for the record I have now been to this little restaurant three times and had a delightful experience each time. And I will return some more.......because I love to be around people who smile. Don't you? I love to be around people who want to provide an atmosphere of harmony and happiness. And I love good customer service.

On the rare occasion I actually have a sales clerk ask me how my day is going I always ask them the same. Often they are surprised by that. They don't expect to have someone else....particularly a stranger....care what their day is like. But the sad thing is that very often the response I get is "I'll be better in an hour when I can go home!" or "I'm so tired. I just wanna get outta here!"

When did sales training go by the wayside? When did store owners decide they just needed a warm body to cover the registers and forgot to emphasize they expect and DEMAND good customer service? And, more basically, when did people get so disrespectful that they no longer feel it necessary to smile and be polite???

Perhaps it stems from a lack of poor upbringing......a poor self-image......a sad or abused life......any number of possibilities. But I suspect that if store owners demanded good customer service, smiling employees with a spring in their step .........things would change. People would find themselves out on the street for lack of proper work skills.

Rather sad, really. All it takes is a smile and a good attitude to make someone's day. And the irony is that even if a person is forcing themselves to be jovial and polite.....it has a magical way of transforming one into a happier person inside. It just works that way. So everyone wins. I hope you are smiling as you read this.....and that you will work hard at projecting that smile to everyone you come in contact with today!

Joanne F. Miller
June, 2007