~Go outside. Just a daily walk in the park or the neighborhood can lower your stress levels.
~Bring natural beauty into your home with flowers and greenery~an easy to grow houseplant, a bouquet from the supermarket, or even a dandelian in a jar.
~If you live in an area you don’t think is beautiful, ask God to refocus your eyes to appreciate subtle or hidden beauty around you~a flower in a crevice, a neatly plowed field, a carefully tended tree in an industrial park.
~Invest in a piece of artwork that you really like~a picture, a small sculpture, a quilt. Put it in a spot where you will see it every day.
~Take a child to a museum or a concert and enjoy rediscovering beauty through his or her eyes and ears.
~Find a book about an artist, writer, or composer you admire and keep it at your bedside.
~Take a music break. Put on a favorite CD or tune the radio to a favorite station. Close your eyes and enjoy~or get up and dance.
~Turn off the TV and radio and take a silence break. Just sit quietly for fifteen minutes and try to identify the various sounds that reach your ears.
~Schedule an afternoon of browsing in a bookstore that allows you to sit and read, preferably with a cup of tea from the coffee shop.
~Is there a creative pursut you “used to do” but haven’t had time for in recent years? Pull out the guitar or the sewing machine or the sculpting tools, and mark off time in your schedule for rediscovery.
~Choose an herb or spice you’ve never used before and learn to use it in your cooking. When you eat out, try to detect the presence of your “new” flavor.
~Buy or sew a pillow or throw in a really luscious fabric~cool, smooth cotton; velvety chenille; or cozy flannel. Enjoy cuddling up to something that delights your sense of touch.
“Beauty strengthens us through our hectic days. Seek it wherever you can. Nurture its presence in your life. Cherish it as a refreshing gift from the Lord who loves you.”
(all inspiration here is from a book, linked at the end of this blog)
Good to be Home 
Love the new banner photo and the one of the reflected tootsies!
This is the second recomendation I have seen from this book and my curiousity is peeked for sure. Now…I just need a library card! Putting aside the demands of the moment to enjoy God’s creation is definitely a way to recharge.
Today I’m gonna take a walk around our yard and bring some natural beauty into my home. I loved this list!
Love this post….every single bit of it!xox
Thanks for the wonderful simple suggestions. I thinks I will try some of them today. I love the picture of the field of Daisys. It looks very refreshing . God Bless
Kelly
Love the banner photo. A beautiful post.
Wonderful ideas!
Thanks for posting this, you gave us some very good points!! I have had a bad migraine the last few days & intend to sit outside some today in between the storms:(
What great ideas, I read this book recently from the library!
Great ideas! I’ll have to get that book sometime..I just ordered another one by the same authors. 🙂 Have a beautiful day.
“turn off TV or radio and take a silence break…”yep. did that already today! does wonders. 🙂 great thoughts. and love the daisy picture – we have them all over here. one of my favorites – and ONE thing of beauty i can see around me and enJOY>blessings to you friend.
Definitely some awesome advice.
Last night, I chose to go to the store so I wouldn’t have to leave the house today. We have a family of guests arriving tonight. I had classical music playing, trying to relax from my hectic day, when I impulsively turned off the radio and thought to myself, “How often are you in a place that is absolutely quiet? Enjoy the silence while you can!” I did!
I just lent my copy of that book to a dear friend and told her how your making me read it changed my life at a critical time. Remember how I flung it across your house a few times before I read it myself? ha ha! I always think of you when I see it now. We’ll have to talk soon!
I love the reflected toes! I have found that my camera helps me to see things in more detail; somehow that is very relaxing as it helps to see the beauty of nature. Your pictures are always so lovely!
Amen! Wonderful suggestions. God made so much for us to enjoy. You are good at showing us the lovely things of life in nature and your children’s faces! We leave this house by the ocean today….I am filled up with the sounds and sights of the ocean blessings, Jenny
It is raining today, so I won’t be out much except to walk the dog, but I can see beauty just looking out the window. Everything is so green! After months of snow, the green is so beautiful- so refreshing. I hope that book is on the list of ones I get to borrow!
Thank you. Lately I’ve been feeling just like the title of that book. I am that worn out woman. And God has seemed so far away. Oh, I despise the valleys.
Great ideas, Shan.
Hi Shanda…Thanks for the list I will have to take time out and do some of these things. Terrific!
Beautiful pics too!!
Have a great and wonderful day!!
Pretty photos…now I can actually comment on them! 🙂 I enjoy your gift of photography!!! 😉
Beautiful words, thank you so much for sharing these ideas and the book. I think a trip to bookland is in store for me tonight.
Thanks for making me stop and think about all those things I have forgotten!
LOVE the new pic you have up of the kids at the top. Suz
Oh, i absoutly love this! very inspiring.
I loved visiting here today. Just reading the ideas, listening to the music, and looking at the beautiful images was just great, Shan, I love you!
I too love the new picture at the top — I just told someone the other day “going out in the woods or fields by myself with my camera is a lot cheaper than a therapist!!” (-: I have appreciated so much more of God’s beauty all around me since I’ve started seeing it through my camera lens. I have always loved the early morning (even as a teen) — sunrise is my favorite time of day.
how is the book you are reading? It sounds like it describes my life right now. I can’t put my finger on what it is exactly but something is a muck. I’m going to see if our library carries that book. I love the picture of your children looking over the porch. So precious!
Beautful BEAUTIFUL pictures!!! Really they are so good!