Category Archives: MUSINGS

Marvel in Small Things

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Last weekend was fabulous, likely the best personal getaway I have ever had. I went on a writing retreat with my best friend, Nichole. We wrote in a coffee shop, another time in a tea house, but our main writing space was in a certified Wildlife Habitat, the backyard of the place where we stayed. We saw wood chucks and chipmunks scurrying about; heard unfamiliar birds that flew high and perched themselves in branches some 200 feet in the sky; the oversized squirrels jumped from tree to tree; and a dozen or so unknown insects popped up, including one so small and totally amazing to me. This yellow worm-like bug was no bigger than the tip of my ink pen and would curl itself then bounce in whatever direction it wanted to go. How could God put life in something so miniscule, and not just life but an amazing life capable of doing seemingly impossible feats?

When I saw that bug I marveled at the great love our God has for us. We were made just a little lower than the angels, but compared to God, we are tiny. Yet He put it in us to do great things. He gave me a weekend and allowed me to write two 700-word essays and compile other writings into one file for a book. He gave our husbands grace to care for the children alone AND on Father’s Day weekend. God also allowed us to walk miles, drink coffee and tea, eat Indian, Ethiopian and Cuban food, have short talks about big stuff and to enjoy and fully embrace the little time we had in a place only a short stop away.

Nichole returned home to a broken hammock and I to a vomiting toddler, but the small getaway helped us to forgive and nurture in a big way. Only God has the power to bring greatness from the small and I stand in awe of my Jesus (Psalm 136:4).

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

My One Thousand Gifts List

#101-110
Sweet children sitting at our table at Benihana
A different type of blog post
Picking Joshua up from school on time
Birthday dinner for Renee
Renee saying my “One Thousand Gifts” gift was “prophetic”
Flynn’s willingness to care for the children so I could celebrate with Renee even though he had to study for bible study
Enjoying my children’s laughter
Flynn going to the ATM and getting change for me
A warm coat for Joshua
Xfinity TV on my iPad because of Andrina

Friday Feature: ThinkThis! Designs & Giveaway

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We all need encouragement: A look from a different perspective; time spent with a friend; an uplifting message on a card or even a t-shirt, like these:

Photo by Nichole M. Christian

Me in the Walk by Faith shirt


I know you think they’re fabulous and I’m giving away three, compliments of ThinkThis! Designs, whose proprietor and designer is my best friend, Nichole M. Christian. I told you a little about her last year here on the blog but have not told you about her company of t-shirts, greeting cards and journals with inspiring messages. A natural storyteller and frequent t-shirt wearer, Nichole decided in 2009 to try her hand at blending her two loves by inscribing her thoughts on a cotton canvass, carrying her words beyond the page and immediately into the hearts of all who read them.

“I never sat out intentionally to start a t-shirt brand, but I had a great opportunity to share my message. And I love t-shirts,” Nichole said. “The opportunity came at a moment in my life when I needed that (Fear < Hope) message and so I put it on a t-shirt as a reminder to me. I didn’t set out to do anything but to remind myself of a message of what I was faced with in my own life.” The time Nichole speaks of is when she found out she was being laid off as an editorial board writer for the Detroit Free Press. “I printed the shirt three weeks before being laid off and wore it in the newsroom. People asked me about it. By the time I got laid off I had already sold a case of shirts.” [caption id="attachment_3082" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Nichole (left) w/Lori Robinson"][/caption]

With other messages to herself sketched in her journals, she decided to transfer those to t-shirts and ThinkThis! Designs was born. I’m not a t-shirt wearer so initially Nichole gave me a complimentary shirt to hook up her girl. Of course I was willing to wear it to help advertise my friend’s business, but since that time I have purchased a few more and find myself in at least two of my four ThinkThis! Designs each week because of the comfort, style and spiritual inspiration of each. To help three of you begin your love affair with ThinkThis! Designs, I’m giving away the Eat Well, Live Well shirt.

For your chance at a t-shirt, just 1) subscribe to the blog (if you haven’t already) and leave a comment on the blog by stating 2) how you have been living (or plan to live) better by a change in your diet and 3) which Friday Feature has inspired you the most and 4) why. Nichole will select the three winners, who will be announced on the blog next Friday.

To see more ThinkThis! t-shirt designs, cards and journals and to purchase merchandise, go to www.thinkthisdesigns.com.

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

Beauty Among Ashes

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What Do You Think? Wednesday

I’m a smells and sights girl. I absolutely love scents and beautiful looking things. If it weren’t for the bees (and the fact that I don’t have the time) I could sit in a garden and sniff and spot out flowers all day. Nature’s beauty is the best and I find it a lot in my historical Detroit neighborhood. But like with many challenged urban areas, there are rugged enclaves in refined neighborhoods. One sunny day I wanted to take the boys to the park, but didn’t feel like driving to a nicer one. My neighborhood park is in the rugged area. I knew the children needed to run around more than just in the backyard so I decided to make the trek up the street. Since I hadn’t been in a few years, I thought the park had changed, some improvements had been made. It was the same, maybe worse. The swings were still broken, the grass was too high, the playground equipment was burned, trash was everywhere, and I frowned at it all. All I could see was danger and doom. My sons saw delight.

They sat and swung

And climbed, and crawled and ran in the field, on the jimmy-rigged swing, around the melted stairs, and through streams of glass. And I looked at the blissful children and wanted to claim their bliss, to be ignorant to the blight and see the stronger light of beauty. Their minds were on fun and they looked and saw it and didn’t let the obstacles stop them. I looked back at the grass then saw a meadow of daisies and observed the children and saw some maneuvering kids, making fun with little, close to nothing. I see they have the key. They focused on the expectation, not the presentation and were able to see beyond what they faced.

“The Lord hath sent me…to give them beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:1, 3).

Jesus says He came to give us beauty for ashes, but sometimes we miss the beauty that is yet among the ashes. We miss the present good clamoring for the coming great (1 Timothy 6:8). This happens to many of us and we need an encouraging word to remind us that even though in our sight there might be a lot of trash, a lot of negativity, hurt and pain, there is beauty all around us, even if it’s just the beauty of knowing someone in your circle cares. We need to be encouraged. Encouragement is a powerful thing.

In addition to smelling and seeing beautiful things, I love giving and receiving well-written cards, particularly those that have a Christian message. Among my favorite are DaySpring cards. I keep boxes of them tucked away to pull out and share at someone’s critical point of need. Most of us know someone who is having a hard time seeing beauty among ashes. Why not send them some encouragement with a DaySpring card? I have the Hope and Encouragement Premium Card Pack of 10 cards, some perfectly specific for certain situations and others general enough to cover any situation without being shallow. They are well-written and pretty, too.

Perhaps my favorite five of DaySpring's Hope and Encouragement Premium Card Pack

These are my personal favorite, but I had a hard time selecting which ones I wanted. Encouragement is the June focus on the (in)courage inspired deals page, where you will find these DaySpring cards and other featured products to strengthen you and those you know are going through.* Check them out and let me know what you think.

*DaySpring gave me the Hope and Encouragement Premium Card Pack for free to review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

Everlasting Talent

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Sometimes I think my talent won’t last. I’ll rise up early, get to the keyboard and my fingers won’t stroke a key. I have nothing to say. My talent has left me, gone on to younger fingers and fresh minds, leaving me in a funnel. I’m history, a part of the “you remember that” crew, that group of people who for a season dazzled us with whatever God-giving amazement they had then vanished. I don’t want people to think about me with has-been terms. “Whatever happened to…?,” “She used to,” and “I used to like” are memory-keeping phrases that I don’t want anyone to have relating to me and my writing. All of these thoughts came to me before I heard: “God is everlasting so my talent is everlasting.” That thought didn’t come from me so I went to the keyboard to relate what my Everlasting Talent was saying.

We put too much emphasis on what we can do, what others will think, how well we can do, and if we can do it again, and it was never us in the first place. If we are connected to the Everlasting One—Jesus Christ Himself—whatever He has for us will last as long as it should; it will be everlasting. This is what we need to focus on. No amount of worry about our ability or what others think will produce what God has given to us to produce. “[I]n him we live and move and have our being…” (Acts 17:28). Whatever lasts remains because God has allowed it to remain. Yes, we must do our part by way of discipline and the route of preparation He has for us, but “…God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn” (Romans 11:29 NLT). Whatever ability and assignment God gives us will always be there. My talent focus might shift but it will still be there, everflowing and giving life to others through God’s enabling. That’s the only way we accomplish anything. We must remember to live “by revelation not by human determination” (Tony Evans in his series “Reclaiming Your Spiritual Authority: The Key to Ruling the World, Part 1).

I am thankful that I produce through God’s revelation not my determination, worry or any other human factor. God provides me a well of thoughts and those are the only ones I should want anyway.

What “inadequacy” have you been wrestling with?

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith

My One Thousand Gifts List

#91-100
Not feeling engorged
Justus sleeping seven hours through the night
Being able to witness to a woman
The woman being receptive to being evangelized
Cooking dinner without feeling stressed
Christen for babysitting
Dinner out with Flynn
Tasty food at Benihana
A loving mother with her four children at Benihana
A loving couple at Benihana

Friday Feature: Dying to Look Good

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Me with auburn-colored hair

I thought I was too cute here. This auburn hair color was actually a change for me. I would usually wear my hair a dark goldish blond. People who didn’t know me back in the day thought that was my natural hair color. And most who knew me thought it looked better than my natural color and I did, too. But when my doctor suggested I not dye my hair while pregnant, I stopped coloring my hair. She said no studies could verify the dyes were safe for my baby, and that made me wonder if they safe for me.

My research found that many of the chemicals in hair coloring are linked to cancer causing toxins and can cause a host of allergic reactions, sometimes immediately or sometimes not until after several applications. Allergic reactions also can be true for artificial food coloring, and there have been claims that food dyes cause hyperactivity in children. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently decided that there was not enough evidence to substantiate the hyperactivity claim to ban eight of the nine FDA-approved dyes as the Center for Science in the Public Interest had urged. Even still, a 2004 Southern Hampton University study showed “that adding food colors to children’s diets increased hyperactivity rates in all young children, not just those who were allergic to food colorings or who had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.” What’s interesting is that the food coloring doesn’t change the taste, just the look of the foods. In other words, many times food coloring is added just to make the food look and appear to taste appealing.

Since the verdict is still out on the safety of artificial hair and food coloring, at least from a government perspective, I know some of you will continue to get your highlights and cover up your growing grey. And I know some of you can’t even think about giving up your favorite snack foods, but there are some safe natural alternatives:

Hair Coloring:

• Henna—This is the popular natural dye used for tattoos. Historically, only the red color has been available for hair, but recently new Henna colors have been derived. I never used this because I was told that my hair was too dark for the color to take, but it’s looked good on those I’ve seen who use it.

• Vegetable Rinse—Though these don’t last as long as permanent dyes, they color the hair using plant-based dyes.

• Hydrogen Peroxide—A friend says her mother puts some hydrogen peroxide in a bottle and sprays her hair after washing it. She then exposes her hair to the sun, which turns her hair light brown. I’m going to try this method soon and let you know how my hair turns out.

• Teas, Coffees & Other Edibles—The color from certain natural beverages and other foods can give you the hair color you desire. Check out these suggested formulas to cook up your own.

Food Coloring:

• Look for foods and candies that have been dyed with fruit or vegetable colors, like beets and blueberries. You are most likely to find these at stores like national health food chains that refuse to sell items with artificial colors.

• Search for and try recipes that don’t call for these colors. I have renamed my red velvet cake black velvet cake until I can find a natural food color that won’t change the taste of the cake.

I hope you will try some of these methods to seek to move away from chemicals that could potentially kill you. Looking good and eating tasty treats are fine, but they are not worth dying over.

What have been your experiences with hair and food coloring?

Copyright 2011 by Rhonda J. Smith