Stories of Beauty | A Thankfully Imperfect Woman

Sep 3

Fall’s Beauty and God’s Grace

Fall is here and it brings with it a renewed sense of energy for me – I love the cooler temps, the beauty of the colored leaves, the bonfires, the fact that school is back in session and learning is in progress and with the falling leaves brings the sense of renewal.

Every year we see the splendor of beautiful colors, we experience the sadness of the falling leaves, but as our weather turns color, we get beautiful white snow that covers everything…

And while the earth lays dormant we strongly walk on.

As it is with God’s grace.

Through tough times, God continues to show us beauty and even if we don’t acknowledge Him, He lays dormant in our hearts waiting for us to let His light shine in.

And then Spring arrives and with it the beauty of renewed life.

It’s in that moment in our lives that we acknowledge that He’s been with us all along.

Our lives awaken just like the flowers bloom.

God is good.

Patty O

Dec 22

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Sadness & Gratitude for Extraordinary People

This Christmas season finds me with feelings of both sadness and gratitude this year. For even though the season is filled with the joy that Christ’s birth brings, I selfishly mourn for the loss of loved ones this year…

My sadness comes from the loss of my very special, sweet father-in-law whose body succumbed to Alzheimer’s this summer…and from the loss of 2 wonderful friends this fall…and from the impending loss of another dear friend, given only days to live.

All three were extraordinary people…giving of themselves to help others: Read more

Feb 6

Reminders of Love, Faith and Gratefulness

I happened upon a Facebook post of one of my friends just now.

I want to thank Sue for sharing it with her family and friends.

As you’ll read in the link below, she and her husband took our town with them on a journey of love, heartbreak, and faith.

Their son Sasha was the gift that God gave us all so that we could see that beauty can shine through even during sadness.

This post was written just over 2 years ago.

It’s definitely my favorite post on faith, and probably the most heartfelt posts that I’ve ever written.

Without further ado, click on the link below…

Witnessing a Story of Faith, Love and Support

God bless…and thank you…all 535 of you who read my ramblings.

You are appreciated and loved.

Patty O

Featured Image credit goes to The Nectar Collective Read more

Dec 24

And Now, the Pièce de Résistance…My Dining Room

By now, you’ve seen most of my house, all decorated for Christmas…

The bedrooms, dressing room, and bathrooms only get a few touches of Christmas, so they really don’t need their own post.

But the dining room…now the dining room is another story.

For a couple of years now, I’ve wanted to put a (faux) Christmas tree in there.

I’ve had the perfect plan.

I’d collected ornaments from Goodwill and garage sales.

I’d picked up a Christmas tree from a friend who had decided to give it away.

But last year, sadly, I was just too sick to get all my decorations up, and that tree stayed in the basement.

But this year…

This year is different.

Without further ado, take a look at my dining room Christmas. A moment of silence to appreciate the beauty…

I could stand here and look at it all day. Especially from this view…

A Muddy (room) Christmas

Northern Minnesota Weather Report:

Cloudy with a slight chance of snow.

With only a couple of inches on the ground, the locals are disappointed and starting to grumble.

There’s open water on some of the lakes, Ice Fishermen can’t fish, Skiers can’t ski, Sled Dogs can’t pull their sleds. Even some of us that aren’t outdoor sports people are missing the snow! It’s hard to believe it’s mid-December and we don’t have at least 2 feet of snow!

However, it hasn’t stopped me from indoor activities…on to the Mudroom Decorations! Read more