Living. Lovely.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true,

whatever is noble, whatever is right,

whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,

whatever is admirable

—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

~Philippians 4:8

Why should we think upon things that are lovely?

Because thinking determines life.

It is a common habit to blame life upon the environment.

Environment modifies life but does not govern life.

The soul is stronger than its surroundings.


~William James

Lovely:

2. delightful for beauty, harmony, or grace
4. eliciting love by moral or ideal worth

It is time to put thoughts into action.

I am completely and utterly impressed upon,

that this is a venture I am to undertake:

encouraging others to live lovely.

Each week, I'll be presenting a 'lovely challenge' (inspired by the 'Make...' list from The Beckoning of Lovely) to be met over the next seven days and shared here at Mt. Hope Chronicles the following Thursday. Anyone and everyone ~ man, woman, parent/no kids, married/unmarried, empty-nester, or young person ~ is welcome to participate in whatever manner they so choose.


If you care to participate at any time, you may blog about the challenge and enter your link here on Thursdays. You may share here in the comments. Or you may follow along on your own schedule without sharing here at all. You may choose to follow the challenge to the letter, or use it as a jumping-off place to create your own lovely. If the challenge doesn't fit into your situation, tweak it or give yourself a new one! This isn't meant to be strict or competitive. Just try to stay in the spirit of things!

There are only a few basic rules:

1. All comments and links must be family-friendly.

2. No whining.

3. No excuses.

Blog posts can include a photo(s), a description of what you did, comments on what the challenge meant to you or other people involved, what you changed to make it meaningful to you, or how it affected your thoughts, actions, or perceptions. Whatever you want to share (big or small... even just an 'I did it!' in the comments) is wonderful!

Speaking of sharing, the more people participating, the more encouraged we'll all be in this endeavor. Feel free to use the above image (or small button on my side bar) on your blog. Invite people to join in. Tell your friends. Share the challenges with co-workers or family members. Small lovely actions add up and encourage us and those around us.

Our Very First Lovely Challenge:

Make Someone's Day

I'm leaving this first challenge completely open. You choose when, where, who, how, and what. Your actions can be small or large. Use your imagination. Will it be someone close to you? A random act of kindness for a stranger? The first move in a troubled relationship?

Come back next Thursday ready to share!!

If you would like to read more about living lovely,
I'm guest posting today at Heart(h) Management.
Stop by and say hello!