Welcome to my blog! The purpose of Inspiration from the Ordinary is to share some of the lessons I’ve learned from ordinary circumstances and experiences and inspire my readers to also find both beauty and lessons in the ordinary humdrum of their lives.

Today has been an ordinary Saturday, but a much appreciated one. I’ve had very few leisure days in the past month since starting a regular job as a caregiver. I enjoyed quiet time on my grandparents’ screened-in porch and a long conversation with my grandpa, Charlie Roberts, known to his grandchildren as Paw-Paw. Paw-Paw is a very important person in my life, and he’s taught me a lot of lessons, including lessons about people, about money, about God and about life in general. Having grown up as a farm boy in southern middle Tennessee, he’s seen a lot of change during his lifetime. Today as I listened to him talk about using mules to pull a plow at the age of twelve, and hauling hay into the barn loft using a pulley, I felt the urge to jump online and price portable voice recorders. As soon as I have the necessary equipment and the time, I plan to ghostwrite Paw-Paw’s story, his wisdom, and his advice in a book called simply, “Charlie.” His story may seem insignificant to many people, yet to those who know him, I know it will be a treasure. I hope and pray I will be able to capture it all while he is still with us.

We all have people in our lives whom we all too easily take for granted. We enjoy their presence, and may even let them know we love them on a regular basis, but do we fully appreciate who they are as a person, do we capture the moments we spend with them and treasure those moments to the fullest? Do we appreciate their story, respect their advice and listen to their chatter, even when it gets on our nerves? I must confess I sometimes need help in this area.

Paw-Paw recently lost his only son, Kevin Roberts in a tragic accident. I watched Paw-Paw go through that time of loss like he goes through everything in life, steady, unwavering, trusting God. He was a rock of support, not only for my grandmother, but for the rest of the family as well. Paw-Paw is not one to show his emotions, but I know he grieved the loss in his own way. Paw-Paw was close to Kevin, and although Kevin lived hundreds of miles away in Ohio, the two of them talked on the phone every Sunday morning before church. When Paw-Paw talked to Kevin on Sunday, June 29, 2014, he had no idea that it would be the last time, or that two days later, Kevin would depart from this earth. One thing Paw-Paw can say, though, is that his son knew he loved him. He will always have that assurance.

Who in our lives need to know we love them? Who has a need to be met, a story to share, or a prayer to be lifted before the Father? I don’t want a day to go by that my family and friends don’t know that I am there for them or that they are appreciated.

Not only does God put people in our lives for a reason, He puts circumstances and situations in our lives to teach us lessons. They may seem like the smallest things, insignificant to others, but because of them, our lives will never be the same. I have had a lot of times like that in my life, and in the coming days, weeks and years I hope to share them with my readers. Not everyone may connect with all of them. There may be times when who want to roll your eyes or stop reading. That’s ok. All I ask of those who choose to read this is that you let it make you think. Maybe you’ll think about life in new ways, see ordinary things through new eyes, or let God work in your heart in ways He hasn't before. If you don’t know Him, maybe He’ll somehow use this little blog to draw you to Himself.

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to look for Inspiration in the Ordinary!