Author Archives: hopesquires

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About hopesquires

I've left behind the daily grind to write full time and to figure out what my own flourishing tree looks like. I'd love to help you flourish and grow along the way, so that you, too, can cultivate a life that pleases God.

Day 11: Beauty in a broken world

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Knowing that getting up early has its rewards and acting on that knowledge are two entirely different things. Yesterday was a glorious day, full of the promise of spring coming to the mountains, and I got out before dawn to visit one of my favorite places. As the sun peeked up over the distant mountains, I kept turning to look at the windows of an old carriage house.

A window reflects tree branches as the sun rises and casts its golden light.

The morning was quiet and calm, and the golden hour found me exactly where I needed to be. I’m more of a night owl, and so I’m rarely out and about before sunrise, but this quiet moment felt like a truly special treat.

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

Day 10: Beauty in a broken world

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Just in case you—like me—can’t get enough of Lenten roses these days, here’s another one for you. Everywhere I turn this week, I feel like I’m seeing or talking about Lenten roses (also known as Hellebores).

Lenten roses bloom in my yard, despite being buried under snow for what felt like a solid month.

On Sunday, my parents and I chatted about their Lenten roses blooming. Mom emails me her own sightings of beauty each day, and for that day, it was her Lenten roses. My dad said he hoped they’d still be blooming when I am able to visit so I can photograph them.

Several friends have picked up their own cameras and posted Lenten rose photos on social media this week, including my dear friend Joy, whose amazing macro photos you should check out. Here’s her Lenten rose bud.

So many of us love Lenten roses because they put on a triumphant show when little else is blooming. They offer a fighting spirit and a bit of encouragement that winter won’t last forever. They also self-sow where they’re happy. So an investment in them pays great rewards, both practical and emotional. And maybe a bit spiritual, too.

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

Day 9: Beauty in a broken world

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Interesting textures can take a blah object and make it come to life. In the case of today’s photo, lichens adorn a stone wall, transforming it into a thing of beauty and interest instead of just a gray expanse.

A hunt for textures challenges my brain’s first reactions: “Same old boring wall. Keep walking.” I slow down and see more deeply. And I gain a more meaningful appreciation of life as it moves into cracks and crevices and surfaces where we might not expect life to survive.

Not just a gray stone wall

If you get to walk around outside today, I invite you to keep your eyes open for unusual textures that you may have never noticed before.

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

Day 8: Beauty in a broken world

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Having a friend come to your door bearing gifts in a time of crisis is never to be taken lightly. And if that person comes to your door during a pandemic, the friend is an even greater treasure. A woman whom I knew only a little before the start of the pandemic, but who has become a dear friend through the course of the last year, recently brought these beautiful roses to my door. The beauty of the gift and the friendship of the giver carried me through a challenging time.

A beautiful gift from a friend

Have you had friends—or perhaps even a stranger—show up in surprising or unexpected ways during this past year? Have you shown up for a loved one in such a way? As the pandemic drags on, I invite you to look for ways to show up, even if that means showing up virtually through a text or a phone call or an email or a letter. Your simple act of showing up can be a precious gift.

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.

Day 7: Beauty in a broken world

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Going to new places to see beautiful sights is one of the things I miss most about the pandemic. So today, I’m sharing a remembrance from a past trip. When we lived in California, my husband and I made the trek to Daffodil Hill, a place full of daffodils and peacocks. We arrived to a “Closed for the season” sign.

A peacock keeps its eye on me.

I snapped a few photos from the fence along the road, and though we told ourselves we’d come back the next year, we didn’t. And then, in 2019, Daffodil Hill permanently closed. A CNN article about the closure cited overtourism.

Those of us living in touristy places during a pandemic can relate probably all too well to this concept. (But that’s more about the brokenness of the world, and less about the beauty of it, and so let me focus back on the peacocks.)

Peacocks seem almost unreal to me. The imagination that went into creating such a bird and the sheer luminous beauty of it, well, it all leaves me speechless.

Join me in the hunt for beauty?
Where do you see beauty in a broken world? Want to add your own images during the 31-day journey? If so, feel free to comment below with your Instagram handle, and tag your Insta posts with #beautyinabrokenworld. You’ll find me there @pixofhope.