Today is the day!

The day for what, you ask? It's just the day... the day for making a masterpiece, the day for celebrating being alive, the day for thanking God for your blessings, the day for smiling at someone who isn't expecting it, the day for resting, the day for staring outside your window for five minutes and counting all the things that are beautiful and delightful.

It's just the day! Don't wait for another one. :)

Tip: Listen to Josh Wilson's This Is the Day to start your week on a toe-tapping upbeat. (It's not the song you learned in Sunday School.)

P.S. I found this Facebook post from ten years ago and thought it fit well with what I wrote above:

"I am loving what my friend Patti said about how she wonders if each day isn't its own destination. It's the perfect way to start a new month. . . If I focus on each day and celebrate it as a gift from God and do the work that's in front of me, (a) I don't need to worry about tomorrow and (b) I won't slog through my days as if I'm waiting for something better. Also, how exciting to see each day as a lifetime in itself—full of possibilities and opportunities! To be able to feel a sense of accomplishment each and every day, even if it's for little things, because you threw yourself into a task."

On the first Monday of each month, I'll pose a question and welcome you to respond to it. Those who answer the question will have their names entered into a draw for the chance to win a prize. I'll announce the winner and share some of the responses the following month. Please click on the question below to answer it:

The winner of this draw will win this set of five mini cards (a bit smaller than 3"x4") that I illustrated a while ago. These are the originals, not prints! They're cream-coloured and blank inside and include envelopes. Cute, right? I'll have different prizes every month so keep coming back. :)

BONUS: If you forward this email to a friend or share it on social media, I'll put your name in the hat twice! (There's a spot below the question where you can let me know you've done this.)

• Cute, Funny, and Pretty Food

If you have kids, or if you just like to make snacks look creative (for all those parties none of us can have right now), you'll enjoy this collection. It's one of my many Pinterest boards you can follow! 

• Printable Paper

It's happened to all of us: You run out of pages in your checkbook register or you need one sheet of graph paper and can't find one in the house (and don't want to buy a whole pack). Or you suddenly feel inspired to jot down a musical composition! What do you do? This website has just about every type of paper you can think of (1,900 of them!), and you can print them all for free.

• Friend List or Friendless?

God wisely designed the human body so that we can neither pat our own backs nor kick ourselves too easily.

– unknown