Tag: #NCMuseum

Winding Down January

Affirmation

We welcome the winding down of January. We breathe. We take notice. We are grateful for how far we have come. We will begin to create space to celebrate love.

Reflection

Winding down gives us a chance to reflect. We began this month with an open heart — with a willingness to see differently, to notice the extraordinary in the ordinary.

January encourages us:
To consider change.
To search for light, clarity, and joy.
To stay open to opportunities, new beginnings.
To offer grace to ourselves and others.
To see the sparkle in the ordinary.

January didn’t ask us to be perfect. It simply asked us to notice — to pay attention to the small ways God meets us in the everyday. It also drew our attention to others — to see them in a different light. To receive grace so we could offer it back

As we wind down this month, we gather these moments like gentle threads. We hold them with gratitude. We let them prepare our hearts for what comes next. A month to celebrate love.
Love for God.
Love for others.
Love for ourselves.

Our last post for January will invite love to shine in and through us — to greet us at the door,
to welcome us,
to comfort us,
to love us just the way we are.

Prayer

God, thank You for the light that guided us, the clarity that grounded us, and the joy that lifted us. We are grateful for the sparkles that remind us of the beauty all around. Continue to have mercy on us. Keep extending grace. And prepare our hearts for love. Amen.

Image Credit: Public Domain Picture

#January #Welcome #NewYear #2026 #Affirmation #Prayer #Faith #Seasons #Reflections #NCMuseum

Welcoming the Sparkle

Affirmation

We welcome the sparkle. We will look for the sparkles of everyday life and will get close enough to feel the sparkle in our souls.

Reflection

Some days, it’s hard to find the sparkle. Yet, when we look in the right places, it shows up. It shows up in someone’s eyes. Or in the bubbles of a babbling brook. Or a shimmer of light shining through a window. Or in the sparkle of a shoe strap.

Sparkles are easy to miss unless we slow down enough to notice them.

January calls us to slow down. To notice the:
snowflakes that glisten before they melt,
dew or frost resting on the ground,
ribbons that shimmer on a painting,
artwork made by a child.

Sometimes the sparkle calls us to pause. To lean in and see the sparkles in the painting—just like in the photo here.

A Section of: Three Graces: Les Trois Femmes Noires 2011 by Mickalene Thomas – Photo taken at the NC Museum of Art

Sometimes the sparkle is bold. A flash of color, a beaded heel, a moment of joy.

The description of the painting says these women represent charm, beauty, and creativity — empowered, emotive, and fearless. That, too, is a kind of sparkle.

These sparkles are reminders.
That beauty is still here.
That wonder still visits.
That God still shines His light in unexpected places.

Welcoming the sparkle means letting these small flashes of delight interrupt us. To cause us to pause.
To take a breath.
To remind us that even on heavy days, something catches light to brighten our day.

Prayer

God, help us notice the sparkle-the glimmers You scatter through our days. Teach us to pause when something shines, even for a moment, and let it lift our spirits. May these tiny flashes of beauty remind us that You are near and that hope is never far. Amen.

Three Graces: Les Trois Femmes Noires 2011 by Mickalene Thomas – Photo taken at the NC Museum of Art

#Sparkle #Welcome #NewYear #2026 #Affirmation #Prayer #Faith #Seasons #Reflections #NCMuseum