For more than twenty years, The Back Door Coffeehouse of University Baptist Church has held a monthly forum for writers and musicians on the first Friday night of each month with only an occasional skip. The artists are local, national, amateur, professional, sometimes thought provoking, often funny, and almost never boring. I often get an idea from one of the performers that goes into my “blog ideas” folder. This particular one has been waiting a while.
Sara Beth Geoghegan, one of my favorites, has made several appearances interspersing her music with stories that bring both tears and laughter. As I started to write this blog, I put on her CD, Tired of Singing Sad Songs, which includes sad songs in 
spite of its title. The album has a song whose story resonated with me. “Three Sips of Beauty” honors her aunt’s twelve years of sobriety. According to the story she tells with it, her aunt believes people need three sips of beauty each day. The laugh came when she said four would put you into the M&Ms.
I liked the idea of finding three bits of beauty in each day, though I have not been consistent with looking. The idea comes back to me especially when we are in the midst of these dreary gray days of winter. Of course, the easiest place to see beauty is outdoors so I went looking.
Easy to spot are the nandina with their cheerful red berries and burgundy foliage. And who would not notice the ornamental kale with its curly white leaves nestled inside the dark green? Looking up at the stark leafless tree, I was surprised by beauty in the filigree against the gray sky. Truth to tell, I could have found more than three, but the Christmas weight is not off, and I don’t need to get into the M&Ms. 
May you find your three sips of beauty today, including a surprise or two. And if you get more than three, go ahead, have some M&Ms.