Just As I Am

surprised

[ for a larger view click here ]

I was so blessed to find a package waiting for me on my doorstep when I got home from shopping today...
Inside were these yummy smelling handmade soaps with a note from Laura.
How thoughtful!
Thank you, Laura!

what's cookin'

Jenna and Trey and I spent yesterday in the kitchen preparing our Thursday night meal.
The menu consisted of
Delicious Grilled Chicken
a recipe I saw on
Laura's blog
Asparagus Risotto
a yummy new dish that my sister made when I visited last month
Caesar Salad
 Super Moist Fudge Bundt Cake
 that was featured on
My Kitchen Cafe

hmmmm...

Most people
don't know
there are angels
whose only job
is to make sure
you don't
get too comfortable
&
fall asleep
&
miss your life.

--Brian Andreas
The Story People

blessed

to be the mom of these beautiful girls [and one not pictured]

who graciously honored me with a tea party....
have I mentioned that I like tea parties?

The table was set with these beautiful flowers

and this lovely platter of candles




All of the food was scrumptious... including this yummy trifle


Isn't the strawberry heart delightful?


The menu included:

Texas Tea
Chicken Salad
Fruit Slush
Scones
Devonshire Cream
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Spinach Salad
Trifle





As if the tea party wasn't gift enough, this pretty little package sat close beside the table..




something totally unexpected, but longed for, was inside...


an Ipod

: )

 

I am blessed by the kind and gracious love my Heavenly Father displays to me
through each of my little women.



thank you
 Jenna, Katy & Leah!

perfect tense

action that has been completed

hmmmmmmm....on a recent visit to my hometown I was introduced to a sweet woman who responded by saying she has visited my blog and had epecially enjoyed reading this list of things I wanted to accomplish during the year.  I had to admit that, with a quarter of the year gone, the only thing I knew I had done, for sure, was visit a few photobooths to start my collection of pics [which I hope to post once my scanner is back up and running.]  you know...fun stuff...How gallant! 

But looking back over the list today, I see that I have done at least two other things listed there:  visited Leah and gone to classes with her; and added more green to my diet.  I cannot say I have consistently told my husband, "I love you" everyday or written a note to someone I love every week....but it's never too late to start, right?  I am making progress.

I've always loved making lists and being able to mark things off.  Desires accomplished are sweet to the soul....and sometimes I even write things I forgot to put on my initial list after I've done them so I can have the satisfaction of marking them off too :)

One thing that has been a blessing to me each week, that isn't on the list,  is cooking with Jenna.  Every Thursday afternoon she and the boys come over and we spend time in the kitchen preparing a meal to enjoy together as a family when our husbands come home from work.  My peace comes from serving my family in ways that often seem insignificant and mundane....like cooking and cleaning.  I believe it is because it is part of what I was created to do.  Would I consider myself a person who naturally enjoys cooking and cleaning?  ha. Not really.  But when I choose to step into the Grace that is always available to me....I experience the joy that comes from knowing I am doing the right thing.  I have a sense of purpose, which is deeply satisfying. The things I dread become delightful!

Yesterday was Thursday; I didn't feel like cooking. I was tired and grouchy. But when I chose to take that step, I became the person I long to be...without resistance, without trying harder and totally without pretense!
I like to think of it as
perfect tense...

the question

where are you going right now
or
where are you going after work
or
where are you going with that conversation
or
where are you going on vacation
or
where are you going to school
or
where are you going for dinner
or
where are you going tomorrow
or
where are you going with your life
or
where are you going after death
?

Any or all of the above...tell me...where you are going?
How do you know?

Simon Peter asked, "Master, just where are you going"

Jesus answered, "You can't now follow me where I'm going. You will follow later."

~John 13:36~

leaving winter behind

"Once in a wood at winter's end,
The withered sun, becoming young,
Turned the white silence into sound:
Bird after bird rose up in song.
The skeletons of snow-blocked trees
Linked thinning shadows here and there,
And those made mummy by the freeze
Spangled their mirrors on cold air.
Whether they moved — perhaps they spun,
Caught in a new but known delight —
Was hard to tell, since shade and sun
Mingled to hear the birds recite.
No body of this sound I saw,
So glassed and shining was the world
That swung on a sun-and-ice seesaw
And fought to have its leaves unfurled.
Hanging its harvest in between
Two worlds, one lost, one yet to come,
The wood's remoteness, like a drum,
Beat the oncoming season in.
Then every snow bird on white wings
Became its tropic counterpart,
And, in a renaissance of rings,
I saw the heart of summer start."

~Howard Moss~

believing

life and chocolates

When my dad sent this picture to me that he took of my beautiful mom with the beautiful red roses he bought for her on Valentine's day I was reminded of how, at that time every year, he would give my sisters and me a heart shaped box of chocolates. 
I've been thinking about life and chocolates lately.
In our house caramels were top choice; anything else, except the dreaded jellies, was acceptable after that.
I remember one year I bought my husband a whole box of just caramels.  Delightful, but admittedly, a little boring.
It seems life has had it's fair share of jellies lately;
I keep wishing for caramels.
Today I am choosing to trust the One who's custom packaging my box of candy and carefully placing it in a HEART shaped box as an expression of His love for me.
I just hope I don't try to take matters into my own hands and start pinching the candy.

"Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you're gonna get."  ~Forrest Gump

more gratitude

Adding more to my list of 1000 gifts my heavenly Father has given to me.

171.  This yummy perfume given to me by my beautiful sister who came for a few days visit  recently.
172.  The opportunity to travel to see two of my daughters next month.
173.  A daughter who left Scripture notes all throughout the house to encourage me before she left to return to college.
174.  This wonderful book that is helping me to think once again.
175.  A friend who meets me for coffee and sharing on a weekly basis.
176.  Reconnecting with old friends via Facebook.
177.  Sunny days and cool, crisp nights.
178.  Hydrangeas and tulips from the grocery store placed in my little white pitcher. 
179.  Grandsons who come for a visit with their mommy almost every Friday.
180.  This little table that now graces the space beside my sofa.
181.  Fresh green smoothies or green lemonade for breakfast every morning...yum.
182.  Online friends who give me the opportunity to use my gifts when they ask for help.
183.  A new haircut that I actually like :)
184.  The light that streams in through the French door in my bedroom...so soft and pretty.
185.  My patio swing and the huge oak tree it sits under.
186.  My recent introduction to the poet Rainer Rilke.
187.  The ritual of eating Butterscotch pudding that I share with my mom and dad when I visit them.
188.  This little book that reminds me to do just what I'm doing here that my mom and dad's friend, Nancy Leigh DeMoss, wrote.
189.  A new favorite place to visit on the web.
190.  This  ribbon box that my mom bought for me when she visited me.
191.  The cutest ornament that my very talented sister made for our Christmas tree.

oh my goodness

Is this ever the neatest little thing...for those of you with point and shoot cameras that use SD cards.....you've just gotta get this!

Eye-Fi... a wireless photo card.....a one time set up and after that, no need for uploading with a card reader or usb cable...and if you get the Eye-Fi Share, it will even upload your photos directly to your Flickr, Walmart, Picassa et. al albums....WOW!

Now go read about it here!!!  And start your Christmas shopping early :)

Wednesdays: coffee/tea with a friend who listens and prays

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  James 5:16

Bear ye one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.  Galatians 6:2

still life

fruit
hand picked
by nail scarred hands
bathed
and
ripened
in healing light
lies silently
at rest
awaiting
precious
famished
souls
to
come
to
take
to
eat
to be
nourished
and
filled
to
 find life
to
bear
fruit

saturday thought

we have a winner

Tonight was the deadline for the Relish subscription giveaway.....and we have a winner....

Trey drew the name....

 

Congratulations, Sandy....you will be receiving an email soon :)