Nowhere and Nothing

Took a restorative day yesterday.  It was exactly what I needed after the Thanksgiving weekend.  As wonderful as it was, I needed a day to go nowhere, do nothing (except what I chose to do in the moment) and slow cook a roast. Without it, the upcoming busy, busy weekend, with no time for rest, would drain me as much as it entertained me.  Thankful for mid-week sabbath.

Your Turn

 
competitive ~ (adj) ~ determined by competition

After nay saying the hype around the iphone, I finally succumbed and bought one about a month ago.  Can we say fun?  It does a zillion different things I have yet to figure out, and oh yeah, it's a phone, too.  

Fellow Groovy, Peppermint Patty, also bought one and we have discovered the Words With Friends application.  If you're not familiar, this app is Scrabble played via our smart phones.  It's funny how you think you know someone until you engage in a bit of friendly competition.  Sweet Miss Peppermint, whom I've known for years, has a real competitive streak in her.  Yikes!  We have five games going simultaneously and she is ruthless and relentless ~ in a nice way, of course.  She's keeping me on my toes, which is good for my brain.  Old words are resurfacing and new words are being discovered.  And in a way that only social networking can do, I am connecting daily with my friend, which is something we didn't do before.

Thank you, Miss Peppermint.  Your turn!

 

Celebrating Food, Friendship and Love

The long Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone, and Christmas is upon us.  The pre-Thanksgiving hype about Christmas turns me off, but oh, how I love celebrating Thanksgiving itself by welcoming Christmas.  It just seems a natural fit.  I spend a wonderful day sharing food, friendship and love, then spend the day after decorating and preparing for the most life-giving food, the most intimate friendship, and the most powerful, unconditional love that is Christ.  It's a magical time of year ~ the music, the decorations, and the spirit of brotherhood and peace in the air, all wrapped around the promise that is Christ.

The kid in me relishes the surprises of Christmas present; the adult in me bathes in the memories of Christmas past.  It really is amazing how powerful those memories are and how I am drawn to recreating those sights, smells and sounds.  Yesterday I made a beef stew that simmered in brandy and cranberries for over 3 hours.  The smell was positively divine but the taste even more so.  Add my family around the table, which has been set in the first of many festive displays, music of the season, a house lit only by candlelight and the Christmas tree, and I simultaneously breathed it all in as an adult and a child.  I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

This Christmas season, however you celebrate, with whomever you celebrate, and even if your celebration is tainted by loss, my prayer for you is that you, too, are filled to the brim with gratitude for the gifts of life, love and peace that is only Christ's to give. 


 

Giving Thanks by Word and Deed

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."  ~ Colossians 3:17

Happy Thanksgiving!

Appetizers Before Turkey

Road Trip ~ Quickie

Today and tomorrow.  Tahoe.  Snow.  Mountains.  Skiing.  Then home again, home again, jiggety jig.  In time for Thanksgiving with the family.  

Thank You, Lord, for husbands who are willing to take a 48 hour side trip, for daughters who are willing to cook the turkey, for sons who are willing to drive grandmothers and meet us at the family gathering. 

Gimme a Break

Lesson from the Garden ~ Backyard Remodel

As you know, the backyard remodel is on hold while a new roof was being installed and subsequent interior patching and painting was tackled.  All done. Bravo!  But as you also know from this continuing saga, when it rains it pours.  So, our hot water heater decided it wanted to be part of the fun.  Fortunately, we still have hot water but unfortunately, the tank is leaking enough that it needs to be replaced.  And yes, we are now in the process of buying and installing a new one.  (Ironically, the hot water heater went out the last time we installed a new roof 15 years ago.  I see a pattern here!)  

 My husband's response to this latest addition to our unintended detour from the outside in, "Gimme a break!" 

And that's how we went into the weekend.  But we did get a break!  After two previous cloudy and rainy days, the sun came out on Saturday, the day that my girlfriends and I took a ferry adventure to a lovely little, artsy town on the bay where we enjoyed laughter, good food, sunshine and each other's company.  We were doing an early birthday celebration for two of us since the holidays make it difficult to do otherwise.

On Sunday, my husband and I tackled the house to complete the small finishing details that previously felt too overwhelming to even think about.  I think we are ready to refocus our time, energy and money back outside to the backyard where it all began.

Thank You, Lord, for this sweet and much-needed restorative and fruitful weekend.

   

The Reason Is...

"What exactly is God's motivation toward humanity?...love...If the message that God wants to get across to us is just about getting our beliefs right, then He didn't need to come Himself.  If God's entire intent was to simply overwhelm us with the miraculous so that we could finally believe, no personal visitation is necessary.  There is only one reason to come Himself, because in issues of love, you just can't have someone else stand in for you."  - (Erwin McMannus, Soul Cravings)  

So I'm sitting here in a coffee shop looking out at the humans running through the rain-soaked parking lot and I ask, "Really? Really?  He desires us car-driving, shopping-obsessed, self-absorbed suburbanites?"  Yet in the hills just  beyond, it is still, and I see Him waiting patiently indeed, His passion fully kindled and His desire undeterred ~ a passion and desire for which I am fully grateful.

Season of Thanks

thankful ~ grateful
grateful ~ appreciative of benefits received

It's November.  In light of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, it's so cliche` to expound on the things for which I'm grateful ~ and I wasn't going to do it just because it's the season to do so ~ but I've been thinking and I really do have much to be thankful for.  And so, while I do express appreciation throughout the year, I will also participate in this annual ritual of giving thanks.  

I begin with a deep gratitude for life.  My life.  Living things around me.  God's creation.  Thank You, Lord, for breathing life into me, into this world.

In the beginning, God created .... (Genesis 1:1)
 

Thankful for My Friend

I have never really thought of God as my friend.  Lord. You bet.  Creator.  Check.  Father.  Yes.   He's my designer and creator, and I am privileged to be called His daughter, but friend?  For someone to be a friend means I have to know him or her.  And the more I know this person favorably, the more I choose to be in relationship.

In this Thanksgiving season, I am grateful for my friendship with God.  I am thankful that in His Son, I have not only salvation but an approachable role model on how to live a fulfilling and loving life.  Christ chooses to walk in relationship with me, as I Him.  Our friendship is sweet and while I sometimes balk, I am thankful for His loving willingness and ability to hold me accountable for the actions I say I want to live by daily.  Thank You, sweet Friend.

Off the Grid

Road Trip ~ To Bend and Beyond

I’m sitting on the porch of a small log cabin, rocking in an old-fashioned rocker, writing the initial draft of this blog with antiquated pen and paper. Our cabin has no internet, no cell phone reception, no television, no radio. It is perfectly quiet out. The harvest moon shines brightly overhead. I am somewhere on the road between Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, completely off the grid and it feels good.

My husband and I have spent the past couple of days soaking in the incredible beauty of Montana and Wyoming, and to tell the truth, my brain, my senses, my emotions need a break. Quite frankly, I have no more words right now. The resounding quiet of our little log cabin is music to my ears and rest for my soul as I process what I have seen and heard.

All that I have within me is a song of praise and wonder for the Creator of the universe. I find it difficult to believe, as some would have it, that random chance created such beauty, symmetry and order out of chaos. God created this most beautiful world and to Him, I am grateful.

Thank You

I dislike cleaning the bathrooms.  The gleaming, sparkling results are wonderful but the effect is short-lived as the family waltzes right in to use the newly cleaned facilities.  I mean, the nerve of some people.  Give me at least an hour of dreaming they will look forever like a magazine-perfect bathrooms.  Where does all that gunk come from in just one week's time?

Cleaning the bathrooms may not have a long lasting effect, but my family's gratitude does.  Thank you.  The bathroom looks great.  Those two little words, "thank you," make all the difference in my attitude.  The family knows I'm doing something for their benefit and they don't take me for granted.

I have to be honest, though.  Those words didn't always flow out of their mouths after I scrubbed their toilets and cleaned their hairs out of the bathtub.  At first, their lack of expressed appreciation bummed me out and then downright annoyed me.   I knew I needed an attitude adjustment about ministering to my family, but I also knew that this was a teaching moment for them.

So I shared that my faithfully cleaning their bathrooms every week without so much as a peep of acknowledgment from them made me feel like ~ well, it made me feel like their maid.  The feeling was as yucky as the bathrooms I was cleaning.  So I expressed that a simple "thank you" goes a long way, a long, long way.  It's not merely a social grace or nice manners, it's an expression of love and appreciation for what others do for us.

I was so glad I checked my heart attitude before speaking out because my words were "teachable" words not "accusatory" ones.  The family got it.  Our "thank you" now flows generously amongst us for not just bathroom cleaning but for all the mundane tasks that befall a community sharing living space. 



 

Remodel a Year Later

It has been a year since we starting tearing apart our kitchen for a full remodel.  The job wasn't finished until a couple of weeks before Christmas but that's what happens when you do-it-yourself.  Seven months after its completion, I still marvel that it's my (our) kitchen.  Any negative "remodel feelings" are relegated to history, and all I feel is joy and gratitude for my good fortune.

Funny how that works.  Like how the pain of the delivery room is long forgotten, and all I remember are the incredible feelings of amazement and love when I looked upon my son's face for the first time.  Sometimes the suffering we go through is so overshadowed by the amazing outcome on the other side, like gold or silver being refined by the fire.

God knows this.  That's why He allows me to endure trials and doesn't immediately rescue me from the flame. 

He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. (Mal 3:3) ... I (God) have refined you, but not as silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering. (Isa 48:10)

I am fully aware that some suffer more than others.  And that some find it highly offensive and off-putting for God to allow them to suffer, and reject Him because of it.   However, I would be highly offended if He was a God who just let me slip through life unfinished.   I am grateful for His faithfulness that I am not left as a lump of base metal, never to realize my full potential or fulfill His purpose in me.    I am grateful for a God who promises to grow and prosper me, even through a process that I may not understand (or even like).
 
The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over. (Ps 12:6)   


(If you missed any or all of our remodeling story, just click on Lessons from the Kitchen in the right hand column of this blog and you can visit or revisit the story in detail.)

Hot Town, Summer in the City

The sights and sounds of summer.  So thankful for the simple pleasures of this season right in my own backyard:

Wishing you sweet summer pleasures without spending much money on gas.

Ordinary Joy and Gratitude

My walk this morning brought me to tears.  This may sound maudlin, but I love my All-American neighborhood

I love the artfully designed and well-cared-for front yards ~ the tall, breeze-catching trees that line the streets ~ the smell of a freshly cut lawn ~ the sound of kids playing in my local park ~ the alternating brilliant sunshine and dappled shade ~ the pets and their people ~ the houses that started out the same but have taken on their owners' characters over the years ~ the neighbors who lives in these houses.

I love that my All-American neighborhood sits in an All-American town.  It is clean.  It is safe.  It is beautiful.  And it's a short drive away from one of the most exciting cities in the world.

Make no mistake, things are not perfect in my perfect-looking town.  But for right now, today, this moment, I am going to bathe in the joy and gratitude I feel for the ordinary, the every day, the simple pleasures of my All-American neighborhood.

Reminded and Grateful

We spent a lazy Sunday afternoon enjoying an in-car picnic with a foggy view of San Francisco as a backdrop.   It rained on and off during our stay and while the mist obscured this famous scene, we knew what treasures lay beyond the hazy shroud.  Unfortunately, we don't often take the time to just sit with it.  So today, it was a special treat to be captured by the rain and enjoy the luxury of simply contemplating the beauty and inspiration of the view.  

As I sat there with my husband listening to rain on the car roof, watching birds soar through the gray mist and sailboats sail valiantly by, I gave thanks for simple pleasures.  And as I compare my peaceful day to someone in Japan who is currently digging out from the loss and devastation of recent, horrific natural disasters, I am reminded that life is sweet, time is precious and the future is unknown.  I am reminded that today is a gift, as is each day.  I am filled with gratitude. 
 

I'm in Heaven

Road Trip ~ 88/395/50

t's that time of year again!  I'm at Heavenly today skiing with my husband on their 6 feet of new snow, looking at an incredible alpine lake and simply ecstatic that the ski season has started so early.  We are richly blessed and I am grateful.

Family Gratitude

We had one of our nicest Thanksgivings ever yesterday surrounded by family, eating good food, sharing friendship and love.  We talked and laughed over nothing and everything, genuinely grateful for each other's presence.  This morning the air is crisp with even a touch of frost on the ground but I am still basking in the glow of yesterday.

Thank You Lord for the sweet pleasures of family. 

Thanksgiving Blessings

Praise the Lord. 

Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Praise Him for his acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise Him with the harp and lyre, 

praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with the strings and flute, 

praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord. 

(Psalm 150 NIV) 

On this day of giving thanks, I lift my eyes upward to the God of creation.  I am thankful for His mercy and grace, for His unconditional and everlasting love.  I am humbly grateful for my life, for this beautiful planet.  I am thankful for His blessings on my family and my friends.   I am mindful daily of the calling on my life to walk in the footsteps of His redeeming love.  And I am thankful that He carries me when I fail.  Amen.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, your family and friends.  May you be richly blessed in unexpected ways.

 

 

Marriage Gratitude

I have had the privilege of forming friendships with several young women who are newlyweds.  Some I have known before they got engaged and have followed their journey to matrimony; others I met after they had tied the knot.  I get great pleasure from hearing their great delight over something their husband does now that later in their marriage will seem mundane and even expected ~ things like putting chains on the car during a snowstorm while she stays warm and dry in the car,  writing her love notes just because, cleaning her car both inside and out while she is on a weekend getaway with her girlfriends, cooking dinner because she's had a rough day at work or telling her she's beautiful when she's not feeling beautiful.

That's not to say that they don't have a grumble or two about their husbands.  These wives acknowledge that marriage is both harder and sweeter than expected.  But they are still in the honeymoon phase.  They have barely started living together.  Life may have already thrown them a few challenges in their young lives, but the real challenges lie ahead. They are embarking on a journey together that will challenge their very concept of what marriage is,  what their role is within that union, and how to balance individual wants versus the needs of a couple.  It will be one of the most exciting, rewarding and difficult journeys of their lives.

Looking at marriage from my perspective, I wish that I had been better equipped to choose a mate and navigate the waters.  It never occurred to me that I needed more than love and physical attraction.  We could work out everything together.  It never occurred to me for even a single moment that I would be divorced and on my second marriage before I got it.

And what did I get?  I got that I chose with half-opened eyes the first time around and that we didn't have the wherewithal to face life's challenges when the big ones came along years after the honeymoon glow wore off.  Instead of forming a circle together, we retreated to our own corners to deal with adversity.  It tore us apart.  Yet I can honestly say I am grateful for that marriage because it produced my son.

 I have in my second marriage what every young woman dreams of.  We are in love with our eyes open.  We are walking life together through its ups and downs, and are a better couple because of it.  We are putting our marriage and each other before our own wants, not at the sacrifice of who we are but simply because it makes us better people and better spouses.

I no longer feel the newlywed giddiness.  I still have the love and physical attraction, but I  have something so much more and for that I am grateful.  And what is the secret to our marital bliss?  We have placed Christ squarely in the center of our union and live to honor Him.  In doing so, we are blessed many times over and are laughing out loud over our good fortune in the second half of our lives.

 

Mindful Gratitude

It's almost Thanksgiving.  I love this holiday because it's about relationships and food. Throw in some football, strategic planning for Black Friday shopping, maybe a walk and most certainly a nap, and you have the making of a terrific day.   No pressure, just pleasure.  It's a day to be thankful for so much.

This year I have been trying to practice daily thanks giving or what I call mindful gratitude.   I just have too much to be thankful for to squash it all into one day.  I can't honestly say that I am grateful for all circumstances but I am mindful that I am blessed. 

I am blessed by a God who loves me unconditionally and has a plan for my life far greater than I could purpose for myself.  I am blessed that my God has graciously offered salvation and then had the patience to wait until I willingly accepted His gift.  I am blessed to be embraced as one of His holy children.

I am mindful daily of new starts, second chances and forgiveness beyond understanding.  I am grateful for a God of immeasurable grace.

And as I practice mindful gratitude, I am also keenly aware that I am called to pass on the blessings ~ both to those I know and don't know, to those I love and those I don't.   So maybe  Thanksgiving is more than a time of friendship, food and football.  Maybe it's like a reset button so as we give thanks for our bounty, we are resetting our mindful gratitude button to give thanks daily throughout the year ~ and so pass on the blessings to others.