pleasant places

The drive to church is beautiful, no matter the time of year.  While driving to church the other day, I noticed a half dozen turkeys on one side of the road, scratching the newly exposed ground for snack.  There is often a bald eagle - such a majestic creature.  The road follows the river at a few places.  Unspoiled by any structures, signs or wires, it is quite wild looking.

I love where we live.  We are surrounded by lakes, woods and beauty.

We live within a few hours of much of our family.  We love our church.  We have wonderful friends - friends that we have known for decades and new friends.

Truly, truly:

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. Psalm 16:6.

But sometimes there is a 

in the road.

 The news is full of crises.  Especially lately. The coronavirus!  The stock market plummeted! The election. There is bad news everywhere.  Some of it very serious.

At times like this, I choose to focus on Psalm 16:6.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places.

If you look around your house and don't feel that it is a pleasant place, do something to make it so.  Fluff the pillows, banish the dust bunnies, straighten or remove the eyesores, the clutter, the stacks.  Light a candle or put on your diffuser.  Make a cup of tea.  Put on some soft music.  Buy yourself a bouquet of flowers.

If you are feeling panicked about the state of things - spend a little time reminding yourself of all the pleasant things, the blessings in your life.  Turn off the news; step away from the internet.  Praise the Lord.  Even at night He will instruct you.

And this is one thing I have learned about him in 50+ years of following Him.  He will not instruct you to worry.

inventory

 With the weather outside being frightful and the fireplace so delightful, it seemed a good time to take inventory.





My little black book has daily to do lists, menus, birthdates, calendar, meeting notes, notes from significant books, sermons, conversations, lists of books read, books to read, challenges, lists of lists....You get the idea.  It basically holds my brains.  It is a rudimentary bullet journal.

It also contains a list of things I should never (or not for a long time) need to buy again.   I do not need to shop for:

• plates
• cups/mugs
• glasses (drinking not wearing)
• silverware
• pots 
• pans
• paper
• pens
• pencils
• scissors
• thread
• embroidery floss 
• paint
• file folders
• notebooks
• piano books
• candles
• luggage
• garden tools
• purses
• nuts
• bolts
• washers
• paint brushes
• mason jars
• furniture
• buttons
• sewing books

And tea.  I counted well over 300 bags of tea, not to mention several packets of loose leaf tea.  The resident fisherman does not drink hot tea as a rule. I drink tea almost every day, and half the time I  'have tea with an old bag' as I've heard it  said (use a tea bag more than once - this saying is in no way a reflection on my girlfriends).

So, I think it is time to throw a tea party or ten.  Other wise I will be drinking tea on my own for the next few years.

I'm also taking another inventory.  This list will never be finished.  It is an inventory of blessings.  Here are four for today:

• The resident fisherman is healing well from his recent vocal cord surgery, although he is still not supposed to speak
• I've finished three books, totaling over 800 pages (see first blessing)
• The sun is shining promising to warm up from the -16* we had to start the day.
• Lots of good friends to enjoy a cuppa tea with. 

What are some of the things in your blessings inventory?

more on silence

we've got some snow

Jesus wasn't the only one who was a fan of silence.  The apostle Paul said this in I Thessalonians 4:11-12,

 "and make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you , so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

James, Jesus' half-brother, counseled in James 1:19 : "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry."

There are several verses in the Psalms about silence - probably the one that is best known is Psalm 46:10a: "Be still and know that I am God..."

My favorite one, and the one our pastor lovingly emailed to the resident fisherman to encourage him in his silence is Proverbs 10:19:  "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise."

My hubby quipped (via email) 'Sounds like a case for shorter sermons.'  

All in good fun of course, we love our pastor and really appreciate his messages.

Two days before hubby's surgery, we were singing along with the worship songs in church.  I looped my arm through his arm.  He really does have a wonderful voice and I realized then how much I was going to miss it.  

Moments later I headed back to children's church to teach the day's lesson.  It was on King Solomon and part of my teaching habit is to spend a bit of time reviewing.   I asked, " Who was the king of Israel before Solomon?"

I was shocked when a little girl in the front row raised her hand.   I have been teaching these kids for the past several years.  Children's church includes Kindergarten - 4th grade.  I have taught this particular little girl for at least 3 years.  She had never before raised her hand.

There is a reason for that.  Her mother shared with me that H. has  'selective mutism'.  She can speak, but doesn't in social settings.

Time paused for a moment as I prepared to hear her speak to me for the first time. 

Instead, she got out of her seat, came up to me and took the white board marker from my hand.  She went up to the board and wrote 'David' - the correct answer. 

She was beaming, I was beaming and, to be honest, close to choking up.  It was a precious, precious moment and I learned an important lesson.

You don't have to talk to communicate.

10 steps to a pretty good Christmas pageant part 3

7.  Have a videographer and a photographer.  

Preferably this person will not be a parent or a grandparent of one of the pageant participants.  You want to get pictures of everyone - not just one or two of the kids.  :)  But you want to record this event for posterity's sake and for future reference when recreating the pageant.

8.  Love the kids.

These tips are not in order of importance by any means.  It is our primary job to love Jesus and to love our children and connect them to each other.

Kids from all kinds of different backgrounds with all kinds of baggage.  Again, our goal is not to present a perfect performance but to tell this most wonderful of truths - that God loved us and sent His Son.  

Be patient with your kids quirks, their misbehaviors, their failure to listen.  We want to make this whole thing - from start to finish a GOOD memory in their little hearts and minds.

9. Say thank you.

Thank the parents, the grandparents.  Thank the kids.  Thank your pastor.  Thank your teachers, your helpers, your tech team, your church secretary, your family, your musicians, your costume makers, your partners in ministry.  Say it verbally, say it often.  And when it is all said and done - send out thank you notes.

10.  Lists help eliminate stress.

I am a consummate list maker.  There is nothing more satisfying to me than making a list and checking it twice.  And checking everything off of it.

Here are some of the lists I made:

• people to contact
• props needed
• costumes needed
• practices scheduled
• communications to send
• music to procure
• sound and lighting needs
• snacks for practice time (gluten, dairy, sugar and peanut free)
• details to talk to my co-laborer about

That is just a small sample of my lists.  I needed a list of lists!

But when December 9 and 10 rolled around and we had done everything that we could possibly think of to do - we sat back and watched the most amazing story unfold.

A story of a Great God with Great Love for all the people.  Told by children.  

We think we are teaching them about Jesus.  Well, they taught us.

Part One here.

Part Two here.

10 steps to a pretty good Christmas pageant part 2

 4.  Communicate, communicate, communicate.

Our situation at our church may be somewhat unique in that we have a Saturday night service and a Sunday morning service.  As a result we never had all the kids in the pageant together at the same time.  Not even at dress rehearsal because some were missing and because we did not include the nursery kids in the rehearsal.  They are going to do what they want anyway,😂 so we decided to let ourselves be surprised.

Our nine foot tall stable on wheels, the model is my 2 year old granddaughter.

We began sending home communications.  We had a 'Save the Date' note that told of the pageant's rehearsal date and performances dates.  We sent letters, emails, texts, put articles in our monthly newsletter.  We made calls, we talked face to face.

And still we had parents that didn't know what part their child had, or when the pageant was.  I don't know how we could have been any more clear in our communications, but it showed me how busy our young families are and some, many are barely managing to keep on track with their normal lives.

You can't communicate too much.  Some people regularly check some platforms of communication while others hardly ever check.

My advice?  Keep communicating by whatever means possible.

Our 'no room at the inn door' .  It took 3 of us to move it into place.

5.  Save, save, save.

With the wonderful props we had built for us, we have done every thing we can to make sure they don't end up on someone's burn pile (as last year's stable and inn door did - ~sob~).

Make sure you have a specific storage room at church or a basement of some generous church person's home and store everything together, clearly labeled.

The angel costumes, wings and halos are together sorted by size and labeled.  The shepherds tunics, headscarves and belts are together and labeled and sorted by size.  (Pro-tip - use thin elastic headbands to secure the headscarves.

If you don't have costumes, use white men's tee shirts for little angels.  Bathrobes for shepherds.  But if you have good and generous sewists in your church, they can knock out a ton of costumes during a fun Saturday sewing frenzy.  Plan this for September or October.  Encourage and bribe them with snacks.

I had thrown out last year's script which had lots of helpful notes on it. I will not repeat that mistake.

I have a list of what we borrowed from who this year so we can start with calling on those people again.

Just yesterday, another area church borrowed our shepherd costumes.  I made a note of this and told 3 other people where the costumes are.  Just in case I lose my mind between now and next December.  It could happen.

6. Have a sense of humor.

Years ago, at another church, the lady who was in charge of our pageant.  She had gorgeous costumes which she kept stored at her home in a temperature controlled environment (kidding).  She was a perfectionist with a CAPITAL P.  This dear woman wanted to glorify God by presenting a PERFECT PAGEANT.  The result, I don't remember, but I do remember the tension, stress and hurt feelings that resulted.

When you are working with kids, crazy and funny things happen.  Kids cry.  They refuse to perform.  They have accidents.  They pick their noses.   Roll with the punches.

True story: During our dress rehearsal, the three wisemen went behind the stable to pick up their gifts for baby Jesus.  A fight ensued.  All three of them wanted to give Him the gold.  So we had to have a little talk. It was a teachable moment and I'm thankful it happened during the dress rehearsal and not during the pageant.

Several people told me the highlight of the pageant for them was the little boy who could not reach the microphone and could not bend it down close enough to him.  He stood on his tippy toes, leaned his head back and shouted his line in the general direction of the mic.

Professional?  No.   Adorable?  Yes.

Kids praising Jesus.  That is what we are going for.

Once again this has gotten long.  More next time.

Part one here.

Part three here.

10 steps to a pretty good Christmas pageant part 1

Over the next several days I want to share some of the ideas/strategies we used for our Christmas pageant.

While this may come across as a 'how to', it is really specific to our church but adaptable to yours.

1.   Choose the best story.  While The Greatest Story Ever Told has already been taken as a title, the best story ever is worth telling again and again and again.  And again.  Use the one in the Bible.

As mentioned previously, we chose this pageant.

It has a clear script, is narrator-driven which helps those with speaking parts know when to say their lines.  It has ideas for set decorations; some we took, some we didn't. 
It lasts 15-20 minutes which is perfect to perform during a worship service while still allowing the pastor time to make a few remarks or do a devotional.

It has traditional carols included which the congregation is encouraged to sing with the cast.

It is faithful to Scripture (the Best Story!) although my kids were really bummed - especially the three who played the various innkeepers - to learn that there are no innkeepers mentioned in either the Matthew or the Luke accounts.  Of course, 'no room in the inn' implies innkeepers.

2.  Pray.  There is really not much point in presenting a pageant unless it is bathed in prayer. 
 Pray for your kids who are preparing, 
Pray for those who will be attending.
 Pray for this to not add one- more -crazy -Christmas- time -thing -to -schedule, but that it would be a respite from the chaos and a reminder of the true meaning. 
Pray for your ministry team.
Pray for your children.
ESPECIALLY pray for the single parents of your kids.  I know this added extra stress to some of our single parents.  We need to affirm and support our single parents.  Sometimes ex-spouses can try to thwart the good intentions of others so we gave extra grace to these children (not making practices mandatory for them, etc.)


3.  Have a great team.

Our pastor is our greatest cheerleader. I appreciate him so much. 

 Our associate pastor was also a great encouragement.  He is my son and I appreciate him too.  Smile.

 The senior pastor's  wife is the children's ministry director and I am in charge of children's church.  She and I have totally different personalities and energies levels.  I am old enough to be her mother.  IMO we made a great team.  Her energy combined with my phlegmaticism (is that a word?) helped us get things done without as much stress as there could have been.  Was there stress?  Yes, but not between the two of us.

We have amazing builders in our church One of them built a bullet proof door (kidding, but it took 3 of us to lift it) for the innkeepers to pop in and out of.

Our stable was 9 feet tall at the peak and on wheels to make it easier to move around and on and off the platform.  It was amazing.  I hope Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus had as good a quality stable as we did.

We are in a new sanctuary this year.  It is modern.  The rustic/modern trees the decorating committee had built were a perfect backdrop to the stable.

Our tech team is second to none.  They blow me away everytime.  They think of things I would never think of in a million years.  Not only could folks hear what was going on, they also added special lighting to great effect.

We have a great team of children's church workers and nursery workers.  Our nursery crew brought 10-15 little 1-3 year old lambs up to the front of the church during each performance.  No one threw up, no one cried, no one pitched a fit.  It was so sweet.

AND we could not have done this without our junior helpers.  We encourage our junior high/high school kids to help.  And they do!  They seem to love it.  A few of them will often pop in to children's church to ask me if I need help. They are incredible kids.  


~~~~~~~~~~~

This is getting kind of long.  More tips next time!

Part two here.

Part three here.

Christmas pageant

I'm recording here, mostly for my own benefit the process we went through this year in preparing our Christmas pageant.

It happened this past weekend and I couldn't be more thankful for the way it turned out.

We used the script from The First Christmas Pageant.   We actually had performed this last year on a Sunday evening.  Those in attendance were primarily parents and grandparents.  But this year our pastor asked us to perform it during our worship services.  We have a service on Saturday night and Sunday morning.  FOR THE WHOLE CHURCH.

The dual services presented us with our first challenge.  I will address that in future posts.

I recommend this pageant.  It is simple, stays true to Scripture.  We did it with about 20 kids last year, but this year had twice that.  It uses traditional music, nothing new to learn.

It faithfully tells the old familiar story of how much God loves us.  So much that He sent His only begotten Son to earth as a vulnerable baby.  

Though so familiar, it never ceases to amaze me.

seasons

The seasons are changing.  There is a crispness in the morning air when I walk now.  Once in a while, I come across visible evidence of fall.

 And then more evidence.

A very close friend, who had moved away was in town recently.  We wanted to spend time with each other, but I knew that I couldn't be selfish, so I invited several other close friends.  All but three were able to make it.

 Speaking of seasons.  We have been through the seasons of life together.  Some of us knew each other before we were parents, as young marrieds.  Some of us knew each other before we knew Christ.

 Some of us made a plan.  We loved these gals and we gathered together as young moms.  We, for the most part, didn't work outside the home.  We also didn't have any disposable income. So we started a babysitting co-op and exchanged children instead of money.  ~smile~

 We had a point system to keep things fair.  As we watched each other's kids, we became closer, our kids became closer and the next part of our plan was put into play.

 Those of us who knew and loved Jesus, invited those who didn't know Him (yet!) to come to church.  We held Bible studies in various homes.   And  one by one these precious gals came to Christ.
 So, we began a season of growing together spiritually.  What a privilege.  I cannot begin to tell you how blessed I am to have these women in my life.

 As the years went on, our children grew closer.  Many of them still stay in touch..  Two of them got married.  :)  Some of them went to college together.

 And now, as I work in children's ministries at our church, I have the great honor of teaching some of these ladies' grandchildren.

We have grown up together.  In the LORD, in our marriages, in difficulties, in good times, in plenty and in want.  I am so blessed to have these women as friends.

We don't get together often enough. The year's melt when we are together.  Laughter and tears abound.  We are so blessed to share Jesus as our Savior. And lots of memories.

Now as we are in the season of grandmotherhood together, there are new stories, new difficulties, new blessings.

But we are still together, thanking God for His hand on our lives.

just because

Everyone needs flowers in their life.  We are so blessed to have a yard full of them.

My daily early morning daily walk is preceded by a walk through the flowers, admiring the fragrance and the variations of color, leaf and blossom shapes.  Sometimes there is a bit of consternation as I notice the deer have helped themselves to the smorgasbord.

But mostly, joy, pure joy, at the beauty.

We are so blessed with an abundance of blooms!  Thank you, GOD!

42

Secrets for being married 42 years?

There's really only one:

Jesus.

When we were dating, we memorized I Corinthians 13.  The love chapter.   That was one of the smartest things we ever did.

The still small voice of the Spirit often reminds to be patient or kind or to keep no record of wrongs.

So for 42 years these two sinners saved by grace have been walking hand in hand with Jesus as our guide.

So thankful.

(Roses don't hurt either.)

Rocking

  

             

She was born 8 weeks early.  

3 pounds 14 ounces.  16 inches long.  Perfectly beautiful.

She breezed through her restrictions.  The oxygen was gone in less than 24 hours.  She spent time under a bilirubin blanket for jaundice:

Although her eye shades are plain here, they, at various times, sported shades or long luxurious eyelashes.  NICU nurses?  They rock.

A feeding tube was in place for a while.  She pulled it out on her own.

Taya came home 3 weeks after she was born.  5 weeks BEFORE her due date.

She is the sweetest little girl. She has found her voice - as a preemie - she didn't have much lung power.  Now?  Lung power.

She is doing great. Our first local grand baby.  Mama has gone back to her part time job now and I get to babysit when daddy is not available.  Taya rocks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One of Taya's roommates in the NICU died earlier this week.  A little sweetie with heart problems who never got to go home.  She is HOME now.

A friend of ours fell off a roof yesterday and died hours later.  

Life is full of tragedies and terrorist attacks and illness and financial woes and all other manner of tribulations.

But GOD gives strength. These two families who have experienced such devastating losses will move numbly through the days ahead, but will keep moving.

We hold on to our Taya just a little bit tighter.  Linger just a little bit longer over her bassinet while she sleeps. Take in that baby smell. Rock her just a little bit longer than necessary because we can.  

Baby rocking is therapeutic.  For the rocker and rockee.  Rocking a sleeping baby should be required for anyone who is stressed.  We rock.

not wearing out

In the book of Nehemiah, upon the occasion of the celebration of the completion of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites recount to the Israelites all of GOD's faithfulness to them.


"For forty years you sustained them in the desert; they lacked nothing, their clothes did not wear out nor did their feet become swollen." Nehemiah 9:21


       

Today is laundry detergent day.  Time to make a new batch. It takes several minutes to hand grate a bar and a half of Castile soap and add it to a box of washing soda and a half a box of borax.

As I grated, I listened to the radio; NPR.  Jerry Seinfeld was being I interviewed.  He said, "98% of all human interaction is just killing time."

I laughed.  Wonder what he would think of making your own laundry detergent?

Still, as I grated I was grateful: for humor, for technology, for old-fashioned ways of doing things, for clothing that doesn't wear out (line drying helps make clothes last).

And. For God's Word which continually reminds us of His faithfulness. 

When I work with my hands, I'm not just killing time.

When I read God's Word I'm not just killing time either, but redeeming it and giving each new da a wonderful fresh start.  Much like the clothes of the Israelites, not only am I not wearing (spiritually) out, I'm being sustained!

mountain majesty

Don't hate me, but this view is a quick 15 minute walk from our home.
Particularly spectacular when the day is clear and the mountains are snowcapped.

I'm a little late to the party here, but I have noticed that various bloggers around the web are either recapping the past year or reporting on their reading list for the current year.  I'll do both; one today, one tomorrow.

2011:

January.  I flew back to the Northwoods, privileged to be singing with my 'old' (teehee) trio.  Lots of friends were are the retreat and it was a wonderful time.

February.  We learned late January that our daughter-in-love's mother Eileen was not going to survive her fight with cancer.  She wanted Pat to officiate over her memorial service.  We flew up to the Chicago area the last few days of January and came home  to meet with Eileen and plan her service.

Two weeks later we flew back up to  Chicago to celebrate her life.

May.  We drove up to Chicagoland for Harvest University.  We had every intention of being part of a church plant in our county.  We stayed at Nate and Michelle's; Daniel attended Harvest U with us.  It was a marvelous time.  After Harvest U, we drove to Iowa to see Jon, Kristi and the grands.

June.  Jon went on a mission trip to New Orleans, y'all.  I flew to Iowa to hang out with Kristi and the grands (then only two) while he was gone.  We learned that our church plant was going to be moving two counties north of us and we determined that we would not be able to continue to be involved with such a great distance.  We were sad.  My sisters came to visit.  I was glad.

July and August were beastly hot.  Beastly hot.  Too hot to do anything outdoors.  We sat by the window and watched our garden wilt.  A trip to the end of the driveway for the mail resulted in major sweatiness.
I think we had something like 75+ days last summer over 90.  Not as hot as Texas, but plenty hot for these Northwoods transplants. Too hot to fish,  Pat learned to navigate the new waters of Medicare.
We learned that our church plant was going to be moving two counties north of us and we determined that we would not be able to continue to be involved with such a great distance. We were sad. My sisters came to visit during the summer. I was glad.



September.  A new granddaughter.  I hopped in an airplane again (5th time in 2011) to welcome our precious third grandchild, Lainey.  We also got a new roof (no where near as exciting as a new grand!).

October and November were filled with sewing.  And piano lessons.  Oh, and gall bladder surgery.

December.  One more trip up to Chicagoland.  My 7th trip to see  kids and grands. We drove without incident and had an absolutely fantastic time.

As I look over the year  I am simply amazed.  There is no way, on our income, that we should have been able to afford all those trips up north, let alone the deductible on our new roof and my gall bladder surgery.

And yet we did.  Because of God's abundant, yet, mysterious provision. 

He can make breathtaking mountains (and views), He can provide abundantly more than we ask or imagine.

We are so grateful.

family Christmas

Happy New Year!

I did not intend for such a long time to pass before I posted here.  The month of December was busy with sewing, wrapping, baking and fudge making.  It was great fun preparing for Christmas - we were heading to northern Illinois to meet all the kids and grands.  The only missing person was Daniel's fiance, Laura.

We went to a wonderful Christmas Eve service at Harvest Bible Chapel in Elgin, IL.  I cried.  They had a beautiful song - complete with singers from all over the world on the video screen.  The message was moving; but what really did me in was having Pat singing next to me, Jon singing behind me and Nathan singing on the other side.  Surround sound from my guys (Daniel had responsibilities at his church and couldn't join us until Christmas night).

Here are a few snapshots of our time together:



Nate cuddling with 3 month old Lainey -click on the picture to see the look in her eyes. "Who is that man?"





Lainey sleeping in Grandpa's arms.







                                                    

Josh and Sadie sitting on a couch I made for the girls (I made Josh's pj pants too - they are very wide - wish he lived close enough for frequent fittings!)









A thoughtful Sadie (sorry Sades - didn't mean to cut off the top of your head!) modeling the blouse I made for her.



Kudo, Nate and Michelle's long suffering dog. She is not a fan of little kids, but quietly and peacefully moped in various corners of the house until we left.









The uncles with the nieces. From left to right: Sadie, Nathan, Lainey, and Daniel.



Sitting on the little couch I made watching Larry Boy. This reminded me of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Anybody ever see that?

Three on a couch watching Veggie Tales. Mesmerized.



Jon, Kristi and the kids.



I failed to get any pictures of Nate and Michelle together.  Also none of the whole family (somebody was always napping, crying, or running to the store it seemed).  The ten of us were only together for 36 hours once Daniel arrived, but it was a very blessed 36  hours.

So very thankful for our family!

Hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and that 2012 will be a year filled with blessings!

glow

Thunder rumbling in the distance brought sleep to an end early this morning.  The  predicted 100 % 'chance' of rain  is here.

A wonderful, delicious, gloomy day.

The Christmas lights glowing here and there about the house are dispelling the gloom and  propelling me to 'Grandma's Workshop' (aka the dining room) where a few unfinished projects await.

I'm humming "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and meditating on the words.  Particularly: 'disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight.'.

The Christmas tree- evergreen- reminds me of everlasting life in Christ.
The tree lights remind me that He is the Light of the world.

My hands will be busy, while I'm praying that all will come to know Christ, the Light of the world, as their Savior.

frugalista-ing

"As soon as you get close enough to them to try to help them, you're introducing this host of competing values and creating desires in them that they didn't have before," Wallace says. "They begin to forget how to hunt traditionally; they want shotguns, they want shotgun shells, blankets, all sorts of stuff. Right now, as they are, they can live in the jungle completely free of the world's money, economy and thrive quite well."

(bold-mine)

A story about an unreached tribe.  Those studying them do not wish to sully the tribe with 21st century's values and diseases.

Read more here.

 We are not so careful with our own culture.

 Tired of Christmas commercials yet?  Their purpose is to create desires that you didn't have before.

  How I wish we could live "completely free of the world's money, economy and thrive quite well".

 But then, I always feel that way - whether we are talking about Black Friday, indigenous tribes or, well, anything.   ~Smile~

My sisters were together over Thanksgiving.  One of the dinner guests was trying to figure out which sister my little sister was.  Apparently, one distinguishing feature is that I, the absent sister, am the one who would actually make pumpkin pie out of a ...pumpkin.  LOL.

Yes, I  have always been the one to do things the hard way, the frugal way, the old-fashioned way.  And to do so unapologetically.

Given that, I am thrilled to be able to teach a course in frugal living to the women in our local shelter (a faith based organization). 

Since there is no curriculum, I'm developing my own.  I have spent the last several days in the book of Proverbs.  I found 99 verses on economy - they neatly break down into three categories:

Be wise.
Be diligent.
Be good.

How like GOD's Word to have everything we need for life and godliness. (II Peter 1:3)

These will be a great foundation for all the tips I'm eager to share with the gals.  I just need to be careful not to scare them off with some of my 'black-belt' tightwad ideas.  Teehee.

I'll keep you all posted on the  progress.  I plan to develop a notebook for each gal - something she can take with her when she leaves the shelter.  My goal is to have things ready to go by the beginning of January (thanks, Linda - you inspired me!).

~~~~~

My niece Emilee and I had fun stitching together after Thanksgiving dinner.  She designed and mostly stitched the little kitty and the label below.  She accidentally left it here, so I turned it into a sachet using fabric from my scrap bag and lavendar from my garden.

Frugal, yes? 
I'm training Emilee too - she just thinks we are having fun. 
Little does she know. 
Wink.

how to wake up one morning and realize you have been married for 38 years

the view from our bedroom window from April until mid-November - what a blessing!

Today is our 38th wedding anniversary.   We married when I was 19.  That means I have been married twice as long as I was not married.

I have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.  The smartest thing Pat and I ever did as an engaged couple was memorize I Corinthians 13.




1 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.







4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.






8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.






13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


These powerful Words of Life have derailed misunderstandings, arguments and selfishness.  Do you realize how many things you need to leave unsaid if you choose to be patient or kind?

I would recommend that every engaged couple memorize I Corinthians 13.

And if you are already married?

Memorize I Corinthians 13!

As I was preparing Thanksgiving things in the kitchen yesterday I heard a snippet of a broadcast on the Christian radio station.  They spoke of 'old love'.  I had not heard the context of that phrase, but from what followed I took it to mean - steady, stable, lasting love.

You know,  like 'old money' Rockefeller, Getty, Vanderbilt. 

Permanent. 

That is what we have.  Old love.  Vintage.  The years have added a wonderful patina.  Glowing, burnished, rich.  The sharp edges have been smoothed.  The path has been windy -but always travelled hand in hand.  Following GOD as He enables us.

Love you Patrick. 

38 more years? 

Yes, please.
~~~~~

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I'll be back on Monday, LORD willing, to share some exciting news (exciting even though it is not a new grandbaby type news).

                                                            roses every morning!

what we are going to do when we grow up and Chocolate Nut Bars

We invited our newest neighbors over last night.  For a little bit of dessert and some planning..

They moved in a few months ago and we connected right away.  You know how it is when you meet someone and you feel like you've known them for a long time?   That.

Starting next week, we will be having a neighborhood Bible study.  With this couple and hopefully several others.  I am very excited about this opportunity and can't wait to see what GOD will do.  Now we know what we are going to do when we grow up.  :)

Please pray that GOD would draw the people He wants to have in this study and that we would be faithful in proclaiming His Word.

We will be meeting for a meal, delving into the Word together and perhaps even singing.  I know a very cute worship leader we could invite (see above - doesn't he look like he's been doing that all his life?).

~~~~~~
The recipe for chocolate nut bars?  Coming right up.

  This recipe comes from my second oldest cookbook, a 1943 edition of Woman's Home Companion Cook Book  (the prices on Ebay range from $45 -$165!). It  too, tells you how to singe, draw and quarter a chicken; syrup is spelled sirup and ground beef  is referred to as 'hamburg'.  Unless you are talking about a beef patty, then it is hamburger. 

The editor expresses shock that 'even' a husband used a recipe in a previous edition of the book, but disappointingly, there are no recipes for squirrel or possum.  I'll have to rely on my other cookbook for those delicacies.

  However, I'd rather eat these bars that squirrel or possum.  You?

Chocolate Nut Bars

1 C. Flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/3 C. shortening

1 C. Brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

1 C. chocolate chips

Combine first four ingredients, set aside.  Cream shortening; add brown sugar gradually and mix thoroughly.  Add the egg.  Add vanilla, chopped nuts, and chocolate chips.

Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture.  Spread the dough evenly into a greased and floured square pan 8x8x2.  Bake in a moderate oven at 350 for about 30 minutes or until browned.

When cool cut into bars and dust with confectioner's sugar.

randomly thinking random thoughts

turtle basking on a rock on a fall afternoon

Does this ever happen to you?   You are walking or driving or sitting and  a random thought pops into your head.  This morning's random thought came straight out of the '70's.:

But Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man
That he didn't, didn't already have

Okay.

That snippet of lyrics brought  this Scripture passage to mind:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness

through our knowledge of Him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

II Peter 1:3

The Tin Man had everything he needed - Oz didn't give him anything. 

 In contrast,  we have everything we need to live godly lives.  It was given to us by GOD and we discover it by knowing Him.

Pat and I are doing some evaluating.  What should we be doing with our lives?  What does GOD want us to do?  We have had several changes over the last few years - moving, retirement, more grandchildren, several church changes (that is a l-o-n-g post for another day) surgery, the economic impact of the current  economy.

We could allow those changes to be daunting.

But we 'pay no attention to that man behind the curtain'.  We are not made of tin.  We don't pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.

Instead we focus on knowing HIM.  He has given us everything we need for life and godliness and called us by His own glory and goodness.  He loved us and sent His Son and if that isn't enough (and it is) He provides us with everything, everything, everything we need for life and godliness.

My random thoughts?  Not so random at the moment.  I'm filled with gratitude at GOD's great love and provision.

I searched the dark recesses of my mind and could not come up with the rest of the song or the artist.   Google is my friend.  Written in 1974, the song is Tin Man by America.  (Grammar much?)

keyed up

I currently have 9 piano students (1 more to start in a week or so).

This week, one cancelled and two rescheduled their lessons.

Two failed to show up (and failed to notify me that they were not coming).

One of the re-scheduled ones came 30 minutes earlier than scheduled.

One mom texted and asked if her daughter could come 30 minutes early and sit and do homework so the mom could run some errands.

Most of the moms communicate with me through texts, so I have a record at my fingertips of any changes in lessons - as well as my calendar on my phone.  I try to be flexible and accommodating, because I know there will be days when the rescheduling will be due to last minute changes on my calendar (like the time Dad decided to go unconscious with hypoglycemia just as one of my students arrived for her lesson ~smile~).

I love my students.  I love their moms.

I want to sit down and have a talk with each and every one of the sweet, harried,  over-scheduled moms.

This is what I would say:

"You don't have to do it all.  It is not necessary for you to schedule your kids to within an inch of their lives.
Pick the things that are most important.  Spend the most amount of time (and money) on those activities that give the greatest and longest return."

Here is what we did.  We pretty much said yes to any church activity - whether it be a weekly, monthly or annual (retreat-type).  I have zero regrets about doing this.  All of the boys are still actively connected to their churches.  Two are youth pastors, the third not only attends church weekly, but goes to a weekly men's prayer/study meeting as well as a small group.

Regarding sports...after a very brief foray into pre-little league stuff, we decided that they boys would focus on one sport.  For all three of them it became soccer.  We ran around like crazy with soccer games and practices from August  - November, but then the season was done.  Then we could resume family suppers together each evening.

The boys also played basketball every Monday night at church with their dad and other men from church and the community.  Add to this biking, fishing, running, golfing.....things they could do for the rest of their lives - they led busy (but not crazy busy)  active lives.

They each had piano lessons early on but did not stick with them (and I think they have all lived to regret that, but I will not say 'I told you so' ~smile~).  Guitars in various shapes and sizes became their musical instruments of choice and they all still play (and sing!  which warms this mama's heart no end).

I will not argue against team sports because I think they have some value - teamwork, cooperation, gracious winning and losing, discipline to name a few- but I think one can gain this benefit without having to be involved in a team sport during every season of the year.

Sports injuries in children are on the rise because of extended and back to back sports seasons.

I feel a great responsibility to be the best piano teacher I can be - within the limit of my abilities. 

I also feel a great responsibility to care for their moms.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,  to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Titus 2:3-5

As the mothers express their frustrations regarding their schedules with me, I gently let them know that they can hop off the merry-go-round.  A few of them have listened to me as I have given them 'permission' to do what they know in their hearts is best for their family.

My goal is to sit down with each one of them for a relaxing  cup of tea.  To encourage them and help them to take the long view of their children's extra-curricular activities.

One of the benefits of old age is the privilege of gaining perspective.  Some of things we think are so important when are children are little turn out to not matter so much at all.

If you are a young mom and are reading this post, you are probably tired of older women telling you to enjoy your kids while they are young.  Enjoying them does not mean you need to enroll them in every activity under the sun and speed from one practice to another only slowing down to pick up supper at the fast food window.

Cancel some of that stuff.  Pack a picnic lunch, play frisbee at the park with your kids and read them stories afterwards.  Or build a fort in the living room and have supper there every once in a while. Slow down, stay out of the car, turn the cell and the 'puter off and 'be' with your kids.

You won't regret it.