All Wrapped Up

This month, every Tuesday, we've been UNwrapping ordinary moments in life to think about just how special they really are. 
Today, I'm thinking about something different. Many have decided to keep their blogs quiet today in honor of the recent events at Sandy Hook Elementary. A school most of us hadn't even heard of until last Friday. Money is being raised, prayers are beings said, and there was even an attempt to show support by wearing the school's colors. 
I still haven't wrapped the Christmas presents yet. With that on my mind and these things going on in our country, I've thought about today's Tuesday being WRAPPED.

We wrap gifts with pretty paper and bows and tags. 
We wrap the ones we love with hugs and care.  
We wrap our homes in beautiful paint and furniture and smells.
We wrap ourselves in clothes that we find comfortable and attractive. 

In this life, we do a lot of wrapping. And for the most part, we enjoy it. We're all looking to be happy and to feel at home.   That's the thing...This life is not meant to be wrapped. We are not meant to finally feel at home here. 
Look to Jesus.
Jesus set the example. His life was unwrapped. His life was given. For my sin, for your sin....His life was given that we may be with Him and see His glory. 

Jesus means for us to give our lives for our lives to be unwrapped. Our lives are to be given that as we see His glory, we share it with others. 
Yes, we must take care of ourselves and our children. We ought to make our homes places where people feel welcome and loved. 
Like the gifts we wrap up so nicely, our lives and everything we "wrap" in them are meant to be unwrapped. The pretty things are meant to be torn off so we can get to the bottom of things.
So, wrap it up. But, be ready! Encourage people around you to keep digging...To look and see and know and savor the Jesus that is behind all things. 
Look to Jesus. 
On the good days, the scary days, the ordinary, and the exciting....Look to Jesus. 
Today may be it. Christmas 2012 may be it. You may not live to see another new year. Someone who is in your life now, may not have much time left. 
Help them look to Jesus while there is time! 
And when you think you've seen all you can see, just keep looking! 

Kitchen Privileges

It is no secret that I love to cook and bake. I can't say that I can hardly remember not knowing my way around the kitchen. 
I started by watching the clock while my Ghiddu fixed farina.
I joined my Grandma in rolling her famous meatballs. 
I stood on a stool stirring good old Campbell's tomato soup with my Mom. (To be made with MILK!!! Just sayin...)
I donned  a hospital hair thingy to make biscuits with my other Grandma.

No dates on this...I'm thinking somewhere between 1994-1996

I added 1/4 c. of baking soda to peanut butter cookies with my best friend and raided her Mom's kitchen for butter because we had used the rest of my Mom's with batch number one...We were also famous for our macaroni and cheese from the blue box and grilled cheese and tomato soup in years to come.
Slowly but surely, the stools were put away and the stupid mistakes stopped. Slowly but surely, I wasn't the kitchen help any more. 
Coming up behind me were three others...Three others who wanted to help. Three others who loved the kitchen almost as much as I did. 

Dec. 2008

To be fair, one of those was only two years behind me. He was not so much my "help" as my competition!

The other two though...They were my help. They took turns dumping the ingredients in when we made cookies. There were always two beaters to lick...The more that was left in the bowl and on the spoon, the better! They took turns adding the cheese to the macaroni. 

Sept. 26, 2008 and Feb. 28, 2012

They stood on the stool. 
They had little aprons and a chef hat. 
They were always there ready to taste test anything they could get their hands on.

Dec. 3, 2012

At 14 and 12 (nearly 15 and 13) they are a different kind of help. In reality, they don't actually need me anymore. 
Still, they humor me. They often join me in the kitchen even though they could just as easily do whatever I'm doing all on their own. 

Dec. 3, 2012

I love it when they put on on apron. When they get all excited about a beater. When they snitch dough while I'm making biscuits. I love it when they put up with the million pictures that go along with joining me in the kitchen. 

I loved helping. 
I loved being helped. 
Now, I love knowing that they loved it too. 
Memories...Make them. Cherish them. Sometimes, they're all you're left with. 
I look forward to making many more! For now, I've got millions to enjoy. For that, I am grateful. 

Dec. 2008

A Spot of Tea

Today I'm joining Emily over at Chatting At the Sky for her "Tuesdays Unwrapped" link up.
Tuesdays Unwrapped is all about taking a moment to recognize and appreciate the very special moments of ordinary life. Sometimes they are lovely, sometimes they are messy, and sometimes they happen completely unexpected. 
From the title you probably guessed what I'm unwrapping this Tuesday! 
Tea....Something so simple, something I totally take for granted. Something that brings people together, or as it usually is in my case, something that brings me back together. 

Tea starts by putting the kettle on to boil. Then steeping a bag in a favorite mug. Moving on to hold the warm cup while the tea is still too hot to drink. Finally, I get to enjoy it. 
I haven't always liked tea (the hot variety anyway). It was only after being really sick and tea being one of the few things that I could hold down that I realized what I was missing out on. 
Now, I love to fix up a cup and take it somewhere quiet to sit and think, read, or study. 
This morning, my tea is joining me as I write this post. The cup is the same, the tea is the same, the little "ritual" of getting it ready was the same. But, today, my "tea time" is being unwrapped. 

I'm thinking back to the different people I have joined for tea and the places I have sat with it.
Front porches early in the morning in the humid south having quiet time with my Lord to prepare for the day. 
Porches in the afternoon in New England unwinding after a day of student teaching.
Couches of a cozy New England home with strangers who became family. 
A ranch in the middle of no man's land enjoying the absolute peace and quiet no matter the time of day
And then of course, there's home....Surrounded by the ones I love while I enjoy a moment to myself. 

Are you a tea drinker?
What are some of your favorite memories involving tea? 
What is in your tea cup?