Frankly Friday

I've got a big, random post for you today! Frankly, my mind has been JUMBLED lately. So, that's what you get. Real life coming from a jumbled mind. 

1) I've been gearing up to do some Christmas baking. Technically, I've already started....Since I've only made small batches, it doesn't really seem like I have.

Why yes, that is powdered sugar on my forehead and a peace sign on my shirt....No, I am not a hippie. 

Back in September (?) I made egg nog with a friend. I came home and made some more. 

A few weeks ago, I made a half batch of snow ball cookies.

Last week, I picked up some dates to make date balls. Unfortunately, I accidentally *jumbled mind* didn't pick up enough so that was another half batch in the making. 

2) I've realized that every Christmas confection that appeals to me is covered in powdered sugar....I want variety. But every single recipe involves powdered sugar. Help. 

Pecan Snowball Cookies

Date Balls

3) I love shopping. When it happens rushed and unexpectedly, I just don't enjoy it as much. Help. 

4) Getting old pretty much stinks.

 I went to a Christmas party at an assisted living center today. I thought I was taking a friend of mine (Alice) to say the Christmas story to the residents as they ate lunch as usual. After I got there I realized that Alice's church was throwing a huge Christmas party....Oops. I showed up underdressed and empty handed. Nice. 

I sat with three ladies. One of them could barely see and couldn't hear. I cut up her meat for her. She forgot her teeth in her room. I felt bad because I wanted to talk. At the same time, I didn't want to talk because then she would know she couldn't hear me over the noise in the room and since she couldn't really see she couldn't read lips or facial expressions either. 

I've got a few conversations to share with you from my time there. It wasn't all awkward or sad! That post will be next week. 

5) Even if the shopping trip is rushed and unexpected and I'm not in the mood...I love the mall at Christmastime. The music. The people. The decorations. The SALES. Woah....It was really a great day. 

6) Good intentions aren't enough. Especially when it comes to house work and laundry. Oh and cooking....One unexpected thing after another came up this week.

 I made chicken nuggets (from "scratch"), cinnamon apples, corn, sandwiches, and a roast in the crock pot. The roast was a major let down...I didn't get home in time to fix sides to go with it. So, into the fridge it went. :( 

So, I feel like I need a good day....A good day that goes exactly like I expect it to. 

Maybe a whole bunch of them right in a row. 

What's a matter with me? Okay, so things haven't been going as expected. Who cares? My attitude can make it better or break it. 

Just keep swimming.....Just keep swimming. 

Enjoy your weekend! 

Through The Wardrobe

This is another picture from that snowy day back in January of 2008. When I look at this picture there is one thing I think of...Narnia.

Is it just me?

When I was little, my grandparents, or aunt, or someone had the original set of movies. You know, the one where the acting as pretty bad, the budget was low, and Mr. Beaver's costume was well, interesting? Yep, that one.

That's the Narnia I loved. Then, I found out there were books. As soon as I was old enough to read (came late...I was 8 before I could do it very well), my Mom bought me the whole set of books.

Once I could read, I enjoyed reading, but I never was a reader. I've had those books for a long time and I still haven't read all of them.

I read The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe first. A few years later, in the fourth grade, my teacher LOVED reading. She read to us every day after lunch recess and required us to be working on a book at all times.

So, that year, I started my first day of school with "The Magician's Nephew" packed in my backpack. I wrote about my summer and I wrote about the book I was just starting to read.

Thanks google images! 

That year I learned who my favorite authors would be and that teacher taught me many things...

She taught me that I loved structure.

She taught me that I really enjoyed reading...That Roald Dahl, Mary Downing Hahn, Gary Paulsen, Andrew Clements, and a few others would become some of my favorite authors.

She taught me to LOVE the smell of a plain cup of lipton tea. Her tea would sit on my desk sometimes while she would read. I would have my head down on the desk listening to her voice and smelling that tea.

She taught me to enjoy pictures...Having them taken and having them as a record. We were all to bring a roll of film to school. She used all 25 rolls throughout the year and at the end, we all made scrapbooks of our year in her class.

She taught me the importance of a good handshake.

She taught me how to be interested in the lives of the people around me.

She taught me how to keep myself organized, how to be a studious student, and how to explain myself through writing.

Our helper was missing....I'm in the black dress in the front row. 

Now that I think about it, my love for a lot of things began in her classroom. A lot of fears were overcome. Her teacher's helper had a lot to do with that. Always smiling, quick to lend a hand and a word of encouragement.

Those ladies were quite the team. I actually cried on the last day of school that year. They did too. No body wanted that year to be over.

A week later after school was out, in that same classroom, I would come to be saved through a VBS class that was also held there. I came to love so many things in that classroom, it only seems fitting that Jesus would be one of them.

I still know both of those ladies. Their husbands have since  passed away. And to be honest, while they still hold a special place in my heart, we all seem to keep our distance.

It's strange really. I started this post based on a picture that reminded me of Narnia. I just knew I needed to get a post up, but I didn't know what I was going to share.

I ended up talking about a piece of my past. A piece that brought a lot of great changes. Looking back, I know how much we all enjoyed one another, how much my class grew that year, and yet, today, no one would ever know that any of that had happened.

I remember. I am glad for that year to be in my past and in my memory.

But, like Narnia, there's no going back and the existence of that year seems to be forgotten.

Did you have a special year in school that stands out from the rest?

Do you still know any of your teachers from school?

What books did you especially enjoy when you were growing up? 

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?

The Scenic Route

Well, the past weekend was one where I did only what had to be done. I only took a few pictures and I don't think I even left the house. 

I don't know how it happened. I just know that I'm to the point where I enjoy times like that. 

Here are a couple of pictures from Thanksgiving....

There hasn't been much in the way of BLUE or SUNNY skies lately. I may have spent the day inside, but I loved looking out the window to see THIS day out there.

I can't help but admit that I look slightly like death, especially in the eyes...But, these "munchkins" have been growing TONS lately so I felt like we needed to get a picture to document their success in the growing department!

A science experiment that WORKED!!! In school, we did so many experiments and yet I only remember a handful of them going the way the teacher wanted them to. Did you have that experience too?

On experiment days we only got excited about things AFTER it worked. Otherwise, my class would have rather just done a worksheet. Last week, these two had an experiment that worked so well, they couldn't get enough of it!


The other day I mentioned that there were some things I would like to change about my life. Well, there are some things I wouldn't change too...It's those things that help to keep me focused and determined to make the best of things. I love the time that I am able to spend with my sister, brother, and Mom.

I have been preparing for advent since the beginning of November. I put together a calendar as well as activities, Scripture memory, and a study using that book I keep mentioning "Seeing and Savoring Christ" by John Piper.

I was excited to start USING all of these things yesterday with the beginning of Advent!

Yesterday I had to put some finishing touches on my project...Here you see all the essentials. Yes, we have tables. I just seem to prefer the floor. 

How was your weekend?  Was it lazy and restful or busy?  What are you doing for Advent this year?

No Regrets

I came across some pictures the other day from a winter day almost five years ago. I had forgotten all about that day and all of the snow that came down only to be followed by beautiful blue skies. 

Anyway, some of those pictures are sprinkled throughout this post! I hope you enjoy them as much as I have been. Things here have been wet and grey and brown. Oh and cold. Very cold. Looking at these pictures is a nice reminder of what winter can be....eventually. 

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While these pictures are beautiful, I want to talk about something else....I want to talk about living a beautiful life. 

We go through life trying to make everything as perfect as possible. With every season, we have lists and ideas for things that we want to do and see. That is all just fine. But, too often, we end making more out of all of these THINGS than we should.

Life becomes stressful. We become....well, we become OVERWHELMED We can't wait to get to the weekend or the next trip or home to escape it all.

What kind of life is that? 

What kind of life is it to always be striving and stressing and looking for the next thing. That thing that will give us another moment of happiness and joy and peace. 

What kind of life is it to constantly be looking for ways to ESCAPE? 

 

I've been reading several books (two of them are completely fiction) and just started a sermon series.

The two fiction books are about families striving for the perfect get together. In one, a sister is planning a perfect reunion/surprise party. In the other, a mother is planning a perfect Christmas.

In both, tragedy strikes in the form of a car accident. Serious injuries happen, brain activity becomes scarce, and "organ harvesting" is considered.

I cannot even imagine having to make that decision. In both books, organs are taken and given to others. Because of one family's tragedy, another family is given a chance at life. The unexpected happens and some receive something that leaves them shocked while others receive something that they have been hoping and waiting for.

In both books, families battle with life and death. With longing for heaven and dealing with life on earth. Some of the people have regrets. Some learn about what is really important before it is too late.

In the sermon series, a new to me pastor named Art Azudia is talking about Jesus' request for our sanctification, the reason for His request, and the basis for His request all from John 17:17-19.

He opened the first sermon by asking how many people have wanted to just be DONE with life on this earth. How many people have thought about the glories of heaven and found themselves longing for life there?

Heaven is going to be awesome...But, there's something Jesus saved us for. Jesus came to earth to save His people so that His people could live on earth becoming like Him. As they become like Him, others will continue to hear about Him. 

More people are constantly coming to KNOW about God. Some of those people are coming to saving faith. 

So, WHY live a life of regret?

You ARE SAVED. You are STILL alive. It's not time for heaven yet.

It's time to be sanctified. It's time to be made like Jesus.

ENJOY enjoying God right NOW...Through the details of His creation, His Word, and spreading that same treasure to the people around you.

This Christmas, this holiday season....Enjoy things but don't let life or anything in it make you overwhelmed.

Love God. Love people. Hate sin.

Jesus prayed for you...He meant EVERY word:

"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate Myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth." John 17:17-19

In everything, God speaks to His people. I haven't quite put my finger on what He is trying to tell me right now. I want some cut and dry truth out of all of these seemingly "random" things that have come into my mind lately. I didn't plan or seek any of them, but I am seeking His truth.

What have you been learning lately?

What Scriptures keep coming up? 

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Thanks to everyone who has been commenting lately! I LOVE hearing from you, even if you're just dropping by. :)