On Monday I...

December 19, 2014

I should be ready to start sharing actual posts about our trip south...but I'm not. It's Monday and it feels like Monday. On Monday I wash all the towels. On Monday I try to pull myself together for the week ahead. On every Monday in January, I watch the latest Downton Abbey episode.

On this particular Monday I'm supposed to take Joe to town and I have TWO google hangout sessions planned. Oh, and I'm making beef stew for dinner.

So, I'm off to tackle this Monday. It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day and I can't help thinking about him and the generations that have spanned between us. He wasn't perfect, but I've always admired him very much. He stood up for something and got others to stand with him.

That's really something. 

What do you do on Monday?

I'd love to hear your favorite MLK quote! 

And...Let's talk Downton!!! What are your thoughts this season? I have SOOO many!

The Scenic Route: Turning Out

EB White 

Morning Glories 

Do you ever have a weekend that goes nothing like you thought it would? That's about how mine just went!

My goal for Friday was to finish the laundry for the week and get the rest of my cutting flowers planted.

Jay needed help digging out peonies and echinacea... I went over there with my brother and sister and we joined him in the pulling party. When we were done he invited us in for ice cream complete with hot fudge and butterscotch!

We headed home and I had them watch for snakes while I put a bunch of the new plants into the ground.

Saturday I kept my garden areas watered, worked on some blog stuff, finished the laundry, went to the library, and watched the end of Driving Miss Daisy. (I cried...)

I'm writing this after lunch on Sunday. So far today I've spent some time reading EB White's "This is New York", whipping together a jello salad for a potluck, and getting rid of some clutter.

This weekend was supposed to be crazy and busy and include a trip out of town...It turned out to be the perfect weekend at home with time to accomplish so many things that just needed doing.

How was YOUR weekend? 

What are you looking forward to this week?

The Scenic Route: Daily Life

This last Saturday my Mom and I worked at a used booksale which meant visiting with the  few people that came to look (our shift was SLOW because it was the last shift) and having plenty of time to sort through the books to see any caught our eyes.

Earlier in the day we went to Bible study and a few yard sales and I went to the library to pick up the next book that my friend Shauna and I are reading together.

Shauna and I skyped Friday and it was so much fun. It was nice where she lives so she brought her iPad outside and was working in her garden while we chatted. I miss living just one neighborhood over from her, but I'm so thankful for our chats! We're reading Agatha Christie's "What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw" which got off to a roaring start!

Sunday was slow and quiet. I made a coffee cake using several recipes from an old Betty Crocker cookbook that we have. My brother began a LOTR marathon which continued on Sunday morning while I was baking.

Apparently the writing bug bit him because he got out one of the journals he uses to write stories in. While he was busy adding to this one, I came across my sister who was working on an art project.

A few years ago my friend Jeremy taught me the fun that is speed scrabble while we were visiting his family in GA. Fast forward about a year and my friend Ruth introduced me to bananagrams. On Saturday we picked up an old Scrabble game whose pieces are going to be used for games of this.

I was happy to have a willing body to join me in a game on Sunday afternoon. I'm trying to convince my sister that it's fun!

Today marks the last day of my sister being 15!!! I'm pretty excited about celebrating 16 - especially since I know it only BEGINS tomorrow! :)

God is Right There

What a morning it has been! I woke up to the sun coming in through the window and decided that I would get out of bed and head out to the patio. I love beginning my day outside in the fresh, cool air while it is still completely peaceful. 
This morning I brought out a glass of water, my Bible, and my journal. I decided to read the five Psalms of the day (take the day and keep adding thirty to it until you run out of Psalms). As I read Psalm 5, 35, 65, 95, and 125 I saw one theme:
The cause of the Lord stands. 
I was also reminded that my soul needs to KNOW that God is at work. He is my salvation. He surrounds me and keeps me walking in that salvation that He has given to me. 
Everything He made is in His hand. I can be sure of that. In Him, we have our cause. Oh that I would be led by that cause daily! 
Since then, I came inside and had breakfast and visited with my Mom. Then I settled back down to read "Knowing God" by JI Packer. I'm not one to re-read books, but there are a few books I do re-read. This book is one of them. 
If there is one book you should read this year (I hope I haven't already said this...), you should read "Knowing God"! It has been a few years since my last trip through it....I forgot how RICH it truly is! 
In the first chapter, Packer quotes Charles Spurgeon in a call to the journey through coming to truly know God, 
"Nothing will so enlarge the intellect, nothing so magnify the whole soul of man, as a devout, earnest, continued investigation of the great subject of the Deity...Go, plunge yourself in the Godhead's deepest sea; be lost in the immensity; and you shall come forth as from a couch of rest, refreshed and invigorated. I know nothing which can so comfort the soul; so calm the swelling billows of sorrow and grief; so speak peace to the winds of trial, as a devout musing upon the subject of the Godhead..."
Any of you who have spent time with God in an attempt to KNOW Him, know this to be true. Whatever questions are raised, whatever convictions are had, there is NOTHING like sitting with God. 
However strange it sounds, there you find plain truth that leads to the clearest thinking you can have about life. And what PEACE and JOY and SECURITY truth brings. 
Packer describes Psalm 119 as communicating the fact that,
"His supreme desire was to know and enjoy God himself, and he valued knowledge about God simply as a means to this end. He wanted to understand God's truth in order that his heart might respond to it and his life be conformed to it."
I promise...If you take the time to read this book you will be on your way to knowing and enjoying God and having a heart that responds to His truth and a life that is conformed to it....And there you will most certainly find REST. 
The last few weeks have been full of spending time with people who love God and to be able to know them and the God that they love is absolutely refreshing. 
I hope this spring has been this for you too! If not...It's not too late! Today, dig in. Seek Him! 

The Great Aim

Hey, ladies! 
I have a few words for you today....No pictures, just words. 
During Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter), I was reading John Piper's "Love to the Uttermost". Check it out HERE
I think it was Friday's reading that inspired my thoughts today. 
Piper said this, "The great aim of this writer [of Hebrews] is that we get near God, that we have fellowship with Him, that we not settle for a Christian life at a distance from God, that God not be a distant thought, but a near and present reality, that we experience what the old Puritans called communion with God." 
Let's dig a little...The writer of Hebrews had a message from God. His desire for His readers is the same desire that God has for His people. That desire is simply this: DRAW NEAR TO GOD - ALWAYS. 
Whether you are a total loner or a people person, there is one presence that will satisfy, namely, the presence of God. 
The presence of God is a place Jesus couldn't get enough of. He wants His people to be enjoy that same closeness that He knew. 
Hebrews 7:25 says, "Consequently, He [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them." 
He's saving to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him. Having been saved to the uttermost, don't you think we'd be RUNNING to God continually? He's there, making intercession for His people, even now. 
On this Friday, I want you to do one thing - on good days, on bad days, and everyday- draw near to God. 
Be encouraged to know that Jesus saves His people to the uttermost and lives to make intercession for them. There are so many connections here...Being saved, drawing near, and being interceded for...
The life of the Christian is a beautiful thing! Happy weekend to you all. 

December 2012

Back in June I decided to do some 365 posts...I did two of them. Pt. 1//Pt. 2

I continued to take more pictures, but I failed to put together the posts. 

Now that December is over, I'm wanting to remember 2012. That's a bit overwhelming so I thought I'd start with December. 

Taken Dec. 2// Continuing to put together an Advent study using John Piper's "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ".....Loved the planning phase, hiding the bag each morning, building scavenger hunts, and being REMINDED to hide the bag if I forgot. I let life get in the way and we didn't end up reading all of the book or going through all of the stuff I had prepared.

 Taken Dec. 3// One of the activities I planned was making Date Balls. It was fun and they were good...We made more later in the month!

Taken Dec. 3// I also learned that taking self portraits is getting a little harder now that everyone is growing.

Taken Dec. 3// I can't remember if I took this or if he did...Either way, I thought it belonged in the recap. That's a face I'd like to remember. Everybody's crazy.

Taken Dec. 4// I drank A LOT of tea this month. Plenty of moments were spent drinking and thinking or reading.

Taken Dec. 5// The bag has been FOUND! I hid it in the china cabinet that day. The "rule" was that at least part of the bag would be in plain sight. If I broke the rule, I'd give a clue. Even though it was in plain sight, I had a guilty conscience. So, the clue for the day was "It's in plain sight, but you will have to look through something to see it." They were very happy when they finally found it.

**
Between the 5th and the next picture there was lots of baking (I accomplished my goal of putting together at least some of a Christmas cookie "tradition"), a cookie swap, shopping, SNOW, auditions for a play (my brother and sister, not me), and a birthday party for our friend Julie.
**

Taken Dec. 14//It was JUST after midnight...We attended our first midnight movie premiere. The Hobbit was soo good and the excitement sooo high that I left that theatre knowing I MUST read the book. I hope Tolkien proves are wise as that movie made him sound.

Over the next few days I finished up my Christmas shopping and then recovered from the CRAZINESS of our little trip.

Taken Dec. 16// Grandma and Grandpa came to visit. It snowed...There were snow people and bears to be built. I made a big batch of spaghetti complete with salad and garlic bread. Maybe even sweet tea? I know I broke down and made tea at least once this month. Sometimes, well ALL of the time, life calls for sweet tea. Just sayin.

Taken Dec. 16

Taken Dec. 16

Taken Dec. 16

Taken Dec. 18// slowly but surely, things started to melt. The SUN came out. I danced around, okay, maybe not. And the sky was BLUE. The snowman appeared to be calling for help or doing calisthenics.

Taken Dec. 18

Taken Dec. 18// Look at that SKY! As usual, these are straight from my camera. What you see is what I saw. It's been gray ever since.

Taken Dec. 18// Presents were wrapped and set out to be admired. I LOVED the colors of this year's Christmas. I was reminded how much I love pretty packages and how terrible I am at creating pretty *anything* packages.

Taken Dec. 19// There was a little wrapping party in my room...What I learned on the 18th, was confirmed on the 19th. My brother and sister whipped out some good looking packages. There is something wrong with me. Or they're geniuses. We'll go with that.

Taken around Dec. 19// Scissors, paper, glitter, glue, some thread, and tape...Loving these pieces of Christmas cheer.

Taken Dec. 20// I bought a new purse. That's the problem with Christmas shopping, there are so many GOOD deals. I got this for half price and then saved another $10 bucks. And it's pretty much exactly what I've been looking for.

Side note...Last year (2012), I needed to come up with a solution for a problem I kept having. I have a few different purses that I use depending on what I'm wearing or where I'm going and I usually end up with a few other things in my purse too...Somehow I would be out and realize I didn't have a charger, or chapstick, or my other key ring, or whatever...So I picked up that basket at WalMart, set it on a table that was stashed away and put all of the things I ever want in a my purse in it. Now, I keep things in the purse that I'm using OR if I know I'll be switching them out, put everything away in the basket and then load the purse accordingly. I don't always need everything in the basket, but it keeps it contained and organized and ready to be grabbed.

Taken Dec. 22// More dateballs were made. I'm thinking the sugared dates on the right got a LITTLE more sugar than they should have. What do you think?

This says Dec. 22...I thought we did this Christmas eve. Maybe I got mixed up?!?! Anyway//We made sugar cookies. This was my favorite. I made it. Yes, I'm bragging. I took my time and that's what became of it. See, I'm not crafty. It was made to look like the snowman made earlier in the month.

Taken Dec. 23// I'm a sucker for those Christmas sales...$8 candles at Bath and Body Works got me. I finished off the old one and was more than happy to start using the old one.

Taken Dec. 24// Merry Christmas EVE!!! Trying out Trader Joe's Salted Caramel Chai Tea. I'll be back for more!

Taken Dec. 25// A different kind of Christmas. I slept in and then moved out to the couch to just sit and be still for a little while before going upstairs.

Taken Dec. 25// The calm before the storm. This was a very low key Christmas morning. Minus the skype session with my brother,  that pretty much made my day!

Taken Dec. 25// The chaos after the storm.

Taken Dec. 25//The "storm" going on outside.

 Taken Dec. 25// Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Taken Dec. 25// All is calm...

Taken Dec. 25// Somebody got the last two Harry Potter dvds in their stocking (my brother)! Here I was getting ready to watch the last one for the first time. I REALLY liked it. Number one was always my favorite just because of the sheer excitement I had to see it. Then somewhere along they way, they got even BETTER. After watching this one I thought, "Yep! That one is my favorite!". Maybe they're all my favorite?

Taken Dec. 26// I love the day after Christmas. The fun continues. The pictures will speak for themselves:

I...We...Ate a lot of food like this. When my Mom was growing up, Christmas dinner was a buffet of cold cuts. We have done that off and on over the years. It's what I prefer. This year, my Mom wanted to cook. So, we had a cold cut tray for lunches during my Great Uncle's visit. I ate a lot of sandwiches. And that water bottle has been my companion too. I drink a lot of water, right now I'm drinking even more.

Some friends (the same ones who got me hooked on those date balls we've been eating all month) sent us this game for Christmas. I have turned my nose up at this game for years. I am HOOKED. I've won some, I've lost some. It's strategy and makes you work a little bit. Pride comes before a fall and humility before honor.

I looked like this....Tired and crazy haired...And WHITE. Hello, January. Christmas games (khet and apples to apples over and over again), visiting, and late night *early morning* movie watching can be blamed.

They looked like this. Perfectly cute, as usual!

Taken Dec. 27// Jesus, Mary, and Joseph have made it to the manger. The townspeople continue to go about their business. Meanwhile, the wise men are making their way to see the savior. In other words, we're still looking forward to Epiphany!!! Christmas isn't over yet. The house still looks like Christmas and the days still feel like Christmas is coming.

 
Taken Dec. 27// This showed up in the living room sometime after Christmas. I think somebody is hooked.

Taken Dec. 27// One of my favorite pictures from the whole month. I love these three windows and the cheer the bring.

Taken Dec. 29// Starting to think about 2013...Realizing that the theme ought to be DRINK. Spent the last few days organizing and rearranging my room. It feels good to start the new year with a clean desk, some new things on the walls, and a little plan for my soul this year.