YES, MAM!

My daughter ordered me to update my blog....lol! I have been swamped at work. Starting Saturday, we begin training new associates to handle a huge new account. We are increasing our work force by about a third!

For those of you who have check on me...thanks! It meant alot! I miss you all and hope to get back on the blogging track next week.

By the way, for those who asked...my Christmas gifts were: The Freedom Writers' Diaries, a class antique looking purse (very cute and I collect purses-I will try and post a pic), some of my favorite cologne- Jean Paul Gautier-Classique, and the best of all....a sweatshirt that says "I [heart] Mr. Darcy!" and I do!

I will be back soon!

image taken from here

MY EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

My daughter has been torturing me for several weeks now. She has gotten me a couple of Christmas presents that she knows I will just love. Everyone she has told has said, "Wow! Where did you find that?" She is so excited about these gifts...the perfect gifts! What she doesn't know is that she has already given me the best gift...her excitement, her search for just the right things...that is reflective of the love she has for me. It fills me with wonder and awe and gratitude!

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This morning I called a friend to check on her dad's progress. He had been through a serious surgery with complications afterward. He almost died. She shared with me that just the other day, when she went to leave, he told her he loved her. She couldn't remember having ever heard him say that before. It was a precious gift that she received...hearing those words. And sharing in the wonder of this gift with her....well, it just left my heart full and bowed in prayer, if that makes sense. All day, as I have reflected on her story, I have felt the miraculous.

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I know it has been said more eloquently than I can, but sometimes, the best gifts aren't found underneath a tree.

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Image taken from here.

CAN SOMEONE HELP ME UNDERSTAND?

More and more, I am seeing palm trees as stand alone Christmas decorations. I could see if they are placed by a nativity scene to more accurately reflect the plant life from the region where Jesus was born. But what is the significance of a stand alone palm tree? Can anyone help me out here?

Image taken from here.

HAVE YOURSELF A RADICAL LITTLE CHRISTMAS!

All the streets are filled with laughter and light

And the music of the season

And the merchant's windows are all bright

With the faces of the children

And the families hurry into their homes

As the sky darkens and freezes

We'll be gathering around our hearths and tables

Giving thanks for all God's graces

And the birth of the rebel Jesus

O they call Him by the Prince of Peace

And they call Him by the Savior

And they pray to Him upon the seas

And in every bold endeavor

As they fill His churches with their pride and gold

And their faith in Him increases

But they've turned the nature that I worship in

From a temple to a robber's den

In the words of the rebel Jesus

We guard our world with locks and guns

And we guard our fine possessions

And once a year when Christmas comes

We give to our relations

And perhaps we give a little to the poor

If the generosity should seize us

But if any one of us should interfere

In the business of why they are poor

They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But pardon me if I have seemed

To take the tone of judgement

For I've no wish to come between

This day and your enjoyment

In this life of hardship and of earthly toil

There's a need for anything that frees us

So I bid you pleasure

And I bid you cheer

From a heathen and a pagan

On the side of the rebel Jesus.

WORDS BY JACKSON BROWNE

Image taken from here.

I LIKED IT

I just finished reading this book and I really liked it! I have read alot of books on marriage and relationships and this is by far, the best! This book does a great job of applying the gospel to marriage, or any relationship for that matter, and puts Jesus Christ right at the center.

Image taken from here.

CONFESSION OF A SINNER

The other day in a post, I encouraged the giving of the gift of mercy this Christmas season. So, today I thought I might put a picture of a present for each time I have extended mercy since Monday, the day of my post. There were the ones I gave to my co-workers, a couple extended to friends and family.

And then, I had a thought that HORRIFIED me. I began to wonder how many of these "gifts of mercy" might have been gifted to me without my awareness? What if these gifts were overflowing from underneath my Christmas tree as I smugly sat recounting the half dozen or so I had gifted? I also thought of the many, many mercies You have gifted to me. If I took the rest of my life, I could not even begin to recount them all.

And I wept.

THESAURICALLY SPEAKING.....

Last night my daughter and I were on our way home from a Bible study. She said, "Mom, did you realize you talk like a Thesaurus?!" She went on to describe how I added synonym after synonym while expressing my thoughts.

My daughter, offspring, heir, descendant had me laughing, jovially expressing myself so hard, vigorously, intensely at her depiction, representation, portrayal of me talking, discussing, conversing.

But seriously, I have no clue as to why she would think that!

Image taken from here

CONSIDER GIVING THIS FOR CHRISTMAS

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:

It blesses him that gives and him that takes.

-William Shakespeare "The Merchant of Venice"

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY SHALL RECEIVE MERCY. - Matthew 5:7

image taken from here

TRADITION

"TRADITION!" I have had a number of conversations lately centered on traditions. Last night my daughter and I spent some time decorating one of our Christmas trees. There was alot of tradition tied up even in that. We buy a new ornament every year. Certain ornaments are the favorites and hold places of honor on the tree. The big tree gets the special flickering flame lights while the smaller tree gets the mini lights.

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Tradition(s) can bring comfort and joy and peace and hope. We have so many ornaments on the big tree. It "feels" beautiful. There are tons of memories. Some day, I will box up many of those ornaments and hand them off to my daughter for her own home and holiday traditions and she will know that there is love and a memory in each and every one. After we finished decorating, we turned off all the lights and just spent some time wrapped in the warmth emanating from our tree.

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Sometimes traditions can cause discomfort, pain, or really need to be discarded. As we were going through our ornaments last night, I came across several that were Kathy and Dan ornaments...the one from "1979 Our First Christmas" and the one with the picture taken a few years later and the handmade ones that boasted our union. But now there is Kathy and there is Dan. Through twinges, I wondered to myself why I hadn't boxed these up and set them aside for our daughter. She is the only one to whom these depictions of the "Kathy/Dan" period truly now belong.

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A few years back we were going through some very hard, dark times. I could not bring myself to put up all the Christmas decorations. So we put up our big tree and hung one, lone ornament on it. This ornament had a painting of sparrow with the scripture, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows." (Matthew 10:29-31) Funny, but that is one of my favorite Christmas memories...the year we were broken hearted and discouraged and the one bright beam of hope that shown through, like that one ornament standing out against an empty and stark Christmas tree...was that we were in the hands of an Almighty God who knew every hair on our heads and loved us. It was holy. And we were strengthened and comforted. I am so glad we departed from our traditional tree that year.

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I think so it goes with church. Some of our traditions I value because they transplant joy and hope and peace into the center of my heart. Some don't. Some can distract. Some can actually devalue our relationships, with each other and with our Christ. In the end, traditions are just that...traditions. I guess there is value in knowing which ones to keep and which ones to let go and even in starting new ones. But true wisdom lies in knowing that traditions are not Jesus. Jesus is Jesus.

Image taken from here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Remember Son, always use your brain.....AND your mind!"
(overheard by my daughter at a friend's house!)

Image taken from here.

AND GOD RESTED....

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. Genesis 2:2

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God, How do you rest? I mean, I cannot picture You working. I know You create things and do mighty things....like keep the whole world and universe spinning and intact....but what does work look like on You? I know what work looks like on me....sometimes grueling, sometimes tiring, sometimes intense, sometimes exhilarating. But what do You look like when You are working? And resting? What do You do to rest? Lay down? Put Your feet up? Close Your eyes? Keep very still? Day dream?

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:8

And Lord, when You planted this garden...did You start it from seeds or did You speak it into existence? Did You dig holes for the plants and wipe the moist soil off Your hands onto what....overalls? Did You have a seed bag slung over one shoulder? Did You watch as the seedlings burst from the earth and grew into maturity? Did You rest under the shade of one of the trees You had planted?

then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. Genesis 2:7

Now this...this I can understand. Because I remember when You breathed the breath of life into my spiritually dead life. I remember awakening and coming alive. I can remember the closeness of Your presence, Your very touch. And still now, those moments when Your breath, Your very Spirit, Your touch... fills my heart and mind and soul with echoes of that newness of life, renewing the deadened parts of me, and drawing me ever closer to You.

Image taken from here.

Being created in the image of God...well, now...that is just a gift!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Just push the mute button even if she is standing right in front of you!"

(motherly advice)

Image taken from here.

AUTUMN WEEKEND

Raked and mowed up leaves in the backyard. Bought my first Christmas presents. Had my first holiday season get-together with friends. Watched the Lions lose to the Cardinals. It was a mostly good weekend.

By the way, check out the autumn pics at Richard's.

Image taken from here.

PREJUDICE & STEROTYPES

I was just listening to the radio during my lunch. I heard it reported that there is something called "Black Dog Syndrome". More commonly known as BDS (this is said tongue in cheek), is the trend of humans to not adopt black dogs because they are stereotyped as mean, evil, and (seriously, this was also mentioned in the report) people don't like them because they don't photograph well with their children. Black dogs are 75% more likely to be euthanized in animal shelters than other-colored dogs. (No, I didn't check this out on Snopes)

Might seem silly at first, but on second thought, how sad that man's tendancy toward prejudice and stereotyping occurs so commonly and readily? Think about it.

Image taken from here.

FINDING RELIABLE MEN

I have really enjoyed reading this series on Finding Reliable Men (in the church) and just wanted to pass it along. The first post on the topic is 10/3/2007. Also, this image was taken from this blog. Enjoy!!!

THREE KERNELS OF CORN

Saturday I was out doing some yard work. I went to sweep up some old dried grass and when I did, I uncovered three kernels of corn stuck into a small crack in the sidewalk. They were so bright and golden against the contrast of the dried brown grass and the gray of the concrete. I wish I had thought to take a picture. They must have been planted there by a squirrel, storing food away for the winter. I stopped to think about how amazing that was really. And then for some reason I thought, "Trinity...Father, Son, and Spirit."

Later, I was getting some things ready so I could put my mom to bed. I was standing in front of the window and happened to catch the teenager across the street walking out of her house toward a red car in her drive. From her happy face, you could tell that she was excited to be going out with her friends. The smile on my face as I watched them pull out turned to concern. They had backed right into my friend's car which was parked in the street. The police were called, I dished out some mom hugs to the crying teen, and my friend took the officer aside to ask him if at all possible, not to give the girl a ticket. I stopped to think about how amazing that was really. And I thought, "For one who has not been shown much mercy in life, to show mercy to another...now that is a sign of a life transformed by Jesus."

On Sunday, I was watching my friends' kids. They played with this toy and that. I was just enjoying their youthful imaginations and exuberance. Then they started to play with a train set. As I watched this brother and sister, I flashed back to another picture. It was this same little boy playing with a train set. He was in an orphanage. Wearing green overalls...community overalls since none of the children owned their own clothes. He looked so small. And here he was now, in front of me with his own clothes, his own train set, and his very own family that fills his life with love. I stopped to think about how amazing that was really. And I thought, "God, You are truly good!"

I think God can be like those kernels of corn sometimes, revealing Himself to us when we aren't really looking for Him. He has His revelations squirreled away in the nooks and crannies of our lives. And in a moment, we sweep away something ordinary to find divine beauty and wonder. Like a life transformed. Or a life rescued.

FIRST TIME THIS SEASON

Today I had to use this: Because of this:
Images taken from here and here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

" My only fear is that Hilary would get into office and that will send us right into the Apocalypse!"

(Overheard as I was walking through our dispatch center)

Image taken from here.

ARLENE

I was talking to a friend yesterday who was telling me that she has been praying for someone. She saw this friend yesterday and the friend looked so good, better than she has in a long while. My friend has been studying the scriptures on healing and God's sovereignty and His presence and His power. Our conversation spurred me to think that while I don't understand all there is to know about how God's sovereignty and healing and prayer are intertwined, I would want the people who were praying for me to believe that God could and would heal me.

Will you take some time to petition an Almighty God on Arlene's behalf today? And for my friend's friend as well?

An interesting and insightful read.

Image taken from here.

THANK YOU PROFESSOR ANDREW WARDLAW, I THINK!

This headline captured my attention this morning "Untidy beds may keep us healthy". Upon further reading, this article from the BBC news went on to say "Failing to make your bed in the morning may actually help keep you healthy, scientists believe." Apparently, an unmade bed helps to keep your bed dry, thus preventing dust mites from inhabiting your mattress and pillows.

I, who absolutely hates bugs so much so that I couldn't even post a picture of a dust mite here on my blog, seriously considered not making my bed each morning so as to alleviate any potential breeding grounds for the abhorred dust mite. However, I am a bed maker. Every morning, I must make my bed even if the rest of my room bears a little clutter. And each evening, there is no better feeling than climbing into a fully made bed. I can sleep soundly with dust bunnies covering the floor under my bed, but give me wrinkled sheets and I will toss and turn all the night long.

Much to my delight, my dilemma was solved when Professor Wardlaw, later in the article declared "It is true that mites need humid conditions to thrive and cannot survive in very dry ( desert like) conditions. However, most homes in the UK are sufficiently humid for the mites to do well and I find it hard to believe that simply not making your bed would have any impact on the overall humidity." Thank you, Professor Wardlaw because even while I do not reside in the UK, Michigan is famous for its humidity, thus you have resolved my dilemma and put my mind at ease....er, I think!

Image taken from here.