Sunday Strength

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

~Colossians 3:15-17

Thanksgiving 2009

Today is Thanksgiving. For various reasons, this Thanksgiving has catapulted me back to thinking about this holiday several years ago when a careless comment by a family member had my son and I spending Thanksgiving alone while the rest of the family was in California together. That comment wounded me deeply, even causing me to not speak to that family member for three months.

This year, what has happened has again left me reeling and my heart feels like it has been stomped on. A lot. And hard. The difference this time is my faith in God. My belief that no matter how terrible it looks right now, He can redeem it. He can make it better. If He chooses. I wonder what Thanksgiving 2010 will look like - will it be better? worse?

I'm not 100% sure what He is trying to teach me this time. I have a few ideas but He hasn't settled me on anything in particular as of yet. I also know it is probable I'm not the only person He is refining through this and I may have to wait until they are where He wants them to be before I find out what He wants from me. In the meantime, I will continue to trust in Him and remain joyful (that one is tough) and try to be gracious (that one is REALLY tough).

While I wait, I pray your Thanksgiving is full of joy, laughter and total delight. Eat too much. Nap a bit. Eat more pie. And thank God for the bounty ~ both the food and the company. Glorify He who has provided such a wonderful time and amazing food. Be blessed.

Would I? Could I?

I read an article this morning of an elderly woman - homeless and with an accent so thick her English can barely be understood. A woman, though, intent on keeping a promise to her sister. Their parents had been killed in the Holocaust. At some time they ended up in Seattle having only one another. Living in shelters. They spent time "raising" money for the Jewish people...

You have to read the article to get the details. I can't keep typing them out. She made me think of this woman.

What am I doing to help God's people? What would I be willing to give up? Would I give "everything I have to live on?"

Sunday Strength

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

~Colossians 2:6-10

Saturday

It's 12:11 PM according to my computer and in the other room C2 is having his piano lesson. It is an incredibly beautiful sound. What I love? His piano teacher gave him the option today of having a lesson next weekend or skipping & her leaving him with two weeks worth of "homework." He chose the lesson next weekend... Makes a Mom's heart sing. He loves his piano lessons! He loves the piano!!

In a little while a friend of mine will show up and we'll take off to get our hair done. A day in the beauty salon with one of my best friends...

Tonight, my husband has decided he's making chicken parmigana for dinner.

Seriously... can a day GET any better?

What does your Saturday look like?

I am a Blubberer, too

Patricia is a wonderful woman I met through Shared Hope International. Talking with her through Shared Hope, I would have never guessed at the amazingness of what she would show me and teach me. Her husband works for Compassion International and because of that, Patricia has been able to travel on a couple of Blogger Trips with them. Most recently she was in El Salvador with Shaun Groves and a few other bloggers and saw firsthand the poverty there, the work Compassion is doing and how much still needs to be done. She traveled to a village devastated by Hurricane Ida and met the people whose lives have been forever altered by one storm. One young man and his family inspired this post. Marco lives in incredible poverty. Incredible is an understatement.

I'm asking you to please take a few minutes and read what Patricia shares. I read it a couple of hours ago and I'm still reeling from it. When you're done reading that, click on this Shaun Groves link and read his post on what happens when a hurricane hits El Salvador.

After you've read them...please click the Compassion button on my sidebar and sponsor a child or donate via their posts directly to the efforts in El Salvador. No child on this planet should be as poor as Marco. What Compassion does to change that is amazing. What children live with when they aren't sponsored is devastating.

We have the power to make a difference - one child at a time.

Sunday Strength

He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;

His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.


You will not fear the terror of night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,


nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,

nor the plague that destroys at midday.


~Psalm 91:4-6

Veterans' Day

Thank you to every man and woman who has served in our armed forces.
It seems such an inadequate offering for what they offer us.

Our deep, abiding gratitude.

Always.

I found this article this morning. It has been a long time since I had read this information, it was completely hidden in the file cabinets in my brain but came rushing back as I read this. We really need to teach this EVERY year in school, lest we forget. So much of the "why" seems to get lost - distractions are so many - and we simply cannot forget. Enjoy the read:

The 11th Hour: The Date Behind Veterans' Day

Banner by Cathe Holman of "Just Something I Made" Thank you, Cathe for offering this to us to share!

Sunday Strength

But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me."

~Ruth 1:16-17

Fun Link!

Found via One Pretty Thing, this link to create your own eye chart. The funny thing is - the people who originally discovered it were checking out their eye insurance provider. We share that in common...a fact I found out when I clicked on the link to play with the eye chart.

Anyhow... have yourself a lot of fun! Once you get to the VSP website, you'll find a button for the eye chart on the righthand side of the page.

Giveaway Thank You!

I'm adding this 1st paragraph AFTER I've already typed my post. I'm apologizing ahead of time for my wordiness. I remember now why I so prefer private to public thank you's. I'm not anywhere NEAR as wordy with the private type as I am with the public type! Thank you ahead of time for reading and seriously... thank you Kimba & Deb!! ~Blessings!

A while back, I entered a giveaway that Kimba (A Soft Place to Land) was hosting for a $50 gift certificate to the Pink Pig. Something happened in there and Kimba forgot to announce a winner but that was ok because in that same time, I forgot I'd entered!! What a wonderful, incredible surprise to get an email from her telling me I'd won!

Now... $50 to use on whatever I wanted from the Pink Pig. Oh... what to choose... what to choose.... It really was tough. I mean.... I was tempted by this and this, although - Aaron hates orange so I had to move along pretty quickly but then there was this and this (they weren't sold when I first started looking)... and it was SO tough to choose.

Then, I found what I did choose and it all fell into place. I combined my husband's love of silver serving pieces with my love of birds and voila.... TWO things that will make us BOTH smile. And then, to add to the joy, Deb told me she was going to stick one of their new Christmas candles into my box. I know almost every girl on this planet likes candles but I'm a bit obsessed (I have an entire dresser dedicated to storing my candles) so when she said candle... waiting for this box became torture!

Just this morning (approximately 9:45 AM but seriously - who was obsessing?) I was wondering if the mailman would have a gift for me today. AND low & behold - 12:38 pm IT ARRIVED. Could hardly stand it. Opened that box and started to dive in before I remembered I needed to make sure I took pictures. What good is a public thank you without pictures???? So.... without further ado... my Pink Pig Giveaway Winner Choices and a MASSIVE thank you to both Kimba and Deb who have both brought a brilliant ray of sunshine into this gray day....

Oh how sweet are the birds? I don't think the picture does the blue in this dish justice. It's gorgeous.

I wish I could share smells via my blog. This candle smells incredible!!! I can't wait to burn it. Yum!!!!

For Peanut Butter Fans Everywhere

So here I am, at work, typing my heart out and I decide to take a short break. It's been a few days since I read over my very official Hoops & Yo-Yo calendar and let me tell you - November is chock full of fun stuff. I'm incredibly entertained.

The first thing I have to do, though, is fix an error. It is already the 6th of November and I have been remiss in announcing that, according to Mnsrs. Hoops & Yo-Yo, November is National Peanut Butter Lovers month.

A whole month devoted to those of you who love the butter made from the wholesomeness of peanuts. Wooo hoooo!!! Who knew? I did not, of course.... I am so thankful Hoops & Yo-Yo corrected my ignorance.

Today, I believe, I will have some of the creamy version. With celery. Perhaps tomorrow I'll go wild and have crunchy.........

How 'bout you?

Thankful Thursdays - Trials

Iris at Grace Alone is hosting Thankful Thursdays through the month of November. It's nice to be back at Iris' place. It's been a LONG time since I linked up there.

For this week's Thankful Thursday, Iris chose Trials as our topic. Funny how that works... October was probably the toughest month I've experienced in a very, very long time. On October 1st, we learned that my mother more than likely has ovarian cancer. On October 7th we learned that she definitely does have ovarian cancer and on October 19th we learned the best news of it all - it is Stage 1 and "if we can cure anyone, we can cure her" is her doctor's favorite quote.

In the midst of that, on October 12th, my husband called to tell me one of our co-workers woke up that Monday morning unable to move beyond wiggling his fingers and toes. What has transpired since has been a bit of a nail-biter. What was originally thought to be contracted muscles in his back that had spasmed and were unable to relax turned into "several" epidural abscesses. It's meant 3 weeks in the hospital and now another month at home with someone coming into his home every couple of days to drain the infection out of his back (his family was able to arrange that so he was able to come home yesterday), more antibiotics than a person can count and a very vibrant, energetic man needing a walker to move around. He's lost 15 lbs. from this and for someone who was already stick thin, 15 lbs. might as well be 50. He's gaunt, has no strength and is still fighting an infection that could roar back and do... well... it's powerful.


These are not my trials (Except, perhaps, the emotional part of learning my mother has cancer. My mother - the woman who has been a part of my life every single day of it. We are not only family but have worked together for the last 15 years. I see her at least 5 days a week. She's not just my mother - she's imperative to my daily life.) but instead belong to others. I am there strictly as support. And as the occasional taxi driver.

The truth is - from day one. October 1st. I have said the same thing over and over and over again - God was not surprised by any of this. This news did not knock Him off of His throne, it did not throw His plan into a tizzy of "what do I do now?" He IS Sovereign. He IS in control. He has NOT changed a bit. He DOES care about the outcome of this. He DOES care about us and how we feel in all of it.

The best part was when I realized these were not just words I was saying. I didn't just believe it. I KNOW it. To my very marrow, I KNOW God is Sovereign and is in control. I know we didn't surprise Him with our fear, our concern, our tears. Even when the news looked its darkest because we had to wait to know more, He was RIGHT THERE. Right there. By our side. In our hearts. Surrounding us. We could not look to the left, to the right, to the front, to the back, above or below without seeing Him. Knowing He was there - running that situation while still running the rest of the world. Power beyond all imagination, summed up by love beyond comprehension.

I AM is. Always was. Always will be.

How can I not be thankful?

Heart Wrenching

I can't imagine losing a child. So many people live through that experience and I'm not sure how they survive it. Once, a long time ago, I said if my son were to die, just lock me up in a rubber room. I wouldn't be able to function. Fortunately, that isn't something I've had to experience but my heart just aches for those parents who have. Then I read an article like this one and that ache becomes full-blown pain. What a beautiful, sweet gift their little one left for them. Does she have any idea just how precious it must be to them? How bittersweet....

Ah... I'll stop there with the opinions. Read the article for yourself. Just have tissues handy.

Love Notes...


How beautiful a soul Miss Elena Desserich...

VOTE!

Your voice counts. So does your vote. Don't forget to vote tomorrow! Get those ballots in the mail - postmark has to be no later than tomorrow, November 3rd.

There is too much at stake to NOT vote. Make sure your opinion is heard.

Blessings.

Sunday Strength

With your hand you drove out the nations

and planted our fathers;

you crushed the peoples

and made our fathers flourish.

It was not by their sword that they won the land,

nor did their arm bring them victory;

it was your right hand, your arm,

and the light of your face, for you loved them.

You are my King and my God,

who decrees victories for Jacob.

Through you we push back our enemies;

through your name we trample our foes.

I do not trust in my bow,

my sword does not bring me victory;

but you give us victory over our enemies,

you put our adversaries to shame.

In God we make our boast all day long,

and we will praise your name forever.

Selah

~Psalm 44:2-8