Cooking Up Gratitude

Around the beginning of November, I buy a few ladies magazines that have those beautiful pictures of nostalgic and romantic holidays.  I look at the details, such as the table settings, the flower arrangements, and the recipes, of course, while I imagine bringing that picture to my own home.

I do the same thing with fashion magazines.  I look at those slim, well-tressed women, looking off into the distance as if they expect Richard Gere to arrive any moment in his limousine.  That old Pretty Woman movie still draws me into a fantasy of choosing anything I want to wear, and it would look made-for-me-perfect.

The power of imagination can steal so much time.  and, time is something we can't recycle.  We can't re-live, or rewind and tape over.  I've had an issue with time for as long as I can remember.  Am I really making the best choices with my time?

Does God really want me to sit here and daydream, or should I be cleaning the bathroom now?  That kind of back and forth thinking can jab at me like a pinch.

This counter-productive second-guessing shows me how powerless I am over myself.  Left to my own devices, I think most of my time would evaporate into what-ifs and should- haves. 

God provides the wake-up call when I go to the kitchen where my tested-and-true, expectant recipes await the mixing and baking again,   As soon as the aromas of rum cake and carrot souffle take flight, I'm already thinking ahead to tomorrow and the family, and the fun. 

Thankfully I've been shaken out of my preoccupation with my "self," to get busy to serve the people I love, the ones He's given to me as my family.

Over the years, I've learned the hard way that God is in control of my life, and my time really isn't my own time.  It's really God's time, and I need to ask Him how He wants me to spend it.  I am cooking up gratitude today, mixed with confession and forgiveness, and hope that the Lord is the stronghold of my life, and Thanksgiving can be a daily occurance if I trust Him.

Changing the Game Plan

When we moved to our pretty condo at Eagles Nest in 2000, we thought it was our last move, that we would be looking over the dairy farms in the valley and would be enjoying the skyview  for the rest of our days.  We thanked God for the view, our neighbors, and we opened our door to share it all. 

Looking back, I think we had too much of a good thing, because we became pretty confortable, too comfortable, somuchso that we almost came to a dead(no pun intended) stop with ourselves.  With most of the household chores being done for us, a couple years ago, we began the conversations about maybe we made the move 10 years too soon or so.  We missed the yard work, the puttering, the chores of running a house with a yard, etc.  We weren't quite ready to just sit down.

Back and forth, do we make a change or not, even putting the condo on the market, then off, then on until we finally decided to stop it all, stay put and close our doors to the "public."  It makes me laugh now, to see how God had His hand in our game plan  all along.

Anyway, out of the blue one day Lydia called, said someone wanted to look at the condo that evening if possible.  Well, there it is.  History was made.  When I told a new friend about our quick changeover, she offered her daughter's house that was for sale, but could be rented, etc., so we landed at Alley House last fall.  Again, things moved in such a way that only God can do; because we could never have made the puzzle pieces fit together as quickly on our own.

Turning over the pieces, like adding to the puzzle, step by step we worked through what needed to be done until we now have a house that is two-thirds ready.  Our game plan has completely changed  from last Christmas to this one.

So often I try to give God my agenda.  I tell him what to do, how to do it, and when it should be done.  Thankfully, God rarely does things the way we expect them to be done.  In Isaiah 55:8-9, God says, "My thoughts are completely different from yours.  And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.  For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."

God doesn't think like we think.  And yet, He knows us better than we know ourselves, he calls us by name.  He even knows the number of the hairs on our head.  He knows what is best for each one of us.

Even though this has been exhausting, and we've had some sleepless nights wondering if we've covered the details, it's also highly energizing and fun to be planning ahead at this stage of our lives to yes, yardwork again, and household chores.  This is another lesson of 'be careful what you wish for' because we had a lovely, lovely condo that was home to us for ten years.  Lots of good times to remember there, but it was time to share the beauty, as Bill once said.  I like to think of it that way, too.  It  reminds me that nothing is permanent in this world we're passing through, except God's love. 

Thinking about Advent, I also see God's promise in the anticipation of Christ's return.  Advent gives daily opportunities to rethink in which kingdom we want to live, and what is keeping us from undivided allegiance to Jesus.  Our hope is in Him.  Happy Thanksgiving.                Here are the pictures I talked about:

This is on a Tuesday morning late Oct.















This is the Friday of that same week!  We now have internal walls, electric, plumbing, poured basement & garage, a roof, & doors and windows are coming.

J.J.'s Masterpiece

Last evening our 4th grandchild, Carmen June (age 5), visited with us while her mother tutored me in the craft of blogging. This little drawing is fresh from the crayon box, and she said it's me.  I'm so glad she sees me smiling, and with thin legs.  And that the sun is shining with green grass.  She's captured my kind of day.

Today, though,  is a sentimental one for me, being that it marks the 4th anniversary of my brother, Russell's passing after a very difficult illness.  He was two years younger than me, and we were very close.  After he had to quit work, Russ spent a lot of time at my house when the little grandgirls were there for their weekly  playdays, so they remember Uncle Russ.

He and I shared a love of coffee.  When he had to quit working, you could find us at the Decaffinated  Coffee Shop on Front Street  several mornings a week around 10 am.

After my eye doctor appointment this morning, I drove to Tim Horton's for my 10 am recharge, and, on impulse, bought a second cup for Russ.  I know he's not in the cemetery, of course, but I drove there and placed his coffee on his tombstone to recall all those other mornings, those hours of joking, sharing, being our usual brother and sister selves even while we both knew it wasn't meant to be for much longer.

Standing there, I could see his face, hear his laughter, and I could particularly see that ornery twinkle  he used to give me when he knew he had struck a nerve with his joking around.

I'm glad I'm finally old enough to not be embarrassed to share this.  It's not a morbid thing, it's joyful, really.  I know beyond a doubt that Russ was a Christian, because we talked about it many times, all the time toward the end.

His last day with us was difficult, indescribably difficult, but when he breathed his last, we could see first hand, the peace that passes all understanding on that beautiful face.  I am lucky to have had Russ for my brother.   I can even say now that we were lucky to have had that awful cancer experience, because we became even closer through it all.  As my mother often says, "we got throught it." 

I'll tell the little girls all the stories I can about Russ and me, (the good, bad, and maybe some ugly ones someday) and I hope they have the same kind of loving relationship with their siblings that can survive even the most awful trials.          This is Uncle Russ on Lacey's graduation day.                                                          

Welcome to my world!

Due to my daughter-in-law's  pulling and tugging me into computerland, I now have this blog site, starting today.  I don't know if I have enough wisdom to keep you reading, and, I don't think I have much gossip to share, because I really try hard not to pass gossip. (I have enough trouble passing gas, let alone passing gossip).  I mean, I've reached the decade, finally, whereby unexpected gas may be processed at anyt ime of day or night. Well, that's another topic, let's get back to what I can offer the computer world.

If you believe there is nothing new talk about under the sun, then, hey, let's shut this machine down and just go get some ice cream.  Otherwise, I'll probably try this blog for a while, share what's stirring around in my thoughts to see if they are worth typing about, and maybe you will answer back with your wisdom.  I think this is the nature of the blogging world, right? 

Maybe if we read enough, and think enough, and share enough, maybe we can figure out some of the silliness going on in this world.  Is is that we eat too much ice cream, or is it that we don't eat enough ice cream?  Or, is it really just two mate toe or to two motto, po tate oh or po tah toe, let's not call the whole thing off, not yet.  I'll get back to you soon.  Right now I have to see if this will really go anywhere out there.  Bye.