Let's see...what did I do last week?
Monday I had a practice for the Messiah, and Tuesday evening was the performance. It was a lot of fun, and I hope I can do it again next year. :)
Wednesday, my sisters and I volunteered at a Special Olympics event held on campus. It was such a blessing to work with those people. They were all so cheerful, and sweet.
Thursday was my last 'cello lesson till the end of the Christmas break; so I'll resume sometime in January.
I read something very neat in My Utmost For His Highest yesterday: "I am called to live in perfect relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives, not admiration for myself." And I wholeheartedly agree with Oswald Chambers there. I pray the Lord will help me to live so; for, as a sinful, selfish girl, I like others to think well of me, and in my own strength, I cannot do it. "Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God." May we all strive to live like this; with our hearts and minds fixed solely on Christ Jesus, our Lord. "God is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He likes."
Monday, December 3, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
December 2, 2007
Again, I've slacked off on updating this blog. What can I say but that I've been busy, and maybe just a little bit lazy in regard to this blog. :)
Christmas is fast approaching. I've been getting all the decor out this past week, and Kathryn and Reed decked the house out in lights. I love doing these things. But that's not what makes Christmas. We often get caught up in the seasonal festivities, forgetting the true meaning, or rushing through it, if we admit theres' a true meaning to Christmas at all. Even Christians tend to think Christmas is just a feel good time, created for us to have a good time. But December 25 is the day that we recognize that God sent His Son to earth for us. To save us. In today's culture, it is now a struggle to remember that.
I do love the fact, though, that people distribute love more throughout the Christmas season. I think that is one of the reasons I love this time of year so much. On a normal day, you can be in WalMart for two hours and never a smile from anyone. But this month, practically everyone smiles as you walk along; those with buggies fuller (and sometimes emptier) than your own will tell you to go ahead of them in line, no reason but that they feel like doing a good turn to another. Why can't this behavior stretch throughout the year? I have no answer for that, but I wish it would.
For those of you interested, my cat, Smokey, is doing great. She feels (and looks) much better. I'm very thankful to God that it was nothing serious. That might sound petty, but I dearly love my cats, and as I believe God delights in giving us our hearts desires, I believe that He was very good to me, and heard my prayers ahead of time. Anyway, thank you to those who voiced concern and good wishes for her health. It meant much to me. :)
Maybe I will post more tomorrow, but it is getting late now, so I will bid you "Au Revoir"!
Christmas is fast approaching. I've been getting all the decor out this past week, and Kathryn and Reed decked the house out in lights. I love doing these things. But that's not what makes Christmas. We often get caught up in the seasonal festivities, forgetting the true meaning, or rushing through it, if we admit theres' a true meaning to Christmas at all. Even Christians tend to think Christmas is just a feel good time, created for us to have a good time. But December 25 is the day that we recognize that God sent His Son to earth for us. To save us. In today's culture, it is now a struggle to remember that.
I do love the fact, though, that people distribute love more throughout the Christmas season. I think that is one of the reasons I love this time of year so much. On a normal day, you can be in WalMart for two hours and never a smile from anyone. But this month, practically everyone smiles as you walk along; those with buggies fuller (and sometimes emptier) than your own will tell you to go ahead of them in line, no reason but that they feel like doing a good turn to another. Why can't this behavior stretch throughout the year? I have no answer for that, but I wish it would.
For those of you interested, my cat, Smokey, is doing great. She feels (and looks) much better. I'm very thankful to God that it was nothing serious. That might sound petty, but I dearly love my cats, and as I believe God delights in giving us our hearts desires, I believe that He was very good to me, and heard my prayers ahead of time. Anyway, thank you to those who voiced concern and good wishes for her health. It meant much to me. :)
Maybe I will post more tomorrow, but it is getting late now, so I will bid you "Au Revoir"!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
November 24, 2007
Wow, a lot has happened in the last four or five days.
Tuesday morning I woke up to a cat and my bed comforter covered in blood. Well, not completely covered, but there was a LOT of blood. At first, I thought it was her paw that was producing so much blood, but I soon ascertained it was actually her mouth. She kept bleeding pretty steadily for two and a half hours; by then I had decided I should bring her in for an emergency visit to the vet. They told me she had a "rodent ulcer'', that she might continue to bleed for two days, gave her a shot and told me I should bring her back in two weeks.
I rushed her back home in time to jump back in the car with my sister, her violin, and my 'cello for our lessons. And I got my 'first' piece of music: Mary had a little lamb. Yep, but hey, it's better than "Twinkle"....or maybe not. :) But it's a piece of music, instead of playing those open strings all the time. I'm grateful for it.
Then Wednesday was partially spent cooking in anticipation for Thanksgiving Day at my Grandparents house. Kathryn, Hope and I all made Apple pies; they made the traditional, and I made an Apple Cider pie....it's a pretty good recipe. Hope also made some Pumpkin Streusel pies, those are different....but they went over well for everyone but those with braces, since the pies contained nuts. :)
Thursday morning I got up early and made, surprise, more pies! The traditional Pumpkin/Maple pie. I also made some pumpkin bread for breakfast while my brothers peeled and cut potatoes for mashing. And let me tell you, they broke the record for fastest potato peelers ever! We also made a green salad with manderin oranges and glazed pears; and got the stuff together for the much-longed-for relish tray, our favorite Thanksgiving dish! We packed everything up and headed out. Everyone else in the family brought their various dishes to my grandparents, and we had a feast. The weather was somewhere between 30-40 degrees, and it was VERY cold. All the young people, which was just my siblings, one cousin, and myself, went outside to work off some of the food we'd eaten to make room for more food. We played frisbee for a while, then my brother's taught Hope and I to play football while Kathryn took pictures. We had a lot of fun, a great time. Then the game come on TV, and I was bored out of my head. Everyone else in my family is crazy about football, and while I will pop in occasionally to see the score, I'm not a great fan. But I endured the next two or more hours in as many different ways as I could think of, and then we all went back out to play it again. :)
We haven't been doing a lot yesterday and today; the guys have gone out hunting both days, and my 'baby' brother, Reed, got a wild hog. It will be nice to have the sausage through the winter. We girls went downtown shopping for a few hours today, in the rain, got pretty cold; my mother and sister Kathryn both bought stuff, but Hope and I escaped with our money still in pocket. :)
Well, I have to get up early tomorrow; it's Sunday, and since I'm a member of our praise team, I'm supposed to leave our house with my father, Hope, and brother Charles by 8:00 am. I'd like to be up by 6, so I have time to spend with the Lord first, and eat breakfast, and not have to rush through my dress. :) So all that means I should go to bed pretty soon; and I'll 'call it a post'.
Tuesday morning I woke up to a cat and my bed comforter covered in blood. Well, not completely covered, but there was a LOT of blood. At first, I thought it was her paw that was producing so much blood, but I soon ascertained it was actually her mouth. She kept bleeding pretty steadily for two and a half hours; by then I had decided I should bring her in for an emergency visit to the vet. They told me she had a "rodent ulcer'', that she might continue to bleed for two days, gave her a shot and told me I should bring her back in two weeks.
I rushed her back home in time to jump back in the car with my sister, her violin, and my 'cello for our lessons. And I got my 'first' piece of music: Mary had a little lamb. Yep, but hey, it's better than "Twinkle"....or maybe not. :) But it's a piece of music, instead of playing those open strings all the time. I'm grateful for it.
Then Wednesday was partially spent cooking in anticipation for Thanksgiving Day at my Grandparents house. Kathryn, Hope and I all made Apple pies; they made the traditional, and I made an Apple Cider pie....it's a pretty good recipe. Hope also made some Pumpkin Streusel pies, those are different....but they went over well for everyone but those with braces, since the pies contained nuts. :)
Thursday morning I got up early and made, surprise, more pies! The traditional Pumpkin/Maple pie. I also made some pumpkin bread for breakfast while my brothers peeled and cut potatoes for mashing. And let me tell you, they broke the record for fastest potato peelers ever! We also made a green salad with manderin oranges and glazed pears; and got the stuff together for the much-longed-for relish tray, our favorite Thanksgiving dish! We packed everything up and headed out. Everyone else in the family brought their various dishes to my grandparents, and we had a feast. The weather was somewhere between 30-40 degrees, and it was VERY cold. All the young people, which was just my siblings, one cousin, and myself, went outside to work off some of the food we'd eaten to make room for more food. We played frisbee for a while, then my brother's taught Hope and I to play football while Kathryn took pictures. We had a lot of fun, a great time. Then the game come on TV, and I was bored out of my head. Everyone else in my family is crazy about football, and while I will pop in occasionally to see the score, I'm not a great fan. But I endured the next two or more hours in as many different ways as I could think of, and then we all went back out to play it again. :)
We haven't been doing a lot yesterday and today; the guys have gone out hunting both days, and my 'baby' brother, Reed, got a wild hog. It will be nice to have the sausage through the winter. We girls went downtown shopping for a few hours today, in the rain, got pretty cold; my mother and sister Kathryn both bought stuff, but Hope and I escaped with our money still in pocket. :)
Well, I have to get up early tomorrow; it's Sunday, and since I'm a member of our praise team, I'm supposed to leave our house with my father, Hope, and brother Charles by 8:00 am. I'd like to be up by 6, so I have time to spend with the Lord first, and eat breakfast, and not have to rush through my dress. :) So all that means I should go to bed pretty soon; and I'll 'call it a post'.
Monday, November 19, 2007
November 19, 2007
Here it is, the week of Thanksgiving. The nights are chilly, but the days have been mostly very nice; warm and sunny. Enough to keep my plants alive. But I have to bring them in every night to avoid freezing.
My cats spend the nights inside now; as opposed to the cold outdoors. Of course, they wake me up in the middle of the night occasionally; as they dislike each other immensely, both jealous of the attention I give the other, and sometimes pick two or three in the morning as a prime time for a sibling fight. I get up, break it up, and go promptly back to bed. My black one, Smokey, spends most of her time lying on the rug in front of the french doors, where she can get plenty of sunshine in the day; and tries to smuggle her way into the bathroom closet to sleep on top of the towels during the night. My Duchess, a gorgeous orange and white, almost persian looking cat, spends most of her daylight hours out hunting away from home; but usually she comes back in the evening to spend the night curled up at my feet. Despite their quirks, I love them both dearly. I'm hoping that my dog, Sebastian, a Britney Spaniel, and they will get along well; but as I don't have Sebastian yet, and have no idea when that will happen, I don't worry about it much. :)
My friend and I finished our study of Rebekah today. Her story appears through Genesis 24; 25:19-34; 26:1-17, 34-35; and 27. Interesting to me was the difference there seemed to be in Rebekah from the time she was first approached by Abraham's servant, and the time she encouraged Jacob to deceive his father. One thing I saw was the similarity with Sarah. Like Sarah, God had told Rebekah what would happen in the future; but when it didn't seem that it would happen, or come quickly enough, Rebekah, like Sarah, took matters into her own hands, deciding that God needed a little help from her. It is a sad fact that as women, we all too often grow impatient and decide to take matters into our own all-too-incapable hands. Why can't we just wait on the Lord's timing? Why must we always chomp at the bit; rush headlong into situations we ultimately find we can't handle? David encourages us in Psalms 25 repeatedly, and in 27:14, to wait for the Lord; "Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." Waiting for the Lord is rarely easy. Waiting requires strength, and courage, and faith. Strength, to hold us back from jumping ahead; courage, for fear comes with the unknown; and faith, that God will indeed bring about what He has spoken. May God grant you and I all three, and may we 'be strong', let our 'heart(s) take courage' and 'wait for the Lord'.
My cats spend the nights inside now; as opposed to the cold outdoors. Of course, they wake me up in the middle of the night occasionally; as they dislike each other immensely, both jealous of the attention I give the other, and sometimes pick two or three in the morning as a prime time for a sibling fight. I get up, break it up, and go promptly back to bed. My black one, Smokey, spends most of her time lying on the rug in front of the french doors, where she can get plenty of sunshine in the day; and tries to smuggle her way into the bathroom closet to sleep on top of the towels during the night. My Duchess, a gorgeous orange and white, almost persian looking cat, spends most of her daylight hours out hunting away from home; but usually she comes back in the evening to spend the night curled up at my feet. Despite their quirks, I love them both dearly. I'm hoping that my dog, Sebastian, a Britney Spaniel, and they will get along well; but as I don't have Sebastian yet, and have no idea when that will happen, I don't worry about it much. :)
My friend and I finished our study of Rebekah today. Her story appears through Genesis 24; 25:19-34; 26:1-17, 34-35; and 27. Interesting to me was the difference there seemed to be in Rebekah from the time she was first approached by Abraham's servant, and the time she encouraged Jacob to deceive his father. One thing I saw was the similarity with Sarah. Like Sarah, God had told Rebekah what would happen in the future; but when it didn't seem that it would happen, or come quickly enough, Rebekah, like Sarah, took matters into her own hands, deciding that God needed a little help from her. It is a sad fact that as women, we all too often grow impatient and decide to take matters into our own all-too-incapable hands. Why can't we just wait on the Lord's timing? Why must we always chomp at the bit; rush headlong into situations we ultimately find we can't handle? David encourages us in Psalms 25 repeatedly, and in 27:14, to wait for the Lord; "Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." Waiting for the Lord is rarely easy. Waiting requires strength, and courage, and faith. Strength, to hold us back from jumping ahead; courage, for fear comes with the unknown; and faith, that God will indeed bring about what He has spoken. May God grant you and I all three, and may we 'be strong', let our 'heart(s) take courage' and 'wait for the Lord'.
Friday, November 2, 2007
November 2, 2007
Zooks! (to borrow an expression from the Scarlet Pimpernel.) How did I let this happen again?!!!!
Oh, well, it's not the end of the world. I just haven't updated my blog in a while. So what, it's not like I have a bunch of people depending on my writing something profound every day. I guess then I must be OK.
Flag football and volleyball seasons are both over for us, so life will be slowing down. At least, I hope it will. You never know though. :)
Lots of cooking going on at our house; first, we have a reunion tomorrow and supposed to be taking three dishes. Then, we're getting together with friends Sunday afternoon for a day of music, volleyball, elk hunt picture viewing, and the Patriots vs. Colts game. A busy schedule planned out, that. We'll have close to two dozen people, and lunch and supper. Anyway, I cooked away at a prize-winning broccoli salad this evening that has to chill, and tomorrow will come a lasagna and hash brown casserole. As well as chili to put in the crock pot while we're at church Sunday for lunch. Oh yeah, and I have to figure out two desserts...I have no idea what I'll decide on that. :)
Well, it's getting late; I've updated my blog; and bed is calling my name, so I guess I'll answer it; I have to get up early tomorrow. Oh, but first, I have to go pull the elk meat out of the freezer, so that it'll be defrosted for me to use in the morning....better go do that now.
Oh, well, it's not the end of the world. I just haven't updated my blog in a while. So what, it's not like I have a bunch of people depending on my writing something profound every day. I guess then I must be OK.
Flag football and volleyball seasons are both over for us, so life will be slowing down. At least, I hope it will. You never know though. :)
Lots of cooking going on at our house; first, we have a reunion tomorrow and supposed to be taking three dishes. Then, we're getting together with friends Sunday afternoon for a day of music, volleyball, elk hunt picture viewing, and the Patriots vs. Colts game. A busy schedule planned out, that. We'll have close to two dozen people, and lunch and supper. Anyway, I cooked away at a prize-winning broccoli salad this evening that has to chill, and tomorrow will come a lasagna and hash brown casserole. As well as chili to put in the crock pot while we're at church Sunday for lunch. Oh yeah, and I have to figure out two desserts...I have no idea what I'll decide on that. :)
Well, it's getting late; I've updated my blog; and bed is calling my name, so I guess I'll answer it; I have to get up early tomorrow. Oh, but first, I have to go pull the elk meat out of the freezer, so that it'll be defrosted for me to use in the morning....better go do that now.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
October 13, 2007
It's funny; how life goes on. You may feel at some point that you'll never get past the difficulty you're facing, but you do. Life goes on.
I was looking back on the past year or two; and felt overwhelmed with love. My dear friend who passed away this summer, Ms Babs, accompanied me on the piano at my graduation; I found her name next to mine in the program. I found a card my best friend had sent me; reminding me of all that we've shared together, and who we are in Christ. Just little things, but they play such big roles....and after reading, and remembering, I felt, as I said, so overwhelmed with love, for them and from them. And I realize that all this love would not be possible but for Christ-"We love, because He first loved us." More than words, my friends, more than words.
Sometimes I am so driven by 'one of these days', by the thought that 'someday I shall have my own house', and let myself get carried away, stressed out and just plain mean about things going on at home, mostly, that it's just not as clean, not as well furnished, and not as perfect as I'd like. Yes, some people don't clean up their own messes as they should always; and yes the sofa and armchairs are falling apart after nearly twenty years and seven+ kids; and yes, we can't open all the windows in the house on nice days like today because if we did they'd fall apart. But are all these things sufficient excuse for me to be short-tempered with almost every member in my family? I should say not. My parents have been replacing things on this old house for years now, they do what they can when they can. One of the pillars holding up the front porch was rotting away, it needed to be replaced, so we'll have to wait on the windows a bit longer. So what? The windows aren't going to collapse, hurt someone and cause damage to the house. They can wait. And I can be patient. "To every thing there is a season, and a perfect time under the sun."
I was so happy last fall; it wasn't difficult in the least to be loving, patient and interested in the doings of my family members. Love flowed through our house and poured out the cracks in our walls and our bad windows. It seemed the well springs of love dried up over the summer; but no more. I need to start spreading that love back around, making sure I'm getting it from the only True and Pure source; Jesus Christ.
And I've been just short of miserable this summer and fall; is it because I've been trying to haul up water from the dirty, slime-covered pond out back of our house? That water might be alright for the animals, but it's poison for the people I hold dear. It's time I stopped forcing it down their throats, and gave them the pure water of Christ.
It's time I stopped living for myself.
I was looking back on the past year or two; and felt overwhelmed with love. My dear friend who passed away this summer, Ms Babs, accompanied me on the piano at my graduation; I found her name next to mine in the program. I found a card my best friend had sent me; reminding me of all that we've shared together, and who we are in Christ. Just little things, but they play such big roles....and after reading, and remembering, I felt, as I said, so overwhelmed with love, for them and from them. And I realize that all this love would not be possible but for Christ-"We love, because He first loved us." More than words, my friends, more than words.
Sometimes I am so driven by 'one of these days', by the thought that 'someday I shall have my own house', and let myself get carried away, stressed out and just plain mean about things going on at home, mostly, that it's just not as clean, not as well furnished, and not as perfect as I'd like. Yes, some people don't clean up their own messes as they should always; and yes the sofa and armchairs are falling apart after nearly twenty years and seven+ kids; and yes, we can't open all the windows in the house on nice days like today because if we did they'd fall apart. But are all these things sufficient excuse for me to be short-tempered with almost every member in my family? I should say not. My parents have been replacing things on this old house for years now, they do what they can when they can. One of the pillars holding up the front porch was rotting away, it needed to be replaced, so we'll have to wait on the windows a bit longer. So what? The windows aren't going to collapse, hurt someone and cause damage to the house. They can wait. And I can be patient. "To every thing there is a season, and a perfect time under the sun."
I was so happy last fall; it wasn't difficult in the least to be loving, patient and interested in the doings of my family members. Love flowed through our house and poured out the cracks in our walls and our bad windows. It seemed the well springs of love dried up over the summer; but no more. I need to start spreading that love back around, making sure I'm getting it from the only True and Pure source; Jesus Christ.
And I've been just short of miserable this summer and fall; is it because I've been trying to haul up water from the dirty, slime-covered pond out back of our house? That water might be alright for the animals, but it's poison for the people I hold dear. It's time I stopped forcing it down their throats, and gave them the pure water of Christ.
It's time I stopped living for myself.
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