meanwhile...

here in Michigan

 

 

Sandy's winds reach

50mph...

 

stuff is thrown

around...

 

school delays...

 

repairs that cannot

be delayed...

 

sleet...

 

loose branches are blown

from trees.

 

All is well.

 

Prayers

for my friends

to the east.

 

We will weather the

storm

together.

 

 

apartment life...

 

can be a drag.

 

Especially when you can

remember your younger days at the

big house

where you were able to run

and roam and play the role of

big dog

on the block.

 

 

Sure the close neighbors

down the hall

loved seeing you when

you took the elevator and

wagged your tale

for them

alone

;)

 

But you're a dog

and dogs love

being dogs

 

with yards to run free in...

new smells to explore...

dirt to play in!

 

Then reality hits.

 

This new place has its perks

but...

there are attentions to share

and...

when you have this wee little problem

that is a wee bit embarrassing

to discuss

well...

 

 

they confine you...

bummer.

 

Poor pitiful Dog...

you haven't learned the art

of weeing

outdoors...

wee will work on that

and turn that frown

upside down.

 

Oh, by the way...

her name is Dog...

that's pronounced

Dee-Oh-Gee...

and you'll be seeing a lot of her.

 

Before I say good day...

look what I did...

 

I gave my arbor an arbor.

 

Thanks, Mom

for letting me (and boys)

pull some grapevine from your yard.

 

xo

today i will...

 

find the time

 

 

to enjoy the

simple pleasures

of life.

 

a good book...

a song (or more) of praise...

a warm cup of

vegan

love...

mmm...

 

what's your pleasure?

 

 

 

 

 

~this moment~

 

~late october orchard~

happy weekending!



listening

to really hear

on a deeper level

 

requires quiet reflection

 

a conversation

by its very nature involves one

who is speaking and one

who is listening

 

if you will recall

way back in January I pondered the

idea of a word for the year

and chose

listen

 

for some reason it was pulling at

my heart and begging

to get noticed

maybe because I was also aware that

I am easily

distracted

 

during tv time the family will ask

about a commercial

that just ran and I will

admit that my brain went on

a joy ride and I heard none of it

 

not a big deal

until my escapades began

taking me away during

conversations with

my boys...husband...sisters.

not much fun when you get busted

and have to confess...

i wasn't REALLY listening.

oops.

 

if you don't take the time to

really listen

you run the risk of

not hearing.

 

huh?

 

which brings me to another

conversation

that if you don't stop to listen

you run the risk of

not hearing.

 

prayer.

it has been on my mind for many reasons

there are certain Bible verses that

make me wonder if we

get it.

my conversations with God

are awesome

(yeah...I'm over 20 and using that word...

forgive me here)

seriously,

each word perfectly describes

my emotion...my concern...

my joy.

now put me in the position to

pray with a group and...

well..

it's like I actually told my pastor

one time...

Sorry, Pastor...but I've got nothing.

(no, I am not kidding)

it was as if my mind was unable to

string words together.

I am physically unable to

pray to my God alone and

disregard others around me...

which leaves me wondering...
in those situations...
 for whom my prayers are really intended.

alone...gold.

group...rust.

I can rest in the verse from Matthew

for now...

"But whenever you pray, go

into your room and shut the door

and pray to your Father who is in secret,

and your Father who sees in secret

will reward you."

I say for now...

because this is an area of weakness

and ignorance.

an area that requires work.

to read...to learn.

to speak...and to listen.

 

many keep a prayer journal

to not only reflect on the past

but to see how God works in their lives.

it serves as a visual

that God hears...answers...

listens.

during the summer I was asked to

help in different arenas

at church...

one was with the senior youth...

i had the desire...

i have boys who are that

age and i knew it would be a good

fit

but something kept feeling off

i couldn't figure it out

it just didn't feel right...
 

maybe God had other plans for me.

 

it didn't take a journal for me to find

the answer

summer closed and fall began

and family life

required my full attention

my aging and ailing father-in-law and his only son

who had himself developed

serious health issues...

under went surgeries...
 

life was coming at me hard and I found

myself giving thanks

 

thank you Lord for giving

me ears to hear.
 

thank you for loving me in all

my glorious imperfection.

for knowing me better
than i know
myself.

 

above all...
keep speaking to me.

amen.

 

 

 



whatcha doin

 

dancing in the round

for the very

first time

 

 

raking

clearing

pruning

 

burning

(sorry asthma sufferers)

 

putting

a garden to

rest

 

observing...

 

what a difference

a week makes...

 

heck a day!

 

enjoying the textures

of autumn.

 

happy monday.

:)

 

 

~this moment~

 

 

~a tante mimi accomplishment~

 

joining soulemama

and friends...

 

happy weekending!

 

 



tuesday's loves

 

~in retrospect~

 

 

ahhh...

what a day!

 

 

~through the looking glass~

 

 

 



~on this day~

 

the camera speaks.



this weekend

 

This October weekend

I shall embrace my

inner witch...

 

 

and be a little...

 

;)

~this moment~

 

 

~a study in waiting~

 

 

home school deliveries

 

 

the brown box of

home school choices arrived

last week...

 

(a little later than past years)

 

new material combined

with the old

 

keeping expectations in check

now knowing

with years under my belt

that real life always

trumps

curriculum learning

 

 

we've used apologia sciences

in the past...

but decided to take a less structured

approach to biology

this time around

 

biology 101:

biology according to the days of

creation

with segments for viewing

and a printable

guidebook to complete

the year-long study

 

uncle eric

(richard maybury)

will

walk us through government

and economics in a conversational

and more importantly

understandable way

 

 answering

tough questions

posed by his neice and nephew

 

rounding off the economics course with

a mathematical approach

 

life of fred

 

i decided to part with saxon this year

the love/hate relationship

had my guys asking

"how will i ever use this stuff?"

 

stanley f. schmidt

creator of the series and Ph.D.

answers that question

with

life of fred

 

 

a funny name for an unconventional

and refreshing

approach to math

 

thank you, stanley!

 

you have to love a man who

wants to foster a love of

math while teaching

challenging concepts

 

plus...

he answered my e-mail

questions and concerns

that very same day

with a thoughtful response

 

plus...

he has made the program

affordable for

home schoolers on a budget

 

did I already say thank-you?

thank you.

 

 

finishing a series that was

started last year...

 

incorporating

 

additional materials

borrowed from

our sara's

college curriculum

 

gotta love the lending libraries

 

keeping time open to play

and explore

personal interests

 

after all

that is how we humans

learn best

isn't it?

 

when we delve into that which interests us

and not that which is

forced upon us

 

guiding

mentoring

encouraging

 

laying the foundation

for a life-long love of

learning

 

what arrived in your box today?

 

 

 

~this moment~

 

 

Once again

playing along with

soulemama and friends.

:)

 



six degrees

 

I'm sure you've heard of it...The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. A parlor game based on the concept that any two people on Earth are about six acquaintance links apart (small world phenomena). The Kevin Bacon version has friends (usually with Bud in hand) challenging each other to find the shortest path between any random actor and K.B. A movie trivia buffs stomping ground.

 

I have an updated version. More of a litmus test than a parlor game. Maybe you've heard of it...or possibly played this twist from the original. No matter what conversation is taking place around me...it always...somehow comes back to what is truly on my mind.

 

Today's worry.

 

You know you're playing when the eyes of those around you glaze over a bit and they tell you without words (way too kind for that) here we go again.

 

Ever seen that look?

 

Unfortunately, it doesn't slow me down. I stay the course and steer the conversation in my new/old direction.

 

Yeah...I'm not getting invited to too many parties these days.

I've mastered this game of mine...six steps is child's play! I can get there in one little baby step. My mind is consumed after all.

I could give myself a pass here and say it is where my mind should be. It is a new worry and therefore is deserving of my every waking moment.

Let's see what Luke has to say about that.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse or barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?"

Hmmm...

One last thought on the subject. "Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Has your heart, like mine, ever gone astray? Have you found that every conversation is but a few steps from your own worry...concern...glory? From worry to glory...now there's a short path!

This simple litmus test/ parlor game can help you identify your...treasure.

It is at that moment of revelation that one can re-adjust...re-focus...re-calibrate the compass...directing it to True North.

Anxiety is not only a pain which we must ask God to assuage but also a weakness we must ask Him to pardon--for He's told us to take no care for the morrow. --C. S. Lewis

As always...I find my answers in The Book. The Owner's Manual For Life. The Word from Luke can seem condemning...accusatory...cautionary...at first glance. In fact, I have heard sermons that have taken that bend.

To me...those Words are Love.
Freeing me.
Releasing me from this self-made prison.
Knowing God will take care of it and I can leave Him to the work...while I get on with mine.

What are you six degrees from? Let's talk. I will listen. We can pray together and move forward with renewed spirit.

(This is a thank-you and an apology to all those who have endured my game...Six Degrees To Rudy...you know who you are ;)

xo

good starts

 

saying hello to the day...

just as the sun peeks over the horizon...

waiting for it...

waiting for

it...

 

 

breaking the fast

with the nourishing warmth of

steel-cut oats, walnuts, dates...

a drizzling of

 maple syrup

mmm...

 

entering the woods

~most preferably hand-in-hand~

for our first

worship walk

 

making the day

a living

 prayer

of

simple

gratitude

 

beginning with the basics...

onions, carrots, garlic, celery

to create a

 whatever-you-have-on-hand

soup

goodness

 

reading a classic horror story

in honor of these

shortening days...

lengthening nights

 

closing your eyes

as you rest your head on the pillow...

snuggling close for

extra warmth...

greeting the night 

 with a thankful

heart

and a sigh of

 

amen.

 

 

Welcome October.