Happy New Year!

This day is a special one as it is the last of 2007. I like ceremonies to commemorate things like Graduation. I think the end of 2007 deserves a special celebration but not with riotous living and a bit of bubbly...no instead I want a quiet time alone as I can get with a pen and Bible. Jesus and I together talking about the end of things that need to end and the beginning of new things. Communion alone is my midnight plan. I appreciate the many good things that came out of a tough year but I plan to be open to the new things that are in my destiny. Be Blessed my dear family and friends everywhere. I write from my heart and try to be real. This ending is not ritual or religious but instead a commemoration of what was and what is and what will be! Have you own special ending or just go to bed and wake up in the new year. It is your call.....

Pastor Appreciation 2007

It turned out well and I am so glad it is over. I have had dry mouth since this sinus thing and it was bad trying to talk into the mic and be somewhat professional. It lasted long...I aimed at it taking only an hour after worship was over but it stretched out to nearly an hour and a half from worship. I loved Pam and Turk's skit on how not to love your pastor. The gift giving went okay and I think it touched Sue and Pastor. The dinner went very well. So glad someone else took care of those details. Karah liked our small church and said everyone was very nice. She brought it up, I didn't ask so I know it was sincere. She is a very pleasant and well behaved little girl when away from home so fun to take places. That will serve her well I am sure. I hope some offerings went in for them as well. Some folks asked about where to put the money gifts so that is good. What a push to get this done and do it right but oh Lord we will do it again next year so help me prepare ahead of time! It kinda creeps up on you and then becomes a real deal to pull off. We had good volunteers and it was fun I must admit but still I am glad it is over for another year.

Doors to Open

I anticipate that everyone reading this will find adventures that they simply did not know ahead of time coming in the new year. I am looking for new vistas, new attitudes and new approaches to my problems. I am also anticipating miracles in 2008. Sit down and open the doors of possibility in your mind then you will recognize the door when it opens...I am doing that even tonight...the anticipation holds much pleasure. The Joy is in the Journey! Like Alice I want to open all the doors to see what lies behind but sometimes I simply cannot fit so I listen to Holy Spirit to tell me which ones I can go through...OH YEAH!

What Inspires You?

Now I am not talking about some ethereal thing here but rather for doing the ordinary, the mundane and the tiring and doing it well day after day?
For me it is my sense of humor and imagination and anything that clicks me in that direction. For cooking I try reading Rachel Ray or Paula Deen magazine, watch a Martha Stewart show or read recipes however now and again I find the picture can be worth everything. This one says it all for me today!

Hair today and gone tomorrow...

Cannot seem to stick to one color so guess I am destined to change it from time to time as the muse hits me. Trouble is I look so tired right now that no matter what color I chose I still have that "look" of weariness! I just always have an idea in my head of how I want to look but it seldom just does that when I am doing it myself. It comes closer when I pay megabucks to have someone else do it. Guess this year I will do it myself and just surprise us all with the results...

Pastor Appreciation!

Tomorrow is our church's Pastor Appreciation Sunday this year. Why so late? Because by default it has become my place to plan, organize, delegate and supervise a huge effort to verbally and financially appreciate our Pastor and his family. I barely can keep my life from unraveling and still must do this because:
#1. I want to see them appreciated.
#2. No one else will do it as it seems too large to handle
#3. It became apparent that it has now become my job unofficially but really - as Pastor's personal secretary that is...
So, like the trouper that I can be on these unusual assignments, I gathered my forces only to find I was sadly lacking in recruits. So, this being "the army" of sorts I decided to use my authority and just delegate firmly. It "sorta" worked and I have people. They are working out the flow chart I left with them and by the last report it will all be fine. The tables are decorated. The turkey is roasting and will be taken off the bone tonight and refrigerated. The program is in order with props all lined up to put a new spin on the old pattern. The drama is being written and practiced. (In order to not overwhelm the new folks at church who barely have had time to get to know any of us I wanted some humor and other points of interest and they are lined up, assigned and hopefully ready to rock and roll.) I have a new outfit and hair color to help me through the day. I am taking my vitamins and praying I have the necessary energy to MC the deal with the help of a few others. I am driving from my Madtown job to the church early tomorrow morning with Karah in tow and we will do the deal and race back before S needs to leave for work. We might not sit down and eat with the crew but we can grab some turkey to go and call it good. (I personally long for the 30th when I can sit down and do nothing and enjoy the rest I covet badly.) So it will go as well as it can and I will tough it out and hope it blesses them a lot. Pastoring is hard and full of disappointments but it is a call of God for my Pastor and his wife. They go forward in the wake of devestation and do so with firm conviction it is the right thing to do. I stand with them... no... this year I think I will sit with them as I am just too darn tired!

The Christmas Season is Winding Down

I enjoyed much of the activities over the Holiday time. The highlights were visiting Jamie 2x - once for the tea the week before Thanksgiving and once a few days before Christmas. We did the things we like to do together. I cooked for her and we shopped and went to church. If we had more time we might have gone out looking at lights or watched a movie. The tense driving in slippery snowy conditions even had moments that were special. I met an elderly woman at MacDonalds who was a divine appointment and she prayed for us. She is looking for the Lord to return in a few years. Jack's pants fell down in the parking lot and some nice young man came galloping up looking concerned and offered to help us. Nice people make for nice moments! Then we finally ended up at a friend's home where we were cared for and it was lovely. Christmas day was a blur of work and always there are disappointments but I just chalk it up to the season. People eat wrong, stay up late and get sick so they often are cross or out of energy. I am not immune to this myself so I just roll with it. I am tired after all the fun and fuss. NO, I may not change how I do Christmas and then again I may but it is okay either way. I like to gather and offer hospitality to others, get them silly little gifts and love on them as I can. I really enjoyed getting gifts for the grands. Tales have it that they all liked their gifts! I watched Eliana obsess over her stuffed dinosaurs in a very positive way. The rest was of no interest at present but later she may have liked more of them. To hit it on the head with one is a "Bingo!"
Now I am here in Madtown working and enjoying the space and the kids and loving the times of quiet that do occur. I am ready to make my 1 year and 5 year plans for my whole life. I do not secularize as I believe everything is about your spiritual self, every choice is spiritual! What I eat and what I do and what I say is all spiritual. So I am taking time to think of where I want to be and how I might get there in the next few years. At 62 anything can happen of course just like at any other age but I will not assume that living a quiet ordinary life based on desire to be secure is to be my goal. I will pray and listen and read to discover the direction I need to take to be fully alive and able to be used by God in some capacity. I encourage all of you to do the same. Think and consider, then read and pray, then write it out and go to your accountability partner to find if it will stand under question. You needn't share with everyone what you are doing as most people can dampen enthusiasm and play the devil's advocate easily, share only with a few trusted folks who believe in you and love you. So I will get back to you on this in the near future....

OK - It is Cold!

OK-My daughter Jess is down in GA in the heat thinking she is chilly enough for a sweatshirt at 66. I am up here at 10 above and windchill bringing it down to nearer zero and wearing a winter coat, boots, scarf, gloves and threatening to wear a hat or headband. Wow! It is all in how we receive it. I just looked at the forecast and it says more snow tonight at least 1" and maybe 2-4". A bit more snow is expected tomorrow but I cannot find that horrid storm Pam W predicted on Tuesday with 5-8" so hope it was a bad dream on her part. I cry "Calf-rope" or "Uncle" and wish for a sunny day and no snow. It is pretty and white everywhere so couldn't we just raise the temp to 27 and nix the added snow until we need it worse...OK so I don't get to make those decisions. I guess I agree I may not have the ultimate qualifications, only a desire for Christmas and the surrounding time to be pleasant and cosy. OK so I will say "Let it snow!" and smile a big smile while I shovel. OK, sigh...OK.

Getting Better!

It has been a week of coughing and sleeping in the recliner, using Tiger Balm to breathe and trying to stand up and stay up so I can get the work done. I did manage to pay the bills I could, shop for groceries and dogfood, gather all my gifts to be mailed and pack them into boxes, work in the office, do laundry, clean up messes and make a couple meals plus go on a goosechase for a haircut and a new fawcett handle from Jenna's dad's collection of plumbing stuff. I am certain I gave rides and helped others as best I could, wrote the Christmas letter but didn't find the paper to print it on yet...there is always one more thing to do. Jenna is now sick and down in the recliner. I hope the house gets aired out as I do not ever want this back! So I called mom while I drove and when I arrived and unloaded with much "help" from Tisha then I assembled an artificial tree and took Metrie (with all the other kids) to his grammas house so he could see MOM! Whew! Can you keep up? I want to sleep but all those gifts need wrapping so off I go to do so. Just wanted to blog a bit to catch you all up on my week!

Perspectives

The picture on my Blog today describes how I feel my life is at the moment. A steady climb to an unknown destination...Thank God He is totally in charge of my destiny. I only hope I do not fall or falter and miss it. Lord help me be an overcomer!

Winter Wonder

I went to Goodwill the magnet store near here and stayed until the snow turned to sleet and then went up a hill and down to come home where the scalloped potatoes and ham was very nearly done. I am officially snowed in to Suzanne's house. Tee Hee! Being snowed in is simply lovely if you have coffee and all the basics and a good book and likeable kids to be with. Oh yeah! It is a winter wonder 'fo shur'!