Dancing with David up on the Mountaintop!

I didn't sleep much on Monday night.
I haven't slept much the past week or so.
My mind was occupied with worries.
Worries about my sister and her finances.
Worries about my grandmother's broken ankle.
Worries about my mother and father's upcoming move.
Worries about my mother's health.

So I was awake.
I sought out my Beth Moore Bible study.
Jesus...90 days with the one and only.
I'm only on day 14.

It was 2:32am.
My window was open beside my bed.
I could hear the wind beginning to blow the leaves outside.

I began journaling.
Just the stuff on my mind, my worries.
Joking about Terry snoring beside me. LOL

Now this is generally what my journal/Bible studies are.
Whining then any inspiration from the author or Word.

This was the next sentence I wrote:

The night is very windy -
kind of feel like angels' wings are all around me.
Warm/cool breezes through the window.

I just give all of this to You my Lord.
Help me get rest and think clearly in the new day.
Let me have patience and wisdom and peace.

I then began to study.
Matthew 3:13-15
The study question:
What keeps many believers from being humbled
and overwhelmed by the presence of God?
What keeps me?

I read the story of John baptizing Jesus.
John baptized Jesus with water, and Jesus baptized the Jordan with Grace.
For Jesus it was the end of the beginning.

I wrote how I would love to see the Jordan one day.
Beth Moores' fictional description of Jesus' baptism was breathtaking.

Use me Father - but I am so unworthy to be used by you!
These winds are stirring outside and also stirring in me!
I can feel You next to me and I feel so....
no words come...
but You are speaking to lowly me.
I am Yours to do whatever with.

3:13 am
I could not stop studying!

Father - I crave You like water and I am parched!
I do not want to stop drinking in your lessons for me!
Bring me the awe and wonder of Your unfailing presence -
Your rest and your strength.
Use me today and from each day following.
Let those see You in me, and let me diminish to nothing!
You are refreshing, and building up, and grace filled,
and encouraging when I don't deserve any of it.
All for You, only You.
Hold Your bondervant to remember this always!

Matthew 3:16-17

Beth Moore gives a thought that I never considered.
Jesus was here to live as we do.
To sympathize with us in our daily struggles and joys.
He did not see into Heaven every moment,
or hear His Father speak audibly to Him all the time.
Just as we do not.
Some of His prayer was spent talking to God, knowing only in His own spirit
and through God's Word what the Father was answering.
Just as we do.

How exciting it must have been each time the Heavens opened up to Him.
And how awesome when God spoke lovingly to Him!
Times to be cherished and burned into memory!
Someday I will see God like this too!
Oh What a Day!

I don't want to sleep!
Can I sleep and rest now?
The fullness of You is overpowering, but it is also restful.
My eyes grow heavy but my soul is singing out as it has never sung before!
Full of hope and love and rest.
Joy and the power of you.
I hunger in my heart.
One that knows every inch of me,
Focus in on me Lord like a laser.
Use me and every breath I have to proclaim Your Glory to the nations.
Not that they should hear me, but to listen to You.
My desire is to rest in You.
To sing and dance and cry for You.
The pain of those who do not know this feeling is crushing.
And all it takes is to choose to be Yours and to die to self.
If those doors that You closed in lives around me,
and the breeze through these windows of their souls be opened to accept You,
let them know this joy now!
I am anxious for them to know it NOW!
But in Your time they will see.
Even as I see this tiny glimpse for the first time.

And then I slept.

And the next few days brought all kinds of struggle.
Struggle I don't think I could have handled well at all
if I had not had this meeting with my Master!

I honestly don't know why I felt I had to blog this moment in my life.
This was the first time in 46 years that I have ever felt
so overwhelmed with the love of God for me.

I truly feel as if David was listening to me!
He and the angels were leaping and jumping and spinning for me.
I experienced a tiny moment of what David must have felt
while writing the psalms.
And if this is even slightly true,
then I know that David wanted to share this with me,
as I want everyone to have a moment like this.

God is so good!
May I be a song writer again and again.
If not, then I will be satisfied by this fraction until I meet my Lord in Heaven.
This tiny moment will carry me through!

Thelma and Louise

What a glorious day today has been.
I woke early after a good night's sleep,
Texted a friend to go with me to breakfast.
We ended up at Perkins.
And stayed for 2 1/2 hours.

Growing friendships are such a blessing!
Sharing stories and pasts,
looking forward to the future,
being inspired by the other.
Sharing kleenex when the tears flow.

Starting a new friendship is always difficult for me.
Will we have something in common to talk about?
Or will we sit silently?
I hate silence between people.
Oh, between long time friends, or family
silence is very nice.
V and I can sit for hours at B&N and not say a word to each other.
But new friends?
I always think I am boring.

Today was nice.
It inspired me to be thankful.
I raked the whole backyard,
took Mema to Krogers for face powder, cleanser and bread.
Had a bite to eat with Hil at Hacienda between clients
and am now sitting for the evening with Chuck,
knitting on baby Teagan Rose's baby hat.
The WII mittens are done, as you can see.
The daughter of my BFF in Alabama brought her into the world the 18th.
Asia will always be my girl too!
Look at all these grandbabies I am getting!

Anyway, Thelma and Louise came from my friend's sense of humor.
She did not know where I was taking her for breakfast.
I asked if she had any plans and she replied
"Just drive Thelma!"
Ya, she and I in my bubblegum held together van!

WAHOO!

Hustle and Bustle

Saturdays for me, should not be any different than any other day.
Shouldn't be.
I seem to have a mind set that Saturdays
are for doing the things that you normally don't do.

When the kids were little, I would wake early on a Saturday
and my mind would be whirling with what adventures would find us.
For some reason, we hardly ever planned the night before.
Some days we would pack a lunch and head to the beach,
or Potato Creek State park, or the dunes in Michigan City.
Some days we went to Brookfield Zoo.
One time we just started driving and wound up in the country, with a picnic.

Terry was never a good morning person,
and with my brain going ninty to nothing,
I'm sure it got quite frustrating.

Now, with Terry driving,
and the kids both out of the house and working all the time,
my mind has slowed a bit.
A BIT!
I still find weekends full of possibilities.

The weather today is wonderful.
I have a party tomorrow for stamping and tasting.
So cleaning is on my list today.
But not much.
Had breakfast coffee with V this morning.
Not thrilled with Caribou coffee, but hey...it's coffee.
Had lunch with the girly girls, which is always wonderful.
However, it does take a big chunk out of my Saturday...
which throws me off a bit.
We used to meet in the evening once a week,
which let me unwind a bit at the end of the day.

Half the day is now gone! Where did it go?

So, I made some dips for tomorrow, then my folks came over.
They are looking for a needlepoint picture and think it is in my attic.
All their lost stuff is always in my attic...
SO I trudge upstairs and go through the endless boxes
and do not find what they are looking for.
At least when they move this December, my attic will be free again!
AHHHHH
Now the day is really gone.

Guess I'll finish painting next week, Monday through Friday,
when I do not make any plans.

Spinning the Halloween batts may make it on my list today!

Direction

Do you ever wonder if the direction you are going
is the way you are supposed to be going?

Are you doing everything you can do to make it
turn out even better than you had originally planned?

Are you stepping out of your comfort zone?

If you are feeling fulfilled with your gifts and responsibilities,
and find that this is the direction you are to go,
can you adjust your pace or tools you use
to get a better result?

I am finding that I love what I do.
Everything I do!
However, when it comes to people,
I definitely need to step things up.
Take that risk.
Offer those words that I need to first recognise in order to offer.
Invite, pray over, make room, dive into that new relationship,
take notice of the unfamiliar, and listen for the cues.

There is so much here to celebrate.
What I do, I do well, but can do better.
Not everyone can do what I can do.
I can help others see the value though.

I am blessed.

Elusive Sleep

I know what the problem is.
I know what the results of no sleep to me are.
It is just too durn late for me to do anything about
any of it today.
This is the day for all the errands.
Tomorrow is Mema day,
followed by my Boundaries small group.
V and I are taking mema to the new mexican place
where Don Pablos used to be.
Hopefully before then, Mema and I can visit the little mall people.
After two weeks, she has this down and is looking forward to it.
TO be honest, I look forward to it too.
An hour or two where all I have to do
is sit with a cuppa and watch all the wee ones.

Mom and Dad decided to move to Walnut Grove.
And they will be moving Mema in with them.
I went and saw the place with them last night.
I think it will be fine for Mom and Dad.
I am worried about Mema though.
She will have her own room and bath on the first floor.
She will have two nice views into the yard from her room.
She loves having Trixie around!
And she won't spend so much time alone, and get 3 good meals a day!

HOWEVER.....
Patience is not a virtue of either of my parents when it comes to Mema.
She is going to be quite confused for possibly a long time.
She feels like she has to help when at someone else's home.
And she is used to being by herself in her own place.

You see why I'm not sleeping much!

I also need to prepare for my Boundaries class a bit more.
I had it all planned out for 8 weeks,
then began getting into chapters 2 and 3.
Need to take a step back.
For those who want to dive in...which is preferable,
we may have to go a bit slower.
This is definitely a wonderful study,
everyone needs to read for REAL life.
I am getting alot out of reviewing it after 8 years,
when I led the girly girls in it.
My life has changed and I needed a refresher.

So, focusing on getting my van running again and all that entails,
Boundaries, sprucing up the house, Charlie REALLY needs a bath,
All I really wanna do, is nap and spin!

I think a nice blending of the above sounds good.
I just pray that I stay awake in the leader's meeting tonight at LSC!
Sorry Sam. It's not you....REALLY

Back to Year 495

UGH!
5 steps forward, 3 steps back.
Knew I shoulda said less at the time.
When will I learn to not say it all....
for Satan loves to jump in when I am on the Hill.

God still has me tightly wrapped in His arms.
He is still using me.
People can be harsh and traveling with their own baggage
and hurt those they love without realizing it.
Me too.
I also have baggage.
Just thankful that God loves to use the screwed up,
stumbling, selfish, forgetful me.

I am proud to show His glory when He offers me the opportunity!
I just don't want to embarrass or hurt His name.

Bleh.

Year 500, Day 1

I'm not in the middle of the 500 years waiting on the Lord.
I'm walking into the Jordan with my water wings on.
I am standing at the top of a small hill,
looking West and smiling.
God does keep His promises.
It was good to be reminded of that today.
Oh, I still see many larger hills in the distance,
but for right now I am flying with the eagles.

I was reminded today of how many promises God has kept this week.

Ask and it shall be given.
Where two or more are together, I shall be there also.
Serving others prepares you to lead.
Victory occurs when you let God fight your battles.
Guidance from God for daily living comes from His Word.
Don't wait until you are without hope to cry out to God.
Faithfulness in the little things will prepare me for greater tasks from God.

I over did it a bit yesterday with all the ceiling painting.
I forgot how hard that is on your shoulders and neck.
Today I carded six batts of Halloween inspired wool!
However, I was standing all day whilst carding.

Greeted at Living Stones Church evening service,
and stupidly decided to wear a summer dress.
Oh, this was ok, because our Indian Summer was 85 degrees today.
No, because of the dress, I couldn't wear the big pink crocs.
I put on my sandals with orthotics that I am really unsure of.
Now my feet are swollen and hurting.
Ice and rest tonight and tomorrow.
God's little way to tell me to slow down.

I get it.
Thanks God.
Maybe I can get a big chunk of Karen's sweater done.

Loving my life and all it's ups and downs.
And right now it looks like ups for a bit.
I, however am preparing for the next round whenever it may come.
Being strong and courageous.
I can tackle anything with God.
Mainly because He is the one tackling it.
Me standing behind Him.

Jelly Season

My favorite time of year is Autumn.
My favorite month is October.
My birthday is devil's night...Oct. 30
My favorite winter evening drink is candied apple juice.
Just put some red hots in the coffee filter,
instead of water, use apple juice.

So why not add some red hots to apple jelly!?
MMMMMMM. My kitchen smelled of holiday today.
The candy apple jelly turned out crisp and red and cinnamony!

Apples....ap·ple   /ˈæpəl/
[ap-uhl]

–noun
1. the usually round, red or yellow, edible fruit of a small tree, Malus sylvestris, of the rose family.
2. the tree, cultivated in most temperate regions.
3. the fruit of any of certain other species of tree of the same genus.
4. any of these trees.
5. any of various other similar fruits, or fruitlike products or plants, as the custard apple, love apple, May apple, or oak apple.
6. anything resembling an apple in size and shape, as a ball, esp. a baseball.
7. Bowling . an ineffectively bowled ball.

The fruit of God.
Supposedly.
They are by far the most versital of produce.
Poor Michigan had a very short season for picking though.

jel·ly (jl)
n. pl. jel·lies
1. A soft, semisolid food substance with a resilient consistency, made by the setting of a liquid containing pectin or gelatin or by the addition of gelatin to a liquid, especially such a substance made of fruit juice containing pectin boiled with sugar.
2. Something, such as a petroleum ointment, having the consistency of a soft, semisolid food substance.
3. A shapeless, pulpy mass: The hero's laser zapped the monster, turning it to jelly.
4. Something, such as a body part, that has suddenly become limp or enervated: Her knees turned to jelly when she learned she won first prize.
5. A jellyfish.

So for the year, I have apple butter,
apple clove jelly and now candy apple jelly.
Not many of each, but enough.
I still have TONS of grape jelly left!
Don't know why I was stingy with that one.

The leaves are turning.
The cool nights have been great....
but electric blankets are way too much money!
Even though the trucking company sent us $50 for driver appreciation.
I appreciate you Terry.
I will appreciate breaking down and using that gift
for an electric mattress pad.
But not this week....
Supposed to be in the low 80's!

Fall Bouquets

There is nothing better than a spring garden.
That is until fall rolls around.
Chilly nights.
Beautiful crisp sunrises.
Pink sunsets.
And fall bouquets.
The ones that need to be cut and brought inside
because no one sees their beauty outside.

Everything outside is beginning their preparation
for the long winter.
Leaves are turning and drying.
Colors are muted.
Acorns are SLAMMING on the rooftops.

Jack o lanterns, money plants and the remaining hydrangea.

While looking for paint colors today,
I smelled, then bought some cinnamon pine cones.
I don't know anyone who does not like that smell this time of year.
Well, when they first put out the display,
it is overwhelming.

What a glorious day!
I am thankful!

What it is to walk Chuck!

I love my schnauzer, Charlie.
I must say, tho, that he is one weird dog.
He is very picky about his walks, among other things.

When I ask him if he wants to take a walk,
he barks and runs to the door waiting for his leash.
I gather keys and poop bag and attach his collar and leash.
The first thing he does is shakes the leash and starts to chew on it.
As we get out the door, he continues to chew and
starts to play tug of war with me.
This will go on until we leave our yard.
The chewing continues.
When he needs to pee, he drops the leash.
Then picks it up again.
I assume until it gets too wet and icky, that he finally drops the leash.
Until he hears or sees another dog.
Then he grab the leash, kinda barks,
and kicks grass with his back legs.

My block is a mile long.
Nice neighborhood in the day time.
Many breakins through the years, so I tend to stick to daylight hours.
About halfway around the block,
Chuck gets tired.
He will find a shady spot with nice grass and lay down,
staring at me and daring me to continue.
I usually take a drink of water now.

I coax him and we are off again.
He continues to pee on anything on the ground at least 2 inches high,
even when he is empty after a block.
He looks at me when I laugh as if he is angry with me.
Usually this is it until we get home.

Today, however, he stopped to rest 4 times!

And heaven help us if he gets a leaf on his leg.
Must stop to take it off.
He hates to have the leash around his front leg,
and will stop if the leash gets between front and back legs.

He is afraid of other dog's poop and runs away from it.
He is terrified of any strange noises.
Once, while walking along Corby,
a dog in a passing car barked at him.
Now he walks on the inside of the sidewalk.

I don't know how or why he became such a weird dog.
The vet doesn't know either.
So, if you venture on a walk with us,
be prepared to stop often and laugh a lot.
I do.

pop back ins

This has been the day of lost friends being found!
Ran into a friend who means so very much to me at Meijers.
I was slowing down heading to the checkout...
waiting on the lil ol lady who was cutting me off to go by.
She turned out to be one of my mom's best friends
I have known since I was little.

I visited with another of her friends who I haven't seen forever.

Just found out an old homeschool mom has moved back to SB.
We'll do lunch next week.

One of my very best friends and I are having lunch Friday for her birthday.
We used to see each other weekly and life has interrupted our friendship.

And ALL THE CHANGES!!!
Girl I co op homeschooled, has been married for 3 years.
Hil's ex's sister got married in July.
Two new growth groups starting this week...
Tonight is Proverbs 31 Woman
and Thursday is my Boundaries class.

I was really unmotivated today.
Slept really late.
Bought a pillowcase from Goodwill for walnut dyeing.
Meijer for envelopes.
Lunch with Hil.

Apparently God has other ideas but for me to laze around today.

Today is a people day!
Looking forward to the next surprise!

I love the South Side

What a wonderful day today was.
Church was canceled today.
Instead we had a south side "service day".
Living Stones Church is all about loving our neighbors.
All of our neighbors.
So, after a thought provoking series of sermons...
http://www.livingstones.cc/#/messages
in case you wanna check out the bad neighbor story series...
LSC decided to cancel services today,
meet on the front lawn, sing some songs,
and head out to our south side neighborhoods and love on them.
We raked, picked up trash, anti graffitied, loved on the elderly,
loved on the firefighters, loved on Miami Hills neighbors, etc.

It was a blessed morning.
I raked really hard, and remembered how difficult and tiring raking is!
I could use a few more late summer days
minus the heat, before the leaves fall.

I served with some great friends,
we gave away 4 charcoal grills,
and got quite a few stares from neighbors.
No tracts were given out, no invitations to attend our church hinted at...
just us wanting to love our neighbors.

We even woke up a poor soul at 12:30.
Sorry.
I remember those sleep late days.
I love waking early now, with a purpose!
A place to go!
A way to serve and worship!
Funny, though. I now attend our 5:30pm service,
but still rise in time for the 9:30 service.

Thank you Living Stones for having your heart in the right place.
Time for a nap!

Pink Ribbon Diet

After my mammogram scare,
I decided that NOW was the time to get healthy,
beat the odds, lose that weight
and live as long and as healthy as I can!

Blood test results were very favorable.
A1C levels are better than they have been in four years.
That's a diabetic thing...
And I lost 11 pounds since last seeing Doc.
I told him I wanted to be off all of my meds in a year..
six months was preferable.

I know that God is crazy in love with me,
and has wonderful things planned for the rest of my life.
I wanna get outta that boat when He tells me to,
and walk across the water with Him,

This means I will be healthier and more ready when He calls.

Today I had a broccoli and cheese wrap on a spinach wrap.
Last night I made whole wheat pasta with cannelloni beans,
spinach and some of my canned tomatoes.
It was delicious.
Oh...did I mention that everything is drenched in olive oil!
I feel drippy.

I have thrown out all sugars, junk food, soy milk...
before menopause, soy is good for cancer fighting,
after menopause it promotes breast cancer.

I am eating more fresh veggies than I have ever eaten in my life!
Please pray that I will stick with this.
It is really hard when coffee and scones are a part of daily life.
When shopping today, all of the chocolate was calling my name.
I picked up a milky way and put it back down.
Instead I bought some green apple tic tacs!
I must buy stock in them!

Someday soon, Charlie will be able to walk a whole mile, and maybe two.
We like to walk together, so that is a plus!

Bye bye Belly!
Bye bye cancer!
Bye bye meds!

Hello regularity!
Hello energy!
Hello skinny clothes!