Christmas Devotion # 3

Santa the Scrooge

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

Years ago a couple of friends and I decided to take our kids to visit Santa in a department store. Apparently, Santa woke up on the wrong side of the sleigh (or Harley-Davidson) that morning. He looked a bit hungover and had a scruffy beard.

When my friend's daughter sat on his lap she said, "Santa, why is your beard so dirty?" Immediately, Santa shoved her off his lap and said, "Get away from me you mean little girl. You don't deserve anything! Get out of here!"

I'm sure you can imagine the bewilderment that ensued. The kids were horrified that Santa was so moody and obnoxious. The parents were so shocked we couldn't speak. Even Santa's department store helper stood with mouth gaping. What on earth was wrong with Santa and where was all his Christmas cheer? Needless to say, a few hearts were crushed that day and Santa never held the same sway at Christmas again.

I'm so thankful that Jesus isn't like Santa. He never has a bad beard day. He is always the same and we can always trust him. He will never have a sudden personality change. What He was in the past He still is now and forevermore will be.

Things change here on earth. Christmas decorations go in and out of style. Hot-selling gift items change from year to year. Relatives that once celebrated with us are gone and we miss them. Even our view of Christmas changes. As children, we have wide-eyed wonder at the beautiful decorations and presents. As adults, we still have wide-eyed wonder but now it's related to the price of gifts and our credit card balance after Christmas.

Yet, during the Christmas season the one thing that never changes is Jesus. That little baby in the manger is and always will be the reason we celebrate. He is our constant.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for being the one thing in our lives that brings true stability. What a comfort it is to know that you will never change or surprise us in a disheartening way. We can count on you and we are so grateful.

Ponder: What qualities do you appreciate most about Jesus? What would you miss most about Him if He suddenly changed? Voice your own prayer to the Lord telling Him what you most appreciate about Him and thanking Him for his constance.

I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Malachi 3:6

But you remain the same and your years will never end. Psalm 102:27

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Christmas Devotion #2

A Heart to Give

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

The other day I stopped by Goodwill to drop off some donations and was met by a very reassuring sight. I had to wait in a line of cars in the donation area. Yes, right here in the midst of a failing economy, people were lined up waiting to give stuff away.

Seeing all those willing givers really put me in the Christmas spirit. It reminded me of God's gift to us. Right in the middle of a sinful, hopeless world, God sent His precious son, the very best gift He could ever give us. When things looked the darkest, hope was born.

Maybe you're having a hard time this season. Perhaps, finances are tight. Maybe you've fallen prey to the discouragement the media is pumping out. You may have even lost your job or your home. If things are looking bleak, this is the best time to give. Look around you and see what you can donate. Better yet, look inside yourself and see what you have to offer others. Some of the best gifts aren't stuff.

Pray: Father, on that first Christmas you sent your very best gift to us. Help us to develop that same heart of giving. As things grow darker in the world, may we purpose in our hearts to follow in our Father's footsteps and give to others.

Ponder: What can you give? Think about it and take action today. Give something away. It doesn't have to be a material something, it can be a smile, a word of encouragement, a long overdue phone call. Ask the Lord what He wants you to give today.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever."

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. II Corinthians 9:6-11

Christmas Devotion #1

Looking to Jesus

...and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

As we head into the hubbub of the Christmas season, I have such a desire to keep it simple. I want to focus on the reason for the season, which is Jesus. Matter of fact, that's always my goal at this time of year. Unfortunately, I also know that as the big day approaches activity tends to escalate and it's easy to forget that Christmas isn't about putting the tree up, decorating the house, baking cookies, or buying presents. It's still about Jesus.

If you're like me, the one thing, the most precious thing, can get lost in the shuffle. It's easy to say, "Lord, I'll spend time with you just as soon as I get all these presents wrapped...as soon as I plop this turkey in the oven...as soon as I find a spare minute."

This year, though, I want to become intentional about spending quality time with the Lord throughout the Christmas season. I want to tune out the temporal and focus on God's eternal gift of life through Jesus Christ. In that spirit, I'm going to post a Christmas devotion every day during the holiday season. This will keep me in the word and it will help those of you who might need a little accountability to stay in the word as well.

Let's keep it simple. Let's keep it Jesus!

Pray: Father, the desire is there to celebrate you and you alone this season. Yet, you know all of the things we will face and all of the distractions that will come our way. Help us to choose the best thing, to sit at Jesus' feet no matter what.

Ponder: Every time you see a nativity scene take a moment to re-focus your heart and your mind on that little baby in the manger.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 11:39-42

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Yes, yes, it's another meme on my blog today. Aren't you surprised? Guess I've got to get all these memes out of my system or something.

This one is a Thanksgiving meme that I saw on Chatty Kelly's blog. I didn't know what to say about Thanksgiving other than say Happy Thanksgiving so this is the perfect blog filler.

By the way, enjoy the holiday with family and friends and check back here the day after. I'm starting a series of Christmas devotions to keep us on track during the holiday season.

1. Which do you like better: cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? Don't faint, but this is the one meal my domestically challenged little self can cook well, so I actually prefer having Thanksgiving at my house.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? Uh...you can get them fresh? News to me.

3. What kind of stuffing? Yummy kind! Cornbread stuffing- my former pastor's wife's recipe. My son could eat the whole pan.

4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Sweet potato! I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin anything, but sweet potato is soooo good. My former pastor's wife also has a great recipe for sweet potato pie. Unfortunately, I don't know it!

5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Never gave it much thought. I'm just glad when they're there for a day or so. After that, freeze them.

6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? Gravy

7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Must we use words like "carcass"? I much prefer to think of turkey as a convenience food manufactured somewhere in a turkey factory. To admit that it has a carcass is to admit that it was once alive and is now dead on my table! The carcass leaves as soon as the meat is carved at my house.

8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? A cook. Oh, I forgot that I actually like to prepare this meal. Then, I'd have to say more sleep because it seems I'm always tired when I'm cooking for Thanksgiving.

9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? We usually eat in the afternoon and I usually get up way before the crack of dawn whether it's Thanksgiving or not. That insomnia thing again.

10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? Deviled eggs prepared by my daughter. Fresh veggies and ranch dip. I'm so not kidding, y'all. That's usually all anybody wants me to bring. Apparently, they assume that since I'm a little on the domestically challenged side this is safe food that I can't mess up.

11. Is your cranberry sauce fresh or canned? It's non-existent. Hate the stuff. Actually, I do occasionally buy a can for hubby who is the only one who will eat it.

12. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? The sweet potato stuff. Whether it's pie, casserole, or whatever, as long as it has sweet potatoes in it, I'm good with it.

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

Domestic Proverbs

Last Thursday I gave my writing students an assignment to write some proverbs expressing wisdom they've learned in all of their 13-15 years or so of living. I'll probably share some of their proverbs here once I get them in a couple of weeks. However, I've been learning some tidbits of domestic wisdom of my own as I'm preparing for the holiday. I thought you might enjoy hearing what I've learned.

#1 When you defrost and clean the freezer because your kind parents are filling your freezer and your pantry as a Christmas present, you should probably remember to plug the freezer back in, especially if you happen to have a turkey, roast, and other meats in there.

#2 Always buy an extra roast because when a family feud erupts just prior to Thanksgiving and the person who was supposed to bring the roast is sulking and refusing to join the rest of the family, you might be asked to step in at the last minute and bring the roast that will not otherwise be arriving. We're also having ham and turkey in case you're wondering what on earth a roast has to do with Thanksgiving.

#3 When you are defrosting the freezer prior to receiving Christmas gifts (see #1) and you remember that you need to thaw a bag of shredded cheese for tacos that night, you might also want to remember to take the cheese upstairs to the kitchen rather than leaving it in the basement all day.

#4 When you buy tea at the Southern Christmas Show that is guaranteed to cure the insomnia you've had for the last two months, you might want to think twice before plunking down that $15. The first night it won't do a thing and you'll still wake up as usual. The second night you might sleep a little better but wake up in the morning with the one and only hangover that you've ever had in your life.

#5 When the honey is hard and you want to warm it up in the microwave to make it liquid again, you should check to make sure the container doesn't have any metal on it before you see the flames in the microwave.

#6 When you think your teenage son has actually been cleaning his room like you've asked him to do for the last year, but you venture in there just to tidy up a bit so your parents can sleep in there when they come to visit the day after Thanksgiving, spare yourself the agony and get a room for them at the local hotel instead. It sure beats cleaning for three hours!

#7 When God blesses you with a beautiful Crate and Barrel sofa in the colors you were really wanting at a sixth of the normal cost and you load up your old one to take to Goodwill, be sure you go to the Goodwill that has more than one guy working the donation center. Otherwise, he will notice the one little tear on the side of the sofa and inform you that Goodwill doesn't take couches with tears in them and you'll end up driving all over town with your mother-in-law shopping and trying to cram packages around the enormous sofa taking up the back of the van. And your son and your husband will be none too pleased when you return home with the sofa still in tow that they painstakingly loaded in the van.

#8 When a woman comes home with a sofa in her van (see #7), her husband and son might have to resort to covert operations to get rid of it. They might have to load it up to take to the Goodwill in the wrong part of town under the cover of darkness and quickly unload it before anyone can say anything and before it actually becomes a "donation" because the workers want to take it home with them.

#9 When you're out shopping on a Sunday afternoon with your mother-in-law and you suddenly feel starved it's okay to stop and eat two Krispy Kreme doughnuts that are so totally not on your diet providing you make your mother-in-law swear to secrecy and you get rid of the evidence before you get home.

#10 When you go to the Southern Christmas Show for hours on end with your friend, your daughter, and your spare daughter, it's okay to keep going back to the vendors with samples of heavenly cappacino, decaf flavored coffees, and hot chocolate, over and over as long as you pretend you were never there before, take off your jacket to look like you're wearing a different outfit, or use a foreign accent as a disguise. And when you're at said show, don't eat the sample where you saw the little girl double dip her pretzel. Yucky!

#11 Before flinging the pillows off your bed you might want to make sure that one of them isn't the cat.

#12 When you hear glass break while you're blogging you should probably just keep typing because you really don't want to know that your teenage son broke his light fixture again. Is he on a quest to see how many times he can break it before he moves out of the house?

If you have any proverbs to share, feel free to leave them in the comments or link to your blog if you share them there.

The Hazards of Being a Leader

My son works for Chick-fil-a. He's part of the second mile team, which means that he's the dining room host. His job is to make all the customers feel welcome and happy, to refill their drinks, and generally do public relations type things.

It also means that he has to dress like a leader and at Chick-fil-a in the winter that means longs sleeves...and a tie.

This is his first day wearing a tie.

See him be serious.

See him be goofy.

See him have to bat the girls away!

This morning he told me that it's obvious that a woman invented ties. I asked why he thought so and he said that it serves no useful purpose so a man wouldn't invent it, but it would give a woman a way to lead her husband around. Therefore, a woman invented it.

And to think I thought men hated ties because they bothered their necks.

Hate Me!

I feel like my social life has been non-existent of late. It's usually that way when I'm heavy duty writing. But this week and next week are bringing a reprieve to my soul as I'm able to actually leave the house and be with people, friends even. Wow!

One of those outings was to Nester's house. Go ahead, hate me! (to borrow her words).

If you happen to be one of the two people in the world that doesn't know about Nester, let me just tell you that she's the decorating guru that has taken the blog world by storm.

Emily was there too. She's Nester's sister and she is the up and coming witty mommy blogger.

(We totally did not purposely pose for these pictures in front of Nester's famous white dishes, ya'll. No, never. Three bloggers in the same house together would never resort to posing for blog pictures. Never.)

I went to Nester's house to fellowship and look at all of her decorating glory, but I didn't expect that these ladies would teach me things that had absolutely nothing to do with decorating, but they did. And they don't even know they did!

The first thing they taught me is that I have way more wrinkles and crows feet than they do. That revelation came to me when I was posting those pictures up there. Made me want to run out and get a shot of Botox between my eyes. Moving right along...

The second thing I learned by their example. They are totally positive, not in a flaky spiritual sort of way, but it's just their natural demeanor. I came home resolved to be more encouraging to everyone that I meet (and maybe to shut my mouth a little more often).

I saw the value of contentment through these ladies too. Within the last year Nester and her man have opted to downsize considerably to rid themselves of debt. She tells the story somewhere on her blog. You can imagine how hard this was for a decorating/nesting sort of gal. Yet, you would never know it. I even heard her say, "I love my house!" while I was there. And she should love it because she's done a fabulous job of turning it into a lovely home. It made me want to come home and love my house too.

So, that was my outing with two ladies that are about as humble and unassuming as they come. They are the real deal and I have a sneaky little hunch that some great things are in the not-so-distant future for both of them.

Today I'm off to join some other friends and I'll probably blog about it so that people can see that I actually have a life. Can ya'll tell that I've been just a little socially starved lately?

Friday Fill-ins

Apparently, I'm really into memes this week, particularly the really easy kinds. This one is a Friday Fill-in. I've never done it before, but you can check it out here. Once again, all you do is copy, paste, and fill in the blanks.

1. The last band I saw live was Go Deep at my church.

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is the air of excitement. (if you don't celebrate thanksgiving, insert your favorite holiday)

3. My Christmas/holiday shopping is going to involve a lot of gift cards this year.

4. Thoughts of writing projects fill my head.

5. I wish I could wear all those clothes in my closet that are too little because I've gained too much weight.

6. Bagpipes are extremely loud when you hear them in person.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed early, tomorrow my plans include an outing with friends to the Southern Christmas Show and Sunday, I want to go to church and take a nap!

Questions Answered

After my meme yesterday some of you left questions in your comments so I'm answering those today.

Who did you kiss in the rain? That dashing man that I married, of course! We've even kissed in snow, thunderstorms, and a hurricane! How's that for love that weathers anything?

What art did you teach yourself from scratch? Bear in mind that the term "art" covers broad territory in my mind. So...when we first got married I taught myself how to decorate t-shirts using sequin type thingies. That was a real stretch for me. In my late teens/early twenties I wrote songs which I played very badly on my guitar and sang even worse. In 2006 I taught myself the fine art of producing an entire DVD. The videographer did throw in quite a bit of knowledge, but when it was all said and done I took that puppy from idea to finished product. And now I'm getting ready to do it again!

What famous person did you meet? For whatever reason, I've gotten to meet lots of famous people and I know a lot of folks that know or are related to famous people. But these are the ones you probably recognize the most:

-Greg Allman- as in long-haired Allman Brothers band and Cher's ex. I met him at a very "interesting" party.

-Susan Swift- you might not recognize her name, but she was a child star in a horror movie and Harper Valley PTA. Then she went on to be in some of those dreadful Halloween movies. She was also in my fifth grade class.

-Tony Atlas- he was a wrestler and I sat beside him on an airplane when I was 12. He's afraid of flying. I'm not. One of us was embarrassed that day.

-All of the Kansas City Royals back in the 80's, including legendary George Brett. I babysat for third baseman, Greg Pryor. He and another baseball player from a California team were our neighbors.

-Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker- saw them at a movie theater and briefly said hello. Also, saw Tammy at a restaurant on another occasion.

-Andrew Wommack- He's a Bible teacher on TV, radio, books, etc... Andrew spent a week with us every year at our annual tent meeting at our former church for many years. He still does, but we don't.

-I've met several other former professional baseball players, wrestlers, a kazillion famous Bible teachers and evangelists, Christian music artists, authors, speakers, astronauts, yada, yada, yada...

Sorry to disappoint you if you were hoping I'd met some up and coming hunky pop star or something. Most of mine are oldie famous people or those that are not so famous that you'd immediately recognize their names.

Who's life did you save? I worked in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for many years and saved lots and lots of lives, sometimes by emergency resuscitation and sometimes by long term care (but mostly by prayer!). I also made a couple of very quick decisions as a labor and delivery nurse that saved a few lives. When I was in nursing school my dorm room was across the street from an abortion clinic. One day I ventured over there to chat with the patients before the doctor arrived. One woman was particularly receptive and I like to believe that she didn't go through with the abortion after our chat. Only eternity will tell for sure, but I like to believe I saved a little life that day.

And that was probably way more than you ever wanted to know about me!

List Meme

I like memes as long as they're easy schmeezy and I found one that is just that on Candace's blog. You just copy the list into your blog and highlight the things you've actually done. How much easier can it get?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (hiking)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (from the beach)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie( Do commercials count?)
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

If you do this on your blog be sure to let me know in the comments so I can visit.

A Letter to the President

My friend, Tina, is teaching an American Government class at co-op this year. One of the assignments she has given her students is to write a letter to President Bush thanking him for being our president these last eight years. Tina also extended the invitation to everyone else in our co-op in hopes that we can send him a big package of encouraging letters to cheer him as he moves on to the next stage of his life.

This is my letter:

Dear President Bush:

I’ve been proud to have you as my president for the last eight years. When you first came to office, my children were quite young and now they are teenagers. It has brought me great comfort to have a godly president presiding over this nation as my children were growing up.

In my heart and mind you will be remembered as the president who had backbone and was willing to take a stand for what is right. Thank you so much for speaking for and protecting unborn babies during your tenure. Thank you for supporting traditional families and family values. Thank you, too, for your support of educational choices, especially homeschooling.

I am forever grateful that you have kept our nation safe since the attacks of 9-11. I admire your fortitude and willingness to make necessary decisions even when you faced strong opposition. Those decisions kept terrorism and war off of American soil and ridded the world of some evil characters. I believe we are safer today because you weren’t afraid to take action when action was needed. Thank you!

I’m sad to see you leave office, but I hope you leave knowing that you did what God sent you to the White House to do. You blessed our nation and it’s my prayer that as you leave office you will be blessed with peace, contentment, joy, and plenty of downtime to just enjoy life! Thank you for your sacrifice and service for our country. Thank you for being a true American.

Sincerely,
Bonita Lillie

Would you consider writing a letter to encourage our outgoing president? Whether you liked or agreed with him or not, being President of the United States of America is a self-sacrificing job for anyone. I think they all need our encouragement and prayers both while in office and when they leave.

On that note, it's a good idea to send a welcoming letter of encouragement to our new president when he takes office too. Imagine walking in that first day as president and finding letters galore telling you that people are praying for you!

Will you join me in honoring and thanking our presidents?

Goal Update???

When you are scheduled to revisit your goals on the 8th day of the month for a year and you don't even remember that you have said goals until the 18th day of the month, I think that, in and of itself, probably tells you how well you did reaching those goals.

And this, my friends, is precisely why I don't usually make New Year's resolutions.

The Reasons I Love Thanksgiving

We are coming up on my all time favorite holiday! I love Thanksgiving! For your reading enjoyment, I thought I'd share the reasons why this day ranks #1 among holidays for me.

1. It's the one holiday when we give back to God without expecting anything in return. Everything is directed to God, not us. We give thanks and that's the whole reason for celebrating. And it's reason enough!

2. Thanksgiving is my crowning glory in the cooking department. I'm no domestic goddess and I don't particularly care for cooking, but somehow I've managed to master the traditional Thanksgiving meal. My turkey is moist and tender and oh so tasty. I can whip up some mouth-watering gravy. I can even make a mean dressing and side dishes and several yuuuuummmmmy desserts. Unfortunately, I rarely get to cook the actual Thanksgiving meal at our house because we're often celebrating elsewhere, but I usually manage to sneak it in sometime in the fall even if it's not on the holiday itself.

3.The parades. I have always loved watching the parades on Thanksgiving morning. One of my dreams in life is to actually attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade one year (preferrably a year when the weather is mild).

4. I feel like we have a Thanksgiving family. My heritage has a lot of Cherokee Indian while my husband has a lot of English/Scottish blood. Combined, we're the traditional Thanksgiving clan.

5. It's not surrounded in hype. Materialism dominates Christmas these days. Most stores go straight from Halloween costumes to Christmas decor with no pause for anything related to Thanksgiving. Although, I did notice more Thanksgiving supplies than ever this year. I suppose giving thanks doesn't earn them much money. Good! I hope it never becomes one of those hyper holidays where the true meaning gets totally lost in commercialism.

6. Gathering with family and friends. It's refreshing to see people we don't see all the time and to come together to share a day of rest and fun.

7. You don't have to stick to your diet on Thanksgiving. I know all those diet magazines tell you do stick with your plan, but I say throw it to the wind for a day. Even if you haven't been sticking to it for months and you're way off course. Not that anyone I know falls into that category, I'm just saying... But Thanksgiving is definitely not the time to try to walk by an abundantly laden table and "be good". No way. Chow, people, before the dieting days of January roll around!

8. It's a great day to do all of those crafty autumn/winter things that I never get to do at other times of the year. At our house we also like to dig out the giant puzzles. During the holdiay and winter season, we often have a partially completed puzzle on a card table that we work on in spurts as we have time. It's sort of a tradition, I suppose.

I feel like I'm getting in the holiday spirit already!

Celebrate!

Break out the bubbly and throw the confetti! It's National "I Love to Write" Day! Let the party begin!

What???? You've never heard of this national holiday! Where have you been all your life people???

Well, actually I hadn't heard of it either until I met the founder, John Riddle, at a writing conference a few years ago. I had the opportunity to have a private lunch with Mr. Riddle and one other person so I really got to hear his heart and pick his brain about everything related to writing. I've been a celebrater ever since.

How do you celebrate this great day? You write, of course. Write something. Anything. Just write!

This is a great day to start that new blog you've been procrastinating. It's a really good day to catch up on emails and letters, especially to those who desperately need a word of encouragement and hope. Is it time to start that family memoir or pick up a new journal? Why not branch out and try a new type of writing? And, yes, this is definitely the day to put aside your fears and finally send your manuscript or article to a publisher.

If you've got little ones at home or you're a homeschooling mom, write with them. Stories are always fun or you could make a family list of all the things you're thankful for and read it on Thanksgiving.

Don't forget to stop by John Riddle's website too.

Happy "I Love to Write" Day!

And I truly do love to write!

Praying Patti

This is a month when we focus on giving thanks and some of the biggest blessings in my life come in the form of people. For instance, my friend, Patti, is such a blessing.

Patti has been part of my homeschool support group ever since I've been a member and she's a very dedicated homeschooling mom. She's also crazy and funny and very type A. We relate well to one another!

Most importantly, Patti is a pray-er. She prays all the time, about everything, for everyone. I don't even think she realizes how much she prays or how it affects others, but I see it.

This morning Patti emailed to see if I was sleeping any better. She's been praying for me. Matter of fact, she was praying for me in the wee hours of the morning when she was struggling to sleep. Notice that her focus was on my needs, not her needs.

I remember a few years ago when Patti had an injury that restricted her to bedrest and very limited activities. Guess what she did. She solicited prayer requests and prayed. On one occasion she felt especially led to pray for a young child in our support group, not knowing that at the time that child was being admitted to the hospital. I truly believe that Patti's prayers saved her life.

Patti was my roommate when I spoke at the North Carolina Home Educators conference this year. Aside from making me belly laugh all weekend she prayed for my speaking. Matter of fact, during the very first session, Patti stood right outside the door of the conference room to- can you guess? - pray for me!

Even though Patti is facing several extremely tough challenges in her own life right now, she still makes praying for others her priority. I'm so thankful that God put Patti in my life and I appreciate her heart and her prayers.

Patti, you rock! And you have major reward waiting on you in heaven for your faithfulness in prayer.

Pace Yourself

My life is crazy right now. I'm editing a curriculum, planning the filming of a DVD, and trying to do all the other normal stuff of life. Oh yeah, and the holidays are coming. It's awfully easy to get overwhelmed to the point of tears. Not that my little over-achiever self ever does that, I'm just saying...

Yesterday during a mild crisis my son reminded me of our trek up the mountain this weekend. My big, strong, 16 year old boy was in the lead and I was trying desperately to keep his pace. Only it wasn't working. My heart rate must have been over 200, I was gasping for air and staggering from lack of oxygen. I kept saying, "Slow down, I can't keep up this pace." Every few yards found me leaning on a tree, sitting on a rock, or trying desperately to catch my breath. His pace wasn't working for me, but I kept trying to climb at his pace anyway.

Isn't that a lot like life? We try to keep pace with everyone around us without taking into account our differences, our weaknesses, our gifts and callings, or our stage of life. But God has a unique pace for each of us to run our race. It's a pace that is meant just for us, one the keeps us healthy and happy, not stressed and overloaded.

What do we do, though, when we feel overwhelmed and out of sync with our pace. We do what I did on my mountain climb.

Stop- Cease action. Take a moment or a day or a week to regroup. I did this recently and guess what. The world didn't stop spinning and everybody survived without my input for a day or two.

Breathe- It's God that gives us the breath of life. When life is too hectic we need to breathe deeply of God and make sure that we are spending time inhaling his life giving presence.

Lean- We need to lean on the Lord, not our own strength. It's time to acknowlege our great need for Him and trust Him to support us and strengthen us.

Sit on the rock- You've heard of standing on the rock. How about sitting on our rock? Jesus is our rock and we need to make sure that we are standing/sitting on His promises, keeping the word of God strong in our hearts, minds, and lives.

Rest- Give all of our troubles and trials to God and rest in Him. Even in the middle of a long uphill climb we need times of rest and refreshing. Just when we think we've turned all of our troubles over to God, another set crops us. We need to be vigilent to pray and not worry, resting in God's tender care.

Slow down- God is never frantic or hectic and we don't have to be either. It's okay to say "no". It's okay to say, "not right now". It's okay to slow down for no other reason than "we" need to for our own health and sanity. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

Move at your own pace- It's not about what everyone else is doing or even what everyone else wants us to do. It's about moving at a healthy, God-given pace. We don't have the anointing to move at someone else's pace, but we surely have the anointing to move at the pace God sets for us individually.

When I was in school I was terrible at running races because I can't sprint to save my soul. Yet, I could run longer distances that required a steady pace, not a race horse stride. I believe that physical element transfers to other areas of my life. I'm not a race horse, even though I'd like to be. But I can go the distance. That's how God made me.

Today let's remember to pace ourselves and to enjoy this life God has given us. Let's receive his easy yoke and light burden rather than running at the world's rat race pace.

The Art of Gratitude

A few days ago Miss Sandy at Quill Cottage had a post about the art of gratitude. Being the copycat blogger that I am I decided to do something similar on my blog. However, please visit her blog because she's just so much more graceful with the topic than I am.

These are five things that I'm grateful for today:

1. Heat. Our old furnace was resurrected, rigged, and generally propped up so many times that we figured it was time to get a new one before we got stuck on a cold winter's day without any heat. We are still getting used to the new one as it is powerful and it only takes a few minutes to get the whole house toasty and beyond. I'm so thankful for heat as we ease into the cooler months.

2. God's acceptance. I'm so glad that God looks at the heart and not just our works and outward appearance. He sees the real person on the inside and he accepts us just as we are, faults and all.

3. The ablility to help others. As we head into the holiday season I find myself wanting to give more and do more for others. I admit that for a while that desire has been dormant, but it's coming back to life and I'm looking for ways to be a blessing.

4. God's word. In a chaotic, unsteady world, I'm so glad that I have a sure foundation to rest on and to look to for wisdom and guidance.

5. My cat. Once again, my cat had an abcess on his face. He's an outdoor cat and quite the bully. He picks fights with all sorts of animals way wilder and bigger than him. Unfortunately, he has the battle scars to prove it, including this new infection. On Monday he was all swollen and had to make an emergency trip to the vet. He's on the mend now and enjoying his sojourn in the house. He's bad to the bone, but we love him.

What about you? What five things are you grateful for today?

Bookworm Award

I've been tagged by Kathy at Lavendar, Lace, and Thyme with the bookworm award. These are the directions for what the recipient of the award needs to do:

Pass this on to 5 blogging friends.
Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56.
Write out the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that...

Personally, I think this is a really cool meme, but then I really like books a lot. Kathy quoted from a book by Thomas Kincaid. The book closest to me is Beautiful Home on a Budget by Emilie Barnes and Yoli Brogger.

This is what is says on page 56, starting with sentence 5: How did I get to this point? Simply by wanting to shape a home that was beautiful to look at and easy to live in...for everyone in our family. As a child bride of 17, I began my decorating journey with almost nothing. In those early days I was trying to create a beautiful home on no budget at all! Learning to love what I had and to see the decorating potential in almost anything was pure necessity.

Boy, can I ever relate to Emilie's words! One thing I'm really learning to love is less of what I have. As the years go by I want less and less possessions. I'm morphing into a minimalist. If it requires dusting or perpetual maintenance or if I'm always having to move it out of my way then I don't want it. Bare is beautiful.

I'm not going to tag anyone in particular, but I hope some of you will participate and let me know about it in the comment section. This is a great way to learn tidbits of wisdom without a lot of energy or time expended.

*Editing to say that my post originally said I started at sentence number 35, but it was supposed to say #5. I didn't catch that typo, but the directions at the top still read sentence #5.

Take a Hike!

We have a new family activity that we "enjoy" on Sunday afternoons. We go hiking at Crowder's Mountain. Today was our second time.

Did I mention that one of us is really out of shape?

And doesn't like heights.

One of us was also perfectly happy to take the easy little Fern Trail, but nooooo. Everyone else insisted that we hike up Pinnacle Trail.

Pinnacle? Pinnacle? What's a pinnacle? That's what I was thinking all the way up.

It must mean killer cardio workout all the way up and jelly legs on the way down.



Tree hugger! One in every crowd!


Yikes! Does that sign say something about death?????


Thank goodness I had my strong, brave daughter so she could run off and leave me.


Whew! The end of the trail! 1.7 miles straight up! I found this tree to collapse on. Just a few more rocks to scale and we'll be at that pinnacle thingy.


The view from 1705 feet:
Don't let anybody fool you. It's crowded at the top. Apparently, everyone had the same idea today.

I might have enjoyed the view a whole lot more if people weren't letting their preschoolers explore the pinnacle WITHOUT AN ADULT BESIDE THEM! The parents didn't seem to mind, but I was frantic.


Of course, no challenge is complete without a treat at the end. You didn't think I did this for nothing did you? I can't think of anything better than looking out over the autumn colors of the county on a crisp, sunny afternoon while munching on a doughnut or six. I figure I burned a million calories on the way up that mountain anyway.

The Healing of a Guilt Trip

Have you ever had one of those days when you feel like you can't do anything right and guilt takes over your mind? Yesterday was that way for me.

It started at co-op. I taught my writing class which is usually a lot of fun. Yesterday I might as well have been teaching a stone wall. I left that class thinking, "Bad teacher, bad, bad writing teacher!"

Another "issue" occurred later at co-op that left me thinking, "Lazy, no good, can't-do-it-right, can't-get-your-act-together homeschooling mom!"

When I got home I was exhausted, partially from my mental beating and partially from the fact that I've had insomnia for five weeks running and haven't had a good night's sleep since...I can't remember when. Even though my kitchen still had dirty dishes from the morning in the sink and generally looked like a wreck, as did the rest of the house, I sat down at the computer to divulge in mind-numbing, unproductive activity.

My husband came home early and asked what was for supper. Suddenly, I remembered that I hadn't thawed a thing. Usually on co-op days I fill a crockpot, but I hadn't done that either. Bad, bad wife and mother!

Since we were all starving, we decided to go to Cracker Barrel which was definitely not in our budget, but it just needed to happen. All the way there I was thinking, "Bad, bad homemaker! Bad, bad budget buster! Why can't you get your act together?"

But when we got to Cracker Barrel something happened that eased my guilt tremendously. We had an awesome waitress. She sang, ya'll! Really. We sang our orders back to her. The whole restaurant was laughing. Then she informed me that if I bought anything in the store I could get it for 45% off by telling them that she was my waitress.

This is so cool because I'd been in Cracker Barrel about a week ago admiring a certain something that a friend of mine has wanted for a very long time. I decided that I wanted to give it to her for Christmas and I prayed that somehow the price would go down so it would fit in my budget, but I knew that this particular item had never gone on sale. Last night I bought it for almost half price!

I realized that if all of the forgetting of supper and such hadn't ensued we would never have ended up at Cracker Barrel with that waitress on the right day and the right time for me to get that particular item at that special price. Could it be that maybe, just maybe, God had a hand in all this and I wasn't such a washout after all?

I'd love to tell you that all of my guilty feelings about everything departed after the Cracker Barrel incident. They didn't. But today is a new day and I'm making a choice to let go of those ugly thoughts and believe what God says about me. What about you? Do you ever feel guilty or like you don't measure up? Let's determine together today to believe the truth and not the accuser's lies.

Change

Today is my spiritual birthday. I gave my heart to Jesus 28 years ago. The work He has done in me is similar to the glorious change we see in autumn trees.

The greatest changes don't occur in politics. They happen in the hearts of men.

Thank you, Lord, for changing me. Please change the heart of this nation and turn it back to you.

Election Day

It's election day! Do you know what that means? The days of detestable mudslinging campaign ads come to an end! Hallelujah!

This morning I was reading in first and second Peter and noticed that Peter has quite a lot to say about our words. I thought as we turn over this leaf and elect a new president, some of us will rejoice and some will cringe, but it's a really good time for all of us, and hopefully all politicians, to stop the abusive language and really think about what we say. More importantly, let's see what God says:

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. I Peter 2:1

For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. I Peter 2:15

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see the purity and reverance of your lives. I Peter 3:1-2

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. I Peter 3:9

For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. I Peter 3:10

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. I Peter 3:15-16

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God... I Peter 4:11

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. I Peter 4:14

This is especially true of of those who follow the corrupt desirre of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. II Peter 2:10-12

These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity- for a man is a slave to whtaever has mastered him. II Peter 2:17-19

I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. II Peter 3:2

First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creativon." But they deliberately forget that long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. II Peter 3:3-7

Lord, forgive us for the times we use our words to speak wrongly. Help us to use the wonderful gift of speech and communication that you've given us to encourage one another and to glorify you. In future elections, I pray that our politicians will be real leaders and choose to take the high road, refusing to slander during their campaigns. Help us all to remember the many eyes and ears, especially the little ones, that are watching, listening, learning and imitating us in what we say and do. Help us to be godly examples for them.

Copycat Blogger

I shamelessly admit that I'm copying what my friend, Marybeth, did on her blog today. I liked her idea and I figure why re-invent the wheel, just copy her idea. She shared her menu plans and a breakdown of her week. Sounds good to me, except I'll stick to just the menu plans. I will be fasting some for the election tomorrow, but it won't include supper, in case anyone was wondering about that.

Before I share my menus I have to direct ya'll to another blog that hosts Muffin Tin Mondays. This is such a precious idea if you have small children. Basically, you put their lunch in a muffin tin with something different in each cup. This is fun and appealing so they are more apt to try the new or healthy things in the muffin tin. Sycamore Stirrings hosts this every Monday. Sometimes she offers a theme to follow and sometimes not, but you can stop by and check out her Monday posts to see how other moms do their muffin tins. She's in the middle of moving right now so you might want to check older Monday posts on her blog to get the full effect. I love this idea so much that I almost want to have another child just so I can use it. I thought about using it with my teens, but somehow I don't think it would have quite the same effect.

**Updating to say that I was just informed that Muffin Tin Mondays was passed into new hands at Her Cup Overfloweth. You can visit the other blog to see past pictures and the new blog from here on out.

Back to my own vittles:
Monday: Spaghetti, salad
Tuesday: Whole baked chicken with carrots, onions, celery, rice, peas
Wednesday: Salmon, acorn squash, shoepeg corn
Thursday: Taco soup, tortilla chips
Friday: Roast with carrots, potatoes, onions, celery and whole wheat muffins

That's as far as I've gotten with the menu.

A Call to Fast and Pray

As we approach election day I want to issue an invitation to anyone who would like to fast and pray with me. Fasting doesn't necessarily mean going without food, it can mean giving up anything that you normally do and for however long you want to do it. Right now I'm hungry so I had to throw in that little blurb because going without food doesn't sound as good as it did this morning after breakfast.

A few weeks ago I tuned out of the news and all the election coverage. Up to that point I was obsessed with it and had truly started believing that the world was coming to an end if a certain candidate won. Once I tuned out of the world's view and got into God's word, peace and calm returned and I remembered that God is still God no matter what happens.

Last week I waited two and a half hours in line to vote early. I forgot to bring anything to do because I really wasn't expecting to be there that long. Instead I talked the ears off of the people around me and probed into their life stories. After watching all the media coverage I was expecting hatred, maybe even riots, to be the tone of the voting lines. After all, weren't the opposing sides mortal enemies? I was pleasantly surprised to find that the line was full of people, ordinary people, just like me. We were even cordial and polite and nobody wanted to kill each other. Frankly, I think the people in my voting line would have made better candidates for political office than those that are currently running. Somehow standing in those lines with voters from both sides of the tracks gave me hope.

Still I know the importance of this election and the ramifications for not only us, but for our descendants as well. So, I'm asking that we pray and fast and humble ourselves before God. I, for one, still want a nation based on the same faith of our founding fathers. I believe we've gotten off track as a nation. The situation in our economy isn't the big issue, it's only a symptom of a root issue, which is a nation that has turned away from God. My number one prayer is that the people of this great nation would humble ourselves and return to our God. That will bring real change of the best and lasting kind.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14

Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness wil go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. Isaiah 58:6-9