Just a Little Card

One of my friends will be leaving in a few days to go on a mission trip, and I wanted to give her a combo "happy travels" and "I'm praying for you because I know you hate flying" card.

So, after looking online, I found a card that looked something like this one - and I made my own version of it:


But I made the area under the airplane and the yellow triangle a pocket, and I wrote out verses on cards - one for every day she's gone.

I kind of liked it. It is en route to her now, so hopefully it arrives safe and sound...and before her departure date!

Toffee Crackers

I just finished baking the most delicious (and sinful) looking dessert...so that prompted me to post another recipe. Next time I make the one I just made now...I'll take pictures so I can share it with you. EASY and yummy.

Since Super Bowl Sunday is just a few days away, I thought I'd post this recipe. It's super easy to make, usually disappears REALLY quickly, and is a great last minute thing to take if you end up going to a party.

Mom gave me this recipe a few years ago after she had it at an open house. I have made it multiple times for parties, carry-ins, Bible studies, chocolate cravings, YOU NAME IT. I will warn you that it's highly addicting, not at all good for you, and yet SO SO good. In fact, I kind of wish I had a pan of it right about now!

The Recipe:

1 sleeve of saltine crackers
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 sticks of butter
1 bag of milk chocolate chips
chopped nuts to taste

Line a cookie sheet (one with four sides) with foil and spray well with nonstick spray. Lay out saltines to cover the entire pan and set aside. Bring brown sugar and butter to a boil, turn down heat, and cook for three minutes. Pour mixture over saltines and bake at 300 degrees for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top, let it stand for one minute, and spread chips out. Sprinkle chopped nuts over the top. Refrigerate until cold, break into pieces, and serve.

I have used both real butter and margarine, and I have to say I think real butter works a little bit better. Just my preference. I have also made this with both milk chocolate chips and semi-sweet chips. MUCH prefer the milk chocolate. But then again - I'm not a big fan of dark chocolate, so maybe that's why I don't like the semi-sweet on this.

I use a really old cookie sheet that is mostly only good for projects where the sheet itself is covered. It's imperative that you use a sheet with sides or the sugar/butter mixture will run all over the oven! Make sure you really really coat the foil with nonstick spray or you will have a gooey mess on your hands. Get the spray into all the corners and clear to the edge. I really don't think you can over-spray this one.

Pretty much the whole sleeve of crackers should fit on the pan if you're using a standard size pan. Sometimes I have to break the last row in half to get them to fit.

I cut up the butter into smaller pieces to help it to melt faster. And I stir this mixture well while I wait for it to boil. Don't want the brown sugar burning on the bottom of the pan.

I wait until the boil is a good, rolling boil before I start counting the three minutes of boiling time.

The mixture will be kind of thick as you pour it out. I try to make sure I spread it as evenly as possible over the crackers, because it's usually thick enough that it doesn't completely run all over the pan. It spreads out a bit, but it doesn't run. The crackers will start to float a little as you pour it in - but they'll stay relatively wherever you put them.

It's okay if you don't get the mixture over every square inch - it will spread out a little bit as it bakes. When you pull it out of the oven, be careful. If you tip the pan much at all, you could spill out the butter/sugar mixture. It will be very runny right at that point. I wear oven mitts when I do this recipe because if it does spill, I don't want it pouring onto my bare hands!

Spread the chocolate chips all over the pan. The milk chocolate ones melt a little bit faster. You won't want to leave it much more than the minute the recipe says. If you try to start spreading them out before that, you're going to mess up the crackers underneath. If you wait much longer, the chocolate will start to harden.

I just use a metal spatula to spread out the chips.

Since I usually make this to take somewhere, and I know some people are allergic to nuts, I cover half the pan with nuts and leave the other half plain. This time when I made it, I left the pecan pieces somewhat large. I actually prefer it with finely chopped pecans. You can buy them that way or use a food chopper to chop them up.

I typically put the pan in the refrigerator overnight to make sure it's good and solid. The next morning, before leaving for wherever I'm taking it...I break it into pieces. If you didn't grease the foil well enough and you notice that it's breaking apart, be sure to check the underneath side of each piece as you break it to make sure you chip off the foil. No one wants to bite into that! Just break the pieces - however large or small you want them.

I arrange them according to whether or not there are nuts on top so people can easily find what they want! I also usually store mine in the refrigerator before serving (and if there are any left over) because it keeps them from becoming sticky, melty messes.

Bits for Sunday, January 25, 2009

I thought I would have to introduce this week as “the week with no theme” – but I can’t have a week without a theme. It’s very unBekahlike. So I thought about it and found a theme.

YAY!

That’s the theme. Not yay that I found one…yay is IT.

I spend a lot of time reminding myself of the areas where I need to do better. I read a book and underline all the areas where I fall short so I can work on improvement. I hear a sermon and squirm when the points seem to sail right down the aisle and hit me in the face. And anyone at my work can tell you I always automatically assume myself the culprit when we’re collectively reminded of something we should be doing (or not doing). It’s the Bekah way.

But this week I found myself pleasantly surprised when some things went right. And for that, I say YAY!

* One of my focus areas this year is prayer. (Back to that whole “areas that need improvement” list…) This week I spent a few days wondering if my prayers were going anywhere at all. Some of them have been in the works for years and it’s hard to pray for something that long and see nothing happen. And then in the space of one week, two of my friends, who had asked me to pray for them, received answers within hours. I was so excited for them – but it was also a good reminder to me that the prayers are heard, and the timing of the answers is none of my business. (I will admit, though, I thought about taking the approach of “God, I have this friend….” to see if that would result in a faster answer for mine!)

* I’ve mentioned before that my friend Lynnette and I are reading the same devotional book this year and we’re emailing back and forth throughout the week to share what we’ve been learning. This week the devotions have been about embracing this day – and have largely focused on single women. For a couple of days, I felt restless as I read because I was already doing the things the book suggested. It gave many practical ideas on how to live a good and full life even if you aren’t married…making your house a home, cooking meals, inviting people in…those sorts of things. I hated not being able to underline. But then God very gently pointed out the blessing I was missing. As I read during those days, there was cause to celebrate that I am doing something right. I am living a good life and there was a day when I didn’t know how to do it. Progress!

* Yesterday I was able to hang out with my good friend and scrapping buddy, Faith. We try to get together now and then on a Saturday to catch up on each other’s lives and to crank out as many scrapbook pages as is humanly possible – and then add a couple more because we’re overachievers. Yesterday, though, I took a break from scrapping and worked on making cards. I was a horrible card-maker last year. I didn’t plan ahead and then I was mortified about the quality of most of the rushed cards I did make. This year I devised a plan-ahead schedule and a make-three-times-what-I-actually-need plan so I would have a reserve in case of emergency. I made close to 50 cards yesterday and have already written in and addressed several of them. I’d forgotten just how much I love putting that time into my version of an encouragement ministry. It was so much fun!

* And this has nothing to do with anything I did right – but it’s a big fat YAY in Bekahland anyway, so I’m going to write about it. As you know, I’m a rather ridiculously giddy Gaither fan. The newest taping is being released this coming week – two volumes of a Vocal Band reunion. If ever I feel tempted to call in sick when I’m really not, it will happen the day after I buy those DVD’s! (Never fear, Gaytha. I plan to get them over the weekend.) I plan to sit in the fat chair with my fleece blanket and a box of Puffs and watch every last second of that taping – probably three times. I got just a taste-let of it Saturday night when I happened upon it during a channel surf and I’ll admit – I cried. And not in a crazed fan (think teenage girl and Sanjaya on American Idol) kind of way. It really was very moving to watch these guys sing the songs that I have grown to love so much! And so…yay!

And now…it is less than 10 minutes until the Duggar wedding special airs, and I’m kind of a fan of the Duggar show. So I must get my cookbooks lined up in front of the TV (standard Sunday night project is menu planning) so I can be all ready to watch!

Blow Your Nose...and Keep Going

I just had an honest-to-goodness snot-and-tears meltdown. It felt SO GOOD. I'm sitting here with red, burning eyes, my box of Puffs Plus with aloe, probably interestingly smeared makeup, and the makings of a headache, but it was still a cry well worth it.

I was journaling (not the best penmanship due to blurry vision) as I cried because I was so frustrated. God has nudged - almost to a pushing-over point - a prayer that I've been inconsistent in praying even though I know it's what He wants me to do. I've been inconsistent because this prayer requires a lot of faith from me, and right now, I'm finding myself to be a bit short on the bold faith. And yet He brings it up multiple times a day and I know He expects me to at least make a concerted effort.

So I opened my Bible to read my verse on prayer for today, and it is Deuteronomy 9:26. In this verse, Moses is remembering what it was like to come down from the mountain, after having had an incredible encounter with God and receiving the Ten Commandments...only to find the golden calf party in full swing. I'd read last night about his anger...and about God's anger. And I read about Moses praying a prayer of intercession for his own brother's life to be spared, because God was so angry with Aaron for mis-leading the people and allowing them to do such a thing. I remember journaling last night about how hard it is to pray for people when you're mad at them and would prefer to beat them up...

...And then tonight I read how for 40 days and 40 nights, Moses stretched out on his face and prayed for God to spare the entire NATION of Israel, despite their sin and rebellion. I stared at it for a while on the page of the Bible. Moses took 40 days and nights out of his life to lay stretched out on the ground before God and beg for an entire nation to be spared when they didn't even deserve it.

If he could do that, surely I can find it within myself to pray for this thing which is supposed to be a GOOD thing - a blessing. It's not easy to pray for...but certainly easier than over a month on the ground begging for the lives of a rebellious people!

Kind of puts it in perspective. So with that said...I shall blow my nose and keep going.

The Rare Post

I don't often comment on the political scene. My Dad taught government and history for most of his career. He soaks up every drop of this stuff. I barely grasp it. What a disappointment for the poor man! I make lots of fudge and cookies to try to distract him from my lack of fundamental intelligence. So far it's working - so don't tell him that's the plan, okay?

Chris and Skyepuppy and Christina have been my main sources of information over the past couple of years - and I'm grateful they are well-informed.

But since today was Inauguration Day, I feel compelled to at least acknowledge it. After all, as soon as my nail polish dries here in a few minutes, I'll pull out the scrapbook calendar and the stamp set with the little flag in it and make a notation that this was Inauguration Day. It's monumental.

This was actually my first inauguration to ever watch live. With the exception of George W., I've always been in potty training or school for every inauguration. And when George W. was inaugurated, I was at work and live streaming hadn't been an option. So this was kind of big for me.

I tried to separate myself entirely from hoopla, celebrity, personal feelings, and all other things and just watch this for what it was - a man taking an oath to become President.

This year, I learned something about the President. When I sat in an itty bitty practice gym in the middle of Kansas, surrounded by a billion (give or take a million) forms of media and secret service agents, I considered throwing up because the President was about to walk into the room, and the President seemed to be someone so intimidating.

And then he walked in. Like any other man. He laughed, he talked, his eyes twinkled, he waved, he sat, he listened, he read, he respected, he cared, he savored the moment, he enjoyed, he spoke, he related, he remembered, he comforted, he credited, he joked, he smiled...and he left. Like any other man.


That was the moment I stopped being intimidated. That was the moment I realized this man, regardless of party, regardless of decision, regardless of personal opinion, had a job with more stress than I could ever hope to know on my worst day of work. A job in which truly - he could never every make everyone happy. A job in which he had to make decisions for which he would be judged when absolutely no one knew vital pieces of information that had gone into those decisions. A job that would cause him to make good choices and bad choices. Those same things happen to me every day at work. It's just that for me, it doesn't trickle down to matter to an entire nation...or world.

Tonight my TV stopped on C-SPAN for...the first time ever...and I watched George W. deliver a speech in Texas shortly after he arrived there today. I listened to him reflect on his years as president and he said (loosely paraphrased here...) he can walk out of the Oval Office knowing he is the same person he was when he walked in eight years ago.

To be able to walk away with your head held high, regardless of the opinion of others...is more than most can do.

Today a new man came into this office and all the celebrity that surrounds it. The job is still difficult. And beneath his presidential oath, he is a man...who will walk in and hopefully laugh, talk, wave, sit, listen, read, respect, care, savor the moment, enjoy, speak, relate, remember, comfort, give credit, and smile.

I acknowledge I don't know much about the political scene, but I do know President Obama is our leader and as such, we should pray for him both as a leader and as a man. (Romans 13:1-2, 1 Timothy 2:1-2).

(PS - I called my mom to read this to her and when I told her I'd done a political post, she said, "Oh! Did you write about the dresses?" No love. Sigh.)

Bits for Sunday, January 18, 2009

Every year I try to switch up my approach to my daily devotions, just to keep things interesting. I have almost as much A.D.D. for topics as I do for hair color.

This year I’m reading a women’s friendship devotional, which one of my friends is also reading…and we email now and then to discuss what we’re learning. I’ve gotten some great ideas from that book – and you’ll probably hear me mention them now and then.

My other project is to study prayer as it is mentioned throughout Scripture. Right now I’m in Exodus, slowly walking through the plagues and Pharaoh’s persistent pleas for Moses to pray for him. I don’t know how Moses felt, but the guy is really beginning to get on my nerves. Even so, I’m learning a lot about what it means to willingly, earnestly pray for people who are just prayer-moochers.

Yesterday, though, I noticed something I’d never truly seen before. I’d read it before, but apparently glossed right over it. This verse came at the end of the locust plague…which followed the hail…which followed the boils…which followed the dead animals…which followed the flies…which followed the gnats…which followed the frogs…which followed the bloody river. If I’d been an Egyptian in that day, I would have been pretty mad at Pharaoh. Actually, I probably would have died of a heart attack during the frog plague, but assuming I survived the madness, I would have been personally paying the man a visit saying SEND THEM AWAY, YOU IDIOT!

But at the end of lo these many plagues, Pharaoh still stubbornly insisted that the Israelites stay in Egypt. The plagues hit, he panicked, he asked Moses to pray, he promised the people could go, Moses prayed, the plague subsided, and then Pharaoh changed his mind and made the Israelites stay. Such was the cycle.

The locusts swarmed into Egypt, destroyed what little bit of life remained from all the other plagues, Pharaoh pretended to be sorry, asked for relief, and Moses went out to pray for him. God heard Moses’ prayer, took away the plague…and then I read these words: “But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.” (Exodus 10:20)

This time, maybe Pharaoh really did soften up. Maybe he really did begin to get the point. Maybe he was a bit more repentant than he’d been before…a bit more repentant than even Moses could have imagined him capable of being.

But the timing wasn’t right. God was about to accomplish a pretty spectacular thing in the exodus of His people, but there were other events that needed to occur before that could happen. Perhaps God, Who could see into all the future, wanted to make sure the Passover could be instituted so its celebration could be part of the final hours of Jesus’ life hundreds of years into the future.

Whatever God’s reasoning, the time simply wasn’t right, so He hardened the heart of Pharaoh who once again took back his promise and keep the nation firmly stationed. I doubt Moses was privileged to God’s involvement in Pharaoh’s reaction, so from his perspective, it just appeared that Pharaoh was being his typical annoying self.

And from this, I was reminded that I don’t know, when I’m asked to pray for someone, what is happening in his or her heart at the Hand of God Himself. What I might attribute to stubbornness or annoyance might actually just be God causing a delay for purposes I don’t know. He isn’t required to confide in me when He does such a thing. He simply counts on me to be a faithful prayer warrior and leave the method of answering up to Him.

Hurting Hearts

This week has been a tough one. One of those weeks when people say "How are you?" and the response of "Fine" is a total lie, but to explain the truth would take far too long. One of those weeks when prayer is a struggle, but to go without praying would be harder still. One of those weeks when reporting to work and doing chores at home is necessary but the mind never fully engages.

I don't know how many of you read the blog Kelly's Korner, but I've been reading it for the past several months. Never met Kelly, but she's such a good blogger, I feel like I know her! She's been anxiously awaiting the birth of her first baby - a long-awaited, much-prayed-for baby, and yesterday, Harper was born. I was going to say "little Harper" but she was nearly 10 pounds, so that's not so little. Anyway, she has pneumonia...Harper, that is...and has had to be flown from Arkansas to Tulsa for treatment. If you scroll back through some of Kelly's recent posts, you'll see she was so prepared for the hospital stay that wasn't....making cookies and chocolate covered pretzels for the visitors that came...gifts for the doctors and nurses...and now the baby is over 12 hours hold and I don't even think she's held her yet. Not the picturesque birth she planned...but definitely a birth in need of prayer.

My heart is also hurting for my friend Brent. He's in full time music ministry around the country, so he spends a lot of time giving joy and truth and hope to others...but this week has been a thousand times tougher on him than it has been on me. One of his good friends (also named Brent) lost his wife and two children in an accident. He (the husband) was with them, but he survived, which I'm sure brings an even heavier level of pain than I can even know. Brent (the one I know) went to the funeral yesterday, which was here in Indiana in all its sub-zero temperatures.

Last night I tried to pray for these two...a baby and a mother I've never met...and a friend hurting for a friend. Two deep levels of pain I can't know, but I sure did (and do) hurt for both of them.

So if you think of an of them...and you have a minute for an extra prayer...those are two situations that could use any extra you have.

That Braeya

The other night I worked very hard to assemble my new desk chair. You mighr remember from a long time ago that the only desk chair I had was a wooden folding chair...and one night that ended in disaster. SO....Mom found me a little cheapie desk chair at the Rescue mission, but alas...a few months ago, another disaster.

I've been on the hunt for a new, real, actual, ,stable, non-breaking chair, but they are far overpriced in my opinion. Last week Staples had a special that (after savings and rebates and this and that) made a $90 chair just $40. That I would pay.

I purchased it, prayed over it, and successfully assembled it. (HUGE accomplishment in Bekahland.)

Last night...the first night it was fully assembled, I found Miss Braeya Jo on her favorite blanket...on my new chair.

I ended up kneeling on the floor beside her to do my typing...because truly...she owns the house.

Well Shut Right Up

If you aren't addicted to the Gaithers, this will mean nothing to you. But if you are...did you SEE THE PRESS RELEASE????????????

I was jumping all over the office (at home, not the work one. I'm much more controlled there) screaming and scaring the cats and emailing my sister and calling my Mom and screaming some more.

DAVID PHELPS!!! Back in the Vocal Band! It's a Christmas miracle 300 some days early.

I have no words that don't begin with EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!! So I'll just shut right up.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! (sorry...that slipped before I could hit "publish post.")

A New Thing

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. - Isaiah 43:19

Today is kind of a big day in Bekahland. I hesitated to blog about it because it's not something I want to go into a lot of detail about, but today is an anniversary of sorts. I love anniversaries because they're specific markers of moments in my life, and I'm all about specific markers. Today's marker was a ten year mark - and it was one that pushed me to think about the decade behind me. Things forever etched in my life - for the good and the bad.

And yet there's a new decade (I hope!) ahead. A decade of hope for me. A decade in which I hope God does new things. I guess I should say a decade in which I believe God will do new things. Make ways in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

What's He going to do? No clue. And yet I'm excited about whatever it is. Excited and thankful to love a God of second (third, fourth, etc.) chances.

Bits for Sunday, January 11, 2009

Earlier this week, I posted about my rather frightening experience with the toy that began to play La Cucaracha at 1 in the morning. If you read the comments, you'll see that Christina and I talked a bit about the toys of our childhood. Toys that did not play, sing, dance, interact, cook your dinner, or anything else. Toys that required creativity on the part of the kid to make them fun in any way. Christina mentioned she converted the refrigerator in her play kitchen into Barbie’s apartment. See, now that’s what I’m talking about. The sort of resourcefulness that children create best.

So I thought I would relive some of my own creative moments from a childhood of "lifeless" toys.

Sunday afternoons were always a challenge for me, because my parents took naps, so my play had to be quiet. One of my favorite things to do was to take my giant flannel-board (which, on its side, was wide enough to cover my doorway and probably about three feet high) and block the open doorway to my bedroom. I would put my folding chair from my table behind it, don my mom’s blue bathrobe, grab a piano book from the living room, and pretend I was in the church choir. When it was time for my solo, I’d stand up, open the flannel-board door (which was my recreation of the swinging half-doors in the choir loft at my church) and walk down the hall to take center stage.

Like Christina, I also created an apartment complex for my collection of Barbies. Mine was constructed from the very long ottoman to the couch in our basement. It was probably four feet long and basically a leather table that was completely open underneath. Talk about a massive two story complex!

The piano bench served as my desk when I played teacher, and I used the kitchen trash can (which had a lid) as my podium. I used all my dolls for students, and I named them after students in my Dad’s classes. Sometimes he or Mom would find old, unused tests or worksheets about to be discarded and bring them home for me to use in teaching my students.

I even remember creating an entire car console from construction paper and taping it in the backseat so I could “drive” while Dad drove. I had a steering wheel and heat/air controls, a radio (stole Mom’s walkman and covered it with a “face” to match the tape player up front) and everything.

I’m sure there’s more. Mom will surely remember some of the more embarrassing things. But let the record show – none of these things woke anyone up at one on the morning by playing La Cucaracha!

If you have some creative memories (not the scrapbook - just actual memories of creativity) - please share!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I haven't posted a recipe in a while...for no particularly good reason! So here's one of my favorites. I've long been on the search for the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I've found it, twice, actually, but both times I chickened out in asking the baker to share the recipe. It was SO good I figured they'd say no. And I hate rejection. So this is the recipe I make. In my heart I know it's not the best in life, but it is pretty stinkin' good, I have to say.

Every time I make these cookies, Mom begs me to save her back a little bag of them. I love having my great-cook-of-a-mother beg me for my cooking, so sometimes I make them just to boost my culinary-esteem. Okay maybe not.

I'll admit...I'm not a cookie-dough snatcher. I figure that is one less I will have to eat later if I eat it straight from the bowl. I know that half the fun of making chocolate chip cookies is eating a tablespoon or six from the bowl, but I just don't do it. But few treasures in the kitchen are as wonderful as a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven...along side some extra cold milk. That is my reward for making these. I try to sample no less than three per baking.
From there I try to give the rest away, lest I make my way into cookie obesity. I love making these to take to the office when we're stressed (they're usually gone in less than four hours), to send to my friends in college (because what college student doesn't need a chocolate chip cookie fix?), and of course...to pacify my Mom, who adamantly says her batches of this recipe just don't taste like mine.

The Recipe:

2 cups sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups shortening
4 eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla
4 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl and drop by teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

As usual, I prefer to run the generic food route. However, I will say that though I buy generic, I always buy pure vanilla rather than imitation. And for shortening, I use the Crisco butter-flavored shortening sticks. They are pricey, but in my opinion, they're totally worth the skipped hassle of measuring shortening - even if you have the Pampered Chef measure-all cup that makes stuff like this easier. These come in sticks like butter, with measurements marked on the wrapper, and you just cut what you need and go! And the butter-flavored kind does make a difference in the taste of this recipe (or so Mom has concluded).

I use my biggest mixing bowl because this really does make a huge batch! I choose to mix together all the dry ingredients first (sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, and salt).

I cut the shortening sticks up into pieces and melt them in the microwave to make for easier mixing.

Yeah, it looks kind of gross, but it does mix better. Sometimes I melt the shortening completely and sometimes I just soften/semi-melt it.

Once I've added the shortening, I throw in the eggs, and vanilla and stir it all up.

By the time you add all those ingredients, the batter is pretty thick and hard to stir. I just stick a baggie on my hand and mix it up that way. It helps me make sure everything really is well-mixed.

Then I add the chocolate chips - the whole bag. And I opt NOT to add nuts because I don't like them in the baking. And since I give away so many, I never know when someone might be allergic.

Because I'm OCD about my cooking, like I am about everything...I roll mine into little balls rather than just dropping them by the spoonful.

Ta-Da!!!! Yummy cookies. I let them cool only for about 1 minute before I transfer them to a wire cooling rack. Any less and they fall apart from being too warm...any longer and they tend to break from cooling too much on the pan.

This would be the place to get the big glass of milk! I think this recipe makes about 6-7 dozen cookies, so it's a lot!

Weirdness and Water Cooler Talk

...Oh how I enjoyed vacation. The sleeping in...the taking it easy...I enjoyed the days off as days off deserve to be enjoyed. I was a great blend of productive and lazy.

And real life resumed starting Monday morning at alarm time. WAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! Since I thought some of you might need a laugh...and because water cooler talk time has also resumed...

* Went to Wal-Mart Monday night. Ended up waiting a while in line (gasp) and this middle-aged man was wandering up and down the main aisle that runs behind all the check-out lanes. He was carrying on a marvelous conversation with himself. (It really was with himself - there were no hidden blue-tooths.) He eventually cut in front of my cart, which I allowed him to do since I wasn't about to get caught in talking whatever nonsense he was jabbering. He proceeded to choose a candy bar...and talked to the entire selection of them as he chose. I quickly got on the phone with my sister so as to avoid the situation. He sounded much like Ernest T Bass from Andy Griffith - though he didn't throw rocks at anyone.

* Last night was the season premiere of the Bachelor. Mr. Jason. What a sweetie. I found (as I expected) that most of the "amazing 25 women" were a little on the shallow side. To warn you...I'm terrible with names at the beginning of seasons...but I really liked the widow with the little girl. I thought she seemed pretty normal. I was glad he offered her a rose. At this point, that's the only favorite I have. But this whole twist of bringing DeAnna back - what is that!?!? I have theories, but I'm sure none of them are right.

* After my LONG, insanely busy day at work, my LONG, insanely busy night of chores, and two hours of watching Jason and his 25 amazing women, I was ready for some SLEEP. Only - I couldn't fall asleep. Don't you hate it when that happens? I finally fell asleep shortly before one, only to be awakened a few minutes later by some music. I could not figure out what it was or where it was coming from. I ruled out the cell phone (didn't recognize it as one of my ringtones and the phone was not ringing when I found it and looked at it). I ruled out an ice cream truck (given that it is January and it was one in the morning). I thought for a moment it might be this stuffed Christmas cat I have that has a music box in its paw. It's packed away for the season, but at 1:00 in the morning, I could well envision a monstrosity of a raccoon or possum somehow getting into the storage, opening the plastic tub, and pushing the cat's paw. But the music wasn't Christmas music, so I had to rule that out as well. Then I recognized the music. La Cucaracha. I knew what it was...this stupid toy I have for when my friends' kids come over to play. It has several songs on it and that's one of them. I was a bit concerned that said toy was in a room with no people and from the looks of my bed - no cats. How did it start playing? I almost called 911, thinking I had an intruder, but I wasn't sure how to explain to them that I'd concluded I had a break-in based on a toy playing La Cucaracha at one in the morning. So I investigated the house, found nothing amiss, and forced myself to believe a cat had hit the toy, and made it back to my room before I was coherent enough to realize what happened. Tonight, however, I walked by that stupid toy and it just started playing. No one was touching it. Dumb toy.

* Consequently, I had a headache and felt icky for most of today. I rallied in time to make caramel corn and watch the Biggest Loser. Not sure how I feel about this twist of sending 9 people home on the first night! But I really like the older couple (bless their hearts) and the 19 year old who lost 30 pounds in one week. SWEET. And I did not see one single Vicky in that crowd of people...although I guess time will tell.

I think that hits the highlights of the last couple of days...I shall now figure out how to remove the stupid batteries from that stupid toy.

Bits for Sunday, January 4, 2009

I told you last week that in all my preparation for the new year, I’d purchased a new devotional book. I managed to leave the front cover shut until January 1, but once the day arrived, I grabbed the book, a pen, and a leftover thank-you card to serve as my underlining ruler (canNOT mess up the book with crooked underlining) and settled in to learn.

Apparently the book has a weekly theme, and theme one is faith. I had to smile…I might have known God would want me to start there. Two years ago I did a year-long study on faith – reading through every verse in the Bible that mentions any variation of the word faith. Each verse is now highlighted in blue, pink, or green – and surrounded by boxes, squiggly lines and notes scribbled in the margin. I kind of felt like I had a head start on week one.

Until I started reading.

The day’s verse came straight from Hebrews 11. No surprise there, since it’s considered the faith chapter. “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Despite all my careful coloring, box-drawing, and squiggly-line-making two years ago, I began to notice things in this verse I’d not seen before. (Perhaps a demonstration of how the Word of God is alive and active?)

First, I noticed a couple of pretty strong words: impossible and must. No faith? No pleasing God. Pretty simple. Want to demonstrate faith? Two things have to be done. Pretty simple again. And yet…not simple at all to put into practice. At least not for me. (Incidentally, the next day’s devotional was about developing the faith of a child, and I think kids probably have a great grasp on Hebrews 11:6. Most of their lives haven’t been muddied up enough yet to complicate their view of God.)

Then I took a look at the two things required for God-pleasing faith. First…believe that He exists. Well at least I have one thing accomplished! And then I stared at number two: believe He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Uh-oh. That part doesn’t come so easily for me. Suddenly I sensed my first assignment of 2009 – and I was only one day into the year!

It’s something I’m aware I won’t perfect overnight…or even overJanuary. It’s a process, and I’ll have to be willing to work my way through the journey.

And speaking of journey – the prayer at the bottom of the January 1 devotional included a reminder to be thankful for the “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1) surrounding us. It made me think of all the people throughout my life who have come up alongside me, whether for just a moment or for a long stretch, to encourage me and provide an example of how to live. So many names came to mind, and I realized again how rich life is when friendships strengthen it.

The year has just begun and already my journal pages are full of things I know I need to work on…be aware of…live intensely. It’s one thing to think about all those things when each day is a vacation day. Once work resumes, the challenge will be to make time to work on the character while making time for chores and responsibilities. Such is the way of a new year.

But for you who have become part of the cloud of witnesses around me…know that I am thankful for you and the words of encouragement you continually give to me. And as I learn about believing God’s desire to reward His children…and many other facets of faith and life…I look forward to walking the journey alongside you.

Things of January...

As I've said before, I love a new year. Everything about it. If every day could be a New Year's Day, I'd get so much done...and yet so little done.

Today was a pretty perfect New Year's Day. Sleeping in...fixing breakfast...which runs into lunch...venturing out only if I feel so inclined...scrapping...TV marathons...cooking dinner...plenty of time to read my Bible and journal...these are the makings of a perfect New Year's Day.

And then before January ends I find myself back in the rushing mode. But for today it feels good to have things under control.

Ringing in the new year (for me) brought a new experience:


This is my first and probably final attempt at pool. From now on the only pool I think I like is the one with the word "swimming" in front of it. Last night I was invited over to Chris and Trudy's house (friends of mine for the last several years) - and Chris took me to the garage to show me his newly created "man cave." The prominent feature was this refurbished pool table, and he insisted that I try it, playing against Trudy's sister, Joy. He assured me she'd just learned to play and really it would be fine. Joy had the win of her pool career. There's just no way to describe how horrible I am at pool. I begged to quit. Chris wouldn't let me. But I think everyone rejoiced when Joy finally won and I could go back in the house and play with the kids.

So with 2008 and non-swimming-pool(s) behind me, I am excited about January.

* New season of The Biggest Loser. I so hope this new season goes back to being inspirational and doesn't have all the Vicky-ish drama of last season.

* New season of The Bachelor. Truth be told, I've about had it with this show. It's getting annoying. But I so wanted Jason to be chosen last time that I just have to watch this one last season and see who he falls in love with! (Will they still be in love by the time the finale airs? THERE is the question.)

* New season of American Idol. Yes, I do plan to do something besides watch TV! But you all know I love this show!! I'm not sure how I'm going to juggle all three new seasons - especially since a couple of them overlap in airing times. But we'll see how it goes.

* Scrapping with my buddies. My scrapping buddies from my previous church were kind enough to extend an invitation for me to join them in their January scrap day, so I'm really excited about that. I miss them!

* Church retreat. The ladies at my new church have a retreat planned, and one of my new friends invited me to go. I'm looking forward to that time of getting away - and getting to know them better. They are fun girls!!

* Smaller case-load! We just hired a new counselor at work - an added position, not a replacement - so this means my group of students gets smaller. I'm sad about losing some of them, but I always love a smaller group because it means I get to spend more time working with the ones I have. The new division starts next week.

* NO SHOVELING! Okay so that's just on my wish list. But it would be so so nice to have a month with no ice and no snow accumulation over an inch!! (I know, I know...move to Arizona.)

I'm sure there's more...but the laundry is almost done drying...and I have a dessert yet to make and some other chores to do.

In the meantime - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Bits for Sunday, December 28, 2008

Four days left until the new year…and technically only three, since today is mostly gone. I’ve been busily prepping for 2009, something that probably only the uber-organized can truly appreciate. All the Christmas decorations have been packed away in their tubs, the gifts I received have all been granted permanent homes, I’m taking a break from cropping the photos that I am determined to have in an album by the end of the week, and when I am done writing, I’ll head to the day planner to scope out the rest of the week’s chores.

The new calendar is on the wall – with all the birthdays and anniversaries scribbled in pink. My new devotional book is in on the shelf, and I’m forcing myself to refrain from peeking ahead. I’ve reorganized the kitchen, the desk, and everything in the buffet. I’ve made a list of things I either need or want to do to the house this year. And of course…I have constructed the list for 2009.

Earlier tonight I was chatting with my sister, and I told her I about had the list completed, and she said “Please tell me it doesn’t have 25 things on it.” I had to laugh. Just because it has been…long…the last two years doesn’t mean it has to be this year, right? And it’s not. This year the theme is to simplify.

I’ve been reading Gloria Gaither’s book Something Beautiful. It contains the stories behind about 75 songs she and Bill have written. Being the rather shameless Gaither groupie that I am…I’m loving everything about this book.

Christmas night, as I found my focus shifting away from the excitement of the season and toward the preparation week before the new year, I read the chapter about the song Something Beautiful. I’m an underliner, and most of this chapter now sports a black line under each sentence.

Gloria tells of the time when their oldest daughter, Suzanne, was a little girl, and she sat down at the table to paint a picture. She worked hard but eventually the paper was soaked with water and paint, and a giant blob of black paint landed (accidentally) in the middle of the paper. She tried to work with it, but the painting just got worse. She found a washcloth and tried to soak up some of the paint and water, but only succeeded in rubbing a hole in the middle of the sheet. That was the end for poor Suzanne, and she ran crying to her mother.

Gloria went on to say, “So often we are like Suzanne and her painting. We start out with noble dreams and aspirations. We harbor high hopes and lofty ambitions…And at first we seem to be in control of our lives…But somehow…before we know it, we have passed our thirtieth birthdays and life is getting complicated. By forty we are beginning to realize that we’ve made some choices we regret, taken some turns we never thought we’d take…we try to fix it on our own, to cover what our hearts are telling us, but if the truth were known, we get up in the morning with a hole in our souls big enough to drive a Mack truck through. And in our rare honest moments we know we’re no closer to our hopes and dreams than we were at the start.” (p. 41)

After Suzanne’s cries had quieted, her mother suggested there might be another sheet of paper in the closet…and there was. Gloria gave her the paper and let her start over with a brand new painting.

She said, “…Jesus…doesn’t just patch up our lives. He doesn’t just ‘make do’ out of what we have left. He gives us a brand-new sheet, a clean state to start over with.” (p. 42)

To me, a new year is a new sheet of paper. An opportunity to recognize that though I may have made a mess, I’m being offered the chance to start again. A new year is more than an organized desk, an unopened book, and blank calendar squares. It’s a chance for a new outlook. New purpose. New priorities.

And as you take the newness of the year offered to you this week, I wish you the very best!

Christmas Lights!!

A couple of years ago, Faith (see post below) and I went on a search for the best and worst Christmas lights in town. Last year we didn't get to go, since the season was pre-empted by the birth of Faith's second baby, but this year we went again.

Aunt Bekah and the kiddos - ready to go looking for Christmas lights!

We went to the park to look at the "official display" but EVERY LIGHT between my house and the park was announced by the tour guide in the back seat. "LIGHT! THERE'S ONE!" Faith said we had to respond that we'd seen the lights or she would not be happy. So our conversations were interrupted every two or three words with an "Uh huh! Pretty!"

Apparently lights are funny....

Christmas with Faith

This past weekend was my Christmas get-together with Faith, one of my college roommates. She is also my faithful scrapbooking buddy. I love any occasion to hang out with Faith - not only because she's fun, but because we both understand the photo obsession. Anything and everything should be preserved as a memory! Takes a scrapper to get that.

This year, Faith and her daughters came over to my house, where we exchanged gifts, and then we went out to look at Christmas lights.

We learned that babies much prefer cat toys to the actual gift to unwrap.

Big sisters, however, love gifts. Their own AND their baby sister's. (Yes, I'd just been to the gym again. But at least this time I wore red!)

And then big sisters discover Aunt Bekah's camera and go around the house on a picture taking CRAZE. But hey, it ended with this pretty good one of Faith and me! Not bad!

Christmas/Birthday with Olivia

One of my the things I've loved most about life for the past five or six years has been the opportunity to meet with Olivia. I knew her from church, and one night at Bible study, her mom sort of matched us into a mentoring relationship. I'd never done anything like that before and had no idea what to expect. We started out meeting for coffee once a week (Thursday evenings, actually) and studying Elizabeth George books together.

After Olivia graduated from high school, we kept meeting, but her college schedule has made it a little tougher to meet as regularly. Still, I really enjoy that time we get to share and I have learned way more from her than she has from me.

This year, for Christmas and her birthday, Olivia came over to my house and we spent the entire evening together (our celebration interrupted only by the 2 hour finale of the Biggest Loser) catching up and EATING!!!!

We recognized our dinner of a large pizza as the "what not to do" advice of choice during the Biggest Loser finale, but we ate it anyway. It was GOOD.

We exchanged our Christmas gifts - and she gave me this very cute cappuccino cup/plate set, which I LOVE. Do you love the closed captioned television behind me? HGTV, you know. (By the way, I'd normally be more festively dressed, but I'd just come home from the gym. Yes, I know - the pizza undid it. )

And then it was time to celebrate her birthday! Candles, party hats, noisemakers, balloons, roses, sparkling grape juice - the WHOLE nine yards.

Merry Christmas!

I just have a minute here...as I am already running late for the family Christmas. WOOPS!

But I wanted to pop in and wish you a Merry Christmas and share with you a portion of something from today's Advent reading. (This is part of the study I wrote two years ago.) And today - probably more than most Christmases - this is a message I need to hear again. So I share it...for me...and with you.

~ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ~ John 3:17
God saw.

God Himself, seated on a Heavenly throne, high and exalted, honored by the seraphs and angels, saw.

He saw people, created in His own image, who were desperately in need. The sight was not a new one for Almighty God. Hundreds of years earlier, He had gazed into the Garden of Eden, a perfect paradise He had made for the man Adam, and He saw a need. He saw a man in need of companionship, and He arrived to form a woman to complement, help, and sustain him.

And in every human life that followed the creation of Adam and Eve, God saw need. Never did a need go unmet. The love of the Creator for the creation of His hand caused Him to send rain on the righteous and the unrighteous alike.

As the years went by and the Hand of Heaven provided for the people of earth, God saw the greatest need of all: a Savior. He vowed through the prophet Isaiah that the people walking in darkness would see a great light. A child would be born. A son would be given. But not just any son. His own Son. His only Son.

Sitting upon the Throne of Heaven, God saw needs that could only be met by meeting the Savior Himself…

...In His great love, God gave up the One He loved most. His one and only Son. He prepared Jesus for a mission of love and compassion…a mission that would culminate in the ultimate love gift. A life sacrifice that made it possible for us to be called the children of God. He sent Jesus to meet the hurting and to change their lives in gentle tenderness.

And as you celebrate the remembrance of His birth in Bethlehem, you cannot offer back to Him a greater gift than the offering of your own life as a sacrifice. Not in crucifixion, but as a holy and pleasing sacrifice of worship.

This same Savior who arrived to love and touch and bless…wants to be the same Savior to you.

The day of His birth probably wasn’t December 25th. Giant flakes of snow didn’t fall from the sky and carolers didn’t lurk outside the stable door singing songs of good cheer. No hot chocolate with marshmallows and cut out sugar cookies awaited Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, or anyone else. No festively adorned fir tree stood in the corner of the stable, and no brightly-colored gift wrap hid any well-kept secret.

The first Christmas was so very different from the celebrations of this year. But it was no less cause for celebration. Whether it was day or night, hot or cold, a Gift of God came from Heaven’s Halls to bring new life…not just to the arms that welcomed Him that day, but to hearts that would welcome Him for all time forward.

And though none of us were there that first night…and none of us were there for the thirty-some years that followed…we’re not so different from those who met the Savior. And His presence, though not in tangible flesh, is very real…and still His greatest gift.