It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday I made an unusual decision and stayed home from church. You do not understand that I literally never skip church. Not for weather, illness, or any other reason. I'm kind of like a USPS worker. But I was unsure of the roads (my church is in the middle of nowhere) and they were calling for ice and snow to fall while I'd be gone, so I decided to be cautious and stay home. Had some beautiful time alone with the Lord throughout the day.

And of course, it was a big day in the land of sports. I was so glad for this insert in our Sunday paper. I needed it! I may be a football dummy, but let the record show...I know the words to the National Anthem.

* Monday was pretty low key. Highlight of the day? Weekly office plant watering date with the lovely Rachel Ashley. I have a feeling when she graduates...my plant will die.
* Tuesday we had one of my favorites...an office carry-in! I experimented with a new recipe: s'more cups! Don't they look scrumptious?? They were.
After I came back from lunch, all - and I mean all - the close parking spaces were taken, so I had to park forever away from my building. By the time I got back inside, my toes were frozen, so I thawed them by borrowing warm air from the microwave fan (while Rachel's lunch heated). Someone said it looked more like I was guarding my food. But I promise I was just cold!

* Wednesday was c-o-l-d! I wore two coats. (At once.) Seriously!!? I felt like Ralphie or whatever his name is - in that Christmas movie. Is it sad that this was the highlight of the day?!?!!? It wasn't that exciting of a day, I guess!
* Thursday was Lynette's birthday. (She works in my office.) I wanted to try to make the day at least a little special for her, so I brought in some balloons (which do not like sub-zero temperature commutes, in case you weren't sure) and made her a batch of peanut butter fudge.
As I drove home for lunch, I passed a Fed Ex truck and said to the driver, "I hope you were just at my house!" He was, indeed! Left the first print I ordered...and if you missed yesterday's post, you can read more about it there.
* I was the crankiest girl on the planet the whole day Friday. I spent my lunch hour driving my prayer path and unloading on God. I decided, at the end of the day, that any day that annoying - to end a week where the Monday highlight was watering a plant deserved some serious retail therapy.

I actually went in search of boots on clearance. Came away empty handed but inspired to make some gift baskets for a couple of friends. And along the way, I found a couple of super sweet deals for myself.
First up...found this in a stamping idea book probably a decade (or more) ago. Thought it was the cutest thing in the world for storing sidewalk salt during the winter months. But I never found the supplies to make one quite like it:
Tonight I entered our town's Goodwill store for the first time since it opened, and look what I found! Went next door to the dollar store and found a scoop...and this entire project is now complete for the sum total of....drumroll please....$1.54!
Looks way cuter than the big honkin' plastic bag of salt that had been sitting by the door!

And when I was in Bath and Body works (for stuff to stick in the gift baskets) I got a coupon for a free lotion/body mist/shower gel/whatever with a $10 purchase. I was already holding an even $10 worth of stuff...so it really was free for me! Little bit of Summer vanilla berry splash!

* Saturday afternoon I went with friend Ronda down to her daughter's house so I could see the family - including a brand new baby! I hadn't seen any of them since lake living this past summer and have missed them terribly! Khi is so grown up now...and a child after my own heart...cleaning up the puzzle after completing it. Bless him.
And here's little Silas. Isn't he darling?
Got a smile out of him too, thankyouverymuch.

Then, last night, I drove up to Ft. Wayne for a Valentine's day party with Jamie and some of her friends. You'll get to hear more about that soon, so I won't elaborate right now.

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: I had two separate moments this week in which I needed God to come through...and I needed Him to do it right then. And when He did, both times, it was such a beautiful reminder to me that He does hear when I pray and when the need presses, the answer comes. He's been trying to teach me to trust Him for delayed answers, and both my answered prayers this week were reminders of that.

Books I am Reading: This was not a great week for reading - for no good reason. I certainly had the time! I read in Sparkling Gems from the Greek and a chapter in Believing God - and that's it!

Goal Update from Last Sunday: I did make it to the gym twice this week. (And worked out at home three times too, but the goal I stated was to get to the gym twice.) I did not get the valentines made. I still have today to work on it before I'm late for the holiday itself, but I did not get them made during the week like I wanted to. I just didn't feel creative. :(

Goals for the Coming Week: Three glasses of water per day...this is something I need to accomplish per the food journal I've been keeping. I simply have not been drinking enough water (some days no water) and I need to work on it. I also need to write an article or hunt one down in my archives...to submit for something.

Pictures and Stuff

I don't know if you've picked up on this or not...but I sort of like pictures. :)

Last month, when I met up with Kari for our belated Christmas celebration, I went armed with my three latest scrapbooks, done through Picaboo. I've decided to do all my scrapbooks the digital way now. (I'll pause in case you need to gasp. This news shocks some.) Picaboo has a great program that lets me still "scrap" with fun backgrounds, but it also lets me make my pictures bigger - even up to the size of a whole page. I like that for the extra wow pictures.

As Kari flipped through the book of my vacation to Tennessee with Faith and her daughters, she stopped at the picture of the lion. The lion was part of our visit to the Louisville zoo, and he was one fantastic animal. I shivered as I zoomed in and took pictures, because he stared me down through my camera lens with a look that said he knew what I was doing and he wasn't happy about it.

But as she paused on the picture, she asked if I'd ever thought about adding a verse to the picture and having a print made. Well, no, but now I have!

So...I went home, pilfered around for a good lion verse, and added it into the picture. I emailed it to Kari, and she loved it so much, she wanted a 10x13 print of it!

A few days ago, I told this story to Rachel, because she's a good little photographer herself, and she told me about this website: Nations Photo Lab. She'd used it to order some prints and liked the prices and the quality. So I checked it out - and discovered they are running a special on enlargements. SWEET! So as a trial, I ordered my lion print and paid $11.06 for a 10x13 - shipping included! And Thursday....this arrived:
You can't tell from the picture, but it's printed on a linen paper - thick and extra classy looking. I'm so impressed.

I took the picture to work, where I received an order from Kari's mom, who wants a print of her own! My mom has requested one too - and she hasn't even seen it live yet.

So there you go. My new addiction. I may or may not have doctored up three other pictures thus far....

Olivia

** I have been the blogger at The Intentional Journey yesterday and today. If you have a moment, I'd love you to hop over and check it out! Link on side bar! **

Olivia was sixteen when I started mentoring her. At our first meeting, we settled in at a table at Tree of Life, ordered dollar lattes (oh how I miss those!) and cracked open our already-read copies of The Prayer of Jabez to see if there were any new things we could learn from its few chapters.

In the years to follow, we read other books (I think my favorite study we ever did was Elizabeth George's book Beautiful in God's Eyes - a study on Proverbs 31), prayed endlessly for each other, got together for coffee dates and home movie nights, and even worked out together now and then. (She slaughtered me in every workout. Stupid ten year age difference.)

Olivia was the one who sneaked into Tree of Life one day while I was on a first date, and peeked out from behind a bookshelf just to see what this guy looked like. She was also the one who concocted a terrific story to get some pictures of one of my die-hard crushes as a Christmas gift for me one year. She's been known to bring me frappes on days she sensed were unraveling me, and while in college, would drop by my office just to give me a hug. She was also the one to hit the floor in prayer with me the night before my desert ended.

In college, she began to date an amazing guy. No seriously. Amazing. Check this out. After they started to date (and I'd riddled her with questions about him and was dying to see him) he showed up in my office one day, stuck out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Tom. Olivia's told me so much about you and I just wanted to introduce myself."

Shut up. Are you for real?

Indeed he was. Together they actually asked to come over to my house for Sunday lunches because they liked my cooking. On my birthday, they showed up in the morning to bring me pancakes, sausage, and scrambled eggs they'd made in a kitchenette on campus. I loved those two and the way they loved me.

They were one of those rare God-ordained couples. A couple that embodied what it meant for two to be better than one. A couple you'd look at and say Man, I hope they make it because they will pour the love of God into everyone they meet.

This past spring, they graduated from college and moved away into the real world. Olivia and I still do our once a week meetings - by phone, now. And last week, she sent me an email to ask for prayer. She didn't know what was happening, but something seemed amiss. Of course, I went straight to prayer - for wisdom for her and Tom.

Saturday night, as I watched some sappy Hallmark movie and recovered from shoveling, my phone rang. Call from Olivia.

She sounded like she was crying.

My heart stopped beating (literally) as she began to speak. "I was just wondering if you would honor me be standing up with me in my wedding?"

That boy proposed to my sweet girl. I was so glad. I did not want to have to hunt him down and have words with him.

I don't know if I cried more over the proposal or the invitation to be part of her wedding. She reminded me (after half a dozen EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE's!!!) that I'd not answered her question. I said, "Are you for real?"

She told me I've been influential in her life and in their relationship, and she wanted me standing with her that day.

As she shared with me the details of how he proposed and how God had led him...prompted him...assured him....confirmed that this was His plan for their lives, my heart swelled with hope. Hope that God still speaks to men's hearts and that men still listen to Him and follow in obedience.

Will I be her bridesmaid? Oh yes. I will be honored and humbled to stand beside her that day and watch her step confidently into her promised land.

100 Random Facts Part 4

** The last fact-let in part three was that I have a list of non-negotiables where kids are concerned. That is important to know for item one in this post...**

* One of them is that I will not do the breastfeeding thing.

*I have already been lectured about this, and I don't even HAVE kids.

* I also want to give my children strange names.

* Working in a school has ruined a lot of names for me.

* I will not name my kids Brownie or Praline - which will only make sense to you if you've seen the movie Where the Heart Is.

* That is one of only fourteen movies I own.

* I own more Gaither Homecoming DVD's than actual movies.

* I did not like David Phelps when he first joined the Vocal Band. (Don't tell him.) (I have obviously learned the error of my ways.)

* I am IN one of the Homecoming tapings - Down by the Tabernacle.

* I would consider working for the Gaithers to be a dream job. (Unless they asked me to sing a solo.) (Then I'd just pass out.)

* For now, I just shop in their store, which, as you may remember, makes THE BEST caramel frappes I've ever had in my life.

* I didn't even like coffee until after college.

* My job drove me to drinking...coffee, that is.

* I've never had a drink of alcohol, unless you count NyQuil.

* I'm scared I'd become an instant alcoholic, so I don't even mess with it.

* In college I survived on a Mountain Dew addiction.

* I had to give it up after college due to stomach issues.

* I still miss it and gaze longingly upon it when others partake.

* I am good about avoiding it, though, because I don't want to go back to the ER.

* The last time I went to the Health Center at work, my blood pressure was near stroke level. (I am that scared of medical offices!)

* I know the BP is really okay because anytime I check it at Wal Mart, it's fine...and if it's fine at the Wal Mart, it's FINE.

* Wal Mart was where my first boyfriend and I went on dates because it was the only place in town open after midnight, which was when he got off work.

* After midnight is when I function best anyway.

* I hate mornings so much that growing up, I was literally hateful to my parents first thing in the morning.

* I would have tanned my hide for that if I'd been them.

* Maybe it's good I was born so late in their lives...they were too tired to fight me on it!

** This concludes my 100 random facts. You should make a 100 facts list. It's fun to see where your stream of thought takes you! **

100 Random Facts Part 3

** Random facts continue...if you're just joining up, there are two posts below that might help this one make sense. **

* Growing up, I was only allowed to watch Little House on the Prairie and Alf.

* The rule in our house was if a swear word was used on TV, the show had to be turned off immediately.

* Though Little House didn't use much profanity, I learned where all the words were and turned down the volume the next time that episode aired so I could finally see how it ended. (That was about as close to rebellion as I ever got growing up.)

* I was not allowed to do homework on Sundays.

* I liked that rule and kept it even when I went to college.

* I did not observe it my last semester and now I wish I would have, so I could say I made it ALL the way through school without ever doing homework on Sundays.

* I had my own room my last semester of college, after a falling out with my roommate.

* We made up after college, and I was even in her wedding.

* Her mom wanted to set me up with the brother of the groom.

* In another wedding, where I was the maid of honor, the brother of the groom was the best man, and at the reception, he broke up with his fiancee and asked me out. (I don't make this stuff up, people.)

* We never went out.

* The first wedding I was in was the first time I'd ever danced.

* It was also the last time I've ever danced.

* It's a dream of mine to one day be asked to dance again.

* Especially since it's now permitted where I work.

* I am the youngest person in my office, and yet I have worked in that office longer than any of the rest of my co-workers.

* The job I had before working in Financial Aid was working in a loan office.

* Have I mentioned I can't do math?

* In high school, I babysat for a living.

* I was a very good sitter.

* Unfortunately, my lack of bearing my own children means that most moms look at me with condescension.

* It is my great hope that, should I ever have children of my own, I will not do the same thing to other non-moms.

* I have a list of non-negotiables where kids are concerned.

100 Random Facts Part 2

** The end of post one was talking about my gray hair...in case you forgot. You may now continue reading random Bekahness. **

* When my hair started going gray, I tried highlighting to hide it.

* My first highlight was a fail, because after my friend finished it, she found the packet of highlighting powder that she'd forgotten to add. (Woops.)

* It was an omen of things to come, because a few years later, I dyed it orange by mistake.

* The attempt to fix it came out Ronald McDonald Red.

* It was fixed by a professional in time for my ten year high school reunion.

* I was voted most changed since high school at that reunion.

* I was asked repeatedly if I was someone's date, because no one recognized me.

* But that's okay...my own mother doesn't recognize me now between my hair color changes and my recent weight loss.

* Mom and I have an annual tradition of going to the county fair to eat a tenderloin, split an elephant ear, and look for people I went to high school with who were skinny then and are fat now.

* Okay so that last part is just me. (And it's not nice.) (I'll gain ten pounds from the fat fairy for it.)

* This year at the fair, I got sick from a combination of too much heat and not enough food.

* I have a great fear of sickness, therefore I also refuse to ride rides...because they make me sick to my stomach AND dizzy.

* I would like to one day ride a Ferris wheel. Preferably with a date.

* I would also like to one day travel to Prince Edward Island - the home of Anne of Green Gables.

* I will travel with Julie Crandall if I ever get to make that trip...she's my Anne buddy.

* If...no WHEN...I go, I want to spend enough time there to fully absorb the experience without cutting corners.

* I'd also like to take a cruise someday.

* I've never gone to a formal dinner though, so I'd have to buy a new dress for the occasion.

* I'd also have to learn which fork to use.

* Actually that whole fork thing stresses me out...give me a restaurant with a dollar menu.

*I have been known to feel guilty on dates when my meal costs more than $10.

* One of my favorite dates ever in my whole life involved a carpet picnic of Papa John's pizza, moose tracks ice cream, and a movie.

* Wasn't a date, but one of my favorite birthday outings was when Jon and Julie Crandall took me to a hot dog/root beer stand for dinner and then to a drive in theater to see Shrek 2.

* My first movie to see in a regular theater was Runaway Bride...I was a senior in college.

* I did not enjoy the movie because I thought God was going hate me for going to a movie.

* He did not.

100 Random Facts Part 1

** I found this on a blog I read and thought it would be fun to try. 100 sentences of random facts...one morphing into the next. Since that would make for one blessed long post, I'm breaking it up into four days. **

* One of my biggest pet peeves is when people back into parking spaces...I find it presumptuous.
* I refuse to use the handicap button to open a door just because my arms are full.

* I could have legitimately used said button when I was eleven and broke my leg after falling off a bike.

* I had a pink cast after that incident.

* That year, my Halloween costume involved a crutch, an arm sling, some lipstick "gashes," and a sign that said, "You should see the other guy." (I can't imagine being a mom trying to figure out a costume for her kid-in-a-cast.) (Way to go, Mama!)

* That was also my last year to dress up for Halloween...the next year I wore a shirt that said, "This IS my Halloween costume."

* One year - 3rd grade, to be exact - I dressed up as Raggedy Ann for Halloween, and my Mom snapped a picture of me picking my nose. (How embarrassing.) (And disgusting.)

* Another nasty habit I used to have was nail biting, but I gave it up in 7th grade so I could look like my friend Cyndi, who had long, beautiful nails.

* Cyndi also taught me how to French braid my own hair, and I got to be really good at it.

* My hair, at its longest point, went almost to my waist and was 50 kinds of unruly.

* I also had a poofy bangs era, which was when I discovered Rave 4 Hairspray.

* I used so much of it that I had to chip it off my bedroom furniture.

* Speaking of furniture, I still have and use the dresser my parents bought me when I was a kid.

* That dresser was the location of my first kiss. (He was sitting on it and I was standing beside him...just to clarify.)

* I was 2 1/2 months shy of being 21 when that kiss took place and it is still one of my favorite moments.

* That boyfriend was also the first guy to ever say "I love you" to me, and that moment was straight out of a movie script, it seemed.

* The apartment where he lived when he said the first "I love you" was an apartment where my parents lived after they were first married. (Still grosses me out.) (Mom thinks that's funny.)

* I, too, lived in an apartment for 2 1/2 months after college, before moving into my first house. (Not the same one where the boyfriend lived...just to clarify.)

* I lived on baked potatoes, because it was all I knew how to cook.

* My grocery budget was only $50 a month - and that included cleaning supplies, shampoo, etc.

* I still grocery shop with a calculator.

* I can't actually do math in my head - even simple math - hence the calculator.

* I've been known to count on my fingers under the table before (at work) while trying to NOT let on that I can't do math in my head.

* When I first started working, I wore fake glasses to make myself look older, because parents would not take me seriously due to my young looks.

* My gray hair (courtesy of my job and MY parents - HA!) now gives me great credibility.

It's the Weekly Recap!

* I started off last Sunday teaching Sunday School to the junior high girls. Took them a little morning treat...don't you wish you were in my class?


After church, I hunkered down in the living room with the fireplace running, my jammie pants on, my fleece blanket over me...and I watched Hallmark's Little House on the Prairie marathon while I worked on a writing project.
* This was the view Monday morning....

...and the rest of Monday was spent plotting ways to prepare for and survive the pending Snowmageddon. I kept a running list throughout the day...but you've already read about my prep list. I was supposed to have dinner at a friend's house Monday evening but she had to cancel. In the end, I was glad since the precipitation showed up much earlier than they predicted, and I had a list to accomplish!
* The snow may have showed up earlier, but it fizzled out enough that we did NOT get the long-awaited and much-desired weather day on Tuesday. So I went to work, where I was greeted by Mr. February:


I spent most of the day waiting for word that we would be dismissed early - which finally came an hour before the end of the day. LOL! Took advantage of the electricity (in case it went away later) by making brown sugar meat loaf and a baked potato for dinner - and basically took it easy the rest of the night while listening to sleet pelt the windows.

* Wednesday, as you've already seen, was a snow day for Bekah!!!
* Thursday I had to return to work, which was treacherous at best since my road was still not plowed. I barely made it off my street without getting stuck in the ice-masked-as-snow, and then all day I fretted about how I'd get back ONTO the street. I even prayed for a plow to show up, which would very much take an act of God. When I got home, my prayer was answered (not as cleanly as I envisioned, but nonetheless, we were plowed-ish). And then I came inside to this lovely sight: Two words: Braeya Jo.

* Friday...I came home at lunch and wandered over to the Gaither site to find this on preorder:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! (I'm kind of a David Phelps fan in case you forgot...from, you know, earlier in this post.) Judy, one of my co-workers, was laughing at my bounce-off-the-wall excitement and advised that I avoid coffee until I came down from the high of this news. I responded by heading straight to McConn for a 16 ounce vanilla hazelnut fresh brew. (There's a preview online. Of the DVD, not the fresh brew. You should watch it. David's oldest son is FUNNY!!)
* Saturday I awakened to a surprise snowfall which resulted in six more inches of snow on top of our ice. That meant my yard went from looking like this:
...to this:
Because I'm such a girl, I ventured forth (praying all the way) to the salon to get my long, long, long overdue haircut. It was worth risking life and limb...that's how overdue I was. Made it there and back, dug out my driveway and sidewalk (again) and went out into the mid-storm, pre-Super-Bowl madness to do more grocery shopping, and came home to STAY. I even made a batch of baked potato soup!

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: The day I prayed for the snowplow...as I snuggled under the sheets to go to sleep that night, God whispered to my heart, "You asked for a snowplow...I sent three." I giggled in bed. That's just like God. Triple the snowplow answer!

Books I am Reading: Plugging away at Sparkling Gems from the Greek. Continuing to learn from it! I read another chapter in Beth Moore's Believing God for my study with Olivia. FINISHED The Peanut Butter Man!
Goal Update from Last Sunday: I printed off new pictures for the frames in my office - much improved! The brake light is fixed...and thanks to my snow day, I finished a book! Success!

Goals for the Coming Week: I want to make it to the gym twice this coming week. Due to the weather, I've not been there for several days, and I miss it! I also want to make some Valentines to give away...trying to make the day special for some others!

Brown Sugar Meat Loaf

Meat loaf is one of "those" dishes. Some people (pretty sure my sister is one of them) hate it...and others find it to be great comfort food. I've never made it until recently, mostly because Mom never had a recipe to give me, and I'm unlikely to venture something without a recipe. I can't just throw something together like some people can.

But this year I've started reading the Organizing Junkie blog (link on left) and every Monday, she does "Menu Planning Monday." She shares her food plans for the week (including links to recipes) and other readers do the same. So from that adventure...I found this recipe. The original recipe came from allrecipes.com but I've tweaked it a bit to suit my purposes.

Absolutely fell in love with it the first time I made it. It's a good warm winter food. It also warms over well, which I loved. I've been eating it with a side of a baked potato...and when I served it to company, I also made macaroni and cheese to go with it.

The Recipe:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

Pat brown sugar onto bottom of greased loaf pan. Spread ketchup over the sugar. In a bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients until well mixed and press into pan over sugar and ketchup. Bake for an hour at 350.

As usual, I used the dried chopped onion, and saved myself some time. I don't often bother with what kind of beef I get, but for this, I do try to get a leaner cut so I don't have so much grease to contend with at the end. And my bread crumbs were Italian - which gave it great flavor.
I just press the brown sugar into the pan (make sure you spray it well first!) My loaf pan angles in at the bottom, so the sugar layer is pretty thick.

Don't tell...I didn't actually measure the ketchup. I just sort of drizzled it over the brown sugar until it looked like 1/2 cup. (Tsk tsk. Mrs. Lee would not be proud.)

Dump everything else in the bowl! Doesn't get much easier than that!

I really don't like gooey messes on my hands, so I stick my hands inside plastic baggies to mix it up.

I promise it tastes much better than it looks at this stage. Make sure you mix it well so all the onion doesn't end up in one spot!

I just toss it in on top of the sugar and ketchup - kind of by the lump-ful....

...and then I press it down so it's even around the edges. Stick it in the oven and bake! (Side note - the first time I made this, I put it in the oven before I went to work out and when I got home, it was ready to exit the oven. PERFECT TIMING!!!)

Ta DAAAA!! I didn't take a picture of this step because it's nasty, but I just scoop out the extra grease from the top and put it on a Styrofoam plate. I let it harden up and then throw it away.

Plate...and serve!!!

I hope you can enjoy it on these frigid winter days!!

Anatomy of a Snow Day

Warning: Sometimes I'm just an overgrown child.

Well, all my careful snow prep did not pay off immediately, but Wednesday, I enjoyed a true rarity: a snow day. There are two times in life when I regret my decision to not become a teacher. One is during the summer and the other is on a snow day. My work never closes. I shouldn't say never. Since I showed up in 1996, they've closed once. I think it was four or five years ago - on Valentine's Day, actually. And then...this week. Since it's so rare to get a snow day, I decided to document the occasion. Enjoy.

12:35 a.m. - Received text that campus would be shut down for classes and business. Praise the Lord. (Not kidding. Praise fest IN BED.)

5:30 a.m. - Woke up, turned off the alarm so as not to be bothered by it later. Also wandered into the kitchen to turn off the auto-start on the coffee pot. No need for coffee until MUCH later.

9:30 a.m. - Awakened by phone call from the place I was supposed to be that night to take a cupcake class. No class. Good. Can't get there anyway. Decided I should probably think about getting up. But first...morning chat with Braeya...

...and then Kaegan took his turn.


10:30 a.m. - Finally got up. (It's a process, people. Don't judge me.) Restarted the coffee pot and fixed breakfast. Warm pumpkin bread with butter and a fabulous mug of coffee. Life is good.
11:00 a.m. - Devos!! It seems I've been writing in my prayer journal every day that I wish I could stay home and enjoy extended moments with the Lord. So I figured since He gave me a day off, I should do just that. Instead of reading my Bible and devos in my normal spot, I relocated to the fireplace. (The coffee is on top of the fireplace because a furry little someone would stick her face in it if it happened to be on the floor...but I won't mention names, Braeya!)


12:00 p.m. - Cuddled up on the couch to read...determined to finish one of the books on my reading list!! And no, that's not a Snuggie. It's a regular old blanket.

12:45 p.m. - Decided to be a responsible adult and go outside to start shoveling. After this much work, learned that shoveling snow is one thing. Shoveling a multi-layered cake of ice and snow is - NOT WORTH IT.
1:00 p.m. - Decided, instead, to take pictures. Much less strenuous. Ohh...for the warmer days...

...and the dreams of planting flowers....

1:30 p.m. - Got kind of hungry - so I warmed up some lunch and popped in a movie someone at work had loaned me. Not at ALL a Renee Zellweger fan, but was peer pressured into giving the movie a shot.


3:00 p.m. - Paused the movie long enough to go out and salt the snow. That's a new one for me. But someone on Facebook suggested it as a possibility to chop through the snow and make it shovel-able. (Feel free to use that word.)
3:30 p.m. - Went back outside (after finishing the movie) to check on the salt's progress. Not as helpful as I'd hoped, but I did discover that if I pounded at the snow with my shovel to break it up, I could at least move it. Of course, after about 20 minutes of that, my arms were aching and I couldn't feel my fingers, so I gave up.
4:00 p.m. - Made my own frappe and watched Oprah - because I could.
4:45 p.m. - Lost interest in Oprah's last guest and abandoned the show in favor of more reading. Finished the book!!
5:15 p.m. - Another round of chopping snow so it could be shoveled off the walk. Put out another round of salt over the parts too frozen to even be chopped. Declared this the worst shoveling EVER. Even worse than the year it was way over a foot deep.
6:00 p.m. - Dinner and two episodes of Dharma and Greg (one of my favorite sitcoms of all time). Also gave in and called a plow to do my driveway. Dinner, by the way, concluded with: 7:00 p.m. - Guilt gut won out over the desire to be lazy, and I went back out to finish chopping snow so I could subsequently shovel it. My thoughts on that: 8:00 p.m. - Snuggled in on the couch to watch Airline (love that show!) and check my email. I just want you all to know how much I love you to post the worst ever pictures of myself! LOL!!! See how Braeya likes to watch Airline with me too? (Kaegan spends most of his day in my bed...that's why he's not in these pictures.) 9:00 p.m. - Put in the other movie loaned to me (A Good Year...Russell Crowe...didn't get into it) and did some hunting online for future vacation ideas.
10:30 p.m. - Gave up on the movie and got on the mini-stepper to make up for the snack I ate. :) The workout music of choice? Let Freedom Ring Homecoming. I know. I'm weird.
10:45 p.m. - Snowplow showed up! I can get out now! THANK YOU MR. SNOWPLOW MAN!!
11:15 p.m. - Final activity of my snow day? Scrapbook page to chronicle it.

Preparing for Snowstorms in Bekahland

Toward the end of last week, I started hearing rumblings of bad weather predictions. But I'd heard those rumors so many times this winter...and I had yet to see any of them become reality.
Nevertheless, I did my shopping early (hoping to beat the snow's-coming-in-five-minutes-and-I'm-suddenly-addicted-to-bread-and-milk crowd) and decided I was ready.

That is, until I went to work on Monday and saw the weather reports change to "hazardous outlook" and "winter storm warning." Perhaps I needed to step up my storm prep.

The news station will tell you to stock up on bread, milk, flashlights, candles, battery operated radios, and kerosene. Clearly they've never lived in Bekahland. Here's how I prep for a storm.

1. Stock up on charcoal and lighter fluid...and move the mini grill out of snow's way. My theory? I can grill burgers (main dish), slice up some potatoes to butter and grill (side dish), roast a marshmallow for a s'more (dessert), and heat up a kettle of water to make hot chocolate (snack/heating device). Beats the snot out of PBJ and milk, doesn't it?
2. Move the snow shovel and ice melting device of your choice to the door and park it. Not attractive decor, to be sure, but it's better than bundling up to go out into the snow to retrieve it to move said snow.
3. Who needs water!?! What am I if not a caffeine addict? (I first typed "coffeine" - that might be true!) Not one, but two pitchers of iced tea on reserve...and a whole pot of coffee prepared ahead for iced coffee if needed. I could live without water for a day but take away my caffeine... 4. Empty the laundry bags. It's important to catch up on the laundry before a potential power outage...not so much because of the whole clean underwear thing...as much as a fresh supply of fleece to wear! You won't notice a cold house nearly as much when layered in multiple pairs of fuzzy socks, fleece shirts, flannel jammie pants, and your bathrobe over all of it. Just hope that Stacy and Clinton don't show up at your house!
5. Snacks, baby! Of course the perfect snow day includes a yummy breakfast of pancakes and eggs...but if the power's out, it just seems wrong to resort to cold cereal. And you just never know when you might need a pick-me-up between meals. So it's always safe to have some fresh bread on hand. Say, for instance, pumpkin spice.


6. Did I mention the FLEECE? If the fleece shirt and fleece bathrobe are not enough - get in the fleece SHEETS to keep warm! Add a down comforter (and perhaps a few more fleece blankets on top) and surely that will work! And of course - the responsible adult kicks in and charges the cell phone whenever not in use...
7. And finally...get ready for work a day early. All these preparations, of course, are made with the cautious hope that I'll get a day off work. But there is always a much bigger chance that I would have to report for duty - with or without electricity at home to allow for getting ready. So...I get ready the night before! Straighten my hair and (sorry about the semi-naked face...it's a scary look, I know) with THAT, I am ready to bring on the storm!

SSMT: Verse 3

Yesterday was a new verse day for the Siesta Scripture Memory Team! Since I devoted yesterday to honoring Carol's memory, I waited until today to tell you my new verse!

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

~ Ephesians 1:17 ~

Several years ago, during a time of prayer and study, God prompted my heart that the book of Ephesians was the book I should study regarding my someday marriage. As I've read through it several times, I can see how it makes a wonderful guide for a husband and wife! In fact, when Isaac and I were dating, and he was going through his wilderness, I used to read the entire book aloud every night as a prayer over his life.

Last month, one of my devos in Sparkling Gems from the Greek talked about this particular verse, and as I studied it, God drew me to commit it to memory. And so...it becomes verse number three. And to be honest, I don't think it's coincidental that I'm studying it during the Valentine's Day season.

Here are some things that stuck out to me as I ripped apart the verse and did a word study:

* I keep asking...Sometimes I get tired of praying for things. You ever feel that way? You ask and ask and ask...and wonder if God is even listening? But this verse reminds me - to keep asking.

* may give you... When I read about this verse in the devotional book, the author said this word "give" means to hand something over completely to someone else. To impart. When I think about praying this verse for my husband, this reminds me that the wisdom and direction he will need to find me in the first place...and then to lead me...is going to be given to him by the Lord. Imparted to him. Handed over to him. And likewise, the wisdom I will need to serve beside him will be given to me by the same Father. Changes my perspective a bit. It's not something I have to control!

* wisdom...The author of the devo said that this word means insight not naturally attained. God will give Mr. Missing and me a sort of supernatural insight regarding our life, love, and ministry, if we will open our hearts to receive it!

* revelation... This explanation was my favorite. The author said it means something veiled for a long time and suddenly, instantaneously made clear. He even went so far as to describe it as a person who stands in front of a window with a curtain drawn over it. He said when revelation occurs, it's like the curtain is pulled away and the person can see the view that has been on the other side of the window the entire time.

* so that you may know him better. The entire point of all of this is not personal gain - but to know the Lord better (AND BETTER!). If God is going to take the time to issue wisdom and revelation to me...to draw back curtains and give me an insight I could not have had without His intervention...He's going to desire that I use that to know HIM better, not to become some overly proud smarty pants.

So this verse is actually my prayer - for myself and for the man I will marry. I commit to KEEP PRAYING for God to GIVE us WISDOM and REVELATION even now so that we can work to KNOW HIM BETTER AND BETTER both now and when we come together as life partners.

And all of this makes me think of a song I have come to dearly love in the last few weeks. It's also a prayer I have for the man I'll marry, and I think it fits with this verse very well. The song is by Sanctus Real and is called Lead Me.

My Sweet Carol

Ten years ago today, I received a phone call at work. The caller, my roommate at the time, told me sweet baby Carol had died. Today I want to honor her short, but beautiful life. This is an article I wrote about her a few weeks after her death in 2001.

I wiped my eyes and stared at the floor, embarrassed that I still cried about this; it happened weeks ago and no one else was crying at the drop of a hat. I stopped listening to what the man at the front of the church was saying and started the often-repeated conversation with God yet one more time. Maybe you've had a similar conversation, though your circumstances may be different. The conversation that begins, "God, it's not fair!"

My "not fair" conversation was about Carol. Two of my dearest friends were expecting their first baby and asked me to be in the delivery room when their child was born. I went through nineteen hours of labor and delivery with them before Caroline Elizabeth Anne decided to make her appearance.
I spent time with them every Monday night, holding Carol and playing with her. Sometimes she laughed at me. Sometimes she yelled because I wasn't her mom, and Mom was always her preference.

Then, one day I got a phone call saying Carol was gone. It was her six month birthday. Two days earlier she had been fine, but now she was dead. I was stunned...I hadn't been given time to prepare or say goodbye. And I was angry. Carol's parents had gone through so many trials in the past few years. It wasn't fair that they should have to give up their baby. I know that all things work together for good, and I know that God has a different plan. I even know that His ways are higher than my ways - all the phrases people like to say when someone dies unexpectedly - but I still thought it was unfair!

What seemed even more unfair was that, though Chris and Trudy, Carol's parents, grieved and went through their angry time too, they seemed to accept God's will quickly and had an amazing peace about their baby's death. I didn't. I pretended to whenever I was around them, but I just couldn't grasp the purpose of God's will. I had trusted God when other friends or family members had died, but this time, I just couldn't accept it. And my anger and frustration only grew when I noticed that others seemed to comprehend a part of God's plan that I couldn't comprehend.

One evening, two and a half months after Carol's death, I sat outside and wrote a letter to her. I told her, "Two days after you cried in frustration that I was holding you and I was not your Mom, and then you laughed at all my silly faces to make up for it, you were gone to Heaven.

"You didn't warn us that you were about to leave. You heard Jesus calling you, so you went. And you left me here, wishing you were back. I wouldn't care if you laughed or cried. I'd take either just to get you back here in my arms one more time. Exactly six months...that was your mission from God, and you completed it.

"You taught me the importance of awareness and truth. You always knew what was going on around you. Nothing fooled you. You knew exactly who held you and if it wasn't the person you wanted, you squalled until you ended up with the person of your choice.

"And you taught me to treasure the present. If I had known from the start that I would only have six months with you, I would have taken time to enjoy each part of your life, instead of wishing you into the next phase. I would have paid attention to detail so that I would have more memories to hold onto now that you are gone."

After I wrote the letter, something changed in my heart. I saw that Carol's life had a purpose and a time frame. She completed her purpose in her time frame. That's more than most seasoned adults have accomplished. Through her life and death, many who loved her have learned how to depend on God more completely. They have examined their own hearts and grown closer to the Lord.

1 Peter 1:6-7 says, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

When I look at Chris and Trudy, I see that the trials they have endured, up to and including giving their daughter up to God, have increased their faith. They have a beautiful relationship with the Lord. They have trusted Him through all He has asked of them. They have walked through the fire and come through with a strong, genuine faith.

What a lesson of faith God taught through a tiny six-month-old baby who never spoke a word, yet lived and died as a testimony of God's grace and love.

Your Aunt Bekah still loves and misses you, sweet girl. Can't wait to hold you in Heaven one day.

Caroline Elizabeth Anne Hancock

August 1, 2000 - February 1, 2001