Brave

I love heart-to-hearts with Lynne. I seriously cannot tell you how much I learn from her.

And earlier this week, I had one of those talks with her that left me...eager to grow.
That particular morning, she was busy. We were both busy. But it was one of those talks I needed to have (read: advice and comfort I really needed) and she put aside the task at hand for a slightly out-of-sorts producer who needed her. (I love that about her, too.)

She listened with great compassion, and after offering her advice, she launched right into her Bekah-affirmation mode. She poured genuine love into me with her words and kindness, and then she did one of my favorite things. She leaned forward and gave me a glimpse into her heart.

I scooted to the edge of my seat and watched the twinkle deepen in her eyes as she said to me, “I want to be brave. I really do. And when I look at you, I see a girl who wants to be brave…and she can be.”

Almost couldn’t catch my breath for a minute. I think Lynne is one of the bravest women I’ve ever met. But to know that she still wants to chase and find bravery made it seem like the greatest of adventures.

And to know that she thinks I have what it takes to be brave…was an invitation to an adventure in and of itself.

Won’t lie to you. I’m about the biggest chicken I’ve EVER met. I hate confrontation. I hate discomfort. I resist change. (Lois, did you see that? I didn’t say hate! I said resist! I’m growing up!) I don’t think I have a brave bone in my entire body.

But to know I might be able to cultivate some bravery along the path of life gives me great hope. And to have someone whose own courage inspires me…tell me I have it in me…well, it was a gift.

So that’s my secret for today. She’s right. I do want to be brave. Probably a long road to get there, but maybe one day…many years from now…I can sit across from a chicken-girl-like-me and tell her I’m still chasing the bravery dream and I think she can too.

Neighborly

Random story from the pre-blogging days....

Years and years ago, when I first moved in here, I had a neighbor (and I'll rename her just for kicks and giggles) - Mrs. Daniels. She was a widow, appeared to be just shy of 140 years old, and was not your average old lady. She weighed PERHAPS 80 pounds (soaking wet), drank a Miller Light straight from the can every single day, spent most of each day carefully perched on the corner of her couch, watching soaps and game shows (taking the occasional day off to head to the river boat for some gambling) and y'all, she could cuss a sailor right out of a conversation. Her regular outings were to get her hair done, to play Bingo, and to go to the store (for more beer).

I learned early on that she also had a very tight relationship with both the police and fire departments, and I'd do well to stay as far over on her good side as I could.

So I did. I'd take her food every now and then, I shoveled her walk every winter, and I dutifully waved every time I walked or drove past her house. (Because she was better than ANY security system you could possibly buy. She was AT the curtain ALL the time, and you could get nothing past that woman.)

She'd talk my ear off every chance she got - telling me what she won at the river boat, the latest on her "bad ticker" or her current opinion on the (insert choice words here) neighbors on the OTHER side of her. And by the way, the current opinion never changed.

And yet I loved that lady. She really was sweet, despite her somewhat (okay very) rough edges. And when summer rolled around, I always found a little brown bag of produce on my porch every time her kids visited. They always brought her too much and she wanted to share. Sweet lady.

So. One year, after Christmas, I was taking down my Christmas tree (well, one of the seven) and a car pulled up in front of my house. The block was eerily quiet because everyone was gone for the holidays. In fact, I hadn't even seen Mrs. Daniels for a few days. A man I didn't know got out of the car and came up on my porch. I stuck my head outside (careful to not invite him in) and asked if I could help him. He asked if I was Rebekah and I said yes. Turns out he was some random pastor from out of state and he'd read some of my writing and wanted to meet me.

(I'm not making this up.)

I went out on the porch and we talked for a while, and the whole time, I edged as close to Mrs. Daniels' side of things as I possibly could. I willed her to look OUT the window and call the cops before I turned into a Lifetime movie.

No cops came and the guy finally left.

A couple of days later, I saw her kids pull up in front of her house. I scrambled into my shoes and scurried out onto the porch. "HEY!" I called over. "Is she okay? I'm worried about her!"

Her daughter yelled back "Oh honey, I'm sorry - you didn't know! She died a week ago." WHAT!?

She hadn't even been there when the guy was on my porch. That ticker had finally given out and I didn't even know she was (that) sick.

And wouldn't you know (this was the part Mom and I were talking about Sunday) it was just a couple of days later that the blasted street light went out. It was right in front of her house.

I mumbled under my breath. "I don't even know how you get a street light fixed. Mrs. Daniels would have known. She would have had them on speed dial and had the whole thing fixed in 20 minutes flat." So I dug out the phone book (yes, it was in THAT era) and started calling around to various city departments until I found the right one. When I landed at the right department, they said there was a number on the light pole they'd need to have. Ten bucks says Mrs. Daniels had THAT written down somewhere too. Not me, though. I had to traipse out there and write it down and call them back.

Not gonna lie...I still miss her. People my age live over there now and they've done some really wonderful things to that house - lots of updating. I don't have to shovel any more than my own walk now. But I miss her waving out the front window...and hearing stories about her ticker. :)

Father's Day

Sunday was Father's Day. Want to see some vintage Bekah and Dad? Check this out:

I showed that to Dad on Sunday and he said, "When was that taken?" I said, "Oh circa 1979, I'd imagine, based on my age." He looked at it again and said, "Oh that was in 76!" I said, "Ummmmm not possible! I wasn't born then!" Woops!

So anyway. After church, I went over to Mom and Dad's for lunch, and after lunch, I gave Dad his presents. I found this one in Shipshewana last month. It's a sign with the title of one of his favorite songs: Fear Not Tomorrow, God is Already There. It was the only sign like this I saw the whole day, so I figured it was meant to be!

Actually, I really enjoy the Collingsworth Family's version of that song, myself. It has pretty great lyrics. Here it is:

His second gift, you've already seen: it was the Pinterest inspired bird feeder (or bird bath). He really liked it.

And, circa 2012...a new picture.

Lesson in Grace

I shared this story on the air last Friday, so if you were listening, I guess that makes this a repeat. So sorry!

Friday, Lynne and I did a Father's Day open phones show, so listeners could call in and honor their dads on the air. Love hearing their stories!! (And some of them made me cry!) Lynne asked me to share a story about my Dad, and this is the one I picked. I thought I'd share it here in honor of Father's Day yesterday.

(And yes, I'm about to sound VERY OLD here. But I'm not. No, really!)

Okay, so remember these??

picture credit

Well, back in the day, I had one. And I was no different from the tweens/teens of today in that this thing was ALWAYS attached to me. (Well, I guess the one difference was that I didn't wear it out in public. But at home, it was always on. ALWAYS.) I was rockin' OUT to Sandi Patty and Steve Green.

So this one particular day, I had the Walkman clipped to my belt, and I was wildly displeased about something I'd been asked to do. (Imagine that. A wildly displeased teenage girl.) I'd probably been asked to set the table or some other TERRIBLY inconvenient chore. How in the world my parents ever survived those years with me is truly beyond me and mine.

I brisked, in a huff, through the house, still plugged in, and as I made my way from the hallway into the kitchen, not observing the speed limit in any way, the headphone cord caught on the oven door handle. You know - that little edge that sticks out? Because of my pace, the Walkman snapped off my belt, fell to the floor and shattered into an irreparable number of pieces.

I'd gotten exactly what I deserved. It was the classic let-this-be-a-lesson-to-you-young-lady moment. You-just-live-without-your-music-until-you-save-up-your-babysitting-money-and-buy-a-new-Walkman teachable event. I mean really. They couldn't have PLANNED a life lesson any better. And I knew it.

And the next day when I came home from school, there was a Wal-Mart bag on my bed. Inside? A new Walkman. My Dad had made a special trip to town (we lived in the country, so there was no such thing as "running to the store real quick" in our world) and purchased a new Walkman for me.

This is the man who didn't so much care for my choice in music. This is the man who probably didn't care to have his kid disconnect from life in favor of being plugged in to said music. And this is the man whose kid deserved to be without for a while.

And yet he made a special trip to buy a Walkman for a bratty tweenager who did a stupid thing.

Grace.

For a long, LONG time, I kept that broken Walkman on the shelf of my closet, to remind me to SLOW DOWN - and to remind me that sometimes, we DON'T get what we deserve.

And it's all grace.

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday I was SUPPOSED to write. And I did. I wrote a lovely dream for over two hours in the afternoon. :)  And then I got caught up on all the things I got behind on throughout the week. And then...I concluded the day with a little baking goodness...

* Monday was a rainy day (at least in the morning) so I opted out of the "is she going to work or to the beach?" outfit I'd planned and wore this instead:

Two people asked me if I was going to a hoedown. Good grief. Also had my first moment of something-is-wrong-with-the-board-and-Lynne-isn't-on-the-air panic too. Thankfully Jim hadn't left the studio yet and bailed me out. Lesson learned? Panic awakens me more rapidly than coffee.

* Tuesday evening, I had plans to work on some things at home, but God had other plans. Was working through some heart matters and ended up spending the entire evening in prayer and Bible study:

* Wednesday was the day I got my hair in a ponytail (of sorts) - the one I told you about that looked more like a bird's nest? It was also the day I purchased my very first (and probably very only) golf skirt. And again - I'll not elaborate at this time. It just makes me feel very fancy to say I own a golf skirt. (This from the girl who has to manually deposit the mini-golf ball INTO the hole after 293048230948230498 attempts to hit it in...fail.)

* Thursday evening, the station had a Sticker Stop pretty close to my house, so even though I wasn't assigned to work it, I crashed it:

I stopped on my way home from work and then may or many not have gone to Ivanhoes with Sheryl, Amy and Anna, who were working the Sticker Stop. (Fruit serving for the day: strawberry shortcake.)

* Friday afternoon I had some visitors at the station! My friends Fred and Bev stopped by - and brought me a milkshake! YUM!! After work, I went to an art show that featured the talents of my kiddos Liam and Savannah. Savannah was completely attached to me all night. Loved that. Nothing beats a great kid-hug! (Sorry we're blurry. It was a bad night for self photography.)

* Yesterday was an all-purpose day. Sleeping, scrapbooking, running errands, cleaning, you name it. It is so rare that I have time to do whatever I want...and I completely cherish it when I do!! In the evening, I made Dad's Father's Day present...and look who felt that I couldn't do so without help:

One Thousand Gifts: My Experiencing God study was really hard this week. It uncovered a lot of uncomfortable things in my heart that I SO wanted to skip over, but I had promised God I wouldn't shortcut my way out of this adventure. So I canceled life two different nights this week to work through all the heart-mess. Life is busy and I found it to be a gift that I had the time this week to spend doing that necessary work.

Pinterest Inspiration: Well, this week's Pinterest fun came in the form of making the Father's Day gift. (And I made one for myself too. Not a Father's Day gift. But one of these.)

Source: familyfun.go.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

And here is the version I ended up with:

I used berries instead of leaves...and mine looks far less attractive without the glimmer of sunlight on it. But my photo shoot came during the only sprinkling of rain we've had in two weeks. I am going to get birdseed to put in mine, since I have an actual bird bath. Dad's can be used whichever way he wants to use it!

869 Gifts

It's been a really REALLY long time since I posted about the One Thousand Gifts journey. I'm so excited to be drawing close to that 1000 mark. Here are some of my faves since the last time I posted about them:

* Barefoot running through thick grass

* My 2011 scrapbook arriving in the mail: JOY!

* James reaching for me.

* Lunch in the park soaking up the sun.

* Opposition from Satan - must be doing something right!

* It's not 1993 anymore (saw an old picture of myself!)

* $5 earrings when I forgot mine

* Grace-saturated discipline

* Backup alarms

* Snuggling baby Amos

* Lynne's imitation of my "delightfully dorky" march

* Neatly organized piles

* Naps nestled in the fat chair

* A skinny day

* Quaint town filled with character

* Giggling with my sister on a late night shopping trip

* Hammock swinging from a tree

* New Bible smell

* Color coded lists

Show Us Your Life: Bedrooms

I'm glad Kelly's blog is doing the room tour this week - made me clean! :)

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to declare my master bedroom an all-purple room, because I wasn't married and I could. I love purple and had long wanted a purple bedroom, but I figured if I had a husband, he might not be as crazy about that idea, so I decided to do that now while I can.

Since this is, after all, my room, I don't have a lot (read: any) pictures of hanging out here. At least while it looked like this. When Angela lived here, this was our office...and after she moved out, this room was my craft room. But it looked like a dorm room then, so I'm not even digging out those pictures.

This is my little lantern which really should be outside...but for some reason, it has always lived in my room. Maybe when I move, I'll relocate it to the porch where it belongs. And I have a couple of little bookshelves in my room to hold the ever-overflowing collection of books. (Hey Julie! See our picture? We probably should take a new one. That was from our trip to Science Central! That was a whole baby ago for you! And a whole different hair era for me.)

My bed doesn't have a headboard, so when I redecorated the room, I had these curtains made for behind the bed. (Saw the idea on HGTV one time for a couple who needed to hide a closet door. Mine hides a storage room door.) When I moved the bed to the other side of the room, it became a backdrop for my dresser.

Random fact: That dresser has been in my possession since junior high...and many years ago, was the location of my very first kiss. (He was sitting on it when he kissed me.) (What? Normal people don't sit on dressers? What do they use? Chairs?)

And yes. That is a VCR under the TV. Doesn't work anymore but I have no idea how to unhook it without all the other stuff messing up. So it sits there. Kind of elevates the TV.

Several years ago, on my birthday, Mom and I went to a designer show home (think HGTV come to life) and I saw this idea for holding jewelry. Loved it so much, I stopped at the Hobby Lobby on the way home and bought this for my earrings:

I decided to go for the "keeping it real" view of the bed. This is often where I do my devotions, and I'd been doing just that before I took the pictures. So it's normally covered with the computer, the Bible, the journals, etc. Lots and lots of prayers have been offered from right here. Lots of learning, lots of studying, and lots of...of course...SLEEPING!!!!

And see the bunny on the bed? Angela gave me that several years ago after I sent my best stuffed animal out to my niece. (The tornado took everything she owned...I thought she might need a bunny.) Angela went to Build-A-Bear and replaced him. His name is David. She named him - after David Phelps, of course. And who am I to change the name she gave him??

I adore these lamps. When I move, I plan to put them in my guest room - which I plan to do in black and white with a pop of red. But for now they're in my room and I think they are adorable.

Took this picture at the ocean on my very first visit to see it. (Two years ago...Virginia Beach...my birthday trip with Lynnette.) I added the chorus to "The Love of God" and framed it. This is my (very small) headboard.

A few years ago, I bought that little tealight holder at a Christian bookstore that was going out of business. It has the verse "Two are better than one" on it and it sits in my room to remind me to pray for Mr. Missing. Behind it are my rock vases. The one in the middle, you might recognize from my blog posts last year. I put in a rock every day to remind me that God is actively at work in my life and each day I'm building an altar that shows His faithfulness.

The two sides vases are purple and I found them at the Goodwill a couple of weeks ago. I put rocks in them to remind me that God is working in my life and Mr. Missing's life right now - and someday when we meet and start a relationship, He'll still be at work, and our lives together will represent that.

What can I say? I'm a visual kind of girl. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me focused on what to pray for!!

My cedar chest. It belonged to my grandma. Actually, I'm pretty sure it was her engagement gift from my grandpa. When I graduated from high school, Mom and Dad had it refinished and it holds (are you ready for this?) my out of season clothes. LOL!! How memorable, right?

Yes, I realize this is a dumb picture, but it's an important fixture in the room!! My prayer rug. Mom and Dad had this rug and didn't need it, so they gave it to me since my bedroom floors are all hardwood. When I was in the desert a couple of years ago, I spent HOURS on this rug, flat on my face, praying. And sometimes, when I'm dead serious about interceding, this is still one of my favorite places to pray.

So that's my room! Lots of really great memories here!

Random Observations

Okay, even I need a break from the heavy stuff. I've worn myself out! :) So I thought I'd share with you some random facts and observations from this week.

* The day you need to polish your nails on the way to work is the day you get ALL the green lights. The day your nails are actually done...you get all the red lights. It's a fact of life.

* My hair is now long enough to put in a ponytail. And by that, I mean it looks like a bird constructed a nest and glued it to the back of my head. This is why I was not selected to be a member of the royal family. None of them would be caught dead with this hair.

* Clogs and escalators are not friends. I nearly had a Kodak moment trying to get from the first floor to the second floor of my friendly J.C. Penney store last night. So on my way down, I got on that thing like an 89 year old woman a week after a hip replacement. I hope the security cameras enjoyed the spectacle.

* Braeya thinks that each time I enter the kitchen, it's time for a treat. And when I burst that bubble, she wails. Such a drama queen. Hmm. Wonder where she got that trait?

* I now own a golf skirt. Bet THAT raised a couple of eyebrows in blogland. I'd tell you more but it's fun to keep you in suspense.

* If the fact that I went golf skirt shopping keeps you in any sort of suspense...we really have to find you something more exciting to do read about. Bless your heart.

* You know that whole "I'm becoming my mother" thing? Uh well, in my case, it seems to be my DAD that I find myself acting like. Case in point: I made about 14 friends with perfect strangers while shopping at Hobby Lobby last night. We were chatting it up like old buddies by the time I left.

* One new friend was the lady behind me in line. We commiserated about our talent for finding the SLOWEST line ever in any store. She said to me, as I got up to my register, "So I guess I really don't want to be behind you right now, huh?" LOL! Well played, new friend!

* The next new friend was the cashier who asked about my project (as she rang up each item). We then bonded over the joy of Pinterest and as she finished wrapping my purchases, my friend from behind me called over from the next lane, "Ha ha! Beat ya!" And my cashier said, "Oh man, I didn't know I was in a race! I would have gone faster!"

* Some tweenager stopped me on my way OUT of the Hobby Lobby to very shyly tell me she likes my purse. Any day I can inspire a tweenager with a zebra striped Mary Poppins bag...is a good day.

* I have a feeling we're just mere days away from when Lynne can't contain herself any longer and tells her latest favorite Bekah-moment...when I (accidentally, I assure you!) pulled out my best Valley Girl voice and said, "I'm TOTALLY going to BUG them." (This is funnier when told in full version...but I'll leave it at that for now so if you hear her tell it, it can be all new for you.)

Striking Rocks

I'm in serious learning mode right now...so my apologies for all the serious posts coming your way! But I know this is definitely what this season is about in my life, so I'm drinking it up and trying to learn everything I possibly can.

A few days ago, I was praying, and God brought this to my mind. (It wasn't in any of my devos or Sunday School homework. Just bonus learning. Love it when God does that.)

Waiting is hard...and I'm sure most of you agree with me on that. My house has been on the market for a year. That has been a huge test of trusting and learning one of my favorite things: patience. Doesn't matter what you're waiting for...when your mind is focused on it...it's hard.

But right now, God is calling me to SIT STILL. And He brought this to mind:

The Israelites were (still) wandering around...no doubt very tired of waiting on the Promised Land. Waiting on food other than manna. And in this particular part...waiting on some water. They were thirsty. A legitimate complaint. I'd whine if I needed a drink too. And God, who had provided water to Moses and the people once before, said to Moses:

“Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” (Numbers 20:8)

SPEAK to the rock. And what did Moses do?

"Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank." (Numbers 20:9-11)

He didn't follow directions. He was supposed to speak to the rock and instead, he struck it. He did that because the last time they needed water, striking the rock had been the command. But not this time. This time it was...speak.

I noticed as I studied it...that the method did, in fact, work. Water gushed out. They got what they wanted, but they got it in the totally wrong way.

And as a result, God said “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Numbers 20:12)

Gulp.

In this season of waiting...my job is to sit. Sit and learn. Sit and wait for God to speak life into His plan...in His time and in His way. To resist the urge to strike the rock.

I have a feeling I might forget this, so I went out into the yard and found a rock and a stick to bring inside...one for home and one for work.

Because when all is said and done, I want to enjoy the blessing of His favor and I want to honor Him as holy. I want to prove faithful with the journey entrusted to me.

Celebrating the Past

Saturday, my friend Olivia gave me a belated birthday gift. (Olivia is my friend whose wedding I was in last summer...and we still do Beth Moore Bible studies by phone each week, even though we live several hundred miles apart now.)

Here's what the instructions said: "For your birthday this year, I wanted to give you something for the next year of your life; I wanted to give you something that will be an aid in helping to make it the best it can be! Some days are full of smiles, laughs, and joys. And some days are sad, tiring, frustrating, or discouraging. This kit will help you on those days when you just need a little encouragement...a little pick-me-up! There are 52 ways to brighten your day...Whatever card you draw, you have to do it....no cheating!! You also have to come up with a way to compile it all, so when your next birthday rolls around, you can look back over the past year and reflect on some of the joys provided in this kit, what you learned, what you enjoyed, etc..."

Oh. My. Word.

I adore this gift.

And so it was that on Sunday, I did the first one...

Think of three things you like about your past. Thank God for these things.

Wanted to share my three with you...and then challenge you do it too!!

1. I love it that I wasn't planned. If you only knew how many years of prayer and freelance therapy it has taken to get me to that point!! I spent almost the first 25 years of my life hating the fact that I was an accident. Begging God to tell me why He planted me in a family that considered itself complete without me. I still don't know all the answers to that why, but through much prayer, love, and advice from my friends, and the blessing of page 22 in Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life, I've not only made peace with the fact that it's enough that God planned me...I've come to adore the fact that God planned me. I like it better that I wasn't some long-awaited child of my parents. I was a long awaited child of HIS and His alone...and that means everything to me.

2. I love the beauty in the devastation. My sweet people, you've labored long with me over the loss of Isaac and you've listened to tales of other love-lost-heartache in the posts along the way. After Isaac left, the irreparable scars left on my heart seemed to be too much. I wasn't sure how I could ever have a healthy future in the love department. But I gotta tell you...two years on the other side of that, I'm looking back and seeing so much beauty in that journey I had with him - and with my first relationship, too, back in the day. There were many dreams that came true. Many "movie-moments" wrapped up in those months of love. And some people go a whole lifetime without ever knowing what that feels like. So I love the beauty even though it ended in heartbreak.

3. I love my struggles. Now don't get me wrong. I'd dearly love some of them to go away. But what a very sheltered life I would have lived had I not hurt...and fallen...and realized in very bold ways the imperfections I have. Because of those struggles, I'm able to understand other people in ways I couldn't have. In ways I wouldn't have...because I would have been far too judgmental for my own good. The struggles have driven me into the arms of the Lord...have humbled me...and have built character in beautiful ways.

So that's what I'm thankful for. You should ponder it too...you don't have to tell me what they are if you don't want to, but you should at least think about it. It does make a person grateful!!

Lessons Learned from a Car Wash

You may or may not remember that I have a hate relationship with automatic car washes. Not love/hate. Just hate. Why, you may ask? Read.

CONSEQUENTLY...My car had not been washed (other than by Jesus) for four years. Yes. Four years. Oh stop judging me. :)

I take a lot of teasing for that. (I would, however, like to point out that in that time, no one ever wrote "wash me" into the dirt, thankyouverymuch.) One of my work buddies mentions the car often and my standard answer is always "I will happily give you the keys and some money and if you'd like to run it through the car wash..."

So this past Saturday, our church had a car wash as a fundraiser for a mission trip. I had no intentions of going - not because I was clinging to a 4 year washless streak, but because it was a long way to drive for a car wash and my day was packed. But the night before, one of the teens called and asked if I was coming.

And I can't say no. So....in between activities, I scurried over to the church, and planted my car in the path of buckets and hoses and scrub brushes and bottles of who knows what kind of grime remover...

...and I sat on the steps of the church, working on my tan of course, while a village of people (not THE Village People) scrubbed and hosed and washed and scrubbed (and scrubbed) some more.

Then they pulled it over to the drying station (oh yes, there was a drying station) and I pivoted to watch while they washed windows and toweled off my poor little car. (One of the teens showed me her towel and said, "You weren't kidding about it being dirty!" Thanks for mentioning that.)

As I stared at my sparkling car (which, it turns out, is neither gray NOR polka dotted) - one of the guys from church pointed out a tiny spot on the top where the paint has chipped off and bare metal shows through. He kindly explained to stupid-about-cars-party-of-one here that I need to touch that up before rust sets in. Huh. Never knew that was there. It was probably buried under bird residue.

On the way home, I marveled at the ability to see, unobstructed, out the windshield. I called Mom and said, "This is going to revolutionize my picture taking life!" (Oh stop it. Like you don't know I take pictures while I drive.) And when James and Liam got in the car, Liam shouted out, "Aunt Bekah I can see out the window so good, it doesn't even look like there's a window THERE!" (Ahh the unabashed honesty of children.)

When I got home, I noticed a spot on the hood, and I rubbed that stupid piece of dirt with my finger, and found it wasn't dirt. It was another paint chip. Really gotta get that paint touched up.

So here's what I learned from that. Been doing some heart-work lately, as I've told you, with this Experiencing God study. And it's uncovering some ugliness in my heart that hurts to think about. Fears and habits I need to break. Should have broken a while ago. REALLY need to break now. Some of those things surprised me because I just didn't see them in myself. Got used to them, I guess. But when I started investigating my life, they popped up.

Kind of like washing a car uncovers the paint chips. But here's the hope I have. It's hard work to uncover this stuff...but I have great hope that the end result will be OH so worth it. When I can see and live, unobstructed...kind of like looking out a clean window.

So I'm not giving up on it. Going to keep plugging away. Allowing God to scrub away the dirt, point out the flaws, and help me fix them.

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Sunday morning, we started a new Bible study in our Sunday School class. Well. It's not a NEW study. It's been around forever. But I've never done it before. We're doing Experiencing God. I've been really looking forward to this because I've needed some refreshment in my heart, and I believe God is going to use this in a great way!

* Monday night was the exhausting car mess of 2012 - which did make for great blog fodder. It also resulted in me going through the drive thru at 10:30 at night to get some dinner, WHERE I was promptly flirted with (think Joey's How YOU doin?) by an approximately 8 year old manager. Seriously dude? I was a smelly, sweaty mess from my workout, with makeup sliding off my face and hair in the worst ponytail attempt known to mankind. Shaking head...

* Tuesday evening, before my Bible study call with Olivia, I tried this yummy frappe mix.

Marie gave that to me as part of a coffee themed birthday gift (oh my word...the love of a gift like that!) and I didn't even know Tastefully Simple MADE a frappe mix. I gotta tell you - it is coffee-shop good. REALLY really good. Great. Now I have a new addiction.

* Wednesday was a big day at work! That was the day I got to interview Bruce Marchiano. And it was the day our air conditioner ceased to participate. And it was the day this little guy worked on his Olympic tryouts, apparently! (This was outside the station.)

And after work I had dinner with Jenny and then I ran four miles in 45 minutes AND walked a fifth mile, completing all five in an hour. I was happy!

* Thursday night, Rachel came over to spend some time with me. Now that Grey's is over for the season, we don't get to see each other anymore. So she came over and we made a mess in my kitchen - which resulted in very yummy scones - and we drank coffee, ate scones, and caught up on life. Perfect night.

* This week was VBS at our church, but because of my schedule, I couldn't participate. I did want to see the program though, so Friday night I went to hear the kids sing their songs and watch the (HILARIOUS) closing skit. And there may or may not have been ice cream after....

* Saturday was a CRAZY busy day. Started out with a baby shower for my friend Lisa...

...followed by a run past the church car wash fundraiser (more on that later) and an afternoon with my fave little guys - Liam and James. Whew!! Those two are such sweethearts. I love em!

One Thousand Gifts: Yesterday when I met up with Chris and Trudy to pick up the boys for the afternoon, Liam started to jump out of the van to meet me. Before he escaped, I said "HEY! Do I get a hug?" (After all, he's not 2 anymore. Might be getting too cool for hugs.) He buried his face in my side and hugged the daylights out of me and said, "I was getting ready to do that! I love you!" m.e.l.t.

Pinterest Inspiration:  The grass in this state is dying a slow, painful death, but the weeds in my driveway are ALIVE AND WELL!! And I know they're getting bad when they even start to bug me! Weed killer is one of the most annoying things on the planet to buy. It's expensive, it's poisonous, and it stinks. And in a month...you have to use it all over again. So...when I saw THIS on Pinterest....

Source: thefrugalgirls.com via Rebekah on Pinterest

(Wow that's really big!)

I thought I'd give it a try. Spraying white vinegar on weeds to see if they'll die. So this week, I tried it - on a sample area of my driveway. Observation #1 - it stinks worse than the weed killer!!! Observation #2 - it didn't die as quickly for me. After two full days, I saw that the edges of the weeds were brownish. Middle is still good and green. But it's a start! I guess my thought is...it's not what I use for quickest results, but I already have vinegar on hand, so I'll save the money from the weed killer and just try this for now!

Baking and Talking and Friend Stuff

Wednesday night I got a Facebook message from my friend Rachel: So if I bring the key ingredients (i.e. strawberries and such) can we please get together and bake and talk and do friend stuff?

Then she added this link.

There's something very lovely about getting such a message from a friend you've not seen in far too long.

And so it was that Thursday night, Rachel showed up with three boxes of these...

And we packed ourselves into my little kitchen and set out to create this strawberry scone goodness.

It said to flour generously. I'm nothing if not generous. Ever eaten floured strawberries before? Okay so it was not THAT bad.

You know your friend is loving when she'll show up after you've gone for a run...and you're sweaty and nasty. And she'll still let you near the food. HA!

Can't have scones without coffee. Who are we kidding? Can't have LIFE without coffee.

They were GOOD.

And best of all...it was an amazing evening of baking and talking and friend stuff. God sure knew what He was doing when He made friends.

Show Us Your Life: Kitchens

My kitchen is one of the smallest rooms in my house. In fact, I've often called it a butler's kitchen, because in big fancy houses, the butler's kitchens are just about this size! But I love this room so much. Won't lie to you - I love it partly because it's WHERE I FIND THE FOOD!! :) But I also love it because it's one of my favorite themes! (It is also my only officially "themed" room. I save themes for Christmas trees.) Anyway. The theme?

COFFEE!!!!

When I first moved into this house, I gave the kitchen a garden theme. It was cute. Little white plastic picket fence above the cabinets and terra cotta pots for holding utensils. Then I found the world of coffee decor, and I've not turned back.

My curtains have coffee words on them, and these two little metal cups used to have hooks on them, but I twisted them off and just used the cups for decoration. Got them at Hobby Lobby on a deep clearance shelf several years ago.

 Another Hobby Lobby find: my wall art!!

 When I happened upon these, they were two of the only pieces of wall art I'd found that didn't use red and brown as the key colors. I wanted to do the blue/teal/brown color scheme!

 More altered clearance items. I found three of these wooden squares with hooks...removed the hooks...and I'm all set!

 Yeah I probably shouldn't post this one, but I will. I'm very glad that above my cabinets, I have space to put decorations since the room isn't big enough to add shelves or other furniture. I'm hoping my someday house has the above-cabinet space too! I found this sign years ago - also at Hobby Lobby - and bought it for fun. Most people don't notice it in my kitchen since it sits up so high (thankfully) but it's a good conversation piece. :)

 A present I received a few years ago...who can't use a coffee fund!?!?!?!?

 Sorry about the ugly Styrofoam under the decorations. The cabinet sides extend above the tops so if I don't elevate the short decorations, you can't see them from the floor! Anyway. Found these cute little decorative cups at Shipshewana a couple of years ago...and the plate was a birthday gift. "Friends don't let Friends drink decaf" - and ain't THAT the truth!

 These are my latest additions. Found these when I shopped at Shipshewana THIS year.

 I got the basket free from hosting a Homemaker's Idea party several years ago, and the fake food came courtesy of Mom's redecorating/getting rid of stuff. Kind of gives the end of the cabinet a bistro feel.

 Bought the espresso machine at a garage sale, filled a vase with coffee beans, and displayed a couple of mugs I received as a gift. Love the final look!

 And it is, of course, a FUNCTIONAL coffee kitchen. My trusty coffee pot and coffee canisters. Love those little jars!

This house used to be my grandparents' house, so I have MANY memories in this kitchen...watching Mom and Grandma prepare Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter meals...and all the dinners Grandma cooked for me when I'd spend the night at this house when I was a kid. But I also have a lot of great memories in this kitchen from my own time here.

This is essentially where I learned to cook. I knew pretty much nothing before moving in here. (Including that having an Amish boy haircut wasn't a great idea.)

 This is where I cooked my first Thanksgiving dinner. I hosted the whole family, and while Mom helped with the cooking, I did my fair share! (Another interesting hair era.)

 Every year, it's the cookie factory!! LOVE cookie baking!!!

 Memories of cooking with Angela...again...I miss her!

 And I've even done some cooking with my kiddos in there. This was from a Savannah sleepover many years ago. We made pancakes for breakfast! :)

And when I move??? Keeping the coffee theme. :) But hopefully upgrading to a bigger kitchen!