Through the Eyes of a Child

While eating out at Fuzzy's with the family, Nolan, my 3 year old grandson, saw a lady walk in and sit down at a table near us. Nolan said in a very concerned little voice, "That lady is all alone!" He continued to talk about this, asking his mom if she (his mom) liked to be all alone. So, his mom asked if he would like to go talk to the lady. He replied "Yes", so whenever he finished eating, she let him down to go say hi. He wanted someone to go with him, so my husband went with him (I must admit I was hesitant to just go up and start talking to a stranger). He said "Hi", then the lady had to do most of the talking, because he didn't really know what else to say. He told her "Merry Christmas" as we were leaving and she said he had made her day.
While thinking back on this, I am reminded of the need, especially this time of year when we get so busy and wrapped up with our own agenda, to take time to look at the people around us as people, to look at those around us with eyes of compassion, truly caring about them and whether they have needs. And, not just seeing the needs, but caring enough to do something about it.
Let's slow down and look at the world through the eyes of a child!

side note: this picture is not from Fuzzy's, but from nostaligic hometown hamburger joint called,"Oma's".

Hurry Up and Wait

Ever heard the phrase "Hurry Up and Wait"? It's been known to be an unofficial motto for the army. We are in Kansas awaiting the arrival of our youngest son, Ryan to arrive from Iraq. My husband and I rushed to make it here by Friday and my oldest son, Jonathan, drove from NM and met us here on Monday. We were told originally that if we got here on Thursday (last Thursday) we would be safe to be here when he arrived, for they would be coming starting Thurs. evening through Monday. Well, it's Wed. morning and we are still waiting. We received a call this morning saying he would be arriving Thursday morning at 2 a.m. Every day they push it forward, but hopefully they won't extend it any further, because his brother has to leave Fri. morning to head back home. Lord, help me to remember that our days are in Your hands and everything will happen according to your perfect timing.

Feed Bag Turned Tote Bag (last nights project)

This was my first try at making a feed bag tote. Not perfect, but it's a fun way to use up all the feed bags we use up around here. I'm not good enough at explaining how I did it to do a tutorial, but there are lots out there if you google "how to make a tote bag from a feed bag". Curbly.com has a cute one from a bird seed bag, and there's a cute one from a chicken feed bag on instruct ables.com. The one tip I will give is: when cutting the bag, make sure you measure and cut so that the picture you want on the front is centered and cut out the way you want it, allowing for seams and room to box the bottom of the bag. My friend made a bag from a deer corn bag and used matching material to line the top of the bag and for the handles. It turned out really cute. Go ahead try it!

Tips for Memorizing Scripture

I'm not going to give up! Today I'm going to start (again) working on memorizing scripture. I've been reading the book (again) "Before You Hit the Wall" by Danny Lehmann. It's about establishing spiritual disciplines in your life. The chapter I read this morning was on the importance of the commitment to memorize God's Word. So, in my effort to begin a discipline of memorizing the Bible (again), I googled tips for memorizing scripture and this web page had some good tips: Grace Community Church of Glen Rose, TX - Tips for Memorizing Scripture so I thought I'd put it on my blog as a reminder to myself and maybe it will motivate someone else at the same time to start hiding God's word in your heart.
Does anyone else have any tips to share?

My Cleaning Apron

I finished my cleaning apron today! A few days ago a friend of mine invited me to a sewing class at her church and this was the project we did this week. Flylady says we can clean much faster if we have all of our supplies with us, so this has 6 pockets for supplies (works good for keeping track of my glasses also), and 2 loops for spray bottles. I think I'll go clean something now!

The Proverbs Woman

Proverbs 31:26 "...in her tongue is the law of kindness." Have you said something kind to someone today? ...to your husband, to your children? Don't just do kind things for them, but like the Proverbs woman, let kind words come from your mouth.

What's for Supper?

Ground Turkey & Vegetable Stew and cornbread is what's for supper at my house tonight. I have a big container of some really good leftover broth from my chicken and dumpling soup that I made a couple of nights ago that I hated to see go to waste. So, I decided I would add some ground turkey to it along with some zucchini and potatoes and have it for supper. I love using leftovers up, and this should make for a pretty easy meal which is always good on Wednesday nights since we have church. I'll let you know how it turns out.


By the way, the leftover broth was made from homemade chicken broth and I had added some onions, cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, salt & pepper, basil, and a bay leaf to it. Oh, and some fresh oregano leaves.

Update: It was really good!

Our Help Comes From The Lord

In "The Power of Positive Thinking", Norman Vincent Peale tells of traveling to a certain city where he meets a committee of people who whisk him from one event to another. There are autograph signings to go to, crowds to speak to, VIP's to meet, and then he is rushed to the hotel to hurriedly change clothes for dinner. He receives a phone call rushing him to dinner and as he runs out the door he almost forgets to lock it. He suddenly stops and asks himself what he is doing, goes back in and places a phone call to let the people know he will be late to dinner. He then He then sits down and begins to meditate on Psalm 121 and pray. It ends with the words "the Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this day forth..." After spending 20 minutes with the Lord, he went down to dinner feeling like a new man. How often do we get so busy we forget to stop and spend time with God who is our source of help. Before we know it we are feeling anxious, and stressed, not knowing if we are coming or going. If only we will make time for Him in our day, He will direct our steps. Psalm 121:2 says "Our help comes from the Lord." Stop and let Him give you the help you need each and every day.

Know Any Good Jokes?

As I was going about my day yesterday, I felt very tense. I had more to do than hours to do it in and it was stressing me out. While I was in town, I decided I would run by the library and grab a book I had been wanting to read, and grab a few magazines to get some decorating ideas for my house. While I was browsing through the magazines, I heard the lady behind the desk telling jokes to a lady across the room ( there happened to be only a couple of people in the reference room besides myself and the lady working there). Now, these were some very dumb jokes she was telling. I was thinking, "This lady is really strange." But, in spite of here goofy sense of humor, I found myself smiling. When I got to the desk to check out, she asked me if I knew any jokes:) I told her that I wasn't very good at remembering jokes, but that I would remember one that she told and share it with the men in my house (they also have goofy senses of humor). I also let her know that I had needed to smile and lighten up that day. I was feeling less tense already and left smiling!

Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

Our Plans vs. His Plans

Monday morning, Feb. 14th, my husband had just left for work and I was beginning what I had planned for my day, when I got a phone call saying my dad had been rushed to the hospital. I rushed there as fast as I could to find him arriving in an ambulance unresponsive. As the morning went by, and many tests were performed, he was diagnosed with a stroke and not expected to live. The doctor said to call in all the family. All of my siblings arrived from several states, some with their families ( there are 6 of us living). As he days went by and dad started responding, the doctors said that if he lived, he would be a vegetable and we needed to find a home to put him in permanently. The stroke also affected his swallowing, so they had to put a feeding tube into his stomach. Well, he started responding more, and more, but was hallucinating a lot and very delusional. We were taking turns sitting with him 24 hrs a day, and he was having to be put in restraints most of the time to keep him in bed and from pulling all of his tubes out. All of this time, many of his friends and family were coming in and out to visit him, and almost always they prayed for him before they left. One day the ER doctor came into ICU and was totally shocked to see that dad had come out of the coma. Well, evidently, God isn't limited by the doctors diagnosis and hears all of the prayers that had been going up to Him. Today, dad is in a nursing home going through therapy. He can carry on a normal conversation and is enjoying joking with the nurses and therapist. He is pretty much normal, only gets confused occasionally, and forgets that he's not at home. He can walk, but is still very weak and tires quickly, but is getting stronger every day. Tomorrow they will do another swallow test to see if he can eat yet or what he can eat if anything. He loves to eat, so is very concerned about the outcome of this test. Yesterday, the social services director said that this looked like it was going to be a very short stay. This just makes me want to laugh, just thinking about how good our God is, and how miraculous is His love. And, just like He didn't ask me what my plans were that Monday morning that I received the phone call (or for the weeks that followed), I guess He didn't bother to ask the doctors what their plans/diagnoses was for dad.

How the Snowy Weather/Bad Roads Saved Me Money Last Week

1. Saved money on gas by staying home.

2. Stayed out of the stores so wasn't spending money on stuff I didn't have to have.

3. When I needed something from the store I sent hubby for it on his way home from work, which saved me time and money on gas again.

4.On Saturday, we finally had a really pretty day and I ventured out of the house. The whole town was so glad to be out of their houses and needing to shop for their Super Bowl parties, so Wal Mart had no shopping carts available or hand baskets, so I only purchased what I could carry in my hands. So, I narrowed down my menu a little, making do with what I had at home again, and saved a little more money.

Now if I could only learn a lesson from this, and put it into practice.

No Fat Pizza Sauce

My husband is on a diet, and the menu for last night called for a pita pizza with low-fat marinara or tomato-basil sauce. Well, I didn't have any sauce on hand, so, I found a pizza sauce recipe and tweaked it to make it no fat. It was so easy and tasty that I thought I'd share it and save it here.
Pizza Sauce:
1- 6 ounce tomato paste
2/3 c. water
2 cloves minced garlic
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. pizza seasoning or 1/2 t. oregano & 1/2 t. basil
Mix all ingredients. No need to cook sauce, just let sit 10 minutes or more to blend flavors before spreading on pita and adding toppings.

"I Wish, I Wish..."

A few days ago, I was going about my work and my mind was very busy with thought of "I wish...". I won't tell you what I was desiring, it doesn't matter, but it wasn't the first time my mind and heart had yearned/prayed/thought this over. Anyway, as I was wishing, the thought popped in my head...."Tell it to Jesus!" For a second I was excited that I was being encouraged to pray about my situation. But then, just as quickly, I started thinking , "Surely God is tired of hearing me pray about this." It was then the story in Luke 18:1-8 came to me about the widow who kept coming back and coming back to the judge with her request. Finally, he got tired of her bothering him, and gave her the thing that she desired. This has encouraged me to not give up, but to continue to bring my request before the Lord. I know one day I will be granted my desire.

Where Are You Gonna Eat Today? (the restrooms a good place)

This morning as I was boiling eggs for breakfast, I thought, "This would be a good time to read a few scriptures". This reminded me of the post I had previously written entitled "Not Enough Time?" which talked about not letting your busy day keep you from getting into the Word of God. We can grab a verse here and there as we have a moment and nibble on it and a lot of time this increases our appetite for more of the Bread of Life. I believe I need to make it a point to keep the Bible with me wherever I am today and see where all I can find time to read it. Let me know where you squeeze in a snack today!

Warning! Just as in the physical, if you snack all day you get fat, the same is true in the spiritual. Keep nibbling on the Word and you are gonna grow!