Sane, Simple, Sacred

Meals

Old recipes are the best--with a little tweaking now and then, of course...

Meals--planning, preparation and cleanup--occupy more time than I realized! Leisurely they wander in and out of my minutes and hours. They take me to cupboard and cookbook; internet and recipe file. I search refrigerator and pantry for them. I travel, too. Superstores and small-town grocery. Occasionally a roadside market. Slowly they take shape. Each one unique; odd combinations of time and taste and what's on hand. I find a surprising pleasure in their creation because I wasn't always "into" cooking.

(This observation from my journal entry a few days ago.)

As Busy as I Care to Be

I have time to work on jigsaw puzzles...

"You must be very busy," they say.

A statement with an implied question.

Curiosity-laden.

And I struggle to respond.

Fact is, I'm as busy as I care to be.

It's all relative, I believe.

...and I have time to read.

***

And you?

Are YOU "busy"?

Friday's Friends and More

What an incredible experience to meet Deanna face-to-face!

After reading Creekside Cottage for several years now,

I felt like I already knew her, but our conversation confirmed it!

How I thank the Lord for our mutual love for Jesus--

a fast and firm bond of faith that made our short time together so precious.

This was followed up by a meeting with friends from our college days.

Craig and Sylvia were incredible hosts, treating us to a fantastic lunch

and chauffeuring us around beautiful Amish countryside and towns.

We'll never forget this day!
(I hope THEIR photos turned out better than ours!)

Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling, people standing and outdoor

Well, this one did turn out better than mine....this is Sylvia & I.

The rest of these photos are various sights from a Thursday afternoon walk
around the area of our downtown Lancaster PA hotel and convention center.

Small courtyard behind the former home of Charles Demuth

In front of one of the many art galleries

A fountain outside our hotel

More Demuth courtyard

Hubby in entrace to Demuth courtyard

Hydrangeas & hosta in front of one of the 1700's structures

Trees - always my fascination. This one in front of Art Museum

Grounds surrounding the Museum of Art

I took the time to play this one!

Folded paper - so creative, I thought

A sweet flower shop

On the Road Again

Traveled across Ohio and into Pennsylvania

through beautiful country and tunnels (!)

to arrive, register, and find our "home" for the next few days in downtown Lancaster.

We found ourselves a place to eat before the first session of the

US National Conference celebrating the 250th year of the United Brethren in Christ denomination.

We sat at a table beside this window...

Today while my husband is in business sessions,

I shall enjoy quiet time - reading and journaling, and possibly scouting out

the blocks surrounding the convention center (if the heat doesn't psych me out)...

View from the 11th floor of the Marriott.

Family Time at Sauder Village

Between getting ready for the photo and the actual photo,

one child went missing!

Didn't realize it until it was too late.

...so much that DIDN'T get documented in pictures,

but all held in the heart...

The rain forecast didn't materialize and we had a wonderful time

at the Sauder Village complex. It's a perfect place for family fun.

So much to see - so much to learn - so much to do.

Going Grey Here

Sometimes I use the camera on my cell phone as a mirror

to check my lipstick or hair.

I did that this morning as I sat in a waiting room with a relative.

What I saw was so striking that I took a picture of it!

I showed my husband when I got home asking,
"Am I REALLY this grey?"

He was diplomatic.

He assures me that I'm not--
that it was just the lighting. Or background. Or something.
I'm not sure what to believe...

Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness.
Proverbs 16:31

I "Do" Music

I "do" music....

I enjoy writing simple music - often both words and tunes.

Recently I set a poem a friend wrote to music. I was pleased to hear it sung

by our Sunday School class last Sunday

Most Mondays, a friend and I meet and play piano duets

on her grand piano.

In addition to enjoying each other's company,

this has helped keep my piano playing skills sharpened.

I've also enjoying brushing up my ukulele skills

on an instrument recently purchased.

I take it along occasionally when I visit shut-ins with my husband.

It's another way I "do" music...

I'm thankful for ALL the music in my life,

seeds of which were planted in me --

at least from birth (and maybe before).

"speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" Ephesians 5:19

Summer Reading

After reading The Surreal Life of Leonora Carrington, by Joanna Moorhead,

I decided I wanted to read The Hearing Trumpet.

So, I placed a hold on it at our library, and received a notice that it had arrived.

When I got to the library, I noticed THIS book

by one of my very favorite authors.

I'm reading it first since it is a 7-day loaner.

Loving every page!

The late Maeve Binchy was another favorite author of mine.

I'm sorry that I've read my last of her books.
By the way....
these lines from The Surreal Life intrigue me..

See what I mean?!?
(It might help you to know that I have a couple of bedrooms
with books. Shelves and shelves of them!)

Missing Pieces

Too many missing pieces lately!

The last two we've done - both thrift store purchases - (wonder if I've learned my lesson).

Oh, well.

Disappointing? Sure--.

but the pleasure of puzzling was not diminished significantly.

One Picture, a Thousand Words

a 90-year-old father,

a 9 hour journey,

a National Park,

a short hike,

a beautiful falls.

My Gethsemani


"My" desk - postcards, scissors, journal, tape, Bible, hand lotion...

View from "my" window

Hanging above "my" bed

Some serious reading pleasure

"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage