Living and Giving (Up)

Sometimes you get to live the dream... 

sometimes you give up the dream and pass it on to another...

Today, when I transport my friend to the beauty salon,

I will pack these two books

to give to her hairdresser

who I've come to learn lives in an old house in the country.

As much as I have enjoyed the "dream",

I realize it is not realistic at this stage of my life.

And so, I pass on the "fuel" to another.

***

This is a HUGE life lesson for me.

Something that I am slowly learning

and beginning to put into motion

in quiet, simple ways.

Each With a Story

 All on our tree...

 ...each with a story.

More to Come

 I know it's early.  But we tackled cleaning out an entire (small) attic space.

 Christmas pasts were sorted, discarded and donated.

 What remains is slowly finding places throughout the house.

 We even assembled a 7' tree for a corner of our dining area.

 This is where we eat and spend evenings at the table playing games 

 or putting jigsaw puzzles together.

The lights are strung and after Thanksgiving weekend

we'll add the ornaments and bulbs.

We're happily enjoying the ambiance along with Christmas music

already playing on a local radio station.

More to come!

♪ It's Beginning.....♪

 Twenty-five trees were decorated

 and distributed throughout Das Essenhaus campus, Middlebury, Indiana.

 It's probably a GOOD thing I had placed it on my calendar

for today instead of tomorrow when the official Tour of Trees actually begins!

 

Crowds were slim.

 It was just right for comfortable viewing!

 The company was great and very appreciative...

 and the buffet we enjoyed before returning home was scrumptous!

It really IS beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

The Day-After-New-Year's-Day

 Gray skies and a parking lot blanketed with vehicles...

a perfect day to spend a few hours at a table in the corner.

Four stacks of magazines--his and hers, read and unread.

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 Ideas abounding!

 Inspiration-packed!

....and then home to share a breakfast-type supper

with Dad, sister & brother-in-law and the love-of-my-life.
Afterwards, we cleared the table to play a couple of card games.

Now, the evening draws to an end as the long third quarter of the Rose Bowl game continues.

I'll head upstairs to read my book soon...

What a relaxing way to spend the day-after-New-Year's-Day.
(I hope YOUR new year is off to an equally fulfilling start.)

In the Shadow of the Cross

I was away from home while my husband applied the first coat of paint

to our "new" old room.

"Send me a picture of it," I texted him.

This is one he sent me.

I saw it immediately--the cross.

The words to an old song came to my mind.

I remember Dick Anthony and Bill Pearce singing it.

(Well, at least I THINK I do!

And I KNOW I remember my mother and dad singing it,,,)

I looked in vain to find it, 

but in the process I found THESE lyrics--unfamiliar to me, but also old and precious.

1. In the shadow of the cross let me hide,
   There the Savior for my sins bled and died;
   There the precious, cleansing fount
   Flows so free from Calv’ry’s mount,
   In the shadow of the cross let me hide.
2. In the shadow of the cross, blessed place!
   Living only for the Lord, by His grace;
   What He says I’ll gladly do,
   Ever standing firm and true,
   In the shadow of the cross, blessed place!
3. In the shadow of the cross, safe retreat,
   Ever sitting lowly at Jesus’ feet;
   While His presence is so near
   I shall never, never fear,
   In the shadow of the cross, safe retreat.
4. In the shadow of the cross, here I meet,
   In communion with my Lord, oh, how sweet!
   And my soul is borne above,
   While I revel in His love,
   In the shadow of the cross, here I meet!

     Refrain:
       In the shadow of the cross I will rest,
        For with everlasting peace I am blest;
       Here I dwell in love unknown,
       Streaming down from heaven’s throne,
       In the shadow of the cross I will rest.

(William J. Henry) 

    I am praying that the occupant of our "new" old room

    WILL find much rest, peace and contentment in this room
as he does in the shadow of the cross.
♥

Anticipation

 Usually our Bible study group meets in a coffee shop,

but this morning, they're bringing "the mountain to Mohammed".

 My husband has been incredibly helpful in doing some basic cleaning 

and moving the tables to accommodate our number.

I've arranged some of the lovely get well cards I've received

over the past almost-three weeks as centerpieces.

Coffee is measured.  A push of the button will get it going.

Coffee cake will arrive with the ladies.

And Jesus is ALREADY here.

God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  Hebrews 13:5

(I'm not sure WHERE that mountain/Mohammed saying comes from!

Will have to do a little research.)

Better than blogging

 There really ARE some things better than blogging!

My husband is OBVIOUSLY one of them...

and here he is sitting at a table at Barnes and Noble.

(He would tell you that a large caramel frappuccino  is better than blogging.)

 A few hours at the bookstore

with some of my favorite magazines 

IS better than blogging to me.

 From them, I get ideas to incorporate into our yard and garden--

 like these paths wandering on the pages above.

 A comfortable blue chair and bookcases filled with books to read

are better than blogging (I think)...

 ...and I came home with an idea for storing various scrubbers and scratchers, sink-side.

Holding an actual page containing the photo of the leather couch 

was better than viewing it on my laptop screen, and

 I even came home with an idea of a place to visit on our upcoming vacation (below)!

Speaking of vacation--that's ANOTHER thing that's better than blogging.

What are some things that are better than blogging to YOU?

Confidence AND Song

I watched the first American Idol show of 2012.  I felt bad for the contestant who boldly (but badly) belted out his song.  I kind of felt sorry for the judges, too!  They looked at each other, silently begging one another to deliver the verdict.

Finally, someone did.  The confident, but less than talented contestant was told,  "I'm sorry.  You got the confidence.  You just don't have the song!"  That pretty well summed up the situation.  The dejected contestant left the room.  The judges looked down at the table and shook their heads.

For some reason, the phrase stuck with me--"You got the confidence.  You just don't have the song."  (By the way, the poor grammar was the judge's; not mine.)  I think I wanted to remember it because my Heavenly Father offers me BOTH. Confidence AND song!  

With the Psalmist, I can say, "My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!" (Psalm 108:1)

Our February mantel.  Not sure if I have the "song" here...

When it comes to many other subjects, I lack BOTH confidence AND song!  For example, I enjoy seeing other peoples' decorating projects.  I THINK I can "hear" the song...I LOVE to "hear" the song!  But when it comes to "singing" it for myself, I have no confidence.

It's true about other things, too.  But when it comes to Jesus, I really want the verdict to be, "You've got the confidence AND you have the song!"  Fact is, that IS the verdict.  He IS my confidence.  He IS my song.