Today could have been a day where three single ladies could have been very lonely and depressed. A few years ago, this divorced, single lady moved in with one of those other single ladies. Today we invited another single lady who was alone, to join us in celebration of our Savior's birth. None of us has any family here. I have my two kids but no extended family. This Christmas we came together...a single mom with two kids, a single woman who has never been married, and an elderly woman who's children are grown and husband is gone. We were one big happy framily!
If all the lonely people in this world reached out to other lonely people in this world....there wouldn't be lonely people at Christmas.
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Miss Virginia and Christmas Blessings
Whew!
My compliments to the cook, Katie who prepared a fantastic Christmas dinner of ham and all the works! Mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmmmm!
When we invited Miss Virginia for dinner, as I shared in the last post, she baked a pecan pie. When she brought it over, it was still hot. What we didn't know at the time is that although it was hot, it hadn't finished baking! LOL Katie finished baking it today and she feared that Miss Virginia would notice that the pie was a bit darker. Miss Virginia came over and saw it and said "I hope it's not too done. My son called while I was baking it and I lost track and I am so worried that it is burned." Katie just said that she put it in the over to warm it and left it a tad longer than she had intended, but that it was not burned. It was a delicious pecan pie and we were blessed that Miss Virginia so appreciated being invited to Christmas dinner that she baked it for the framily.
Miss Virginia arrived for dinner at the 2 o'clock scheduled time. Katie wasn't quite ready to put dinner on the table so Tif and I were left to welcome our guest and commence the conversation. This idea terrified me because I am an introvert and do not do well in situations where I need to chat with people I barely know. I quickly learned that with Miss Virginia I had nothing to fear because when it comes to conversation she has a corner on the market!
We were told many stories, some of them twice. She shared all she knew about the neighbor's vocations and stressed the importance of a good education. She is a retired teacher and had some things to share about that as well. Many of the stories were fun, but the topper was when she shared about her experience as a new mother some fifty odd years ago. She said "I just didn't know what to do with all that poo poo" LOLOLOL "You laugh because you think it's a joke, but we didn't have all this disposable diaper stuff that there is now. We used cloth diapers that we had to hand wash. I didn't know what to do with all that poo poo! Giant piles of poo poo! I didn't have a mother or a father and I had no one to learn from. I remember the nurse giving me a list of things to expect with a newborn and that I read on there to expect 25 poo poos a day" LOLOLOLOL Tif and I busted out laughing so hard! I could barely breathe!
Oh boy that was funny!
Miss Virginia was so excited to have been invited and after dinner she made sure to take some pictures. She loved the tree and kept complimenting Katie on how she decorated the house for Christmas "it the prettiest one on the circle" she'd exclaim. She took some pictures of the framily and we made sure to get her in some of them as well. I'm so glad she accepted the invitation and joined us for Christmas dinner.
It was a great way to celebrate Jesus today, by inviting a lonely person to share a meal with us. On Christmas we celebrate the birth of the Christ, the Savior of the world, whom God sent to us to reconcile man to himself. Through Jesus we are invited to join Him in His Kingdom. Like Miss Virginia had a choice to accept our invitation or not, God too gives us all a choice to join Him. I'm so thankful that I accepted His invitation and all the blessings that come with it.
It has been a merry Christmas with the framily, and I hope that you too, found a way to celebrate Christ's birth in a special way today.
My compliments to the cook, Katie who prepared a fantastic Christmas dinner of ham and all the works! Mmmmmmmm, mmmmmmmmmmm!
When we invited Miss Virginia for dinner, as I shared in the last post, she baked a pecan pie. When she brought it over, it was still hot. What we didn't know at the time is that although it was hot, it hadn't finished baking! LOL Katie finished baking it today and she feared that Miss Virginia would notice that the pie was a bit darker. Miss Virginia came over and saw it and said "I hope it's not too done. My son called while I was baking it and I lost track and I am so worried that it is burned." Katie just said that she put it in the over to warm it and left it a tad longer than she had intended, but that it was not burned. It was a delicious pecan pie and we were blessed that Miss Virginia so appreciated being invited to Christmas dinner that she baked it for the framily.
Miss Virginia arrived for dinner at the 2 o'clock scheduled time. Katie wasn't quite ready to put dinner on the table so Tif and I were left to welcome our guest and commence the conversation. This idea terrified me because I am an introvert and do not do well in situations where I need to chat with people I barely know. I quickly learned that with Miss Virginia I had nothing to fear because when it comes to conversation she has a corner on the market!
We were told many stories, some of them twice. She shared all she knew about the neighbor's vocations and stressed the importance of a good education. She is a retired teacher and had some things to share about that as well. Many of the stories were fun, but the topper was when she shared about her experience as a new mother some fifty odd years ago. She said "I just didn't know what to do with all that poo poo" LOLOLOL "You laugh because you think it's a joke, but we didn't have all this disposable diaper stuff that there is now. We used cloth diapers that we had to hand wash. I didn't know what to do with all that poo poo! Giant piles of poo poo! I didn't have a mother or a father and I had no one to learn from. I remember the nurse giving me a list of things to expect with a newborn and that I read on there to expect 25 poo poos a day" LOLOLOLOL Tif and I busted out laughing so hard! I could barely breathe!
Oh boy that was funny!
Miss Virginia was so excited to have been invited and after dinner she made sure to take some pictures. She loved the tree and kept complimenting Katie on how she decorated the house for Christmas "it the prettiest one on the circle" she'd exclaim. She took some pictures of the framily and we made sure to get her in some of them as well. I'm so glad she accepted the invitation and joined us for Christmas dinner.
It was a great way to celebrate Jesus today, by inviting a lonely person to share a meal with us. On Christmas we celebrate the birth of the Christ, the Savior of the world, whom God sent to us to reconcile man to himself. Through Jesus we are invited to join Him in His Kingdom. Like Miss Virginia had a choice to accept our invitation or not, God too gives us all a choice to join Him. I'm so thankful that I accepted His invitation and all the blessings that come with it.
It has been a merry Christmas with the framily, and I hope that you too, found a way to celebrate Christ's birth in a special way today.
Friday, December 24, 2004
Miss Virginia, Our Very Special Guest
Miss Virginia is an elderly neighbor lady. She lives across the street and is very proud of her magnolia tree that invades the entire front of her yard. The kids like to hide in it, but she usually shoos them away and worries that they may have broken a branch or two. She is quick to nit pick the landscaping of each property in the circle, and watches everything that goes on.
Miss Virginia is the neighborhood lady who always seems to know what is going on with everyone around here. Of course, what she "knows", or shares, isn't necessarily true, or maybe isn't even close to accurate, but she feels it necessary to offer an opinion about it anyway. She is harmless enough, and in conversations with her we usually end up shaking our heads in wonder and show quizzical expressions on our faces. Talking a short while with Miss Virginia, one will soon realize that she is "not all there". Many of her stories don't make any sense, and she will often "remember" things that never happened. It can be somewhat awkward to be around Miss Virginia, but she is a sweet lady with a kind heart.
Recently she mentioned to Katie that her grown children live too far away to visit her and rarely do they come, not even for special holidays. I can't think of a time I have ever noticed visitors at her house, although, I don't usually keep an eye on such things anyway.
This Christmas Katie and I decided to invite Miss Virginia over to share Christmas Dinner with the framily. It was one of those things that honestly, we didn't necessarily want to do, but we knew it was the right thing to do. It is what Jesus would do.
Well, it's amazing what God does as he multiplies blessings for those who choose to follow Him. As soon as she received our invitation, she must have immediately started to work. A few moments ago, Miss Virginia hand delivered a pecan pie, fresh from the oven! Still hot! She left a card with us that blessed us big. It is a simple friendship card, but it is what she shared in it that carries the most meaning. It is the part that affirmed that we did right by inviting her to dinner with us to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
She wrote:
Miss Virginia is the neighborhood lady who always seems to know what is going on with everyone around here. Of course, what she "knows", or shares, isn't necessarily true, or maybe isn't even close to accurate, but she feels it necessary to offer an opinion about it anyway. She is harmless enough, and in conversations with her we usually end up shaking our heads in wonder and show quizzical expressions on our faces. Talking a short while with Miss Virginia, one will soon realize that she is "not all there". Many of her stories don't make any sense, and she will often "remember" things that never happened. It can be somewhat awkward to be around Miss Virginia, but she is a sweet lady with a kind heart.
Recently she mentioned to Katie that her grown children live too far away to visit her and rarely do they come, not even for special holidays. I can't think of a time I have ever noticed visitors at her house, although, I don't usually keep an eye on such things anyway.
This Christmas Katie and I decided to invite Miss Virginia over to share Christmas Dinner with the framily. It was one of those things that honestly, we didn't necessarily want to do, but we knew it was the right thing to do. It is what Jesus would do.
Well, it's amazing what God does as he multiplies blessings for those who choose to follow Him. As soon as she received our invitation, she must have immediately started to work. A few moments ago, Miss Virginia hand delivered a pecan pie, fresh from the oven! Still hot! She left a card with us that blessed us big. It is a simple friendship card, but it is what she shared in it that carries the most meaning. It is the part that affirmed that we did right by inviting her to dinner with us to celebrate the birth of our Savior.
She wrote:
"It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you...everytime you smile and offer your hand" (she quoted it but didn't name the source)
(of course, you do not need this pie, but I have just baked it for you--pecan pies freeze well, for New Years, Valentines, and Easter ~~~)
Then she wrote:
Dear, dear ones...what a nice surprise, and heart-warming gesture with this invitation~~just when I needed it most!!!!
Just when she needed it most! God's timing is perfect! I'm glad we followed His lead!
The card had a scripture that read "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you" Philippians 1:3 and to that Miss Virginia added how she thanked God for the time Katie rescued her from the Exxon when her car broke down. Problem is, Katie never rescued her and neither did I! LOL Who knows if she was ever really broken down! LOL
So, Christmas dinner should be very interesting tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. For the past few holidays the framily has been invited to eat elsewhere, but tomorrow, we shall be the host for a very special guest in Miss Virginia.
It may be the start of a new framily tradition!
Yay! Christmas is Here!
Yay! I just got home from work, ate some Cocoa Puffs, because I'm cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, and now I'm relaxing because Christmas is here!
I'm very excited about it...not only is it a day off, it will be a day to share fun and laughter with the framily and celebrate Jesus' birth with scripture reading, a meal together and just some good framily time together.
Merry Christmas!
I'm very excited about it...not only is it a day off, it will be a day to share fun and laughter with the framily and celebrate Jesus' birth with scripture reading, a meal together and just some good framily time together.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Spatulatches, the Commercial
Is your home in need of repair, but you just don't have the funds to do it?
or the know how?
Let me present to you a quick and easy solution to a nagging problem for those who need to update the kitchen, and it will work for the most frugal of homeowners.
The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in the home. It is also one of the most abused rooms in the home.
There is constant activity as the place where meals are created and served. It is a place of extreme temperatures from the fires of the oven and the nuclear capability of the microwave, to the frozen tundra of the "self-defrosting" freezer. Then those cabinet doors opening and closing multiple times a day. All of these things cause wear and tear on the kitchen.
Eventually, those cabinets start opening on their own. No matter what you do, they won't remain closed. Go ahead, slam it shut once and a few minutes later, it will again creep open. Like making the bed improves the look of the bedroom, kitchen cabinets that are closed give a kitchen that tidy appearance. Cabinets are made to be closed so we don't have to see all the "junk" behind the door!
Also, cabinet doors can prove to be hazardous to your health when you stumble into the kitchen in the dark looking for that midnight snack, when WHACK! you crack your head on that solid piece of wood which no longer has a sharp corner, but a very dull one because of the impression it left in your skull.
We have got a solution for those pesky, rebellious and hazardous cabinet doors that have a mind of their own!
Spatulatches!
While keeping the decor of the kitchen, they serve a two-fold purpose...keeping the cabinets closed, which in turn keeps your kitchen looking neat and your family safe, and then they are readily available when one needs to whip up some cake batter!
Spatulatches are available in a wide variety of colors and sizes to match your kitchen decorating needs.
Spatulatches are available anywhere you can find kitchen utensils, well, for example...anywhere you can buy a spatula!
Spatulatches are inexpensive and can be purchased individually or in a multi-pack.
You can see from the picture exactly how a spatulatch can work for you.
The spatulatch was invented out of necessity and Katie's determination to win the battle against the kitchen cabinet's persistance. Sue coined the term when she exclaimed "Ha! You've invented spatulatches! Cool! I'll have to blog about that!"
And like so many fine inventions, this post will eventually work its way down the page and off the main blog into the archives, where it will be forgotten and along with the post, the great invention will be lost until some day in the future, an Internet Arheologist digs up what remains of the idea. They will ponder why spatulatches never caught on!
or the know how?
Let me present to you a quick and easy solution to a nagging problem for those who need to update the kitchen, and it will work for the most frugal of homeowners.
The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in the home. It is also one of the most abused rooms in the home.
There is constant activity as the place where meals are created and served. It is a place of extreme temperatures from the fires of the oven and the nuclear capability of the microwave, to the frozen tundra of the "self-defrosting" freezer. Then those cabinet doors opening and closing multiple times a day. All of these things cause wear and tear on the kitchen.
Eventually, those cabinets start opening on their own. No matter what you do, they won't remain closed. Go ahead, slam it shut once and a few minutes later, it will again creep open. Like making the bed improves the look of the bedroom, kitchen cabinets that are closed give a kitchen that tidy appearance. Cabinets are made to be closed so we don't have to see all the "junk" behind the door!
Also, cabinet doors can prove to be hazardous to your health when you stumble into the kitchen in the dark looking for that midnight snack, when WHACK! you crack your head on that solid piece of wood which no longer has a sharp corner, but a very dull one because of the impression it left in your skull.
We have got a solution for those pesky, rebellious and hazardous cabinet doors that have a mind of their own!
Spatulatches!
While keeping the decor of the kitchen, they serve a two-fold purpose...keeping the cabinets closed, which in turn keeps your kitchen looking neat and your family safe, and then they are readily available when one needs to whip up some cake batter!
Spatulatches are available in a wide variety of colors and sizes to match your kitchen decorating needs.
Spatulatches are available anywhere you can find kitchen utensils, well, for example...anywhere you can buy a spatula!
Spatulatches are inexpensive and can be purchased individually or in a multi-pack.
You can see from the picture exactly how a spatulatch can work for you.
The spatulatch was invented out of necessity and Katie's determination to win the battle against the kitchen cabinet's persistance. Sue coined the term when she exclaimed "Ha! You've invented spatulatches! Cool! I'll have to blog about that!"
And like so many fine inventions, this post will eventually work its way down the page and off the main blog into the archives, where it will be forgotten and along with the post, the great invention will be lost until some day in the future, an Internet Arheologist digs up what remains of the idea. They will ponder why spatulatches never caught on!
Saturday, December 18, 2004
I Don't Wanna Wake Up!
The other day my alarm clock went off for 20 minutes before I actually heard it. I imagine it was because I was in the midst of the most wonderful dream I think I ever had. It was a dream about love, romance, chivalry, grace, mercy...in its most perfect form.
In the beginning it was scary. I was in the midst of a war zone. But all of a sudden I was in the presence of the Lover of my Soul. Me, my children, and all of my brothers and sisters in Christ were running in fear when out of nowhere, these big huge arms reached down and we were instantly caught up to a place where everything was white, and misty and peaceful. I felt love like I have never felt before. It was so amazing. Then I saw this huge table that seemed to go on forever....it was just like a painting. It was set for royalty...a feast like I have never seen. Then I saw His arms reaching out through the mist again..over the table. With His palms up, he stretched out his hands over the table and opened them wide as He said, "Come and dine with me".
I saw others there but it was as if they were in Spirit..kinda transparent but beautiful. I felt whole in body but I was like them as well. It was really strange but felt so right...so peaceful..so absolutely undescribably wonderful. Even though I knew others were there...I didn't care. I only wanted to see Jesus...just like the song... I didn't want to see my precious grandmother who has passed away, or anybody else...I just wanted to fall at His feet and worship the One who died so that I might be in that very place experiencing perfection in the presence of God. I just wanted to spend the rest of eternity at His feet crying, "Holy, Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty!" Just like the Bible says we will do. Nothing mattered..nothing...Just Jesus.
That was it. Then I heard the alarm. I didn't want to wake up. I wanted to stay asleep and continue the dream.
I know that what I experienced was absolutely nothing compared to what it will really be like to finally dwell in His presence for all eternity. I can only imagine! My heart groans with all creation for His return!
In the beginning it was scary. I was in the midst of a war zone. But all of a sudden I was in the presence of the Lover of my Soul. Me, my children, and all of my brothers and sisters in Christ were running in fear when out of nowhere, these big huge arms reached down and we were instantly caught up to a place where everything was white, and misty and peaceful. I felt love like I have never felt before. It was so amazing. Then I saw this huge table that seemed to go on forever....it was just like a painting. It was set for royalty...a feast like I have never seen. Then I saw His arms reaching out through the mist again..over the table. With His palms up, he stretched out his hands over the table and opened them wide as He said, "Come and dine with me".
I saw others there but it was as if they were in Spirit..kinda transparent but beautiful. I felt whole in body but I was like them as well. It was really strange but felt so right...so peaceful..so absolutely undescribably wonderful. Even though I knew others were there...I didn't care. I only wanted to see Jesus...just like the song... I didn't want to see my precious grandmother who has passed away, or anybody else...I just wanted to fall at His feet and worship the One who died so that I might be in that very place experiencing perfection in the presence of God. I just wanted to spend the rest of eternity at His feet crying, "Holy, Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty!" Just like the Bible says we will do. Nothing mattered..nothing...Just Jesus.
That was it. Then I heard the alarm. I didn't want to wake up. I wanted to stay asleep and continue the dream.
I know that what I experienced was absolutely nothing compared to what it will really be like to finally dwell in His presence for all eternity. I can only imagine! My heart groans with all creation for His return!
Friday, December 17, 2004
Day of Fire
Day of Fire was given a good review from CCM Magazine so buy it for someone for Christmas!
Here's my suggestions for some of this years best in Christian rock music:
(In no particular order)
Here's my suggestions for some of this years best in Christian rock music:
(In no particular order)
- Casting Crowns (even though it's a 2003 release, it's an excellent worship CD!)
- Pillar
- Kutless
- Bulding 429
- Day of Fire
- Tobymac
- 12 Stones
- Third Day
Those are some suggestions for you and I encourage you to follow some of those links and listen to some audio clips. I think you'll like what you hear because it's some really great, God-glorifying music...IT ALL ROCKS!
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