Fighting the doldrums of winter

With sweetness from one of my little friends asking if there could be a curtain for the puppet show set please.  Of course!  I told her I would sew one.  I will do little things for my friends to make it special...especially when they say "Please" and their eyes light up!

With cups of hot coffee chocolate with whipped cream and cuddles from my puppies.

With pictures of loved ones.

With special a "BREAK AWAY FROM WINTER DAY!" on the coldest week of the winter so far...thank you, Lord, for working out the details back in December when I made our calendar!

Floppy hats and sunglasses and dreams of past beach days!   

With sweet treats for my family that keeps me company on these long days of winter.

With a fresh blanket of new snow this morning to remind me that God covers each of our days in mercy, grace, and love!  Sunday mornings are my hardest days lately...time that is usually spent with my love preparing for the Lord's house with coffee, sharing, and good music.  Ted always brings the best cup of coffee...these days, I have to go get it myself.  Right now each Sunday...we are both separately preparing to go to church alone...and it is hard.  I don't like it one little bit.  I said it out loud...not to be mean or ungrateful but to be honest.  Ted reminded me that God doesn't ask this of everyone and He is working His good purpose in our lives.  I melted down for a little awhile as we talked and worked through the emotions of being the weaker vessel.  This afternoon God gave a couple extra blessings to remind me that we are cared for in the little and big area of life.  God didn't have to send the blessings...but I am thankful as it helped me change my focus and be at peace in all things!

A friend reminded me today that I am at the stage of life where I get to "Be still" and it will be ok in the middle of quiet!  "Cry it out and then get up and go on with your day!"  I bit the side of my mouth so I wouldn't sob standing in the middle of people.  I do it every day and don't think about how hard it is till someone...looking from the outside...stops to check on me and their words remind me that it is hard.  I have never had an option to not do it!  It meant a lot to me for her to recognize it is a hard time in life without my love with me to deal through the changes.  Most days it doesn't feel hard...but on Sundays...it tends to be extremely difficult.

I appreciate encouragement from those who have been there and done it and offer a hug.

So with good music...another cup of coffee and fresh baked chocolate muffin bread...I am able to delight in the faithfulness of God.  Uncle Pastor and Mari sang about that this morning and it made me cry.  So thankful for God's constant reminders of His love!
 

Morning rays and afternoon snuggles

 

Mari's treats were better!

I haven't felt great all week!  But I never went down all the way...because of stuff like this!  We have a regimen that we have taken since the start of all this chaos and confusion...and it has helped our whole family immensely!  It has protected Ted through the thick of it!  We had to go searching for help because this $20 regimen is being covered up or not shared or ignored.  So many people could have had different outcomes, but it seems the great deceiver has a big reach.  I believe that all have the freedom to choose what they read and believe.  We choose to believe what we have seen works.  Even with the average cold, it has helped...if they are allowing such simple diagnosis anymore.  

I made it through our school week and we had fun learning.  

Mari came over after running errands one day with a treat and we had lunch and coffee together.  

It was sweet sister time that has left me very emotional!

She "already had" what I was dealing with and gave hugs freely!  "It sounds like a cold...I'm good."  No fever.  Our mental health is more important than the narrative that is constantly berating us. Christians need to stop living in fear and live life.  That means...take care of yourself and build your immunity.  Get your rest...lots of it!  Drink lots.  Eat good for you food.  Exercise.  Get sunshine/fresh air.  Wash the germs away!  And I have a lot of washing to do because of my little friends...and sometimes it turns into an immunity building process...like this week.

So we had sister time and decide to 

Let God be God...

He has allowed this nonsense to continue for a reason.

I keep wondering what exactly is the lesson He wants me to learn...there are so many with this craziness!    

For years our parents taught us what to do when we were sick.  For years our parents taught us God's Words.  For years we have sung the truth of God's faithfulness.  I have notebooks and books of SS lessons, message notes, ladies meetings and devotion notes, and personal studies.  We've talked the talk for years...and now...this is the time to walk the walk.

 But why are we so fearful and cutting everyone out of daily life because of what might happen?  I cannot reconcile it!  For someone who has grown up in church and brought our children up in church, I am disappointed by the church...not the building...but God's people.  

We prayed for God to take care of the big scary prayer requests...yet we cower in fear each and every day.  What is that saying to our family and friends?  These thoughts of our lack of faith hit me hard this week, especially after a message about allowing God to have the pen to write our life story.

This is where my thoughts wandered as Mari sat with me at our table this week...

 

God brought cancer to Mari's life.  She didn't choose that.   There was nothing she could do to prevent it.  She did what she was given to do by God and it was not easy.  

She is here today...living each day as a gift from her Heavenly Father!  

Cancer did not win because God chose to have her body respond to treatment as it did.  

When you sit and look at life from the perspective of possible death...because you know of others who did not see cancer eliminated, you realize that your life is not in your hands!  

Cancer is hard and it hurts.  

Covid is hard and it hurts.  Accidents are hard and hurt.  Various other illnesses are hard and hurt.  

But God is still God and in control of those too! 

Life is a gift!  We are not promised tomorrow...so we make choices to live today...not in fear but in the hope and love that only God gives!  We are not being careless in our decisions.  We all are making choices  based on Proverbs 3:5-6 and I Timothy 1:7 because we have walked the road of scary diagnosis and man's best opinion for treatments.  We had peace in the cancer diagnosis.  We choose to have peace in the Covid chaos and crazy...because of what He did in the past...and what He was doing in the present...in Mari's life!  We will trust God for the future, even as we have seen those we love die from the effects of cancer, Covid, accidents, and various illnesses.  

We know all of these are real issues that carry lasting consequences.

Mask or no masks.  Shot or no shots.  Vitamins or no vitamins.  Medicine or no medicines.  

Test or no tests.  Shut down or no shut downs.  We make our decisions and we trust God...not just for the big scary times in life...but for the simple every day routines and opportunities.

Mari and I both know how it all ends, because we personally asked Him to be our Savior.  We know where we are going when we die.  We know so many loved ones who are waiting to welcome us.

Whatever will come our way through fire or pouring rain.  

No, we won't be shaken.  

No, we won't be shaken.

  

Whatever tomorrow brings.  

Together we'll rise and sing that we won't be shaken

No, we won't be shaken

No, we won't be shaken

You know my every longing

You've heard my every prayer

You've held me in my weakness 'cause You are always there

So I'll stand in full surrender

It's Your way and not my own

My mind is set on nothing less

Than You and You alone

I will not be moved.

These are the kinds of conversations that my sister and I now share with a cup of coffee and a treat.  It hit me in a different way this past week as I realized we both have now walked the scary road of cancer.  God changed our path with Alisa, but He taught us so many things that are ever fresh in our minds.  God walked with Brad and Mari on the road, and we watched God meet every need.  God is in control and He is always good.  He knows us best...because He created us.  He knows what will bring Him glory in our lives...and nothing we can do can change His perfect plan...He will work through whatever means He chooses.

James 4:14  We don't know what tomorrow will bring. Our life is a vapor.  God's Word also tells us that we cannot add to our days...only He holds that number in His hand.  I want my life story to be that I lived each day in peace and joy...not spreading fear to those around me!  Our children are still watching us and hearing our words.  And this week...both Teddy and Alisa heard their aunt's laughter and felt her joy as we shared life, coffee...and treats!  

It was better than any medicine I could have taken this week.  

This weekend will be spent in rest and peace...because those are better than what is being spread!

 

So thankful for Friday

All things winter this week...because it is cold!

Momma likes cereal for supper when everyone else is gone.

My little friends were so excited to start reading homework this week!  They get a sticker for signed homework.

We've been talking about sentences are complete thoughts...so we made our bulletin board in the hall about snow!

A big delight...finding a candy bar in the bottom of your purse and remembering you bought two quite awhile ago!  It was a perfect treat for this Friday afternoon.

Delighting in the fact that it is the weekend...because I'm tired!  Getting back into the groove mentally is tiring...especially when it is this cold.  Blanket, check.  Puppies,  check.  Treat, check.  TV remote, check.  Drink, check.  Sunshine, check.  No plans, double check.  Pizza for supper, triple check!
 

Delighting in my little friends...

who make life fun from 8:00-12:00 every day!  My sis gave me this shirt for Christmas and I love it!  I do love teaching...always have...and probably always will.  It is one of the most tiring jobs I have had, but the most rewarding...second to being a wife and mother.  My little friends were so excited to get back to school and routines and learning.  I gave them extra time to play and explore together on Monday because they were happily chatting about break and reconnecting with one another.  It was so cute to listen to them!  And they have taken it very serious to do their job to keep me company "while my daddy is away at work...so I won't miss him so much!"

I look around my room sometimes and think I should pack stuff up and make it not so cluttered looking...like the rainbow threw up...but then I walk in every morning and it just makes me happy.  The kinders come in and ask to play with the various buckets and bins.  I rotate things each day...

and then they spot something different and that makes me smile.  So...for now...I will keep things as they are.

So cute to see how diligent they were to unpack and put things away!  They didn't forget anything!

Well...they teased me that they forgot their letters...till I pulled out the new books and we practiced reading  groups and seat work plans!  All bets were off!  They are so excited to read...they started doing it on their own at their desks...so we read with a buddy for 5 minutes!  "This is the best thing ever!"  Oh babies...you know it...you can go so many places if you just grab a book!

The happy hum filled our room!

Encouraging one another!

Giggling!  Helping!  Constant movement!  

And this is what day three looks like...at least on the teacher!  A large coffee almost gone and tired eyes...an afternoon nap is on the list.

 

My word for this year...2022

 Delight...can be used as a verb...it means to please someone greatly or to take great pleasure in, glory, revel, wallow, adore, love, relish, savor, have a thing about. 3rd person: delights; past tense: delighted;  past participle: delighted; gerund or present participle: delighting.  It can also be used as a noun...great pleasure, happiness, joy, glee, gratification, relish, excitement, amusement, bliss, or a cause or source of great pleasure. Plural noun:  delights.

Last year, 2021, I was impressed with the thought that I wanted to Always Remember!  There were many reasons my mind and heart were drawn to that idea and the desire to put it in a very prominent place in our home as a reminder.  Oh my, did I use that painting on a daily basis!  Teddy graduated from high school.  Lots of travel.  Schedules.  Sweet times as a family.  Ashlynn moved to a new state to begin a new job.  Unknowns.  Alisa moved home to continue college and work.  Jobs.  Friends with needs.  Brad and Mari walked through breast cancer.  Frustrations.  Covid 19 chaos.  Ted's job begged him to travel to Georgia to stabilize the plant.  Politics.  Kindergarten.  Changes.  Sickness.  Concerns.  Challenges.  So many days seemed heavy with the cares of daily life...and God always brought to remembrance the fact that He has always worked all things for our good and His glory!  In the teary and tired moments, He gave peace and rest.  In the uncertain moments, He held all the details with better care than I could or did.  In the impossible moments, He orchestrated each part of the plan in His own way and in His own time.  

I have been reminded over and over that God is in complete control and He does not need my help or anxious cries.  We are not to fear!  I have practiced being still and being quiet while handing all things over to His loving care.  Letting the truth fill my mind...He loves those around me more than I love them...because He created them...for His glory.  God is more than enough!  

And so this year, I want to focus on delighting in Him.  Already, God has used a friend in my life to point me to the little things that He gives each day that bring delight.  God has answered prayer that gives my heart a reason to delight in His goodness.  Last night, I picked up the paint brush and painted over the words....Always Remember...and took time to praise Him for the sweet memories of the year that was 2021.  Now...this painting sits on our mantel and will through each season...a visual reminder each day to delight in whatever God brings our way in this year of 2022.  I know from the past that whatever He does is for His glory.  I will trust Him for what is good...what is best in this year...and find delight.

Psalm 1:1-2  "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."

An obedient heart is a trusting heart.  A settled heart is a contented heart.  A delighted heart is a thankful heart.

The days between Christmas and the new year

Saying "Goodbye" to the girls as they headed back to TN...Ashlynn had to be back for work and Alisa went to visit for ten days.  The house got so quiet so fast...I knew it would be hard!

We got to see Bryn and deliver the throw that Alisa made for her and Peter.

Snow!  Not for Christmas...but a couple days after worked out just fine!

Date night with friends called for some dress up!  We had a wonderful evening!

Such a neat venue for a Christmas gathering...rustic hunting lodge decor with lots of animal mounts.

More snow...but just a dusting.

Supper with more friends who had not done fondue before!  It was fun to share the new experience. It was refreshing to talk about what the Lord is doing in our lives and families.

Pecan pie and coffee for dessert!

Tried a couple new recipes while Ted was home...trying to spoil him and eat most of our meals at home...which is now a treat for him!  First up...Bulldog brittle!  Toffee with pecans poured over graham crackers with chocolate on top. Yum!

An old favorite...white chocolate dipped pretzels. 

Steak bites in garlic butter!  Oh...wow...they were tender!

I switched out all the Christmas decorations to the snowman collection I have.  It is a must to keep up the tree and twinkle lights for the dark, cold days of winter!

Nights with my love!  We did not even try to stay up to see the new year arrive.  It is coming whether we welcome it or not!  The dogs were on high alert as the fireworks started about 9:30 and Teddy was still out and about.

Happy New Year, Mr. 8 point Buck!  Good morning!  The dogs were going crazy as he waited for his mate who was in the pine trees.  The snow we had all melted in the 40 degree weather...but more is coming!

We attended a wedding ceremony...and the snow was starting to fall.  So pretty!

We then picked up Teddy and went out to Black Rock for a little family New Year time.  It was a snowy drive!  These days are not as many and we are doing our best to savor the time together!

What could be better...my guys, a hunk of meat, and a stone so hot your face is flushed!?!

Sharing pictures with the girls...they were at a fancy place for dinner too!  How fun for them!  The guys were impressed that it wasn't their usual choice...like Applebees.

My stone...and I love to heat up my sides too!

In this new year, I will choose to delight in the small and big things in life!  This week has been full of reminders that we have all we need and so much more.  I want to delight in the blessings that God has given.  I want to focus on the fact that because I have JESUS...I have enough!  Everything else is over and above what I need.

Happy New Year...2022

Delight...in all things

And more snow to brighten up the landscape this morning!  I am thankful for a clear, sunny day as Ted travels south to TN tonight and then continues on back to GA tomorrow.