Meet Sarah Grace, Age 10

Ten years ago today, I birthed this beautiful girl into the world.

She lights up a room with her nose- crinkling, freckle-faced smile and auburn hair.

She's grown out of her pudginess and no longer looks down upon her peers.

She's small in stature, but a scrapper none-the-less.  

She likes to dress like a twin to her best friend, string beads, make sketches and any other art she can figure.

She writes praise songs, poems and stories.

She sometimes tries to sneak out of the house with eye shadow on.

She loves putting an outfit together.

She doesn't brush her hair everyday.

She's calls her daddy "Daddy-O" and "Daddy-Doo".

Sometimes she misspells her brother's name.

She has a heart for neighborhood missions.

She likes all kinds of music.

She climbs trees, kisses her puppy, digs up worms and bugs (and names them), and has to wash her feet when she comes in from outside.

She likes playing basketball and softball and swimming.

She wants to be a pitcher.

She likes looking after little kids.

She named her Venus Fly Trap Petey, and planted her ladybug house in the rose garden.

She buried her deceased Praying Mantis, P-Man, in her brother's potted dwarf spruce.

She's funny and does great British and Texan accents.

She wants to learn to sew and open an Etsy store with her BFF.

She wants to raise chickens and goats and have fruit trees.

She wants a little brother or sister.

She's touchy-feel-y.

She cries when one of her bugs die.

She's not an open book.

She is easy to be with.

She's girlie, but not prissy.

Blue is her favorite color.

She doesn't care if she has to use  boys' stuff or second-hand.

She's not particular.

She's a good eater.

She likes to cook.

She sleeps with mama most mornings.

She's right brained.

She makes great art and does math slow.

She's a whole lot wrapped up in a little package.

Today she is ten.

Happy Birthday Peachy Peach!

And counting my blessings with Ann and the others:

a fantabulous weekend of warm weather and sunny blue skies

an equally beautiful day for Peachy's B-day

having lunch with friends in the warm open air

dreams of summer expeditions

Toby acting like a good dog

how sickness makes you slow down

a yummy meal from a sweet, precious friend

yard work with my love

a slice of raspberry vanilla cake specially delivered to my kitchen by a sweet little baker-girl

the upcoming garage sale that will make the dream of purging a reality

the friend that went to the trouble to arrange it

stories from my nine year old that now is ten

the non-stop chatter of my sweet boy

hearing my sisters voice on the other end of the line

Read about Rachel

I have the honor of covering a new artist, getting ready to open her new online shoppe.  Check it out at Imagination Nexus:  http://imaginationnexus.blogspot.com/2012/04/resurrecting-rachel.html

When I Want to Break Away

There is a restlessness around here.  I hate it because it's the antithesis of contentment.  Contentment with godliness is great gain.... I believe it.  I know it to be true.  But what do you do when it slips from your grasp?

Two things I do.  Remember I am not made for this world.  It cannot satisfy my longings.  It will never be enough.  Grasping for more of it does not get me closer to any arrival.  In Kingdom speak:  this is not my home.  I'm here on assignment and I'm a gypsy.  To try to shed my cloak of otherworldly oddity would not only be futile, but very disappointing.   Because, underneath the cloak, I'm still a gypsy.  This place doesn't have what I'm looking for.  No need to pretend it does.

But then, sometimes it does have what I am looking for.  When I look for Him, I can find Him.  Even here.
He is here.  He is here on assignment, too.  I'm part of His clan, and He gives His own special powers.... yes supernaturally special powers.  And so the second thing I do in my restlessness?

By His power I see, hear, taste and know.

Ears to hear and eyes to see--both are gifts from the LORD. Proverbs 20:12 Taste and see that the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8A and    more counting: Good Friday worship all in black... falling out of sight, out of notice for the cross set before us with roses red hammered violent into the rough wood like the Rose of Sharon and there we received body and blood and we remembered as the hammer fell,  we remembered so we will not forget warmth out-of-doors sun on skin shoulders dropping short sleeves kids playing... really playing  a screen-less day home-made chili and cornbread made by 9 year old hands Coach Ally at dinner, because the boy and girl invited her to come and she did sharing Easter lunch at Famous Dave's with friends congregating at a park with friends, kids and dogs friendly chats with strangers sitting at table communing with good friends 'leftover friends':  friends you can eat left-overs with sharing troubles, thoughts, dreams and possibilities cross and candle put away but not forgotten yellow tulips on the table the boy baking brownies living resurrection life because we can because He did. He is Risen Indeed!

Food Rules

Adkins~GAPS~Low Carb~High Carb~Eat for your Type~South Beach~Mediterranean~Cabbage Soup~Grapefruit~Weight Watchers~Vegan~Vegetarian~Gluten Free~High Protein~Low Fat~Raw Food~21 Day~3 Day~3 Hour~The Zone~Alkaline~Medifast~Jenny Craig~Mayo Clinic~Baby Food~Belly Fat Cure~Flat Belly~Gene Smart~Fruit Flush~Hallelujah~Hormone~High School Reunion~Instinct~Volumetrics~PersonalityType~Perricone~The Spectrum~You, On a Diet

By the way, I left out a bunch... and I didn't make any up, I swear.  You can go to Web MD, just like I did, and get a long (but not exhaustive, I'm sure) list of the diets that are out there for your eating pleasure.... or most probably, dis-pleasure as the case may be.

Now I know that this whole issue is a sacred cow for many people.  I, myself, have a disease that forces me to exclude certain foods from my diet.  I don't eat that way because it's popular or currently *in*.  I eat that way to stay alive.  I don't get the luxury of following a trend when it comes to the way I eat.  I also don't discuss my disease or my eating habits frequently.  I don't like to associate myself with the stuff I don't eat.  I don't like to associate myself with a disease, either.  I say this, because I inevitably do have to share my dietary restrictions with others as I enjoy eating with friends and family.  And some people that don't know me, perhaps, think I am being fashionable with my food choices.  Sometimes this assumption causes me to experience a very large, internal eye roll, that I'm fairly certain would cause my eye balls to stick at the back of my head, were it possible for me to actually roll my eyes back that far.

But enough about me, I just say all that to say, I understand the food becoming a sacred cow thing.
Here's the thing, though,  I do think we can make gathering, preparing and eating our food a real drag.  And I don't think it should or *needs* to be that way.... even in the face of disease.

This is where I am going to give a big shout out for the best take on food I have ever read (and I have read, oh-so-many takes on food).  Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, is the best common-sense source of food science you will find only second to your grandma (or great-grandma depending on when grandma was born).  Here's a hint:  It's NOT a diet, or program to follow.

Go check it out.  You'll be glad you did, I promise!  And now I leave you with Pollan's food motto:

Eat Food..... Not Too Much ...... Mostly Plants.

Counting Blessings

This is a habit I can't give up.... a habit worth time and effort and thoughtfulness.  Counting my blessings bows me low at the feet of Mercy, it quiets any cacophony, and releases his healing power into my most broken places.
It's a habit I cannot give up.

sunlight streaming through windows

the smell, texture and sight of lemons

used book stores

gentle answers

friends and food at the table

eyes and ears to people watch

leftovers

my husband, Oh my husband!

kids waving palm branches

kids singing His praises

lying in fresh linens

bedtime reading

simplification

the beginning of Holy Week

Man of Sorrows

Prince of Peace

Savior 

Don't Throw Me Under the Bus!

So I was reading this book the other day... a book about social justice and spurring Jesus-followers to get aware and involved.  At one point, the author, in her easy and conversational tone, uses her uppity, Christian, non-social-justice-minded neighbor as an example of bad Jesus-following.  She just put it right in there between HIV/AIDS statistics and the Christmas cookie social.

 I read it, and I thought, "Oh snap!  Girlfriend just threw her neighbor under the BUS!"

And then I wondered if she used her real name.  Even if she didn't, you know her friends (and neighbors--let's not forget the other neighbors) know who she's talking about.  You can just see them standing around in the cul-de-sac chatting, while one with arms akimbo smacks her lips and says, "Girl, you know she be talkin' bout Luanne!"

And I think, poor Luanne.  Now we all know what a schmuck she is.

And I see this all. the. time.  I see it in blogs and books and magazines and... and ... well.. that's pretty much all I read, so blogs, books and magazines.  We are, as a society-- secular or sacred, a culture of full disclosure.  And I wonder, do we disclose too much?
And what we don't disclose, we censor, right?  No one likes censorship... not even people who say they like censorship!
And why is this important?

Well, for me, I've been thinking about what parts of my story to tell, who to tell it to and how and when to tell it.  My story is nearing four decades now.  In telling it, I could throw some people under the bus.  Those that know me, know I'm feisty and a bit like Peter, all too comfortable with brandishing my sword.  Shoot, who am I kidding?  I have thrown people under the bus.
I've sacrificed the reputation of another human being to tell a story.  Sometimes I did it for what felt like very, very good reasons... like you know it was necessary to include the horrible thing someone did in order to see God's greater providence in a situation, or in order to relate to the person I was talking to.
Sometimes, I did it because I was angry and wanted justice.
Sometimes, I did it just for fun.
And a lot of times, I wonder if I should have censored the story.

And I wonder if I'll get thrown under the bus.  Probably.  Will he or she ask permission first?  My sins will find me out, I know.  Will it be in the court of public opinion and social media?
I hope not.

And I don't want to be preachy and moralizing here, but I've been thinking a lot about this and thought that the other five people that read my blog should think about it too!  :)

Secret Things

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Deut 29:29

Ah, the 'secret things' verse.  I'm sure there are endless arguments regarding the true meaning of what is 'secret' here.... what is meant for God alone.  And here I've taken this verse right out of context and plucked  it up at the top of this post, AND... I am going to arrogantly state what I think it means.

I'm siding with Calvin on this one.

Some things are not for us to know.  He's told us what we need to know.... it's more than enough to keep us busy.  Really.

Frankly, I'm getting tired of, and too old for, the endless debates.  I've wasted so much time trying to figure out stuff that I now understand is way above my pay-grade.  While I was exercising brain cells ad nauseum, my joints were rusting out.

That's not gospel living.  And if there still be any confusion about that, let it be laid to rest in the gospels themselves.

Tonia posted today a challenge to immerse ourself in gospel.  

Yes.  Jesus' very own words.... definitely revelation I need bother with.