A Merry Ride

If it happened in the middle of summer, it would be no big deal. After all, I love to roll the windows down and let my short locks blow in the breeze. Fresh air invigorates! But, when it's the end of November and the temperatures have dropped below my comfy level, having a window stick in the down position is not very convenient or cozy.

So, I emptied my car, lowered the seats to flat position, and stuffed in my darling bicycle, complete with a cute red and black polka dot bag that carried my muffler, Christmas CDs and CD player, my purse, my garage door opener, money, a package to be mailed, and my woolen hat. I was set to drop off the car and ride the 11.5 miles back across town to home sweet home.

The weather was chilly but not freezing. I mean, no icicles formed on my sweat! I listened to Garth Brooks Christmas CD and Ray Conniff's - both are full of jolly, happy tunes. It was a very merry ride, and I am now invigorated to carry on with chores. Happy Day to you!

OH, FUNNY!

Cukooooo! In that last entry, I mentioned nothing about the title. The truth I was going to tell you about is this: Mike pulled down all our boxes and boxes of Christmas decorations, and he could not help his annual comment - YOU HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!! I instantly assured him that I was planning on giving some of it to a friend. His immediate response, said with such a note of plea in it that I could only laugh, pass it on, and comply. He said, "NO!!! if you give it away, you'll feel the need to replace it. Please, keep what you have.!!!" I am still laughing, cuz he knows me well!!!

Do you wanna hear a shocker? Amy heard that mike was cleaning, thought that was so mind-boggling, that she shook her head, figured she was awake and not still dreaming, and came into the kithen, filled up a bucket with water and Murphy's oil soap, and did all the cupboards in the house! Oh my goodness!!!! She told me later that if dad, dad!, was going to help, she wanted to, too. So, how do you like those apples??? Seeing as how it was a family affair, i called tim home and included him in the fun, allowing him to clean the screens. hoooooorya! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!!!!!!

The Funny Truth

Thanksgiving Day was a success.... It's over, but giving thanks continues in my heart. There's just so many things to be thankful for! And now, I'm focused on a gift wrapped in swaddling clothes. How thankful I am that God loved me (and YOU!) enough to hand-wrap this gift of Love!

This morning I was reading a psalm, and it mentioned that David's line would go on forever, as the moon - "the faithful witness in the sky." I liked that. A beaming witness that our God is there.....always and ever and beyond!

So, Thanksgiving is behind us and the Christmas celebration ahead of us. Joy to the world!! The cleaning bug attacked me this morning (haven't seen that bug in a very long time!), and I am getting the home sparkling for the holidays. It's been really fun. Surprising, isn't it? I rarely want to do it (clean, that is), but once I start, it's actually enjoyable. With my toothbrush in hand, I was getting seven years of dust off my baseboards, when in came Mike, saying, "Why don't you leave those kinds of chores for me?" I fainted! Do you know why he offered such a miraculous thing? Because he is anxious for our decorations to go up! He wanted me to put them up yesterday. Holidays are important traditions. So, bless your family and get to work!

Oh, be sure to start with prayer. Give this celebration, including all the work and preparation, as well as the joyous things, to the Lord. Remember, we unwrapped that gift the day we believed - let's not let Him just sit on the shelf!

Thanksgiving Day is over, but continue with thanks as you deck the halls! Falalalallalala!

Every year, magazine articles are filled with steps to easier holidays. I've never followed them... which I now see was not very wise! How did I come to this conclusion? Well, this year, Thanksgiving was rolling in so fast that it caught me unaware - and unprepared!!

So, on Sunday I grabbed my rarely-used schedule book (I had BIG visions of discipline and order when I bought it) and broke up into little steps all I'd need to do to be ready for Thanksgiving Day. And guess what? All those steps have led me to the top of the accomplishment ladder. I am shocked! And happy!

I think I will do the same for Christmas. It just might make it calm and bright and holly-jolly!!
But that's all I'll say about Christmas, because Thanksgiving is to be celebrated with gusto, tomorrow.

I just made my own fun coffee and read Psalm 117. There's lots in those two verses to make you thankful to God. For my coffee, I heated half cup light eggnog, then poured some brewed caramel truffle coffee in it. Let me tell you - this is something else to be thankful for - I love my coffee!

Just think..... if I would keep to a schedule, there'd be more time to spend with the Word, while sipping yummy coffee!

Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks in all things, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus! Margaret Jensen's mom said that a happy heart is a thankful heart. No wonder they link the words 'happy' and 'thanksgiving' together!! Like turkey and stuffing....or stuffed!!!

If you find yourself a bit cranky over the length of your to-do list, start at the top of the list and work your way down - with thanks. For instance, I have to grocery shop. So, I'll thank the Lord for money to do that and a store to do it in. Some countries have no clue about this luxury! Next, bake.... well, hmmmm..... we can be thankful for the warmth and sweet aroma. Etcetera. This little game might make some real changes of heart...and attitude. That'd be nice, wouldn't it?

Since I'll be so busy thanking and preparing for the Big Day, this might be the only howdy this week. We'll see. May you find your hearts filled with lots of thanks and happinesses!

Baby, it's Cold Outside

Brrrrrrrr! Our furnace has not yet been turned on. We're holding out for the really cold, unbearable days before clicking on that dollar sucker. Each morning I check the thermostat, and each morning it's one degree cooler. When it hits zero, don't worry, that bubba's coming on!!

Though the sun is brightly shining, it can't fool me! I KNOW it is cold outside! Think I'll light a fire and spend this day in cozy warmth with a good book!

Lazy, Crazy Day

Do you ever have those mornings where the warmth of the blankets glues you to the bed? That's today! My list keeps growing with cleaning, errands, work, writing, etc., and all i want to do is stretch under the covers and read my newest library find. Alas... what's a woman to do?!

Since lolly-gagging in bed all day is not an option, I'm going to moan for about five (maybe ten) minutes, then get up and JUST DO IT ALL! I'd love it to be a lazy day, but then I'd be crazy tomorrow. So, hi ho hi ho.... it's off to work I go! TaTa

The Big Word "MY"

This morning, I had barely read three paragraphs of a chapter on change when I began to notice something: the word "MY." "Disrupted my...", "anything that rocks my boat..."

We do not like "MY" disrupted, do we? And, for sure, we don't like it to rock our boats... or our worlds... or any of our carefully layed plans! No sirrrreeeee!

But it happens, doesn't it, and there's nothing we can do to stop it. Can we keep it from upsetting our joy, though? By the time I'm finished reading the whole chapter, I hope to find the answer to that question. In the meantime, I have an inking that if "MY" plans, boats, and happenings were given to God with open hands (gulp, not always easy) then the "MY" becomes "HIS" and then it's up to the Lord to deal with it all, while I joyfully bob along for the ride.

It's not really that simple, but a process of learning to let go and trust, I think. Letting God become "MY" trust, surely will help!

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. (Jeremiah 17:7.)

On the Road Again

No, not on a trip. Just on the road to recovery- finally! It's been eight days of this upper respiratory battle. Glad to lick it, at last, and be on the road to robust health again! Drink your water!

A Living Charm Bracelet

Sweet memories are like charms on a bracelet, jingling precious rememberings of life's happy moments.

If the past four days were dangling from shiny circles of silver, there would be lips... for the kiss good-bye to Mike that had to hold me over for the five days he would be in Arizona...without me. A truck... for the sleigh ride that whisked Shannon and I to the fall-colored coast, for our annual rendevouz of friendship. The word "Sisters" for the twenty-three-and-a-half-year-old friendship we share. A beachball.... for the 'ball' we had on our three days at the beach. A bible.... for the fellowship we enjoyed, with each other and Jesus, who goes everywhere with us. A telephone... that was the only way we were connected to the sweet nothings of our Hubby Dears. A basket... because we each brought one, filled with items to ensure girlyhood. A frenchfry... because, twice, we shared french fries smothered in ketchup. (I would put a coin... for all the shopping, but we spent them all!)

It's the little things in life that add up to a bracelet-full of things cherished. Don't let memories just sit there....let them dangle in front of you....for lots of happinesses remembered. :)

Be Ye Transformed by the Renewing of Thy Mind

You are what you think, even more than what you eat (I mean, I eat tons of chocolate and am still white)!

Yesterday, one little question in an email caused a lot of what goes on inside my head to surface. For some reason, I decided to skim it off and write it down. Boy, was I amazed at how negative my subconscious are!

Anyhoo, just in case you are like me, here's what I wrote in my journal, in answer to the question: Are you going to the Mount Hermon writing conference this year? (Which means that I will have to write!!! EEEK!) The first response was my thought, the second is a new thought to replace the first.....

NO!..... Yes, Lord! SCARED!.... Be encouraged! NOBODY! ...Somebody to God - His child! INSECURE!.... Trust in the Lord! NOT SMART ENOUGH!....Then, learn! NOT GOOD ENOUGH!...."Good?" So, what? I am accepted in the Beloved! NOT CONFIDENT ENOUGH!.... Trust more! NOTHING WRITTEN! .... Get busy! DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE! ....Pray & fast!

So, there ya have it - the Liz's inards....on their way to being renewed!

I'm Going Out

It's that cloudy, delightful weather I like (only in November & December; after that I want sunshine). Perfect weather for sipping ny second cuppa coffee and talking things over with Jesus. Outside on my front porch I have a darling buttery-yellow bistro table, and that's where the Lord and I are headed, right out there, alone in the crisp morning quietness.

Do you have a favorite place to meet with God? Spending time in the word is much more fun in a special place you like to be. Or, I think so, anyway.

While my coffee was brewing, I got this Thanksgiving brainstorm - each day I am going to offer thanks to the Lord for something about Him, correlating the number of items with the number on the calendar. As the number grows, so will my thanks. I'll have to use my fingers to keep track...and my toes! I've never done this before, but it's a great idea! Wanna do it with me? Oh, do! Yesterday I thanked Him that He is God, my God, and this morning I thanked Him that He is love and that He loves MOI!! Hoooooray!

Coffee's ready.... I'm going out with the Lord for our morning date. Ta ta!

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." James 4:8

Inquiring minds like to know! So, while wiping off last night's spilled hot chocolate, I asked the Lord why it is that dieting or restricting my foods causes me to freak out. I mean, what is this madness?????

His swift answer included a picture of lost friendships. Over the years many friends have come and gone, some missed more than others. I am a loyal friend - to a fault! A friend can do me wrong, and still I hang on to the friendship, remembering all the fun times and good things about that person (shoot! I need to do this more with Hubby Dear...). Anyhoo, the Lord's answer revealed that my 'friend' food has been a companion of many years, and I am as fiercly loyal to the comfort of it, as bad for me as this 'frienship' is, as I am to any other friendship. Darn wierd!

But true. As I think back on some lost or given-up friendships, I can see where I have grown because of that loss. There are a few that I mourn over every now and then, but for the most part, I've moved happily on. And wouldn't this be true of food friendship, too? Of course!

Will it be easy? No, just as, initially, it's hard when friendships change. I like my comfort, and change disrupts that. Change also brings renewal, ever notice that? So, now that this inquiring mind has her answer, it will be fun to lock hands with many new friendships. I can't wait!

Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17