Something from Nothing

Sometimes we wonder what we can give to others.  This cabinet reminds us that we can always give something, even when we have nothing.  This beautiful cabinet was created out of leftover pieces of a barn.  This cabinet was created by a man who lost his home in the tornadoes.  He was so thankful for all the church had done, he gifted us this beautiful cabinet.  I would have said that he lost everything in the storm, but obviously not everything.  He clearly maintains his talent and his heart.  So when you think that you have nothing to give, look again.  Look not outside yourself, but within, and remember this wonderfully giving inspiration. 

Tornadoes in Massachusetts

There are many things that you think about when you choose where to live.  Certainly there are considerations about jobs, family, education, etc, but often there is part of you that is searching for safety.  When you live in the northeast, you figure that you are fairly safe: major hurricanes only come by every ten years or so, earthquakes are generally minor, forest fires are usually contained, and tornadoes are usually small and rarely affect the population.  We do have winter storms, but they eventually melt.  All and all comparatively, it seems to be a fairly safe place to be until June 1st of this year, when a tornado swept through Western Massachusetts extending from Westfield to Charlton (almost 50 miles).  It was like the tornadoes that you see on the news in the Midwest except the Midwest doesn't have trees like we do.  The devastation was extreme.

Fortunately, this is not my home.  We were very lucky, but the area near our church not so much.  The impact was unbelievable in width, length, and general impact.  Trees look like toothpicks sticking from the ground.  Areas that couldn't see the sky due to a canopy of trees are now bathed in sunlight and blanketed in the night sky.  Houses are covered in blue tarps, split in half, or town completely from their foundations. The cleanup will not be measured in days but more likely months and probably years.

The one amazing portion that I have been blessed to witness is the coming together of a community to help those in need.  I have worked all of last month at the tornado aide center.  The outpouring of support not just from locals but from those that came miles and miles just to help has been incredible.  One night, one of the people asked, "Do you make all this food?  It is delicious."  While I may have wanted to take credit, I was able to say that no, all the food was donated.  We had not had to make anything.

When people wonder if there are still good people on this earth, I know without a doubt that the answer to this question is a resounding, "Yes."  It is a shame sometimes that it takes devastating emergencies to bring us all together, but you can surely know that in a time of need, we can and will come together.  This is one of the great things about people in general and specifically about the USA.  As different as we all are, we truly are all United.

God Bless the USA!  Happy Independence Day!

Discussing Death with Children

I'm not 100% sure how I ended up with the responsibility of discussing death with our Sunday School students, but today that was my charge.  As this is the first Sunday following All Saints Day, the topic was discussing family and friends that had passed.  Fortunately, our new curriculum, the Whole People of God, had a terrific plan to cover the issue. 

Since many of our children are very young, I was very nervous about how they were going to react to the subject.  Unfortunately, our poor little kids have lost far too much in their lives and each of them had lost someone close to them.  One family had even lost a sister.  This sad truth didn't bring a depressing bend to the conversation, but instead uplifted us all. These little ones had a better understand / acceptance of death than most of us adults. Part of the object lesson that the curricula suggested included the use of a rock and a feather.  The rock represented sadness.  The feather represents a light heart knowing that your loved one was with God.  The kids understood the sadness, tears, and heaviness; but I was concerned that they would not understand the happiness that can also be associated with death.  I cautiously asked why we might feel happy for someone that died.  I waited for some Smart Alec to say that they were happy because they didn't like the person anyway, but none said that.  The kids understood right away.  They knew that we could be happy because our loved one was now with God.

Even more special is that they knew how to keep a loved one alive.  They understood that we could share our loved ones with others through stories, that we can remember them through activities that we once shared together, and that we can keep our loved one alive through memories. 

While I went into this class nervous about broaching such a difficult subject, I left class blessed to have seen God shine through little angels.  Clearly, they were more in touch with the flow of life than most adults.

"The LORD is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."  23 Psalm: 1-4 (KJV)

Abundance of Apples

Ok, what do you do with a bushell and a half of apples when you bought them for Halloween and have most of them left over?

  An apple pie is obvious, and I did make one for the family.  However, that only accounted for 5 cups out of a lot, lot more.

So, I just kept going.  I didn't make whole pies, but just the insides.  I read up on freezing pies and people were very positive about multiple ways to do it.  I opted for space reasons to just  do the insides of the pies.  They are mixed according to the recipe and then frozen. 

When I am ready to make the pies, I will take them out, thaw them, put them in the pie shell, and cook normally.  Given all the extra apples we have, our family should be having pie about twice a month through spring.  Would you like to come for dessert?

Note:  If you are wondering why I bought so many, I must confess that I have a condition that requires me to over cook for company, over plan our trips, and over purchase for any activity that I am not 100% sure of the number of people attending.  And frankly I think this is a fairly common female affliction.

A Woman's Weekend Alone

Ok,  all you people looking for a description of a wild, sexy weekend of partying based on this title, I suggest that you surf on,  you will find no such article here.  All of you mom's who think that you will never have one minute to yourself ever again, read on.  This weekend was a first in our house.  DH took both of the kids camping and I was left home alone with the the animals (thus the Movies that Make You Cry entry). I had an entire weekend to myself.  Granted Sunday, I walked with 20,000 other people in the Rays of Hope Breast Cancer Walk, but the rest of the weekend was mine.  You are probably thinking that this sounds heavenly.  What you wouldn't do just to be able to go to the bathroom without someone knocking on the door.  Let me tell you, it was ........................................................HORRIBLE! 

Yes, there were enjoyable points.  I watched a couple of chick flicks.  I got a lot of writing done.  I didn't have to fight for the remote or my blankets.  I didn't have to cook and there were practically no dishes.  But there was no laughter, no snuggling, no reason to make dinner, and no kisses goodnight.  I found myself aching for them to come home.  I missed my daughter prattling on and my son's bear hugs.  I wandered around the house wondering what I am ever going to do when they grow a little older and move out.  I felt serious empathy for my father who lives alone now and could not imagine enduring this boredom day in and day out for weeks, months, years.

So, I advise all you mothers who think you will never have another solitary uninterupted thought to appreciate it.  It will not be long until your little ones are out of the house, until their social calendars are busier than yours, until not only do you have a moment to breathe but seriously unending silence.  On those days, you'll miss the knocks, the laughter, and even the dishes.

I'm so glad that today they are home!

ThanksGIVING

"35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."

Matthew 25: 35-36

So many of us are blessed. As the scripture says, our cup runneth over. So why not during this time of Thanksgiving don't we pass on our blessings to others.



In my life, I have found this philosophy to not only to help others, but also as a way to replenish my soul. Even when I don't feel like my cup is running over, I look for ways to share what I do have. After I share, my life looks much rosier and I feel better.



Today, our family is actually serving at a local homeless shelter. I have ham and maccoroni and cheese cooking in the oven; a cake sitting on the counter frosted; green beens and pickles are ready to go. I had been feeling very nervous about our serving this time. Our belt was feeling a little tight and I began to wonder if we could really afford to give in this way, but I knew that people were relying on us; futhermore, no mater how tight our belt was, it was way looser than the family's using the shelter. So, I decided to breathe and trust in God. Today, as I began my cooking , my husband called. He got a commission check that we had been waiting for and his boss bought him a vehicle to use for work. Phew! Thank God from whom all blessings flow. I will surely be looking for more ways to serve.



Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Tie a string around your finger - Remember your Blessings

A reminder to count your blessings during this holiday season. For many people this season is leaner than many Christmases before. It is easy to have a little Scrooge enter your heart given the economic times. But tonight, I dropped a meal off to a local family who is sitting at their son's hospital bedside. A woman at church has been thoughtfully scheduling meals to be dropped off. Unfortunately, due to their son's injuries the schedule has no end. In fact, his injuries are such that if the schedule ends that may be bad news and not good.

So if you are feeling a little Scroogy this holiday, STOP - be grateful - Thank God for all the goodness and grace in your life and if you can, please pray for a Christmas miracle for Andrew.

Friday's Fave 5

I picked up this Favorite Five while reading 2nd Cup of Coffee, one of my regular reads. She had posted her Friday's Fave 5 with a link to the originator Susanne.

Here are mine for the week:

1. Scramble Ladder on Facebook. It is like sit ups for your brain. I love puzzles and games especially word games. It was made even more fun by DD, who would help me. She can find some really good words.

2. Connecting with old friends. This is my first week on facebook and I have talked to so many old friends including one of my dearest, Meg, who lives in Germany. This one line immediate form of communication is perfect for us as we seem to have difficulty with longer forms of communication. We do get to it eventually, but often there are long breaks from communiqué to communiqué i.e. years. What started as a way to figure out what DD was doing on the computer has become a great way to use technology.

3. BioBricks - need I say more since I already posted all their benefits?

4. The generosity of our congregation and the mandatory service hours of a volunteer to help me package our Operation Christmas Child boxes. One of the amazing things about our church is its generosity to all needs. As our minister said, “in the Protestant faith, church is defined as the people, not the building.” We will get everything wrapped up this weekend and say our prayers over the boxes before delivering them to the drop off site next week.

5. A neighbor, Pam, who taught DD and I how to bead a braclet. I received a beautiful gift from her last week and asked if she would be willing to teach DD and I. She was thrilled at the opportunity. Now I have to write my Christmas list and see who I can fill in using this new skill.

Natural Artworks

Sometime when you do your chores, you find little moments of grace. DS is fighting a nasty cold so I did his chores today. As I brought the compost up to the compost pile, I found this tree:






Isn't it beautiful.

Here are a couple other art pieces that God made to decorate my yard.




I got to see them up close as I got to leaf blow for the first time in my life. When we ran out of gas, I finished the old fashioned way with a rake and a tarp. Man, can leaves be heavy. Sadly, tonight you would not even that I worked on the yard. Ok, my muscles know, but people looking at my yard would not.

100th Post - 100 Blessings

I was first introduced to the idea of literally counting my blessings by Sarah Ban Breathnach in her book Simple Abundance: The Day Book of Comfort and Joy.

Certainly, I had heard the saying “Count your blessings”, but I had never actually written them down. This idea of writing down five blessings every day so changed my view on life that I bought Sarah Ban Breathnach’s associated journal, Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude and kept a journal of my 5 blessings for a year.

(Right now I figure there are two distinct groups of you, One that is saying “five blessings, that’s easy” and another group saying, “five blessings, I can’t even think of one today. I challenge both of you to try it.)

Writing my blessings down changed my entire mindset. I spent all day looking for the blessings so that I could write them down. As Phillipians 4:8 says, “Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” so you shall.

So for my 100th post, I have decided to come up with 100 things for which I am blessed.

1. Knowing and learning about God’s word.
2. My faith
3. The fellowship of my church
4. The sacrifice of God’s Son
5. Singing
6. My husband
7. My husband’s faithfulness
8. His sense of humor
9. His physical strength
10. His emotional support
11. His ability to earn a dollar
12. His willingness to put his family first
13. His warmth
14. His logic and worldliness
15. His cooking skills
16. His sense of direction
17. My daughter
18. Her independent spirit
19. Her faith
20. The ritual with her – forehead kisses
21. Joint interests with my daughter
22. The gift of watching her develop her creative juices
23. Her beauty & health
24. Her inquisitive spirit
25. Her knowledge of technology & her willingness to help me with it
26. The me-ness in her & the her-ness in me
27. My son
28. My son’s sense of humor
29. My son’s cuddliness
30. My son’s unique view of the world
31. My son’s health
32. My son’s interest in cooking
33. My son’s strength
34. My son’s artistic talents
35. My son’s naturalist tendencies
36. My son’s love of a spoken story
37. My son’s fuzzy head
38. The soft fur on our dog, Max, especially his ears
39. The cuddling tendencies of our cat, Bandit
40. Being born in the USA
41. The strength of my birthmother to carry me for 9 months and then give me up
42. My parents wanting a child with all their heart
43. A home
44. Heat
45. Food in my fridge
46. Flavored coffee & herbal tea
47. Great friends
48. Good books
49. Authors willing to expose their souls and their talents to others
50. An education
51. Great teachers along the way: Mr Adams, Mr Dyer, Miss Bielitz
52. My job
53. Seasons
54. Fall ‘s colored leaves and crisp ear
55. My van’s ability to keep on trucking
56. My father and my daughter’s shared interest in sports
57. The local coffee shop
58. Medical advancements and technologies
59. My devotional reading
60. BibleGateway.com
61. Paper (I hadn’t thought of this one until Elisabeth spoke to us about Haiti and the scarcity of paper there)
62. The internet’s ability to bring me the answer to almost any question I have.
63. Hiking trails
64. Simplicity of New England Churches
65. A quilt handmade by my birth grandmother
66. A tight knit community
67. A daily warm shower
68. Great, funny, entertaining tv
69. A nap
70. Emails from my friends
71. Clean running water
72. Refrigeration
73. My health
74. A clear mammogram
75. Spending time with my children
76. Museums
77. All technology that makes my life easier (i.e. washing machines)
78. The smell of a home cooked meal
79. Our big king bed
80. The sound of ocean waves
81. Snuggling in bed as the sun cracks through the shades
82. The crackle of a fire either in our fire place or our fire pit
83. The feeling I have when an idea comes to my mind
84. Coffee with my dad
85. The wildlife in our backyard
86. Opportunity
87. Snowflakes, especially when they lay wet on the branches going down my driveway creating a snow tunnel
88. A long front driveway to always see who is coming
89. A garden to grow our own vegetables
90. A yard for the kids to play in and the dog to run in
91. The light of the moon when I walk the dog at night
92. Fresh air – living in a house where no one smokes
93. Enough disposable income to see the theater and travel at least a little
94. Reliable electricity
95. My leaded glass front window
96. My ceramic blue coffee mug especially when it is warm and I cradle it in my hands on a cold day
97. My right to vote
98. The foresight of our forefathers
99. The cracking of a glass ceiling that will be shattered for my daughter
100. Freedom

I’m sure I could go on, but 100th post, 100 items. I will continue to count them on my own to remind myself how lucky and blessed I am even in some of the most simple ways. For example, the red fox that the kids and I saw last week while traveling in Mass. It was a blessing to see it, but then it stopped and stared at us for minutes so we could take it all in.

Thank you for taking the time to come by my blog. I look forward to 100’s more posts.

Sometimes We Forget How Blessed We Are

While testing my vocabulary on Free Rice, I came by this contest. If you go to HungerBytes, you can vote to decide on the best video about world hunger. This is the one that I thought was most powerful.



The contest instructs you the viewer to choose between the 5 finalists and then post or email your choice out so that others will view it. The video with the most viewers by October 16th will be deemed the winner. I hope you will join me in viewing this one and sending it around for other to view (note: I have connection to any of the people in the contest or the contest itself). If nothing else, we can spread the message of world hunger.

AAA Renews Driver's Licenses

As you read earlier, my daughter reminded me that my license expired today. I had ended that post saying that “I guess I know where I am going on Monday.” But apparently my memory is worse than I had thought. Duh, the DMV is not open on Monday. As it was just shy of noon, I thought I was out of luck and figured everything was closed, but after a few quick clicks, I learned two things: One, a license expires on your birthday and there is no 30 day reprieve. Two, DMV doesn’t close until 12:30. Slam, I shut the computer, grabbed ID, the renewal form, but then I had to stop in the bathroom to curl my hair and put on some make up - - - no wonder vanity is one of the seven deadly sins. I drove like a crazy woman down 91 to Wethersfield watching every minute tick away. I turned the wrong way off the exit, had to turn around. Pulled into the East side parking lot and found out I had to go to the west (of course, if I could have read the sign better, I would have know that quicker - - -mental note, get eyes checked). I ran to the front door. It was locked. I was ready to walk away but a DMV worker opened the door for me and said they were still open. I asked people as I hurried down the one hallway to the next to find myself at the door with one of the security guards just shutting the door. I begged her to let me in. She said they had taken their last customer and were balancing out. “Please check. See if anyone is still open. It’s my birthday. Please”

“Sorry.” I could have cried. I could see my whole week going up in smoke. How was I going to get DD to the orthodontist? My husband had just asked me to deliver scouting fliers to the schools. Then as I drove home, wasting a ton of gas, I tried to trouble shoot in my brain. Could we drive with him to Mass on Tuesday, stopping on the way? Then I wouldn’t have a car. I realized that this was no one’s fault but my own. Vanity cost me at least 5 minutes. Being cheap made me not renew when I got the silly renewal card (it seemed silly to renew for $66 if we had already moved). And sheer stupidity made me forget I even had the renewal. I had tucked it out of site for a showing and did not look at it again.

When I got home I was frustrated and my husband’s comments were making me angrier. Because now my license would be expired, I couldn’t just go one town over; I had to go all the way back to Wethersfield. My husband started joking that he would help me study for the test. This was seriously not funny. I went back online to see if there was anything else I could do. I saw that CT now allows license renewals at AAA and the one just two towns over didn’t close until 2. My husband offered to drive. He saw that I was so rattled and shaking, I would probably kill someone if I got behind the wheel. We cruised over there as quickly as we could and I got my license renewed with just minutes to spare. Whew, my week is saved.

A new chapter in my life - - - Me Time

I am sitting now in the East Hampton library, quietly by myself. It is the “by myself” part that is hard to get used to. I remember dreaming about this day. For a while it seemed that I was never without a child attached to me in some way, either in my womb or at my breast. Then even when I would have time alone, I don’t even know if you can call it alone because there was a purpose to my mission – a doctor’s appointment, work, maybe the dentist. I remember my MIL actually saying that my children would never be able to separate from me. Well, if she could see me now. I am alone. The kids are off doing what kids do and now mom is left finding out what she does. I think the impact of this life change is even more pronounced because I’m not working right now, so it is time to find me again.

When I was in high school, I recall writing a poem about me, myself, and I where I felt that I was not an integrated person because there was the me that I truly was, the me that I projected to others, and the me that I was expected to be. I have long since worked that out, but somehow in the hustle and bustle of diapers and Girl Scouts, cooking dinner and work, I forgot to be me. I knew who I was. I just didn’t have time to do it. I didn’t even have a moment to go to the bathroom by myself. I was in survival mode just trying to get from one project to the next. Now as a lady of leisure I have time to explore me, to write me, to create me. I must admit I am a little intimidated by the clay sitting in front of me waiting to be worked. These next years with more me time may be the most prolific of my life. What will I do with them?

As you have had more me time, what new things have you done? What have you found worthwhile?

Points of Perfection

Every once in a while, I touch perfection. I never know when it may happen. The first time I remember recognizing it was when my husband and the kids were making a gingerbread house and I was in the kitchen making Chex Mix. Christmas carols were playing on the radio. I turned around from the stove, wiping my hands in a towel. I was ready to say something, but I shut my mouth and thought this is it. Please let me put this moment in a bottle. Tonight I have had another moment, it was nothing special. George and I were finishing up a movie. The cat curled up against my leg. I pet his head. A moment - - -a single moment of pure perfection.

I’ve had a few others that I remember, but I’m sure there are even more that I may not be aware of. I encourage each of you to look for those moments of perfection. This doesn’t mean planning them or spending money to create them. It means simply being open to them, being aware of your blessings, recognizing their fleetingness and savoring them.

Memory is a child walking along a seashore. You never can tell what small pebble it will pick up and store away among its treasured things. ~Pierce Harris, Atlanta Journal