Mandala Meditation - Thankfulness in all things

 "O Lord, my God, 

I will keep on thanking you forever."

-Psalm 30:12b

This is so easy in our joy, but so hard in our sorrow.  How can we recognize His gift in a death, a famine, a hardship, a debilitating injury, an abuse perpetrated on us?  How difficult to make out the footprints by your side or the enduring strength holding you up or the extra tears streaming with yours. How difficult to be thankful in pain.

Flannel Sheets are Best for a Cold Night

You guys must have thought that I was crazy when I listed flannel sheets on my Thankful List last month. Well, that is everyone that doesn't have them. Oh, my goodness! I have never had flannel sheets before and last month I broke down at Wal-mart of all places and bought a pair. Let's be honest, money is tight. I needed sheets and flannel was the a really good price for a king sized bed. I think they were like $24.99 or so - no more than $30. They came in a little flannel box and are kind of red and green striped (which I thought would be cute for the holidays too).

When I put them on the bed, I was thrilled to have a new set of sheets, but I was not prepared for how wonderful it really was. Those sheets are so soft and so warm. In the winter, we keep the heat down, sometimes at night it will go down into the 50's in the house so warmth is a must. I used to sometimes find myself so cold that I would get up and add layers of clothes. In these sheets, I sometimes find myself sticking my foot out of the edge to cool down.

I love them so much, I may even run out and buy another set. Sometimes happiness comes in the little things.

Giving Thanks Challenge - Final Report

1. Family 2. Freedom of political voice and vote3. My family's health4. Thanksgiving Day Wraps and Apples!5. My faith and my church.6. Breakfast with the family7. Wood Stove & Flannel Sheets8. creative juices9. Listening to my daughter read for Story Time10. Being born in the US11. All those who have sacrificed and died for our freedom12. Laughter - especially of small children13. Singing at OSV by candlelight14. Many hands to lighten the work load.15. A pen and paper16. new recipes to try17. books18. Cinnamon19. My car (but I would be more thankful for a transporter ; ) )20. My dad (and my mom who I miss dearly)21. Enough22. The internet23. A new job24. Christmas Carols25. a wonderful holiday meal26. fried clams at Lenny & Joe's27. suprise announcements28. hymnals29. loving dog & cat30. Scouts

Cons of Community Service

How you are raised can change your perception on life. I'm sure this statement doesn't surprise you, but I was surprised to see how pervasive it was the other day when the boys were discussing working with their Boy Scout troop to clean up garbage along the road. My biological son, who has been raised with a strong sense of community involvement, was excited to work on this project. He finds most things with the Boy Scouts fun and is fairly environmentally aware. My foster son, who has been bounced from house to house primarily in the city, thought the idea of getting together to pick up garbage to be the stupidest idea he had ever heard. He immediately associated it with being in trouble. You are only forced to clean up an area when a court mandates it. Fortunately, he relented, went, and had a grand time; but, his comments stuck. If he relates helping with court and consequences, who else does.

My family and I have always enjoyed helping others. We find that we receive far more than we give and I must admit, that we feel powerful when we do help. It is amazing how much one person can accomplish. So to think of community service as a negative was shocking to me, but certainly an interesting commentary on our society. I would be interested to see if others from his background feel the same. Certainly, the courts purpose is assigning community service is to repay what the guilty party took from society and also for them to see that their actions can have a positive impact. Perhaps though, what we are teaching is that community service is boring, troublesome, and something that it is to be left to people who misbehave. Hmmm! I don't think this is setting up a very positive association and may set the stage for complacency and future community inaction. I'm not sure what we should use as punishment for those who break the law and are being charged with community service, but maybe we better take a minute to discuss the message that we are sending when we do so.

Hurrah and Boo

One, Hurrah
One, a public thank you to Chris, the Carmax guy, who commented on my new car. We received our car atlas and it came in very handy yesterday when doing homework with DS who had to plan a road trip cross country. I’m still loving the car and people can’t believe that it is a used car. It is in excellent shape! It was also very exciting to fill the tank with $30.

Two, Boos
I failed to mention that on our trip to NYC, my pocketbook broke. The strap came apart from the purse and BAM it fell right to the sidewalk. Thank goodness I noticed and picked it right up - - - I was the one carrying the theater tickets and the return train tickets, but I then had to clutch my bag for the rest of the day. So now I either have to try to repair this bag or find another one. I HATE shopping for pocketbooks. When I bought this one, only a year ago from Coldwater Creek, I was very excited to find it. I had been looking for months because I knew my old one was dying. I am very picky about purses. I don’t like them too big or too small, and I like the integral wallet as part of the bag. Also, I am NOT paying $100 plus dollars for a bag. Frankly, if I didn’t carry so much crap, I would just carry a wallet, but then where would the checkbook, sunglasses, keys, epi-pen, pads, membership cards, etc. all go? So Coldwater Creek and Amazon, here I come. Please have something reasonable and sturdy!

The second Boo goes to a church in Florida for arresting a man for stealing communion wafers. If God thinks it was wrong to take to many, he’ll take care of it. As for us, I’m pretty sure that we are called to feed the hungry and help those in need. Why didn’t you hand him the whole bowl or invite him for soup and a sandwich after the service instead of tackling him and having him arrested?

Last Minute Halloween Costume

Sometimes kids are wonderful. As you tell from my recent posts, life is a little crazy around here. Poor DD has felt the stress. She has really wanted to be Sarah Palin for Halloween, but without a car, getting the glasses, shoes, and outfit has not fit into our schedule very well. Instead of throwing a fit, she came up with an alternate plan which I think is genius and simple.

At first she was thinking about being a specific singer, but who could tell one from another. Then she came up with the idea to be an American Idol Contestant. She printed up an American Idol number to pin to the front of her shirt and a golden ticket to carry around: A costume with a total cost of about 10 cents. Genius, I say. . . GENIUS.

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.

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.

Birthday Presents for Me

Thanks, Mom, for the slippers. I got my first birthday present today delivered by the mailman. I can’t quite figure out why he didn’t bring me the mail too, but that is a whole different story. My birthmother sent me these white slippers – very comfy!

The Beach

A perfect silence amidst the crashing roar and tumble of the waves. A breeze and a clouded umbrella, a perfect day at the beach for me. The seagulls swoop. The sandpipers trot. The cormorant float. To me, a heaven on earth. A peace and a comfort fill me. Restored as if back home again.

I once thought everyone felt this way until I met my husband who dreds water like the wicked witch of the west, who I don’t think put on a pair of shorts until our fifth year of marriage (mind you we rented a beach cottage every summer), and who would be happy to never touch or see an ocean in his life. To me this is incomprehensible.

At funerals we say “dust to dust” but for me it should be “from water, to water” as they sprinkle me among the waves.

Just Call Me Woman . . . Thankful Woman

It is 10pm EST. My eyelids are heavy. I could easily put my head down. I’m tired, but the washing machine says 11 more minutes before I can put it in the dryer. The garbage that my son was supposed to take out is still full and unless I want to clean it up from the kitchen floor, I will take it out. The dogs have not gone out yet and the casserole dish from dinner needs to be washed. I will get it all done before I get to bed . . .Just call me woman.

Of course if you are watching the DNC Convention with me, you just saw Spielberg’s tribute to the men and women in Iraq. After watching that, my tired eyelids don’t seem so tired and I am truly blessed to have my children close enough to forget their chores. I am thankful to have food in my stomach and a bed in which I can lay my head. . . Just call me thankful for all that our men and women of the armed forces do and for all that their families sacrifice.



PS. Very interesting, here we are at the DNC convention listening to a discussion about who the Republican nominee may choose for VP. Hmmmmm! Botched text message or interupting announcement. And maybe a woman??? McCain, let's shock them all with a great choice.