Tuesday Check In

Today's weather, news, events:  Mid-30's, but sunny!  You know...  I haven't watched the news in several days...  Yikes!  Events?  Just spring break around here!

Today I feel:  Like I'm getting sick, gosh darnit.  Headache, sore throat, tired...  Unfortunately, I'm sure the worst is yet to come...

I am grateful for:  An evening home alone.  Rest.  Quiet.  Advil.  Early bedtimes.  Puppy cuddles.  Pretty sunsets.  The Voice.  Hot tea.  Springy scarves.

Spiritually I:  am appreciating the Easter sentiment of new life, new beginnings, new creations!

People in my thoughts today:  Amanda and the start of her new job!  Been sending good vibes her way all week! 

Magical moments (comfort, peace, and love):  When I asked our nephew, Brandon (who is 16), what he liked best about having a baby sister - he said that she sings all the time.  How cute is that?

Donations of the Heart (acts of kindness, sharing, caring, and forgiveness):  I've witnessed lots of nice things this week.  Friends helping friends move.  People bringing elderly loved ones to church on Easter Sunday.  Daddies taking their little girls to the zoo. 

For a better tomorrow (Goals, ideas, etc):  Need to get healthy - before getting worse!!!


QotD:  Who do you feel closest too?
Easy peasy.  My hubby.

Spring Break Begins

So...  Our nephew, Brandon, has chosen to spend his spring break with us this week.  Awesome!
We love when he comes to stay - he gets to pick the meals (all yummy, of course!), what restaurants we stop by, what we do for fun, and when we take naps...  Yep - thatta boy!

Monday is the one day I get to spend with him, so as we lounged around this morning, he asked, "Can we go to that free zoo today?"

A kid after my own heart.  Of course!

So, off to Como Zoo we went - on a 30 degree day.  Brrrr!  Luckily, most of the animals were inside, so we had lots of opportunities to warm up!  But the Polar Bear.  Now he was having a great day!  I've never seen him so active and fun - we loved it!


And the giraffes, orangutans, and zebras said "hi!"



Even the bison...  Old friends from South Dakota!


We even stopped in the Conservatory for a peak at the spring flowers - and a glorious whiff of lilies!  The smell alone was intoxicating!


Our last stop was lunch at Teresa's...  A little Mexican food to top off our day!


Gotta say...  We're pretty lucky.  We have a pretty darn cool nephew.  We adore the fact he still blesses us with his presence over spring break!



Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Waking up to sunshine streaming through the blinds.
2.  Being asked to go to the zoo...  I love the zoo!
3.  Polar bears.
4.  Orangutans.
5.  The warmth of the Conservatory.
6.  The smell of fresh flowers!
7.  Playing in the gift shop.

8.  Talking about adventures and trips - and dreaming about future ones!
9.  Going to bed early.
10.  Contentment.

QotD:  Who are you fooling?
Ha ha ha.  Apparently, no one!

Happy Easter!

Easter in Minnesota...

Gotta love getting dressed up in a pretty dress...
And wearing your Uggs to church -
Then, changing into the dressy, strappy shoes!

Kind of funny.

We had a great church day - my favorite part of the service was a reading that contrasted scriptures from the Christmas story and scriptures from the Easter story...  Imagine this read with a soft female voice (A) for Christmas, and a bold, male voice for Easter (B)...  Very cool!

A: And it came to pass in those days, that there went up a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed...and all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
B: He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
A: And Joseph also went up from Galilee.
B: When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man was a Galilean, and as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod.
A: Out of the city of Nazareth
B: Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?
A: Into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. Behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he that is born king of the Jews?"
B: "If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself."
A: "For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."
B: And all his acquaintances stood afar off, beholding these things.
A: And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.
B: From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
A: And they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, "Fear not; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."
B: For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles.
A: "For unto you is born this day..."
B: And shall be mocked.
A: "In the city of David..."
B: And spitefully entreated.
A: "A Saviour..."
B: And spit on
A: "Which is Christ the Lord."
B: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."
A: And so it was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
B: And having said this, he gave up the ghost.
A: And she brought forth her firstborn son,
B: And when Joseph had taken the boy
A: And wrapped him in swaddling clothes
B: And wrapped it in a clean linen cloth
A: And laid him in a manger
B: And laid it in his own new tomb
A: Because there was no room for them in the inn
B: Wherein never man before was laid.
A: And when they were come into the house,
B: Upon the first day of the week,
A: They saw the young child with Mary his mother
B: They came unto the sepulchre,
A: and...they presented unto him gifts
B: Bringing the spices which they had prepared.
A: Gold and frankincense, and myrrh.
B: They found the stone rolled away. Behold, two men stood by them in shining garments;
A: And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
B: They said; "Why seek ye the living among the dead?"
A: "Glory to God in the highest,"
B: "He is not here."
A: "And on earth, peace, good will toward men."
B: "He is risen!"
A: But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

 

 

 

Things I am thankful for today:

 

1.  My migraine was gone when I woke up - thank goodness!

2.  Laughing about snowy, cold Easters - and wearing boots to church.

3.  The smell of Easter lilies.

4.  Easter egg hunts!

5.  Beautiful music.

6.  Dinner with my parents.

7.  And yes...  I got to search for eggs!

8.  A beautiful evening to drive home.

9.  The hubby and nephew got home safe.

10.  Easter - faith - hope - new life!

 

QotD:  What invention can you not live without?

I love my car seat warmers on cold mornings...

Project Life

It finally came today!  My "Project Life" supplies are here - woo hoo! 

(I had hoped to spend my entire quiet day, between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, putzing away on this...  But it didn't arrive until 3:30pm!  Buggers.  So I only got a few hours in before a migraine took hold...  But, I got a good start and can't wait for another day to play!)

Basically, it's a scrapbooking kit - with photo pockets and these fun little journaling cards...

So all you have to do, is print out your pictures, and write little notes about things that happened that week.  That's it!

I had some fun little stickers I'm using to decorate a little more...

But basically, all the "creative" parts are already done!  I love it!

 

I'm thinking next Sunday, I'll be jumping in again...  Fun!

 

What did you do today?

 

 

Things I am thankful for today:

 

1.  A day off.

2.  Waking up at my normal time and getting things done.

3.  Watching season 2 of "Girls."

4.  A "warm" beautiful day.

5.  A thunderstorm early in the morning.

6.  Getting ready for our nephew, Brandon's, visit.

7.  Excedrin PM - the perfect weapon for my migraine!

8.  My peanut butter reappeared - with a SHMILY note.  Thanks, honey!

9.  Loving my new shamrock - so pretty.  Thanks, Jill!

10.  Green tea.

 

QotD:  Pick a color for today.

Green...  I'm so looking forward to lots of GREEN!

 

Sweet Spot

"It's time to look for your sweet spot - where what you do (your unique giftedness) intersects with why you do it (making a big deal out of God) and where you do it (every day of your life).  How do you discover what God packed in your bag?

"Simple: identify things you love to do that you also do well.  Consider those your sweet spot experiences.  Think of times of full-flight energy, of unclocked time.  Times when you thought, I was made for this!  Times when you felt a rush of accomplishment.  You at your best.  These foundational experiences reveal your uniqueness and help you identify your sweet spot."

--Max Lucado, Cure For the Common Life

 

I've been doing a lot of thinking about this lately...  Interesting question - and fun to remember all the times I felt "in the zone!"

 

I started writing down some of what I came up with - and saw a common thread...  It's always about being in the moment with another person; taking all the time in the world to listen, offer comfort, guidance, or support; help them come up with a plan; and help through the process.

 

I get to do a little bit of this in my job, and a lot of other meaningful things, too.  But I wonder if there are other places I could use this "unique giftedness?"

 

Something to think about...

 

 

Things I am thankful for today:

 

1.  "Sweet spot" experiences.

2.  Being home to send the hubby off for the weekend.

3.  A 3 mile walk with the poodle.

4.  Puddles - a sign of spring.

5.  My first robin-siting of the year!

6.  Watching the show "Girls" - Season 1, all in one night! 

7.  Getting the house cleaned up for the weekend.

8.  Projects to work on.

9.  Our Good Friday Prayer Vigil went well.

10.  Having the sanctuary to myself for a half hour tonight...  Beautiful. 

 

QotD:  Write down a few lines from a song or poem that you identify with today:

"The way you invest your love... the way you invest your life."  --Mumford and Sons

Depend on God

Julia Cameron's book, The Sound of Paper, encourages us "to be independent, by depending on God."  Funny, yesterday's reading in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People talked about moving from dependence, to Independence, to interdependence...  The only way to maturing.

What if the ultimate "maturity" test, was to depend on God?  Would we get there?  Really?

Here's what Julia Cameron says as an introduction to today's exercise:

"Sometimes we are loath to rely on the Great Creator.  Perhaps we still believe in a difficult, negative, or withholding God.  The kind of God we believe in  has a great deal to do with our willingness to draw close to God..."

Number 1-10 and list ten attributes of your childhood God:

1.  In the clouds.
2.  Judgmental.
3.  Powerful.
4.  Creative.
5.  Distant.
6.  Old.
7.  Punishing.
8.  Loving.
9.  Able to forgive.
10.  Male.

"Now, number from 1-10 again.  This time, list the characteristics you would like your God to have:

1.  Grace-filled.
2.  Forgiving.
3.  Guiding.
4.  Neither male nor female.
5.  Joy-filled.
6.  Creative.
7.  Encouraging.
8.  Near.
9.  Personal.
10.  On this adventure with me!

"Holding in mind the positive traits you have envisioned, write a letter to God asking for specific help regarding your life or creative projects..."

Love this idea!  She then says that you can put these letters in a "God Jar" or "God Inbox" (as Anne LaMott would say...).  I may be writing God a letter this afternoon...

It's interesting how life changes our views of God, isn't it?  Every year when my confirmands get ready to write their "faith statements," they tend to get all stressed out about "getting it right."  I always have to say Don't Worry About It.  The thing is, due to life's experiences and the things you learn along the way - your beliefs will change and grow with you. 

I think God intends for us to discover our faith in the ups and downs of life...  the twists and turns.  The "dazzle and delight" and the "darkness and drear."  I think God wants to tap us on the shoulder once in awhile and say, "I'm still here.  And I still love you."

Today is Maundy Thursday.  At church tonight, we will remember the night that Jesus was betrayed up until he was crucified on the cross...  Our sanctuary will be cleared of all decoration, black shrouds will be laid on the altar, and candles will be extinguished, until we are left in darkness and silence.

For me, this is one of those moments.  God is tapping on my shoulder.  Remember the story?  All of this darkness, this sadness, this hopelessness...  For now, sit with it and let it wash over you...  Reminding you of all the times in your life when you've felt this, too.  When there didn't seem to be a happy ending in sight....

And then, take a breath.

And remember.

Sunday is coming!

That's the God I believe in.


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Spring is in the air.
2.  Moonroof OPEN!

3.  Maundy Thursday service.  One of my favorites.
4.  Silence.  So powerful.
5.  Setting up for the Good Friday Prayer Vigil.
6.  Candlelight.
7.  Coming home to a dinner waiting, thanks to the hubby!
8.  Playing with the poodle and her "bobo."
9.  An invite from Mom.
10.  Faith.

QotD:  What do you want to remember about today?
Dark, silence... 

Seven Habits

So...  Lately, many of the things I've been reading have quoted the book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  I've seen this title four places in the last week and a half.

And I kept thinking...  I should really read this book.

Then I remembered. 

I have it.  I've had it for many years.  Since my freshman year of college, to be exact.
And I still haven't read it.

So...  I dug it out of a box and decided to give it a try!
I read the intro today...  And am excited to spend some time developing my "habits" over the next several weeks!

Here's my favorite tidbits from the intro:

"We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."  --Aristotle

"Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. 
'Sow a thought, reap an action;
sow an action, reap a habit;
sow a habit, reap a character;
sow a character, reap a destiny,"

"..a habit is the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire" 
Or knowing what to do and why to do it,
how to do it,
and wanting to do it!

Hmmm...  I'm excited to start jumping in to the first habit!


Things I am thankful for today:

1.  Books.
2.  Tea.
3.  Slippers.
4.  The mysterious cat that lives in our drainage pipe...
5.  A 3.5 mile walk with the hubby and pup!
6.  A sunny day.
7.  Prepping for our church's prayer vigil.
8.  Beginning to watch "Game of Thrones."
9.  "Bon Appetit" magazine.
10.  Mahi mahi.  Yum.

QotD:  When was the last time you felt like you were on top of the world?
On our road trip last summer.  I had everything I wanted (except our poodle).  Life was good - and a grand adventure!