Things I love about Hampstead...
I usually hate these "tag" things but I really wanted to blog today and didn't have any idea what to say. Now I don't have to think about it thanks to Lauren! Well, I guess I kinda have to think but these were easy.
1. What is one "little thing" you have to do for yourself occasionally to keep from going insane?
Put away every misplaced item in my house.
2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
I have so many I don't know where to begin.
3. Where would be your dream place to live, and why?
Somewhere in a mountainous area that is year round cool but still gets a taste of all four seasons. Not asking for much, huh?
4. What is your favorite movie, and give us a summary of it and an explanation of why it is your favorite.
Ever After: the TRUE story of Cinderella. The score is beautiful, the acting is awesome, the storyline is timeless, the setting is gorgeous.
5. What is one thing you would like to change about yourself? Not about how you look... something about who you are.
That I'd be less self-centered. This has been on my mind a lot lately.
We all know that we model our parents and "learn" how to do life by their example. But over the last few years I've realized that some things I do have no logic to them. I simply do them because my mom did them that way. Allow me to explain...
1) Storing cooking oil under the kitchen sink with the cleaning supplies
For many years I did the same. Until one day I made the logical choice to store my oil with baking supplies. It just made more sense. I'm going to give my mother the benefit of the doubt and claim that she stored it under the sink because it's a tall bottle and won't fit in most cabinets. This past year, I helped my sister move and had to smile when I discovered her oil next to her 409.
2) Storing pancake syrup in the refrigerator
Now for this one, I have to admit I did the same until my sister-in-law pointed out the oddity to me. "Why does your mom put the syrup in the fridge? It doesn't have to be refrigerated and it just makes the pancakes cold." Hmmm...good point (as I snuck home and removed my syrup from the fridge).
3) Leave the cleaning sponge on the edge of the tub
Now this is actually not a bad idea. The sponge is handy and ready to use at any time. But I found that is just stays slimy from soap running into it and it collects hair. And then there was the time my 3 yr old nephew was taking a bath and I found him sucking on the sponge. Ewwwwww!
“How do we tumble down a hill? A foot placed incautiously on an unsteady rock or loosened turf, an ankle twisted or a knee buckled, and all of a sudden we are gone, our body lost to our own control until we find ourselves sprawled in indignity at the bottom. So it seems apt indeed to speak of the Fall. For sin, too, must always start with but a single misstep, and suddenly we are hurtling toward some uncertain stopping point. All that is sure in the descent is that we will arrive sullied and bruised and unable to regain our former place without hard effort.”
In her book, "A Lifetime of Wisdom," Joni Eareckson Tada shares lessons she has learned about pain and suffering. She calls these lessons "rubies of wisdom" based on Job 28:18, "The price of wisdom is beyond rubies." They were so meaningful to me that I wanted to document them so I can refer to them often. Scattered among the "rubies" below are other great truths from the book.
Ruby #1: "Your imagination about God - especially in the midst of tragedy - isn't reliable. We must run to the true portrait He gives us in His Word."Ruby #2: "If you find yourself in a confining situation, it is God who has confined you. He is the One who has surrounded you and hemmed you in."
"Paul wasn't fixated on his chains, he was focused on his Savior."Ruby #3: "Just knowing He's with me give me peace, hope, and comfort. I may be confined, but I am not cramped. I have freedom to move when there is no freedom to move. I have breathing room when I'm about to suffocate. I stand in a wide, spacious place when I'm impaled by a thorny, encircling hedge of pain."Ruby #4: "When nothing seems to be happening, when loneliness settles over your spirit, when pain and grief and anxiety conspire to push you to the edge of despair, remember God's mighty deeds in your life. Remember His kindness, His special, tailor-made graces that fell out of the sky like a gentle spring rain."Ruby #5: "There is no more important moment in your life than this one."
"If our enemy can keep us occupied with our past or with our future, we lose the grace, blessings, and opportunities in the NOW. And when you lose the present, in a sense you lose everything. Why? Because now is all we have."
"To live with your 'thorn' uncomplainingly - that is, sweet, patient and free in heart to love and help others, even though every day you feel weak - is true sanctification. It is true healing for the spirit. It is a supreme victory of grace." J.I. PackerRuby #6: "As we wrap out hands around a problem and in faith press on, strive, and stand firm, divine energy surges through us. We experience the fullness of His grace."
"When I speak of a person growing in grace, I mean simply this - that his sense of sin is becoming deeper, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, his love more extensive and his spiritual-mindedness more marked." Bishop J.C. RyleRuby #7: "My enforced stillness has led me into a deeper firsthand knowledge of God through prayer.Ruby #8: "We don't wait to live. We have to keep living while we're waiting. Wait patiently and eagerly. But in the meantime get busy with what you know to be your responsibilities."Ruby #9: "God hasn't promised me happy endings to every life situation, but He has assured me of greater faith. And that's the best ending, anyway."Ruby #10: "When God denies your dearest desires, get ready to open up your heart even wider, for He will become that desire Himself."Ruby #11: "What He has taken back in one currency He has given back - a million to one - in the currency of heaven."Ruby #12: "It isn't thinking about a Place that will lift your heart and make your sorrow easier to bear. It's a Person."Ruby #13: "God deals with His children as He wills." Ruby #14: "A faithful response to affliction and hardship and pain accrues a weight of glory."Ruby #15: "Why does God allow some of His deeply loved sons and daughters to go through trials of body and spirit? Because if they receive that suffering with faith and joy, that supernatural "chemical reaction" (suffering = joy) will supercharge the message of His Son's love."
Wow...what a productive blog day! THREE fellow bloggers updated in one day. That's unheard of! So I felt the pressure and decided I should, too.
There.
(Sorry, I don't have a...son turning 20, a 3yr old with a bottomless stomach, or a 2yr old who looks like Elvis)
Was hoping for a productive vacation but I've really been dragging. So glad I don't have to be back to work until Monday. Didn't get out of bed until 11am today and it was 1pm before I even had the energy to start getting anything done. Maybe I need to put coffee back into my morning routine.
I've been on a weird cooking spree. Freezer is full of ready meals. Never cleaned up so many cooking messes and ran my dishwasher so many times in two days. Maybe a kind of a nesting phase getting ready for the upcoming crazy, busy two weeks.
The weather has been great for riding but I've had no desire to. Maybe tomorrow.
My hip joint inflammation has returned. Maybe if I had been doing those PT exercises I wouldn't be in pain again.
I've been wanting to work on my "word for 2010" but have had no interest in picking up a book. Maybe by the fire tonight.
My grass is knee high, the weed wacker is sitting on the sidewalk. Maybe I'll do it when it's cooler.
Really need to go pick up my iron script before 4pm today. That's a must, not a maybe.
I am spending my last four days of vacation at home trying to catch-up on personal stuff and to prepare for surgery which is three weeks from today. Had a very slow start this morning because I wasn't feeling great. But meds kicked in and I finally got moving. Today's accomplishments were...
