Christmas In July

My daughter received these peonies to celebrate the birth of her first-born.
No, you're not cross-eyed.  They are out of focus.

I played Bible roulette again this morning with my Women's Devotional Bible.  I pick it up from the side table and read whatever page it opens to.  Do you ever do that?

Today I happened upon this poem by Anne Ortland, a Christian musician and author.

Incarnation

"The Lord is in His holy house"-

Oh, grace beyond describing,

That Christ in me should please to dwell-

Immanuel residing!

"My soul doth magnify the Lord,"

I sing with lowly Mary,

That God should choose to enter in

This

      humble sanctuary!

I read it through a couple of times, marveling at her word pictures and the truths of which she spoke.  Her inspiration came from Luke 1, the story of the angel's announcement to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

Luke 1:35 & 37 jumped out at me:  

The angel answered...

"... no thing (word change and emphasis mine) is impossible with God."

Luke 1:37

A favorite daydream came to mind immediately.  For several years my Dear Husband and I have been mulling around the idea of moving closer to our children.  We want to experience life with them on a WAY more regular basis.  We want our visits to be unhurried, not sandwiched between two 3-hour drives.  

This dream is my impossible thing for these reasons:

We'd need to sell our home.  

In this market?

I would have to quit the job I love.  

Not work with my students?  

How could we afford to replace the health insurance benefits it provides?

DH would need to continue being self-employed.

In this economy?

We would need to forge new lives for ourselves, individually and as a couple.

This means a new support system of church and community friends-can't expect the kids to fill all of our time

This dream and the accompanying thoughts are never far from my conscious mind.   They often surface causing my heart and tummy to ache.  But this morning, as I read Anne's poem and the Truth from God's Word, I laid those cares at His throne of grace.  Because Jesus, the One that Mary bore, in Whom I "live and move and have" my being,* lives in me and with Him no thing is impossible.

What is your impossible thing?

May God give you grace to trust that He is living and moving in your life

with the knowledge that His plans for you are wonderful.

Love, 

Karen

*Paul is quoting the Cretan poet Epimenides in Acts 17:28.  I didn't know that.  Did you?

P.S.  I WILL BE ON VACATION FOR THE NEXT WEEK OR SO AND DON'T EXPECT TO HAVE INTERNET ACCESS.  I HAVE SCHEDULED ANOTHER POST FOR WEDNESDAY, SO Y'ALL COME BACK AND VISIT, 'KAY?  WHEN YOU VISIT AND, PRETTY PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT, KNOW THAT I WILL VISIT YOU TOO WHEN I GET IT TOGETHER RETURN.  

Playing along with 

Beverly for Pink Saturday

Charlotte & Ginger for Spiritual Sundays

Spring Break!

Well, kids, I have the next whole week off from school.

Yup, it's Spring break!

My main project this week will be to make a crib-sized quilt for Daughter #2 and SIL'S first baby, aka,

MY FIRST GRANDBABY!

I mean, how hard can it be?

I always think that when I start a quilt.  

And then it ends up taking at least 5 times as long as I think it will.

Does that ever happen to you?

Anyway, I think I'll use a pile of fat quarters for the top 

and some of that darling monkey fabric for the bottom.

If all goes well, I will even have pictures of at least part of the process.

That's a big if.

The last quilt I made was for Daughter #1's wedding, nearly 8 years ago.

It's like riding a bicycle, right?

How hard can it be?

*quaking in my boots*

Oh, and speaking of projects!

My DH has been refinishing a changing table for them, too.

It's the same one we got nearly 32 years ago.

Wow, that thing has seen a lot of ...

well, you know.

Will post pics of that, too.

I'm linking with a new-to me, at least-blog hop today.
Jen @ What's on my mind is our hostess for

Thanks, Jen, for hosting us.

And now for Meet Me On Monday.

I just love this blog hop cuz I get to visit so many of you.

After reading your MMOM post, I peruse some of your older posts
and will often comment on those rather than the MMOM post.

I'm so impressed by the way you face life, meet challenges, 

and walk with God.

Thank you for sharing lives with me!

And thank you to Java, @ Never Growing Old, for being our faithful hostess!

Click on her link to add your post and join the fun.

1.  What jewelry do you wear 24/7?

I wear my wedding ring.  Here's the 411 on it:    The first Saturday in May, 1978, was Kentucky Derby Day, about 7 weeks before our wedding.  I remember because DH-fiance at the time-had promised we'd go out shopping for wedding rings that day.  What I didn't know was that we had to watch the Derby first.   Once I finally pried him away from the tv, We went window shopping at several jewelers in our small town. What we saw was too traditional, so we went to the local hippie hangout artisan market.  We met Bob, [this is the truth!] President of the **** County "Make Marijuana Legal" committee, who worked with us to refine our ideas for the rings.  You can see mine here.   We've never seen other rings that even closely resemble ours.  

2.  Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it?

You're kidding, right?

Holy smokes, how does one shovel get it into one's mouth, if one cuts it??

3.  How many siblings do you have?

I have one little brother.  You can find out how I feel about him here.

4.  Were you named after anyone?

No.  My Mom said that because she never liked her nicknames, she named me so that I wouldn't have any.

'Course my baby, the DH, calls me Kitten.  Love that!

5.  Coke or Pepsi?

If I drink pop at all, which is about once every 6 months, it is full-on Coke.

Can't stand the diet stuff.  blechhhhhh!

On another, totally unrelated note:

www.bakerella.com

Many of you are familiar with Bakerella, inventor/queen of Cake Pops.  

She has been in the hospital and is waiting to find out if her Mom will be a good kidney donor for her.  Please keep her in your prayers.

www.bakerella.com

God bless your week!

Love,

Meditation, Weeds, and Crocuses

This is how my brain felt when I woke up today at 5:30.

That would be 4:30, if you take into account that Daylight Savings Time

just kicked in.

Takes me about a week to adjust my inner clock in spring.

Never takes that long in fall when we get another hour to sleep

add an hour.

My ritual of drinking 2 cups of coffee with hazelnut cream 

did little to soothe me while reading the paper.

Yes, my heart aches for all the folks affected by those headlines.

But I was anxious.  Couldn't concentrate, much less, meditate, on anything.

Then I thought of my blogger friend, Julie, who's going to give the Lord some meditation time each day during Lent.

Bingo.

With eager movements and an expectant heart,

I reached for and haphazardly opened my Women's Devotional Bible.

Then I had a little conversation with God.

What should I read, Lord?

The devotion you opened to.

"Thanksgiving for All Things"?  Sorry, not today.  

[I wasn't really sorry.  He knew it.  But His still small voice said gently,]

Read it anyway.

Okay, but I'm certain that 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 is not on my to-do list today:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Not feelin' it, Lord.

You don't have to.  Just do it because I asked.

[Obstinate silence.  *Anxiously thumbing to another selection*  Happened upon Ephesians 6:11]

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

But I'm too weak to stand.  I'm so burdened with care.

There's a hymn** about your condition.  

The refrain goes, "Take it to the Lord in prayer."

[Beginning to tear up.]

Okay, Lord.

Life's season is changing again and I never got used to the last one.

I was hoping to share my joy at being a Grandma with my Mom.  

But her health is so if-y.  

After 24 years of living so far from her and missing so many celebrations of life with her...

Are You going to continue to allow her to suffer and then take her...??

[Full-on boohooing now.]  

Her care needs are very high, beyond what I can do for her from so far away or even really if she were here with us.  What do I do about that?

You're doing it.

My daughter is going to be a mother.  I'm going to be a grandmother.

Yes, those are wonderful things.  But again, I'm so far away.

Are we going to miss out on doing life together, too?

Go on.

[Dear Husband] was sick all weekend.  All I could do was feed him antibiotics and food at regular intervals.  Oh, and as much as I love him and he loves me, I feel far from him, too.

#3 child has not found his purpose.  

There is estrangement in the family.

I feel inadequate to help those I love the most.

You are.  But I'm not.  

I'm the One who created your family.  I love them more than you do.  

Did you forget that I have "plans to give you and your family hope and a future"?

[Jeremiah 29:11]

When you aren't joyful and thankful, it's cuz your heart is far from Me.

 You need to draw near to Me daily 

by reading My Word, talking with Me, and waiting for My response.
Oh.

Remember the post you wrote on Saturday?
Yup.
Read it again.  Those words aren't just for your readers' benefit.
They are for you, too.
You were at peace and full of hope in Me by the time you'd finished writing it.
You're right, Lord.  And I feel that way now, too.
Thank you, Jesus.


By then, it was time to kiss my DH and send him off to work.
I usually stand on the driveway, oblivious to what any passersby may think,
and blow kisses to him as he drives away.
He honks and says, "I love you!  See you tonight!"
Love that moment in our day.

I turned to go in, but decided to linger in the morning sunshine
-thank you for the sunshine, Lord!-
to enjoy the crocuses
and pull weeds from between the flagstones.
I don't like it when they go to seed and make more weeds!

I don't mind gettin' my hands dirty gardening.

Time with Jesus, kisses from my man, gardening.
Oh, I feel so much better!

Do you give up listening to Rolling Stones music, chocolate, or shaving your legs
for Lent?
The first two I've actually done.
The third would not be a sacrifice.

Hoping that you are joyful in the Lord today!
Love,
Karen

**Click here to find out more about Joseph Scriven, the writer of the hymn,

"What a friend we have in Jesus,"**

Linking with:

Jodi @ Magical Mouse Schoolhouse for