It is the end of a year - time to look back and reflect on the highlights and lowlights of 2011. Before planning and preparing for the future we must first look back and learn from the past.
What do I see in my calendar/planner from 2011 that speaks to me?
Great family times, but not enough of them...
Great times with sisters from church - but I'd like more ...
Quiet times and fun times with my husband, but too sporadic ..
Exercise, but too little
Prayer and scripture time - but not consistent ...
There were good times and rough times, there were days I would like to repeat and days I would like to forget. All of them go into the fabric of life, into the quilt square that is 2011.
As we tie off the last few stitches on that quilt square, I wish you each and all a safe and happy new year - many days filled with joys and blessings, and enough strength and faith to get you through the other days.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Looking for Robins
It is that time of year again. Robins should return to our yard this week.
My mother's birthday was February 23rd, and every year two things happened that week: the hyacinths appeared in the grocery flower shop, and the robins returned to our yard.
So for the past week I have daily looked out the kitchen window to our field, where I hoped to be greeted by our personal harbingers of coming spring. So far, none have been spotted. I asked my Facebook friends to alert me to their first sightings, knowing that if they were seen nearby they would be here soon.
We do look for those positive changes in our lives. Spring brings with it new clothes (or at least ones we haven't worn since the nippy Autumn weather arrived) and flowers and more daylight and opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities. For some it means working in the garden or cycling or getting the motorcycle out of the garage.
But not everything about Spring is welcomed by everyone. Those beautiful flowers and trees come with pollen that make every breath miserable for some. The bees are a menace to those whose life is threatened if stung (and they are a nuisance to thise of us who are just scared of them). Some of us are not garden elves and look at all that outdoor care as dreaded chores.
Change however is part of life - some we welcome more than others.
I cannot comprehend how there are people who look forward to winter and cold weather and snow. But look at all the people who enjoy sledding, skating and skiing. So many who embrace the temperatures I dread. Summer in the mid-Atlantic can be humid and hot and miserable, and yet there are those who love it and rarely turn on the AC because they relish the summer weather for just those aspects.
Of course the normal course of the seasons isn't always like clockwork - we get the early snow, or the weather stays "unseasonably" warm or cool. We plan based on the "normal" and are surprised. (The year I got married, we had an unexpected heat wave in mid-May and it was 97 degrees at 7:30pm. We thought we had planned for not-too-hot-not-too-cold - hah!)
And so it is with the other seasons of our lives. Childhood gives way to adolescence which dumps us into adulthood. Being single ends when we get married and then become parents. Being the parent of a small child is different than parenting the teen who is on his/her own way toward adulthood. Being a grandparent is different than being a parent. Working full-time is the norm for many years and then we retire - another season.
We are sometimes prepared for these changes. We have months to plan a wedding, and months to prepare for the birth of a child. Often we plan our retirement for years. And other times we do not have time to prepare: the child is stillborn, the spouse dies of cancer, we are laid off or injured...
It is good to live prepared. It is good to live so that we are always ready for that new season. And it is good to be accepting when the seasons change unexpectedly. For as the saying goes, the only constant in life is change.
In the meantime, have you seen the robins?
My mother's birthday was February 23rd, and every year two things happened that week: the hyacinths appeared in the grocery flower shop, and the robins returned to our yard.
So for the past week I have daily looked out the kitchen window to our field, where I hoped to be greeted by our personal harbingers of coming spring. So far, none have been spotted. I asked my Facebook friends to alert me to their first sightings, knowing that if they were seen nearby they would be here soon.
We do look for those positive changes in our lives. Spring brings with it new clothes (or at least ones we haven't worn since the nippy Autumn weather arrived) and flowers and more daylight and opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities. For some it means working in the garden or cycling or getting the motorcycle out of the garage.
But not everything about Spring is welcomed by everyone. Those beautiful flowers and trees come with pollen that make every breath miserable for some. The bees are a menace to those whose life is threatened if stung (and they are a nuisance to thise of us who are just scared of them). Some of us are not garden elves and look at all that outdoor care as dreaded chores.
Change however is part of life - some we welcome more than others.
I cannot comprehend how there are people who look forward to winter and cold weather and snow. But look at all the people who enjoy sledding, skating and skiing. So many who embrace the temperatures I dread. Summer in the mid-Atlantic can be humid and hot and miserable, and yet there are those who love it and rarely turn on the AC because they relish the summer weather for just those aspects.
Of course the normal course of the seasons isn't always like clockwork - we get the early snow, or the weather stays "unseasonably" warm or cool. We plan based on the "normal" and are surprised. (The year I got married, we had an unexpected heat wave in mid-May and it was 97 degrees at 7:30pm. We thought we had planned for not-too-hot-not-too-cold - hah!)
And so it is with the other seasons of our lives. Childhood gives way to adolescence which dumps us into adulthood. Being single ends when we get married and then become parents. Being the parent of a small child is different than parenting the teen who is on his/her own way toward adulthood. Being a grandparent is different than being a parent. Working full-time is the norm for many years and then we retire - another season.
We are sometimes prepared for these changes. We have months to plan a wedding, and months to prepare for the birth of a child. Often we plan our retirement for years. And other times we do not have time to prepare: the child is stillborn, the spouse dies of cancer, we are laid off or injured...
It is good to live prepared. It is good to live so that we are always ready for that new season. And it is good to be accepting when the seasons change unexpectedly. For as the saying goes, the only constant in life is change.
In the meantime, have you seen the robins?
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Finding Change in the Sofa Cushions ...
... or any other way to make extra money....
It has become my mission to find ways to make extra money while also divesting ourselves of all the unnecessary stuff in our house.
In some instances, these can be mutually advantageous: yard sales, eBay and other sales outlets will allow me to get rid of usable items that we no longer need (or never really needed) while adding a little cash to the coffers.
What I am really searching for is a way to follow my passion(s) while also contributing enough to the family income so we function on an all-cash basis.
For instance, I would like to find a way to make affordable fresh baked goods and other foods for those on special diets (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free). Tonight I was even researching how to make gluten-free Communion Bread. Also gluten-free muffins, English muffins, and waffles - these can be frozen so they are just as handy for those in a hurry, but as healthful as homemade.
Other ideas:
- Teaching the importance of eliminating processed foods and sticking to the basics of protein, vegetables and fruits, and whole grains (not bread, but the actual grains of rice, quinoa, oats, etc) as a lifestyle choice.
- Making warm/cold wraps from organic fabric and teaching about the use of aromatics and warmth/cold for healing and relaxation.
- Teaching healthy basic cooking-from-scratch (so many are without this skill) and how it is not only healthier but less expensive.
- Helping people find what they do best
- Helping people who want to minister
Of course, I am still writing. I look forward to the day when the royalty checks were sufficient to pay the bills. (Perhaps writing about the subjects above would be a solution?) In tandem with this, I would like to record audio books with my wonderfully talented husband so we could work together and make more books available to those who are visually impaired.
So I have rambled - and you have graciously read - about ways to channel my passions: a passion for people, for healthy living, for the flexibility of schedule to minister to others, and to live in debt to no one.
We are at the beginning of a New Year, and perhaps you too are doing some self-evaluation. Care to share your thoughts? your solutions? We're listening!
It has become my mission to find ways to make extra money while also divesting ourselves of all the unnecessary stuff in our house.
In some instances, these can be mutually advantageous: yard sales, eBay and other sales outlets will allow me to get rid of usable items that we no longer need (or never really needed) while adding a little cash to the coffers.
What I am really searching for is a way to follow my passion(s) while also contributing enough to the family income so we function on an all-cash basis.
For instance, I would like to find a way to make affordable fresh baked goods and other foods for those on special diets (gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free). Tonight I was even researching how to make gluten-free Communion Bread. Also gluten-free muffins, English muffins, and waffles - these can be frozen so they are just as handy for those in a hurry, but as healthful as homemade.
Other ideas:
- Teaching the importance of eliminating processed foods and sticking to the basics of protein, vegetables and fruits, and whole grains (not bread, but the actual grains of rice, quinoa, oats, etc) as a lifestyle choice.
- Making warm/cold wraps from organic fabric and teaching about the use of aromatics and warmth/cold for healing and relaxation.
- Teaching healthy basic cooking-from-scratch (so many are without this skill) and how it is not only healthier but less expensive.
- Helping people find what they do best
- Helping people who want to minister
Of course, I am still writing. I look forward to the day when the royalty checks were sufficient to pay the bills. (Perhaps writing about the subjects above would be a solution?) In tandem with this, I would like to record audio books with my wonderfully talented husband so we could work together and make more books available to those who are visually impaired.
So I have rambled - and you have graciously read - about ways to channel my passions: a passion for people, for healthy living, for the flexibility of schedule to minister to others, and to live in debt to no one.
We are at the beginning of a New Year, and perhaps you too are doing some self-evaluation. Care to share your thoughts? your solutions? We're listening!
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