Influence

"...but with hope that as your faith grows, we shall be, within our sphere, enlarged even more by you..." II Corinthians 10.15

This is a one verse that I have been looking at as I prepare for a 'talk' I will be doing in May. One aspect of that talk will be about our influence on the lives of others. Is our influence for good or ill? Do we look like Jesus, or the world? Am I influencing or trying to impress? These are all questions I keep asking myself as I walk this trodden path.

This week, I have been subbing for my sister and her husband, at the Christian school where they teach. One of the things I have asked of the Lord is that I would in some small way be an influence on these kids, that they would see Jesus in me. I hope they have, being that I had to show them the mean side of Mrs. V, when I had to come down on them for continual lack of volume control. Is that what they will remember this week, the crazy sub who lost her cool?

There have been a couple of the students who have made an influence on me, I will call them C and D. C is a tall, gangly, pimply 6th grader who has Autism. As you can guess, he is not much included by the students, though they are polite enough to him. He is a smart young man, and once he understands the pattern of what he is to do on a worksheet, he does well. He is awkward and shy, but is unfazed by it. He goes along his way, with joy, and a literal pep in his step. He has a life long struggle ahead of him, because of his Autism. In a way, I hope he never realizes it will be a struggle, as I don't want him to ever lose his joy and delight. By his conduct and countenance, he has reminded me, my lot in life is a drop in the bucket, and that joy is always to be had.

D is a tall, pudgy, beamy faced 6th grader. He is talkative, bright, and seems to be a leader in the class, yet he has a very compassionate heart. On more than one occasion this week, he has offered to work with C on class work, or has included him to be with the other boys. One project C wanted to be the scribe for the group, because of his Autism, he quickly became overwhelmed with the task. D caught on, asked him kindly if he wanted to continue to write, or if he wanted one of the others to do it. C relinquished the task. D's kindness, and discernment floored me. He was looking out for the other guy. He has reminded me that though I often feel like the odd man out, the wall flower, there will always be someone else who needs me to come along side, to include, to encourage.

Have I made an influence in this small sphere of students, in the task I have been called to this week? I don't know. I do know my heart has been convicted and encouraged all at the same time by these two boys, who are totally unaware that they, by their faith, have 'enlarged' me within their own little spheres. I reckon that's how it is suppose to work.

Still, My Soul be Still

I listened to this song on the way to church this morning. A much needed reminder of who God is, and who I am not.




By Keith and Kristyn Getty

Daily Littles

I have company coming today. My 3 girls, my mom, and my 3 precious grand babies. This is our weekly get-together. Since they are coming, I must straighten the house, sweep, and vacuum, dishes, and my lest favorite chore, dusting. I hate dusting. It is pointless, as within seconds, it starts to accumulate. And to make it worse, I have a wood stove, so not only do I have dust, I have gray, fuzzy, grimy dust. You should see my ceiling fan!

'With meekness, humility, and diligence, apply yourself to the duties of your condition. They are the seemingly little things which make no noise that do the business.' Henry More

'Whatever you do in word or deed, do all the the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.' Colossians 3.17

'Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than men...it is the Lord Christ you serve.' Colossians 3. 23, 25

The daily littles, the routine, and mundane, when done in thanksgiving, heartily, it becomes a form of worship, unto the Lord. Perhaps cleaning up the gray, fuzzy, grimy dust, will be a reminder of the internal grim, whereby seeking forgiveness, receiving grace, I can go about my daily littles with joyful, heart-filled thanksgiving. Where is that dust rag?

PS- Good words, Mr. Henry More, but I bet you didn't have to do the dusting.

Jaclyn

I am reading a book called, 'One Thousand Gifts', by Ann Voskamp. A friend sent it to me recently, and it has been timely. The crux of the book, thanksgiving and the practice of it. It is easy to give thanks when things are going well, but not so easy in the difficult.

In reading the book I learned that the Greek for thanksgiving is eucharisteo. That word encompasses the Greek word charis, meaning grace, a derivative of the word chara, means joy. I love how very much the Lord is even in the minute of our vocabulary. So, we give thanks when we see God's hand of grace, and we joy in it. But what about the times of struggle, as I had yesterday,or the times we watch loved ones pass away, or make horrid choices, seeing the world crumble in front of us. Can we give thanks then?

'And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it...' Luke 22.19 This was the night of Christ's betrayal, the day before His Crucifixion. Knowing this, He still gave thanks. Ann Voskamp refers to this as a 'hard eucharisteo', a hard thanksgiving. When was the last time I truly gave thanks for difficulty in my life? I think sometimes the act of thanksgiving in hard times is our conduct in the midst of it all, the spirit we show, the trust, the grace and joy we live, even when we don't understand and inside our heart hurts.



Jaclyn has been an example of joy and grace, in the midst of her hard eucharisteo. She has been in ill health for the past few years. She had to leave college because of it. She at times has been reduced to a wheelchair. Doctors have been baffled. Heads shake. Yet, though it all Jaclyn has been a strong, gentle, joyful young lady. I know there have been days of angst, of frustration, maybe anger at her situation, but I have never seen it.

For the next couple of days, she will yet again, go through a battery of intense tests, to try to find out what is wrong. Poking, prodding, room to room, hospital food, hospital bed, new faces, more questions, the same questions, in hope of a solution. Even still, I know Jaclyn will have a smile on her face, her sweet, gentle voice will be used to share Jesus with those around her.

Please pray for wisdom on the doctors part. That they will find the right thing, and give a name to this illness. Pray for continued grace, and joy for Jaclyn and her family, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Can you and I have grace and joy in our hard eucharisteo today?

I need to rant...

so don't read this if you are in a good mood. Today is one of those days I am struggling hard not to resent my lot in life. Today, I hate the fact that I am a widow, that I no longer have my husband to buffer me from the things of this world. These 'things' aren't huge things to most people, they are common enough occurrences that they probably don't even bat an eye. To me, they loom big, and black, and ominous, and I just want to run, and hide, and cry, okay, and eat chocolate, lots of chocolate, but I know it won't solve anything.

So, ladies, cause I don't think any men read this blog, cut your husbands some slack, realize they do more for you than you know, and that is a precious thing. Yes, I know they can drive you crazy, mine did on occasion, but oh, how I would love to be driven crazy again.

It's been a day...

...a busy day. A day of helping plant 150 trees and shrubs at church...

...of firsts...of courage, something I don't often have...

...of getting the soil of my own garden under my fingernails. It felt good.

...of a nice, hot bath. It too, felt good.

And now bedtime beckons, as an early morning looms.

A new day...

...where I will help to lead worship at church...

...where a pot of tea, a good book, and perhaps a nap await.

But first the sounds of the ending of a day...

...the gentle squeak of the ceiling fan pushing the warm air from the wood stove through the room...

...of dishes being done...

...of a pacing dog wanting outside, one more time...

...of rain against the windows...

It's been a day. It's been a good day.

We're home...

and a might weary. Caitlin is doing fine. She came through the procedure with flying colors. The doctor was very pleased with the pressure readings, we are grateful for that. We should know in a few days when her surgery will be.

Thank you so much for your prayers, it has meant so much to us as a family, knowing so many were bathing us in prayer. This has been a huge emotional thing for us, and we still have the surgery yet. With that in mind, know you will be called upon for prayers for that.

I appreciate you, my friends and followers for being here for us. You all are the best!

For her heart

This is my sweet grandgirl, Caitlin. Tomorrow morning she will be having a heart catheter done. She is 5 months old. In a week or so, she will be having heart surgery. Would you please be in prayer for her, her parents, us as a family and the Drs. and staff as we go through this very anxious time.

(Correction- Her catheter is being done early Tuesday morning, not Monday morning)

It is hard as a mom, and grandma to not be able to fix this. To have to watch my daughter go through this. I can't tell you how it feels every time I hold this little one, all the emotions of joy, fear, worry, love floods my soul. I can't fix her heart, fix the situation, only the Lord can, and that is where we whole-heart-edly put our trust.

Transformation

I need one. One of my greatest downfalls is I am very undisciplined, which unfortunately has a companion always in hot pursuit, unmotivated. I have been in a huge slump the past two years. My purpose for doing everything centered around my husband and kids. With just me now to take care of, I often have days of, why bother. I don't like that feeling.

I was married to a man for almost 28 years, who was mega disciplined. He had everything, 'dress right dressed', a term often used leftover from military days. He was so organized and disciplined, he could always tell when I had opened the dresser drawer where we kept the check book. He kept his wallet, keys, and such in it, all neatly laid out. If I shut the drawer a little to hard, things wwould go off kilter, and he would ask, 'who has been in my drawer?' He know it was me, I was the only other one who got into it.

He was a runner, disciplined to run 4 times a week. He always put things back as soon as he was done with them. He always knew when the oil in the car needed to be change, when the tires needed to be rotated, how much money we could spend each month, always had directions mapped out.

I have had to learn to be more disciplined since I now have to know when to change the oil, how much money I can spend each month. No, I don't run 4 times a week, I should. I hate exercising, and unfortunately it shows. I use to walk several times a week. Motivation: wanting to like nice for my physically fit husband. The issue now, the awful mind set, 'why bother, no one to look good for now'.

All this depressing verbage to say this, I want to be done with the old mindset. I don't like the rut I have been in. It is time for transformation.

II Corinthians 3:18 'But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed in the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit."

Mirrors don't lie. They don't say a word, but always tell the truth, whether a physical mirror, or the spiritual mirror of God's word. Being in God's word, will reveal who I am, that's the Holy Spirits job, to show me where my blemishes are, that I am flabby and need to tone up, to be transformed. To show the image of Christ, to show His glory, here on earth, not just when I am transformed to my new heavenly body. Now, this glory on earth, His image now. You can't do that while being stagnant and undisciplined. I realized being undisciplined is very selfish, its pitiful, its wrong. And I don't want to be like that anymore. I want to transform, to be a new and different me, one that shows God's glory and the image of Christ.

During this Lenten season, I am giving up me, to allow the Lord to transform me to His likeness. I know that means it will often be uncomfortable, it means I have to be disciplined and motivated to do what needs to be done. I am grateful that this is where the Holy Spirit comes in to guide and instruct, to empower me. 7 weeks of Lent, wonder what I will look like by Resurrection day. Hmmm? Here I go!

Images by Google (sorry for the two different fonts, I don't know)

"Oh my Giddy Aunt!"

To quote a friend, quoting me.

Do you can? I have for years. I have often said, I will can just about anything. I was the one who wanted people to leave their six foot long Zucchinis in my car at church, I was the only one not locking the car doors for that very reason. Though it is just me now, I don't can as much as I use to. I did make a bunch of Cabbage patch soup last autumn for my daughter to have on hand after her baby was born. Jams and Jellies, some relish and tuna, sit in the pantry waiting their turn at table. I often wished that the canning lids were reusable, they are getting more expensive, and once used, that's it. Wrong!

Today, while doing a bit of blog hopping, found out that some wonderful person, I am sure some woman, has made reusable canning lids! Oh my Giddy Aunt!!! Check out what Ang has to say about them. This family of 8 live in the Amish community, are farming, and living off the grid. She is even having a give-away on her blog for some of these wonder lids.




So, what is next to can? I will be making some violet jelly. I have some of the most fragrant violets under the cherry tree. Shortbread, tea and violet jelly...can it get more delightful than that?

Simple Grace

I love this picture. Tasha Tudor was one of my favorite people. No, I did not know her personally, but I felt like we were friends. For years I have love her artwork and books. I have some of her children's books she has illustrated and written, one that is rare, and hard to find, that I picked up at a library sale for a quarter.

Every spring I read a book written about her and her garden. I long to have a garden like she had. When I read it, I long for the simple life style she lived. I long to draw, and watercolor, to have chickens and goats, to have a dovecote, to wear dresses made out of handwoven fabric, and of course to have a Corgi.

Her artwork, though detailed, were also very simple, you felt like you were part of the picture. She loved to sit in her garden to sketch and paint. When it was too cold out, she would bring bits of the outside world in, and sketch by the fire.

Her first book, Pumpkin Moonshine, was written and illustrated in hopes of earning income, 'to keep the wolves from the door', to provide for her and her children, after her husband left the family. Provide it did.

Tasha died in June of 2008, but her legacy lives on. The family has a website where I can still go and dream of the simple grace Tasha had. I hope I get to live next door to her in heaven.

http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/

I have a confession to make.

I think I am becoming addicted to blogs. Not just any blogs, pretty blogs. I have recently found some wonderful blogs, written by woman who are sharing beauty with others. I love it!

I have been in much need of beautification in my life. The past 2 years, really haven't had the desire and motivation to create beauty, but then I have shared all this in a recent post.

I am always amazed at the creativity of others. I have to be careful not to compare myself, as I usually end up making myself feel I'm not as creative as I like to think. But these blogs that I have begun to follow, have sparked a newness in me, a desire for beauty, grace, and thanksgiving again in my life. To you ladies, I thank you.

Today, I discovered another such lovely blog. I'm So Vintage~ is one such blog. Laura's photos are beautiful, her writing lovely, and her eye for beauty is amazing. And she has a wonderful Etsy shop to boot! I have added her blog-dress so you can go and check her out. She is also having a give away if you want to participate.

I'm So Vintage


We all need beauty. I believe as women, we have a God given desire for beauty, to create it for ourselves, and for those around us. So, go out today and create D.A.O.B~ Deliberate Acts of Beauty. I dare you.

White

I have been making some changes in my home, decor and color wise. I love the shabby chic vintage look. I have for along time. Seeing white walls, white furniture, splashes of color, make me smile. However, that has not how I have decorated in the past. It has been more of a vintage, English cottage, wanna-be style, with a little shabby chic thrown in here and there.

But lately, I have been desiring change, a newness. I think partly now that my girls are out of the nest, and with Dale's passing, I am needing to make these changes, making the house my own, for my new life and new direction.

I have been really inspired by a few other blogs lately. These ladies have by their writings, and beautiful pictures, encouraged me to get out the paint brushes, old linens, and a new perspective in my heart, and bring freshness and a new joy to my life. Joy is my by-word for the year.

Nada Farm Life
Ruby & Co.
Faded Charm Faded Charm has 'White Wednesday' post every, Wednesday. Go check it out as well as the others who have left thumbnails of their white offerings.

You have seen the dresser re-done; I have simplified and declutted the newly painted bookcases, and last night before I went to bed I had an epiphany, and this is the result.

What else would one do with a plate rack and old linens? It is a nice assest to the bath, but now I want to redo the whole bath. Maybe later. For now, I am off to cut some wood to make extra shelving in the kitchen. I will post pictures when it is done. Another first for me, this would have been something my hubby would have done for me. But, I will put on my big girl boots and go to it!

I have a favor...

Would be go over to my tea blog and help vote on a name for a new blend. The survey is on the top right hand side. I would really appreciate your help. 5 Days left to vote. Thanks!

Survey here