FOR TODAY (June 7, 2008)...
Outside My Window...
our deck with built-in seats all around the perimeter...and no flowers in the pots due to our on-going drought. We're still praying for more rain; but behind the deck are my wonderfully large and extremely tall white oak trees...towering and swaying in today's breezes, yet it is in the 90s!
I am thinking...
this is a great way to get me writing more...I'm still fairly new at this and tend to run out of ideas.
I am thankful for...
hubby's successful shoulder surgery and his faithfulness to physical therapy...pain terrorists is what most people call them. He has listened and practiced religiously at home, so his recuperation is going wonderfully and he's moving better than he has in 30 years! God is good, all the time!
From the kitchen...
I haven't done much cooking today (due to my separating and handling laundry and laundry and laundry)...stacks separated by color and type across the floor, colorful mounds waiting to be thrown in the washer. I remember when daughter was itty bitty, she'd run and jump into them like a stack of leaves. We have,however, made a path to the fridge for ice (due to the 90 degree weather).
I am wearing...
blue jean shorts and a gray t shirt and barefoot...my hormones are raging and I'm living in a world of un-ending hot flashes...come to think of it, I've been dressing like this since November or December.
I am creating...
a legacy scrapbook (This is My Story) for my daughter...it's written by Lisa Whelchel, and I highly recommend it. You answer faith questions and scrapbook as part of your Bible Study. It really challenges you to spend time asking yourself very important questions of how, when, where and even some of your shortfalls to show where God worked things out for you. Many of these things I had not spoken of with my family and it even caused some great discussions at the dinner table.
I am going...
to church tomorrow and then taking a nap in the afternoon (I'll need the energy for youth tomorrow night...100 junior and senior high school students with all their energy and social interaction.
I am reading...
A Walk Across Egypt, a story about a southern, elderly woman. Not too far into it yet, so I haven't formulated my opinion yet.
I am hoping...
my little visiting, stray kitty will keep coming to the house ... he's good company when the hubby and daughter are out and about in their activities.
I am hearing...
Georgia Public Television's America's Test Kitchen chefs make chocolate mousse and BBQ chicken(separately, of course)...their show is so informative and their cook book is even better. Their salting vs. brining segment is interesting, too. I always brine my turkey at Thanksgiving...can't beat the flavor and it's NEVER, NEVER, NEVER dry. Thank you, Alton Brown (Food Network)
Around the house...
my hubby and daughter just finished cutting branches from the holly bushes...then raking up the stems outside the front windows...I'm not able to do this kind of bending and stretching at the moment and I really appreciate their hard work on such a really hot day. Yippee, now I can see out the front of the house as well as I can see out the back side of the house!...I was previously peeking through the branches like Artie Johnson used to sneak around on Laugh In....oops, showed by age there.
One of my favorite things...
is having "God incidences" with my girlfriends. Many times God sends us each individual messages about specific things and then as we discuss our weeks, we realize the many guidings of our Lord. He is so wonderfully creative...it's amazing.
A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
...planning meals for our youth group for the next few weeks.
...cleaning bathrooms and floors before my Mom arrives later this week
...cooking some casseroles for the freezer to help while I'm recuperating
...recovering from surgery--a little anxious--but repeating Scriptures my girlfriends prayed for me...He'll give me the strength and hold me in His Right Hand...I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me. Give thanks IN ALL circumstances.
The picture I am sharing...
I ran across this very old picture on the Internet. I don't know the painter or the name of the painting...It used to hang in my Granny's guest bedroom on the
pinewood wall facing the foot of the bed, and I used to ponder it at night as a child, wondering who the children were and wondering if the angel had a name. It always gave me comfort then and reminds me now God sends his angels to surround us and watch over us, sometimes when we're on unknown paths or dangerous paths.
It speaks to me today, I guess, because I have a path ahead of me next week with many unknowns, so I lay my requests at His Feet knowing His yoke is easy and His burden is lite and He will hold me through the unknown. His Hands Are Mighty and our names are written in His palms.
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If you'd like to do this activity...
FOR June 9, 2008...
but you can clearly see the lavendery purple cone flowers...i luv my bush. It returned from "the dead" table at Pike's...I bought it for $1.50 about ten years ago. It looked like a poor, wispy stick in an 8-in pot when I saved it...a little fertilizer, good soil and it was renewed and has thrived ever since, with yearly prunings of course. It now stands about 11 fee high and 6 or 7 feet across at its widest point...have I said I love this bush God renewed for me?!
pinewood wall facing the foot of the bed, and I used to ponder it at night as a child, wondering who the children were and wondering if the angel had a name. 
Meowing, meowing, and rubbing up against my legs...as if she was saying, "Here I am, aren't 'ya glad t'see me?" Looking as if she had never been away, and I asked her where she had been. It would have been so cool if she could have answered me..."Oh, I just decided to hang out in someone else's garage for a few days" or "I found another "He Man" calico that caught my eye!" or "That other lady down the street had better snacks than you had so I decided to stay a while but I wanted to come see how you are."