Where's Waldo?

We dressed up this year as Where’s Waldo and his friend Wenda. It was an easy costume to make. We didn’t have shirts with red and white stripes. That was an easy fix…just bought a couple rolls of red electrical tape and put them our clothes. It didn’t ruin the clothing like duct tape may have. We rolled a small ball of paper up in some red felt and pinned it to white stocking hats I bought for a few bucks at a discount store. My glasses came from the dollar store. It was from a Groucho Marx mask that we took a part. His glasses were something we already had. There ya go…a couple’s DIY costume!

Broken Glass

Today I was grabbing something out of the cupboard and knocked a glass jar of pasta sauce on the floor. Glass objects and our concrete kitchen floor do not make a good combination. Sauce and glass went all over the place. There must have been a thousand shards of broken glass on the floor. In an instant, the place where I was walking barefoot so carelessly just an hour before was now a danger zone.

It took about 20 minutes to clean up the mess. By the time I was done, the sauce that had splattered on my feet had dried. I grabbed a paper towel, dabbed it in some water and blotted the sauce. It was stuck on my skin. I then did what only made sense at the time. I added some elbow grease and started scrubbing vigorously to get the sauce off. I was in a hurry and needed to get cleaned up fast. Pain radiated all over my foot. “Ouch. I must have rubbed a nerve or something,” I thought to myself. Five minutes later, my foot still hurt and when I looked down at it, blood was everywhere.

Apparently I had broken glass on my foot and had pushed it into my foot while scrubbing. It hurt. Thankfully, it’s not too bad and I won’t need stitches or any medical attention. My pride is probably more wounded than anything. I felt pretty stupid for not being more careful. How did I manage to make a bad situation worse, or yet even painful?!


As I cleaned the broken glass and red sauce from the floor, I couldn’t get over what a mess I had on my hands. I realized that no matter how good I cleaned, I would no doubt miss a piece here or there. I’m sure I’ll be finding missed pieces for a while. It wasn’t the easiest mess to clean up. I found myself thinking about what a mess we are at times, and how the Lord manages to clean up our mess. This is all if we allow Him to. He can pick up the pieces and put things back together in a way that is sometimes better than it was before. Again, if we allow Him to. He doesn’t miss any pieces and doesn’t throw the broken mess in the garbage either. If and only if we allow Him to. Oh, the pain we would avoid if we trusted Him and let Him do the work. What brokeness could you hand over to Him to fix? What mess is in front of you that you could use His help? Allow Him to help. He wants to lend a hand.

Canning

My family is going through the difficult job of sorting through my Grandmother’s belongings. Unfortunately, they are doing all the work since I am not nearby to help. While visiting back home, I spent a couple hours helping in the effort of going through things. Grandma had a house full of things, most of which each hold a memory or two.

In an almost hidden storage place in the basement, we found what seemed to be a storehouse of mason jars for canning food. It instantly brought back memories of my grandmothers on both sides canning when I was a little girl.

Canning is something I have never attempted on my own. I’ll be honest, I was a little intimidated by it for some reason. However, I decided today that I would try following in the footsteps of my Grandmothers’ legacy.

Here is the result of my first attempt. I canned carrots, green beans, and homemade applesauce. I also cooked a big pot of corn on the cob. I shaved it off with an electric knife, and put it in freezer bags in the freezer. I have to admit, it was easier than I was expected. In fact, I found it enjoyable and almost therapeutic. Has that feeling been passed down from generations of canning women in my family? Maybe!

Sometimes you try new things and it doesn’t go so well. This time, it did. I’m already thinking of other foods to try next time. What’s something you have been thinking about trying but are a little timid? Give it a shot. Maybe you will be pleasantly surprised!

Smelling the Roses

“Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.” -Helen Keller

It’s funny how certain smells bring back memories. Not long ago, I took a trip back home. As I was walking into my childhood church again, the aroma of a certain pesky weed reached my nose. That smell brought back a memory from my childhood.

I was probably only six or seven years old when my Dad told me that he would hire me to do a job. He told me to go out to our gravel driveway and pull weeds. For every weed I picked he would give me a penny. I was so excited. I thought I’d hit the jackpot and would be rich in no time. I ran out and started pulling weeds as fast as I could. After pulling about twenty or so, I realized it wasn’t the dream job I thought it was going to be. I had only become 20 cents richer and was starting to get tired. I even felt a little ripped off. Some of the weeds took quite the effort to pull up. I hadn’t thought about this memory for years until the smell a few months ago brought it flooding back.


The smell of gasoline reminds me of boating in the summer with my family. The smell of rubbing alcohol reminds me of my many childhood trips to the hospital. The smell of fresh tar on the road reminds me of riding bikes around town with my childhood best friend. Each of the perfumes of my past have a season of life memory themselves. Then there is the smell of wood burning reminds me of the heating systems used in the villages in Romania. The smell of a city dump reminds me of the precious children I love who live in the trash in Kenya.

I guess our life story could be told in the form of a timeline of smells. Out of all of them, the two I like the best is my husband’s cologne (whichever one he is wearing at the time) and the smell of our house after a long trip away. They both bring me comfort and serenity.

I think sense of smell is a gift. It helps us remember things we would have long forgotten at times. It brings us comfort and reminds us of seasons gone by. In Proverbs, we are told to take time to smell the roses. This piece of wisdom means to go through life slow enough you savor each moment and enjoy what is going on around you.

The moon was so beautiful the other night. We saw it on a drive home, and I realized how many times we shuffle by such beautiful scenes and don’t even notice them. No, it didn’t have a scent that will trigger my memory of it years from now. It did give me a peaceful feeling though. For a minute, I stopped and smelled the roses in that moment and was left with the sweetness of the moment and a grateful heart.

What I am up to....

I've been so busy lately getting ready for a big event. I coordinate Angels from Abroad with Buckner International.

Check out my blog there the next few weeks as we work to give 17 Russian Orphans a vacation experience of a lifetime.

http://www.angelsfromabroad.org/

Curve Ball

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -John 16:33

Sometimes life throws a curve ball at you. I guess one of a few things happens when it does. You either catch it, duck, or it hits you. Sometimes you just can’t avoid getting hit. As most of you know, when you do get hit, it hurts.

My husband reminded me recently of a scar that is on my knee. It is from a wound that is deep not only physically but emotionally as well. He reminded me that although it took time, the wound there healed and didn’t hurt like it did once before. The scar however, will be there the rest of my life. I think the same thing happens when one of those curve balls hits us. It hurts terribly and eventually heals, but always leaves a mark.

I recently got hit harder than I ever have before. I’m still recovering. I know the Lord allows trouble and pain in our lives only if there is a way He plans to use it for His Purpose and Glory. I am thankful for the comfort and peace from above that He is in control and has a plan. Although there is no guarantee the sting from the hits are not going hurt in this world, the scripture above gives me hope. I’m still on the team that wins in the end.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve send how God works far ahead of that curve ball’s path. He knows what we will need before we actually need it. He provides.

-Our Pastor just finished a series on how the Lord doesn’t cause the lemons in our lives to be. He does however take the lemons life gives us and turns them to lemonade. If, and that is a big “IF,” we allow Him to. I had no idea that during the weeks of listening to these messages, the Lord was preparing me for what was just ahead.

-Once a friend told me “Heaven gets sweeter as we age.” I didn’t completely understand that at first. The more loved ones I let go and know are with Jesus, the more I understand her words. He is holding so many I will joyfully be reunited with one day. The last couple weeks, the words in that statement came alive to me.

-“Sadness is better than laughter, for sorrow has great influence over us.”- Ecclesiastes 7:4 I once heard someone interpret this as “The tears we cry in the midst of our pain, God uses—much like water softens hardened ground—to tenderize our hearts.”–Scott Hasenbalg. I wrote this quote down years ago not knowing why. I hit the save button and randomly ran across it just at the right time a few days ago.

-A little over a year ago, I said “I Do” to an amazing man. This man not only shares the pain I go through, but gives me strength and joy in the midst of a hard time. He is a gift. I can’t imagine going through the joy and pain in life without him.

As I pray to see lemonade though it may seem impossible, I realize I pray to the One who makes the impossible possible. I am renewed by His Power, Grace, Hope, Love, and Healing. I take heart, He has overcome the world.

A Honk, The Bird, and A Miracle

Recently we were sitting in a long line of cars at a stop light. There was a break in the line where people were letting cars cross to make a left turn at the road median. When the driver crossed the line, they either had to be quick and/or brave that there weren’t any cars coming that they couldn’t see. We were sitting in the best seats in the house to witness what was about to happen.

Two cars crossed the line without any trouble. Then a truck with two men crossed. They crossed our lane and the one next to us. However, there was a car driving up the third lane when he was trying to cross it. The car honked at the truck. I don’t think it was a honk to be rude, but rather to just warn the truck they were coming. The truck inched forward and then stopped. No, there was no crash. What happened next was the truck driver got out of his car and walked back to the driver that honked at him. He was yelling. No, it was more like screaming at the man for honking at him.

Next he got back in his truck and pretty much spun out and drove right into a parking lot near by. Good…he's going there to cool off, we thought. Then we saw the car with the driver that honked, follow him into the parking lot. The fight was on.

The car then pulled up next to the truck and we saw an ever so gracious hand (or shall I say finger) gesture from the car driver out his window towards the men in the truck. The men in the truck both opened their doors and started to jump out of the truck. The car sped off and the guys jumped back into the truck and slammed the truck into gear. This is where the Lord intervened!

When the truck driver was about to chase after the man who flipped them off, the truck jerked and something fell out of the bottom of the truck! The truck didn’t move and we could see something hanging down. It broke down. In fact, on our way home, the truck was still sitting in that parking lot a few hours later.

All this being said, I think something very bad was avoided. What are the chances that the guy’s truck would break down right at that moment?! He was such an angry man. It was clear the Lord stopped him in his tracks before he could do something dangerous.

We went on our way, but this whole scene has stayed with me for days. I just love how the Lord steps in and saves us even when we don’t know we need to be saved! Hopefully the truck driver learned his lesson. I prayed that he did.