The Only Thing Dependable Is Change

Two days after my last post, my youngest jumped (apparently impressively) and ended in a bad landing. And a trip to the ER, and a walking boot. Two thousand, six hundred and twenty-nine miles away from his mother. Away from me.

When the call came, I was driving through Smokey Mountain Foothills trying to go to my first quilt show. Hands-free blue tooth allowed my eyes to remain on the road, but my heart was already at the Pacific coastline. Two thousand, six hundred and twenty-nine miles away.

My body followed my heart after a long weekend waiting to get the patient into an orthopedic surgeon. I spent an almost-week in the green northwest and circled around home. To be welcomed with sciatica like I've never had before.

We had had other news in February. My oldest had fractured his back and we had been waiting to hear he was cleared to return to work. I've informed them that I am done for the year. There is no more excitement to be had.

I would like to be bored for a while. I hear it is nice. And I am still not a fan of airplanes. Twenty-some years after my last flight, I found myself surrounded  by thousands of other travelers...Air travel is worse than it used to be. But I was blessed by much kindness. I am grateful that things were not worse. 

Lets see what joy April will offer. Counting...

Sing a New Song

One of the best things about living where we do is the birds. We have Black-capped Chickadees, Tufted Titmice (Titmouses, Titmeese??), a variety of Blackbirds, several different Woodpeckers, many types of Finches, Blue Jays, doves, Orioles, my personal favorite Cardinals and a rare Blue Bird. I've even had a small falcon land on my deck twice. And then there are the Mockingbirds. Oh my, I have one particular visitor who sings a whole aria of calls. It's a good thing they are entertainers because they are also pushy and bully some of the other birds. And there are more...I'm still looking them up.

I hear the hummingbirds will make an appearance soon. My poor husband will have to help me hang more feeders. We can't have pets at this house, so I feed the birds. Which also nets me some interaction with the neighboring squirrels. They are very bold. We have conversations...I tell them off (not too much) and they laugh and laugh.

I have never seen and heard so many birds before. I mean I knew about them...but this is about seeing them daily. Listening to their songs. My father was a bird lover and the last few years of his life one of his favorite things was to sit at his desk and look at the birds. He would have loved it here. Sadly he passed away shortly after we moved here. Some days I think I'm turning into him.

Pictures and videos should accompany this post. But they don't. I'm struggling to remember how to do things here...last week I managed a picture. Not sure how I did that. My IT guy (my husband) did a few updates for me. I got sidetracked with other projects and promptly lost any technical knowledge I had is less than a week.

Practice makes perfect. I am pretty sure that is what God is trying to remind me. Not just about the blogging...but most importantly about life. Especially my life with Him. This Lent has been as much about adding things as giving up things. Sometimes you have to give up some habits to make room for better habits. Apparently I've forgotten some of my good habits from a few years ago.

But God is patient and merciful. He allows renewal, a Springtime of the heart.

Pretty sure I'll figure out some of the things I knew about blogging in the upcoming weeks. There's no doubt if I keep persisting I will revisit some of my better habits to keep building my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

Counting joys (and birds!!),

Julie

Forsythia

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."~Greek Proverb~

My green thumb needs polishing and physically gardening is not something I'm able to do a lot of. But gardeners plant for more than themselves. When we moved here my heart was thrilled to find a previous gardener had left a very nice yard, landscaped and planted to enjoy all year. 

Forsythia is something that I've loved for-EVER, but never personally had. Well...obviously I do now. My neighbor was quite insistent with the landlord that the bush not be trimmed. She is an avid gardener. I am grateful for her request every day. This bush is shelter for so many birds. I have been amazed at the variety and number of birds in my backyard. For now I can't have pets, so I feed the birds...and several squirrels who help themselves. 

This explosion of cheerful sunshine in flowers is definitely a thing to count as joy. 

The Heart of the Tree

WHAT does he plant who plants a tree?

 He plants a friend of sun and sky;

He plants the flag of breezes free;

The shaft of beauty, towering high. 

He plants a home to heaven anigh

For song and mother-croon of bird

In hushed and happy twilight heard --

The treble of heaven's harmony --

These things he plants who plants a tree.

What does he plant who plants a tree?

He plants cool shade and tender rain,

And seed and bud of days to be,

And years that fade and flush again;

He plants the glory of the plain;

He plants the forest's heritage;

The harvest of a coming age;

They joy that unborn eyes shall see --

These things he plants who plants a tree.

What does he plant who plants a tree?

He plants, in sap and leaf and wood,

In love of home and loyalty

And far-cast thought of civic good --

His blessing on the neighborhood

Who in the hollow of His hand

Holds all the growth of all our land --

A nation's growth from sea to sea

Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.

Henry Cuyler Bunner

If At First You Don't Succeed...

Try, try again...Right?

So many changes. Allowing myself to put off much. Many false starts. Many revisions. Many recreations of self...definitely a work in progress.

Two moves. Several job attempts on both my part and my husbands. Two children, grown and flown. Parenting does not get easier as they get older...that's all I got on that right now.

Sometimes I feel like a pioneer in a covered wagon (but with a bathroom, a modern kitchen and a computer), traversing the land. Leaving fragments of my life behind. Dumping out what seemed so necessary at the start. Holding on to things I probably should have let go of.

There's a lot to do today, but I felt drawn to peek in here again. If you have a spare prayer, I would take one...there's a few hitches in my git-along and I really need to get moving forward.

This Lent has been an eye opener already.

I'd like to spend more time here again. That would be nice.

Today, from my table, I see mountains, hear so many birds, see one of my cardinals visiting a feeder and see a beautiful forsythia.

Counting it all joy,

Julie

I go away for a few days...okay, four years...and come back and things have changed!! What's up with that?

Very unsure if I remember how to do this. Pretty sure no one is looking, so I guess it doesn't matter.

But I'm back. Hopefully for more than a day. I'm going to go dust the cobwebs out of the corners and see how things work now.

If you remember me give me a shout.

HE Is Risen, Indeed!

Blessings, this Easter! The victory is won.

Monday, April 14

FOR TODAY ...April 14 , 2014

Outside my window...it is COLD!! And considering snowing...on trees that have budded and birds who were cheerful yesterday. Hrrrumpf!

I am thinking...how I came to be here. This day. This hour. This point in my life.

I am thankful for...my husband, my children, my faith.

From the learning rooms...the end is near! How do we finish strong?

From the kitchen...left over brisket from yesterday.

I am wearing...my old striped sweater.

I am creating...still working on a very beginner quilt. Pondering beads that have found their way into my collection.

I am going...back to work. Very likely this time next week I will start a new chapter.

I am reading...One True Thing by Anna Quindlin. Just finished The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larson.

I am hoping...I figure things out one of these days.

I am hearing...chilly birds outside. A clock inside.

Around the house...I did not accomplish as much as I wanted to on my Lenten Spring Cleaning.

One of my favorite things...cool sheets, warm blankets.

A few plans for the rest of the week: tie up loose ends so my boys (all three, the tallest one, the first-born, and the one I married) can have a semblance of order in my absence.


 Have a joyful week!!


Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook to find more daybookers.

The Big Picture Interactive Bible

I received a copy of the Big Picture Interactive Bible to review. My first thought when the Bible came was "Wow!"

 Not sure what I was expecting when I agreed to review, but it was certainly not a full-sized Bible with a sturdy and very eye-catching cover. So out of the box (or mail bag, as it were) the quality was impressive. I was not familiar with the Holman Christian Standard translation, but some research allowed me to get acquainted and I must say the translation is one that I am very comfortable with--very easy to read, and yet with the impression that there are not "additions" to the Word.

This would be a great gift for an older adolescent, a tween or young teen.

Read my full review at Joyful Days Reviews & Recipes

From the publisher: Are our children really getting the full meaning of the stories as we read the Bible to them? When we read the Bible to our children, the stories are often in bits and pieces and focus on "being good." But children should get the message of "being saved" from reading the Bible instead. The Big Picture Interactive Bible (B&H Kids) is the first children's Bible of its kind-the Jesus story from start to finish, filled with features and interactive elements that capture the true meaning and significance behind all of the verses and stories.

Thanks to B&H Publishing Group for the Bible and the chance to review The Big Picture Interactive Bible.

Feast vs. Fast

How are your Lenten fasts/goals holding up? Are you the person who endures more than the forty days? Does every day count as fast or do you allow the "mini-feast" of Sunday? There are merits to both approaches.

I've practiced both this year. There were a few Lenten fasts that I've allowed myself to break from on Sundays and a couple that I've held tight to everyday. Then, if I'm being honest, there's one I've just not managed well.

The ones I've not allowed Sunday "breaks" are the one that seemed to me to control me in the area of time. They have the potential, I am sad to say, to consume my attention, to consume my better judgement. They are the ones that I am going to have to continue to wrestle with outside of Lent.

The fasts that I've broken on Sundays have been the ones that I felt I needed to see where I stood with. They are choices that I will probably continue to moderate during the year.

We live in such a rich and abundant society, I doubt we have to look very far to find something to "give up for Lent." First world problems...

Counting it all joy,

Julie

The fifty yards of tulle has left the building.

A young dancer friend, a budding choreographer, was promised access to a professional company's costume shop and then in the eleventh hour that was changed and he was left with a lovely piece of choreography and no costumes. Two tulle skirts and some dyeing of leotards and tights later, I am grateful I had the chance to be of help. It was fun to play with the fluffy stuff, but I need to get back on the track of Spring Cleaning. I am grateful to be done, as well.

The boys have been pretty good about keeping their rooms in good shape. That was where the cleaning began. The younger is a minimalist and so that takes him very little time. The oldest reminds me of....well, me at that age and if I look at it in that context, his room is awesome. It still may teeter precariously on the fire code's desire for clear exits, but it's not bad, I guess.

We are coming to the realization that the oldest will most likely be leaving us in the fall. He is definitely leaving for part of the summer, but it looks like he may have a chance at a boarding situation to pursue his dream. We are focusing on getting him prepared to be a little more responsible and able to feed himself, make healthy decisions, maintain clothing and necessities.

He's also earned a learner's permit for driving and we are dealing with that. I am grateful my husband has taken that teaching hat for the beginning portion. I'm sure I would be able to do it, but I'm a bit more reactive and emotional. And...nervous. Yes, I admit, I am a Nervous Nellie. Once he gets going I will be fine (relatively) in the passenger's seat, but it's better I don't sit there for a while.

Random occurrences, thoughts and observances:

I scored some drapes for the dining room at my favorite thrift store!!

I've had a lot more scrutiny than usual on the homeschool aspect of our lives.

I have a lot of stuff...Moving has always been good for getting rid of stuff, it's just that we stayed in the last place nearly ten years. So, I'm wondering if I can get rid of some more stuff without moving to help...I guess that means I'm pondering a garage sale...sigh...

Many thoughts about what "acting one's age" means to me. As I near the half-century mark I'm looking forward and backwards quite a bit. Asking myself how the road led here and where does it turn over the next hill.

It smells like Spring outside.

Counting it all joy,

Julie

Re-Entry

How many days does it take you to recover when you get home from a trip?

Trips (both fun and otherwise) exhaust me. It takes at least two or three days to get ready. I like to come home to a relatively clean house. I like to have the only laundry in the pile be what I am bringing back. I like to not see forgotten dishes in the sink.

And then I've come to the conclusion that for every day I've been gone it takes me at least one, and maybe two, to "recover." What I want to do when I come home is flop in my chair and veg for a bit. What I need to do is all the things that got left undone while I was gone.

Since I left the three boys...my dear husband kept the kitchen in good shape. But they still wore clothes (I am grateful for that) so the laundry was waiting. The boys spend a lot of time in their room, so the general public area was still pretty nice. And we needed a few odds and ends that I forgot to pick up before I left.

Yesterday involved shopping with a good friend for fifty yards of tulle (yes fifty) and some other sundry items. Shopping at the great "Stuff Mart" that I try to avoid. Resuming the chef's toque...okay cook's hat. I do realize I'm no chef. Putting back on my teaching tiara. Wrapping round my metaphorical laundress's apron. And sitting down to do the paperwork that is involved with being my eldest's secretary and personal assistant.

Not as much Pintrest time as I would have liked...just saying...

Today involves my chauffeur's cap, and continuing paperwork. Meatless menus. Long list-making. And fifty yards of tulle.

So I better get in gear...

Counting it all joy,

Julie

When We All Get to Heaven

After a long four days, I am home. Home to my chair, my bed, my kitchen, my coffee mug. Home to my sweet guys who missed me. It's not that where I was, was a bad place. It just wasn't home.

HOME.

My earthly home brings comfort and relief from the wearying world. Can you imagine our real home? There is a deep and real longing in my heart for my my real home. My heavenly home.

 Going to leave it at that. I've got some catching up to do.

Counting it all joy,

Julie

St. Patrick's Day

Posting has been and will be limited for a few days. Traveling. Left the three "boys" at home: the big one, the bigger one and the old one. They seem to think it's party time with me gone. Pondering how that makes me feel.

Today is St. Patrick's day. A saint's day turned Hallmark holiday and excuse for bad behavior in the United States.

The verse I am pondering on is from today's Terce reading:

 Lord, you are merciful to all, because you can do all things and overlook men’s sins so that they can repent. Yes, you love all that exists, you hold in abhorrence nothing of what you have made. Wisdom 11:23-24 

Hope you have a lovely day and find a blessing!

  

Not My Map

Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1: 27

Who are our "widows and orphans"? Sometimes I wonder if they don't perhaps come to us clothed in just an average person in our daily life needing our help.

I had my plans for Lent...my "desert" that I envisioned. Somehow I am not where I thought I would be. Somehow my map got changed.

Life, it is called. Life does not follow my map, my plans, my Lent. Others needs, the needs of my family, the needs of others raise their voices and ask me to veer off my planned path. And selfishly, I sit and dig in my heels and consider not helping, not serving, not doing what I am capable of. I make others worry they have asked too much of me.

Then I realize if I don't...it's not that I'm spectacular or anything. I am just in the place at the time of need...I consider my prideful and selfish motivations. Humility is not a virtue I am good at. Oh, I make it seem like I am, but false humility is a pride. So now there's more sin to contend with. Now that I'm weighing that, both options are in question.

Not exactly the same but, through my mind while I ponder...

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

--Robert Frost

Hosea 14:1

Come Back To Me - John Michael Talbot 

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Lenten Cleaning

I am an awful organizer--well that's not really true. I can organize. To me it's kind of like a Chinese puzzle that you shuffle the pieces around without taking them out. What I am awful at is getting rid of stuff. No one would ever accuse me of being a minimalist. But I am trying to pare down over Lent.

I've read some other blogger's Lenten cleaning schedule where they spend a week on a certain room. Sounds awesome deep cleaning like that, but I also have a hard time staying focused on one thing very long. So my 40 day goal is to move from room to room daily, each time getting another layer deeper in the hopes that by Easter the house will be in good shape (truthfully my goal is to be done by Passover).

I'm trying to be the tortoise and not the hare--my usual role model. I want to maintain and not get burnt out fifteen days into this.

To date, I have gone through both boys closets--shaking my head in amazement at what they have outgrown. Given away two large black trash bags full of clothes. I've mended some items so they can be used again. The living room has had a couple of minor rearrangements and boxes removed. The dining room has acquired some books from the living room. And the garage looks better. Well, to me anyway.

The garage is a metaphor for my life. Full of things that need to be offered in the Great Garage Sale, yard tools and the things we only use occasionally (like Christmas decorations). Things I should get rid of , things I should use to work and things to decorate. If you guessed that there are more decorations than anything else, you'd be correct.

I took a good portion of what was in the garage out to the driveway and rearranged so that the sale items and the left-over packing we can't seem to bear to part with are at the front, the yard tools are more towards the middle and the decorations are back. Hopefully the first two will be gone when we need the mower.

Since we moved to this house we've had the luxury of parking one car (mine) inside. What a treat when it is below freezing to get into a warm car. But my husband's poor car sat outside and we haven't been able to squeeze it in. What I accomplished was that now, if there was bad weather we could move a few things and  his car could come to shelter. We wouldn't be able to walk, but the car would be safe. My goal by Easter is that his car will find a permanent home in the garage. I'll revisit it next week. On to the kitchen and my room...

Step by baby step,
Counting it all joy,

Julie

Daybook, March 10, 2014

FOR TODAY ...Monday, March 10, 2014

Outside my window...It is still dark, thanks to the time change.

I am thinking...I have much cleaning to do today.

I am thankful for...Boys that are able to help lift, carry and lighten the load.

From the learning rooms...The oldest is ploughing through his work in order to be able to leave in June. The youngest is ploughing through his work to see if I will really allow him to be done when the work is done. And I will. No one should be punished for finishing a job. Math and reading are year-round here, but the other subjects...done is done.

From the kitchen...I'm visiting Pintrest when I'm done here.

I am wearing...something warm.

I am creating...I just got done making a tunic for the oldest's performance a week ago. I will be picking my first quilting attempt back up. I really want to finish some (okay, several) knitting WIPs.

I am going...to drive the oldest this afternoon, just like I always do. Driving to dance, driving to dance.

I am reading...Just raced through Marie Lu's Legend and gave it to the youngest. Debating between Daughter of the Forest and A Song for Summer .

I am hoping...

I am hearing...the clock tick, the furnace run and a few neighbors leaving for work.

Around the house...Lenten cleaning.

One of my favorite things...My new sewing machine.

A few plans for the rest of the week...Same song, next verse.

 Have a joyful week!!


Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook to find more Daybookers.

All or Nothing? Or Maybe a Little...?

 Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? Ezekiel 18:31

Before Lent I read a suggestion that instead of giving some things up to try moderation. The writer suggested that moderation is harder than total fasting from a thing. I would be inclined to agree. And apparently Ezekiel was of the same mind. The Scripture says "Cast away from you all your transgressions..." The Scripture says to be "new". 

Some families choose to honor Sundays as a "mini-feast" or a "mini-Easter." Some families choose not to practice this with vehemence. Until ten years ago, I didn't know it was an option! I don't know where I was, maybe I missed that day at Parochial school. If you count "these forty days of Lent," indeed, there are more than forty if you count Sundays, so the practice makes total sense. Late to the party, I thought this was brilliant and decided to give it a go. Truly it was harder to indulge on Sundays and resume abstinence on Mondays.

I'm not diminishing moderation. I can't give up eating, totally. I must learn to eat in a manner that is healthy. I must choose to put the best things I can into my body. There may be things that are fine for other people that will not do for me. I may be more sensitive to some things than most people. I may be fine with things that others cannot have. But it is easier to get rid of something completely than to try to maintain control. In the last year my family moved. I found it was easier to change some bad habits living in a new home. Sadly I found some other bad habits...or perhaps they found me. 

This Lent I am trying both methods--total fasting in some areas and moderation in others. I think I am seeing many areas of weakness brought to light both ways. 

What practices do you observe and do you choose fasting and abstinence or moderation?

Counting it all joy,

Julie

Happy Time Change!!

Which one speaks to you more?

 Most of us tolerate the "Fall Back" time change a little better than the "Spring Forward," but I think most would agree that messing with "time" messes with us.

We went to Mass last night. The chaotic rush to church on the Sunday of Daylight Savings time does little to exhort us to holiness. In fact it may cause us to dance a little too near sin. So we agreed to Saturday Mass and I changed the clocks when we got home.

I have two teens, so sleep is premium around here. My oldest is on a kick that time is relative (he's right). And my youngest lives virtually in England (in his heart and via the internet). My husband has periods of 24 hours on call and occasional technology crises. So this household is not unaccustomed to dealing with messed up sleep, But I always dislike the socially imposed time change.

I wonder what would happen if I refused. Hmmmmmm....

Joyfully adjusting,

Julie

Looking in a Mirror

From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul. In your distress, when all these things have happened to you in time to come, you will return to the Lord your God and heed him. Because the Lord your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you; he will not forget the covenant with your ancestors that he swore to them. Deuteronomy 4: 29-31

When I read the Old Testament I am always amazed at how easily the Children of Israel forget...

Wow. That's pretty ironic isn't it. Of course it doesn't take long for me to see how easily I forget. Much more so than Israel.

"Surrender don't come natural to me 
I'd rather fight you for something
I don't really want
Than to take what you give that I need
And I've beat my head against so many walls
Now I'm falling down, I'm falling on my knees"--Rich Mullins--Hold Me Jesus

The good news is that God does not forget. God is forever merciful. All I have to do is return. All I have to do is heed His voice.

Isn't it lovely that Jesus will walk with us as we return?

Count it all joy, 

Julie