Wordless Wednesday

Peace..........

The Sile River in Treviso, Italy - June, 2007

Today is iFellowship Day.....

Be blessed!

Tuesdays Unwrapped

Very often we host friends and family coming into the DC metro area for a variety of reasons...work, touring, passing through on their way somewhere else, or stopping by just for a visit.  Summer is, of course, the busiest season.  

Well, last week we had houseguests, and Wednesday I ended up going into work late, what with getting breakfast for everyone, preparing Rosie for her day at camp, making sure my husband got out the door with everything he needed....you know the drill.

Around 3:30 that afternoon I realized that I would have to work a bit later than I would have liked.  So I called Carolanne.   

"Hi honey, how's your day going?"

"Okay, getting a lot of writing done.  What's up?"

"I need to work late.  Would you please pick up your sister at camp, and then get her some dinner?  Joe and Noah (houseguests) won't be back until around 10, and Chuck is working late, too."

"Sure, Mom, no problem.  Love you, don't work too hard!" 

With that settled I returned to the task at hand, feeling the tiniest twinge of - something...hope, perhaps, that the girls wouldn't feel too neglected.  Regret that it would be several hours before I could see my sweethearts.

When I got home that evening,  the house was peaceful.  Carolanne was upstairs in her room, writing.  Rosie,  curled up in the papasan chair in my bedroom, was watching a movie.   The kitchen was tidy, and this was waiting for me on the counter.

Those beautiful daughters of mine stopped on the way home and bought me flowers.  No reason, no occasion, just because.  Just because they are sweet, and thoughtful, and loving.  And the gift will last long after the flowers have gone...the notion that maybe, just maybe, I have done something right in rearing these darlings.   

So here I am, praising and thanking God that He has been with me every step of the way with my girls, through the hard times and the good, thanking God that he has entrusted these tender ones to my care.

For this child I prayed, and the LORD has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. - 1 SAMUEL 1:27

Courtesy of Emily of Chatting at the Sky

Tuesdays Unwrapped

From Emily over at Chatting at the Sky

Tuesdays Unwrapped

What a lovely idea!  She writes in the Guidelines that Tuesdays Unwrapped should be about:  Anything that causes you to pause and celebrate the moment. Not what will be or what is to come, but what is real and true this day: the messy, the lovely, and the unexpected.   Share a photo, a story, or anything that offers a glimpse into your own journey of discovering the gifts in the midst of the ordinary.

Early morning at my Mom's house.

This morning, as I do every day,  I rose at 4:30.    After making my morning cappucino, I came down here to my desk to begin my daily reading.  I start each day with Bible In A Year  readings at Bible Gateway, followed by a visit to each of the wonderful blogs you see on my list to the right.    Afterwards I pray before I set about the business of getting the household up and on its way.  This discipline sets a wonderful tone for the entire morning...I find that I am calmer, more patient, and arrive at the office in a more pleasant and focused mood.

The true blessing of the morning arrived in the form of one of my staff...I will call him Luis.   He grew up in the mountains of Guatemala in a home with no running water.    He came to this country 28 years ago with a blanket under his arm, a suitcase with a change of clothing, and not much else.    Father of four (including a son in the military),  grandfather of two, homeowner, church elder, and model employee, he graduated last spring summa cum laude with a BS in Accounting and today asked me whether I would write him a reference for a Masters in Public Administration program at a nearby University.    

To say that Luis is an inspiration to me is an understatement.  Every time I spend time talking - truly talking - with him, I come away blessed and refreshed and overwhelmed with this man's strength and grace.  Today he shared the following story with me:

 Now, our roof for a long time was just cardboard.  Then when I was seven, Papa was able to save enough money to buy some floorboards that we could use instead for the roof.  So we kids helped put them up, and because the boards were warped we had to squeeze them together and nail them.   And it was hard to do that.   It was my job every morning to go to the well to get water for Momma.    The buckets were heavy, and it was a long way to walk.    But when it was rained, even though the roof leaked, we were so happy because we could put many, many buckets under the roof and gather all that water!  Then we would not have to go such a long way to the well, and we could take a really good bath.   But you know, even with all that, I never thought we were poor.  We had limitations, but we were not poor.  

Imagine what our children's lives would be like if we could teach them to view their world this way...indeed, what would our own lives be like....to view the 'rains' of life not as an inconvenience but as a blessing!    What a gift.    And what a gift, and a blessing, Luis has been to me.  

Sings My Soul Saturday!

Courtesy of Amy over at Signs, Miracles, and Wonders -what a great idea!

To me, music is prayer and touches me in ways that the spoken word cannot.  When I am surrounded by my brothers and sisters in Christ and we are lifting our voices in song, I feel close to heaven and as though I am there at the Master's feet.

Our church is blessed with a magnificent music and arts ministry.  We have six choirs.  Six!  I sing with the Women's Choir and the Unity Choir - which is composed of members from the other five (Men's, Women's, Mass, Youth, and Children.)

 Back in 2007, members of our Women's Choir under direction of the anointed, gifted Negleatha Johnson (fondly known as Dr. J) traveled to Italy with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board;   and through the grace of God and with the support of my wonderful husband, I was able to join the Mission.  To say that this was the trip of a lifetime is wholly inadequate in expressing what this meant to me.  I am an American of Italian extraction, and I have always wanted to go there.  But to be able to go and sing!  And minister!  Oh, praise Jesus, it was magnificent.

Here we are on our first night in Rome at the Chiesa Valdese on the Piazza Cavour.  The concert was broadcast on Italian television!  The video is a medley - first of "Jesus Will Fix It" (solo by Dr. J) and then of "Oh, Happy Day" (solos by Cynthia Whitehurst-Wilson and Sylstea Sledge, Minister of Music.)

Potpourri

So many things to write about!

First, a big, big thank you to Mary Joy at Seeds of Encouragement Sewn with Grace, Penny at Living Above Ministries, Sonya at Becoming a Strong Woman of God, and Julie at Come Have a Peace for such a warm and encouraging welcome to the Christian-Mom-Blogosphere!  I never thought I'd get any followers or comments, much less within the first few days!  It truly did my heart good and for that I am grateful.  Wait, is that number 21?!!  

Next, ORGANIZATION.  The beautiful Courtney over at Women Living Well has asked for back-to-school organizational tips and I am here to oblige!

Oh my, is this a subject near and dear to my heart.  My overarching philosophy is that I need to have ready access to things I will use on a consistent basis.  The corollary, born out of necessity, is that certain tantalizing items need to be stashed out of the sight and reach of certain very curious and creative little girls (yes, I'm looking at you, Rosie!) 

Had I access to unlimited funds and unlimited time, I could give Martha Stewart and California Closets a run for their respective bankrolls.  Few things give me more satisfaction than having my surroundings in order.  However.  Life has a way of intervening and, all too often, chaos ensues.  

Happily, I live very close to a marvelous and very, very large thrift store.  One day I was browsing and inspiration hit!  BASKETS.  Yes, indeedy.  So inexpensive - ranging in price from just 90 cents all the way up to a whopping $4.90.   COME TO MOMMA.  I was inspired, I was energized, I was motivated...the family was terrified.  (Not really.)   Enter the baskets!

Kitchen closet

So.  Here we have the kitchen closet.  I don't know about anyone else, but if my kitchen isn't organized, very little practical work gets done  there or anywhere else in the house. 

On the top shelf I keep paper towels, flashlights, and bug repellant.  Under that, the cookbooks; the baskets hold office supplies, stationery and stamps, and notepads.  Next shelf is appliances, obviously.  Then we've got Rosie's coloring books and pads; buckets of pencils and crayons; basket of craft materials; and the first aid kit.  Bottom shelf is the really boring household detritus...batteries, sewing kit, light bulbs, shoeshine accessories.  It's great to have certain classes of items grouped together; I can just pull out the basket I need, do what I've got to do, and pop that rascal back in its place when I'm done.  Approximate cost of all the baskets you see here - $25.   Saving my sanity?  Priceless.

And speaking of Rosie...mornings are so much more pleasant now that we're organized...a place for everything and everything in its place.  (Bet you never heard that one before - go ahead and write it down.)   Blessing number 22 definitely has to be the fact that we have one bathroom per daughter, plus one for me and Chuck.  Mind you, the girls' bathrooms are so small you have to leave them to change your mind, but still.  It's nice to avoid Morning Drama.   About a month ago, I went shopping in our garage (that's a post for another day) and pulled out a nice little wall cabinet Chuck had in the townhouse.  

Bathroom cabinet

My marvelous husband installed the cabinet directly to the right of the vanity, giving us easy access to everything we need...toiletries, paper products,  headbands, barrettes, and so forth.   Et voila, storage for Rosie's bathroom!   Baskets, jars, decor - thrifted.  Total approximate cost, $7.  

Basket for headbands and headwraps

Jars for barrettes and ponytailers

With everything close at hand, showertime-hairtime-bedtime is so much more pleasant...and that spills over into the next morning.  

Plenty of time to enjoy the fresh morning air before heading off to camp.

Thankful Thursday

I am all about multi-tasking, so imagine my delight at being able to combine the Gratitude Community Count 1000 Blessings activity with Thankful Thursday, via Sonya over at Becoming a Strong Woman of God.  And awayyyy we go!  I am so thankful for...

11.  that marvelous bit of gravel in my husband's voice.  There's something about it that is so reassuring.  Or maybe it's just him...his steady presence, his kindness, his calm, his dependability.    You know, I first realized I was in love with him - no, I realized that I loved him - when I was moved by the tenderness and care he showed to his mother and sister...even when he didn't know I was watching.



12.  Rosie (daughter number two, age 9) asking me, when I picked her up from camp this afternoon, whether we could go to the library.  Understand, this is a child who has struggled in school due to her disability and as a result has been less than enthusiastic, shall we say, about reading.  Yet there she was, begging to go and check out books.  Never one to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth, I obliged.  We spent a very happy hour or so wandering through the stacks.  She even sat and read to herself while I browsed.  I cannot express how significant this is.

13.  Rosie's wonderful, wonderful tutor who will be delighted when I tell her about number 12 and who is probably largely responsible for it as well.

14.  Miles the cat purring contentedly at my right elbow.

15.  Carolanne (daughter number one, age 23) thundering about (people, the child weighs 90 pounds dripping wet) upstairs.  It just feels so good to have us all home on this rainy night.

16.  Carolanne having finished her paper!

17.  Paid annual leave!  I am taking tomorrow and Monday off.  Four day weekend!

18.  The fact that my meeting this afternoon went extraordinarily well, especially considering I asked for it as a way to control some damage done earlier this week by someone in my workgroup.  God is so good!

19.  Coconut oil, which I recently discovered isn't just for cooking.  I work a bit into Rosie's hair at night before I braid it and pop a satin bonnet atop her little noggin.  Mornings are a lot more pleasant now!

20.  The fan at my left elbow (hot flash, begone!)

Counting my blessings

God has richly blessed my life, and I am thankful for all He has given me.

But in my weakness I am susceptible to the desire for the 'finer things' in life - a teakwood set for the deck, a Mercedes convertible, Hermes scarves, a week-long cruise - and I struggle with feelings of envy.

In joining the Gratitude Community, I hope to find strength to resist the temptation to covetousness. Will I get to a thousand items on my list? I should.

For what am I grateful?

1. My health

2. My marriage to a loving, kind, Christian man.

3. My healthy, beautiful children.

4. A peaceful home life.

5. A wonderful church family.

6. Health insurance!

7. The good, stable jobs my husband and I both have.

8. Especially on this 99F day, I am grateful for air conditioning!

9. That we were able to afford to pay for the repairs on our car...and oh boy, was that a nice hunk of change.

10. My internet connection.



(Okay, so it's not Monday. I'm a late bloomer, what can I say?)