Blue Tongue

One of the fun things about being a Grandma is receiving  text photos when I am at work. This one was especially delightful. Apparently Maria and Elise had stopped  in to see grandpa and he gave Elise a blue sucker...a REALLY blue sucker.

(Photo by Maria Rose)

Text Photos

One of the fun things about being a Grandma is receiving  text photos when I am at work. This one was especially delightful. Apparently they had stopped to see grandpa and he gave Elise a blue sucker...a REALLY blue sucker.

LIVING WITH JOY - Francis Chan

OK, this is a whole sermon. That may not seem like something you feel like listening to right now. We are all so used to quick quips and 2 minute videos. This is more than that. I really hope you will listen to it, though. Give it a chance, please.

Just click it to play and sit down and listen. You deserve a break. Or, take your computer, IPad or cell phone while you go clean up your kitchen or dust your living room or while you are driving in your car, playing Candy Crush or addressing your Christmas Cards (something I've not yet done but I don't want to be worrying about it). I really think that if you listen to this, even if it is a bit in the background of your day, you will be enriched. Let me know what you think.

A Walk down Christmas Memory Lane

I was looking at some of our Christmas decorations last night and I realized many of them are sweet reminders of their givers. Let me show you.

This star was a gift from some church friends.

 I guess I don't know where this one originated but I think  it came to us

from Mike's Mom. It was one that Mike knew from his childhood and that makes it special.

I am really appreciative that it has held up over time

(and that I haven't squished it).

Ben made this one for us.

Wasn't he a cute little guy?

This one is all the more special as Ben is far away

from us this Christmas.

This is one of many hand-painted ones that originated in Harlowton, MT and were

give to us by our friend, Evelyn. She gave us a new one each Christmas we lived there

and she even continued sending them to us for several years after we moved away.

Evelyn is gone from this Earth now but she is not forgotten!

When we moved from Harlowton to Alamogordo, NM we made another friend who

purchased fancy ornaments from Hallmark for us each year. This was one of my favorites.

Her name was Laura and she also has moved on from this life.

Our memories of her make us smile.

Sam also gave us an ornament featuring his own sweet little face.

For the record, that was the year he tried trimming his own hair.

Even so, he was pretty cute!

I really like this rag angel. Our friend, Kim, gave it to us about 15 years ago.

Kim was a young mom who volunteered to babysit Sam when I first went back

to college. She was very sweet and so generous with her time. We went on quite a few excursions

together with our little kids. She was always ready to have some fun!

The last time I talked to Kim she handed the phone to her husband so he

could tell me about the rare disease she had developed, the one that was robbing 

her of her personality and eventually her life.

Well that was mean of me to start out with a happy-go-lucky type of post 

and then to throw the sadness of loss in your face. 

I feel kind of bad that I did that but I wasn't really expecting to take that turn myself! 

Sometimes my posts take on a life of their own.

Even with the sadness of loss, I am so grateful for these and so many others

who have been a part of our lives over the span of many Christmases.

We've been blessed.

Keep Calm and Look at Old Photos

Last night I had a brief time of panic. You know what I mean,  I bet. It is that moment when you realize Christmas is almost here and you have a bunch of stuff to accomplish yet...that "Oh, I will NEVER get everything ready in time" moment. I had to calm myself down and remember that I do this every year. Maybe I don't get everything done but Christmas comes anyway. As it turns out, all those things I worry about ahead of time really don't matter so much.

I admit I got up this morning with lots of chores running through my mind again. I started over with the calming thing. One thing I did was browse through my photos from Christmas last year and I came across some I just loved. Each reminds me of what is important about Christmas.

So keep calm.

Enjoy.

Love.

Twirling Mary

Yesterday our Sunday School Children put on a fun little Christmas Play. You've got to love those, right!? They are funny and sweet and just adorable.

I'd planned ahead to take my good camera, imagining myself getting some really tender little photos of the sweet little person who was assigned to play Mary. Yep, Cordelia was Mary! I knew I had only taken a few photos since I'd charged my battery so I was ready to go.

EXCEPT... when I double-checked my camera I realized that after I had taken those few photos, I'd left my camera on! Yep. My battery was dead. What kind of grandma am I! Good grief.


Well, I managed to take a few cell phone photos of her.

 She was pretty cute with only her sweet little face showing. She did a twirl at one point! No, that wasn't in the script, but maybe it should have been. I'm sorry I didn't capture that moment.
Trust me, she wasn't so sober throughout the play!

Cordy's twirl made me wonder why we adult women don't still twirl from time to time. You know, little girls really have that down. I think the world would be a better place if we sll did more twirling. I'm going to work on that this week.

OK, I may not do more twirling, but I do think I want to try to show more joy this week. Maybe I will just start by trying to smile more.

I hope your week is twirly!

Check out Maria's blog today; I think you'll enjoy it!

Caroling Encore

We enjoyed an evening of Christmas caroling tonight. A good group of us met at our church and we went from there. We try to go to the homes of people we know who are shut-in or who for one reason or another might appreciate a serenade.

I always worry that we may make someone feel uncomfortable. Maybe that is because I'd feel weird to receive that kind of attention. Still, it does seem that people like it; some even join in the singing.

Besides going to private homes we also caroled at an assisted living center and a nursing home. When we arrived at the first, another group was just finishing their caroling.  It seemed a bit awkward but we sang anyway as a lady from our church was sitting waiting in the dining area there. Later, when we went to a nursing home, those same carolers were there! This time, we joined together and sang as an even larger group. It was really kind of sweet.

As we were leaving that last nursing home someone caught us at the door and requested that we come back. One of the residents had just turned 100 years old yesterday and she wanted us to sing "Happy Birthday" to her. I pretended we were asked back for an encore! 

Do you go Christmas caroling? Where do you go? 

Amy Grant - Breath Of Heaven (Mary's Song)

So beautiful...I hope you can make time to listen to the entire song.

Silliness at the Mall

                              

                           

Noise

Air Exchanger

Last week we had a strange thing happen at our surgical center. First of all, I need to explain about air exchange. You see, a surgical center has some really strict rules about air exchange. The air has to be exchanged, new air in and old air out, at a certain rate. The surgical suites (OR rooms) have to comply with a much higher rate. It all has to do with infection control and it isn't optional.

With all the subzero weather last week, it won't surprise you to learn that a piece of equipment on our roof froze. That part had something to do with air exchange. It was discovered before our first surgeries for the day and someone was called right away to fix it. Patients were delayed but it was fixed pretty quickly. I thought we were then all good to go, but I was wrong.

Because the air exchange rate had been sub-par for awhile, we had to clean all the OR Rooms again. I don't mean a namby pamby type of cleaning. First of all, many of us weren't dressed in the special OR scrubs so we donned "bunny suits". Then, we had to scrub down EVERYTHING with a bleach solution. That included all equipment, shelves, walls, floors, etc. We breathed too much bleach that day, I can say that for sure! When we were done, though, we had the surgical suites ready to go.

I guess that was a lot of explanation but yesterday a related thought crossed my mind. It was soooo windy, yet again. I thought to myself that at least our outdoor air exchanger was working well. The wind around here can be quite wearing, but we pretty much always have fresh, clean air. It just moves really fast!

(taken from my car window yesterday as I waited behind a school bus)

And one last thing,

Happy Birthday 

to my little sister, Tina!

I hope your day is warm and wonderful.

Morning Gift

I am bustling around this morning, getting ready to go to work. Here are some of the thoughts I had roaming through my head...

  I wish I'd had something ready for the crockpot for supper tonight.

  Why am I curling my hair when the wind is still at hurricane strength.

  I wish the little office where I'll be spending my days now had a window.

  Why is my mascara so clumpy?

Then, I dashed toward the kitchen to prepare my piece of peanut butter toast for breakfast and I glanced out to see this...

That other stuff just didn't matter anymore.

I'd just received a beautiful gift.

Toys for Tots! 750 Toys!

Not long ago our Sunday School Superintendent, Tanya, had a grand idea of raising money for

Toys for Tots. 

Actually, she shared with our congregation the fact that she had been one of those kids who benefited from that program when she was a child. I think that meant a lot to everyone.

So, the plan was put into place.

First, we had a fundraiser. She asked the kids (and their families) to start by getting cookie jars and then filling them up with homemade cookies. After church that week-end, we held an auction. Each kid stood up when their cookies were to be auctioned off, sometimes talking a bit about their cookies. It was not the kind of auction where you try to get a good deal. It was a fundraiser, after all.

Mike doesn't really "do" auctions so it was up to me to do the bidding. It was pretty fun. Toward the end, though, I was bidding on some cookies. Sometimes I bid just to get it going. I'd set our limit before the auction so I knew my limit was $80 for that batch. I thought I was in good shape until some guy across the room started bidding. It was Mike! People thought it was pretty funny so we kept it up a bit, bidding against each other. I did go a bit over budget but it was worth it.

ANYWAY, our smallish Sunday School raised over $5,000 with those cookies!

Part two of the plan happened yesterday morning. Tanya had arranged for the kids and their parents to come on a grand shopping spree at KMart. Since Toys for Tots is a Marine program, there were a couple of Marines there in uniform to assist. I thought that made it even more exciting for the kids.

Cordy gave a salute to one of them. It was adorable! It looked more like she was checking her temperature, but it was very cute.

I couldn't imagine how this was all going to work. Luckily, I wasn't in charge. Tanya had it all worked out. Each child got a shopping basket and 30 minutes to spend $230 on toys! Yep, $230 EACH! I carried Elise while Maria and Eric helped Cordelia. She took her job quite seriously and thoughtfully, as did all the kids. There was a lot of JOY at our KMart today!

Cordelia was allowed to check out first. She put her share of the toys up on the counter herself.

Then posed for me, along with her family.

This sweet girl is one of the students in our high school class. She was so patient and won the honor of being last in line. I bet she waited 45 minutes to an hour!

When all was said and done, those kids had purchased more than 750 toys!

Yes, 750 toys!

Can you imagine?

The kids all had such fun and I am certain

they were proud to be a part of something

so special.

Great job, Tanya!

2nd Sunday of Advent

Sub Zero and Gray

 

"Somebody Needs the Light You Have"

References to light just keep popping up this week, or maybe I am just noticing them more. Last night I got into my car and KLOVE was playing Pushing Back the Dark by Josh Wilson. The first words I heard were, "Somebody needs the light you have."  I hope you will click below (click the arrow then the underlined words) to listen to it then let me know if you like it as well.



One million reasons why, you shouldn't even try
After all you're just one heart, a single candle in the dark
And there are shadows here, feeding on your fears
That you don't have what it takes
Who are you to make a change

But oh, oh, don't underestimate the God you follow

Whatever you do, just don't look back 
Somebody needs the light you have
Whatever you do, just don't lose heart
Keep on pushing back the dark
Keep on pushing back the dark

The city on a hill, it should be shining still
Every sinner saved by grace, has a purpose, has a place 
Inside the bigger plan, we might not understand
But if we just keep walking on, we will see the Kingdom come, yeah

Whatever you do, just don't look back
Oh somebody needs the light you have 
Whatever you do, just don't lose heart
Keep on pushing back the dark
Keep on pushing back the dark

(Let your lights so shine...) 
Oh, oh, don't underestimate the God you follow
He is the light that burns inside your soul
So keep on shining 'til the whole world knows

Whatever you do, just don't look back
Somebody needs the light you have
Whatever you do, just don't lose heart
Keep on pushing back the dark
Just keep on pushing back the dark, dark

Whatever you do, just don't look back
Cause somebody needs the light you have
Whatever you do, just don't lose heart 
Keep on pushing back the dark
Keep on pushing back the dark, yeah 

When you feel like you're too small 
To do any good at all 
Like a sunrise through the window 
Like a symphony crescendo 

We are waking up again, we are rising from the dead 
We are shining like the stars, we are pushing back the dark 
Yeah, we are pushing back, pushing back the dark 

Reflections on Reflecting

Wowza!

 I just have to tell you all about something! Remember yesterday's post about being the light and I said I was just hoping to be a reflector for the light of Jesus? Well, guess what happened.

I was working with my very first patient of the day yesterday. She noticed my cross necklace as I was starting her IV and she asked me if I was a Christian.

I said that I was a Christian and we talked a bit more. I told her, then, that I tried to always wear a cross necklace to work so that if someone wanted me to pray with them or something, they would know that I was a Christian. Then she said to me, "You wouldn't have to wear a cross. Your light shines."

I think I may have gasped or made some sort of funny sound! Given what I just posted that morning, I was so excited to hear her say that!

I almost fell of my little spinny stool!

I can guarantee that there were many moments this week when I did not do a very good job of being a reflector of Jesus' light. (I only tell you the good things, you know.) The timing of that particular comment, though, really made me smile. I kind of felt like it maybe made God smile as well.

Be a Reflector

Yesterday, before going to work, Mike and I were listening to Joyce Meyer on tv. She was talking about how we should NOT be trying to feel comfortable in this world. She gave examples. We should feel uncomfortable when we are around people using our God's name as a cuss word. We should feel uncomfortable when we are around people who are gossiping about someone else. You get the idea.

Joyce Meyer went on to say that someone asked her to pray for them to get a new job because he or she was the only believer at the current place of employment. She said she would not pray such a prayer. Why would she? If the person was the only Christian there, why would she pray for that light to be taken away from that place? Good point.

I thought about the song many of us learned when we were little. Did you learn "This Little Light of Mine"? Here it is...



What? You never learned it quite like that? Neither did I, but wasn't it pretty?

As I left for work Mike said, "Be a light!" I thought for a moment but said I'd likely just be a reflector. Apparently I wasn't feeling all that bright! No, really I was just trying to point out that the light doesn't come from me. I only hope that I can be a reflector of the light that comes from Jesus.

The thought of being a light, or a reflector, came to mind several times during the day. It is a process for me but I like the idea. AND, it is Biblical. The following verse pretty much sums up how we are to behave.

Matthew 5:16  

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that 

they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in 

heaven. (NIV)

Rambling

This is our busiest time of the year where I work. Everyone who has already met their yearly insurance deductible is eager to have other procedures now rather than waiting for the new year. Since I'm also learning a new position in the midst of all that busyness, I am POOPED! Sorry for the rough language. Rest assured, "pooped" is about as bad as my language gets.

Speaking of bad language, I sometimes worry what will happen if I get some sort of dementia. What if I start spouting out every bad word I've ever heard, all those words I've held in all these years? Does anyone else worry about such things?

Well, what weird things do you worry about? Mike thinks it is weird that I had an elbow phobia when I tried to be a golfer. Anyone else? I always felt that I might wind back and then swing hard but hit the ground instead of the ball, breaking my elbow. The funny thing is, I VERY often whiffed it. Is that the right word? I missed the ball for sure, but just caught air. That always feels nice to swing with all your might and then see that the ball was left undisturbed.

Are you wondering where this post is going?

Me, too.

I told you I was pooped. I often ramble on and on when I get tired.

I told you we decorated the interior of our house. We have lights on our tree and our tree is in front of the living room window and the curtains are open so I'm saying that counts as our outside decorations as well.

We are getting a cold front and snow with the wind chill expected to reach -30 degrees! I'm not too happy about that. Icy roads and wind gusts of 50 mph or so is not my favorite combination.

OK, this is just ridiculous. I think I will close with a joke.

What did the cobbler say when a cat wandered into his shop?

wait for it....

SHOE!

Decorating for Christmas 2013

The first year Maria left home we had to adjust to some new traditions. She wasn't going to be home for Christmas Break until Christmas Eve. I imagined having the house all decorated, cheery and festive, when she came home. You know, like they do on all the Christmas movies?

Well, the Ben and Sam would have none of it. They refused to decorate without Maria.

I thought it was so sweet that they wanted to wait for her. However, I'm a bit suspicious, even still, that they just didn't want to do much of the decorating themselves. It's always been the boys putting up a few decorations then watching Maria really get into it. Whatever their motive, it was a good thing we waited. Maria didn't want to miss out on the decorating.

Now, even though Maria and Eric have their own home to decorate, we still wait until they are at our house before we do it. If you are suspicious that I really just like to let Maria do most of the decorating, you are correct. Her daughters really get into it as well, and it all works out great. So, Mike put on John Denver and the Muppets (a bit too loud) and we got started.

Sam was soooo excited to get started.

You can see that Eric was also anxious to hop to it.

Elise was good to go!

After she hung up each ornament she kept saying,

"More?"

When shopping one day Cordy picked out two new ornaments for Mike and Me.

He received the red cardinal, for obvious reasons.

I received a blue whale because she couldn't find anything orange

and "blue goes so well with orange."

Maria works with the red finger weaving that she made in about third grade.

She is perched a bit precariously while wrapping it around the rail...

...while wearing high-heeled boots!

She managed to decorate without injury, though.

When we were satisfied with our work Mike turned out the 

overhead lights while

we all relaxed and enjoyed the tree.

The girls then did lots of dancing and 

twirling and

making us laugh.

Life is good.

Have you decorated yet?

Do you have any special holiday traditions?

First Sunday of Advent

Happy first day of Advent!

I know that Advent is not something everyone celebrates. That's ok. But if you are interested in what Advent is all about, check out this little video.

Advent is a happy, expectant season of the church and it begins today. It is a time to look forward with eagerness. It is a time to prepare, with JOY, for the coming of Christ the King.

Bitterness

Ephesians 4:31-32

English Standard Version (ESV)

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

(In case you can't tell, I used this photo to represent BITTER cold.)

 If I said the word "bitterness" to you, what comes to mind?  A food? Maybe a person? Have you ever talked with someone and found yourself thinking they were very bitter? I've experienced that from time to time. Sometimes I meet someone and within minutes, their bitterness oozes out and sometimes a bit of it gets on me. It makes me want to go wash it off. It makes me want to get far away from that person.

When I went online to find a definition of that word I first found, as you would expect, a reference to taste. The second definition, though, referred to feelings. Words associated with bitterness were:

anger

disappointment

resentment

Those are not very positive words, are they? However, we all have those feelings from time to time I suppose. Does that mean we are bitter people? 

I'm not sure why but that word has come to my mind on several occasions lately. Something I've noticed is that most of us have trouble avoiding bitterness.  Do you think it is associated with a mentality of victimization? Do you know what I mean? We all have things in our past that we could latch onto to feel we were victimized in some way. We've all experienced times of being treated unfairly. I think it is our response to those experiences that determine whether or not we are going to become bitter.

I don't even know why I am writing about this. I don't have much of a psych background. Sure, we had to do some of that in nursing school but truthfully, I wasn't that good at the psych stuff. Also, I don't remember ever learning about bitterness and its effect on people during those class discussions. So, I hope you aren't looking for any insightful answers here. There you go. That is my little disclaimer.

The only thing I'm thinking is that there is a strong link between bitterness and the lack of forgiveness. Think about it and tell me if you agree. When I tried to examine things from my past that left me feeling angry or resentful, I noticed that there were a few feelings of bitterness that still popped up. There were maybe some people I needed to forgive. Ouch! I wanted to think about bitterness in others, not myself! 

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I have a few things to work on. I'm still nurturing several areas of bitterness. Did I say "nurturing"? Yep. I realized that I kind of wanted to keep those things on a nearby shelf, so to speak, so that I could pull them out and dwell on them when I wanted to have a pity party or just enjoy a good "mad". I may even want to pull them off the shelf to use as an excuse for my own behavior sometime. Oh come on! You do things like that, don't you? I'm not the only one, am I?

Here's what I know, though. Bitterness leaves a terrible taste in your mouth. Bitterness spreads to others. Bitterness can be neutralized when sprinkled with sugar. Maybe forgiveness is the sugar. Oh, hey, that sounds kind of insightful, doesn't it? I'm so proud of it, I will say it again...

Forgiveness is the sugar.

       

Jamberry Nails

Maria gave me a present recently... Jamberry Nails! Have any on you had these?

They come as a set, kind of like stickers, on a sheet. You warm them with a hairdryer, stick them on, trim and enjoy for days!

I think they are pretty fun! Thanks, Maria!

thank you

dear LORD

thank you for all you've given me

faithful family

comfortable home

delicious food

time of rest

time of play

useful work

freedom to worship

and

thank you for all I don't understand

thank you for the gift of faith

so that

i may always know you are in control

thank you for difficulties that make me stronger

illness that makes me appreciate health

storms that help me seek your protection

weakness that leads me to your strength

thank you