Farewell 2016

Can you believe we are about to embark on a new year? 

Here we are in the twilight hours of another year and the calendar reminds me that it’s time to reflect, time to look back, time to look forward. It’s time to be grateful for days gone by and gaze ahead at the possibilities that are ahead.

2017 is right around the corner. 

When a new year approaches, it seems to roll in with much hope. There are 365 days in a year. No more and no less. {well, except leap year} And even though most of the days on my calendar are blank, God has a plan and a purpose for every single one of those days. 

It's at this time of year that most people often reflect on the year that is ending and make some plans for the year that will begin. Call them whatever you will ... plans, goals, or resolutions.

As I sit here this morning, I’m doing the same thing. 

But for all my retrospective pondering and my future goal setting, I can’t help but realize that I do not hold the future in my hand. All I have is this moment, right here, right now!

There is no promise of tomorrow or next week, or even next month.

In years past I was so busy organizing my days that I would miss the God offered opportunities that come.  I was putting my activities and to-do lists ahead of enjoying the day He made.  

It’s been a number of years now, {thanks to some wise friends} since I’ve given myself permission to let things go. And choose to live in the moments of today, and free myself to do what’s important…

Take Care

After Christmas blues

The stockings are still hung by the chimney with care. 
The Christmas tree continues to glow brightly in the corner of our family room.  But the two presents remaining underneath look a bit lonely. Our kids have gone to back to their own places.  Life has gone back to its normal routine. 

After a wonderful time of celebrating Christmas with our family combining food and games and chatter and photo taking, today it’s quiet… almost too quiet.

For many of us, we plan and prepare for Christmas for weeks. We do all we can to make it a special holiday, but when it passes by all too quickly, and the magic of the season is over, disappointment can set in, and so can the post-Christmas blues.

It’s been a couple of days since the kids were all home and while we had an amazing time together, I now feel a little lost… sure, there’s that post~Christmas cleanup, but, it isn’t the highest priority ~ all I really want to do is find a really good book, grab some more tea and settle in for a day of hibernation!

Even though the day started off a bit “off”, there is a promise tucked away and I can take a deep breath and be reminded of the joy that will come…

Take Care

Our Day

We celebrated Christmas today with our family.

Having so much fun... eating, playing games, eating, opening presents, eating, more games, eating yet again, and of course the traditional family photo.

Now that was a great day!

Take Care

Merry Christmas

Take Care

Home for the Holidays

There's no place like home for the holidays.....

Looking forward to having everyone home!

Take Care

Christmas Snacks

Just a few of our favourite Christmas snacks for you to enjoy!

Nuts & Bolts

4 cups Shreddies

4 cups Rice Chex 

4 cups Cheerios

4 cups Pretzels 
4 cups Peanuts
1 lb butter
2 tsp celery salt 
4 tsp garlic powder
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 250F. 
Mix cereals, pretzels and peanuts is large roaster. 
Melt butter and mix with seasonings and pour over dry ingredients.  
Bake for about 1 hour stirring every 15 minutes.
Enjoy!

Microwave Caramel Popcorn 

3 to 5 qt. popped popcorn

½ cup butter

¼ cup corn syrup

1 cup brown sugar

½ tsp baking soda

In microwave, heat butter, brown sugar and corn syrup to boiling. Remove from heat and add baking soda. While still foaming pour over popcorn in a large microwavable bowl and stir well. Microwave on high 1 - 1 ½ minutes.  Stir well.
Repeat two more times…
Store in airtight container.  
Continue to mix, until completely cooled.
Enjoy!

Christmas Crack

1 cup milk chocolate chipits
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup butter
350 g box of Crispix
2 + cups icing sugar

Melt chocolate chipits, peanut butter and butter. Pour over cereal in a large bowl. Mix lightly until cereal is completely covered.  Put icing sugar in an unused clean garbage bag, and pour cereal into bag.  Hold tightly and shake until cereal is coated.  You might need to add more icing sugar to be sure all pieces are covered.  
Store in an airtight container.
Enjoy!

Take Care

The Joneses

One of the things I find myself doing when I’m in the midst of an active cycle of my illness is trying to keep up with “the Joneses”. 

I tend to struggle with placing my value and worth on the number of “things” that I’m doing. Then I get overwhelmed trying to juggle it all, and I work harder trying to maintain the status quo. 

I used to be able to multi-task really well. I could read, listen to someone talk, have a conversation, take notes, drink tea, walk and chew gum, all at the same time ~ the list was endless. I could have 5 different tasks going at the same time and never drop the ball. 

And then Fibromyalgia. I’m tired. Very, very tired. Long ago I reached the point of exhaustion that makes you break down and cry. Now it’s just my normal.

I can’t read a book and have a conversation anymore  ~ I either read the same paragraph 3 times or totally ignore the person talking to me. I can’t start a load of laundry and sit down to work because the laundry won’t make it to the dryer for days.

We all want to say “yes” to all of the opportunities that come our way. We all want to do what everyone else is doing, and do it perfectly.  Or maybe, I'm the only one?

I would rather do fewer tasks that serve God well than have too much on my plate and tend them poorly.

I need to make room for the great things that line up with the journey God has planned for me, and to be willing to say no, to what others expect.  But saying “no” without feeling guilty…  that’s a hard one, isn’t it? We can’t do it all, can we? But hey, guess what?  I don't think we’re supposed to.

It’s not always easy to figure out what to do next, especially with Christmas right around the corner.  

So where do we go from here? 

Do we dive into the chaos of the holidays or do we something differently this year? Is there something that God is asking you to step away from that might be good, but not great?  Maybe your “no” will be just the open door someone else has been asking God for. 

Take Care

Colouring 101

As a little girl, one of my favourite pastimes was colouring… and you can bet I worked hard at colouring inside the lines. I would spend hours carefully choosing which crayon to use and would do my utmost best to create that perfect picture.

The Crayola box of 64 colours was my favourite. Suddenly, our choices weren’t limited to 8 or 16 or even 24. A new box meant fresh crayons with no torn paper and sharp new points. They were in neat rows, all the same height in four sections of rainbows. There was even a sharpener on the back of the box. Sadly though, some of my crayons never lost their point because I didn’t use them. I favoured the pinks and purple, a couple of the greens, browns and, quite sparingly, the yellow. But raw umber? Not likely.  Ochre? No thanks.  Definitely not Salmon. Ewww!

The possibilities {or so we thoughtt}  were endless!

These days, I don’t use actual crayons or colouring books… I have a colouring app on my iPad.  

My app has a variety of patterns and with a tap of my finger I colour in the sections on the design I’ve chosen and there’s oh so many more than 64 colours to choose from. If the colour isn’t what I want, with a quick click, another colour appears. It’s fun to try new combinations and learn which shades complement each other and which ones are flat out ugly. 

Art is subjective, of course.

Colouring is one way I practice self-care. It’s a grace I’ve given myself. It’s one simple way for me to decompress. I find that when it feels like the world is moving too fast, colouring is a great way to slow life down and enjoy the freedom there is in creating something beautiful. 

How about you? Did you use all the crayons in the box?

Take Care

Misfits

After more than 50 years, the 1964 holiday special Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer is perhaps one of the best Christmas stories.

Narrated by Burl Ives, Sam the Snowman tells the tale of a young red-nosed reindeer who, after being teased and shunned by the other reindeer because of his beaming nose, teams up with Hermey, an elf who wants to be a dentist, and Yukon Cornelius, the prospector. They run into the Abominable Snowman and find a whole island of misfit toys. Rudolph becomes a hero when he guides Santa through the storm and enables him to deliver Christmas presents to children all over the world. 

During one of the scenes Hermey & Rudolph sing their song about being misfits. 

Sadly, I can identify with these two. There are days when I too feel like I am a misfit. Not quite fitting in, not one of the ‘in’ crowd, desperately trying to find my place. It's something I really struggle with, especially at this time of year.  Everyone {or so it seems} has plans to gather together and I admit to feeling left out.

Perhaps you too have felt this way a time or two? 

So let me remind you that even though it may feel like you’re a misfit and that you don’t belong ~ it’s simply not true… God has a plan, purpose and a path for each of us just like it says in: Jeremiah 29:11 {New International Version} {NIV}} “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Even us misfits!

Take Care

Movie Mayhem

As the Christmas season approaches, I look forward to watching all my favourites.

Somehow it really doesn't feel like Christmas until, I've watched most/all of them…

Which ones can't you miss?

Take Care 

Let the Countdown begin

Take Care 

#bethegift

In her book “The Broken Way” ~ the much anticipated sequel to One Thousand Gifts ~ bestselling author Ann Voskamp asks “What if you really want to live abundantly before it's too late? What do you do if you really want to know abundant wholeness”?

And it's gets one thinking. “What impact am I making”?

So when she shared this 

I knew it was something to try... and so, for the month of November, I made a conscious effort to #betheGIFT.

Take Care

Just one Word

At one time or another, usually around this time of year, we start looking at the new year and decide that it's time to change some things in our life. 

And we’re serious about it.

Very serious!

We make lists or even step-by-step plans. We share it with others. We make an earnest commitment to change and truly believe we will be victorious.

There's a name for this, you know ~ New Year’s Resolution. 

Many of us start out fully committed, and right around late February, possibly early March, resolutions are forgotten. So instead, many simply select one word to focus on for the entire year. Not a phrase, not even a statement ~ just one word. I've done this now for the past 5 years. 

But how does one get your one word?

I start by thinking, praying, and searching the Scriptures. Reflecting on one attribute I want to cultivate more of in my life. 

Your One Word can be anything. 

It might be an area you feel God is calling you to grow in or a fruit of the spirit you’d like to improve upon. It could even be a character trait you admire in others or an attribute of Jesus you’d to develop.

Choosing just one word can help provide clarity and give more focus throughout the year.

Take Care

It's Coming!

I love the story "How the Grinch stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss. 

Are you familiar with it?

It's the story of the Grinch, that lives on snowy Mount Crumpit, just north of Whoville, home of the merry and warm-hearted Whos. His only companion is his faithful dog, Max. From his perch high atop Mount Crumpit, the Grinch can hear the noisy Christmas festivities that take place in Whoville. Envious of the Whos' happiness, he makes plans to descend on the town and, by means of burglary, deprive them of their Christmas presents and decorations and thus "prevent Christmas from coming". However, he learns in the end that despite his success in stealing all the Christmas presents and decorations from the Whos, Christmas comes just the same. 

Christmas is coming!

And there is nothing we can do to prevent it. Not. One. Thing.  But rather than let the busyness of the Christmas season overshadow the presence of a holiday designed to celebrate God’s love and sacrifice, I should be preparing my heart to respond to Him out of love and gratitude.  

We’re ready for Christmas, not when we have all the gifts purchased, nor have the house decorated, the cookies baked, watched all our shows, or even sang all the carols.  We're ready for Christmas when we’re set to give all of ourselves to Christ.

Right in the midst of all the wrapping, baking, cleaning, gift buying, parade watching, concert attending, meal preparing busyness, take time to quiet your heart and rest your mind on true meaning of Christmas. 

So this Christmas, I'm not going to add worry, busyness or stress to my Christmas list of things to do.  I'm simply going to prepare my heart to receive the gift of every moment ~ no matter what the moment unexpectedly holds ~ as a gift of His love.

If you find this Christmas season is suddenly upon you, how will you prepare?  Is there room in your heart, in your life, for Jesus to come?

Take Care

Booklist

There's no such thing as too many books...

I may have mentioned a time or two, that I like to read.  So I thought I'd share what I've read this year so far.

Things I wish I'd known ~ Linda Green

The beach house ~ Jane Green
The best revenge ~ Stephen White
See me ~ Nicholas Sparks
The guest room ~ Chris Bohjalian
All dressed in white ~ Mary Higgins Clark
NYPD Red. 4 ~ James Patterson
Passenger ~ Alexander Bracken
Invisible ~ Carla Buckley
Winter ~ Christopher Nicholson
The forgotten room ~ Karen S. White
Breakdown ~ Jonathan Kellerman
The things we keep ~ Sally Hepworth
That summer ~ Lauren Willig
A long time gone ~ Karen S. White
The time between ~ Karen S. White
What doesn't kill her ~ Carla Norton
Beside myself ~ Ann Morgan
A girl's guide to moving on ~ Debbie Macomber
Sea change ~ Karen S. White
Lie in plain sight ~ Maggie Barbier
The girls she left behind ~ Sarah Graves
Winter at the door ~ Sarah Graves
Far from true ~ Linwood Barclay
Hush hush ~ Laura Lippman
Without a trace ~ Colleen Coble
Once upon a lie ~ Maggie Barbieri
Lies that bind ~ Maggie Barbieri
Darkness ~ Karen Robards
The widow ~ Fiona Barton
The good goodbye ~ Carla Buckley
The Inn at Ocean's Edge ~ Colleen Coble
Goodnight June ~ Sarah Jio
Tell no one ~ Harlan Coben
Drawing dead ~ Andrew H. Vachss
After the storm ~ Linda Castillo
My name is Lucy Barton ~ Elizabeth Strout
Corrupted ~ Lisa Scottoline
The other widow ~ Susan Crawford
The obsession ~ Nora Roberts
Not guilty ~ Patricia J. MacDonald

As time goes by ~ Mary Higgins Clark

Hide away ~ Iris Johansen

The last anniversary ~ Liane Moriarty

Fool me once ~ Harlan Coben

Wilde Lake ~ Laura Lippman

15th affair ~ James Patterson

Cop Town ~ Karin Slaughter

Gone again ~ James Grippando

Notorious ~ Allsion Brennan

Beware that girl ~ Teresa Totem

Most wanted ~ Lisa Scottoline

Fear nothing : a novel ~ Lisa Gardner

The queen of new beginnings ~ Erica James

Still mine : a novel ~ Amy Stuart

Before the fall ~ Noah Hawley

Killer ambition ~ Marcia Clark

The black box ~ Michael Connelly

A certain age ~ Beatriz Williams

The weekenders ~ Mary Kay Andrews

Tick tock ~ James Patterson

The silver star ~ Jeannette Walls

Guilty minds ~ Joseph Finder

Night and day ~ Iris Johansen

Truly madly guilty ~ Liane Moriarty

I'm thinking of ending things ~ Iain Reid

You will know me ~ Megan Abbott

Sting ~ Sandra Brown

The one that got away ~ Leigh Himes

Curious minds ~ Janet Evanovich

Turning Thirty Twelve ~ Sandy James

Bullseye ~ James Patterson

Turn of mind ~ Alice LaPlante

Last to die : a novel ~ James Griippando
Lying with strangers ~ James Grippando

The house girl ~ Tara Conklin

Damaged ~ Lisa Scottoline
Behind closed doors ~ B. A. Paris
First Come Love ~ Emily Giffen
Everybody has everything ~ Katrina Onstad
Six Years ~ Harlan Coben
The kitchen house ~ Kathleen Grissom
Deepest Secret ~ Carla Buckley
The Lawyer’s Lawyer ~ James Sheehan
The Perfect Girl ~ Gilly Macmillan
The Happiness Dare ~ Jennifer Dukes Lee
The Kept Woman ~ Karin Slaughter
Touch & Go ~ Lisa Gardner
She's not there ~ Joy Fielding
Uninvited ~ Lysa Terkerst

Almost 100. 

Take Care

Winter is coming!

Like it or not, for most of us the cold weather arrives good and solid, long before the first day of winter on December 21st.

Winter weather is more than just icy roads and cold temperatures. Living with fibromyalgia and my other health issues, wintertime blues are simply a fact of life.   A stormy sky or a sunny day can affect and impact my mood and ability to get outdoors. Rainy and windy weather can intensify pain and other symptoms.   Pain can be difficult to live with at any time, but when combined with cold temperatures, it's magnified.

And winter is fast approaching!  {especially after this weekends wintry preview}

Sometimes I forget that all of life is a journey.

It sounds silly, I know.

I get stuck in the season, lodged in a rut, or have a zoomed-in focused on the frustrations of the day-to-day.

Sometimes, the journey through winter feels like forever. The cold lingers and the snow continues to fall. We try to keep up with everyone and everything, pushing ourselves beyond our limitations… and it isn’t easy.  Whether it's because of the cold weather, minimal sunlight, shorter days, or if you're like me, when the air takes on a bit of a chill I often experience a rise in Fibro flares. 

Surviving the winter cold can be a difficult time for many of us.  Especially if you happen to live in good ole Huron County, where freezing temperatures are the norm for months on end. 

Now, I don’t share these details for pity or sympathy and I am oh-so-aware that so many struggle with issues far more significant and devastating.

But here's the thing, I want to be content in the months to come… and thank God for the journey. Thank Him for His gentle leading, for His gracious provision, and for guiding me through another wintry season.  

So with winter just around the corner, I'm going to slow down a little more and allow myself more times of rest.  Taking it one day at a time and enjoy the journey through this season.

Take Care

Who I am

After yesterday's post, I found it ironic {not really} that I stumbled across this;

And it gave me the reminder needed, of not only who I am, but whose.... perhaps you need this too!

Take Care

Just Be

I don't know about you, but I’m constantly tempted to compare myself to others.  

And I always fall short.

I’ll see someone doing well and think, “Why are they so much better than me”?

I’ll read a thought-provoking or insightful article and wonder, “Why can’t I write like that”?

But I don’t stop there.  It’s awful some of the stuff I tell myself.

Am I the only one?

Nothing good comes from comparing ourselves to someone else. Not one thing. 

God has a plan for each of our lives. This doesn't mean that your life will be perfect, but He does have a plan. He made you the way you are, He created you for a purpose, and He doesn't want you to waste your life thinking of what you don't have, but to be content with what you do. 

In Romans 12:6a {New International Version {NIV}} we are reminded “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.”

Be who you are, my friend.  And I will too!

Take Care

hello monday

maybe you’re in a rough season like i am? one where mondays get the best of you every. single. week.

it’s too easy to become discontent with the routine of everyday living that is fixed on the ordinary and the mundane.  dusting, washing, shopping, scrubbing, sweeping, cooking, cleaning ~ lather, rinse and repeat …

i don’t know about you, but i want to be content with what i have. where doing the daily ‘stuff’ has purpose and value.  where it's ok to love the ordinary, to find contentment in the mundane.

today is a brand new day.  

an opportunity.  

maybe you’re spending your monday wishing it were a different day.

and it can be, you know.

today is the day.

and it is what you make of it.

hello monday, i’m glad you are here.

Take Care

A little Grumpy

It’s been a week since we switched from Daylight saving time ~ and for a week I’ve been feeling quite grumpy. 

Do you ever have those days weeks where nothing seems to be going right and no matter what happens, you just feel cross? 

This whole week, I found myself discontent with more than one thing. And then it just seemed to snowball from there.

I don’t know if it was because of the time change, hormones, or a bad mood, but whatever the reason, I just wasn’t at my best. 

In my head I was thinking about how I do everything around the house {which isn’t at all true} and all I wanted was my husband to appreciate all that I do for him. {which he does} I was determined to think of a way get a verbal “thank you” from my husband. 

Right in the middle of that thought God reminded me that “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24  
{New International Version {NIV}}

yikes! 

It took almost a minute for that verse to sink in… 

The Lord sees what I do when no one is looking, but He also sees my heart while doing it. My heart should sing praises to Him knowing that I am serving my family all for His glory… not for my own.

Take Care

Lest we forget

Thank you to all those who did not back down!

Take Care

All things Pumpkin

With October Pumpkin month behind us, I thought I'd share a few of my favourite pumpkin recipes:

Pumpkin pie oatmeal

Pumpkin muffins

Pumpkin crumb cake

What's your favourite pumpkin recipe?  

Take Care

Joy in the everyday

How was your weekend? 

Mine was fairly quiet.

I spent some time working on a couple posts. And I spent Saturday night on the couch watching the “Back to the Future” trilogy. Yes. All three. Because who doesn’t like Marty McFly and time travel? 

And with the extra hour, we knew we’d had time to get them all in… I also enjoyed a Sunday afternoon taking a lovely walk along the trail.

So today, I ran errands. Grocery store, library, bank, and so on….

And I cleaned. Not my favourite. But sometimes a girl just has to do the things that gotta be done. And to be honest, I do like having a clean house.  

You know, I love a quiet life. 

As an introvert, I’m finding it’s nice to just be a homebody on most days. There’s a graceful rhythm in tending to the ordinary things of life. 

Did you know there can be great contentment found in the quiet?

Take Care

Time Change

It's that magical time of year again when we get to set our clock backs by one hour.  

Daylight Saving Time comes to an end...

so before you go to bed tonight, remember to “fall back” by setting your clocks back one hour and allow yourself,

one hour more of blissful sleep

one more hour of watching tv

one more hour to read that book that needs to be returned to the library

simply one more hour... 

what will you do with it?

Take Care

Being ok

I like to be part of things. I like to take part, to show up, to join in, to be in the club. I suffer from a little bit of FOMO – the Fear of Missing Out. 

Recognizing your problem is the first step, right?

You hear about FOMO a lot these days. In fact, the word was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013.

We are busy. We have so many obligations. And every one of them important. 

Really important. 

We are constantly in contact with everyone. We are inundated with news stories, personal highlights ~ all giving us something else to do, to think, to feel.

We are tired.

I am tired.

Because the reality is, I can’t.

Not today.

Today I don’t have it.

Today isn’t the day to fake it until you make it.

I’m losing perspective and letting FOMO drive me, often blindly, to do things I don’t even really want to do, because I'm afraid of missing out.
So rather than thinking FOMO ~ let’s change it to JOMO {Joy of Missing Out} and spend our days. Nights. Weekends. Not worrying about what everyone else is doing. But enjoy doing what we like.

Because half the time I don’t really want to go anyway. 

Take Care

November is...

Diabetes awareness month… and I'd like to take a moment to recognize our youngest son 

who for the past 13 years deals everyday with Type 1 {juvenile} diabetes. Which for those of you who might not understand this ~ it means he give himself a needle 3-4X  a day.  

Everyday. 

Because without insulin, {a hormone that helps your body to control the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood}, the sugars in food cannot get into the cells to do its work. It simply stays in the blood, causing high blood sugar levels.  Which he needs to test for multiple times in a day. 

Everyday. 

Thankfully there has been many advances made in diabetes care over the past decade with hopefully more to come.

Even though it’s been over 13 years ago since he was first diagnosed, I am no less scared or concerned.  I've written a little about our journey,  but he doesn’t like for attention to be drawn toward him.  Or for me to make a big deal about this.  

I just needed a little reminder to put on my grey ribbon in honour of our son and others who live with this diagnosis.

I am thankful however, that even though diabetes is a part of his life, it will never BE his life.

Take Care