here and there...

You may have heard the little ditty...."Jimmy cracked corn and I don't care...". I have found myself so weary this past week, that was the remark that came out of my mouth as I traveled the freeways and interstates with my husband. Here and there...to and fro. To airports, to hospitals, back and forth.

And it is not my intention to dwell on the fact that the sunshine is on vacation...

Yet, there is so much good, and joy, and answered prayer swallowing me like a blanket. I want to abide in Him, fully, with trust and faith being stirred continuously.

Weariness has a tendency to grab my soul from time to time and joy flitters out the window...tweet, tweet. Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith... I am reading the book of Hebrews...rich words of power and strength.

Alan is in Thailand, settling in, I want to think so anyway. He likes it so far. And I am having to do things I said I have no interest in doing in order to communicate with him on a regular basis. We are figuring out how it will all work for everyone concerned, daily. Time changes and schedules make it interesting.

We received a phone call Thursday night around 10:45, the time I was just laying aside my sewing to go and take a shower...my mother-in-law had fallen, and it looked like she may have broken her hip. My husband and I packed a small overnighter and headed out to make the two hour drive to the hospital. I am thankful to report she has come through surgery remarkably well and is being transferred to a rehab center today.

Tomorrow brings another adventure. My beautiful daughter is turning 17 on Wednesday, so just the two of us are making a junket to Richmond for a couple days. She is a" museumy" type of gal and there are some museums she wants to visit in this city.

I told George I loved him today; I realized he has established residence in my heart now. I still miss my Penny sleeping beside me at night, George prefers sleeping on a bedside chair instead, but he is here to stay. Therefore, I scattered a few here and there photos of him, being George, and all.

sweet sprigs of lilacs

It was  one year ago yesterday.

She would have loved the fact that it is the time of blooming lilacs. She would have found equal delight in that I gather sprigs to bring inside and place in a teapot to remind me of her.

of cakes and planes

Traditionally, the saying "Let them eat cake" has had significance of some sort or another with historical figures and fancy breads. But for us this saying was found on a table awash in a variety of cakes at a reception held at the church for Alan. Alan left for Thailand today where he will be living in the suburbs of Bangkok teaching English to high schoolers, intending to stay there until next year.

 I baked six cakes, and two friends graciously baked the other three.

I never knew Alan would be my adventurous one, but it should not have surprised me considering how God has used Alan in such miraculous ways his entire life. This huge step is just an on-going follow-up to a life hid in Christ. We are going to miss him tremendously though. 

  My husband and I stood afar and kept our eyes fixed on him until he headed down the steps topped by the words, TO THE GATES. He is presently at the Kennedy International Airport on a six hour layover before boarding a jet that will take him from this country to another one far, far away. 

 Alan is fulfilling plans ordained for him by His Heavenly Father, 

therefore, a steadfast peace grips our souls.

April morn wonder

Just the words, April morn,capture a sense of beauty and wonder, but the startling fact of the matter gave credence on this particular day in my breakfast room. Maybe it is in the touch of warmer temperatures, the smells of blooming trees, the visual effects of colorful flowers and verdant grass, or the merry sounds of song birds giving joyful choruses, whatever, April is worth praising.

                           
                                     A smocking project being blocked...a blouse for Charlotte.

Show and Tell

 Ever since I was a child we had something called Show and Tell which everyone looked forward to at different times during the school year. So here I am now to relive those days and to show and tell you about  my latest  finished sewing project. My Smocking Guild group is full of ladies dripping in talent, and with this comes a display of ideas with things we should do as individual projects, to keep us sewing and learning new things. This past year, one of the projects we attempted to do was a book cover. You could use any fabric of choice, but I chose strips of natural colored silks sewn together and embroidered with threads of neutral tones. A book cover to gussie- up a photo album.

If you enjoy hand stitching, this would be a project well worth your time. It is so pleasing to hear the needle swoosh through the silk, and finding new stitches to practice on the seams filled many a winter evening. This is also a good take along project, and those of you who do this know how valuable and important that is while waiting for appointments or children who are in a piano lesson or such.

A memory keeper for sure!

the beekeepers

I love my macro lens.

Because then I was able to watch the beekeepers from afar, without worry of bee stings.

My husband and Witt spent every Tuesday evening during the winter months of January through early March taking a beekeeping class. The results are two beehives in my back yard. Witt will get his hives and bees the last weekend of this month, meanwhile he and my husband are becoming acquainted with these fascinating insects as they opened the hives yesterday afternoon to free the queen from her shipping box.

A honey producing acquaintance has begun.

a spring yarnalong

yarnalong, outside in the springlike weather

I have not been able to participate in Ginny's yarnalong these past weeks for the simple reason that threads, needles and fabric have been in my hands, as I have been sewing instead of knitting. But for the past two days I have made my own private sort of yarnalong, the unraveling of a summer top knitted three springs ago!  And you must not forgot the contributions of a dog, a cat and a six year old boy visitor in making even a more scrambly mess! I wish you could feel this Debbie Bliss Prima Cotton yarn though, very soft and cool to the touch. This is the reason I am taking my time to meticulously unravel it with the thoughts of knitting something else from it. The summer top I initially knitted from this yarn was beautiful and fit like a charm  until you reached the bottom end and then the proportions became completely awry. A simple sleeveless top pattern is what I am seeking to knit. And yes I am open to any ideas and suggestions, but only those that are tried and true.

It seemed only fitting to reach onto my book shelf and pull off a book written by Edith Schaeffer, in her memory. It has been many years since I have read this book and I am looking forward to revisiting it.  Entwined throughout its pages are scriptures as well as real life scenarios and examples from her own life or those she has known.

"...this book is dedicated to those who lives are a part of mine, including the wider circle of the family, who have been...and are...the human factor in my continuing process of learning-for I am still learning! These people are the human factor in all our learning, although, for those of us who know Him, the understanding the Lord gives cannot be measured an any way."

And that is only the dedication.

wherein we stand

"Therefore being justified by faith, 

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace

wherein we stand

and rejoice in hope

of the glory of God."

 Romans 5:1-2

Happy Resurrection Day!

I just heard...

Edith Schaeffer died yesterday.

Several of her books are a part of my library, and I can not recall a time when her books have failed to enrich parts of my life by drawing me to the Lord. Her practical and wise understanding of how to apply God's Word to the everyday always met me right where I was at any given moment. She was an excellent equipper of women in their ministry of home, church and community.

and a sword shall pierce...

 We got up early to drive a little ways to attend a funeral this morning, my husband's uncle had a stroke earlier this week.

 We arrived home in time for the ninth hour Good Friday tea. On the way home we stopped by Whole Foods Market to purchase a bread since I was unable to be home for the allowance of time needed for the yeast to rise in the hot cross buns. Powdered sugar crosses were added to the purchased Easter bread. 

And Charlotte, dressed as Mary, read in Luke chapter 2 

"Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own heart too."

Passion Week begins

The rain drips, drips incessantly. Venturing out to Sunday worship today, we pulled up the hoods on our raincoats, opened up bright umbrellas, and carefully stepped around the multitudinous assortment of rain puddles scattered in our pathway.

The mood is dismal and lugubrious this Sunday afternoon, reminding me of the sleepy disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane that evening, eyes that were droopy, nodding off...at an extremely crucial time in history.

Today the skies are grey. For three hours on the day Jesus died, the skies became ominously dark...I envision a midnight sky without benefit of moon glow.

The crowds made up of citizens from Jerusalem, along with the visitors from the outstretching countryside, jostled each other to be a part of what was going on that day in their midst. They  tossed their garments on the ground for the man entering Jerusalem on a donkey. Palm branches were waving, swishing in the faces of children and adults alike with voices lifted up as they sang joyful songs of praise and shouted out loud blessings.

I live on this side of the cruxifixion and the resurrection of my LORD and Savior. But I desire to see things in my days on this special week. Little things even that will cause me to stop, remember, reflect on His final week. Surely I will not miss it?