Love, Granny: March 2015

Sunday, March 29, 2015

One Little Girl and Her Palm Branch

Today is Palm Sunday.

One week before Easter

... when Jesus rode into Jerusalem

... the people cheered

... and waved their palm branches.

Lucy's Sunday School class waved their palm branches and

paraded around the halls today at church.

They were the crowd of people who welcomed Jesus into their community.

He was their Teacher ... their Healer ... their Leader.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dan & I took Jacqueline and the kids out to lunch... fast food since Jacqueline and Tag needed to get on the road to head back to the military base. The young boy who took our order was gracious and understanding as we have quite a crew between the ages of 3 and 53! After we ate, Dan was getting Tag all settled into his Momma's car while Lucy & I were finishing cleaning our table and putting on her coat. Lucy had taken in her palm branch because

"I need to tell everybody that it's Palm Sunday!"

{The heart of a 6 year old}

The boy noticed it on the table and picked it up. Lucy said "oh, that's mine." I said that she had gotten it in her Sunday School class since it's Palm Sunday. He looked confused and asked "what?" I explained to him about Jesus riding into Jerusalem 'the week before Easter' and the people cheered and waved their palm branches to Him.

The boy sheepishly said that he must have forgotten about it. He hasn't been to church in many years. As a young teen he'd let his hair grow out to below his shoulders ... the church leaders told his parents that the boy needed to cut his hair because he didn't

"fit into the church image." So, he left the church and never returned.

As Lucy and I were waiting on Dan to come back in, I began to tell this young boy ...

"I don't know of anyone that Jesus turned away."

He nodded and agreed.

I told him the name of our church and that "we meet over here at the movie theater just across the shopping center."

"Oh yeah! I know where you're talking about," he replied.

"You're more than welcome to come over any time... we're just normal people who live normal lives... and we all have a past."

He smiled and sighed with relief.

"Thank you. I may just do that sometime."

On the drive back to church ..... mmmmmm, movie theater .... to get Dan's truck, Lucy was telling her Grandad about the boy in the fast food restaurant ... that the young boy hadn't been to church for many years. Lucy told her Grandad...

"I can't imagine not being in church for so long! I sure hope we see him at our church -- because Jesus loves ALL people!"

Disclaimer ...

I know some people who are skeptical of others' experiences with "the church". I've heard some people simply say "well, I think people just look for an excuse to stay away from church! They're always welcomed and they just simply don't want to go to church!!"

And ... that could be true ... or not.

For whatever reason, there's people in our communities who have given up on churches.

Isn't it our responsibility to reach out to them?

To my knowledge, Jesus didn't pick and choose whom He would reach out to ...

so why should we?

Sometimes an outstretched hand is simply

a child

with a palm branch ...

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Thinking Tuesday ... On Being Tired

Today I am physically tired. Lucy & I had a very early wake-up at 5:15am (my normal wake-up but with only a couple hours sleep last night). We were on the road at 6am to go to their house 2 hours away. The 2 hour journey actually took us 3 hours ... and considering we were in rush hour, we were very fortunate that it took us only 3 hours (no stops along the way either). Our daughter & son-in-law had a 9am meeting that was explaining their med-board process, so I was staying with Lucy & Tag for the couple of hours

(which turned into 3 hours --- and we 3 had a blast!).

But ... Granny is tired.

But, it seems that all the adults in our household are all simply tired ...

This is a long tax season and Dan is wiped out. He works at least 12 hours at the office and another 4 hours here at his home office. It's now to the "stage of tax season" that he works 7 days a week. We know it's only for a "season" ...

but Dan is simply tired.

Our kids are tired. They've been on their wounded warrior journey for over 3 years now. 'Joe still hasn't gotten all the treatments that he's really needed. They have been told several differing processes from several different departments and still cannot get any clear-cut answers. They have been in an uphill battle (so to speak) for over 36 months ... they have 2 young children ... they need a vision of what their future is going to look like ... yet they keep getting conflicting information.

They are flat worn out tired.

If ever we as a family household were tired ... it is now. Or, as my Mother would say ...

we are worn to a frazzle

I'm not exactly certain what a "frazzle" is ...

but that's what we are ...

my household is that worn frazzle.

And so ... on my "Thinking Tuesday" ...

as I was driving back home by myself, I started pondering what it means "to be tired". Now, I truly was focused on the traffic ... watching my speed ... praying for safety & protection amongst the fast-moving motorists who needed to get to their destinations the same as I did.

But I was thinking what God's Word tells me of my tiredness and how He can use it for His good. Romans 8:28 promises that God will use all things to work for His good ... ALL things ... and I do believe that includes being tired.

Here are some verses that God brought to my memory as I came home today:

Matthew 11:28-30 ...

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

Romans 8:25-26 ...

But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us ...

Psalm 73:25-26

Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

... and so many times, Granny gets this whole concept of

my "tiredness" all wrong ... as hard as I try to do it all myself ... Paul reminds me

II Corinthians 12:9-11 ...

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

My Thinking Tuesday in a nutshell today ...

it's not me

it's not my strength

it's not for me to do alone ...

It's His strength working through my tiredness -- my weakness ... for Him.

You see, we never know who draws from our weakness or our strength.

Our future generations are looking to each of us as to how we handle situations ...

how we act -- react ... and WHO we draw our strength from.

And just as Joshua proclaimed whom he and his household would serve and draw their strength from ... so we do in our household as well:

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord ...

we draw our strength from Him

we rest in His arms when we grow tired

we proclaim Him always

I hope you all have a blessed week.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

My "Thinking Tuesday"

Okay ... so that's my little catch-phrase for the day.

It may stick or it may not.

But, here's how it came about ...

Tuesdays are the days that Lucy goes back to her house. I normally like to take the farthest leg of the trip when we meet, so the 120 mile one-way trip back home (alone) can bring about some good thinking time and praying time. I normally don't have any music or anything in the background without Lucy in the backseat. It helps me focus on the traffic around me and again -- some quiet time with my thoughts.

The quietness of our driveway last summer

So, in honor of my very first "Thinking Tuesday" post here's a few things that went through

my head today ...

{{could be boring or scary ... probably boring}}

** I'm always praying for safety and protection on this busy Interstate! I know -- not very "noteworthy" ... but there's always lots of traffic and only 2 routes that will go the direction we need to travel -- and both are always busy. {So maybe, if you think about it, please say a little prayer for everyone who travels and for their protection.}

** I'm slowly reading my way through Lysa TerKeurst's Made To Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire With God, Not Food ... Truth is, I've been really down on myself for not achieving my goal weight. A simple sentence from her book that I thought about so much coming home ---

Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.

By allowing "circumstances" to take over from my desire to eat healthier I have gained some "numbers" back from last year. But if I renew a focus on God instead of food & numbers, then I truly will be healthier in my walk with Him. At this point, I'm not a person who feels like I have to completely stay away from certain foods ... I just truly desire to set my eyes on God & His design for me rather than simply food.

Late January heading back-home

A few more thoughts ...

** I love Pollyanna -- she's perhaps one of the most misunderstood people (ummmm, "characters") who may actually need another look ... {more on her in another post}

** I thought big trucks were prohibited in the far left lane

** There's much of life's nuggets that can be found in watching movies/tv shows kids -- we can make these teaching moments for our little ones as well as ourselves ... {note to Granny -- need to finish watching Isabelle on DVR}

** The couple of things that I really want to accomplish this week is clean the kitchen, mop the floors, finish organizing the wash room, get that big tote out of the middle of our bedroom floor (and doing something with its contents), catch up on reading posts from my sweet blogging friends, workout everyday, crocheting, maybe try a little sketching (never been an artist, but who knows?),

write a couple more blog posts (I'm half-way there!) ...

okay -- maybe a little more than just "one" thing!

Hoping you have a blessed week, dear friends!

Mine and Tag's first dinosaur drawing from a couple weeks ago ... yeah -- he laughed too!!!!

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Celebrating His 53rd ...

I've had the honor of celebrating the past 31 birthdays with this guy.

We started dating in September 1983 ...

he turned 22 on March 9, 1984 ...

we eloped on May 16, 1984.

Lots of changes through the years ...
lots of "life" through the years ...
lots of us through the years.

Monday was a busy day at his office (corporate deadline coming up!) He met Lucy & me at her dance class & then off for a Sweet Frog birthday treat (Granny forgot to take pictures!) So, this evening (Wednesday), his office building had a mandatory evacuation so he & I went to dinner. Now home for the evening and he is settled in at his home office to do a little "offline" work ... their office may be "paperless" to a certain point but it's good for him to have hard copies to keep the work flowing! I love my husband & all that he does for his family. Here's a few pics through the years.

From the boy of the '80s who caught my eye one day in the hall at our high school ...

... the girl who adores her Daddy ...

... the little ones who simply love Grandad ...

... and I'm thankful that he chose me to share all of his birthdays with ...

I look forward to sharing many more birthdays with my husband!

Have a blessed week, my friends!

Thursday, March 5, 2015

On Being Deliberate ...

Sometimes life happens ...

okay, every-day life happens!

Too often I have simply allowed my days to get away from me. Being "semi" empty-nesters means that Dan & I have several days to ourselves -- depending on if the kids come down for the weekend or if we just get Lucy for a few days. Every week can be a different schedule for all of us. Many days I find when I am here at home while Dan is at his office ...
I am cleaning, straightening up from our visits, sorting & organizing, painting (I really have to get back to this project) ... well, you get the picture. I can allow my days to get away from me without really doing "anything".

So this is where I have begun with this year ...

on being deliberate

Here's a few areas in my everyday life on which I am on a simple endeavor

to be deliberate ...

Time management -- I'm the type of person who has always been task-oriented. From being a student with class projects, tests, assignments, etc ... to the various jobs I've had in which my daily responsibilities were pretty much laid out ... to my teaching days that I had to plan lessons and teach my kids ................... and now being a stay-at-home wife & Granny -- well, my days can certainly get away from me. I've made a few little organizational changes that are actually helping me lay out my days more effectively. There's always always always "things to do" around the house. But my deliberate "time management" brings my awareness to my forefront on "what" I do with my time ... from my time with God to my chores around the house to my writing & creativity ... so, yes I'm very aware that I'm the type of person who needs to spend my time deliberately.

Health -- This is the area in which I have been a bit lackadaisical. I've given up my gym membership because I cannot justify the monthly fee & going only a couple of days a week. So ... Dan I bought a treadmill and now I can workout anytime at home and watch tv or movies on our own television. (And I do use it several days a week anytime during the day.) And I am "more" deliberate on eating more nutritiously ... it's much easier to grab this or grab that, but I truly am more conscious on "what" I put in my mouth. {Reading Made to Crave by Lysa TurKeurst has helped me put my eating habits in perspective}. I'm really not a "creative" cook, but it's fun to try new healthy recipes cooking for two!

Mind -- The things I tend to clutter my mind with ... whether it's books, tv, movies, music, Internet ... I am becoming more deliberate with the "things" I put into my brain. We used to sing this song at church when I was a little girl "O be careful little eyes what you see. O be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love. So be careful little eyes what you see." And then of "little ears what you hear" and "little tongue what you say" and "little hands what you do" and "little feet where you go" and "little heart whom you trust" ... you get the picture. I've read over and over again Proverbs 16:1-3 {taking an excerpt here but please read the whole chapter} ... The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the spirits. Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established. Being deliberate in my mind is part of my overall attitude and effects not only me but my husband, family and everybody I come in contact with during the day.