Where You'll Find Me

This winter, you'll probably find me...

sitting in this chair...

poking my nose in a book
 (a little light reading for your January-Ezekiel and History of the South)...

grading lots of papers...

savoring sunrises...

posting on Instagram!  

watching Fixer Upper in 30 second intervals because that's as fast as my computer will make it happen...

hoping on a snow day...

counting gifts....

1001. Christmas break with College girl

1002. Good weather to travel

1003. Ham soup

1004. Organized cabinets and drawers

1005. Big Red  making drawer dividers just because I asked nicely.

1006. A savings plan after some unexpected expenses

1007. Seeing my mother over the holidays

1008. Some sunny weather for a walk

1009. Cat in my lap

1010. Tea kettle whistles

1011. An unexpected affirmation from a sweet new friend

1012. Big worship in our tiny church

1013. Plans for monthly craft nights!

1014. Our home in candlelight
Following,
Ginger

Multitude Monday: Lists

I am a list-lover.

I'm not always good at following them, but I like them.

Organization eludes me, best intentions aside.

As our uber-busy summer flies by, I'm trying a different kind of list, a short and sweet one written daily in large letters on the chalkboard. 

Amazing the satisfaction one can derive from a chalk line drawn through a completed task!

List makers vary by style.  I manage my list with micro-tasks.  Fold one load of laundry.  Paint a door. Dust the living room.

Big Red's lists are global, sweeping vision statements to guide his long-range plan.  Clean the basement!  Landscape the yard!  Paint the whole house!

Today's gratitude list resembles Big Red's method more than mine.  They're the mammoth, underlying blessings that make the small ones possible; they dig deep roots that tether my wandering heart to my Rock. 

507.  The Lord calls me to believe Him, and He can be trusted.

508. He speaks to me, and He'll speak to me again.

509. The Old Testament undergirds the New.

510. God gives God.

511. The Word nourishes me.

512. The Word is sweet to me; I know it is feeding me even if the message is bitter.

513. Living Water leaps up in me and flows to others,

514. Jesus is beautiful to me.

Small Moment

So.

I was up at 5:30 am.  It's not even a school day.

Today was super-busy, and the rest of the week doesn't promise to be any slower with a birthday, college orientation, Bible study, and ongoing physical therapy on the calendar.

It's a week that could disappear in a flash, so I am slowing down to count gifts.

***

We made an impromptu visit to Asheville to visit my mother. She attends a large church with dynamic worship music which we enjoy but is often, um, lost on my 88-year-old mom!  In yesterday's service, however, the praise team sang a hymn she loved.

Over the crowd of voices, I could hear Mama singing.  Her voice is thin, a reedy version of her previously robust soprano.  

It was the loveliest of sounds.

I stood quiet to listen, swallowing down the lump in my throat.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus.

Look full in His wonderful face.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,

in the light of His glory and grace.

Today, I reread my list of gifts so far, all 488 of them.  Apparently I appreciate food, appliances, and the view from my porch.  Those seem to be recurrent themes.

Woven around the scones and coffee are tiny sparkling gems that illuminate time and reflect the face of God.

Small moments, and I am thankful.

Following,

Ginger

The Good Season

It's summer break here at the 'House.
That means watermelon season is upon us.
I would've taken a picture, but I ate it all before that occurred to me.
I followed up my watermelon appetizer with a lunch of pimento cheese, one of the great foods missed by millions simply because they are Yankees and have never heard of it.
Sad, really.

Simple pleasures, fruit and cheese.  As I've counted gifts this year, I've wondered at how many of them are small things.  I am blessed by minutiae of everyday life.
Yet, in this list of little things, there is large.
The large things are hidden by the tiny piled atop them.

For instance, # 439--"Breakfast out with daughter".

Oh, the significance of that small entry.

My girls tease me when I write about them.  "Mama just writes about how hard it is to have teens!"'

Well, it is hard.
As a friend wrestles with a tragic situation concerning a teen family member, I'm reminded that Jesus is the Only Hope we parents have.
The anxiety is real, and the fights are real, and the regrets are real, and the dangers are real.
There's nothing easy about this gig.

Over the years of parenting, I've asked God for some things, things I've begged to see in my household before my children fly the nest.
One of them will launch all too soon, and these last few months together have been a good season.

Hard (yes), but very, very good.

So "breakfast out" really means "the unfailing love and faithfulness of the LORD".

We've got challenges coming in these months of transitions; of that I'm sure, but we can say that we have seen the goodness of the Lord

I'm not sure who, if anyone, reads this blog, but this is for the weary mamas, the struggling daughters, the ones who wonder if it will ever be better.  What I can say to you is this: I have been there.  There are buckets of tears with my name on them, and there are probably several more sitting on ready, but Jesus will not waste them.  He'll redeem them.  They will lead to my good and His glory, and whatever glorifies Him will have been worth it.  
His unfailing love and faithfulness, His grace and truth, turn breakfast into Bread and Wine.

For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

    and I walk in your faithfulness.

Psalm 26:3

 Following,
Ginger

Multitude Monday--It's March Already Edition

For about 3.5 seconds this afternoon, the skies were blue, the sun was shining...
and the temperature was a breezy 37 degrees.
Yeah.
It was 61 degrees when I left home this morning, if that tells you anything, and I had already changed clothes three times trying to get out the door.
(Volatile weather + volatile hormones.)
Winter and spring begin their annual wrestling match.
Do you ever have one of those going on in your heart, or is it just me?
One moment warmth and hope, the next cold and grumpy.
(See hormonal comment above.)
So I am grateful for gift-counting; it makes me concentrate on the good, search dilgently for the joy, hold onto hope.

244. Good conversations with teens.
245. Worship with our small group.
246. Watching a student's aerials performance over the weekend. Stinkin' amazing.
247. Having a student who wanted her teacher to come see her aerials performance. :)
248. Skinny chicken parm. Oh, yeah.
249. Coaching responsibilities for Big Red pausing for a season.
250. Indoor exercise on a blustery day.
251. Being introduced by my very best friend as "my very best friend".
252. Our God is an Anchor.
253...and a Mighty Fortress
254. He's amazing.
255...and He hears our praises.

Following,
Ginger

Three Word Wednesday: Not Feeling It

It would be grossly unfair for me to call this last few weeks a hard eucharisteo.

So, forgive me; I teach middle school and I have teenage girls, so let's chalk it up to the company I keep.

(Or my natural propensity for drama...that could be it. Maybe.)

In the real, no-kidding hard eucharisteo moments, when the pain is breathtaking, it's almost as if I'm searching for gifts under a microscope.  I'm desperate for hope, desperate for Jesus to heal--

and the small becomes Divine.

Then there are days (like today)

 when busy and tired and discouraged are duking it out for Adjective of the Day, 

and my brain is like so much mashed potato, 

and I can't see any gifts because I'm not looking.

Those days I'm looking for a little drama.

The warm bowl of oatmeal with toasted almonds and cranberries doesn't have enough pizazz

 (and besides, haven't I written that down already?)

In John's gospel, there are lots of folks looking for a little more action.

Water to wine? Yesterday's news.

Bread for thousands? Yeah...but what have You done for us lately?

So Jesus calls their bluff.

How about what you really want need?

How about Living Water, Bread of Life, New Wine?

Only, you don't just consume it; It consumes you.

The Lord tells His people,

"Be still and know that I am God."

(and...we stop there because that's all that fits on a coffee mug or a wall plague.)

and we I miss the last part:

"I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted on the earth."

That should be enough drama for anybody.

So my list of gifts grows by (a very, very, super-exciting, uber-important) one:

244. His Name is exalted in all the earth.

Amen.

Following,

Ginger

Three Word Wednesday

Mulitude Monday:The I Can Imagine It Will One Day Be Spring Edition

Happy Monday!

Believe it or not, our school system managed to eck out a few days of Winter Break despite some snow days, 

so here I am at home again on a Monday. 

I must confess I love being home on Monday.

It's almost...decadant,somehow, like an orange cream cheese scone.

It's a gift.

204. The whole world coated in sugar frosting.

205....but now it's melted! #IlovetheSouth

206. Milder weather for a few days

207. Being able to take my walk outside without icy winds and/or mud puddles

208. House church meeting here yesterday--I love opening my home.

209. New faces in our group--with two of the best-behaved children I've ever met.

210. A friend being able to begin college classes again.

211. Red in the morning--even if it is "shepherd's warning".

212. Tree silhouettes.

213-214. Heavy red fleece and bright green top for a total of $6. I love thrifting!

215. Purple flowers from the grocery store

216. Pinterest..and pinterest projects done!

217. Teen having lunch with a friend

218, A whole day planned with my friend on Wednesday!

219. PW's sour cream pancakes

220. hugs from a 14 year old!

222. Teen-meltdown-crisis that ends in laughter and forgiveness

223. Pain in my back much better

224. " Truth...is God's very reality revealing itself--occuring!--in Jesus." (quoted in The New International Commentary on the New Testament)

What are you counting today?

Following,

Ginger

Linking here

When Winter Makes You Weary

It's a white world out my window.

If forecasts are to be trusted, we might as well get comfortable, for we are about to be officially snowed in.

While part of me loves a good snow day (or two), worries over losing power and worries over losing test prep time at school tend to spoil the fun for grown-ups.

The truth is this: February and March are hard for me, bad weather aside.

I'm weary, the kids are grumpy, the assignments are backing up, and the pressure to get through it all is mounting.

Last week, the coach (facing his own issues with weather and work) and the students who live here claimed the computer. 

 I confess I was secretly glad because discouragement had swept in like a polar vortex, and I simply had nothing of worth to say.

Psalm 40:16-17

 But may all who seek you

    rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

    say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

 I am oppressed and needy!

May the Lord pay attention to me!

You are my helper and my deliverer!

O my God, do not delay!

Today, with a prayer to bless the Lord, to focus on truth, to call the seclusion and silence of this snow rest, I am counting gifts.

183. Spending last weekend with my mom.

184. Being in the car with teens--and enjoying it!

185. Power still on!

186. Laughing with my witty children.

187. Salted caramel brownies. Oh, my.

source

188. Marshmallow cocoa.

189. Big, fat snowflakes.

190. Arm-knitting, which is kind of like magic.

191. Better library books after a few weeks of duds

192.It doesn't matter how I ask the question; Jesus is still the Answer.

193.The Living Water is deeper than the well.

194.Grace...instead of grace.

Following,

Ginger

Linking up at Multitude Monday...even though it's Tuesday

Tuesday at Dark Thirty

It's Tuesday, dark and early,

and I've exercised (go, me) 

and made the coffee...

and school got cancelled.

Ah, well.

No sleeping in for me on our predicted snow day.

Instead, I sit in pre-dawn darkness and count blessings, 

a day late by Blogsphere standards

 because I spent yesterday evening

blessed by a long conversation with my best friend.

(She's also my hairdresser--long talks and fresh color for the win!)

 Regardless of the day of the week,

are you counting gifts?

Seeing small helps me live large.

140. snow day!'

141. heat

142. a good night's sleep in a warm bed

143. just a hint of flavored coffee mixed with French roast--yum

144. Lemon Cheesecake Muffins--'cause who doesn't need another lemon muffin?

145. watching sisters hug one another willingly!

146. long conversations with a friend

147. a friend who immediately "gets" your dream

148. the discipline of early exercise

149. watching God's people step up to the plate to meet a need

150.  Hearing my mother's voice on the phone

Following,

Ginger

Linking up with Multitude Monday

Gifts

One of the things I love about photography is that it taught me to see.

Angles, light, shadow--pictures form in my head even when my camera isn't in hand.

Counting gifts teaches seeing. 

John 1 says "we have seen His glory"--

and I wonder, what if that is not just for disciples who saw Him in the flesh;

what if it is also for us, that with vision, we also could see His glory.

Lord, teach me to see.

It's Monday, 

and a day off from school (yay),

 and I am relishing this day at home and counting gifts.

#101-#111

101. Mama doing so much better!

102. frost so heavy it looks like snow

103. fire in the fireplace

104. Lemon Pound Cake muffins

105. a rainbow of fruit in a wooden bowl

106. my bifocals ;0

107. someone speaking His Word to my child--and she listened

108. The Word will win because the Light wins

109.Tiny blossoms on baby's breath

110. sleeping in

111. Jan Karon's books--like comfort food for my mind

112. the earache and snow that kept me from visiting Mama this weekend wasn't around when she had her surgery

113. Jesus made His tabernacle with me
Following,
Ginger

A Formula for Gratitude

In studying 1 Thessalonians, I get hung up over in chapter 5:16-18 on three of the simplest verses in the whole book.

Rejoice always,

pray without ceasing,

in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Easier said than done--or is it just me?

Yet, these things are God's will in Christ Jesus for me, 

so He will make it possible for me to do those things.  

In me, impossible.

In Him, all these things possible.

This morning I read a quote from Charles Spurgeon that brought these verse together for me.

"When joy and prayer are married, their first born child is gratitude."

Joy + prayer = gratitude.

When I seek joy with a heart that's in continuous communication with my Father, gratitude for Him will flow.

Eucharisteo precedes the miracle,

but chairo (rejoicing) and proseuchomai (praying) precede eucharisteo. 

I love that.

I did some gift-counting in 2013, but I'm starting my list over and working toward 1000 in 2014.

  (I gave myself a head start.)

1. warm house

2. cold winter sunshine

3. blue skies

4 hot coffee with cream

5. gluten free banana bread with coconut

6. the hands that made the bread

7. raspberries from our summer garden

8. Big Red

9. a new, gentle alarm that makes me smile (a little) when it goes off

10. DD#2 and her sense of humor

11. under warm covers

12. a plan for the paper clutter that tries to eat my house

13. Hillsong's Aftermath album

14. a plan for Sunday morning

15. hot soup

16. electricity

17. a paycheck

18. giving

19. & 20 two of my favorite sisters in Christ

21. a job

22. blue mason jars with white daisies

23. 1 Thessalonians

24. God gives God.

25. All I really need I already have in Christ

26. I am His and He is mine

27. What He starts, He'll finish

28. bacon

29.& 30 appliances to make life easier

31. a new journal

32. years of old journals

33. onions cooking in olive oil

34. morning dark

35. first light

36. a clean floor

37. the testimony of the year

38. snow day!

39. Jesus Project verses

40.  Jesus was in the Beginning

41. The Word is God.

42. Sunday morning worship with our little group

43. morning quiet in my house

It's a long list!  Keep me accountable for counting!

Following,

Ginger

In Which I am Thankful for Cat Litter

One of my gift-counting goals is to learn to look at the flip-side of things to see the blessing.

That's sounds Pollyannaish (Look on the bright side!), but I don't mean it that way.

I want to see through the eyes of the sovereignty of the mighty and good God Who really does do all things well.

I want to major on majors and quit letting minors eat my lunch.

Take, for example, when an entire Chic-Fil-A mocha milkshake spilled under my car seat.

I'm thankful for the grace to stay calm.

I'm thankful I was on the phone with my sister, and her brilliant mind went into action.

She suggested cat litter (it absorbs liquid and odors), and I'm thankful I still had some in the basement.

I'm thankful I'm not the teen who needs money and therefore will be stuck outside in the cold today vacuuming it up.

*wink*

Following,

Ginger

-------

83. I know He's with me

84. Christmas music at the end of this week

85. updating my phone this week also--hopefully no more daily battery issues

86. warm house

87. baking

88. finding some gluten-free recipes that will help me feel a bit less left out

89. a week at home!  I love being at home.

90. secret Christmas crafting

91. Thanksgiving--my favorite

Multitude Monday: Still Counting

In a season of transition, 

I know the response of my flesh is panic, clinging to what is familiar with my fingernails. 

 I get angry

 and lash out

 and feel the tears rising--

which is why this response shouldn't surprise me in my teen.  

It came to me yesterday in a moment of conflict that I need this infusion of gratitude

 because I need to model something different 

than what I have taught in my weakness. 

 I  want my children to respond in thanks to the myriad of graces.

  So must I.

----

51. Saturday sunrises

52. a true cold snap

53. air in my lungs as I walk

54. frost

55. sapphire sky

56. orange leaves and light reflected on water

57. a good word from the Word

58. our house

59. early oranges

60. gluten-free pumpkin-chocolate-chip muffins that make me happy

61. a whole Saturday at home

62. a productive day at home

63. boots

64. a mustard yellow scarf

65. going to work

66. a good, free, online commentary of the Bible

67. knowing He fills my hunger 

Following,

Ginger

The Gratitude Project

At just the right time--which is like, years behind the rest of the known world, I am reading One Thousand Gifts.  

It is eating my lunch.

Now that I, today, have said and done the absolute last thing I can say or do about some hard things,

 it is time for me to move on to some serious joy.

May I admit something?

This year I was a gift-counting drop-out.  And a scripture-memory team drop-out. 

 I made it through March on the first one and into June with the second.  

(Long about the time things slammed the wall around here, but that's neither here nor there.)

It's been intense.  I am tired.  

I need an IV--intravenous gratitude, a blood-level reboot that infuses my heart, soul, and mind.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

I need to think on these things.

--------------

1.trees along the fence line

2. walking

3. trees with all three colors of leaves

4. fall blue sky

5.dates with Big Red

6. watching a teen become more thankful and more thoughtful

7. being able to restore relationship with a prickly teen

8. Saturday morning

9. money for groceries

10. money to give away

11. woodsy, piney rosemary

12. spinach in the garden

13. baby broccoli heads

14. garden beds

15.eyes to see

16. ears to hear

17. a heart to understand

18. a Savior willing to heal me.

19. this song

20. words--poesm, songs, alliteration--how lovely that all that is possible

21. six-word autobiographies

22.blogs and blog friends

23. dishwashers

24. coffee makers

25.food to prep into make-ahead meals

26.a few more weeks of sunrises thanks to the time change

27.planning for Christmas

Following,

Ginger

Turn a Frown Upside Down: Gratitude and Perspective

That title sounds like a kindergarten teaching unit and a theological discourse collided!

Be that as it may, this month I've been meditating on Philippians 2:4: "Do everything without complaining or arguing."

Note to self: verse selection = a test on the subject.  Just sayin'.

As spring fever and state testing dominate our work week (talk about worlds colliding), girlfriends, I need help with that not complaining part.  Woo-wee.

So, without further ado, I present perspective, gratitude style.

I'm thankful for:

--a job doing something I enjoy.

--tests (and students) that keep me humble, seeking new ideas, and challenged.

--spring weather while I finish my last few days of car-rider duty!  

--longer days that make evening errands more pleasant; coming out of pastor search meetings with streaks of sunset in the sky is far superior to driving home in deary darkness.

--rain when new chartreuse leaves glow against ebony tree trunks

--sunshine after rain

--girls that speak their minds (even if they need to adjust tones) and think about issues and ideas

--a small group at church that prays with faith and power and challenges me to ask God for great things

--a worship team who lets me join in

--friends who speak words of blessing and perspective

--a godly husband

--laundry, because it means we have clothing--more than we need

--dishes, because they mean we were well-fed

--grocery shopping and yes, even Walmart (okay, maybe not) because we are able to purchase what we need

--the library, which might be one of the most perfect wonderful of inventions ever.

--delphinium and peony plants that may, Lord willing, bloom and grow.

What's given you some perspective this week?

Be blessed, 

Ginger 

Hello, Monday

Hello, Monday, the only day of the week that I seem to manage a blog post lately.  What is it about late winter that sucks the deep thoughts into a deep pit?

Hello, winter.  We've met, haven't we?  You're killing me.  More accurately, you're killing my hydrangeas, and that will never do.

Hello, Easter songs.  You're a mix of old and new this year, and I am really looking forward to Sunday.

Hello, Zion album.  On repeat.

Hellooooo...spring break-next-week!  Can you hear me?  Hurry and get here quickly!

Making it to 100 today!

100.  My siesta scripture memory spiral

101.  Good times with Big Red

102.  An unexpected lunch date with friends and lots of laughs

103. Having my teen admit (kind of, sort of, and definitely reluctantly) that her mom was....right 

104. Hillsong

105. Heaters

106. Jeans week at school 

107. Some kids in my last period class that make the day better, every day.

108. Clean clothes

109. Clean clothes folded

110 Clean clothes folded by someone else

111. A super-sanitized refrigerator, courtesy of Big Red, who takes his cleaning seriously.

112. An hour-long massage--an much-appreciated birthday gift!

113. Hazelnut lattes

114. Blog friends    

What's on your Monday list?

Be blessed, 

Ginger

 Linking here.      

Hello Mulititude Monday: the Let's Pretend It's Spring Edition

Hello/goodbye weekend temps that had us fooled!  For a day or two, we could believe spring was coming.

Hello, cold. Again. 

Hello, same sweaters.  Every year I say I'm going to find some "springier" styles to help me through the March/April wardrobe blahs, but I never get around to it.  Now all the stores seem to think it's June.

Hello, $20 prom dress!  *Fist pump*  You're gorgeous enough without the phenomenal price tag, but I'm so thankful for it! (And so is my girl, who was pretty darn excited to find you.)

Hello, Easter mantel.  I'm showing you off later this week. (I need all the blog help I can get these days!)

Counting my blessings, one by one:

 88. Gifts from God that make little things joyful--like consignment store prom dresses!  I love that He shows up in the small.

89. Great worship services

90. The complexity and perfection of the Word--breathtaking

91. The veil was torn!  Hallelujah!

92. Birdsong

93. broccoli plants

94. enough carrots pulled from the garden to feed the Easter bunny and all his pals

95. hot chocolate with marshmallows

96. ...and whipped cream

97. a really good pen

98. a clean sheet of paper

99. birthday cards in the mail

Be blessed,

Ginger

Hello Monday: Back to Blessings and Blogging

Hello, Monday!

Hello, winter!  Isn't your time about up?

Hello, daylight savings time! I'll like you...eventually. Today, not so much.

Hello, dark-drive-to-school.  You're one reason I'm not a fan of this time transition.

Hello, library books.  I hadn't replaced you in a while (hello, huge library fine), but this weekend I went on a major reading marathon and immersed myself in fictional complications instead of real ones.

Hello, pastor search team.  Speaking of complicated things...

In the midst of this list lies another one, blessings all...

82. enough rain to replenish the earth

83. electricity!

84. a car that's paid for! and gets me to work each day

85. libraries

86. books...and more books

87. when God shows up and blows us away 

Be blessed,

Ginger

Hello, Monday--Back to Counting

Hello, Monday!

Hello, first day of winter break!  We heart you.

Hello, cold-that-won't-die.  How many times a day can someone blow her nose?

Hello, to-do list.  This sinus infection is making me unmotivated to tackle you.

Hello, sunshine.  Stick around, will you? 

Hello, crafting!  Working this retreat team is a perfect excuse to devote lots of time to you.

Counting gifts on this Monday:

71. washing machines to hum along and get the job done

72. warm houses

73. retreat teams

74. having a plan

75. being able to let go of the plan

76. cozy mysteries

77. clean clothes

78. paying off a car!!

79. "spring cleaning" even though it's not spring yet!

80. daffodils peeking out of cold ground

 

81. a gardener husband

  Be blessed,

Ginger 
Linking here

Tuesday=Monday

Monday was insane, crazy, over-the-top busy.  So today I present...Multitude Tuesday!

(Teeming Tuesday?)

Counting my blessings, one by one:

56. My chair-It's old, it's no longer beautiful, but I love it.

57. Green daffodil shoots--Spring is a long way off, but I like seeing green.

58. Two superb new recipes that we've created/adapted--Greek mac and cheese and a sausage-potato-kale soup

59. Yogurt and granola

60. Blueberries

61. Nutella

(Yes, my 10:30 lunch was a while ago, and it is not yet suppertime!)

62. Ice day with power still on!

63. Sleeping 'til 8.

64. Some potential progress a long time coming

65. Anything by Selwyn Hughes; reading Christ-Empowered Living

66. Finding good books for $1

67. Stacks of old Victoria magazines

68. Tenth Avenue North and their insightful, penetrating lyrics

69. Apologies

70. Reconnecting with a friend

What's on your list today?

Be blessed,

Ginger