a meaningful christmas season

Well, December is here. As I grow older I wonder, how can I go into the Christmas season and have it be more meaningful for me and my family and those around me. 

About five years ago or so I was in such a tizzy with "doing" everything. We were last minute Christmas shoppers that year and nothing suited me and I was just like, "this is not who I am or what I want to be." The rushed and hurried feeling is not one I do well. We also had no routine for the season, nothing that you could call a tradition, except go to the usual functions that we usually went to. It wasn't how I wanted to celebrate the season, it was too cold, too hurried and not always very meaningful. 

So, I purposed in my heart to make Christmas more meaningful and each year I try new things. I take extra care to find little ways to make the season more meaningful for my family and friends and myself. I'm not even sure they realize that I work at it, but nonetheless, I. do. try. 

One thing I like to do is invite family and sometimes friends to our little cottage on Christmas Eve and I use to cook the whole meal for all of us. The only problem that needed tweaking, because our family has been growing, is there is no room in my small kitchen to cook and entertain all at the same time for that large amount of folks, so we don't have a sit down dinner anymore, but we all bring snacks and appetizers. We share in bringing the food, and gift each other with wonderful eats and treats. 

On Christmas Eve we also all come with a wrapped gift and have a white elephant gift exchange. I believe we "hoot and holler" louder during this time than any other moment in the season. It is great fun. It doesn't matter what the gift is, just as long as we are together and having fun. 

As the evening progresses we play games around tables placed all through our little cottage. This year we have more room as we can utilize more of the basement since we are empty-nesters now. That is good news, we can spread out a little bit and have more fun. 

It is interesting how in four short years this has become a tradition that family members start asking me about as early as October. :) I think we would all miss our Christmas Eve together if we ended that tradition now. 

Another way I try to make the season more meaningful for the years to come is I purchased a regular tablet, there may even be a kitten on the front page, and each year I poke and prod everyone to write SOMETHING in that little tablet. For some it is a painful exercise, but I'm guessing that years down the line, that little tablet is going to be precious to all of us. We will be able spend time reviewing what we were thinking ten years back, maybe twenty years back. We can experience the children growing up and seeing what was important to them. It is a tradition I hope to hang on to, even if it isn't the most popular one. 

To make Christmas less hurried and scurried I also try to do most or all of my Christmas shopping before December 1. What a relief if I get this feat accomplished! 

Other, more personal ways I am cherishing the season is by listening to great Christmas music. I'm not talking the "holiday music" they play on the radio. You can go to Youtube.com and find some really, really good music on there. Type in a carol you especially like and listen to a few different versions of it. You can spend an hour or two relaxing and listening and watching some great productions, it can become a little worship service and meaningful. 

I am one of those who uses the Bible app on my Kindle Fire tablet and my smart phone. On the app you can find Christmas devotionals. I like laying in bed in the morning and reading through the devotionals for the day. I actually chose 2 different ones to follow and it just starts my day out right with remembering what the hustle and bustle is really about. 

I don't bake cookies and candies, so that is one less stress for me. There are enough other folks who do and I ALWAYS get my fill at various functions along the way. I chose to make other foods, I have several recipes that are my "go to recipes" for the season and I never tire of making a cheese ball or cooking up a batch of ham balls and pineapples. I find things to make that don't take a ton of my time and opt to make fresh things as we go to functions, rather than have the cookies and candies stashed away ready to go. It is a personal thing, I'm blessed that others do the cookies and candies. :) 

I also quit doing Christmas cards. I haven't fully come to grips with that idea, and feel shady when we receive cards from others. Each year that stack dwindles down though, and it is one of those things that are being left undone by many folks. I may pick this one back up, if my conscience keeps bugging me about this time each year. On a side note, I keep wanting to send birthday cards throughout the year to many folks who I would love for them to know I remember them and think of them. I will have to make this a priority in the upcoming new year, I think! 

We have one grandson. We feel, so responsible. Not for his total well-being, but to support his parents as they are raising him. We want Christmas to mean something to him which is not just about gifts and food, so last year I purchased a big pop up book with the Christmas story displayed, both in words and picture. Last year he was a little small and got bored, but I am looking forward to this year sitting together with our little family and first taking some time out to read the Christmas story to our little guy and for all of us to pause, and reflect on what the meaning of Christmas is really about. 

Personally, I love giving gifts, it is fun to think about the person and take time to think about what they might like and need, and then making the purchase, then going home and wrapping it up. I tie each gift with ribbon and bows. It is almost an obsession for me. It is part of the way I show folks who get gifts from us that I love them and want to package the gift up with a personal touch. I don't care if you don't, it is just part of the giving of myself. 

A few things I would still like to do is attend a Christmas Eve church service. Each year I find out where the services are being held, but we've never actually gone. I think it would be awesome to attend services as a family and then come home and finish the night with gifts and food. Maybe one year we will accomplish that. 

I also want to experience a sleigh ride. I think that would be so fun and our inner-children would definitely come out on a journey like that. Don't you think? 

Even more than all the things I want to do, I want to remember my Savior was born so I could have eternal life. How amazing is that? I don't want this season to go down with me just doing and doing and doing, but to also find me sitting quietly and experiencing and reflecting on and worshiping him. 

I wish you a Christmas season that is meaningful and full of worship to the King, with an added dose of  fun and fellowship in the mix. 

Lue

my church experience today

I feel compelled, somehow, to share with you of my day at church. 

My husband had been scheduled to make lattes at the cafe so he left for church before I did. All during my preparations of going to church I was listening to some of my favorite worship music and couldn't wait to get there. I was actually a few minutes late getting there, but still one of the first to enter our ABF room. 

ABF is Adult Bible Fellowship instead of Sunday School, but I sometimes still refer to it is Sunday School.

Soon everyone who was going to be there showed up and in the middle of the room, on the table, was a wine glass, a small pitcher of grape juice and a plate of matzo bread. We were going to have communion service, just our little class. 

In our ABF class we have a person leading out and a teacher. Our leader opened up and said that he had asked for permission of the teacher and our pastor, who is also in our class, if he could lead out in a communion service for our class. Both men consented and so our leader took the challenge and he did a very nice job of sobering our thoughts, and helping each of us come to the foot of the cross in remembrance of what the meaning of the cross really is about. Together we read the Bible, together we shared, together we prayed, and together our small class participated in communion. It was one of the sweetest, most unifying acts I've ever been a part of. 

After ABF class we entered the sanctuary and it was time to worship. One of the songs the worship team played always gets me. It was as if it had been ordained by God himself to have our worship leader pick that song to sing today. The words are powerful and such a reminder to me of who God really is. Please click on the link below and take a few moments to hear the words. Powerful! (This is not our worship team on the clip, but a good version of the song I found on YouTube for you to listen to.)

 Great I Am

Our pastor also delivered a powerful message of being a part of the church. He painted a wonderful picture, using art to remind us of how we all have to be a part of the church so that the whole thing comes together as God's plan was intended. He reminded us that the painter uses all kinds and shapes of brushes and colors to paint  his paintings. All of them are needed. Not just the fat brushes who do a lot of the work on a painting, but the little skinny brushes, that might only be used in certain areas to highlight the painting are needed as well. I was compelled to get up after the service and go fill out a little card asking to be on a certain team. As I went down through the list of teams we have in the church, this one just jumped out at me. If there are openings on that team for me to be a part of, we will see how that shapes up and what God has in store for me. 

Life is an adventure if you are following Christ. 

Now, to share my heart, really, share. I struggle with trust. We have been attending this church for several years and we have not become members because I keep holding back. I've been in various church settings where there were either folks slandering each other all day long, or Bishops throwing their authority around and making us conform even if we didn't agree, and in another church we used to attend they had three church splits while we attended their services. In a nutshell, I have not had the best experience in my church going history. I don't easily trust church people. Know what I mean? But in the past year or so I've been learning about church and what it looks like to be real with each other. I've had some of my best experiences in church, at this church, and each day I trust church people just a little bit more. It is like God is using this church to finally help me heal of all the bad experiences in the past. 

What I am feeling today, is uncommon. I'm not sure I can explain. I feel like I'm a part of "home". You know how that feels? I like that in our ABF class this morning there was a certain theme that folks kept coming back to, we all seem to want unity and an outpouring of love and sacrifice coming from our class. It is interesting how folks touched on so much of what has been going on inside of myself. It must surely be a "Holy Spirit" thing, no? 

Another part of what makes church feel like "home" to me is our Wednesday evening group. The gentleman leading this class is doing such a wonderful job of teaching and brings out so many truths and has shed light on some lies that I've believed for a long time. I wish I could explain the impact it has had on my life, because it has been such a relief and life changing for sure. 

So, what have I been learning? If you keep seeking and you open yourself up, God WILL help you figure things out. He will lead and guide you down the proper avenues so that you can become full and grow and learn. I've never been comfortable with staying the same. I feel so challenged every Sunday when I leave our church parking lot. Challenged to work on myself, and to become a better Christ follower. I don't care so much what folks think of me anymore, I just want what God wants for my life. I have no need to excel in everything in my life as I once did. I just want to live life as a better Christian and to be in unity with my fellow Christ followers and to love and sacrifice where it is needed. 

Lamentations 3: 22-26

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassion's never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord

Blessings all! 

Lue

A Few Random Thoughts on a Sunny November Saturday

Wow! 

Jam-packed full schedule of late. Did everyone have a nice Thanksgiving weekend? We were busy beyond measure. If I had my druthers, I would never be that booked full. I kind of get lost when I'm so busy, but tis the season and I never try to fight it too much, but try to go with the flow and then "let go" of other things. One thing I had let go of was writing blog posts. 

I missed writing, and like anything, if I don't do it much, then once I get back to it, it takes me awhile to warm up the creative muscles.

That's life.

My doctor told me yesterday that my blood pressure elevated and it is concerning enough that I HAVE to make a little bit of a lifestyle change. Insert sad face. I love to cook and bake. I love tasty foods. I love cooking for my family. 

I think I need a new hobby. I hope if I adopt a bland diet (low salt) then the creativity for my writing expands and it will all even itself out a bit. wink wink

{Please Lord.}

While on the subject of food. I found a new cooking show to watch. It is called "The Farmhouse Rules" and it shows on Sundays and I just love it. She was making bread pudding last week and I thought, "You know, I've always wanted to taste bread pudding, now is the time to make some." 

So, I did. I made bread pudding using The Farmhouse Rules recipe for it and it was absolutely delicious. I don't have a picture, I so wish I had taken a photo, but I was too busy, and forgot. It was beautiful, a nice dark color on the white cake plate. I did serve it on the dessert bar at Thanksgiving dinner and I got a couple of compliments on it and a couple folks took some leftovers home as there was no way I was able to eat all of it by myself. 

I learned another lesson by baking the bread pudding. Don't wait, if you are wanting to try something, find a recipe and make it. Don't wait for years wondering what it might taste like. I actually want to challenge myself to cook more new recipes, maybe one per month. Albeit the recipes need to be on the bland side. Insert another sad face right here. 

I haven't been able to get out and about to shoot some good pictures lately, but I did find a few in my camera I thought I would share today.

Amish Farms

I just found it interesting where they placed their clothes line, kind of between two barns. I wondered who decided to place the clothesline there? Was it because there was big enough space for a nice big clothesline? Or did they think about it at all? Anyone who lives in the country and has a clothesline knows the dilemma of hanging clothes on the line and bringing clean laundry inside that smells of manure. 

When I was shooting these pictures I was sure I smelled manure and downy all in the same breath. 

(Don't get me wrong, I'm not passing judgement on them, it was just an observation I had and found amusing. Crazy things amuse me.) 

I liked the trees I was shooting through more than the farm in these pictures. It just made it fascinating for me. I'm pretty sure I can't explain it.

I hope you enjoy anyway. 

My family has been blessed with several hams and my family is not a big ham fan. So, I make ham balls. My kids send any hams, they receive, to me so I can make them into ham balls. I have three hams unthawed and so I am going to go spend several hours making ham balls and then I will freeze them in quart size containers to use as appetizers over the Christmas season and also give some to the family. My family does love ham balls, just not slices of ham. 

Thankful:

For family who is open to allowing others to share the holidays with us. Although our Chinese folks couldn't make it, we ended up with a couple other folks spending Thanksgiving with us who didn't have family to spend it with. 

For God and his grace and mercy shown to me every day.

For our church family. They hold me accountable in a way I've never been held accountable before. I cherish that. They promote spiritual growth and that is what I desire more than anything. 

For you - my readers on my blog and Facebook. You give me hope that I might be able to become a writer one day. 

Blessings!

Lue

thanksgiving preparations

Thanksgiving preparations are in the air.

I can smell them in my "air" tonight. After work I went to my favorite local bakery and purchased three loaves of homemade bread and brought them home, cut the loaves into bite sized cubes and drizzled melted butter on the cubes and toasted them in the oven.

Four cookie sheets full of bread cubes are cooling off on my kitchen counter at this very moment and the buttery toasted bread smells waft through our little cottage and makes you just feel wonderful.

  

I don't need all those toasted cubes for Thanksgiving Day, but as a tip for those of you wondering how much dressing I'm making, when I toast bread cubes I toast plenty and freeze some so I don't have to mess with that step the next time I'm wanting to make dressing.

Our family really loves dressing, a lot. I make a few big batches during the year and freeze it in quart size containers and usually give some to both of the kids for quick and easy meals when they are on the run. 

We are hosting a Chinese couple at our home this Thanksgiving Day if all goes as planned. I spoke with the fellow tonight and his sister is flying in from China or somewhere, (not sure where she is flying in from) that day and so we have to make the time work for him to go pick her up. I really hope it can all work out so they can come over and experience an American Thanksgiving.

It has been exciting for me to try and figure out things to do so they really experience an American Thanksgiving. I want it to be meaningful for them and authentic.

So, a few preparations, lots of thoughts and prayers into the day and hoping for the best.

Our Thanksgiving menu thus far:

smoked turkey

mashed potatoes

dressing

corn

green bean casserole

sweet potatoes

gravy

dinner rolls

tossed salad

cranberry salad

date pudding

pumpkin pie

pecan pie

cherry pie

We generally don't have that many dishes, but I wanted to share a big variety with our out of town guests so they can get the feel of what Americans eat in general. I've been reading blogs of what others are making and I think it is along the same lines as our menu.

I'm off to finish my grocery list for my husband to purchase tomorrow on his way home from work.

Happy Thanksgiving Preparations to all the cooks and hosts and hostesses out there!

 

Lue

Happy Saturday!

One of my coworkers always starts his phone conversations, or when he enters the room with a very hearty

HAPPY SATURDAY!

(whatever day of the week it is, he inserts that day behind his happy)

He never fails to put a smile on my face when I hear that. So, I hope you are smiling at the thought of having a
HAPPY SATURDAY!

 Saturday's are one of my favorite days of the week. I usually get a lot done on my Saturday's. And I am anticipating a very busy day today.

Tomorrow night we are having the first of two Thanksgiving dinners at our little cottage up on the hill. My side of the family is getting together. If I counted correctly, there are 16 of us. Not only are we celebrating Thanksgiving, but we are bidding my nephew goodbye and giving him our blessings as he will be traveling out of the country for six months on a missions trip. God has been preparing him for the last year or so and you can tell he is ready to go and do the work. I always think of Acts 1:8 when I think of his journey.
 

This morning one of my Amish friends is stopping by and I will help her search and print, print outs on carbs and calories. She is pre-diabetic and needs help with that. After she leaves I need to go stock my pantry and fridge with staples for two Thanksgiving meals we are hosting at our home. One this weekend, and one on Thanksgiving Day. Thankfully, folks are helping me out in the food department and I don't have to prepare everything.

There is a possibility that another of my Amish friends is going shopping with me. I have a feeling we may hit a used book store if she does. We are both a little bit addicted to used books, she goes for old comic books and has certain series of books she collects, I go straight to the cook book section and I browse and purchase one or two every time. I try not to pay over $8 for a cook book and I have some expensive cookbooks in my little collection, but for a fraction of the price.

I feel like I just wrote an article for the local paper, The Budget. Amish and Mennonites from all over the country and abroad write a "piece" for The Budget. It is their "news" of the week. I believe most of the Amish folks I know read every last syllable in that paper. I know some of them pop popcorn in the evening on the day The Budget arrives and it is an event in their home, they eat popcorn, and take turns reading the various sections The Budget comes in. :)
 

HAPPY SATURDAY!

Lue



some of my favorite things

When it feels like things aren't going so well, what do you do? Complain? Sigh a lot? Cry? Pout? Withdraw? I do some of these better than others, especially the withdraw part. I always say, "I'm no bulldozer and I'm not going to bulldoze my way into anything." So, when I feel rejected or let down, I usually withdraw first and ask questions later, or never. I'm not perfect and I will never pretend to be. Just feeling honest tonight.

I find myself going into a funk at times and today was just one of those days. I've not been feeling up to par of late. Allergies have been kicking my butt and I tire of it and I know I shouldn't and on and on...so, it got me to thinking tonight. Why focus on things that won't change or get much better, and focus on things that you feel blessed about?

Yeah, why not?

So, I am here to tell you of a few things that have helped me along life's highway of late.

counting some of my favorite things

 1.

This field of sheep.

I see them almost every day going to work and the mornings they aren't there, well, I sort of feel let down.

I was early leaving for work one morning this week so I stopped and shot a few pictures and then later in the afternoon I took quite a few more of my field of sheep. I've only selected a few to show you.

There is one black sheep in the herd.

And a couple of brownish/tannish colored sheep.

The others are so white and beautiful.

In total, I would say there are more than 100 sheep in this herd, you are only seeing a smidge of what I get to experience in real life.

For those of you who've never experienced Amish Country, I wish I could bring you here and show you what I see on a daily basis.

2.

You Gotta Be Real by 3rd Force

Music

I found this piece the other night, listening to I Heart Radio/Smooth Jazz.

This is not a new piece, but it is new for me, in the sense that I only just really listened to it for the first time the other night...really listened to it. Fershtay?

I love music, I would probably reek of it if music had a scent.

For some reason, the YouTube clip of this piece of music has no video, but the music is there and so I hope you go over there, and take five and half minutes out of your day or evening, close your eyes,  and listen to this slice of music heaven.

Please!

3.

My one friend.

I can text her anytime of the day or night and just how I text "hello" she knows what mood I'm in and she comes back at me with something that completely makes "it" better, more funny, or profound.

Know what I mean?

I hope you have such a friend in your life.

Friends.

Are.

The.

Best.

Thing.

EVER!

4.  

 Words.

Some very life-affirming words were spoken to me recently by two folks.

One very wise man spoke II Corinthians 1: 3-7 into my life. He understands me.

Do you know how good it feels to be understood?

Yeah, it feels so good.

The second came from a lady friend, not close friend, but she also knows me deeper than a lot of folks do who are around me daily.

What a gift, to have words of affirmation spoken in such a way that you feel like doing life differently!

My list is not exhaustive, but as I reread what I just wrote, I can see God's handiwork in my life with just these few things. Who cares about funky things anyway? If we dwell on the things that bring us down, we will never really, truly live, correct?

The moon was so beautiful last night. This is my attempt at shooting a picture of it. I love the red circle surrounding the big yellow ball of cheese. Remember when you were a kid and thought the moon was Swiss cheese?

I do!

I pray your evening and day are minus the funk and I pray that you find ways to enjoy your favorite things along life's highway.

I would love to hear back from some of you describing your favorite things, either here or over on the Facebook page.

Toodles,

Lue 



Authenticity

Recently, when I was shopping at a clothing store, I was waiting at the counter to be checked out and observing the folks who were being checked out at the next register over. They were a mom, about my age, and her very opinionated teenage daughter. Both were making purchases, but the mother was conflicted because her daughter didn't like the dress she had picked out for herself. The mom thought it was a good dress for work, feminine, yet business. The check out ladies entered the conversation and they agreed with the daughter and went so far as to refer to the dress as something you find "laying in a coffin". I was a little bit appalled and felt bad for the lady, she obviously really liked the dress. The conversation ensued for another minute or two and then one of the check out ladies turned to me and asked me for my opinion. I answered them honestly and said to the lady, "look at what you are wearing", the color of her blouse was the same color as the dress she liked. Then I said, "you obviously feel good in that color and are drawn to the dress, I think you should purchase it," and I went on, "I think you will make your best business deal in that dress." I smiled. She smiled. I think she felt supported, her daughter glared at me, the lady made her purchase, I made my purchase and we all moved on.

But that got me to thinking about us ladies. Do we know how to be authentic? Do we know how to be ourselves? Do we know what we like, feel good in, what we stand for, what we don't? Or are we swayed by every little wind of opposition that crosses our pathway?

This is something I've had to really work on in my own life. I came out of the Amish lifestyle where we just conformed, no matter who we were on the inside. If the bishop said no short sleeves on a hot, August, Sunday, then we wore long sleeves on a hot, August, Sunday. Those kinds of things never made sense to me, but I conformed. I was swayed by the rules of the church, I allowed myself to be told who I was and what I was going to do and wear.

After leaving the Amish and having that freedom of getting to know who I was, what I liked and what I cared about, I then had to work through the difference between guilt and freedom to be authentic. One day I will probably write more deeply about this conflict in my life and how I resolved it.

But like the lady at the clothing check out, don't we take other folks opinions and let them talk us out of being "us"? We are afraid of being different, or standing out, or setting a new rule. I see it all day long, folks who are copy cats, who don't know who they are, so they adopt someone else's ways. How they talk, dress, the movies they watch, the recipes they cook. The list goes on and on. I like when I get to meet a person and they are comfortable in their own skin, they know who they are, they definitely aren't a clone of the lady down the street, or in their church. They are authentic, they can carry a conversation about deep issues, the superficial stuff doesn't come up. I am blessed to have authentic friends and have had a few ladies stand out in my life who have done life in their own skin. I've had some good examples in my peers and otherwise.

I like that.  

I just want to encourage each lady and gentleman alike, if you are good at something and it isn't the norm, who cares? If you like it, do it. If the color makes you feel wonderful, but you get opposition from a loud-mouthed teen, wear it anyway, you will come off as confident and comfortable in your own skin. If it makes it appear like you are from the dark ages, who cares? It is you, it is what you like and folks will like you better for being authentic than if you are a copy cat.

Have you conformed to other folks opinions and rules all your life? Don't know what you like, or who you are? Not sure who the "authentic you" is? My suggestion is that you begin learning about yourself, ask yourself questions like, do I feel good in that color? Does this recipe take me back to 1970 but I loved that dish, I think I will recreate it and it will be authentically me. I don't have to go to "Pinterest" and get the latest recipe to be loved and appreciated, I can use the old and comfortable if that is what I like. Do I enjoy the arts? But none of my other friends enjoy going to a museum. Maybe you've been ridiculed for enjoying art, and you've pushed that interest way down deep. Who cares, if it is authentically you, you should go be artsy now and then. If sitting at home in a quiet room is who you are, then by all means, don't let anyone stop you from finding that quiet space.

The folks who inspire me the most, just do life. They don't stress out about what the other people may think about them. They are strong and comfortable in their own skin and they are unique. I love unique these days. It says character to me. When someone is living life authentically, it is motivating and encouraging, don't you think?

Authentically yours,

Lue