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The Things We Have to Know 2007-12-16 14:37:00 It's a winter storm, and my kids are rejoicing at the thought of no school tomorrow if things keep up the way they are. Saturday was the calm before the storm, literally. I ran around all day yesterday, shopping for gifts, getting gas, grocery shopping, coming home, finally, at supper time. Bill wound up having to work all day Saturday. A client wants their remodeling project done before Christmas guests arrive. Bill came home just as I did, feeling exhausted and un-party-like, so we sent our regrets to the Open House we had been invited to. Then we all holed up at home. Let the storm come, we thought.We couldn't get out of the driveway to make it to church this morning, and wound up having our own service at home. Alex brought up his guitars and amp, Abby took out sheet music, and Bill led worship. We sang some of my favorite songs that we had not sung in a long time. We were loud, slightly off-key, and passionate about what we sang. Then I read a passage from My Utmost for His Hi
The Colors of Friendship 2007-12-14 08:57:00 What an interesting day yesterday was. I reflected on the value of constructive criticism, and then when I visited over at Angie's blog, http://asonflower.blogspot.com/ , I found out she nominated me for an award, The Colors
of Friendship
. What a darling she is.I have met so many people from all over the world through the blogosphere. It's been a beautiful, colorful journey. I have loved "meeting" all you folks who stop by here at Faith Fuel. People from every race and nation are chatting with each other through the means of blogging. Words of encouragement and even prayers are being offered up as people meet one another, hear each other's story, stay with someone through a difficult season, or even stop by certain blogs known to give you a reason to laugh.Here at Faith Fuel, my hope is that you find refreshing and refueling for your soul. If I could make that fireplace widget at the top of my blog really give out warmth and light, I would so love for people to really be able to wa
Now You're Getting Somewhere 2007-12-13 09:12:00 I just sent off an email to someone, thanking them for their thorough critique. Their critique was not a positive assessment of my book proposal. It pointed out several weak points. It was specific and detailed. Initially I felt defeated and deflated. Then a strange sense of delight came over me as the day went on.Someone took the time to inform me of their valuable judgment and their seasoned viewpoint. I was amazed at how much time this agent took to explain to me what he saw lacking in my proposal. If someone takes the time, a full page at that, to go through your proposal and point out all the things that are wrong, that's a good thing. It's called feedback. Now I know what's wrong with that particular proposal.Makes me remember a relationship I had in my dating days. I had dated this guy, a generous soul, but had not invested much of myself in the relationship. I broke up with him without giving him much of a reason. But then a year or so later, I was at a low point in my life, Read more:Somewhere
Unfinished Business 2007-12-12 07:39:00 I am waking up in the morning, these last couple days, with a head heavy with fragments of dreams and unfinished thoughts. I've obviously been trying to mentally process a lot of unfinished business.Last night we sat watching our daughter sing at her Christmas concert. She was radiant and beautiful, but of course, we are biased. We are also exhausted. Bill is physically tired, all the time. He looks better at 48 then he did at 28, bulging with muscles and finding his shirts too tight on the arms. That's what comes from hard, heavy labor, from swinging a hammer, from holding up sheet rock, from construction and remodeling. After dinner, he is usually falling asleep on the couch by 7pm. I don't begrudge him a single moment of that blessed rest.The only muscles in my body that are tired are my mental muscles. My brain. I am mentally weary, right now. Perhaps even emotionally weary. I have been taking in a lot of info, but not really responsible to decide anything by what I hear. Liste Read more:Business
, Unfinished
Merry Christmas! 2007-12-24 15:33:00 While I may not always learn to love myself when I am with my family, I do learn to love- of that I am sure. I am learning to love bumpy rides, comical moments, awkward times, and times of such closeness and tenderness that I see beyond myself into the mystery of God's plan, His idea of the Family, as dysfunctional and delightful as it is.It's Christmas
Eve. Right now I have a Bread Pudding in the Oven, and as soon as it is done, I am taking it out, with oven mitts, carrying it to the car, and zooming down the street to my In-Laws where such a simple baked dessert will bring a lot of pleasure. It's my father-in-law's favorite dessert. He raves about my Bread Pudding so much that I feel I cannot fail at it.As far as my extended family, we celebrated our Christmas Eve Get Together a day early, last night, at my house. Everyone was at their best behavior. My father's jokes were reasonably funny, my sisters took turns leading us in family games and sing alongs, my mother beamed at how Read more:Merry
, Merry Christmas
All Kinds of Adventure 2008-03-09 19:46:25 I've always been a bit of a paradox. I love quiet, old fashioned English tea times where I set a table, gather my mismatched cups and saucers and favorite tea pot of the day, and sit down with a loved one to a peaceful sipping and munching while the day winds to a temporary halt. Yet I also love watching professional bull riding competitions on T.V. and whooping it up when they manage to stay on for the eight seconds of guts and glory and screaming out warnings when I see some rider getting whipped off that bull like cotton candy splaying around just before its handed to some sweet-toothed kid at a fair.I can hole up for days working on my writing and miscellaneous ideas, and yet I can suddenly be needy for contact with the outer world, feeling thirsty for laughter or walking or even just Read more:Kinds
, Adventure
A Listening Friend to the End 2008-03-08 09:11:04 I think it was last Sunday, or the Sunday before that we sang this song in church, "I am a friend of God...He calls me friend." I'm not sure what God gets out of my friendship but I do know what I'm learning about God in these years that He's been not only my Savior and Lord but the truest of friends. I've learned that God is an incredible listener. I don't know how he does it.I'm not a very good listener. Ask my family, ask my good friend Mu, ask my dog, Harry. I mean, when I scratch Harry's ears and murmur, "You're such a good dog, aren't you. What a good boy. (Lots of crooning noises) You're Mommy's baby," I haven't let him get a word in all that time. Fortunately for Harry he doesn't communicate in words. He uses his paws in a form of sign language. He flips his water bowl when its emp Read more:Listening
Later 2008-03-08 09:07:57 Katie D's icon at Jane Austen TodayI'm reading, and preparing for Thursday Night's LIFE Workshop, "Sweet Friendships in a Sour World". So I'll have to tell you more about the books I'm reading....later.
Satisfying Solutions 2008-03-08 09:05:59 My dog has been to the Groomers and is now looking like a new born lamb, milky white and soft and relieved to be done with the experience. He actually handled it quite well. This was a new groomer I took him to. I felt he deserved a kinder, gentler place- and that's what he got.At this grooming section of a large pet store franchise, they keep the howling and barking dogs who have been bathed, back in the room away from the clipping station. This way the dogs who are up on the tables, with a suicidal-looking noose around their neck to hold them place, are able to get sheared and clipped within a relatively non stressful environment. The last place I took Harry to was chaotic and loud. I would bring him home from that former grooming salon, and he would flop on the couch and not move for d Read more:Satisfying
Silver and Gold, New Books and Old 2008-03-03 07:40:02 These four books I got at the Library Used Book Sale aren't going to look sharp and snazzy for long. Soon they will look beat up, rather bedraggled. I'm a very messy and noisy reader. I'll be underlining sentences, highlighting certain words that stick out at me, and voicing my joy and my astonishment at how they speak to my heart. I love the titles of these books, the subtitles, and just taken together as a whole, they speak a message of understanding and progress, blessing,release, and bliss. That's like digging into a hot fudge sundae with joyous abandonment and then God telling you He won't make the calories count at all. Can it get much better than that? (Of course it can- life is more than food and drink).So here they are: the four books I got last week. These books I have looked at Read more:Silver
, Books
Into the Treasure Chest 2008-03-01 13:09:45 You should have been there. You have have thought they were giving away a thousand dollars to the first 100 people that arrived. But no, what they were giving away was simply the privilege of a 45 minute head start before the crowds of book buyers arrived. (Some of these book buyers are people who scoop up hundreds of books at once and will go home and sell them on e-bay or something like that. They are not readers but business people. Not that a business person can't be a reader but...I digress).I stood in line waiting for the door to open, feeling like I was being allowed entrance into a large treasure chest. An older couple of retirement age stood behind me chatting."Oh, what a cute little boy," she murmured to her silver haired husband as a youngster went running by them."You don't lik Read more:Treasure
, Chest
, Treasure Chest
Be Still, My Beating Heart! 2008-02-29 09:51:39 Masterpiece Classic, March 9 p.m. ESTEmma is not one of my favorites of all the Jane Austen books. The character, herself, is privileged and protected. She is also so unaware of her lack of wisdom and discernment. That's just my take on the story. The funny part about this story is the matchmaking gone awry. I've attempted to play matchmaker a couple times in my life, too. (And oh, what a mess I made!).I think a lot of women enjoy seeing a match made, and feeling like they had part in something good happening. I'm not sure men get into this, though. (Any male readers, please comment!) I don't know if men understand or think about the mystery behind two souls being drawn to each other. For women, it seems like we need to hear the story over and over- the story of love prevailing, love makin Read more:Heart
Fill 'er Up 2008-02-27 12:41:59 My dog has put his foot down (I mean, paw) about something and it doesn't look like he's budging on this. Harry has decided he will not drink water from the tap. Our water is from a well, and maybe he can smell the minerals or the residue of clay in the water. Either way, he has decided that when we fill up his water bowl he is not going to partake of it.Instead, he goes to the door something-like twenty times a day, begging to be let out so that he can...eat snow. That's his beverage of choice. Fresh snow. White fluffy snow. Anything but tap water in his bowl.Now I don't know what he is going to do when Spring comes and the snow melts. He may decide to rescind his strange gourmet taste for snow and go back to tap water in the bowl. He will have to. Because I am not importing snow for him
The P Word 2008-02-26 19:06:54 Getting the Blogging with a Purpose award from Angela, yesterday, came just as I was dealing with another P word called Platform. I know why I'm gun shy about this word. When I think of platform, I think of a stage. And when I think of a stage, I think of having to perform. It all started with having a theatrical mother (who was formerly an entertainer in the USO). Every time we would have company my mother would make my two sisters and I perform a little song or dance- or preferably, in her eyes, both. I still have an aversion to anything that makes me have to "show my stuff" to a clapping audience. Yet I am facing this word more and more, and probably you are too.For writers, you have to have a platform before a publisher will seriously look at your book proposal. Bloggers have to build
Blogging with a Purpose 2008-02-25 17:27:20 Angela at Refresh My Soul has awarded me with the "Blogging
with a Purpose
" award. I can't think of a better commendation to receive, right now, because I have really been wrestling with the subject of purpose and the the written expression of our heart. Why do we write? Why do we blog? How powerful are our words? What is our message to the world? (And how much time should we spend proving that our message should be heard?!)I've got more to write about this but I have to prayerfully contemplate about passing this award on to some people, and even more than that, I have to think about this P word. When you talk about Purpose you also wind up needing to discuss another important word. It also begins with P. But I'll write more about that later.
Staying Around for More 2008-02-25 08:24:43 Lingering at the table after a good meal, for the sake of just talking, is something you don't see much of. Every one's busy nowadays and it's rare that families eat meals together as a usual thing. Because it was such a major component of my life when I was growing up, I just planned that it would be the same for our family of four- and it has been a pretty sure thing that we eat supper together every single night.Now, I try to do my part in making the kids want to be there by not doing some of the things that my mother did when I was growing up. Like, for example, serving a strange looking dish with something brown and firm looking centered on the plate, and me asking her, "Mom, what's this?". She answered me in a light breezy way, "Oh, that's just...meat" and went back to puttering ar
Just Checking to See If You're Okay 2008-02-22 09:49:25 An incident with the police, yesterday, made me think about how many people are lost or in trouble. Some people can be burdened, lost, and going astray- but they're not going to shout out for help. They may keep a smile plastered on their face even while their soul is plunging into an abyss. Then there are others who look lost, look like they're not doing that well- and well, they're just fine. Really.My son drove his car to the dentist appointment I had scheduled for him and his sister yesterday morning so that he could leave when his appointment was done and I would stay with Abby and take her home. This was the first time my son was driving into this city where our dentist practises. I had to give Alex written directions so that he could leave from there and get to his school where he w
Divine Lessons from French 101 2008-02-20 09:47:20 Sometimes God speaks to my heart in the strangest of ways. What I mean, actually, is that it might seem strange to others but it is very real and normal for me to hear God speaking to me through a word picture, a verse, and- in the case of this morning- in French
. I only had a couple years of French in High School, along with classes in Spanish. Then in college I took one more year of French, bumbled around with it, and left that language behind to go further with Spanish.But certain French phrases remained with me. One of them was spoken to me this morning. By God. Quietly. I suddenly remembered my French, and more than that, I got the gist of what God was saying to me as several different Scriptures came to my mind right after God whispered to my heart, Regardez-vous. It brought to mind Read more:Divine
, Lessons
I'm Over at CWO Today! 2008-02-19 11:47:55 Today I'm a Guest Contributor at Christian Women Online. Come on over! The topic: "The Road is Closed." Now, you know I'm not talking about the highway of holiness, the path of freedom, the path of peace. Those are all open to us. Eternally. "I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free." That's our calling: running, not stumbling, on a level path of God's blessing.But when we're stumbling about on a road we should not be on, that's another story. We're not supposed to be walking back into bondage of any kind, back into guilt or self-sabotage. Don't even go there. When green fields of Freedom are ahead of you, why choose the flat, dry landscape of your past?! Read more:Today
The Friendships We Long For- Part Two 2008-02-17 18:32:43 Well, my dear friend Mu and her family will be in sunny Florida this coming week. She'll be lying by a pool, sipping a cold drink, blissfully at peace while I make my way, without her, through this cold upcoming week of snow, ice, wind, and gray skies. But I'm happy for her. Really. 'Cause that's what friends are for: they are there to be happy that at least one of you is under the sunlight even if the other isn't. And Mu needs the sunlight even more so than I do. I've never minded gray winter days as long as I can be indoors in a warm house with a hot pot of tea and a writing project or a good book to read.We were talking at the Italian restaurant we were at, Friday, about our friendship. I don't think anyone would have thought to pair us up as friends, years ago, because we really have Read more:Part Two
The Friendships We Long For 2008-02-15 09:01:23 Mu is taking me out for lunch today. It's an early birthday gift. We're going to an Italian restaurant known for its delicious food and warm environment. It'll be so good to see her- because it's been almost two weeks since we've last had a get together. Oh, we've talked by phone and in person, but it's always better face to face, and especially with a delectable food-ish or coffee aroma wafting under our noses as we talk. And talk.In a couple weeks, I'm going to be teaching a workshop at Church on one of my favorite subjects: Friendship. I have not always felt like this was a subject I've done well with. It's only been the last ten years of my life that I took a high road into the terrain of heavenly friendships. I'm not the Friendship Expert, mind you, but I have learned a lot in the las
It all Started with a New Brand of Coffee 2008-02-13 09:21:42 We thought school would be canceled today. All the forecasts pointed to this storm, which is really more sleet and ice than it is loads of snow. It's a bit gray out. Not many cars are passing by. I love this kind of quiet day.Bill and I enjoyed a longer chat this morning, sipping our Dunkin Donuts brand coffee and savoring the quietness of a morning where our first challenge was to get Harry dried off and keep him from climbing onto the couch. The wet-dog smell mixed with the aroma of our hot coffee. We used to enjoy Folgers brand coffee but recently tried Dunkin Donuts coffee, brewed at home. Wow. It tastes as good at our home as it does at the Dunkin Donuts shops. It's a new treat we've adopted for our morning routine.Sometimes it really is the little things- that we can easily change- Read more:Brand
, Coffee
Quiet Time 2008-02-12 18:13:12 Call it a Quiet
Time Out ...for Grown Ups. No, I haven't been bad. (Well, by that I mean I haven't been bumbling around in my human failing any more so than usual). But I have been asking God to speak to my heart, to speak to the issues I have brought before Him. And I think that before I can hear Him, I have to dial down, quiet my heart, and welcome a silent period where I finally have nothing to say, but a lot to learn.I'm not sure if my husband has noticed that lately I am asking fewer questions when we have our morning coffee. I am not even writing much in my journal. Ideas for books and articles, and for new teaching workshops have quieted down to a whisper. I don't have a million ideas running through my mind like I normally do. I especially don't have the physical energy, now that
Austen Mania Explained 2008-02-11 17:14:26 Masterpiece Classic, February 10, 17, & 23 at 9 p.m. ESTI only watched part of Masterpiece Theatre's Pride and Prejudice last night. I've seen this movie so many times I can repeat the lines from several scenes, word for word. Next to Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility, this movie is one of my favorites.Whether you're into Jane Austen
's books and regency romances or not, you should notice that there's a bit of mania going on lately about this world of quiet romance, bucolic countryside, and grand houses filled with people dining or dancing. I've read a couple of Austen-like novels recently. And I think there'll be more coming- more books and movies and maybe even T shirts that read "Austen Addict" or "Give me Mr. Darcy or I'll Die!".I'm not saying that I'm an Austen Addict, but I can Read more:Mania
Your Turn Around is Just Ahead 2008-02-09 11:21:48 It's late Saturday morning and I am propped up in bed, with the lap top, Harry lying next to me, and Bill downstairs doing that dreaded work of filing and sorting of all the bills and paperwork that I have not dealt with for weeks. (Now that's just one of the many reasons why I appreciate that man so much!)Alex is still asleep and Abby just woke up.I am contemplating so many things right now. And since it's a Saturday and my back is telling me not to go zooming into the day, I am authorizing for myself a time to write, think, pray, ponder. Bill and I already had our early morning chat together. It felt like a summit meeting. We are endeavoring to not return to any strongholds of the past, any faulty thinking or incorrect conclusions.One of the things I shared with the women on Thursday n
Top or Bottom- This Momma Has it All 2008-02-07 13:07:50 First I was hot Mama, a couple days ago (see the previous post for clarification!), and now I'm a TopMomma
! I'm on the front, home page of TopMomma.com! Now I don't know how I got there, and I don't know what this is exactly, but since when has confusion and blundering around stopped me from getting anywhere?!!"Mommy bloggers are sorted by popularity, which is based on clicks and referrals. When a new mom enters the roster, the least popular one gets pushed off the site. Think of it as a “mommy time out”…With a bit of luck, and a really supportive bra, you just may end up as TOP MOMMA – which earns you bragging rights and a spot in the elusive “Hall of Fame..."Okay, so does this mean people have to vote for me? Am I still a top mama even if no one responds to this at all? Do I Read more:Bottom
Excuses, Excuses! 2008-02-07 13:07:10 Let me tell you, I am one hot mama. Literally. The heating pad is under my back and I am burning up. But the heat feels so good that I don't care if I'm burning hot. Sometimes to get through the pain you have to go through some hot times, you know?I think I know how this back of mine got out of whack. A week and a half ago I was down in Kentucky with my son, visiting a college. It was bitterly cold. We walked all over the place, from dorm to cafeteria to admissions hall and back to the B&B I was staying at down the road. I walked everywhere for two and half days straight. I had on new shoes- nothing fancy like spiked heels. Just a pair of rubber soled wedged clogs. They were comfortable- but they did have about an inch and a half of a rise in the heel. Normally I run around in these w Read more:Excuses
Breaking the Bondage of Maintaining an Image 2008-02-04 10:02:55 I realized that after mentioning, recently, my vision and hearing problems, and then talking about my back I just threw out, that I sound like I'm falling apart! You might be picturing me, hunched over, hobbling, squinting, and calling out,"Huh? What did you say deary?"! I can almost picture some of your sympathetic murmurings, "That poor dear, she's really a mess"!Well, I am a bit of a mess. On some days I realize this, and on other days I am packaged up quite nicely, thank you. But it all depends on the moment, the month, the miracle of grace, as to how I am doing. I know that full well.It's appropriate that this week is my next LIFE Workshop I'm teaching. This was planned out months ago, but what a coincidence: I am teaching a workshop called "Breaking
the Bondage of Maintaining
an Imag Read more:Image
The Spirit is Willing 2008-02-03 14:21:05 Last Sunday, Bill and I had stayed in the sanctuary after the official end of the service to enjoy the continuing praise and worship that the worship team was offering. Anyone who wanted to stay was welcome to enjoy an extra time of refreshing in the Lord. For me, I felt particularly exuberant and joyful. I was standing, practically jumping, in worship and in joy. I had just come back from the trip to Kentucky, from a time where God met me in a powerful, personal way- and still met my son's needs as well. I love that about God. He is never stretched too thin. Thousand, millions even, can call upon Him all in the same moment, and He can reach us all, where we are at.But this Sunday, today, I walked into Church and looked like an old lady. I have thrown my back out. I don't know how this hap Read more:Willing
That's What it Tastes Like 2008-02-01 13:51:56 I was so tempted to leave you all with a recipe the other day, that's how victorious I was feeling in the cooking department. A couple nights ago we made homemade pizza. This is not an unusual thing for our family. We've been doing this, usually weekly, for several years now. I'll make the pizza dough in my bread machine,buy the ingredients- which must include fresh mozzarella (in a ball or packaged in water). I'll put out three pans, and then the bake off begins.Bill usually pairs off with Abby, Alex does his solo thing with extra, extra cheese, and I will do the pizza with mushrooms or lately, a white broccoli. But the other night I had come home with a package of frozen buffalo chicken bites. And I had an idea for a new pizza- after remembering one of the boys at Alex's birthday party
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