Love and Tears

Tears don't come naturally to me.
I'm really not sure why that is or when it started, but I'm just not a person who cries much.
I have a dear friend who cries frequently.  I joke that she cries enough for both of us.

But twice today I have been caught off-guard by dripping tears down my face.

One was turning in the kitchen to see Sam doing homework at the counter.  Not a profound moment, I realize.  But I remember blogging about his homework struggles at about this same time last year.  In that brief glimpse of time, I saw how much he had matured since then.  And I caught a picture of what I might be thinking at this time next year, when we are staring down the throat of high school graduation and, gulp, college.

So, as if one cry wasn't bad enough, as I sat down to catch up on some reading at my computer, my ears told me to stop and listen.  Kate was sitting at the piano playing "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music.  It had the pauses of a student learning a new piece, but chills came over me and, yes, tears streamed down my cheeks.  One day, that piano will sit silent as my young girl becomes a young woman and leaves such things as piano lessons and her mother's heart in the dust.

Paul says that Love is patient.
Maybe that doesn't just mean that Love endures difficulties.
Maybe it also means that Love slows down to enjoy the moments of life that are too quickly fleeting.  Some of those moments are hidden behind difficulties.  Some are hidden behind dirty dishes.  Pursuing Love might mean  taking on the sometimes strenuous task of looking thoughtfully at the life God has graced me with and seeing Him at work in me and those around me.

And worshiping Him with my tears.

Cranberry Crockpot Meatballs

Cranberry Crockpot Meatballs

1 14 ounce can of jellied cranberry sauce

1 12 ounce bottle of chili sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

approximately 50 meatballs

 Turn the crockpot to high and dump the cranberry sauce, chili sauce and brown sugar in the pot.

 

Stir those ingredients to combine.  At this point, you could also add in some pineapple juice, apple juice, maple syrup or other flavor.  I had none of these, so mine are going to be the basic recipe which is yummy on it's own.

Now pour in your meatballs and stir gently to coat them with the jellied-goodness.

Put the lid on your crockpot and cook for at least an hour, but honestly you can go as long as you need.  Just be sure to check on your meatballs and turn the crockpot down if necessary.  If they seem to be getting too sticky, you can add in some liquid to loosen them up again.

These meatballs are great over rice if you need a quick meal or you can serve them up with some toothpicks as individual appetizers.  I hope you enjoy.

Paul opens the fourteenth chapter of Corinthians with these words:  "Pursue love".

I am not sure what that means in a practical sense.

What does it look like to pursue love in my relationship

    with God?

             with my husband?

                    with my children?

                            with my friends?

                                      with my church?

                                             

Pinterest

Approaching a New Year

I confess that I have a love/hate relationship with the week between Christmas and the New Year.

Mostly hate.

Am I the only person who spends this week evaluating my life and believing that everything needs a serious upgrade for the new year?

That all things are possible?

Last year at this time, I thought I would take a picture and post it everyday.  I think that lasted about fifty days.

This morning, I am convinced that I should set up an online calendar system for my whole family to use.

What is the balance between striving to be a better person and wasting time on mundane goals that don't profit anything?

I long to hear God's voice over my life during this season.  What would He want from me this next year?  How can I grow to look more like Him - not just more organized.  Or thinner.  Or happier.  Or popular.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Chair

I have been reading so much about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint lately that I wanted to give it a whirl.
There are only two places in Tennessee that carry it.  I purchased my at The Back Porch Mercantile located in a store called Ironic in Knoxville, Tennessee.  It's a great store with lots of fun metal pieces.  (I should have taken some pictures, but I am sure to return, so that's for later.)
You must know that I am really good at buying lots of new craft products for a great project, only to let them sit around unused.  I give you my 365 photo project as example 'A'.  (Once I decided I wanted to quilt.  That didn't work either...)
So knowing this about myself, I purchased only one can of paint and one of the available waxes.  I said "No" to all the lovely colors and chose this shade of blue:

Provence

I have had this chair forever and never done anything with it.

And here it is after painting and waxing:

I can see why everyone is raving about the ASCP. (How cool am I to use the abbreviation?)  It is very easy to work with.  The distressing part was much easier than it is with latex paint.

Now the problem is, everything paintable in my house is going to be blue!

Do you buy tons of supplies for craft projects that you never complete?

Inspired

I have no photo to post today.
I haven't had one for some time now.
But I have a friend who has started writing and his thoughts made me realize how much I missed this online journal.
As if I need another thing to do.

Was my 365-project a failure?
Probably.

I long to not be paralyzed by the possible.
What can you do today (or tomorrow considering the time) that may not turn out perfect, but is better than nothing at all?

pinterest

Day Fifty-Nine

In my mind I have been composing an "I'm sorry" blog post for a few days.
I have been searching for the photo to post.
Rehearsing the words.

I have come to realize it is not the blog I have neglected.
Or the photos.
It's a grateful heart that I have abandoned these last days.

It is in the deliberation of choosing something to capture in pixels that I notice the things around me for which I should be truly grateful - sunrises, chocolate pudding, hard work, technology, growth - none of these profound in their impact, except to remind me how blessed I am.  And by becoming "too busy" to photograph these moments and share my overflowing heart with fellow sojourners I have become too busy to be grateful.

So today I clarify my project goal.  It's not to capture three-hundred-and-sixty-five photos worthy of an Ansel Adams display at a fancy museum.  The goal is not to be "read" by hundreds or discovered as the next best blogger.

No, the goal is to cultivate a thankful heart.

The lens is my ink, for cameras have sensor eyes, and pixels record.  I slide it into a pocket, a thin point-and-shoot, and find another way to chronicle, to force the lids open; another way to receive the moment with thanks reverential...If clinging to His goodness is the highest form of prayer, then this seeing His goodness with a pen, with a shutter, with a word of thanks, these really are the most sacred acts conceivable...the only way to be a woman of prayer is to be a woman of thanks.