Out of the Mouth of Babes

 Mmmm mmmm mmmm.... Oatmeal cinnamon chip cookies sounded delicious.  Warm from the oven, all melty and soft tender cookie goodness.  YaUuuuummmmmmy!  It was right after lunch and I had a hankering for something sweet.  I figured I'd bake a half a batch and then give some to the neighbors.

I should warn you.  Cookies are not my friend.  We have tried and tried over the years, but we just plain ole don't get along well.  We are simply talking the art of baking here as the calories and what they do to my hips are a completely different post on a completely different blog for a completely different day.

No one asks me to bring cookies to the bake sale and I have a sneaky suspicion why.

Once when I was in high school and baked a batch of cookies, Peter, my little brother sat in his high chair, held out his pudgy little baby hand and firmly proclaimed, "Here, garbage."

Over the years I've baked various batches, some with more success than others and I came up with a number of possibilities for their failures:

• The ingredients were off because I licked the spoon and cooking is chemistry, right?
• I must have missed a minor ingredient 
• I used margarine instead of butter
• I was a tad short of flour
• The eggs were large, medium, small, round, oval, square, whatever
• Baking soda or baking powder - aren't they the same thing?
• The pan is old, too dark, has moisture between air layers, too thin, you name it
• Must have needed more "something"
• The oven heats "hot"
• The humidity is high (that's a new one I get to use!)

Cookies and I just don't get along

Well, today I used all the right ingredients. I mixed according to directions and never once licked the spoon. I used butter. I had enough flour, sugar and eggs. I used baking soda. I baked them at the correct temperature for exactly the correct amount of time. They should have been just fine. They should have been yummy and melty good.

I think perhaps Peter had it right all along. Oh, the wisdom that comes out of the mouth of babes.
    

now you see it/now you don't

I was in a training session a few months ago where a picture of a family in a less than desirable living environment was shown to the group and the question was posed, "What is lacking?" Naturally we came up with an extensive list of what was missing...what was lacking... what was "wrong" with the situation in the photo.

We didn't know the people. We didn't know their background. We didn't know their current situation, yet collectively we came up with a lengthy list of things we felt were lacking.

We were then shown the same photo and asked "What is here?"  Still knowing nothing more about the people in the photo than we did before, we came up with our list of what we thought was there, what was "right" about their situation.  Unfortunately the list was much shorter.

Let me repeat. We didn't know the people. We didn't know their background. We didn't know their current situation, yet we came up with a lengthy list of things we felt were lacking. 

Oh we can be so quick to see what we think is wrong, missing, or lacking. Our nature tends to make us quick to judge and slow to accept.

If only we could open our hearts wide and and allow our minds to see all that is good.  

A Really Great Guy is Waiting

Today I received word that a friend of mine did not make it through emergency aortic dissection surgery.  My heart is heavy and I am filled with sadness for his family and the void created by the loss of this good man.

We are both Coordinators for In Mission Together where he has worked for a number of years with the partner churches scattered about Eurasia and the United States while I am just beginning to work with the Cameroon and Guinea partners. He has been organizing a two day event for those churches and I was responsible for setting up the online event registration.  I have an email folder filled with event information and messages of approval, support and encouragement from him.

I went for a run this afternoon and my mind was first filled with a million thoughts about him and then..... completely blank. I see his smiling picture and can't believe he's gone.

I'm at a loss for words but I thought you should know there is a really great guy waiting for us when it's our turn.

Philosophical Cookies

Ha!  What a great thought!

If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, did it make noise?

If no one was around to blog about "IT", did "IT" happen?

If no one knows that you reached out to help someone in need, does it count? Do you get credit at the pearly gates?

Does a rainbow exist if no one sees it?

Do numbers really exist? Can you buy into the whole "to infinity" thing!?

Does this blog exist if no one reads it?

If no one sees you eat those cookies, that hot fudge sundae, that leftover pizza, do the calories count?

The answer must be no! Right? If you can't see it, surely it doesn't exist. Right? After all, isn't that what some people claim when it comes to the debate of whether God exists or not?

Goodness gracious! I've certainly meandered into a very philosophical area this morning without really intending to!

For the sake of a short post (and goodness knows if you want real answers to those questions you can find resources much more reliable than little ole me) I'll just sum it up as follows.

It's been heard. It counts. The colors are glorious. The numbers add up and keep on going. You can certainly bet those "secret" calories will make their appearance, most likely where you least desire it.

My two cents...if its real to you - if it's in your heart, mind and soul - then that's what counts.  All the way to infinity.    

Calming the Storm

Shortly after we moved to Florida the news was abuzz about Hurricane Issac. We watched with interest as they predicted Issac to hit land about 60 miles to our east, however as the storm closed in the trajectory changed to hit just west of us. According to the experts our area would be in for some nasty weather.

Being a first timer, I researched hurricanes so I'd know what to expect and we assembled all the suggested supplies - bottled water, batteries, flashlights, candles, canned food, to name a few. We stored our lawn furniture in the garage and we hung the protective coverings over our windows. The storm was predicted to hit land on Tuesday in the late afternoon and we were ready.

After Harry left for work I turned on the news for updates on the storm and was naively surprised at the accompanying report of tornado activity as well, which actually put me more on edge than the hurricane.  As the day progressed I became more and more uncomfortable  and even a little bit scared as Harry was 45 minutes away and would have to drive home on a route where tornado activity was amiss.

I sat there and started chatting with God about this whole situation.  After all, he calmed the storm for the frightened Disciples as their boat tossed in the violent sea so why couldn't he do that for me as well?

At that point it occurred to me... did he really calm the physical sea itself or did he calm their sea of fear and therefore their perception of danger? 

I don't know that I'll ever have the answer to that question because this is what played out over the next 24 hours.

First, I was calm after praying and I regained my sense of comfort that all would be well. Secondly, we hardly had any wind or rain hit our area at all.  We've had more action on a typical "rainy" day.  You see, as I watched the storm cross over, we were always the area between the bands of the active storm.  It hit to our east and to our west but we were always in the quiet place.                

The Business of Life

The sign proudly stated they've been cooking up 23 varieties for over 50 years and I decided if they've been flipping hotcakes for that long they must know what they're doing so in I went. 

It was a busy pancake house. The staff was hustling and bustling about serving up the best sweet potato pancakes I've ever tasted. The only ones tastier are those cooked on weekend mornings by my husband, but its not fair to compare the two  because he puts an extra dose of love into the pancakes he makes for me. 

I sat down and the cheery waitress was quick to bring me coffee and take my order. Yes, she definitely thought the sweet potato pancakes were an excellent choice so after her enthusiastic endorsement that's what I ordered. 

The two young mothers next to me hurriedly gathered their things as one of their infants protested at the top of his lungs. Based on his age and loud bellowing it was clear to me he wasn't old enough to eat pancakes and thus was not  happy and content like his older sister.   I'm sure calming him was his mother's highest priority as she hurried out the door. 

The tables behind me were pushed together with two families crowded around. The  dads were chuckling as they tried to convince their young children to come to work with them. Surprisingly the youngsters didn't jump at their father's offer for them to sit quietly at his office for four hours while he worked.  Upon asking his wife for the guest check she quietly informed him his brother insisted on picking up the tab today. 

The clientele was a great mix of college students, adults and families an indication of the large medical facility located nearby on campus.   I whispered a quick prayer that none of the people were here because a loved one was seriously ill across the street.   I scanned the crowd and saw no such traces on their faces. 

There were discussions of calories, dogs, changes in lifestyle per the doctor's orders,  investments and finances.   Various opinions on matters of the world. 

Life was in full swing at this pancake shop.  This is what people do each day...they go about the business of life. 

GRAND Babyliciousness!

"Busy" has kept me from posting recently (most of December in fact!) and this week's schedule is quite filled as well, so I'll just share a little GRAND babyliciousness to tide you over for a bit.

 

        

 

His name is Charles

His name is Charles and Charles was hungry.

It was just after nine when I headed to a quaint little coffee shop to relax, people watch and do some writing.  As I walked past a hotel conference center on a busy Atlanta street I noticed a young man talking to a "more established" gentleman in front of the conference center.  By their appearances they seemed to have come from two very different walks in life and I had casually wondered what they had in common to talk about but had quickly dismissed it from my thoughts.  

As the man walked back toward the building Charles approached me.  He seemed like a nice young man.  Polite.  And Charles was hungry.  He told me he understood why people sometimes didn't want to give money to street people lest they spend it on drugs or alcohol, but he wanted to know if I would buy him something to eat.

As we walked to the nearby Peachtree Center where several restaurants are located, Charles explained to me that he was from Charlotte, North Carolina.  He had come to Atlanta a couple months ago with some friends to go to a game, had been separated from them and they left without him.  He had no way home and since his situation in North Carolina wasn't so great anyway, he decided to stay here.

Charles had been able to pick up a little work cleaning the arena after big events, but he didn't have an ID and hadn't been too successful with temp agencies.  Although it wasn't obvious, he said he hadn't bathed in a week.  I asked when he had eaten last and he said he had eaten breakfast yesterday.

He shared with me that the Atlanta shelters cost $9 a night.  Since it's been pretty warm he's been sleeping in the street recently but he manages to find the money to stay there when it's cold.

Charles knows how to clean and refinish floors - buffing, polishing, waxing them - and since he learned how at 11 years old I'll bet he's quite good at it.  He can also drive forklift.  He proudly told me there isn't a forklift that he can't handle!

I wish I had floors that needed someone to refinish them.  I wish I had a fork lift that needed a driver.  I told him not to lose hope.  I told him things will get better.  Oh how I wish I had the power to make it so.  I wish I could take Charles' hunger away indefinitely.  

Later I ate a lunch that didn't taste quite as good as usual and listened to festive Christmas music that didn't bring the joy it usually does.     

Filled w/Thanks = Filled w/Joy: Day 30

I am thankful for Harry

Prior to meeting Harry I sat down and made a list of all the things I felt were important to me in a relationship - the things I felt I needed and desired.

Someone challenged me once in a business setting saying, "In all areas of your life, business, relationships, health, spirituality, etc. if you could have mediocre or you could have outstanding, awesome, mountain top .... why would you NOT choose the latter?"  I kept this in mind as I made my list; thus it was a pretty long list.

I prayed about it a lot and asked God to put me in such a relationship.

Not that I'm a demanding person but if awesome is a possibility - why would one ask for otherwise?

Harry is everything on that list and more.  God took my idea of an awesome relationship and added so much more.  Its like the whipped cream, nuts and cherry on top of a turtle sundae, melty peanut butter on a toasted english muffin, the sun sparkling across the ocean, or the beer and brats at the end of the finish line of a marathon.  God took my idea of wonderful and made it much better.

As this "30 Days of Thankful" project ends, it wouldn't be complete without Harry.  He has been an answer to my prayers and I am so very blessed and thankful to have him in my life.

Note:  I realize that everyone's list of what they need is very individual; but if you'd care to see mine just contact me directly by leaving a comment and I'd be happy to share it with you.  

Filled w/Thanks = Filled w/Joy: Day 29

I am thankful for my kids!

I have been so wonderfully blessed by my children and I am so thankful for them.  They have given me so many reasons to be proud and they have been a joy since they took their first breath.  There were a couple occasions that I held my breath praying everything would work out okay, but I have cherished every minute of being their mother. Somewhere along the way I realized that my job was to prepare them to be adults...self sufficient, confident young adults who are able to find their way in this world.  

As I look at them I see my job is done.