I am going to take a little time away from blogging to really pray and consider my priorities.  When I started blogging, I felt truly directed by God to write and encourage.  As time has passed, I sometimes feel that I have to write something whether I am getting any direction from God, or not.  Now, I want to take a period of time to lay the blog before Him and seek his direction.

I will let you know what I hear!

Be Blessed!

• I am monitoring my caffeine intake with the goal of drinking fewer caffeinated beverages and cutting myself off completely at a certain time of day, so that I sleep better at night.  For the first time in my life, I have purchased decaffeinated coffee.  I am also trying a caffeine free herbal Chai tea.
• I am exercising in little increments.  Now, I live hours from a gym, and I don’t have time or space to exercise for a large chunk of time, so I have started doing the stairs in the building where I work a few times a day, and walking for ten minutes at a time here and there.  I would like to do three ten minute walks during the day and several stair routines, too.

• I am placing a new emphasis on relaxation!  This is the best one, by far.  I am taking time for long baths, using scented lotion, looking at magazines, reading, enjoying my leisure time!  This is wonderful, and the best part is I am not being selfish–science proves that these rituals of relaxation are very important to control stress & be healthy.

I used to be one to look down my nose at such small changes, but now I find myself grateful do be able to do any small thing to improve my health and how I feel about myself and my body.

Also, I saw a piece of advice in regard to health that I am still meditating on–the suggestion was that every work or chore related “to do” on your list, should be balanced with one restorative, fun, relaxing “to do.”  Now, that’s really a shift in my thinking–to make leisure and rest the same level of priority with work.  It sounds revolutionary…and I am trying to incorporate it into my life…Gotta go work on my all-new to do list now!

1.  Put on your walk-man or iPod or and listen to some great music–something with a good beat that makes you want to move!  Then, move!  Dance around the house and have fun!  This is a great mood-lifter and also a bit of a workout.  If you have small children or pets, don’t be surprised if they join you, even if they can’t hear your music.

2. Call someone that you miss.  It’s harder to socialize and visit face to face when we have bad road conditions and colder temperatures.  Call a friend or family member and chat, chat, chat.  You might need to set up a time in advance so that you don’t impose on your friend’s schedule.  (Normally, I am more of a card-sender, but hearing the voice of a friend or family member–her laugh, the smile in her voice–well, it is the next best thing to sharing coffee and visiting in person.

3.  Get in the kitchen and whip up a sugar scrub.  This is pretty simple.  Try mixing 1 cup of white (or raw) sugar, 1/2 cup olive oil and a few drops of essential oil in an aroma you like.  If you don’t have essential oil, you can  use lemon juice or a few drops of perfume.  Mix and then in the bath or shower, massage the scrub into dry skin.  This scrub provides a gentle massage, great exfoliation, and an invigorating scent!

4.  Go outside.  Okay.  I know it’s dangerously cold, but try going out just for a couple of minutes.  Get bundled up and walk five minutes outdoors.  Get the mail.  Take a couple of snapshots of the winter snow-scape.  You’ll be glad you did.  Pretend you went sledding down a big hill–you get the same rush from the cold, crisp air.

5.  Make some fancy hot chocolate drinks.  Get the good cocoa.  Heat up the milk.  Spray the whipped cream or sprinkle on the marshmallows.  Grate some good chocolate to sprinkle on top.  Use cinnamon sticks in your tea.  Add a new flavored creamer to your coffee.  Serve it all up in special mugs. Make the hot drinks of the season part of a special winter afternoon’s ritual.

Have a Blessed Sunday!

Today is the fifth day this week that we have experience sub-zero temperatures.  There are snow drifts in our roads and blowing snow.  It’s not a good time to get out.  It hasn’t been a good time to get out for several days.  While I am normally prone to cabin fever during such times, right now, I am so thankful that I don’t have to worry about slick roads and dangerous temperatures.  Eventually–maybe even in just a few days, the temperatures will warm up a bit and the snow will melt, and I will be able to get around  much easier.  My days and weeks will be busy when school starts back up next week, and the weekends will be crammed with errands and socializing.  I will probably get a little overwhelmed–maybe a little stressed out.  I will think…Wouldn’t it be nice to just have a day or two at home without a bunch of things I had to do?

And, maybe I’ll remember this housebound week in January.  A week of reading, napping, and quiet…time to take long baths, time to bake, time to play with the puppy…time to clean the house without rushing even…This slower paced life will not last forever, but for the time being, I am choosing to see it as a gift– a gift of time, and a gift of relaxation.  There are so many small things that come with the blessing of being at home that I never noticed before–the time to watch all of the news, time to make anything at all for supper, time to exercise to a DVD, time to read.

If you are at home today, whether by choice or chance, I hope you find joy there and are able to create your own pace as you make your rounds in the house.  If you are like me, and sometimes see this blessing of being home, as being stuck, it helps me to make lists of little things I want or need to do each day.  I try to make sure that I am getting at least one thing accomplished that I really need to do (like exercise or balance the bank statement, etc.) and at least one thing that I want to do that will be fun (like read a good book, or try a new recipe).  Of course, I do more than two things in a day, but it helps just to have some priorities set up as you move through the day.   I think one of the pitfalls of being home is that I can take on this attitude of “I’ve got all day” and end up dilly-dallying and not getting as much done because there seems to be so much time.

Enjoy this day and the gifts it offers!

Gifts!

This word has so many lovely connotations for me:

• The gifts I see in others and how to encourage them
• The gifts God has given me and how to discover and us8e them more
• The gift each new day offers
• The many gifts God has given us in Christ, in his Word, and in a million other things large and small

There are lots of verses in the Bible that deal with gifts.  Check out Ephesians 2: 8-9:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works so that no one can boast.

This verse has been such an encouragement to me!  I believe it refers not only to the grace of salvation, but also that God’s grace is available to us to save us from whatever we need saving from–whether it’s a bad habit or a wrong way of thinking.  God’s free gift of grace enables us to overcome!

Here is another verse that I love that deals with the gifts God gives us.  See Ecclesiastes 5:19:

Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work–this is the gift of God.

The ability to enjoy what we have is a precious gift from God.  I am very excited about gifts today–maybe it’s carry over from Christmas, but I don’t think so.  I am beginning to envision myself, the people in my life, the coming days, the coming moments as bright and shiny wonders just waiting to be opened.

healthy, now, leap, beauty, jewel, create,

joy, teach, friend, respect, light, discipline,

stillness, faithful, miracles, healing, small,

discerning, energy, passion

fur coat

Well, apparently, too often, because next I thought of this pretty, fluffy, faux-fur, off-white coat I received for Christmas four years ago.  I love this coat.  It makes me feel absolutely luxurious every time I put it on, and I don’t put it on nearly often enough.  I have probably worn it fewer than twenty times.  Why?  Because I’m saving it for a special occasion.  Because I don’t want to be overdressed.  Because I’m silly!  I did wear it once this winter (so far), and I got a lot of compliments on it.  Everyone thought it was a new coat, because no one had ever seen it before.  I am determined to begin to really use and enjoy the beautiful gifts that I have been given.  Everyone has heard the old saying about saving the good china for a special occasion and never having a chance to use it–well, I am going to apply that lesson to everything.  Why wait?

Finally, this year for Christmas, I received my very first ever digital camera–it’s small and red, and it tucks away perfectly in a compact camera case.  So, where is the camera?  That’s the problem–I keep putting it away.  Then, when I want to take a photo (which is often), I have to go dig it out of its hiding place.  Now, to increase my opportunities to use my new present, I am going to leave the camera out (I know I’m taking a clutter risk!), and possibly even take it with me everywhere!

There’s no reason to wait to enjoy a beautiful gift.  What have you got hidden away that might bring you some joy?

Scout posed for me with next year's Christmas tree. Ha.

I love New Year’s Eve.  It’s not about going to parties, drinking champagne or wearing glittery dresses to me.  It’s all of the wonderful possibilities, the dreams, the aspirations for the new year and a new improved me.  This year, I must confess that the end of 2009 has caught me off guard.  This week, I was really hoping to get out of the house and do some shopping, see a movie and enjoy the benefits of being off work!

Instead, I have been snowbound.  We did not get a ton of snow, but it drifts on our gravel roads, and they stay slick for a long time.  My hubby comes home from work with any essentials I think I need from the grocery store, and during the day, I have been working on preparing for the spring semester.  I am happy to be getting some work done.  Even though I miss civilization, I can’t deny that I have plenty to keep me busy right here at home.  Besides my class plans, I need to give the house a thorough cleaning, and I would like to organize my files and get all of the 2010 folders ready.

Even so, it’s not all work.  I received a pumpkin cobbler kit for Christmas, which I would like to try.  I’ve never made or tasted a pumpkin cobbler.  I also have a beautiful shortbread pan I received last year that makes some very fancy looking cookies.  Baking relaxes me, so I am looking forward to playing in the kitchen and making some goodies.

But, here it is New Year’s Eve, and I haven’t paused for much reflection.  Here is one of my favorites though,

Forget the former things.  Do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing.  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? (Isaiah 43:18-19)

I love making new year’s resolutions.  I love planning the new me and setting short term and long term goals and anticipating little rewards if I am successful.  However, I must confess that it seems like I make some of the same resolutions every year, so…this makes me thoughtful.  I have to either set resolutions that I really want to do or I have to find something to love about the resolutions I just feel like I really need to do.  One thing that has helped me in the past is making resolutions that are fun!  That way, I will certainly achieive some of them!  You may laugh, and that’s okay, but in past years, I have made some pretty goofy resolutions just for fun, to try something new, to get myself thinking outside my comfort zone.  I also find great comfort in the fact that God alone makes all things new.  He makes us new creations in Christ.  His mercies are new every morning.  He gives us a new day and a new opportunity every 24-hours.  As a result, if I don’t have my act together and my resolutions all mapped out by January 1st, that’s okay.  January 1st and the New Year are markers created by man.  God is the real creator of the new, and he is able to provide new whenever we are ready to ask and receive.

With that said, here are some of my goofy, but fun resolutions from year’s past:

• Take a sewing class
• Try new makeup shades
• Try a different bath product
• Go to one yoga class
• Go through underwear drawers–discard & replenish

So, you get the idea–resolutions shouldn’t be something that you are going to dread doing!  Sometimes, I’ll admit–I have to trick myself.  One of my serious resolutions is to start exercising regularly again.  Now, I think this is more likely to happen if I phrase it as “walk with a friend for thirty minutes three times a week” or “listen to i-Pod thirty minutes every other day.”  Both of those options add an element of fun–I love visiting with friends and I love listening to music; the walking/exercise becomes incidental.

I still feel a bit unprepared for New Year’s Eve.  I know everyone had different traditions–my grandparents used to eat oyster soup and then go to bed at their regular time.  One lady I know has a very elaborate ritual with candles and writing down disappointments and on paper and then burning the papers in the fireplace.  I think my ritual will simply be meditating on Isaiah 43:18-19.  Wanna join me?

So, the first few days of my break, I spent on the couch with a blanket, drinking 7-up and reading novels.  I got to feeling better, but it’s been a long haul, and so as it turns out, the most strenuous things I have done so far on my break are bake and do dishes.  And, you know what?  Not only is the world not coming to a screeching halt because I am puttering, rather than accomplishing, but I don’t think it’s going to put me behind next semester.  My new mantra is: be on holiday when you’re on holiday.  Work when you’re at work.

So, besides baking and reading, I have done some rearranging and organizing to make room for Christmas gifts.  I changed the comforter on our bed.  I started wearing my new jammies.  I learned to use my coffee grinder and have been enjoying coffee in green and red mug.  I used a new bath bomb.  Took time to watch all of The Sound of Music.  I made homemade pasta with my husband, admired his sledding pictures, and made a homemade sugar scrub.

I am getting much, much better at relaxing, and in the back of my mind, I know that it is just what I needed.

The tree lights are on, the Christmas Day cheesecake is in the fridge and the last sheet of raspberry and almond shortbread thumbprints are in the oven.  Gifts are stacked on every flat surface.   My in-laws are en route from Virginia and we are expecting seven inches of snow tonight!  My Sweetie is off to buy a sled once he finishes mail delivery today.

We’re ready!

I want to wish everyone a happy Christmas and a blessed time of fellowship with friends and family this season.  May the joy and peace of Christ fill your life to overflowing!