I've Been Learning

Sometimes God allows me to go through really hard times. Sometimes those hard times last a few hours or a few weeks. In those times I learn that God wants me to turn to Him instead of panic. Admittedly, sometimes I panic first. But I'm learning.

I'm also learning that sometimes God allows those hard times to last a few years. I'm in the middle of one of those right now. Well, truthfully, I hope I'm nearing the end of one of those. It's one of those times where God has brought me to a wall and it takes everything I've got to put my head down a plow through it. I've been spending so much more time praying and reading my Bible. I hope I never give that up and that the time spent doing both of those just increases over my lifetime. Time with God is sweet. God gives me the strength to plow ahead. He puts my feet on solid ground. (Psalm 40:2)

So what's been going on for the last several years? Jeepers, where do I start? Both of my babies had the nerve to grow up, go to college and get married. (On the flip side... I am so overwhelmingly proud of both of them!) So my job description has changed dramtically. Although I think I'm getting the hang of the whole empty-nest thing, sometimes the reality and weirdness of it just jumps out and bites me suddenly.

I have a couple of minor-ish but annoying health issues. (heart arrhythmia and back pain)

My mom had a serious heart attack and even more serious reaction to some meds and was in the hospital and very ill for a very long time. Thankfully, she's pretty darn healthy right now and doing great for an 80 year old.

The church we loved dearly in our previous town has changed quite a bit because of the pastors moving on to different jobs. The current leadership has a very different vision.

A couple of good friends died in the last year. So hard to say good-bye and make sense of it all.

Friendships. Ugh. Our list of friends has diminished greatly. Some have been through attrition which we realize happens when people move. But some of those have hurt greatly. Some have basically made it clear their lives are so busy there isn't room for us. Some have said outright they don't want to be friends anymore. Some are just too busy in their day-to-day lives to make time to reach out.

We have made no new friends in this town we have lived in for two and a half years. I attribute that to a few things: being a little gun-shy because of previous broken friendships, living in a small, rural town where people aren't used to having to make new friends because they've always lived here, not having kids to make connections through, and biggest of all --- not finding a church to plug into.

I think this area of friendship has been the hardest wall to get through. Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with me that no one wants to be a friend. But I guess in reality, I'm learning what a good friend really is and how I can be that friend. It is a bit of a struggle for this introvert to think about doing that and I am a little frightened to try to reach out next time I have an opportunity, but I trust God will get my feet on solid ground again and give me the strength. I think these are the things He's teaching me.

But I think the Bible is pretty clear that as Christians, we should have meaningful relationships with other people. Christians and non-Christians. It's difficult to understand why God has brought us to this place where we have no relationships. Yes, we have some very close friends from other places we have lived and are very grateful for those. Yet it's hard to live somewhere where there is no one to call to run out and get some ice cream with, or have over for dinner, or go see a movie with.

We have also learned how tough it is to be in this hard place and have the people around us (long-time friends and some family) wane in their support. I guess when I am not in the same situation as someone, it's easy to think they should just get over it already. They have a good job and a nice house and plenty to eat, what's the problem? I agree and am thankful that God has blessed us with those things. Don't get me wrong, I really am thankful. 

I keep thinking about the book of Job in the Old Testament. I don't understand everything that is in it, and I think it's a reallly loong book, but God, in His wisdom, included it in the Bible. the book describes how Job loses everything he has. Job's response is to say, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; may the name of the Lord be praised." At first his friends are sympathetic and just sit with Job in his mourning. But then Job's wife tells him to curse God and die. And Job's response is, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Then Job laments. He asks God "how long?" (and David does that quite a bit in the Psalms). After a while, Job's friends seem to loose patience with him and tell him to just get on with it. I love how Job doesn't turn his back on God. In Job chapter 19, Job says, "I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin had been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God."

I'm learning that God allows us to go through hard times that don't necessarily have a time limit.I guess my point with all this is that I am learning what kind of a friend to be. I'm learning to say, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; may the name of the Lord be praised."

I want to be the kind of friend who listens, encourages, doesn't spout platitudes (oh, don't even get me started on that!), doesn't lose patience when someone I care about is struggling with something for a long time. Who am I to declare when God is done with an area He's working on either in me or in someone else?

I know this is all God's process. I know He has an end result in mind. There is a song by Christy Nockels that speaks to my soul. The video is below.  There are a couple of lines that stand out to me:

Sometimes it's hard to grow when everybody's watching. To have your heart pruned by the One who knows best.

And I'll grow up strong and beautiful, all for Your splendor, Lord.

All for Your splendor, Lord.

The Farmers

For two of my college years I roomed with a gal that has to be the sweetest person in the world. She met and married a farmer and moved to Ohio.

Last summer my friend Carol and I got to spend a couple of days together. We hadn't seen each other for 7 or 8 years and it was very good to spend time together. Oh yeah, and the husbands were there, too. We were all friends in college. We were all involved in a campus Christian group.

My friend and her husband farm on a seven generation farm in Ohio. Their family has met with some pretty big challenges over the years, but they've stuck together and leaned on God.

Last year their local PBS station filmed the family at their farm. I think the purpose was to highlight some of the people of Ohio and highlight farming. This is a great video. It's about 25 minutes long. Watch it. It's time well spent. You'll be blessed. I was. Both times I've watched it.

Yep. Hodgepodge.

Can you believe it? I'm answering the Wednesday Hodgepodge Questions! Go on over to Joyce's blog and play along. Or you can just read through all those who linked up. Or both.

1. Aloha! On August 21, 1959 Hawaii officially became a US state. Have you ever been?

Yes, I've been to Hawaii! For Christmas of 2007 we all went on a cruise around the islands with my extended family. It was definitely cool. We loved being someplace warm when there was snow storms back home.

 Upon arrival would you prefer an orchid or a hibiscus to tuck behind your ear?

We all liked our orchid leis.

2. Since we're talking tropical...what's your favorite food or beverage made with pineapple?

I love just plain old fresh pineapple. Sooo yummy! I ate fresh pineapple every single day we were in Hawaii.

(Obviously not me in this photo. I think my daughter is way more adorable
and she's enjoying a piece of pineapple in Honolulu!)

3. Do you believe in soul mates? Explain.

I guess I don't really understand what exactly is meant by "soul mates". I do know, through experience, that there are some people I feel more connected to than others. 

4. Share a memory about the house you grew up in.

This is the house I lived in from age 4 to age 11. I remember playing ping-pong in the basement. The ceiling was unfinished and sometimes if the ping-pong ball was hit extra hard it would bounce back and forth in the joists above. That was fun.
I learned to sew in that basement. I made lots of batches of Chocolate No-Bake Cookies in that kitchen.

When it snowed we would make paths in the snow in the backyard. Kinda like a maze, I think.

5. Are you comfortable with silence? 

I better be since I spend the majority of my time alone. I do watch TV during the day, but not always.

6. You spot a giant spider on your bedroom wall...what's your next move? (all spiders are giant, right?)  

I find something to smash it with. If it's extra giant and yucky and Hubby is nearby, I call for him to come be my hero. I don't mind smashing bugs, even cockroaches. When we lived in Singapore, I often stomped on cockroaches. Hubby took care of the geckos. We're a good team.

7. My idea of fun does NOT include ______________. 

Camping, sleeping on the ground, getting hot and sweaty.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Tomorrow's post is worth coming back for. I'm going to write about some dear friends and post a video of a PBS show that was made about them. Don't miss it, you'll be blessed.

Weekend Recap

A list from the weekend:

1. Friday night  I went golfing with my favorite-est golfer. (That would be Hubby.) Okay, I confess, I don't golf. I drive the cart. I've tried to learn how to golf. Hate it. But I love being with my husband and driving the golf cart is fun! So going golfing with him is a win-win.
We saw some wildlife out there in nature that was the golf course.

a turtle

The little guy was surprisingly fast when I walked up to it to take a picture.

5 racoons crossing the road. Yes FIVE racoons. All one after the other.
1 birdie
2 bogies


Then we watched the Olympics.

2. Saturday we decided to have a dinner date so we headed to a Red Lobster. Yum. We did a little shopping while we were in the bigger town that involved all the favorites: Hobby Lobby (me), a sporting good store (Hubby) and a book store (both).
Then we watched the Olympics.

3. Sunday started with a drive to church. In the rain! Sunday ended up being a pretty cool rainy day. We haven't had one of those for months.
Then we watched the Olympics.


(There is a common theme here. Olympics. We really enjoyed watching. But now I think I'll actually be able to get some things done now that I won't be constantly glued to the TV.)

The Goings On

Outside my window...  Today I'm sitting in the basement with the blinds pulled up and watching the birds outside. (We have a walkout basement and there are full size windows that let in tons of light and offer a great view!) I have seen a bright red cardinal hopping by, a tiny hummingbird hovering at the window and earlier I was delighted to watch some little birds splashing and drinking in my birdbath! So fun! I just giggled and clapped. (Yes, I'm easily entertained.)

I am thinking... it's not the best idea to watch food shows on TV while I am very hungry. (Kansas City BBQ? Oh man!) I guess that's right up there with not going grocery shopping when I'm hungry. I should eat some lunch.

I am thankful for... awesome inventions that make my life enjoyable. Yesterday I was on the road (had lunch with a college friend..thanks for meeting me Sandy!) and I had fun cranking up the music in the car and singing as loud as I wanted to. And hitting the repeat button as often as I wanted to. So, I'm thankful for whoever first figured out that a radio and speakers could be installed in a car.

I am wearing... bare feet. Love to have bare feet. And a nice pedicure.

I am going... to do some serious math this afternoon to figure out if I have the right amount of fabric to make the borders I want to for my latest quilt. Serious math people. Hopefully it won't make my head hurt.I was trying to do this in my head a while ago and think I really need some paper and pencil and a calculator. Then my husband's brain. :) I married for the right reason: someone who does math way better than me. ha.

I am currently reading... Stand By Me by Neta Jackson. I've been reading a lot of books by her. They are fiction and set in Chicago around a group of women who are in a prayer group. I just enjoy the writing style and some good Biblical truths tucked in. Good summer time reading for sure.

I am hoping... that the woodpecker that woke me up this morning will decide that there are no bugs in the siding of our house and not return tomorrow.

Noticing that... I need to figure out some good ways to organize my sewing room better. I spend too much time scrounging through stuff trying to figure out where I stashed a certain tool. My latest quest has been to figure out how to organize my spools of thread. I know there are things you can hang on the wall with little pegs to put the spools on, but I don't want the thread to be collecting dust that would then get into my sewing machine. I've searched on-line and wandered through The Container Store. (can I just say that The Container Store just makes me happy? So many ways to organize stuff. So fun!) (Yes, I'm a nerd.) Nothing has hit me yet, but I'm trying to figure out what will work really well with the way I work.

Pondering these words... "Friendship isn't about whom you have known the longest... It's about who came and never left your side." I've been learning that friendships as a grown-up are harder than junior high. (Yes, I used the term "junior high". That's what grades 7-9 were called back in my day.) (And I just used the term "back in my day." Sigh.)
 
From the kitchen...Fresh tomatoes from our garden! Yum! And cucumbers that our neighbors shared with us.

One of my favorite things... Spending time with my husband. (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that here before a time or two.)

From my picture journal...
This is my favorite picture. The little girl is my mother-in-law. I think she must be about 18 months old. The man is her father. He passed away when she was only 2. He was a coal miner in Wales and came to this country as an evangelist. He died of black lung disease from breathing all that coal dust.

My mother-in-law was such an adorable child. She is still a pretty adorable 83 year old.

Olympic Racing and Quilting

I don't know about any of you, but I have been plastered to the TV watching the Olympics. It's a little strange, because I am really not that much of a sports fan. I don't know what it is about the Olympics but I find them fascinating.

Last night while I was watching Track events and Gymnastics, I was working on another quilt. The pattern is called Jelly Roll Race. I thought it was fitting to be watching the track races at the same time.

This is my pile. It looks a bit washed out because I took the photo with my phone and because what is shown is the back or wrong side of the fabric. For this quilt I started out with what is called a Jelly Roll which is composed of 40 strips of fabric that are 2 1/2 inches wide and 40 inches long. Take 40 x 40 and you get 1600. After I joined all those strips together I had one long strip of fabric that was 1600 inches long!

Go to this link to see a video of how to construct a Jelly Roll Race Quilt. You may notice that the lady on the video says the quilt can be constructed in 45-60 minutes. I don't know how she can sew so fast. I worked on it for 2 1/2 hours and am only about half done. I guess watching Olympics and trying to sew at the same time doesn't help my speed. I have to stop sewing and watch, after all!

I hope to get it finished some time today. (Minus the borders...I have something fun in mind for that that will take a bit more work.) But I guess before I lock myself in my sewing room I should go buy some groceries. The fridge is pretty empty. Hubby hasn't had any juice for breakfast for three or four days. Poor guy.

Happy Monday!

My Head Is Mixed Up

I just can't quite figure out what day it is.

Last Saturday Hubby and I left town and returned last night. Since we typically come back from a trip on a Sunday, today should be Monday. Since Hubby will be home all day tomorrow and the next day, I'll be totally confused for a while. Great.

We enjoyed some time to celebrate our anniversary. We enjoyed some time along the St Croix river. We even explored a ski area where we had both skied. Well, I think the last time either of us skied there was 29 years ago. Good grief that was a long time ago. We must be old or something. There is just something foreign looking about a ski slope in the summer.

And then Hubby had some meetings in the Big City, so as usual, I tagged along. Even though Hubby is busy all day (and most nights), I like having a whole Big City with a bunch of options to entertain myself. You gotta know I spent time at Target and Panera. In fact, I discovered at the Super Target I was at that you can buy soup from Panera there! I wished I could have brought some home.
I had lunch with a friend (believe it or not), got lost in IKEA, and had a lot of time to read.

Back home now. Doing laundry and some cleaning. Today's excitement was trying this method for silky smooth legs I saw on Pinterest. It's a combo of sugar, oil, and lemon or lime juice. I rubbed it on my legs and shaved. Maybe too much information, for you. Go to this blog to read about it. It worked! I'd do it again. The only down-side is that it makes the shower floor oily. Because of that, I scrubbed the shower (which needed it any way). Because I scrubbed the shower, I hurt my back. Ugh. 

Sorry, but this is my life. Yippee.