Day 61

I've probably mentioned this before, but I really love serving.  I love doing things for people, helping them out, lending a hand.  My instinct when I hear of a need is to volunteer to fill it, which has sometimes gotten me into trouble when I've over-committed myself and worn myself down.  But, on the other hand, can you really think of a better way to wear yourself down than by helping too many people?  My favorite place to serve is at church and at church-related activities.  These people are my family, and every one of us is called to fulfill our role in the Body of Christ.

As much as I love to serve, I made myself cut back during the months leading up to and following my marriage to my husband. I knew that we would need some time to adjust to married life and in figuring out our roles as husband and wife.  Yes, I still helped out various people and at various events, but not as much as I had previously.  And then in the fall our church's college and career group started a once-a-month ministry night where we brought in leaders of ministries in our church and they talked about their ministry and ways to get involved. During one of these nights, the lady in charge of greeters and the welcome center personnel mentioned that there was a need for more people in these ministries.  It seemed like a great way to jump back into ministry, and I figured I had enough skill to open the door for someone and greet them on a Sunday morning, so I volunteered to be a greeter.  Somewhere the communication got crossed, because when I showed up on my first Sunday I was actually assigned to the welcome center and not to be a greeter.  No problem, I was happy to fill in wherever needed. 

I was looking forward to be a greeter/welcome center attendant because I wanted to meet all of the new people that I haven't gotten to meet before. I was also looking forward to it because I just love serving in general.  What I wasn't expecting, however, was how much I would enjoy it.  I love working at the welcome center! Yes, I have gotten to meet a lot of people that I haven't met before, and yes, I think that I have been able to assist visitors once in a while.  But what I love the most are the great conversations I have been able to have with people.  The welcome center is unique because it allows you to talk to people without being drawn into a group and then getting stuck in that group.  I've also had some good longer conversations with people in the foyer after Sunday School and the church service have started.  It's been great.

I share this story because I want to encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.  I was happy to fill a need but I was surprised by how much I was blessed by it.  Isn't that the way serving usually is?  You would think that I would know that by now, but it still amazes me when it happens.

May you find joy in serving.

Day 60

I had a great weekend planned.  Friday afternoon I was going to get together with and friend and Friday evening we were going to go to ladies fellowship at church.  Saturday morning I was going to get together with another friend and we were going to get fabric for some dresses we are working on. On Saturday evening is when our church's college and career group meets, and it was another chance to talk with the Korean students that were there last week.

But I didn't do any of that.

Friday morning when I got up for work I didn't feel very good.  By the time I got back from work four hours later I was feeling worse.  It felt like I had a ton of bricks sitting on my chest.  I laid around all day yesterday, and I spent today alternating between laying down and watching movies, laying down and reading, and laying down and napping.  I don't remember the last time I was so bored, and yet I don't have the energy to do anything about it.  I can't even get some things done on the computer because I find that I have to prop myself up or else I slump over, which is what I am doing now. Am I feeling sorry for myself? Yeah, I am a little bit.

As I write this blog and think about how weak I am and how all of my plans for this weekend got cancelled, I'm also thinking about how my hope does not rest in this life.  Yes, I am disappointed that I didn't get to spend time with my friends, but there will be other opportunities for that.  My time on this earth is only temporary, and sickness and disappointments are part of the package.  But one day I will leave this earth and go to a place where there is no sickness, nor pain, nor tears. Last Sunday we sang a song called "Soon" and I love they lyrics of it.  The chorus goes:

"I will be with the One I love
With unveiled face I'll see Him
There my soul will be satisfied
Soon and very soon."

There my soul will be satisfied. Amen.

May you find joy in the hope of eternity with the One you love.

Day 59

And so it began like every other meal search I've done.  I have some ingredients.  I look up recipes with those ingredients. I find a recipe that looks good.  I don't follow the recipe exactly, because where is the fun in that?  Amazingly, there is food to eat at 5:30, and it is usually pretty good (if I say so myself).  This is my routine, and I do it quite often, usually starting around 3:30 in the afternoon.  Since I have gotten married I'm usually making dinner flying by the seat of my pants.  I thought I would be more like my mom and have a month of meals planned out in advance, but the creative side of me beat the logic side of me in this area.  I don't want to just make dinner; I want to CREATE dinner. I want the rush of uncertainty and the thrill of victory when dinner comes together. But I'm getting sidetracked.

As I was saying, it started out like every other meal search.  I had my ingredients and I went to the all-helpful internet and my favorite recipes sites to look for something wonderful to make with them.  But then something went drastically wrong.  I couldn't find any recipes for what I was looking for.  What? This cannot be.  I can always find recipes for what I want to make. But not this time.  All I wanted was a recipe with canned pumpkin and spinach.  And lentils. And curry.  And that wasn't a soup.  I know what I want, but I just can't find it. (Yes, we have moved to present tense.)  So, I'm going to tell you what I am going to do.  I am going to stop typing and go into my kitchen.  I am going to get my canned pumpkin, my spinach, my lentils, and my curry and make something fabulous for dinner.  I know there are some skeptics out there who don't think I can do it.  Just because there are no recipes out there doesn't mean that it can't be done, and I am going to prove it.  Stay tuned.

...
...
...


Well, dinner is over and the results are in.  I did it.  I created a recipe out of pumpkin, lentils, spinach and curry and it was delicious.  If you would like to try it for yourself, I actually wrote the recipe down so that I can make it again. Please note that most of the measurements are approximations since I didn't actually measure anything except the lentils, so especially with the spices season to your taste. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Spinach Curry

1-2 Tabl. olive oil

1 Tabl. curry powder ( I used a mixture of yellow and red)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup frozen spinach, thawed

1/2 cup lentils

3-4 cups water

1 Tabl. chicken bouillon

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1 teas. basil

1/2 teas. garlic salt

1/2 teas. cinnamon

1/2 teas. paprika

1 cup canned pumpkin

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat.  Add the curry powder and cook for about a minute.  Add the onion and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the spinach and cook for a couple minutes more.  Add the lentils, water, and bouillon.  After about 5-10 minutes add the carrot, red pepper and seasonings.  Stir in the pumpkin.  Cook until the lentils are done and water is evaporated, about 20 minutes total from the time you added them. If the water evaporates before the lentils are finished cooking, add more water and cook until done.  Serve over rice.

Day 58

On Saturday night I had the joy of fellowshipping with a group of Korean exchange students who are here for a month to learn English.  I had met them the previous Sunday when they had come to church, and it had been arranged to switch our church's college and career group to a different house so that we could get to know them better and help them practice English.  We had a great time.  It was fun talking to them and learning about Korea and what they are studying and about the dozen other things that we discussed while trying to keep the conversation in basic English.  That part was great, but the part I enjoyed the most was when we gathered together and sang a few worship songs together.  Whenever I have had the opportunity to worship with people from other parts of the world, I think to myself, "This is what heaven is going to be like!"  People from every language, tribe, and tongue will be there and we will all worship our Lord and Savior together.  I find that very exciting.

So often I get bogged down in this life.  Day in and day out it's easy to get caught up in the million of little things that need to get done and lose focus of the bigger picture.  I get sucked into my own little world where I am in the leading role and everything revolves around me.  This is a dangerous place to find myself because my perspective has gotten warped.  I think that's why I enjoy traveling so much, and why I love getting to know people from other cultures.  It helps me keep my perspective focused by showing me that there is more out there than just my city or my state or even my country.  There is a whole world out there and God is working in all of it, and I am just a tiny little piece of the puzzle.  The more that I realize my own insignificance, and the more that I realize how much God loves insignificant people, and the more that I understand the fact that God loving insignificant people makes them significant, the more joy I have in my life.  It's that simple.

May you find joy in seeing the bigger picture.

Day 57

At the Foot of the Cross

I found grace...at the foot of the cross

I found hope...when all seemed to be lost

I found love...like I could only imagine

I found peace...when I stopped fighting

I found compassion...among the least of these

I found perseverance...through death and disease

I found trust...when the way was dark

I found freedom....and the courage to start

I found humility....when I let go

I found joy....in the highs and the lows

I found to live...I had to die

I found that Christ...was worth the price

To gain it all...I count all as loss

And I found grace...at the foot of the cross


I wrote this poem two years ago.  I hope you find it encouraging.

Day 56

It's Saturday afternoon.  I was up until past midnight hanging out with friends and slept until 10:00 am.  I have nowhere to go until 6:00 o'clock. The house is clean, and I have the chapters read and food made for small group tomorrow.  My husband and I have a movie to watch and there is chocolate to eat.

 Life is good.

May you find joy in relaxing weekends.

Day 55

"Do not be deceived, Wormwood.  Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do [God's] will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys."

"The Screwtape Letters"
C.S. Lewis

I'm not a person who usually re-reads books.  There are a choice handful that I have re-read over the years, but for the most part I like reading new books.  But right now I am re-reading "The Screwtape Letters"  and it is just as powerful as the first time I read it. If you haven't read it you need to.  C.S. Lewis provides amazing insight into human nature, and does it in a very direct way.  He can get away with it because the format for the book is letters between demons, and for some reason we can take uncomfortable truth about ourselves better from demons (since we expect them to cross the line anyways) than we can from a pulpit.   C.S. Lewis had an interesting comment at the beginning of the book.  He says, "Though I have never written anything more easily, I never wrote with less enjoyment...Every trace of beauty, freshness, and geniality had to be excluded. It almost smothered me before I was done."  And yet he did finished it, and the world is a better place because of it.

I shared with you my favorite literary paragraph a few days ago.  The above quote is also on my favorites list, but this time I know exactly why.  I love it because we have all been there.  We have felt a dryness in our souls and felt as if God was very, very far away.  But even though we couldn't see it, He gave us the strength to endure.  We have all read our Bibles without feeling like it.  We have all had times of going to church when we don't feel like it. But we did, because we know that obedience to our God is more important than feelings. It's when God gives us His strength and we cling to His truth and
promises to get us through the drought.  That's why I love that quote.

"The Screwtape Letters" are full of choice morsels like that.  It can be a quick read if you let it, but it can also cause great soul-searching if you allow yourself to linger over the truths found in the pages.  Again I would encourage you to read it, even if you already have.  You will be challenged, and that's a good thing.

May you find joy as you read.

Day 54

The Soymilk Adventure

A couple of nights ago I was looking through my cooking magazines trying to find something to make for dessert. I got distracted from my mission when, in my searching, I came across a recipe for homemade soy milk. It didn't take any expensive ingredients or fancy equipment, so of course I had to try it.  Yesterday I went to Whole Foods and bought 1 and 1/3 cups of dried soybeans (which are actually pretty cheap), and put them in a container to soak overnight.  Step 1: complete.  While I was at Whole Foods  I looked at the commercially produced soy milk to see if it had added sweetener.  It did.  Since my recipe did not call for any added sweetener, I looked around on the internet to see what other soy milk recipes added.  The first article I ran across was from a vegan blog.  This person had attempted to make homemade soy milk, and they didn't like the taste.  Now, in my opinion, if a vegan doesn't like something it makes me a little worried, because they have much more tolerant palates for interesting foods made out of soybeans and other healthy things in that venue.  But not to be deterred, I found another recipe that added honey and vanilla to they soy milk as it cooked, so I found what I needed.

Step 2 was to drain the soybeans and then puree them in the blender with three cups of filtered water.  I didn't know why it was necessary to use filtered water, but I figured I should follow the recipe on the first try.  The problem is that our blender can't hold three cups of filtered water plus the soybeans which had swollen to about three times their normal size overnight.  So I pureed half of the soybeans with half of the water, poured that into another container and then pureed the rest.  Step 2: Complete.

Step 3 was to boil three more cups of filtered water, and once it was boiling to add the soybean puree and boil for eight minutes, stirring continually so it wouldn't burn or boil over.  Getting the water to boil was easy, but once I added the puree it didn't seem to want to boil again.  I was worried about over-cooking it, and wondered if I should start the timer before it started boiling.  At 11:21am, the soybean puree started boiling.  At 11:21 and thirty seconds, the soybean puree boiled out of the pot.  Lovely.  Now there was soybean puree everywhere.  I got a bigger pot, dumped the puree into that and put it back on the burner to continue boiling.  I cleaned up the puree that I could, but some of it was in the burner so that had to wait.  After eight minutes, Step 3 was complete.

Step 4 was to line a colander with a cloth napkin and set it over a bowl to strain out the soy milk.  Once the mixture had cooled down, you were supposed to squeeze out the remaining liquid from the solids and voila! you have soy milk.  That part went pretty much as planned, except I needed to go somewhere so I didn't let the mixture cool down all of the way before I started squeezing out the liquid.  So, I would take a quick squeeze which would send scalding soy milk running down my hands into the bowl, then let go so my hands could cool off, then repeat the process.  It was great fun. Since I had to leave I poured the milk into a bowl and put it in the refrigerator to cool down.

Now comes the moment we've all bean (haha) waiting for.  The soybeans have been soaked, pureed, boiled, strained, and chilled.  The jury is out: how is homemade soymilk?  Well, let me tell you:

It tastes like homemade soymilk.

It's not bad, but it's also not the  most delicious thing in the world.  The main problem is that there is an earthy, beany aftertaste that's a little weird.  From what I read that seems to be a common problem in homemade soymilk.

At the end of the day,  I'm glad I did it.  It was a fun experiment, and I love trying new things even if they don't always work out.  I love how creative God is, and how He gives us the ability to create as well.  I took some beans and ended up with milk, and that's pretty awesome if you ask me. 

Day 53

Friends have the ability to bring much joy but also much sadness into our lives.  There is the joy from sharing life together, having a support system, a smile, a hug, a laugh.  There is sadness when the relationship is strained, feelings get hurt, or distance separates you and you don't know when you will see them again.  This morning I had a lovely get-together with one of my oldest friends.  Our relationship has changed over the years; some periods of it we only saw each other a couple times a year, and other times we saw each other several times a week.  But no matter how much we see each other, or talk to each other, or text each other, I know that she is my friend.  There is a great comfort in that.  The truth is that people change and circumstances change, and sometimes even people change, so by necessity friendships change as well.  It doesn't mean that you don't love them as much, it just means that things have changed.  I have a good friend that I haven't seen in two years.  I miss her so much. But I know that when I do see her again, we will still be friends and be able to jump in right where we left off.  Knowing that brings me joy to help ease the sadness. 

On the other end of the scale, sometimes friendships end because of misunderstandings, miscommunications, and hurt feelings between friends.  When this happens it is always painful, and sadly sometimes things do not or cannot get resolved in spite of our best intentions.  As Christians, though, our reconciliation is in Christ, and when we get to Heaven there will be no strained relationships or hurt feelings.  That brings me comfort.

Take a minute today and either write quick note or text to a friend you haven't seen in a while, or try to heal a strain between you and friend.  It's worth the effort.

My you have joy in your friendships.

Day 52

Much joy in my life comes from using the talents God has given me to serve others. Right now I am working on two projects for different people, and I am enjoying both of them very much. That makes sense, doesn't it? I am doing what God created me to do, and there is always a certain satisfaction that comes from doing what one was made to do.

My parents recently got a new puppy.  He is part Heeler, and Heelers are herding dogs.  Their natural instinct is to herd things, and we have already seen this demonstrated with the new puppy.  Starting on the first day they got him, if anyone left the room the puppy was right on their heels, seeing where they were going. A couple of times my mom went downstairs and the puppy didn't know where she was.  He dashed down the hallway to my parent's room looking for her, because that is where he thought she would be.   He was made to keep track of things, and since there is a lack of sheep at my parent's house, the only thing to keep track of is people. He is doing what he was made to do.

A lot of people want jobs where they can use their particular talents. I understand that.  From experience I know that it is more satisfying to work at a job that uses your skills than at a job that anyone can do.  I'm at a job like that now, and it's not very challenging.  But just because my job doesn't require my skills doesn't mean that I can't use them.  I volunteer to help at a lot of things, I do some free-lance work, and I'm always on the look-out for ways that I can bless someone with what God has given me. It's a joy to do so.

May you find joy in your gifts.

Day 51

Two weeks ago at church I was standing at the welcome center looking around at all of my friends and family in Christ,  I was overwhelmed by a feeling.  This morning while driving to work that same feeling washed over me.

I'm happy.

I've tried to make it a point in this blog to differentiate between joy and happiness.  Happiness is a temporary feeling determined by events and situations.  Joy is an inward contentedness that is only truly found by believing in and loving Christ.  Joy and happiness are not mutually inclusive, but neither are they mutually exclusive.  It is possible to have one or the other, both or neither.  At this time I am blessed to have both.

My life is very different than it was a year ago.  In many ways it is better in some ways I've digressed and need to come back to where I was, and some things are still a work in progress.  But what I can say for certain is that God is good.  He is faithful.  He loves to bless His people, and I have been blessed.

In life there are storms and there are seasons of rest.  There are mountain tops and there are valleys. There are trials and there is peace. Everyone is at a different place in their journey.  From my short experience, the seasons of rest and peace are there to help you recover from the storms and trials, and the storms and trials make you so much more grateful for the rest and peace.  This is a season of rest and peace for me.  I've been through storms and trials and I know that they will come again, but for the moment I will rest in the arms of God and be grateful for this season that He has given me.  I'm not going to worry about what might happen and I'm not going to dwell on the past.  I'm just going to live right now for the glory of God, and be joyful.

May you find joy in the journey.

Day 50

One simple thought for today:

 "He enjoys nothing, who lacks communion with God; he lacks nothing, who enjoys communion with God; therefore above all gettings, get communion with Christ, and above all keepings, keep communion with Christ."
                                                                                             "Heaven on Earth"
                                                                                                Thomas Brooks

My pastor quoted this in the short message he writes to the body in our church's weekly update. It's a profound statement, and I don't want to detract from it by filling up the space with empty words.  Think about it. Ponder it.  But above all else, apply it.

When we enjoy sweet fellowship with Christ, everything else is touched by that sweetness.

May your joy in Christ be sweet this weekend.

Day 49

"He is taller and better-looking than I, as good a speaker, with as keen an eye for country. Only one thing keeps him from being my equal. He lacks the element of the monstrous.

For this I love him.

I contain the monstrous. All my field commanders do. Hephaestion is a philosopher; they are warriors. He is a knight and a gentleman; they are murderers. Don't mistake me; Hephaestion has depopulated districts. He has presided over massacres. Yet these do not touch him.  He remains a good man.  He suffers as I do not. He will not give voice to it, but the executions today appalled him.  They appalled me, too, but for different reasons.  I despise the inutility of such measures; he hates their cruelty.  I scourge myself for failure of attention and imaginations.  He looks into the eyes of the condemned and dies with them."

                                                                                      "The Virtues of War"
                                                                                         Steven Pressfield

Out of all the books I have read, I think my favorite paragraph out of all of them is the one I just quoted above. I realized that is a weighty statement.  I have read a lot of good books.  There have been quotes and sentences that I have loved better, there have been books that I love more, but in the paragraph department, that one wins the prize.

Why?

I don't know for sure.

Maybe because in a few short sentences you know Hephaestion.  You don't know his favorite color or if he is married or has kids, but you know him as a person; you know his character.

Maybe I love it because it is written by his friend, and that friend is able to point out his good points, his weak points, and the ways that they compliment each other.  His friend was Alexander the Great. "The Virtues of War" is a first-hand account written from Alexander's perspective about all of his campaigns.  Alexander the Great had to be monstrous.  He couldn't have done all that he did if he had Hephaestion's disposition.  Alexander knows this, but he also sees the benefit of his friend's goodness. "He remains a good man."  Alexander loves his friend not because they are the same, but because they are different.

Maybe I love it because of the way the words flow.  Maybe because I can relate to Hephaestion. Or to Alexander.  Or both.

I know that this is a strange paragraph to love; it doesn't really make sense.  But all I know is that I do love it.  Just because I can't pinpoint exactly why doesn't change the fact.  Sometimes I think we over-evaluate things too much. We enjoy something but can't say why exactly, so then we feel like we shouldn't enjoy it as much.  I don't want to be that person.

May you find joy in the things that you love without a good reason.

Day 48

Sleeping in.

Doing laundry.

Looking for puppies.

Playing with a puppy.

Thinking about names for puppies.

Meeting up with a friend.

Looking at a reception hall for a friend's wedding.

Getting great prices on berries in the middle of winter.

Making chicken paninis for dinner.

Having a quiet time.

Drinking chai.




It's been a good day.

Day 47

Tonight my husband and I have the joy of having some long-time friends of ours over for dinner. I know I have written before about having people over for dinner and how much I enjoy it, but it bears repeating.

The Bible tells us that we should be hospitable people, but this is a commandment that most of us could do better at.  We know we should be hospitable, we may even really enjoy having people over, but so often our good intentions slip between the cracks of our busy lives.  Let's be honest: it takes some effort to have someone over for dinner. First of all, you have to find a night that works for both of you.  This seems to be much harder than it should be.  One of my friends and I have been coordinating for three months trying to get a date, and we finally found one that works for all of us later on this week. After you get a date there's a menu to plan, groceries to get, a house to clean, and food to prepare. Yes, there is effort involved.  However, I propose that there is not as much effort as we think there is.  I think that the reason that people do not practice hospitality more is because they feel like it is a lot of work-work that they don't have time for or are too tired to even begin to attempt.  What if we looked at it differently, however. What if we didn't look at the tasks involved with having someone over for dinner as different tasks than the ones we do everyday.  Let me explain.  Over the course of the week I need to get groceries, clean the house, and make dinner every night. It's pretty easy to get the groceries I need for the dinner with friends when I do my regular shopping. I need to clean the house this week, and it's pretty easy to do it today instead of tomorrow.  I need to make dinner tonight anyways, and it's pretty easy to make it for four people instead of two.  Now instead of feeling like a big to-do,  having someone over seems more manageable.  I am just doing what I am normally doing, on a slightly bigger scale.

The reason I broke this down is because I don't want people to miss out on the joys of hospitality because they are worried about how to get everything done when inviting someone over.  Your house doesn't have to be perfect, your table doesn't have to look like Martha's Stewart's and the food doesn't have to taste like Julia Child made it.  Just do what you normally do, be a blessing to someone, and be blessed in return.

May you find joy in hospitality.

Day 46

For today's post, I am going to link you to an excellent post written by my friend Travis about where our true and lasting joy should come from. Enjoy!

http://musingsofawildmansheart.blogspot.com/2012/01/rejoicing-in-what-is-worth-rejoicing-in.html?spref=fb

Day 45

Here's a funny story for you to start off your weekend with.

I remember going to my Grandma's house for Thanksgiving when I was little and eating her delicious turkey soup that she made with the turkey carcass the next day. I have always wanted to make turkey soup like my Grandma's, but the opportunity never presented itself. Until this week.

On New Year's Day my husband and I went over to his parent's house and his dad deep-fried a turkey that we had bought around Thanksgiving.  Ooh, was it good.  He gave me the carcass so that I could make soup with it.  On Monday morning I researched turkey soup recipes.  I wanted to make a broth with the the carcass and then make a soup out of that, but all I found were recipes that took chicken broth and then added turkey meat. The only thing I remember from my Grandma's recipe is that it had rice in it, and I didn't really find any recipes like that either.  So I just decided to make my own recipe up.  I put the turkey in the crock pot, threw in some vegetables and seasonings, filled it up with water and let it cook for a few hours. The broth that was created was fabulous.  I strained out the broth, pulled the meat from the bones, added some fresh vegetables and the turkey meat.  I added some lentils because they are my new favorite cheap food, and then I poured in the rice. I might have gotten a little excited when I poured in the rice, because when I checked it about 30 minutes later, the rice had expanded and filled the entire pot. No problem! I just added some more water and some chicken bouillon. 

We ate the soup for dinner, and it was delicious.

 It was also delicious on Tuesday when we had it for lunch, and also for lunch on Wednesday. 

Actually, it was delicious on Thursday as well.

And today.
And it will probably still be delicious when I have it for lunch tomorrow. In fact, if you would like to try my delicious turkey soup, there is still plenty in the refrigerator.  Yes, I made quite a bit of turkey soup.

There's an important lesson to be learned in this. When you cook rice it will expand 1 1/2 to 2 times its size depending on how much water you cook it with.  However, when given the opportunity, rice will expand much more than 2 times its size, and you might just be eating turkey soup for the rest of your life : )

Have a wonderful weekend.

Day 44

Yesterday I left you hanging with a question: Do you intentionally surround yourself with beauty or do you wait to stumble upon it? Well?

I would think that with most people it is a combination of both. People tend to surround themselves with things that they like, which in this case we will define as things that are beautiful to them.  They have music that they like, clothes that they like, a favorite mug, a colorful poster or painting, etc. But I think that most of us reach of point of surrounding ourself with beauty and then we stop.  And the reason we stop is because we feel guilty.  Let me explain.

As Christians, we are told to fight our sinful desires.  It just so happens that a lot of our sinful desires are things that we enjoy doing.  Let's face it: humans enjoy sinning. Eating a whole bag of chocolates would be fun, but it wouldn't make us good stewards of our bodies. Driving twenty miles over the speed limit is fun, but it is also against the law. Sleeping in until noon every day would be lovely, but it is also not a good way of redeeming the time. You get the idea.  We like to sin, and we constantly have to fight that sin.  Here is how this connects with beauty:  Christians are programmed to look out for sin, and sin is often something that we enjoy doing.  We enjoy beauty, therefore we become suspicious of it. We know that beauty isn't intrinsically evil just like money isn't intrinsically evil, but we are afraid of indulging in beauty too much.  Can beauty become an idol? Absolutely! You don't have too look far to find the idol of beauty in our culture. It's everywhere.  Christians see how our culture has caused beauty to become a sin, and in order not to stumble they err on the side of caution.  Out of the fear of over-indulging in beauty, we tend to limit our exposure and enjoyment of beauty. Stop and think about that for a minute.  Is that true?

I'm not going to tell you what the proper amount of beauty in your lives is; I can't. But I am going to encourage you to try to surround yourselves with more beauty. God created beauty and it's right and good to enjoy it.  In fact, it should drawn us to worship God when we see something inherently beautiful. It could be something as simple as changing the desktop background on your computer. On mine I have a gorgeous close-up photograph that my brother took last summer of an vibrant orange poppy. It's beautiful, an I enjoy looking at it.  Do something, whether big or small, and enjoy the beauty that God has blessed us with.

Day 43

How often do you intentionally surround yourself with beauty?

How often do you realize that you intentionally surround yourself with beauty? 

How important is it?

I was thinking about this today because I bought a calendar for the new year.  Actually, is wasn't a calendar so much as a collection of gridded pages that allowed the user to fill in the months and days themselves. There were two different designs and I chose the one that had more colors in the design on top.  This was an intentional choice.  I knew that if I had to fill in the months and days myself, it would be much nicer to have a variety of colors for the different months that coordinated with the design on top. Beauty matters to me, and whenever possible I intentionally surround myself with it.  I could argue that the reason I am like this is a combination of years as a floral designer, an interior design degree, and the artist in me.  But I think those are just surface things.  I think the real reason I like beauty is because I'm a human, and humans were created in the image of God, and God loves beauty. How do I know that? Because He created it.

Let's be honest, have you ever found someone who doesn't like beauty in some form or another? Probably not, unless they were intentionally acting against it.  People love beauty, whether it's a glorious sunrise, a painter's masterpiece, a well-designed car, a  melodious song, or a bride on her wedding day.  We are attracted to it; we never tire of searching for it or lingering with it once we find it.  There's a longing in all of us to have beauty in our lives.  But my question is: do you create beauty or do you just wait to stumble upon it?  Why is that? I'll try to answer that question, but you'll have to come back tomorrow to find out what I have to say.

May you find joy in beauty.

Day 42

Yesterday I wrote about my insane month of December. But December is over, and a new year has started.

Yesterday I woke up at 10:30 in the morning.  It felt so good to get a full eight hours of sleep plus a little extra. I didn't have to work.  We didn't have dinner plans or evening plans.  I didn't have to make food to take somewhere to buy something on the way there.  We didn't have people coming over to the house. There were no presents to wrap or people to call or emails to write.

Yesterday was a blank slate.

I had time to finish putting the Christmas decorations away and wash the dishes from New Year's eve. I had time to re-arrange the decorations in our dining room and living room after several months of seasonal decor.  I had time to organize my closet and make our bed. I had time to clean the kitchen and de-clutter the corners and counters that had collected various items over the last couple of weeks. I went to a store and another store and another store and stocked up on food for the month. I cooked down a turkey carcass and made some delicious turkey soup throughout the course of the day. I even had time to read my new book and work-out.  It was so wonderful.

Yesterday was a day full of little joys. Nothing exciting happened, but that's what made it special.  I was happy to just have a day to do all of the things I have been needing to do  for days and days. I hope I never take the ordinary for granted; sometimes it is the greatest of blessings.

And so is a clean house : )

Day 41

I always look forward to the Christmas season, but I was especially looking forward to my first one being married and celebrating this special time of the year with my husband.  I anticipated being filled with joy and writing about it for my faithful readers to enjoy.  I thought I was ready to embrace the busy bustle of the season filled with parties and times with friends and family. I predicted cozy days of baking Christmas goodies and wrapping presents in beautiful packages with ribbons and bows. 

It didn't quite happen like that.

Succinctly put: I survived. Barely. The last three weeks contained an onslaught of activities that left me exhausted and run down. I felt like I was running just to catch myself, and doing a poor job of it.  Don't get me wrong: there were many fun activities, good family times, and special moments during the last couple of weeks.  But the problem for an introvert like me is that I need to time to recover between activities, and I just didn't get that opportunity very much.  If I ever found a moment between running hither and thither, the house needed cleaned or the laundry needed washed or dinner needed to be made for the next day when I would once again be gone all day. That being said, I don't think I had as much joy this Christmas season as I was hoping for.   It makes me a little sad thinking about it.  I had a lot of opportunities, and I didn't make the most of those opportunities.  It wasn't that I didn't have joy, but that I could have had more of it.  That was the purpose of starting this blog, so that I would be more aware and make more of an effort to find joy.  I realize that I still have a ways to go.

As we begin 2012, I have a simple goal: I want to be better than I was before.  That does not apply just to this area, but to all areas of my life.  It's a big goal, but with God's help, I can achieve it. I find great joy in the knowledge that each new day is a chance to start again.  When I fail it's not the end.  When I miss an opportunity there's always another one.  Thank you, God, for grace.

May you find joy in this new year.