Embracing my time, space and joy

Late January is a bit late in getting my thoughts in order for this 2012 year but I am thinking that I have to begin somewhere. After spending too much time trying to get well last year, traveling and trying to decide where to begin I am finally making a plan. First things first - my spiritual fitness, my physical fitness and then I need to clear the clutter from my home - the process needs to begin. Since I am not a writer I hope that I will be able to clearly express how I accomplish these goals for the year! Come along and join me on my journey! I will enjoy hearing your thoughts on how you may have accomplished these tasks or even how you may be in the process of walking in the same path that I am on.

Autumn Days

It has been a long time since I have blogged. Autumn has arrived here in East Tennessee. We just returned from a month long trip to upper Michigan, Canada, New York and PA. It was a trip that I didn't particularly want to take but it turned out to be a time of rest, joy, and quiet reflection.




So many lovely opportunities to see God's handiwork. I think that we all need a time of rest and reflection on days that have passed and a time to look forward to the days that are yet to come.

Sunday afternoon

Sunday afternoons have always been special. Sunday afternoons are not the same for everyone and we most likely all have an ideal of what it should be like. My Sunday afternoons have changed along with the decades. When I was a little girl it meant a trip to Grandma's house after church for a dinner, listening to a lot of family members catching up with each others news. Later the cousins depending on upstate NY weather we would sit in the barn, or under the apple tree. It was a time when people were not "Too Busy".

Later years after a move to Florida we would have our Sunday dinner with our family and usually a preacher and other friends. My mother and father always had room at the table for anyone who may have visited the morning service at church or other friends who just dropped in as the Sunday dinner was being put on the table. Late in the afternoon before returning to church we would take a boat ride. It was still a time that people took the time .. they were not "Too Busy".

After I married this often included my husband's parents, my sister and her growing family. Again it was a lot of conversation about what we had done that week or were planning on doing in the coming week. It included talk about the new shopping center being built, the weather (always a topic in FL) and where the fish were biting. People too the time from their schedules that no matter... they were not "Too Busy" for Sunday dinner.

My husband and I moved to Tennessee, away from old friends and family we still maintained our Sunday after church except with new friends. As the years went by it often included preachers, visiting missionaries, friends of our children and sometimes even a resident of a local nursing home. I was busy with little children and my husband was very busy with work.. but not "Too Busy".
As the years went by and our four older children moved away it was soon my husband, our youngest daughter and myself. We still kept up the Sunday dinner routine but soon the new restaurants were waiting to be tired out. My husband would often find one he liked so that would be the place we would head to immediately after church. It is laughable now, because he would always choose that same restaurant - and our daughter and I would beg for a change!

Now it is Sunday afternoon and all the children are busy with after church activities and work. This afternoon we met friends for dinner at a new restaurant in town. It was nice, but really not quite the same. I think next week I need to revive that tradition of Sunday dinner at home with friends. What if no one comes? I doubt if that will happen. I think that if you cook dinner... they will come. And, again there will be good food, laughing, conversation and mounds of dirty dishes left in the kitchen. That is OK with me. Later,while the dishes are being done, I will be thankful for my kitchen, the bounty of food, the table surrounded by old friends who we love and maybe some new friends we will get to know better. Either way -- We are not "Too Busy" - Welcome back Sunday dinner! By the way.. what are you doing this Sunday?

His Lamb Memories

Grandchildren and Boxes

At the moment two of my grandchildren are upstairs playing in a box. A short time ago I crept up the stairs to give them some ideas on how much fun they can have with an empty cardboard box. How silly of me - what ever was I thinking? Children do not need advice from their grandmother on how to have fun with a box. The room that they are playing in holds many toys. Some of the toys are the same ones their mother, aunt and uncles played with. Most of these toys unlike the toys of today have no batteries. It is fun to watch as they use their imagination playing with toys. But as stated they are playing in a pain large cardboard box. I am wondering, where their imagination is taking them. Is the box a ship, a box car of a long train, a little house, a cave or the inside of a whale? Isn't is wonderful how a simple box can carry them away to hours of fun, creativity, and sharing ideas between a sister and little brother? I wonder are they making a memory or will these moments be forgotten? I think this afternoon will not be forgotten but will be remembered oneday as they sit together around a table reminiscing of childhood times. Today is not a day of just two children making memories to tuck into their hearts, the memory will remain in this grandmothers heart. Thank you Lord for the Grandchildren.

Sunsets

I spent most of my childhood on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Part of the memories of my childhood was spent watching sunsets. My family owned a boat and often we would spend the evenings eating our supper on the boat, taking a swim, watching the dolphins and then waiting for the sunset before anchoring for the night or going back to the dock. Sunsets are something that seem to be always there.... And so we take them for granted. I wonder why most of us don't take the time to fix our eyes on the sky when the day is coming to a close. For me this time of day is often a time of quiet, reflection and a sense of God's presence. For some reason I always felt as though those beautiful colors were painted on the sky just for me to behold. I thought of how amazing that since creation there have no sunsets exactly the same. The sky filled with color held promise for tomorrow. Yes, there would be another sunrise in the morning... And another sunset. He doesn't change. Everyday He is there and He is faithful. As a child I wondered if others saw the colors as I saw them. The sky seem to speak of hope for the future. Although I am now in my sunset years I look at a sunset and remember, I remember the faithfulness of God in the days that are past. The sunset represents joy, hope and assurance of His presence.

My scrapbook.

Today I am sorting pictures to put into a scrapbook project. I will not complete the job today as I have mountains, piles and boxes of pictures. On the table before me lays a big mess... not only of pictures but tickets, programs, newspaper clippings, and achievement awards that I thought were long forgotten. The pictures contain images of my grandparents, my parents, myself, extended family, friends, children and grandchildren. There are also pictures of places, events, and items such as cars, flowers and even butterflies. Where do I begin... and how did it accumulate into such a mess of memories that lay before me? Memory... it is defined as the power or process of reproducing or recalling what has been learned. As I look these pictures they do invoke a memory of lessons learned, and some unfortunately not learned. These images also bring me to a another time and another place in the journey of not only my own life but the lives of those who went before me. As I gaze at some very old and some new pictures they bring thoughts of joy, questions of why, where, and even sometimes sadness. It is amazing to me how the Lord uses our recall of memory while looking at pictures. Even fragrances, music, and feeling of emotion freshen our thoughts of how He has blessed us over the generations. I think as I begin this scrapbooking hobby I need to have a goal ..a purpose.. Should it be to pass on to those who come behind me the importance of looking back, learning from the past and remembering the blessings that God has showered on us? The promise of tomorrows blessings can certainly be seen as we remember past blessings. The places... old houses, barns, new and old buildings, fields of flowers, snow, autumn brilliance, and seashores. The events.. Holidays, birthday celebrations, family vacations, picnics, sporting events, graduations, births, and work projects. The faces... silly, sad, reflective, baby faces, old wrinkled faces, and faces displaying surprise and joy! All these pictures tell a story. One I looked at this morning tells a story of three brothers leaving for WW II, another recalls the birth of a baby, a school project, and another tells a story of a day which is cherished deep in my heart because it reminds me of a walk in the woods with my precious husband. Sometimes I seem to have memories that are tucked deep into my heart and forgotten yet when I look upon these pictures I can feel the joy and contentment of that day. I hope that someday as future generations see these scrapbooks they will see spiritual markers in the lives of their ancestors. I know these scrap books will not be works of art as I will not have the time or the creative ablility to create that kind of memento but I do hope that it will serve as an encouragement for them to look, see and taste the plans that God has for them. Words, thoughts, feelings and actions of each of us will effect the lives of those around us, of those who come after us. My prayer is that our family story will be one that displays obedience and that glorifies our heavenly Father. Joel 1:3 Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation.
posted by His Lamb @ 5:55 AM 0 comments