Buoyancy in the moment.

Some days it feels as though I'm short on life preservers.

When I look in all directions there is someone who needs one.....perhaps they aren't drowning but they could use a lift, a break, a rest.....my first instinct is always to run headlong in to save the day with my cape waving in the breeze behind me.  What is it those flight attendants always say? Put on your own oxygen mask first, or you can't help the people around you...  I'm learning that my knee jerk reaction, to run in and save the day, isn't always the best response.   It's a response led by me, not Him.  Long ago a wise woman told me it's not always my job.  That by trying to rescue everyone, every time, I may actually be hurting them.  Training them to rely on me too much. Stealing opportunities for others to step in and be a blessing.   Stop trying to be everything to everyone.  People need to flounder before they will fight to swim.

I think I've gotten better but it hasn't gotten easier.  What I have learned is to not jump too quickly to respond.  To evaluate where I am most needed.....making sure that the needs of my family come first and that they are my first priority.  "No" is a hard word to say to anyone I care about...even when I know I need to say it.   It doesn't yet come out eloquently or as directly as it should.  I've also learned not to offer help unless I intend to follow through.  Unless I CAN.  This too is tough to not spit out the ready response of "let me know if you need anything".  

This season is teaching me that being fully in the right now, moment to moment, is where I need to learn to be.  Abandoning my own plans, great or small.  To be freed up to hear Him and do as He asks.

In this moment, I feel silenced.  Perhaps I would be too reactive....instead of responsive.  Perhaps He has plans to use someone else.  Whatever it is doesn't matter.  I'm trying to stay out and stay quiet until He ushers me forward.   It's not comfortable but that crazy sense of peace, that is only from Him, is there so I know its right.

Be buoyant.  Stay put.  Listen.  Watch.  Wait.  Shhh.   Be still.

Okay.  Teach me.



Blessings,
the Mrs.

can't escape my own awesome

Okay, so I suck at this whole blogging on a regular basis business.   It's not that I don't think of it, it's just that when I do I start posting in my head and then "oh shiny" and it's all gone like someone bumped the etch-a-sketch and I'm like whatever, it's all messed up and now I have nothing to say.

What have I been doing?  Being awesome.

I know, modesty.  Anyhoo...so I made pickled veggies upon request from a friend.  Apparently they were awesome and that made me awesome and now that's the only reason they are friends with me.  They did it all for the pickles.   See....they say I'm awesome.

These same pickle lovin peeps had a party last friday.  I made vegan sugar free, dairy free banana bread.....oh dear, I don't recommend it.  It tasted great but the texture was....goobery....that's accurate as I can get it.  In the garbage it went.  It was an Xbox 360 party because they just got one.  My guys were beyond excited and I was all oh geez here we go, I'll never hear the end of how awesome it is and they will drive me crazy. I do have to disclose that we currently have a deal going with the Dude.  When he was really sick - I think I posted about this - we discussed with the doctor what his healthy weight range was and the conclusion was that he needed to lose a little over 20 lbs.  She didn't want him doing anything about it until he was back to normal of course but she actually said that an Xbox 360 with Kinect was a great way to go for someone who wasn't really into competitive sports and had a hard time finding purposeful ways to be active.  Doh.  So that's when the guys really started to amp up the "but Mo-om!"  I was all "no way" but as cold weather started to approach and we realized that the Dude needs some motivation we decided to strike a deal.  If he could lose half of the total pounds he needs to lose, we will get the Xbox to help him finish losing the rest.  Once we own it a minimum of 50% of anything played on the system is required to be physical.  In other words, I better not catch you sitting down.  He is doing well so far and I think the party was good motivation now that he has a taste of it.

We played a party game that randomly selected different sports that two teams competed at.  We had two teams of 4.  I was impressed with how accurate the Kinect was in reading the movements.  Also it was awesome to not have to hold a controller.

I am the boxing champ.  I was defeated only once....the very last match when my arms simply wouldn't move right anymore.  It was hilarious and my arms were complete and total jello at the end.  Also, they were sore for days.  Also.....I admit, reluctantly, that I loved it.  It was so cool and so much easier without controllers.

Last night the guys decided to pull out the boxing game we have for wii and start working on their skills cuz momma whooped em both!  So now I have to get back into it to stay ahead of them.  I forgot how fun it is I haven't been working out like that for a long time.  I believe my level of soreness revealed that quite nicely too....   Also....I hit myself in the face several times with the cord.....have I mentioned that not having controllers was really nice?  Guess who's on the band wagon?

I did find this crazy killer core workout that is super easy to do at home, no equipment or anything!
I found it on pinterest and then tracked it to the original posters blog.  WOW.  This chick is ripped and amazing.  Really inspiring.  Check it out here:  The Petite Athlete

The 30-day challenge ends today.  I'm looping back around to start it all over again.  The scripture is great and I feel like I need to work on more of the details of the challenge.  There was this amazing clarity that came through about attitude in general and I really felt that this 30 days ended up being about changing and growing me.  Widening my eyes about my own attitude and becoming more aware of my words and examining what they reflect about what is going on in my heart.   Now I'm going to do it again and try to be more deliberate in the areas that I fell short - the more specific statements and encouragements that were supposed to be delivered to Mr.  I don't think he missed them but he certainly deserves them.

I'll try to be back sooner.
Seriously.

Blessings of challenges met, eyes widened and a great big deep breath of awesome in your day!
the Mrs.

organizing my thoughts...

...and my day.

Yesterday was one of those days where I wish there was some kind of Bean-O for the brain.   I couldn't seem to maintain any train of thought and caught myself just sitting there or wandering trying to figure out what on earth to do next.  I wanted to do none of it.  It was the brain fartiest of days.

So in an attempt to wake the sleeping hamster in the wheel I had two cups of coffee.  It didn't work.  Yes, I know, I "gave it up" but I'm not blindly cutting things out for all time so that I feel restricted.  I'm making choices.   Coffee is not a "can't" it's a "I don't want it daily".  Though, in the last week I've been hitting that slump that comes when sleep hasn't quite been as restful or long as it should be for too many days.  So I've been reaching for what is easy and tastes oh so yummy.   So yesterday, in a brief moment of coffee induced clarity, I realized that the coffee was probably part of the problem.  My water intake hasn't been where it usually is either.  I've not dropped to a point where I can push the precious save button on the scale in a couple of weeks and I've not been as organized in my work day as I'd like to be.

Time to get organized!

I use a planner and calendar.  But that really isn't enough.  I have my pre-made seasonal schedules that are a great guide but on a day to day basis - especially while so much is still shifting in this season of transition - I need something daily that I can modify.  There are scriptures I feel drawn to spend time in, blog posts I think I should write, people I should connect with and because it is basically just floating around in my skull it's not happening.  What I do know is that when I get really organized and get it out of my head and visually onto paper, I am much more efficient with managing my day, time and tasks.  The wonderful result is that my interactions with people become deeper and more intentional.

I need something daily.  Something to fill out and check off as I go.  Yep, I ended up on Pinterest.  I know.....you knew it.    I ended up at Simple Mom and found her free printable "Daily Docket".  It was oh so close to what I wanted but needed some modification to fit my goals.

Yep.....I'm a technological genius and have no idea why this came out sideways.  Nor how to change it.

But I'm guessing you can get the idea.  Basically this is my first try and I already have modifications I want to make.   Essentially what you see is: Top left - water intake.  I use 20oz bottles so I have 3 water glasses to check off.  The narrow bar on the top right is for the day or date.  Left column: "training ~ focus" is for a scripture or thought that I'm focusing on.  Right now that would be the verse of the day for the 30-day challenge. "Events" - meetings, tests, birthdays etc - highlight items to be aware of.  "Priority Items" - things that need to get done if nothing else does. "Daily's" - this would be where my seasonal schedule comes in.  Here is where I will put my regular daily household tasks.  These are to be done first before other tasks, I'll get to that one in a minute.  Right hand column: "meet Me here" - scripture, devotional, whatever I'm pulled to or working through.  "Whats for dinner" - I think that one is easy....but there is also a "prep" spot there so I know if I need to pull something out to thaw or the prep might take extra time.  "Connect with" - emails, phone calls etc.  "Organizing extras" - this is the project area.  The space where those random things creep into the day that I want to tackle but distract me from my "daily's".  Now, I can write it down and once the daily's are done, I can move on to this spot.  "Tomorrow" - things that didn't get done, extras I don't want to forget or just reminders.  The bottom has a "sometime this week" spot for random things.  

I'd like to redistribute some of the space, the "daily's" box is larger than I need and a "Notes" area would be helpful so I don't have random notebooks all over with things written that I find a month later....  Keeping things in one place where I can address it and organize it in conjunction with my planner will stream line things and free up extra time that I would otherwise spend wandering about the house between chores.  Not to mention the amount of notebooks lying around.  I might even get more of those "52" things checked off! 

Today will be the test run, notes on how to modify it and such and see just how much it helps.  Granted today is not a day full of tasks.  I'll be pickling veggies at the request of a friend but today is officially "food processing/cooking day" so it works.  I don't always use it as such but today I will. 

Blessings for organized productivity to you, with dashes of inspiration.

the Mrs.

A 30 Day Challenge.

Okay so maybe I didn't make it back yesterday...

A new challenge has presented itself.  One entirely different from the last.  Not about food, weight or exercise...or is it?  

The food would be His Word.
The weight would be the responsibility.
The exercise would be discipline...of the mind and the tongue.

While meandering through Pinterest last week I ran across a pin with a sweet looking picture of what appears to be a bride and groom sitting in the back of a truck bed at sunset.  The comment under it simply said "30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge".  Intrigued, I followed the links.

What I found was something scriptural, focused genuinely on building up the man, daily entries were short and to the point, convicting without being condemning and gave a daily challenge that was entirely doable but also stretching.  My first reaction was to simply pin it to my "for our marriage" board and check it out later.  The Lord seemed to have other plans.  It didn't just sit quietly at the back of my brain.  It jumped full force to the front of my brain with full out jazz hands that could not be ignored.  A list of wives slowly came to mind....some who would simply enjoy the beauty that it existed and others who would love the guide and encouragement to the season in life they are in.  Share it.  So I did.

My expectation was at zero.  I thought I'd share it and if I got any response back it would be a "Thanks, that's neat!"  and nothing else.  What I got.....was much more.  Inbox messages of thanks and confession of struggling in the area.  Requests to do this as a group and support each other.   Surprise was about all I could muster at first.....then I had to chuckle at the Lord a bit.  He knows my passions, He knows my buttons and where to get me.  This would be it.  Being a godly wife by the Book is one of my greatest passions, held second only to my passion at being as consistently Christ-like as I can be - which I am significantly less successful at.  But the two connect and stretch each other....and encouraging another wife in this area is exciting.  Four, is even more!

Yesterday was our first official start date.  On day One the two challenges are set up:

1. You can't say anything negative about your husband...to your husband...or to anyone else about your husband.
2. Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband...to your husband and to someone else about your husband.

What came to my mind was "hold your mind captive to the obedience of Christ" the verse in 2 Corinthians 10.  So When I went to look it up I found that all of Chapter 10 was just pure goodness on this subject.  Not specifically for wives but on the discipline of the mind and how that is so important.  A mind run loose is a dangerous thing and it can trample anyone, yourself included.  

Sound interesting?  Want to join in?

Here's the link: http://www.reviveourhearts.com/static/challenges/1-30DayHusbandChallenge.pdf

Blessings for a disciplined mind and tongue and encouragement that flows easily from and to you.

the Mrs.

Mission Accomplished.

Welcome to my garage....the party went beautifully and we had SO much food!  I did manage to take pictures before everything got started but as per usual, we forgot to take any pictures of anything during the gathering.  We are awful about pictures!  And the quality of mine are not so good as I'm using my old ipod touch. 

But here's how I set things up:

<-  This is the view from the side door, what you'd see as you entered.  Mr hung my garden sheets along the back wall so it would look nicer than staring at shelving and lawn equipment.

Two tables were put together in the middle - I wanted to make sure that conversation could flow and no one's back was to anyone during dinner.  On the other side is a seating area I set up so if people got tired of sitting at the table there were more comfortable chairs.

The "Rescue Center".  Tums, mints and tissues.  This was just as you entered the door.  There were also folded 3x5 cards and a sharpie for people to record what their dish was.

The start of the feast.  My Garden Bench converted to buffet.   An old burgundy flat sheet covered everything perfectly. At the right, is the start - silverware, large disposable plates and napkins.

 The end before all the desserts got there. Smaller plates, more napkins and a sharpie. I covered the tool bench with brown craft paper and on this area people wrote on the craft paper what the dish was!  It was slick!  I also put out a bowl of apples...granted that was more for me than others because I couldn't eat much but I wasn't the only one who had one. :)

Here is a shot of the two tables put together.  Those are not table cloths....they are curtains!!  I found them on clearance and bought a coordinating kitchen towel to go down the center.  Cheap and a perfect fit!  Now I can reuse them next year and for other parties too! 

Here is what the center of the tables looked like.  Extra napkins under the pumpkins, candles floating in mason jars with cranberries and two sets of salt and pepper so no one needs to reach or pass.

The bar area.  A few things for mixing, a recycle bin, alcoholic drinks in the white cooler and non in the red.  There were some napkins, stir sticks and more mini pumpkins and candles.  This is actually an old sewing machine cabinet that I bought a few years ago from Goodwill but my machine never made it in there so....I'm giving it up to the fire pit.  It made a nice cocktail table though!

The final shot - warmth.  The silver cylinder you see is a borrowed propane heater.  It worked SO wonderfully that people didn't need coats!  We even opened the side door a few times.  It was wonderful.  The two laundry baskets you see are filled with blankets and extra sweatshirts - just in case.  Didn't need any of them.

It was so much fun and I laughed so hard that my voice got all gravely like I was an old smoker.  My face hurt and so did my abs.  Best work out there ever was! :)  

The list of food, you ask???  Okay, here it is.... Stuff made with beer:  Thai Chili, Corn bread, Fruit Salsa, Pulled BBQ Chicken, Pork sliders, Garlic basil mashed potatoes, Mac and Cheese, Peanut Brittle, Vanilla pudding Bunt Cake, Chocolate cupcakes, jello shooters.  Non - beer foods: Vegan sloppy joes, apple slab pie.     Honestly I think I'm forgetting things.....there was that much food!

Blessings for a wonderful week to you!

the Mrs.

I may be back later today for another post on a whole other surprise challenge that came up!

Challenge accepted.

Sometime early this year.....or perhaps late last year but at some point in the past I cannot exactly pinpoint...we gathered a few friends to a challenge.  My Mr and a guy friend started to chat about beer and somehow ended up on cooking and the two fell together into a vote I wasn't there for.

We had our first Beer Dinner challenge - the Beta test.  I know, the name is entirely too creative.  Not entirely sure how well it would go, we moved forward and everyone was asked to come up with a dish, dessert or whatever they could think of, that they could infuse beer into.  The Beta Test was a Surly challenge.   It was all about one brand of beer and using any of the flavors they make.  The results were outrageously, ridiculously amazing.  People drooled and raved and broke out in the meat sweats and fell into swollen belly comas while laughing way too hard.  A second event was demanded.

You're curious aren't you.....you want to know what on earth was so good we needed to do it a second time.   Here's a list to the best of my memory:  Bender beef stew, Coffee Bender chili (I think), beer bread, Chocolate cake with bender frosting, Coffee Bender Chocolate Cheesecake, Furious Glazed Salmon Puffs (Profiteroles were also made with Furious), Bender Bacon Mushroom Meatloaf (pretzels instead of bread crumbs), Coffee Bender marinated steaks rubbed with a coffee brown sugar dry rub, Abrasive Jello Jigglers,   salad with....a dressing made with beer I can't remember and I know there's more I'm forgetting.  But you get the point.

This weekend will be Beer Dinner 2.0.  Any beer is fair game and the guest list doubled.  The Mr and I get a tad carried away....our list has topped out at 8.   So far I have Hell Fire Pickles and Furious Peanut Brittle.  The Toffee kinda went all wrong so attempt #2 will be today along with the much demanded Bender Bacon meatloaf I made last year, the sober-Vegan Sloppy Joes and Amazeballs.  I'll be in the kitchen if you need me....for the rest of the week.  Tomorrow I clean the house, make the jigglers and any last minute cooking things I can think of.  Then Saturday will be the Rogue Doughnut pork sliders, the 21+ Mac n Cheese and decorating the garage for the event.

Here's the funny part.....ya know all those food issues I have? I can't eat any of the food with beer in it.  Thus...the "sober" vegan sloppy joes and Amazeballs.  I'm actually thinking I'll be doing a gluten free Apple Slab pie too since one of our friends is gluten free and I'm not sure how much she will be able to eat either.  So the challenge for me is to cook things I can't eat or taste and have them actually turn out not only edible but tasting of awesome.....because, lets face it, I do have a reputation to uphold.

On other challenge notes......what do you do when you don't really own table cloths (I know, I know, my membership to womanhood should be revoked, but I'm okay with that) but are trying to make a party in your garage not look like.....a party in your garage....   You opt for creative solutions.  Knowing that this party will most likely become an annual event I made the executive decision that I need to get supplies that will be reused so I am not spending a fortune on disposable table stuff every year.  I was on a mission to find some nice table cloths I could use over and over in fall-ish colors.   Much to my dismay I found that all table cloths of any decent size were at least $16 and I need at least 3.   Time to employ creativity.  I found 3 clearance curtain panels in chocolate and eggplant for less than $10 a piece, a clearance set of napkins (to use under candle centerpieces) for $5, 3 different kitchen towels for $4 and a few candles from the dollar store will get things looking a bit nicer and smelling a bit less "garage".  A bag of cranberries, some tea-light candles freed from there little metal containers, some raffia and mason jars will be the center pieces along with the tiny little pumpkins I got last week.

I will do my best to take pictures......but we know I suck at doing that.

I'm excited to see if we can pull this off......well.....okay I know we can easily pull it off but I'm actually excited to see if I can pull off making a garage look nice for a party and not have everyone freeze to death.

Challenge accepted.

Blessings of fall fun to each of you,
the Mrs.

Stripped

Have you ever felt so stripped of value by people that you had a hard time shaking the feeling?

Been around people who at one time thought so highly of you that they would call at all hours just to receive advice or comfort from you.....then, as if some alternate reality took over....it seems that any words you speak need correction because they must be wrong?

The sheer extremes of it so boggle my mind each and every time it takes me days to attempt to disengage my emotion from it.  A fact I do not like to admit.  My value and self worth is not wrapped up in the opinions of others....especially those who reject me so deeply......but yet, it still hurts.  If I had done something to deserve such disdain (if I have I do not have a clue what it is) it might be easier to accept something I deserve.  If it had been swift and direct, that too might be easier to process.  The slow push, the gradual process of watching people back away, change how they speak to you and to feel the process of being devalued, unneeded, unworthy....unloved.....by a group of people you poured yourself into for so long.....I admit, it leaves a wound easily reopened.

The positives abound but the emotions of it.....are just a little harder to shut down.  To be so looked down on by a stranger would not be a blip on the radar but to be so looked down on by people who were so close....

My request is that He shows me the value in the hurt.  That He reveals areas where I need to change and if I simply need more grace to give, that He teaches me to do that.  If my value is too found in the eyes of others, rather than Him, that He reveals that and shows me how to correct it.  All experience has value, even this.

Look for a lovely thing and you will find it.

Blessings for an abundance of lovely among the thorns, 

the Mrs.

thinks too much and too often......would make a seriously awesome monk.

my mind seems to have it's own steering wheel and GPS system that it refuses to share with me.

I am fiercely protective of people I care about....or people I've just met who happen to hit just the right note in my soul.   Though frankly I doubt that I make that great of a friend.   I am a solitary, lone wolf kinda person who rarely craves the company of people.  Unless you are my Mr, he is the one and only person in the whole world whose company I crave like lungs crave oxygen......and I would still need time alone.  Even as a child I preferred to be alone.  This worried my mother and when she was irritated enough, she would simply tell me that I was grounded and if I wanted to come out of my room I was required to play with the neighbor girl.
Really?  There's barbies in there.  Sounds cool.  See ya when I need food.
When she realized that was a massive failed experiment, she just started telling me that I had to play with her.  That worked....until I figured out how to make her want to go home....like trying to force feed her peppers....which she didn't like.  Or the time I convinced her that the beetle made of iron (I think it was for taking your boots off) near the fireplace was actually a family pet.....and alive.....and I tried to make her pet it.....she kinda freaked out....and ran home....screaming.....      I only chased her a little...
Oh come on!  I was like 6!   ....okay maybe 8...or 10...but still.

It's always been there.  A few years ago I thought I'd just be honest (cuz that's the best policy right?) and say out loud that I really didn't like people much.  Didn't quite go over how I thought.....a tad awkward......turns out only other people who don't like people tend to like people who say that.   Transparency apparently has limits.

Yes, I do have friends.  Friends I love dearly but frankly I'm not a great communicator so they totally get the short end of the stick.  I get lost in time.  I forget when the last time I talked to someone was and could go months without speaking to them and think it was just last week that we had that great chat.  I forget I have friends.  I forget that they might need me.  I forget that sometimes people need their friends to initiate contact or even ask questions instead of just assuming they will spew out all their thoughts without a prompt.....which means I'm probably a crappy friend more often than not.   Unless it's email or facebook....I don't reach out.   I'm not trying to be a jerk or avoiding people.....honestly, it really just doesn't occur to me.  Fortunately I have a few friends who really see me for who I am.  They have an abundance of grace for me and either accept or tolerate my massive many negative qualities.

Change is something I strive for....to grow, to weed out these negative character traits.   Unfortunately, I forget them more often than not because I do spend much of my time alone.....I simply am not out of touch or irritating to me.  My friends are angels...they understand that they will have to initiate conversations, phone calls or visits.....I wish I was better at that but honestly I just get all kinds of awkward and it really is better for everyone if they take the lead.

The solitary life of a monk, I would rock.  To be silent, in silence and have no one but God to talk to....THAT I could be successful at.   He knows me.  He loves me and He understands all my crazy and my serious.  He gets me.  I forget to talk to Him too.....but He doesn't get mad or feel neglected.  I know He's always with me....I think He's probably laughing at me many times, simply enjoying the random awkwardness that I provide a situation.  That makes me smile to think that lowly me could actually bring a smile or a chuckle to His face.  I love that He loves me in spite of my darkness, my faults and maybe He even loves me because of it a little....no, God doesn't do things little.  He does things complete.  If He loves, He loves completely.  If He is present, He doesn't just "show up a little bit", He is there in ALL His fullness and glory.  

God does not do things half way.   

I love Him and He loves me......and He knows I would totally shave my head for Him.  Cuz I've done it before.  Yup.  He knows me.  But He also knows I love pants.  I would hate to live in a bathrobe.  He knows me.

yeah.  I know I think too much and too often....and usually it's fairly random or highly concentrated....my daughter calls it OSD.  "Ooh Shiny! Disorder".  

Yup, she's awesome too.

Blessings for friendships as deep and wide as the love of Christ, 

the Mrs.

Have you told them?

Renee over at What's in an identity asked the question: Who has God put in your life that has made a difference and have you told them?


Immediately one person came to mind.   And yes, I have told her.

She watched me before and after school when I was a kid.  She cleaned homes for a living and often brought me with on days I didn't have school.  She showed me the basics of cooking...not that I picked up on the cooking part much.....it was why she was cooking that stuck with me.   She would make huge batches of food and put it in smaller containers.  When she went to clean peoples homes, many of the people were older, she cleaned out the fridge and left them meals.  

This woman modeled for me what it means to be a christian.  She is full of selfless love.  She was like a second mother to me.  At first I thought she was crazy.   In the morning she would bound down the hall in her night gown with a loud cheery "Good Morning GOD!!!" in this joyous sing-song voice. I was dropped off before she woke up for the day, her high school kids would leave the door open when they left for me, and I would go watch cartoons until she got up.  On the way to school she would ask me in the car - "Have you talked to God today?"

Now, I was in elementary school.....I think in first and second grade when she started to watch me.  It was a christian school but still....this kind of personal "chat with Me" God was not someone I'd been introduced to.  God was still in the stories to me but she introduced me to His Person.  I watched her and soaked it in quietly.  She never preached to me or pushed me....but she lived what she said.   She served those who were in need right in front of her, she did what she could with what she had.

Several years ago I wrote her a letter to tell her how she had impacted my life.  That her example was a model of what I now, as a grown woman with a husband and children of my own, strive for.  I learned more about what I wanted to be when I grew up from watching her than from anything I've ever done in my life.

The Lord used her to plant seeds in my young life that are still growing today.  After she received my letter, I found out from one of her daughters that this letter had a profound effect on her.  She proudly and tearfully shared the letter with her daughters, her small group and confessed that she thought she'd had no effect on anyone.  That she'd done nothing to expand the kingdom.   Knowing the effect she had on my life gave her joy and peace.  It encouraged her walk.

I was shocked at her response.  I was shocked at her self-doubt.  This was a lesson I never forgot....when someone is a gift to you....tell them.  Tell them how you appreciate them, tell them why and how they have impacted you.   Share with them the imprint they have left in your life.  Tell them often and tell them well.

Sometimes it doesn't sink in the first time....surprise has a way of dulling your ability to fully appreciate a compliment...some are just too humble to receive it all.   If you can't say I love you too much, then you can't tell someone how much you appreciate them too often.

You are appreciated.  You are loved.  Thank you for being here.  Thank you for reading.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  ~ Hebrews 10:24-25

Blessings of love and grace, 
the Mrs.