A little bit of Son light...

What a great picture!

Wow ! What an awesome picture! If only all our experiences with church were like this... Well, if they were, the church, would be packed like a rock concert! And can you imagine the gloriousness of the Lord moving amoung us

Open to the Son's light, closed against the evils of the world. Sharing and caring. A Heavenly experience!

Oh I wish, pray, hope that it can be more like this, and believe with all my heart it is possible.

But to make that so, we have to stop judging, you know "He who without any SIN throw the first stone". Not easy I know, but I think I will let God do the judging and just love my fellow man. It really makes it a lot easier to follow God's word.

Let's face it we bring gossip, judgement and condemnation with us to church. We do! I admit to it!
 I ask God to work with me everyday. Because, WE ALL have fallen short of the glory of God! And I know it. Oh, I have said something more than once in my lifetime that I wish I had been able to take back. Because I know it aided in bringing down someone...Oh it raised me up in the eyes of the person I was speaking to. But lowered me in the eyes of my savior... I saw myself adding stripes to my saviors back. Truthfully. I am ashamed. And he forgives me when I ask him. But if I continue to do so...

I know we don't mean to do these things. We have to find a way to be together, building each other up, bringing them into the fold without smothering them with our rules and regulations. Our version of what it means to be faithful. We think we are well meaning, but are we? Have we let go and let God? Are we loving our neighbor as ourselves? I don't think you can sit in judgement and do that. I know for me, it keeps me from my Lord.

I know so many faithful people who have been hurt by people in their church. Who can't find love, community or fellowship in the walls of the building their faith community built to honor GOD! That is so sad... And beyond that, I am pretty sure it is not what God would want us to do.

I have spoken with so many people lately about why a lot of local churches congregations are dying. I think we better face facts, stop blaming the world and look internally. Yeah, a lot more people have to work Sundays, offer a later service. Kids have a lot going on sports and stuff. Yeah, but offer something so interesting and convicted that they will beg their parents to come! We've got to reach out, and keep reaching! We can't offer the same old, same old. And we can't sit in judgement! "Oh those Smith's they never come to church anymore". " I see them every Sunday just hanging out." "They should be in church!"
We just made a divide. Us vs. Them. Do you think that is what God wants? I don't think so.

How about instead of waiting for them to come to church thoroughally chastised, so we can forgive them. And only if they prove themselves to us by never making another mistake.

Really?
And believe me I have seen people do this.

What if instead of all that, we reached out like Jesus. "Boy do we miss you!" "Is everything okay?" "Wow, the kids have really grown". " There are some new great programs they might enjoy". "Call us if you are interested , or would like more info". Friendly, non judgmental, welcoming. Reaching out. Not begging, genuine caring! No more if they were really Christian they would just come to church. Jesus went to the people. He could have just waited for them to come to him. You know they would have! But part of what he taught us was to go out into the world and meet people, reach people where they are!

What if we let in a little bit of Son light, in our churches, in our hearts and souls. Cleaned out the cobwebs. See where the bridges are damaged and the hedges overgrown... No more judgement, or gossip, or badmouthing. Pure light and Love and Forgiveness.

Wow!

I want to see the Sunday morning after that.

I think I need to go pray, speak the truth to my savior, ask for a glowing church on a hill that welcomes all who seek him! And ask for a little bit of Son light so I can step out into the world and do my part to help make it be.

Lost my Marbles? Nope, I know exactly where they are!! 11 simple JOYS!

Pretty Marbles!

You ever notice how it is the silly simple, sometimes cheap, unexpected things that give you JOY? I think about it all the time... So many times I have found the most wonderful things come from the strangest coolest things. And I have bunches of them around my house. And when I see them I feel such JOY! So I am giving you my JOY list and maybe you can find some things that you can do that will bring you- Simple Gifts of JOY!

My first (1) and favorite, is glass bottles filled with colored water in the windows. My mom used to do this when we were little. But I really started doing it when we lived in the city. We had a neighbor who partook of liqueur and would leave his bottles on my lawn every morning. At first I was frustrated like all my other neighbors. But about the third time my optimism got the better of me as usual, and I noticed how pretty the bottles were. So, I filled them with colored water and put them in my windows. Soon people were commenting on how beautiful they were. Negative into positive, plus my neighbor who was an alcoholic was so embarrassed he eventually stopped doing it. Still wish he could have stopped drinking. But that is another story.

So here are a few more. 10 to be exact.

1. Marbles in Jars or as I have them in my hurricane lamps. So pretty! A friend was mad at her children for leaving them around she was going to toss them. Now they are mine and sparkle and shine.
2. Magnets. We take the little coins you press in the machines at the thruway or places like the Zoo, etc. add magnets to the back and voila. Instant talking point. The kids love them!
3. I hang prisms from my lamps and in windows. There are always rainbows! Nothing like getting up on a Saturday morning and your granddaughter pulls you into the room and says "look Grandma! I am dancing in rainbows"!
4. Cards turned into air freshners, yup! When somebody sends me a card I don't throw it away I punch holes in it and around the edges Sandwich an old dryer sheet sprayed with my favorite scent in the middle sew it up with some yarn and hang! It will last for months and is so nice when I see it. A scenty reminder of someone thinking of me. Hmmm...
5. Okay, we have this little electronic Yatzee game we got for Christmas years ago. It moved into the bathroom and stayed. Yeah, I know, but it makes the guys happy. And I have noticed that two of my children now have one in their bathrooms at home. LOL!
6. Balloons! Yes, I always keep a bag in my desk drawer. Sudden party? Need a party? Want to send the neighbor a smile? You are always prepared with a little something. Also there is nothing better for occupying a four year old safely for hour (with supervision) ! And you can draw on them with permanent markers! Yay!
7.  The next time you are somewhere and they have one of those photo booths... Stop, and take a picture. Some of our most favorite "in the moment photos" have come from doing just that and we treasure those photos! I add them to albums, frame them make them into pins, magnets, etc...You can do so many wonderful things with them.
8. Put stuffed animals on the couch instead of pillow. Oh, not all the time, but once in a while. Since I started making Amigurumi's and placing them on the back of my couch I can't help but notice how much people love seeing them there. They smile and they touch them, snuggle them on their laps while they sit there. And the kids think they have died and gone to toy heaven!
9. Homemade coasters! We make them out of old mayonnaise lids, old CD's, felted old wool sweaters cut into squares  They are fun useful and recycled. What could be better!
10. Some of you may have seen my Christmas tree, I started using McDonald's teeny beany babies as ornaments for my tree  about 7 years ago. My daughters had left them at our home when they got married. I was fair I gave them four years to get them out. The memory of the day they came in and saw me sewing ribbons through their heads...Well, I laughed so hard I think I peed my pants. It has been the most fun thing and my tree looks great! I never worry when the kids are around either. They take the ornaments off and put them back on and I don't have to worry. Plus they get the wonderful sensory pleasure of touching a beautiful thing. Cool huh?

So now I hope you have some JOY ideas! I hope you will share some of your own. Mostly I hope you can find ways to take the frustrating things in life and take them from negative to positive. Look at a situation or thing in a new way and make beauty, fun or usefulness out of it.

Check again, I think the jar is more than half full!

I've got the JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY down in my heart! Down in my heart to stay!

Poof!....*

My granddaughters have a nut for their grandma. Oh, I admit it. Mina will say to me" let's play grandma!" and I will say "sure!" a sneaky smile on my face. She will bring me something from her toy box. A Barbie perhaps. And I will say "oh! hang on a minute you forgot something honey". Reach into her toy box and pull out the gold magic wand she has in there. Turn around and *Ting* I say "poof your a frog!" as I tap it on her head.

"Grandma! no more poofing me!"

"What did you say?" I reply. "Poof me more?"

*Ting* "poof your a frog!"

Smiling she will reply "grandma no more poofing me!"

"Oh, Okay..." I say feigning great sadness.

Dragging my wand I say "Let's get you some juice."

As she comes around the kitchen door, *Ting* "poof your a frog!" as I tap her on the head.

"Grandma, I said no more poofing me!" and she tries to get the magic wand from me.

"You said no more poofing you in the living room, not the kitchen..." says I.

This can go on for a while. we giggle and romp and tickle, then I ask questions, "what would you want the magic wand to really do"? She thinks for a minute. "make people be nice". A girl at school had been mean to her and we talked about it. "What else?" I ask "fix mommy..." she replies. "Yeah, we both want that one... "and all sorts of other things. When we are done. she curls up on my lap and says, "can you POOF me more grandma"? "Sure" I reply. The wand already in my hand

Yeah I am a nut, but a smart nut. Our little game opens a door so she can tell me all her secret thoughts and concerns, and wishes. And we have a whole bunch of fun.

The last time Ellie was here she brought me some blocks and I said "oh my, you forgot something..." Grabbed my wand and *Poof!* she ran away giggling.

 Oh this is going to be fun!

Break out your magic wand! You never know what you might find in there or what magic it can perform... *POOF!*

To grandmother's house we go....

John Sloane
http://www.johnsloaneart.com/gallery_pages/horsepower.html

Over the river and through the woods To Grandmother's house we go The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh Through white and drifted snow Over the river and through the woods Oh how the wind does blow It stings the toes and bites the nose As over the ground we go [Everybody now] Over the river and through the woods To Grandmother's house we go The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh Through white and drifted snow Over the river and through the woods Oh how the wind does blow It stings the toes and bites the nose As over the ground we go [Instrumental] Over the river and through the woods And through the barnyard gate We seem to go extremely slow It is so hard to wait Over the river and through the woods Now Grandmother's cap I spy Hooray for the fun Is the pudding done? Hooray for the pumpkin pie Hooray for the fun Is the pudding done? Hooray for the pumpkin pie Hooray!

Okay  I know I have been talking a lot about traveling, that's probably because I have been doing a lot of it lately.
I can't help remembering all the trips we took to go to our grandparent's houses. Putting on our best bib and tucker mom would say.
That meant our best shorts or dungerees ( yeah I said it! not jeans!) our hair brushed out and our faces cleaned, mom packing up cookies or salad and dad checking the car for our trip. From the city to the suburbs. Yup! I am dating myself. that was a long trip back in the day. Seemed to take forever!

We would sing and laugh, poor Bonnie always got carsick so she would be taking big heaping gulps of fresh air from the window and mom would say "quiet down back there, your dad is trying to drive".

Westside drive had a lot more trees and only a few houses and farms. Mom would tell us stories about her childhood and the neighbors.

I remember when we got there pulling in the dirt and stone driveway. The little house. I always remember thinking how did 11 people all live in that house together. And before my grandpa built the garage and subsequent addition, there was a little hill you ran up, and when you got to the top you could look down at the long back yard. Family sitting out there around grandma and grandpa Schwalm. Singing and food, family and love. lots and lots of cousins... I remember some late night card parties where us kids slept on the living room floor listening to the laughter and jokes and one upmanships of all the grownups until it was time to go  and my dad and mom carrying us to the car for the long ride home. Watching the stars all the way home through the window. It was almost magical....

Going to my grandma and grandpa Benoit's started the same way, they had fruit trees all around their yard. grape vines and hiding places under the stairs. We always were so excited to see the wagon wheels that decorated the end of their driveway. And inside the kitchen both my grandparents greeting you with hugs and kisses. The table practically groaned with food on the holidays. And there were so many people in that little dining room, but I couldn't wait to move from the children's table to that tiny dining room.

I was so proud when it happened! When I was old enough to help the women with cleaning up. I felt so grown up...

I miss those days and people so much. so much! Our world has made it more difficult to do these things. have these get together s. We are spread out and far away.  I am trying very hard to keep these traditions for my granddaughters and my children. And as the holidays come close I can almost feel those I love beside me, smell the cooking, hear the singing and laughter, feel the hugs. And yup, I still look out the window on the way home and up at that magical starry sky, and hear myself saying "star light, star bright, wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight..." I wish you all such joyous memories to share and family near to share them with.

The Journey...

Sunny road in Vermont

I have been traveling a lot in the last few days, not long trips, fairly short ones about two hours there and two hours back. Some with Andy and some with others.  Some have been straight forward without a hitch and others well...

But it has gotten me thinking.

I love traveling. But every trip is different. Some are pleasure from beginning to end. Others have a wrench thrown in them halfway through, And still others are like pulling a dead horse, up a mountain, in a snow storm!

It could be the same trip, same roads, same people and every time is different!

Oh, I know a few people who are lucky enough that they have never experienced a bad trip. But they are very much the exception and should count themselves blessed.

I know the old saying "walk a mile in their shoes before you judge them" That's good. But I think it should be "take a couple trips with someone, before you judge them.

You can plan a trip to death, get out on the road and the steering belt breaks. this actually happened to us. And it kept breaking! Four different auto mechanics and hundreds of dollars later, it finally stopped breaking. nobody ever figured out why it was happening....
Needless to say we had a very short trip fearing it was going to do it again, three disappointed kids and two very worn out frazzled parents. What's that saying , the best laid plans of mice and men...

Now, two years later we took the same trip, same car. And it was wonderful! Not one complication! I can't explain it!

Has this ever happened to you? I bet it has.

Was it your fault that the trip was bad, ruined? Nope. I am pretty sure it was just the way the cogs in the universe were turning at that time. But there are still people who will say it must be something you did. You didn't try hard enough. Or the mechanic you picked was bad. I even had someone tell me I put out bad Karma and it was coming back to me. And Karma wanted my kids and husband to suffer with me?

No...No...

Sad to say, we do this in life too. We see the neighbor, or friend struggling. Know something is wrong. But instead of asking "what's going on?", "Can I help?" We say they aren't trying hard enough. Or they made their bed now they can lie in it...

It's sad, when will we learn every journey is different, everyday it changes. Today your journey may be problem free, but what about tomorrow?

I don't expect us to fix every problem. We may not have the knowledge. but instead of assuming a bad journey is a deserved one. We can offer a kind word of encouragement, some advice, if it's good and we know it will help. be loving and pray for them.

Lastly, a little story, a tribute if you will.

When Andy and I were first married and I was pregnant with James we were on the way to a doctor's appointment, our car broke down. We were on the side of the road by a little farm house on 259 and an old man and his wife came out. the man insisted on helping Andy push the car into his driveway and told him he was sure he could fix it. Smiling the whole time.
His wife mean while encouraged me to step out of the car and come have some tea with her. She talked to me about her first child, and told me I would do just fine, that her husband was good at fixing these contraptions. I felt relieved and comfortable, we were there for hours. Her husband fixed it while patiently showing Andy how it could be fixed again if it ever happened again. They would not accept a dime from us. We tried. They hugged us and told us that they would pray for us. We found out they both passed away a few years later. But to this day Andy and I cannot pass that house and not remember those two wonderful kind souls. This is for them. They made our life journey a little more wonderful and brighter. They didn't fix all our problems, but they did all they could so we could continue on.

Lets all enjoy the journey we are on, and if we spot someone on the side of the road, not sit in judgment, but safely do what we can to encourage them and help them to continue on.

The Big Exit

This is for my daughter Sara... who has Focal Segmental Glomerlo Sclorosis.

Who smiled as she told me the other night." You know I am dying right?" " Oh, I don't mean right now" she said." But every day they are basically battling to save my life".We had been talking of illness and dreams.  "The real truth mom for people like me is not like what they show you in the movies". "They can't promise that my new transplant will work, or how bad it will be if it does not".

She explained... For poor people who are sick. there are no trips around the world. No bucket list. Just a quiet knowing that you have to get up tomorrow and live your life everyday like every other day. Dreams don't matter. Your kid needs their mom, your husband needs his wife. Bills must be paid and dreams they get left by the wayside. You just have to keep going. Money is always scarce because of the tremendous costs of everything. There is no easy or carefree road.

"I am not unhappy mom..." she said. "I love my husband and daughter". "Very much". "But sometimes" she
said " I just wish there could be more..."

How do I argue with that? I have seen her come home every night after dialysis so sick and worn out. getting up the stairs to her apartment is like climbing a mountain. She doesn't complain, and she won't let me help her. Because when I am not here she must do it for herself. She will let me help with her daughter, but she steps right up and is her mom when Mina needs her. Never letting Mina know how tired she is, or what it has cost her physically to be the mom she is.

I am very proud of her, of all my children.

So proud!

But God help me, I wish for the dream fulfilled. The bucket list. Not that horrible calm waiting. My heart goes out to all those suffering a long goodbye from a horrible disease. MS, Lou Garrig's, heart problems, cancer, etc.

I tell her not to give up, to fight on. And I see how hard she is. But I am praying for just a little comfort in the form of a dream or two fulfilled.

First living, and then maybe not a rich life, but one where stress does not dog your every day and a dream could be experienced.

I do not even know what she dreams of doing.

I will be honest. I fear to ask. I think my heart will break.

But I really want her to know that I pray everyday for that opportunity to be present for her. And in my heart I have to believe it will.

But in the meantime. I need to tell her how proud I am that she gets up every day and goes on.

I need all my children to know how proud of them all, I am.
And to know that their dad and I are always going to be there in any way we can. In the hopes that you can more than just exist, but truly experience life. It may not be seeing the Taj Mahal, or Disney World, But maybe singing in a play or dancing at your daughters wedding.
We want the world for you. We did not bring you into this world to suffer. But to have JOY and thrive.

And so now I ask all of you.

PRAY!

Pray for healing, for comfort, for dreams fulfilled for all who suffer these illnesses.

And that the EXIT sign is in a room with many doors that lead to many glorious possibilities before you ever reach that exit door.

Quiet acceptance is okay....

But I must believe in more. Because I love her.

Sara Joy, Chandra Rae, James Andrew Stevenson Blair

Angels All Around Us!

Heavenly Chorus

I am always surprised by the phenomenon of Angels.

They are all around us.

I see them so often.

In so many situations.

Many of my friends have experienced their help in their lives as well, and they always feel so blessed by their presence.
I know many doubt...., but I have seen too many things that cause me to believe.

I know they are sent for comfort and aid. Sometimes just for knowledge and strength of purpose. Sometimes they come in human form, sometimes in a feeling.
Sometimes in utter quiet.
Sometimes even in their true form.

They have a powerful presence. I do not know many who would turn them away. In the bible Abraham saw them coming and immediately sent a servant to make a tent, a place of comfort and rest for them. Sarai his wife, not realizing they were Angels sent by God, laughed when she heard them tell Abraham she would have a child. She was in her 90's at the time. I bet she looked back with wonder when she found out she was pregnant!
Sometimes you don't recognize them till after they have left your presence...but you quickly realize  you have just entertained Angels.

I have seen them in perfect strangers who have just what you need when you are at the end of your rope in a horrible situation. The person that came with a winch on their car to pull you out of the ditch when you had no money and no idea what you were going to do. Who followed you home to make sure you were safe and  you never saw them again. How they happened to be on that desolate patch of road in a violent snowstorm you'll never know?

The doctor who figured out just what medicine your daughter needed to stay alive, who had nurses and doctors talking to them very respectfully and practically begging to help them. But when you went to search for them and thank them the next day the hospital has no idea who they were or what you are talking about.

Or that voice, that dogs you, that pressured feeling to get out of a place, to move , or whatever, that saves you from death or serious injury.

Or after a day of utter devastation and tears, falling asleep in a ball, lost, alone, that sudden feeling of being carried up to a higher place wrapped securely in loving arms to beautiful warmth , only to wake up in the morning renewed and full of hope. That doesn't just happen. I know what a blessing is...

I know that these are the times that God has sent his angels near to earth for us. And if you think about it, I am really sure you have experienced the presence of an angel  at least once in your life.

This week Angels were encountered by me and a few others I was with. You know who you are and what I am talking about.
I just needed to acknowledge them, and the blessings God sent them to bring.