Hustle ,Bustle, Starbucks and Take it Easy

Yesterday was the after Christmas shopping day with my  mom and sister and of course the "teen girls". We all love it, but it was truly hustle and bustle. I can only thank Jesus I didn't have anything to return! The return lines were just terrible. After going to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and having to sit by the rear exit of the restaurant, I was freezing! Open, close, open, close, and so forth went the door for the entire 30 minutes we were there. So we hit a couple of stores and then I asked my sister to go ahead and drop the girls and I off at the Paducah, Kentucky mall. Mom and my sister needed to go into another store, so my sister was glad to drop us off. The first place I wanted to go was Starbucks for a hot coffee just so I could feel my fingertips again. Of course..a line! 20 minutes in the line I wait for a tall (medium) coffee and then I hear my name...the coffee handed to me..I am smiling.... I can just taste the yummy delicious hot nectar in my mouth...until I notice its a small.

The Gift of Christmas

Christmas is a gift, wrapped in thoughts of a holy infant come to us in humble, meager circumstances to save the world. I can not deny that the thought of a baby being born in a stable sounds pretty disgusting. We do see a lot of scenes like the one above, but anyone who has ever been close to a barn, knows the stench from such a place. The cozy, warm amber aura that is in the above picture is pretty much unrealistic. But I ponder tonight on a Saviors birth, so meager at the beginning, yet He is the One, the Alpha and the Omega the beginning and the end.

Cookies, Family, Gifts and Naps

What an amazing day! Can serenity be found in cookies, family, gifts and naps? What is the synonyms of serenity...well here is a list from thesaurus.com ......

Definition:	calm, peacefulness
Synonyms:	calmness, composure, cool, patience, peace,peace of mind, placidity, quietness, quietude,stillness, tranquillity

Remember the old Seinfeld episode where George's father, Frank Constanza,  was seeking serenity. When his wife, Estelle,  would stress him out or make him upset...He would say over and over to himself , "Serenity now,serenity now!" 

HOooo Loves Me...Part 2

In just 24 hours of writing my last blog post, an amazing thing happened...truly amazing! HOooo knew it would...only my heavenly Father!

HOOoo Loves Me?

Since I moved back to Southern Illinois, the place of my childhood,  from Northern Indiana I have fallen completely in love with owls. We live in the heart of the Shawnee National Forest, and we have an abundance of wild fowl here. Most of all the owl strikes closest to my heart.

Christmas Cookies and All the Bliss

Every year there is one day set aside for baking cookies. My mother, sister, and I try to collaborate and make Christmas cookies. We give these cookies as gifts to neighbors and friends. Each year we try to simplify this task by making 4 or 5 different kinds of cookies, so we are not overloaded.  We made fudge, toffee, sugar cookies, cornflake cookies, and chocolate covered pretzels. Everything made out good except the fudge. There we stood over the two pans trying to get  the fudge up to 235 degrees Fahrenheit and for some reason I thought my oldest son Adam and my sister said 220 degrees Fahrenheit....so hence the double batch of white chocolate fudge...is taken off too soon, causing complete failure! The double batch of chocolate fudge never came up to heating point, so it was just overcooked.  So we had 5 recipes...hundreds of cookies...and the fudge didn't make. I know to concentrate on the good...right?

The Hum Drum of Life

Today was just another day...not particularly bad, but not what I would say life altering. So where to you find a serene moment in a day that is so "hum drum"? Maybe today I will find it in a hot cup of coffee, you know the kind that is steaming from the top of my favorite mug that has the quote from Psalm 33:21, In Him our Hearts rejoice. Its filled with a larger amount than I should have, of Vanilla Coffee Mate creamer. Maybe I will be typing on my blog and think how serene it is to hear two of my boys playing Monopoly with their dad. As I type this I am smiling at the serene scene of family being together spending time with one another and listening to my ten year old speak on how excited he is to have Oriental Avenue. I can say that I do find comfort in the wood stove after being cold all day at the office. Coming home to your husband cooking  a piece of fried ham and an egg over easy isn't so bad  either. Maybe just petting my grey cat, Motorboat, and listening to the hum of his constant purring making me feel welcome to be home is serenity in itself.  You know the more I think about it, the less "hum drum" this day is becoming and the more serenity I am feeling. I think I will help myself to another cup of coffee, thanks :)

Work and Kindness

I work 3 days a week for an optometrist. My duties require me to work the front desk and some optician work, such as repairing frames,adjusting frames and removal of lenses. I take patients from the waiting area to the doctors rooms, do some testing for the doctors etc.. In recent weeks (being that I am the first person you see when you walk through our office doors) I have literally had my "head bit off" by at least 3 patients. Why does patients and patience have to sound so much alike, but are not even close to being alike? But then again I am on a quest for serenity this coming year...but sometimes my daily tasks make it hard for me to see the peaceful  things that God gives me each day. So as I think back over the last couple of weeks my mind wonders to the older man (Mr. Deneal) that came in with flowers for me, out of the blue! No he wasn't asking me out or "flirting", he just simply said to me, " You are always so kind when I come in here to get my frames adjusted and I told my wife that you are always smiling and kind, so I wanted to bring you something to say thank you." So when did 3 or 4 cranky patients (people) out weigh the one good person or act of kindness? Why does my mind always go back to the bad and not focus on the good? Maybe I need to focus on the good, lovely the kind. I mean thats what the Bible says to do. My husband preached about this very thing on Wednesday night at church. Redirecting your thoughts to that which is good and pure. So for me today I focus on Mr. Deneal and the lovely flowers of thanks and as for the cranky people.... I will pray for the Christmas cheer to come upon them....quickly!

Can this bring me serenity in 2012?

Well here I am beginning a new blog for the 2nd time in my life. Just typing that makes me feel like I have lost, before I have even began. Is that possible to lose before my first sentence is even typed? Mentally yes, but inside something burns for serenity, for an anger free life, for softer answers, peace, quietness when needed...those times when you need to just shut the mouth and let feelings pass before they begin. I have decided to let go of anger and disappointment this year of 2012. Yes..its a quest to defeat the foe that most defeats me in a days time..the foe of anger, aggravation and impatience. We all have those times that we let our husbands or wives down, our children, our family and most of all ourselves, when we just "blow it" again...blow our top...let lose and then you sit back afterwards and think to yourself that all they needed was just some understanding, someone to just hug them and say "its all right". Well I stand today, for this year in my life and type it out. Yes this quest will not be easy..when I look ahead in days to come and let myself down, but I truly want to see it typed out those days that I triumph through Christ, overcome and seize the serenity that is most needed in my heart. I ask you to walk with me...I desire to see the simple pleasure in life...reminding me that serenity is possible.