Whatever He touches…

 

My phone beeps with an incoming text.

It’s a weather alert from The Weather Channel app. saying,

“It is possible that the valley floors will see a significant snowfall in the mid to late week time frame…

but it is also possible that little or no snow will fall.”

Uncertainty…that seems to be the world’s prognostication for everything.

On a walk through my neighborhood, the One Who’s Breath is Life whispers a sure word to my spirit.

“Whatever I touch cannot remain dead, hopeless, lifeless.”

No matter if it snows

or doesn’t snow…

Spring is sure to come…

“His extravagant offerings are not limited to the incarnation and crucifixion but given each day in every beauty found in nature, in every goodness we experience in relationships, even in every moment of time and every breath of life that we breathe.” Dana Candler, Entirety

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.

 He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

James 1:17 N.L.T.

my continuing gratitude list #935-#952

-finding baby granddaughter’s rubber ducky hidden in my rainboot

-being around an encourager

-a great night’s sleep

-lunch with some other pastor’s wives

-worship

-my two faraway grandkid’s voices on the phone

-a quiet morning home alone

-an email prayer request from a blog friend and the joy of bearing one another’s burdens

-dinner at home

-four little birds perched together on the very tip top of the tree

-no two voices exactly alike…isn’t that amazing?

-resurrection life all around

-the first gathering at our new prayer room (and all the volunteers who put in hours and hours to renovate it)

-my cheery red crock pot

-apple butter simmering away all day filling the house with the apple-y, spicy fragrance

-baby granddaughter getting to have a sleepover with Papa and Nana

-beautiful weather

-30 decisions for Christ in the first two weeks of our daughter and son-in-law’s new church plant

Gratefully yours,

Elizabeth

Join the gratitude gatherers here~

New life…

On my walk through the neighborhood the other day, signs of the coming of spring,

signs of new life were all around.

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Elizabeth

Jesus and Mason Cash…

I definitely have strong leanings for the homespun and rustic style.

I like…

stoneware more than china

mason jars more than crystal vases

homespun textiles more than lace.

(My mother-in-law loves china and crystal…imagine her chagrin when for my wedding “china”

I chose stoneware dishes.)

I have a great affinity for, of all things, mixing bowls.

I have more heavy, stoneware mixing bowls than one woman with a wee, little kitchen should have.

When I saw this post on Sarah’s blog, a beach cottage, guess what caught my eye?…

the vintage mixing bowl.

Strange as I am, I actually researched what kind of mixing bowl this vintage lovely is and found out it’s by a company called Mason Cash…..and they are a bit pricey.

Imagine my surprise when, a few weeks ago my sweet blog friend, Adrienne, and I were at my favorite antiques store, and right there in the front window display was a Mason Cash mixing bowl!

Imagine my even bigger surprise when it was only seven dollars!

It does have a chip…

but since I will use it more for display than cooking, I don’t mind.

Then, imagine my surprise to find these new stoneware lovelies in the clearance aisle of T.J. Maxx, just a few days ago.

Unfortunately there were only five of them.

I’m hoping I may find more of them one of these days.

Two months ago I’d never even heard the name, Mason Cash, and then to stumble onto

a vintage Mason Cash bowl and then some new Mason Cash plates in such a short time, and for such a low price…

well, I just think Jesus has the most creative ways to show me…

He knows me

He knows what I like

He knows what brings a smile to my face

He notices

He sees me

He loves me

and He’s not beyond placing a total unnecessary surprise in my path to remind me of these things.

(and you know He is head over heels crazy about you too, right?)

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

Elizabeth

 

also linking to Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday

Dinner at home…

 

There’s something comforting about…

chopping up some fresh veggies

such as onion, celery, red peppers and mushrooms…

seasoning them with a little salt and pepper…

sautéing them in a hot pan with some olive oil…

adding some ground turkey italian sausage and browning it…

tossing in some minced garlic…

adding a splash of red wine, some red pepper flakes to taste, and two 15 oz. cans of tomato sauce

and letting it simmer for a few minutes while you boil a pound of whole grain linquini…

tossing it all with the drained linguini…

adding a generous handful of shredded parmesan cheese…

making a quick salad of mixed greens, diced pear, feta cheese, and vinaigrette…

setting the table…

and having the Hubs walk in the door at the exact minute it’s all ready.

I love dinner at home nights.

 

Still following,

Elizabeth

Time…

 

How many years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds do I have in this life?

It’s one thing to waste money, not a wise thing to do at all, but there is a chance you can earn it back, replace it.

Time wasted is gone forever…

a part of my life gone forever.

I need a lot of margin in my life.

When the page of my day gets scribbled too full I get pulse quickening anxious.

I seem to require a lot of quiet time, thinking time, nesting time, creating time, seeking beauty time.

So for a person like me, how do I determine what is a waste of my never to be seen again days, hours, minutes, seconds? When does needing down time become wasting time?

Is it a waste that it takes me a few minutes of staring into space and just thinking with a hot cup of coffee before I’m ready to face the day?

I know it’s not a waste of time when I take Bible, journal, inspirational reading, quiet moments, to really connect with Jesus.  I also know that there are times that I have wasted the time, rushing to get it done, going through ritual, not really connecting at all.

Meeting with hurting people, counseling them, praying with them, sometimes it’s so clear that the time has been well-used, sometimes it seems the time has been wasted, trying to help someone who really doesn’t want help.

The lines of what is time well used and time wasted can be blurry, indistinguishable.

An hour walking my neighborhood for exercise, playing with grandbabies, a date with the Hubs, nesting, decorating, writing, photography, painting, creating, crafting, cooking, meeting with friends, laughing, blogging…these to me are the dessert that makes the meal of an ordinary day special.  When does too much “dessert” become self-indulgent gluttony, time wasted, life wasted?

I don’t have the answer but I do know one thing for sure.  My whole life, every year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, is not my own.  I have been bought with a Price. I am His.  The right to say yes or no to how I spend these never to be seen again minutes belongs to Him.

That’s where I must start, reminding myself that my time is His time, and asking Him to show me how to use it.   I do have eternity, life eternal, but how I spend the moments in this life, this “dressing room for eternity” is important, does make a difference. I need daily Wisdom greater than my own to spend it wisely.

Still following,

Elizabeth

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, again…

I wrote last week about my not so successful attempt to make the little clay tags I have seen in blogland.

I borrowed some of these from my daughter…

…and decided to try again.

Who knew???  She said you can sometimes find these inexpensive stamps in the dollar section at Target!

Here we go again…

And voila!

Would you believe me if I said I prefer the imperfect, rustic look?

Still following,

Elizabeth

The biggest Valentine ever…

“The God whose pursuit of me has been from the eternal ages is also the One who searches for me in the present day, reaches for me in the beauties of creation and in the the smallest events of my everyday circumstances…”

“The Lord’s love is so extravagant, and though the crowning revelation of that extravagance was in the giving of His Son even unto death, He has continued His proclamation in a daily manner through the messengers of the created order. The natural order serves as a window into the supernatural, bringing my heart closer to the Creator if it but hears the message and beholds the beauty of the creation and the persistent announcement of the Creator’s love behind it.”

(see Romans 1:20, Psalm 19:1-6)

“Surely God has set the created order into motion as a continual witness, a voice that incessantly goes forth, a beauty that relentlessly exudes the message of His deep love and His extravagant kindness…Oh, to have ears to hear and eyes to perceive the heart of the Beloved behind this beauty!”

all quotes from the book Entirety by Dana Candler

My heart is overflowing with gratitude…

continuing to count #913-#934

-quiet afternoon

-fresh greens, diced pear, feta cheese, vinaigrette

-coffee in my favorite cup

-p.b.j. on toast

-the Hubs getting me Julie Meyer’s newest c.d.

-a gray morning followed by a surprisingly sunny afternoon

-playing with clay

-meeting with the young mamas in the Mom2Mom group from our church

-a much needed walk

-grace to face a difficult task

-the Hubs and I on a pre-Valentine getaway at the coast – a gift from our church that we’ve been waiting to use

-cinnamon sugar pretzels

-barns and buffaloes

-the best Thai food ever

-blue hour at the beach

-romance

-room service

-beautiful weather for beach walking

-coming home to our cozy nest

-sharing a cup of tea and a listening ear

-baby granddaughter’s second birthday

-going to the official launch service of our daughter and son-in-law’s church

 

Gratefully yours,

Elizabeth

won’t you join us here in counting your blessings?