Lent

Observing joyful silence for lent.

I LOVE....

~fluffy, white towels
~crisp, ironed sheets
~monograms
~shrimp, lobster and crab
~pinot noir
~chocolate cheesecake
~whales
~puppies
~kitties
~newborn babies, fresh out of the womb
~silence
~quilts
~fabric
~linens
~sunshine
~Hawaii
~Sydney
~Cancun
~Durango
~kids
~homeschooling
~Shawshank Redemption
~Signs
~The Notebook
~Pride and Prejudice
~F. Scott Fitzgerald
~Hemingway
~Casting Crowns
~Sarah Mclauglin
~the Olympics
~the Catholic Church
~advent
~Christmas Eve
~Easter
~stations of the cross
~mother teresa
~nice clothes
~waves
~lighthouses
~cape cod
~South Carolina
~Colorado Buffaloes
~scones
~paninis
~good pizza
~cold beer with nachos
~football games
~date night
~sitting on the beach in winter
~reading
~the rosary
~homemade cinnamon rolls
~italian food
~art museums
~the aquarium
~The Red Tent
~The Year of Wonders
~The Poisonwood Bible
~Barnes and Noble
~bakeries
~tea sets
~handmade soap
~candles
~aprons
~sitting by a fire, reading aloud
~really nice hotel rooms
~the bed at the Westin in Seattle
~wood floors
~cooking for guests
~guest rooms
~home decor magazines
~inspirational books
~Russell Crowe
~The Patriot
~Braveheart
~Gladiator
~Matt Damon
~Rachel McAdams
~Amy Adams
~Meryl Streep
~low country
~the Virgin Mary
~nuns in habits
~the ocean
~good conversation
~talking to fascinating people
~front porches
~roses and daisies
~outdoor fireplaces
~stargazing when it is really dark
~the Red Lion in Vail
~the Ore House in Durango
~country dancing
~George Strait
~violins
~bonfires on the beach
~seashells
~dolphins
~popcorn
~fajitas
~baby blankets
~baptism
~baby feet
~clean floors
~Pottery Barn
~dishes
~garlic, olive oil and rosemary
~handpainted anything
~layettes
~beautiful sleepwear
~nice people
~kindness
~manners
~Rendezvous BBQ~Memphis
~warm sand
~coffee with cream in a beautiful mug
~sunrise
~the earth from space
~spring cleaning
~snow falling
~wide, open spaces
~the Rocky Mountains
~Montana
~mothers and babies
~real men
~firewood
~being a stay at home mom
~nice nurses
~my obstetrician
~Southern hospitality
~a stocked pantry
~butterflies
~wrought iron
~lilacs
~sand dunes
~herons
~a stack of unread books
~my family

Marriage Friday

.. for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Ruth 1:16

Choose today to do something for your husband. A good meal, a clean house, a quiet evening, peaceful conversation, respect, happy children. Go out of your way today to ensure that when he walks in the door he knows you appreciate him. Service + self sacrifice = JOY.

I Thirst Thursday

And for my sister....some things I love....
~lighthouses
~foghorns in the night
~cool, ocean breezes
~flowers year round
~the golden gate bridge
~point reyes
~benicia football games
~golden boy pizza
~little italy
~mission san juan bautista
~monterey bay aquarium
~ocean waves pounding
~marin headlands
~stinson beach
~sonoma
~wine country
~bodega bay

Nuns on Oprah

If you missed the Oprah show on the nuns, go to her website and check it out. I was pleasantly surprised that they were shown in a positive light and were treated with respect.

One of the nuns was asked about silence and she said,

"If you never speak to a being greater than yourself, you can never DO anything greater than yourself." WOW.

“Peace is the deliberate adjustment of my life to the will of God.”

Only when we trust ourselves to listen and hear want God wants us to do, will we have peace. I look around and wonder why I am placed in this place that does not hold my heart and long to just go home. I know in my soul that God wants my to find my home...and it is not a place...it is wherever I am with Him, aligned with Him.

That is a hard pill to swallow sometimes. To know that what we want most is not the will of God. That He has something else in mind. Something that will cause us to grow in the way He wants. And it might be painful, or arduous, or not much fun. But, at the end we will see that it was right.

That is my journey in California. I am blessed to have what I love most, my husband, my kids, my lifestyle. I know the things I miss...school, church, kitchen, laundry room, yard, neighbors, food!, are just material things and don't really matter. But, how my fallen self loves material things sometimes..okay, most of the time.

Walking with him today and choosing peace in His will, not longing for mine. Dang, but that is hard!

Multitude Monday

“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful.”
-Buddha

thankful for...
~nebulizers
~sunshine
~sweet little people
~a hand to hold
~clean water
~a warm bed
~coffee with cream
~warm bread and honey
~family
~a good sermon
~truth
~my savior


A sermon today that spoke of God calling to Peter and making Him a fisher of men. His disciples were certain they were not worthy. Yet, Jesus equipped them with all they would need for their mission. He will give you everything you need for your journey and your purpose. We must only have faith and receive.

If you have a minute, read this. What a beautiful testament to LIFE.

Homemade Joy

“Oh, God above, if heaven has a taste it must be an egg with butter and salt, and after the egg is there anything in the world lovlier than fresh warm bread and a mug of sweet golden tea?”
---Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes (1996)



Want to make something warm and comforting for your family during a cold, dark day in winter. Ann has the most delicious recipe for biscuits. MMMM. Eat them with honey and hot tea. Sometimes we get a little slice of heaven on earth and for me, it is always homemade.

Walk with Him Wednesday

One filled with joy preaches without preaching.
~Mother Teresa

I watched the Duggar family special on tv tonight. I was watching because her doctor, Paul Wendel and his family, are friends of ours. It was the most touching episode. Regardless of what you think of the Duggars, there is no mistaking the joy that fills them. They live for the glory of God and they are filled with his joy.

I wish I only had 1/10th of the patience and serenity that Michelle Duggar has each day. And she has twice the number of children I have.

Joy...it radiates from some people and is nonexistant in others. God help me to be a joy radiator:)

Love is an action

And the King shall answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, Inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.
--matthew 25:40

Sometimes we get all caught up in the feeling. We want everything to be the pinnacle of emotion and we are distraught when we don't feel the love. However, love is more than a feeling, it is more than a noun. Love is an action--an action VERB.

We are fairly certain that we have been sent here by God to learn to love. To overcome all our human-ness and learn to love, divinely. That can be a hard task in our fallen world. People are stingy and mean, they are rude and hateful. They are beaten down by hardships and crosses to bear. They are hard to love.

But, Jesus did not ask us how we feel about the least of His brothers....he asked us "what did you DO?" Love is a verb. You are called to go out and LOVE someone, not with your feelings, with your actions. Do something for the least of His brothers, do something for HIM.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
--Nelson Mandela in his 1994 inaugural speech