Friday's Fave Five #76

Hello to everyone! It's Fave Five day here at Living to Tell and I hope you are all joining in. Love seeing the new names and the weekly faithful both showing up on the linky! Of course, as always, details are here if are a first timer.

I think I am working on Olympics saturation this week but boy has it been good for Canada. The women are smoking the medals that we've won. So my favorites are going to come from that.

1. Joannie Rochette's short program in Ladies figure skating. If you haven't heard the story, Joannie's mom passed away Saturday night hours after landing in Vancouver to watch her daughter compete. Joannie chose not to talk to media as of yet, and may I say they been respectful of that, but she also chose to continue competing in honor of her mom. With the crowd totally behind her, she skated a beautiful, emotional program and is now sitting in third. Doesn't the picture of her face after her short program just break your heart. One of the most courageous Olympic moments I've seen. The long program is on right now even as I'm typing. Keeping my fingers crossed for her. And she just won bronze! The crowd is going balistic. Oh and there's her Dad. He looks so proud and so sad at the same time. I think I'm going to cry! Standing ovation for you Joannie!

2. The Canadian women winning gold and silver in the 2 man bobsled. How exciting it was watching them. The gold medal winners were from Alberta and PEI and both teams were absolutely gracious in their win. And U.S. won bronze. How awesome!



3. Ashleigh McIvor's gold medal win in ski cross. Ashleigh had written an essay in school on why ski cross should be included in the Olympic games. And now she's the first ever gold medal winner in Olympic ski cross. Coupled with the fact that she is a Whistler native it was very sweet to watch her win.



4. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir's gold medal performances on both the original dance and the free dance nights of the Ice Dance competition. Both athletic and beautiful it was amazing to watch. They are the first North Americans to win gold in ice dance along with being the youngest ever to win.

And may I say that the American team of Meryl Davis and Charlie White were absolutely breath taking in their free dance. And I find it absolutely awesome that both teams train together and have the same coaches and spur each other on. Those coaches deserve a medal to have both their teams on the podium.



5. The national anthems sung at the medal ceremonies. Of course I love it when it's the Canadian anthem but really, watching all of them just moves me. Watching the athletes faces and watching them sing along to their own anthem is just special.

6. And it's killing me to break a rule, but you know I just have to add the Canadian Women's hockey gold medal victory. Canadian sports pride and hockey are so intertwined I can't imagine the pressure on them to win. Team U.S. gave it an awesome effort. Now the pressure is on the guys.

One a side note I went online to see how much the tickets were for the gold medal men's game and I almost choked on my chocolate caramel I was eating. Guess, c'mon, take a guess. If you are thinking in the hundreds you are wrong. Try the thousands. As in $5995.00 for a lower tier seat. Want the nose bleed section behind the nets? Then you only have to shell out about 4000.00. Oh my word. I just can't wrap my mind around that.

There were so many great moments this week it was hard to pick but those will have to do because I am a rule follower and it kills me to break rules. LOL.

Updated: Hey look at the sweet button Michelle left for me in my email this morning! Thanks Michelle. You made my day!



What were your favorites from the week. If you do a post, link on up! Don't forget to link to the specific post and not your home page. :v)

Random Dozen

Linda's posted the last of the February Random Dozen's. Join in for some fun.

1. Have you ever fired a gun or shot a bow and arrow? Not unless you count Nerf guns and bows.

2. Do you know where your childhood best friends are? I didn't have a best friend that I went all through childhood with. I had lots of friends but not really one that was a "bosom best best friend" in the Anne of Green Gables sense. And as far as where they are now, most I don't know. One is a pastor's wife here in town, another I think lives in Toronto and is involved in the who acting scene there, another is a dentist in another city. I guess if I was on Facebook I'd probably find out but I really have no desire to get on facebook.

3. Do you usually arrive early, late, or on time? My European parents always taught me to be a few minutes early. And I always was. That is until I had children. It sorta went downhill from there. Now I am always it seems, running barely on time or a few minutes late. And I hate that because it produces stress.

4. Are you more of a New York or California type? I don't even know how to answer that. I'm more of a smaller city girl. I like visiting big cities but have no desire whatsoever to live in one. So then I'd have to answer if it was a smaller city in California then there, but then I'm also a four seasons kind of gal. I can't imagine not having snow in winter or the crispness and colors of fall or the chance to absolutely marvel at spring flowers pushing up through the snow as the days get warmer.

5. Do you have a special ring tone? Just a standard choice right out of the phone for phone calls and Marc Anthony's "I Need to Know" for text messages.

6. What is your favorite type of chip? Chips are my downfall. Love plain with dip, but I think either bbq or dill pickle are my faves.

7. Best comedy you've ever seen is .... I like my comedy's clean so it's a real chore finding one that nowadays will fit the bill, but a couple of my all time favorites are "Cool Runnings" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and "While You Were Sleeping". Anytime I need a good laugh I put either one of these on.

8. Have you ever cut your own hair? To quote Dr. Phil, "How'd that work for ya?" Only a slight trim on my bangs. I can't stand when it starts to hang in my eyes and that always happens before it's time for the scheduled cut. It's alright. I don't do anything major.

9. If you were going to have an extreme makeover, would you rather it be about your house or your personal self? I probably need it more than the house, but the personal self one involves sweat and work and discipline and needles and surgery, so I'll say house.

10. Are you allergic to anything? The oil in oranges peels makes me break out in between my fingers in hot, itchy, teeny tiny blister stuff. So I have to peel oranges with a spoon and only one at a sitting. If it involves more than one orange, I need to call in the troops for help.

11. Why is it so hard to change? I'm assuming your asking change our flaws. Because it usually involves admitting we're wrong, self denial and work. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

12. One last question dedicated to February love: CS Lewis said, "To love is to be vulnerable." Please share one example of that assertion or share any thought you'd like to about this topic. That is deep for this early in the a.m. for me, but I will say being vulnerable is scary, it means I am not in control. And I have issues with the whole control thing. Which loops me back to question 11 which I want to avoid. So it's a wrap for February's Random Dozen. LOL.

Value Fiction Blog Tour

Waterbrook Press has rereleased some wonderful fiction stories at a budget price for spring, only $5.99. I was sent two wonderful titles to review.

Beneath a Southern Sky by Deborah Raney

Publisher's Summary:
Daria Camfield is expecting her first child when her husband Nate is reported dead on the mission field. Devastated, she returns to the States and soon marries again. But two years later Nate is found alive in the jungle. How can Daria possibly choose between the two men who love her?

My Thoughts: Deborah Raney is one of my favorite authors. She takes wonderful real characters and plunges them into situations that look impossible and then lets the story unfold all the while totally grabbing ahold of your emotions and never letting go until the end. And even then her stories stay with you for a long time in their timeless message. It is the same with this story. We meet Daria and her doctor husband, Dr. Nate Camfield, serving as missionaries to a remote tribe in Columbia. With a deep love for each other and desire to serve God in their calling, they are living in the midst of a rainforest ministering to a trible called the Timone. When other villagers come asking Dr. Nate for his help little do they know as Nate leaves that their lives are about to change forever. When Nate doesn't return in the time set, Daria is torn between calling in help and holding off thinking he just got delayed. When news finally comes that Nate has died in a tragic turn of events, Daria heads home to Kansas with a broken heart and Nate's child growing within her. As she goes through the process of grief and tries to rebuild a life for her and Nate's young daughter, it seems God has brought a wonderful Christian man into her life to do just that. But as she ignores a small voice within her and marries Cole, a telegram will come that plunges all they know into an impossible situation and forces her into making a heart rending decision.

I couldn't put the book down. From the beginning, I was right into the story and could relate to all the emotions the characters displayed throughout the story. I thought the author beautifully wove in the themes of faith, forgiveness, trust and sacrifice in a story that I couldn't get out of my thoughts for days. I highly recommend this one.

Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn

Publisher's Summary:

Jessica Morgan wants desperately to forget the past and begin a new life. She chooses a small, peaceful town tucked away in Oregon's Willamette Valley as the place to start over - Glenbrooke. Once there, Jessica conceals her identity from the intriguing personalities she meets - including the compassionate paramedic who desires to protect her and the jealous woman who wants nothing more than to destroy her. Book I in the Glenbrooke series introduces the fascinating people of Glenbrooke in a compelling tale of romance and spiritual truth.

My thoughts:

Unfortunately, I only recieved the books last week so have just started this one but it already sounds very interesting in the first chapter. I'll give it a proper review when done. This is my first book by Robin Jones Gunn and I'm looking forward to getting more into it.

Thanks to Waterbrook Multnomah for providing both of these great reads for review. To check out other books in the Spring Value Collection go here.

PhotoHunters ~ Cuddle

The theme at Photo Hunters this week is Cuddle. Finally, one that wasn't too hard. LOL. This big guy is not our dog but since last summer whenever he gets out of his yard he comes over for a little visit and my youngest is just totally enamored with him and always gets in lots of hugs and cuddles before the big guy moves on.

To join in or see more Cuddles head over to Photo Hunters home.

Friday's Fave Five #75

Welcome to another week of Friday's Fave Five! Is everyone into the Olympics this week? We've, and by we I mean mostly me commandeering the tv and everyone else having to watch along with me, have been enjoying a lot of the competitions. But onto more important things, like your five faves! If you are new just go on over here for details and then just join right in!

Lots of good things this week but these were my top picks.

1. Finding a great face exfoliater. Having it cost next to nothing. Priceless. Literally. I had run out of my favorite face exfoliater and just couldn't find anyone in my area who sold it. It was expensive enough without paying for taxes and shipping and handling by ordering it. And then I read of one that was cheap, natural ingrediants and worked great. So I gave it a try and it was awesome! My face never felt softer after I used it. What is it you ask? Are you ready for this. You won't believe it. It was baking soda with a little bit of water mixed into it. Yup, that's it. I may never buy fancy-schmancy face exfoliater again.

2. Watching Canada win it's first gold medal ever on home soil. And it couldn't have happened to a more gracious, humble young man. With all the pressure of someone breaking the "curse" and the celebration & media hoopla that went with him winning it, when doing his press conference he stated that the first gold was no more important than any of the other medals any of the other athletes would win. And he has always stated that his disabled older brother, who has cerebal palsy and was there cheering him on, is his inspiration. Good for you and congratulations, Alexandre Bilodeau!





3. The smell of bedding hung out in the cold, crisp air and sunshine. We actually had a day of sunshine so I took full advantage and hung our duvet over the deck railing and put out pillows out for some airing. Love, love, love the smell. I grew up with my mom hanging everything outside to dry on a clothesline. So not only do I get great smelling sheets that night but I get a bit of good nostalgia happening too.

4. Lemon Meringue tea. Yup, that is tea. My hubby gave it to me for Valentine's Day and it is soooo good. It really actually tastes like Lemon Meringue. I have no idea what brand it is. It is loose tea bought at Coffee and Tea shop here in town. It's got great big pieces of lots of yummy smelling ingrediants and is absolutely luscious.

5. A short work week. 'Nuff said!

What were your favorite little things this week? Link up your post so that we can come and have a visit with you!

A Little Bit of Sunshine in This Mighty Long Winter

Catherine at The Giesbrecht's: Time and Tide has give me a lovely blogging award and it is most timely as I haven't seen sun in what seems a long time:

The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blog world.

Wow Catherine, thank you. That is pretty humbling that you think my little 'ole blog does that. The rules for accepting this award:

* Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
* Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers.
* Link the nominees within your post.
* Let the nominees know they have received the award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to the person whom you received this award from.

Now I do have a little old rule of thumb for myself about passing on awards and that is that I pass to a max of 3, I just find it so hard to pick and choose because all those who read here and all the blogs I read should get all the awards because you all bless me in some way. But the 3 I'll choose this time will come from the three areas of life: mental, physical and spiritual.

Ellen at The Happy Wonderer. Ellen has a lovely blog full of beautiful, creative pictures. Her pictures encourage me to get out there for walks and take my camera with me. I love how she writes about her family and how close her and her extended family are really inspires me and encourages me to keep those contacts and not let family relationships slide.

Laura at The Organizing Junkie. Laura always keeps spurring me on to become a better organized person so that I can have more peace in my everyday life. Believe me I need the spurring on. She's always got great organizing round ups going and great tips for everything from how to use containers to how to sort.

Donnetta at My Quiet Corner. Donneta's little blog is my quiet place. It's where I go when I need encouragement, when I need to be picked up, when I need to be reminded no matter what I'm facing that my God is a big and loving God. I can scroll back into all sorts of archives and they are always fresh and uplifting.

Thanks Catherine for making me smile with this sweet little award.

Random Dozen - Olympic Edition

Today Linda is giving a nod to the Olympics going on right now in beautiful Vancouver, Canada. Go Canada! Sorry just had to throw that in there. Here's her explanation of today's Random Dozen:

"Although this begins with a salute to the Olympics, you'll notice about half-way through these questions that I turn the corner and go off on another path as fast as a luge rounding a bend. Hence the name: Random. "

Head over to 2nd Cup of Coffee to join in.

1. If you could compete in one Olympic event (not necessarily winter sports) what would it be? It's funny you should ask, Lidna. We were just talking about this at home. My choice would be the Ski Jump. There is just something about pointing the ski's downhill and building up speed and then straightening up and soaring through the air. There is that moment where they just hang there, suspended it seems, defying gravity, that I think must be an incredibly fantastic feeling. It just looks so peaceful and lovley with the snow falling and the trees rushing by looking out over the scenery in front of you with nothing under your feet. That is until gravity takes over and you come thudding back to earth. But for that suspended moment it must be worth the insanity of throwing yourself off that jump.

2. Do remember a specific Olympic moment from the past? There are lots and lots but one of my favorites are not necessarily for the medal that was one but for the sportsmanship displayed in the hotbed of competition. I remember in the Turin Olympics one of Canadian cross country skiers, Sarah Renner, near the end of race breaking a pole and a Norweigan coach that was on the sidelines waiting for his own skier running up and handing her his own pole. She went on to win a silver medal. That was an awesome moment of sportsmanship I'll never forget. Canadians sent the man 5 tonnes of Canadian Maple Syrup as a thank you. I'm not kidding. Five tonnes. :v)

3. Have you ever known anyone who competed in the Olympics? One of my kid's junior high teachers competed in one of the summer Olympics. There have been other's from around here but none I've known personally.

4. If everyday activities were Olympic-worthy, which activity would you have a gold medal in? I make a mean cup of coffee in record time, I can eat the best under the table, and I whine with the best of them. But I like to think I could read my way to a gold.

5. Do you know anything about your ethnic heritage? My relatives are from Hungary. We love sour cream, garlic and paprika. They are a hard working people. My parents came to Canada in the 1956 Hungarian revolution. Violins play a big part in their traditional music.

6. Do you enjoy sleeping late? If by late you mean later than my usual 6:30 a.m. then yes, if you mean until noon, then no.

7. Have you ever performed CPR on anyone? Do you know how? (Yes, that's two, I know. Whatevs.) No I haven't but I do know how. I have almost had to do the Heimlech manouver in a restaurant once. I know they're not the same thing but they both have to do with life saving.

8. Name one country you'd like to visit and explain why. I would love to go to Europe in general. So much history there and beautiful architecture. And especially Ireland. Hubby and I would love to do the castle tours. It just looks so green and lush.

9. Have you ever fixed up a couple romantically? Indirectly. They are now divorced so I won't take any credit for that one.

10. What is the last book you read? "In Search of Eden" by Linda Nichols. You can see my review here. It's #6. I can't believe I've read 6 books already this year.

11. Do you enjoy sleeping late? NO, YOU write the question! How's that for random?? I've been dying for this question to come up 'cause it's earth shattering in it's answers. Which direction do you hang your toilet paper: paper coming over the top or coming from underneath? Enquiring minds want to know.

12. What is your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant? If it's a restaurant where I know they do it well, I go for the liver and onions. I know, I know, but I can't help it. Remember I'm Hungarian and I grew up with it. And yes, I liked it when I was a kid too. My mom just knew how to cook it right. Now, I don't make it myself so when I see it on a menu and I know they cook it well, that's what I order. That or veal cutlets.

The Week in Words

Melissa at Breath of Life hosts The Week in Words. It's a carnival to celebrate words. Words that inspire, words that make you laugh, words that lift you up, words that direct you. Write a post of quotes that spoke to your heart during the week credited to their author and link back to Melissa.

My first one I found at Donnetta's My Quiet Corner

"The world can out out finance us, out entertain us, and out number us. Let it never be said that the world can out love us."

~Dr. Erwin Lutzer

That is a powerful statement especially when Jesus said that we are to be known for our love. Sometimes I think we lose sight of this and we are trying to compete with other aspects, such as in the financial world and the entertainment world, in order to have a testimony, but in reality what brings testimony to Christ and change is the love that we are supposed to show. This quote is very challenging and convicting and makes me wonder where in my own life I need to readjust my thinking and attitudes so that this quote is evident in my everyday. The answer was everywhere. Ouch.

And then to go with that this quote jumped out at me in the book I am reading. It was in the chapter entitled "God says: "Bear More Fruit". It of course, is talking about doing good deeds.

~"As we travel through life, God wants to express Himself through us."

~" ...simple expressions of "doing good" put the love, the kindness, the goodness, and the gentleness of God on display in a tangible way"

~"I like to think that God places a host of potential good works in my path every day. Then as I walk through my day, it's up to me to respond to each opportunity as a way of bringing God's presence and influence into the world"

~"We engage in good works in response to the influence of the Holy Spirit upon us."

~"As we abide in Jesus, and walk according to the Holy Spirit, we too are able to see the good works in our path and tap into the power of God to carry them out."

~Don Cousins

in Unexplainable: Pursuing a Life Only God Can Make Possible

pg. 121-123

And these quotes from Unexplainable really brought home to me that it is in God's power that we do these works not in our own. Yeah, I think just maybe God might be trying to tell me something.

What quotes have touched your hearts this week? Link up at Breath of Life.

PhotoHunters ~ Broken

The week's theme for Photo Hunter's is broken. I was tearing my hair out trying to find a picture for this. The only ones I found were of my hand when I broke it a couple of years ago but they were b-o-r-i-n-g. Then I remembered I had a great one for broken.

A mountain that literally broke.

Driving up towards it you can see how the front face of it has slid away.

But you don't realize the extent of it until you are looking at it face on. They actually ran the highway right through it.

So when you look on the other side of the highway, this is the scene. That's my teens climbing the boulders. They are huge and you cannot see the end of this boulder bed. At 4 in the morning part of a town, mines, and 2 kim of railway track were buried under this disaster which happened in 1903.

For more information on the Frank Slide you can go here.

To join in or see what other's have for broken visit the photo hunters site here.

Friday's Fave Five #74

Welcome everybody. Please join me in looking for the good things in our past week. Those things that blessed you, that made you smile, that were a highlight to your day. If you're new and need more info, you can go here and then just join right in.

1. This post on Love by Beck. Get your kleenex ready.


2. Pitchin' In. I don't know if you get this show on the American Food Network or not but it is absolutely hilarious. It stars Canadian chef Lynn Crawford, who has cooked in the biggest 5 star hotels and for many famous people. In this series, she goes right to where the food starts. To the farmers, the fisherman and the people who grow the food that eventually makes it to our tables. She out to learn from the locals how to get food at it's freshest. This show cracks me right up. She's got a wonderful sense of humor, is willing to do pretty much anything she's told and it's very interesting really seeing the ins and outs of food growers. I look forward to it each week.



3. Finding Seasons 1 through 3 of Touched by an Angel at Costco. I love this show even though I only saw very few episodes. I was so excited these are out on dvd now. I know what I'll be watching this weekend.

4. the Library. How I love the library! The fact that I can put books on hold online and then just go pick them up is the best. And I love going there. It's like a little mini-retreat for me. I can be there two hours before I realize that time has passed. I usually come home with more than I can read in the allotted time. LOL.

5. Date night with hubby. Thanks to gift cards from my oldest and a former place of employment hubby and I enjoyed a date night out at this nice restaurant on Monday evening. Food was yummy and the conversation was great.

What were your favorites from your week? If you did a post, sign up on the Mr. Linky. I encourage you all to visit around a bit. It's fun to read what brings a smile to others and fosters gratefulness. And you may even meet a new friend or find a new favorite blog.

On Being in Love with Valentine's Day

Yesterday Linda's Random Dozen questions were a lot to do with Valentine's Day. And it got me to thinking about Valentine's Day in general and how we celebrate it. One of the questions asked was what were our memories of Valentine's Day from school. And you know, I didn't really have any other than decorating the shoe boxes with the slit in the top. I vaguely remember doing the cards, but I can't say I have lots of warm memories associated with Valentine's day. It's one holiday that I have not really ever gotten into big time.

Even as an adult, Valentine's is not something that my hubby and I go all out on. Standing in restaurant line ups for Valentine's day, trying to vy for the attention of a harried & rushed wait staff is not one of our favorite things to do. We usually stay home, I cook a nice, though not fancy, dinner for all of us and we all get a little sampling of our favorite chocolates. Hubby and I may or may not share cards. Valentine's is a day that is way too close on the heels of Christmas and 2 birthdays in December, one birthday in January, and all clumped together with 3 birthdays in February. It's a lot of financial pressure! It seems the older I get the more disillusioned I get and I seem to be rebelling at the consumerism of such holidays that are dictated by companies looking for another way to take my cash. I would way rather have, and it means so much more to have the gift of a card, flowers, chocolates or a dinner out given spontaneously by my hubby rather than on a day when he is told to do it. And he does spontaneously do it and it's a thrill when he does. Yes, I am a bit of a Debbie Downer with Valentine's. LOL. Please don't throw any rotten tomatoes!

All that said, I will never, ever turn down one of these. I will sacrifice my Valentine's Day ideals and graciously accept it. :vD

What about you, guys? How do you celebrate Valentine's? Or do you celebrate? Do you love it or resent it? Is it just like any other day? Or do you really enjoy it and go all out?

Random Dozen

It's Wednesday and that means another Random Dozen from Linda at 2nd cup of Coffee. Head over there and join in!

1. Are you pleasant when you're ill, or are you a grumpy, fussy patient? I may get ill but I definitely don't get to be a patient very often. I can be grumpy when ill but that's because I don't feel I can be the patient. And it wears me down.

2. When you find out that school is canceled (due to inclement weather) what is your gut reaction? Hahahaha. School closer due to inclement weather? What's that? That doesn't happen hardly ever around here. I cannot remember the last time schools closed for weather.

3. What is one domestic skill you wish you could improve? There is probably a lot of them I need to improve but are there any I wish to improve? I don't know. I guess I wish I was a better baker. I love to cook but baking is definitely not my forte.

4. Do you decorate your home for Valentine's Day? Nope.

5. What song is on your mind today? This one.

6. Do you prefer contemporary movies or classic? It depends on the movie. I like some out of both and I dislike some out both.

7. How well do you "compartmentalize" your feelings? For example, how well can you put aside a really trying moment to deal with the immediate situation which is not related to the trying moment, e.g., putting aside a tiff with your spouse in order to finish wallpapering a room. I'm assuming you mean the spouse is helping to wallpaper. LOL. For the most part because of my training in rehabilitation, where you literally have to put any emotions aside and deal with whatever crisis is happening, then when it's all over and dealt with is when you break down, I'd have to say for the most part I'm pretty good at defering it. But that doesn't mean I'm good at letting it go. It bubbles up and boils over eventually. Hard question, Linda.

8. What is the first thing that attracted you to your spouse? (Or if you're single, to your best friend.) His smile and confidence.

9. When was the last time your heart raced? The last time my son snuck up behind me. That kid loves to see me jump out of my skin. It cracks him up for some strange reason which is totally lost on me.

10. What are your memories of Valentine's Day at school? In all honesty, I really don't remember Valentine's Days except maybe making containers to hold our valentines at school. It's not really a holiday that held a whole lot of significance to me that I remember.

11. If you were going to receive candy for Valentine's Day, which would you prefer? If I had any choice, money no option, I'd go for this! The one with 70 peices please. If in real life then these will do just fine too.

12. Red or pink? I favor the red!

The Week in Words

Melissa at Breath of Life hosts a fun meme where you can do a post on what words have touched you this week, quotes from things that you have read the previous week.

"Exodus 15:22 - 17:7

SITUATION: For centuries the Israelites had lived on fertile farm land in Goshen. What a contrast the desert was to this previous comfort. With no way to provide for themselves, the Israelites complained to God. He performed daily miracles to provide water and food for them. Manna appeared in flake form with the morning dew. The Israelites ground it like grain and cooked with it.

OBSERVATION: The Israelites focused on physical needs, but God focused on their need to learn to trust Him.

Max Lucado in the Max Lucado Devotional Bible

That observation absolutely jumped out at me as I was doing my readings for the week which happened to be in Exodus. At a time in my life when things are a little tight, and I've found myself questioning "Why is this happening, God?", this small sentence carried a ton of impact. God has not removed himself from me but is taking me in another step in learning to trust Him. That is almost freeing. I can let go of the questioning and the constant craziness of trying to figure it out and start taking steps that turn me towards trusting Him.

"If we wait until the people around us rise to a higher standard before we speak words of kindness, we may never speak. But if we take every opportunity to show the power of kind words, God can work through us to change lives."

"When you are tempted to think kindness shows weakness, remember that God shows His power through kind words."

Gary Chapman and Elisa Stanford
in The Love as a Way of Life Devotional pg. 20

Our words can lift a person. It is a very powerful thing to be open enough to God to put ourselves aside, our agenda's, our defenses, our anger, and allow Him to use our words to instead uplift another person.

Please join us at Melissa's.

Monday Mish Mash

If I were to pick a word that would encapsulate and describe my weekend I would probably have to pick "junk food". I know. Technically that is two words. But it sums it up pretty accurately. I could blame it on the Super Bowl, if I just would have been eating it during that 3 hour period, but it started before that. Much before that. Like a day ahead. It must have been the nachos for supper that kicked it off. (Hey I just made a funny. Get it? "Kicked it off", you know, super bowl weekend, football? Okaaay, moving along). Anyway, it continued with no breaky 'cause I couldn't get my act together before church. Then hubby wanted people for lunch and to give me a break he ordered chinese food. Very yummy, but probably not the most nutritious. And to make sure I topped that off well, daughter broke out the chips and dip for the superbowl game. And chips and dip is my downfall. I cannot ignore or walk away from those. Sigh.

So today I'm feeling pretty sleepy and sluggish. I can tell it's gonna be a day of drinking lots of water and trying to get on track with eating properly. I'll have to hide the leftover chips and dip and get it out of my eyesight or I'll be sabatoged again. Maybe I'll force myself to do that little workout I'm supposed to be doing daily but got derailed with a week a half ago too.

It was a bit of a so called "star struck" week for some of the kids. Oldest daughter was at a dance conference on the weekend where Nico, the first So You Think You Can Dance Canada winner, and Twitch, the 2nd place finisher from season 4 on the American SYTYCD, were teaching. She was pretty excited. They should be heading back today to her city so I'm waiting to hear how that all went. And son used those tickets he got for his birthday and attend the Mythbusters event. He said it was awesome even though they didn't blow anything up. He even got to meet the guys after.

Guess which one is my kid. LOL. He fits in pretty good with them, doesn't he? Something interesting he found out about these two was they both worked for George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic. Grant, on the right, is a handful of people who has operated R2D2 and Tory of the left built the models of the pod racers and Federation Battleship used in Star Wars I & II. Not many can put that on their resumes.

On a much more important note than meeting tv personalities, a bloggy friend is in need of help. You many remember Kelli from Living in Grace. It's been a seriously long road in her journey for kidney transplant and the news has come that she is finally ready to move ahead with it and they are testing for live donors. To catch up with her story you can go here.

There are several ways as a community to not just read about Kelli but to somehow help her if God is laying it upon your heart. Of course, there is being tested for the match for the donation of a kidney. Now that is serious stuff. You can contact Kelli through her site. Or if it is upon your heart to give financially you can go here. Organ transplant is a horrendously ongoing expensive thing and insurance does not cover all the costs. Though they do cover all the costs of the donor. And if nothing else, we can all pray for Kelli and her family and send her words of encouragement. They need all of that we can offer them, too. So we can all do something, right?

Well, Monday is chugging along. So I need to get myself into it. And I need to drink another glass of water. I wonder how many it will take to flush all that junk food goodies like salt out of my system?

Photo Hunters ~ Average

I'm so late. Basically because I couldn't think of anything. This theme was hard! But I finally decided to go with this one. Just your average chilly, frosty, stunningly beautiful morning that seems to be the norm lately around here.

For more "Average" pictures, see the Photo Hunters home. :v)

Friday's Fave Five #73

Hi Everybody! Welcome to Friday and that means Friday's Fave Five. We'll get right to it! If you are new and would like more info you can go here and then just join right in!

Here are mine for this week:

1. An awesome read. I started a new book this week and boy, is it a great read. It's a totally new to me author and I've just been devouring it. I can hardly wait in the day to grab a moment or two to read a few pages. I love when a book grabs me in from the beginning and keeps me hooked. I'm not even done and can harldy wait to get another one from this author.

2. Good report cards from both my kids for the last quarter. Way to go, guys!

3. Do I dare mention "hoar frost" just one more time? We had another couple mornings of it this last week.

4. Flannel pj's. Soft, comfy, cozy, warm. 'Nuff said.

5. Fuji Apples. My favorite. With a slice of cheddar, even better.

What have been your favorites from this week? Do a post, link up and we'd love to come join you!

Another Happy Hoar Frost Day

Another gorgeous day of hoar frost in my neck of the woods this morning. I cannot recall a year when we had so much hoar frost going on! It's all foggy and crisp, the colors all shades of white and grey, the pine trees and tree trunks sticking out against the frosty white.



I love it. I think it's absolutely gorgeous and it makes me happy as you found out in the post yesterday. I've had lots of happy this year.



It seems our hoar frost always starts out with a good fog the day or night before. It is said that if you have fog, then 90 days later, (I think it's 90 days, or is it 6 weeks? I'm having a brain freeze) you will have some kind of precipitation. Hubby and I tested this out last year and marked a winter fog day down on our handy dandy Organizer calendar and counted off however many days it's supposed to be and marked that. Sure enough, we had rain. Now it's going to bug me what the exact number of days it is, but it might be frowned upon if I call hubby at work just for that, I'll have to wait till he gets home to ask. Well he's home and he's says it's 90 days.


Moses had his burning bush, but I found a frosty bush. I wonder what Moses would have thought of this:


Mind you, I did not hear God speaking to me out of this bush. Well, except maybe whispering to my heart to enjoy the gift. :v)

The Week in Words

It's Monday so that means Melissa is hosting "The Week in Words". It's as simple as quoting some quotes that spoke to you during the week. The only thing is it has to be from something you have read in the past week. I love me a good quote, so here we go.

"Clarity is always what a photographer strives for. Well, that and a photograph that sings out from within in some indescribable way. Photographs that make one take in a breath while being drawn into the image. It is what I want in my life too, those moments of sharp breathing, perfect clarity, fully drawn in.

~Jessie in A Flickering Light by Jane Kirkpatrick

This quote really spoke to my heart. Love those moments of clarity, being right in the moment, having a sharp clear realization of something.

"People notice when we are patient with strangers in line, with our kids at the park, and with our co-workers in meetings, because it is so much more common to show impatience. A patient stillness in attitude, words, and behavior, even in the midst of stress, always stands out"

~"The Love as a Way of Life Devotional pg.51

Very convicting.

If you'd like to join in and/or read some great quotes, please go to Breath of Life.