All things family-related. My husband and me, the children we made, the grandbebes that thrill us now. Our whole great big, loud, messy family. Love! *sigh…
I want to be poetic about spring, but she is so fickle. Nonetheless, a little Monday morning e.e.cummings ~
“sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love
I glanced out my office window mid-morning to see tiny, beautiful buds on the burning bush. To make sure I wasn’t just seeing things, I moved closer and darn if I didn’t also see the tiniest snowflakes lightly swirling about the buds. Good grief, already.
(all the merry little birds are
flying in the floating in the
very spirits singing in
are winging in the blossoming)
It’s so true – the early morning was filled with bird song and singing. Now-snow? Snow!?
lovers go and lovers come
awandering awondering
but any two are perfectly
alone there’s nobody else alive
(such a sky and such a sun
i never knew and neither did you
and everybody never breathed
quite so many kinds of yes)
“quite so many kinds of yes” How cute is that?
not a tree can count his leaves
each herself by opening
but shining who by thousands mean
only one amazing thing
Ah, but wait…no more snow. The sun bursts from behind the clouds.
(secretly adoring shyly
tiny winging darting floating
merry in the blossoming
always joyful selves are singing)
Mostly blue skies with a few clouds and the birds have resumed their chorus. Must be March on the Front Range.
sweet spring is your
time is my time is our
time for springtime is lovetime
and viva sweet love”
e.e.cummings
Viva sweet love, indeed!
Stormie – don’t kill me. I like this. ;) From 2012, spring, of course.
I have now claimed this day to actually, indeed, collage my thoughts. Aren’t you the lucky one?
Thursdays are good. I like Thursdays. I was born on a Thursday and even though “Thursday’s child has far to go,” and there couldn’t be a more accurate assessment of almost any particular day of my life (I love lists and yet, my list is never done), Thursdays, in general, are quite nice. It’s like ~ the bulk of the week is behind us, the beauty of a weekend ahead, but there is still hope everything will get done, wrapped up, finis. It probably won’t, but on Thursday? The possibility seems obtainable. *sigh
Plus, I pre-school Amelie Belle on Thursdays and each Third Thursday, monthly – I get to see my Supper Club peeps.
And, it’s spring.
Oh, how I have longed for you, sweet spring.
“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?”…
“It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…” ~ Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
Brought to you by the number 4
Amelie Belle turns 4 in a few days. So today we did lots of “4” activities. We baked cakes, we painted, we danced, we traced letters and free-styled some art, we taped and glued and sang and read 2 books and counted and reviewed shapes.
I am learning so much in pre-school! :)
“Holy Grounds”
“…and the sound of a stirring rod batting powdered cream into a small quantity of coffee…”
I read this hilarious blog post about all the weak, barely-brown, super-hot, white Styrofoam cups of coffee we church types have consumed in fellowship halls, foyers and church basements for, lo, these many years. But the writer sees something more there:
“It’s a material appearing of the Church universal, a visible sign of our invisible communion with one another and with God himself. I can walk into any fellowship hall, head for the refreshments table, and mix myself a sweetened milky-brown cup of coffee that puts me in touch with millions of believers around the world as they gingerly sip the same drink.” -Martyn Jones
I know I have cupped many a white Styrofoam vessels of coffee among the saints, left my own fingernail imprints about the rim, and maybe even spilled some on the indoor-outdoor carpet of questionable color, purchased for just such occasions. It is bland, but it is the cup of fellowship, week in and week out. READ HERE
THEN my daughter Stephanie sent me this
An even funnier blog post about how to tell if you were raised by religious parents (directed at my kids’ generation). I was terrified to read it because I feared I might find myself as a parent in there. Well, I totally did! I laughed until I cried, though, and then read it to Dave and laughed even more. He lists 21 possible tell-tell signs and we may or may not have been guilty of 19…or so. {CLICK HERE}
5. Every time you heard a loud rumble of thunder in the middle of the night you thought it was The Rapture.
6. If you grew up in Church of God, your college options were either Lee University or Lee University.
12. The only R rated movie you were ever allowed to watch was The Passion of the Christ.
13. You had a cassette tape labeled “Michael W. Smith” but it was actually an MC Hammer mix tape because you would never be allowed to listen to that.
I totally saw my childhood C of G tribe imprint in this list…And, it is kind of amazing my own kids turned out. Haha.
The Kelley kids on keyboard
Where have all the flowers gone?
What the ever-loving heck? Why can I open a name-brand bag of frozen, chopped broccoli and find only 5 or 6 small-sized florets with a huge pile of broc-stalks? I realize broccoli has stalks, I just refuse to believe that I am paying for only 5 or 6 small florets of broccoli. And dang the corporate executive who thought that since I was buying a bag of stalks anyway, I should just as well get some below-the-stalk pithiness, too! I am not a woodchuck and don’t like gnawing my greens. I don’t have all day to masticate, people! The lesson: BUY FRESH!
My Super-Power: Leveling
When I am sitting up straight, completely straight as far as I can tell, my head is sort of leaning to the left. It just is. I was actually born with this totally bent-neck-head thing and they corrected my newborn-neck with sand bags on either side of my head and me screaming for hours. I don’t like anything pinning my down now, either. So, I am crooked.
My whole life, photographers would say: straighten your head. When I told them it was, they’d “manually” adjust me and it would feel like I was going to fall over on my right side. I’d lose all perspective. It feels so wrong.
Somehow in spite of this “leaning” challenge, I can tell if something is level to within a 16th of inch. It is true. I can be walking down a hallway, 40 feet away, see a group of men hanging a poster, satisfied that they have just perfected it, and tell them exactly how far off it is – and which direction – to within a 16th of an inch, no kidding. Boom! No one likes me around when there are posters to be hung.
What does this particular super-power mean in my everyday life? That I have to walk through every room of my house daily and try to ignore the things on my walls, because every. single. thing. is. slightly. OFF. But in totally different directions. Jesus, have mercy on me! Makes me crazy!
Sometimes a super-power just doesn’t pay.
The picture I wasn’t going to show.
Because: Amelie = adorable. All of the pictures in the background = crooked.
Dear son-in-heart, holy man, my daughter’s forever-lover and husband, wholly-qualified daddy to my 9th grandbebe (and a bunch more of those, if you please), and an honoring son to me…
What a fruitful, blessed and rewarding year you are living! Good heavens, my boy – let’s take stock:
1.
You became a daddy just before Christmas to a baby girl whose cuddles and laughs and coos and smiles are generously bestowed on all passers-by and her divine jabbering remind us that~
“God, brilliant Lord,
yours is a household name.
Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.” Psalm 8.1-2 The Message
You have this happening in your household. We’ve got us a little worshiper in Evangeline Lilly.
Could you ever believe you’d have such a lovely daughter? Way to go, Ryan! This baby is so sweet, so so so sweet and happy. She is joyful, safe in her daddy’s household!
2.
Then – you have this wife who loves you so much she prayed for God to give her three ways to party you up for your 30th birthday, one for each decade! That is love and you are celebrated.
When I see my daughter’s clear, smiling eyes, I know she is well-loved and she is loving well. Aren’t you the luckiest guy? You got Dessa!
“Tredessa is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life. …” ~From Proverbs 31 (may or may not have been paraphrased by Dessa’s mom)
3.
Plus you got ordained last Sunday, you and Dessa ~ recognized as church leadership! God has seen and watched and smiled and He’s been making a place for you in His courts, a place to serve alongside Steve and Missy Crowder and serve the Family of God at Highway Community in Boulder.
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘If you will walk in obedience to me and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here.'” Zechariah 3.7
This is a good thing and you are up for it because of how you love people, how you support the lead pastor and his family and because of what God created you to do and to be.
1984 and 2014, both very good years
So grateful for the day of your birth and for all the days that led you to us, Ry. And so thankful to see all God is doing in you and through you as you turn 30 years old, with so much life ahead!
I want to pray a blessing on you, but I want to tell you, first, my favorite Ryan memory from this past year.
I bet you think you know what it is. But I bet you don’t know.
It was just an ordinary weekday, almost a year ago. For some reason you were off work and came here during the day and you came and sat and talked to me about the hard things and decisions, and you, ever-so-gently, challenged me on some things – just the way God does. The way He does it when He corrects, but you actually leave feeling better because you know He straightens you out because of His great love towards you, His zeal for your heart. And you were asking me thoughtful, thought-provoking questions and you were so careful with my heart, so careful not to bring pain, and you listened to me (gave me the gift of time) – it just blew me away.
When you left, I was more aware than ever that you truly love us as your family, and you actually take the time to pray for us and think about us and check in on us. God has given me another son in you, Ryan. I am so grateful.
That other thing…
See? I bet you thought I was going to talk about how amazing you were in the birthing room, didn’t you? And how can I talk about this past year without saying: yes! You were an incredible labor coach and support and excited daddy at Eva’s birth.
My mom always talks about the way you danced with Tredessa at your wedding, how she saw your delight just surround your bride and she tells me, “I’ll never forget how he danced with her with such love.”
And while that wedding dance was joyous and romantic and beautiful and love-filled, it pales compared to the dance in the birthing room, as the time drew near and the labor intensified, to see you reach for Tredessa and say, “Let’s have a contraction,” as if you’d just asked her to dance. And she’d lean in to you and the two of you would sway to music that had welcomed the Presence of God right into that room and Eva’s arrival was just a little closer each time. It was a beautiful way to welcome your darling baby girl!
Very first daddy-daughter cuddle
Ok, I love both those things. And everything about you. Aren’t we the lucky ones to have you?
Blessed is Ryan, who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments! Ryan’s descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in Ryan’s house; and his righteousness endures for ever. Light rises in the darkness for the Ryan and his household; for the Lord is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with Ryan for dealing generously and lending, who has conducted his affairs with justice. For the righteous men like Ryan Faaland will never be moved; they will be remembered for ever. Ryan is not afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady, he will not be afraid. Ryan has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever; and his life is exalted in honor. (Ps. 112:1-9, ever-so-slightly paraphrased by the m-i-l from the RSV)**
Now – In Jesus’ Name, I ask Him to bless you with the blessings He gave us in the Word, birthday-boy and mighty man of valor. I ask the God who is delighted by you to be as full of joy over you as you were as a groom taking your young bride…and continue to be! Trust God all your days, Ry, and walk in the integrity of godly royalty. Just put aside what man thinks, don’t let people’s poor opinions ever weigh you down, just obey the voice of God.
Ryan-it’s clearly evident you possess the character of a gatekeeper in the house of the Lord, so keep His gates and be a man of rest. Be increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man! Be strong and brave and valiant and God will see your works and hear your prayers and answer you in the day of trouble.
This is the blessing promised to a man who respects the LORD:
“You will enjoy what you work for and you will be blessed with good things. Your wife will give you many children, like a vine that produces much fruit. Your children will bring you much good, like olive branches that produce many olives.” Psalm 128
So enjoy – find great joy in the things you have worked for and joy in your family. Again I’ll tell you, channeling my inner Paul the Apostle: Joy! Rejoice! Be joyful!
You have my love and great respect. Happy Birthday celebration! With love from the {m-I-l}!
**NOTE: This is the traditional Sabbath even blessing a wife speaks over her husband. Just in case, Dessa. :)
“Nonna – can we put the music on?” Amelie asks me so sweetly every Thursday morning when she arrives for pre-school. We talk about pushing the big, rectangle button on the surround-sound, then carefully lifting the lid to place an LP on the player. Then we lift the lever, place the arm over the spinning vinyl, and lower the lever with great care. Then we lower the lid and after just a bit of crackling, the dancing begins.
She loves the process, the steps to using the turntable. She speaks them softly as she reverently plays a record, today: The Fabulous Fifties, last week, some Andy Williams. I am trying to expose my grandbebes to older, American classics in music, for the new they will always find. So I start them on 40s love songs and 60s Motown. As they get older (like Gavin and Hunter), they want to hear the Footloose album or a song like “The Night Chicago Died.” But it is all “old-timey” music to them. :)
Hey – remember the 80s?
Well, as I may have mentioned before – I barely do, but not for the “usual” reasons. I was just busy having babies and tending to my little family back in those days. Movies? Music? Who the president was? I can hardly recall (though my huge hair and Desperately-Seeking-Susan wardrobe was fantastic). But our friends, Mary and David, invited us to a show last weekend with a B-52s cover band called, Hey Lady. It was an all-80s music extravaganza, even with the openers, The Retrosonics (I could sing along with a lot of their music – they were great and the lead singer is the sister of another set of great friends: Joel and Marj). But I had mostly missed the B52s the first time around. Ha.
Two things became very clear to me:I really AM from the 1970sand I need that red wig!
I don’t drink and I don’t dance (I want to – just…can’t…dance, that is), so I was out of my element, but Mary has promised we’ll go back on Karoke night sometime – because I DO love to sing!
The keyboard is currently in the living room, where I plunk and play and sing a little most days
I have hit that horrible age where every song has a memory and I burst into tears at the drop of a hat or the gentle turn of a melody. It isn’t because the memories are sad or bad, but just because I wish I had held every moment of life a little closer and more reverently.
Now I play a chord and sing a line and I see a person or place or time in my mind’s eye. And I cry because I am so grateful I got to live it and know the people I know and to have loved them. And my heart is full now because understanding seems to come with age. Not one day is unimportant. Do you hear me? Not one. The tears are just the overflow of a heart that can feel, that risks feeling, more and more as time goes by.
So just let me cry when I sing. I am that age now.
#TBT
For today’s #throwbackthursday :: Highland Park Church of God in Des Moines, Iowa. My mom was the choir director and she started it while I was about 7, at which time she taught me to sing alto. In fact there was a whole alto section, Rhonda Sable being the rest of it, but nonetheless – there were parts.
This picture includes all 5 of us, my siblings and myself. I am the girl in the back row clear to the right. While the choir had been going for a year by this time (practices on Sunday evenings at 6 pm, while the YPE (aka Young People’s Endeavor, now more commonly known as Youth Group, except with some way more hip title) met upstairs. But in the fall of 1968, when we got our poncho-robes and bright-white bow-ties, we were certainly at the zenith of our junior choir career. Good times.
Back row, left-to-right: the late Lonny Sable, Brenda Smith, Sharon Smith, Wesley Sable, Rhonda Sable, MOI! // Middle row, left to right: Timmy Rodgers, Timmy Moslander, Debbie Bettis, Joey Moslander, Rebecca Sable, Darryl Sable. Front Row, left-to-right (the junior-est of them all): Tina Slight, Laurie Rodgers, Dana Mitchell Moslander, Tami (alias Tammy) Moslander, David Bettis, Carol Bettis and the late Ramona Whorley.
Which brings me to this question: Where has all the harmony gone?
What is up with all 5 vocalists onstage singing the melody these days? I miss hearing harmony? Part it out, people.
Beautiful music makes the whole world go around! Who wants to sing with me right this second?
Just LOVING this fun, upbeat, YES!-Christians-do-have-a-reason-to-rejoice-and-be-the-happiest-people-on-the-planet song! My FAVS are the dancers that kick it off (you’ll see them throughout), the altar-boy (he has got the joyful moves), the dad dressed like Woody , the little kids on the bus (keep watching past the end), and “the chin!” O:) But the puppets – oh the puppets are so great, just praising Jesus right along with all of creation!
“Let it be known
That our God saves
Our God reigns
We lift You up, up
Let it be known
That love has come
Love has won
We lift You up up, up – oh”
Let it be Known!
Warning: you’re gonna wanna get up and dance! It’s fun!
On this Beautiful Day of Consecration
Today we are off to Boulder where Tredessa and Ryan will be set forth as leadership in their church (Highway Community, Pastor Steve Crowder), ordained to love and lead God’s people with the team there. AND Evangeline is being dedicated. With gratefulness to God for the gift of her, we give her back, we bless her little life with the promise that we’ll always point her to Jesus. Love you, Baby Eva!
Evangeline: post bath happy
How appropriate then, today’s song of such astounding and wonderful news. For our baby girl’s name means, “Messenger of Good News.” So, in that spirit, everybody now:
“Let it be known that our God saves
That our God reigns
Let it be known, let everybody know
That love has won, love has come!” -Worship Central
And on the matter of this springing forward ~
I like because it has the word “spring” in it. But this morning, I fear, the spring is stuck and the minutes are just flying right by at a much quicker rate. How is this possible? Please, some one, fix this!!!
It wasn’t all going to be about health and beauty. It just turned out this way. My Thursday word-and-picture collage of thoughts and weirdnesses and hopefully some encouragement and wisdom, too, Thank-you very much! Five things I’m thinking about today…
Organ Donors
Aren’t the people who had the forethought to donate their vital organsand tissue when they died (and the people who love them and have lost them) the most amazing human beings ever? Isn’t it just the highest, most exemplary form of thoughtfulness to leave life and wholeness behind?
Sometimes our own healing comes at the expense of some one else’s pain. We should be very grateful for that.
It’s a wonderful {health} day in the neighborhood – for women!
I found this bit of healthiness in my junk mail, no less – right there in that envelope full of advertisements that I was about to toss.
Tri-County Healthhas just announced free screenings for cervical cancer, breast cancer and heart disease for women over-40 living in Adams, Arapahoe or Douglas counties who meet income qualifications, are not covered by health insurance (or have some ridiculous insurance that doesn’t cover screening exams) and who have not had a mammogram or Pap test in the past year.
This is really good news for all the women who think they can’t afford health care. You can. Now! Call them! 303-363-3018.
Speaking of health – ever tried the Coca Pulse thing? For determining food allergies???
One of my darling daughters is being tested for food sensitivities and allergies. She is in the hands of trusted professionals. But there are so many, shall we say, interesting thoughts and theories about determining if you have a problem with a certain food. I sometimes have to laugh at many of the home-grown methods because they sound more like parlor entertainment…
Gluten Test: Stand on your right tippy toe and immerse your left foot in a bucket water that has been chilled to exactly 48-degrees while holding an oven heated river rock in your left fist. Place the back of your right hand on your nose and look straight ahead. Keep this pose for 5 minutes. If you fall over and hit your head, you have an intense gluten allergy. If you only wobble during the 5 minutes, you do have a gluten sensitivity, but watch out, it could turn into an extreme allergy within days. If you can do this easily, gluten is not your problem. Let’s check for dairy. Dairy test: Now – for this, you will need to stand on your head and…
Just kidding. That is NOT a real test. Please do not do it. Seriously – not based on any scientific fact nor on anything, really. Haha! Health stuff is so strange.
We just want answers and we want to be able to control our own health (because the “health industry “has drugged us to death). So, I understand it.
Then place a bite of the food to which you suspect you might be allergic on your tongue. Hold it there for about a minute.
Re-check your pulse.
If your pulse has gone up 6 or more beats per minute, you may be sensitive or allergic to that food. The higher the pulse the more sensitivity or allergy to that food group.
Tell me if you have tried it and if it worked or was also confirmed by a medical professional? OK? Ok!
#EAfashionshow
You read that right! It’s hashtag-E-A (for Eldeen Annette) -fashion-show!
I am so lucky – I get to produce this awesome show for Eldeen Annette Portraitureand I am having so much fun!
The show will have a red carpet experience for guests upon arrival, live social media engagement, awesome lighting and loud music and feature the studio’s Class of 2015 models wearing picture-perfect fashion trends that high schoolers will want to wear for their senior portraits.
It’s going to be a super-sparkly, entertaining, fun, over-the-top, energetic, memory-making, creative and THE-place-to-be party! Everyone who comes will get a great gift bag full of goodies and products from area businesses as a thanks AND 100% of the ticket money is going straight to MADD-Colorado!
I am having a blast putting on a Fashion Show, of all things! And Eldeen Annette really does incredible work. It is a pleasure to work with “Ellie!” Mark your calendar for May 1, 2014! And buy your tickets now because it IS going to sell out!
#TBT
This is me at age 1 1/2 with my little brother, Joey, when he was about 2 months old (Eva’s current age).
What does this have to do with Health & Beauty? Well, perhaps it is a warning for mommies trying to cut perfectly straight bangs on baby girls – quit trying to straighten it out! It will only end in disaster.
The truly beautiful thing in this #throwbackthursday photograph is how much my little brother adored moi. Don’t you think? :)
THat’s about it, Those are my THinkings & invaluable THoughts THis fine THursday morning. I’m silly, I know.
[Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ…you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2.5, 9 Amp
Hey, my sweets~
These are not just hopes and dreams and wishes I have for you. And so what if they were? I love you, each of you, with something so deep that all the words I will ever speak cannot quite ever measure up. All 5 of you {my amazing children: Tara, Stephie, Dessa, Rock-man and Stormie Dae}- I remember you as a first miraculous flutter in the hidden place as God was putting you together, when you were known only as the child within, to now, full-grown and productive people who wow me with your dazzling beauty.
But these are words I speak on a Tuesday morning as a pronouncement, an authoritative declaration as your mom – an Image-bearer (a broken one, at times) of God Himself. I want to impart that mothering side of God to you and say, on a Tuesday:
Blessings, my sweets – not just a cutesy-wish or an empty word, but mammoth-sized, Biblical-proportionally-sized, heaven-sent power and help in time of need BLESSINGS on you today!
May you be answered when you call on the Lord, the truest Lover of your soul. Your help comes (present-tense) from Him! (Psalm 20.1; Psalm 121)
May the favor of God surround you like a shield, just deflecting the ridiculous assaults on our hearts that so often befall us, day in and day out. (Psalm 5.12)
Having eaten fully of the goodness of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit at the table of the Lord (prepared for you right in front of the enemy), may you also bear much good fruit in your life today and may you produce much seed and impact generations you’ll never even see. (Galatians 5.22; John 15.16; Psalm 145.4; Psalm 128)
Be forgiven, I bless you with forgiveness. Run to the Savior for forgiveness of sins. If you only confess them, He will be faithful and just and forgive them – every single one. He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. There is no reason to live in even a moments’ bondage today. Not one. And when you call on Him, I can assure you, based on the promise in the word of God (1 John 1.19) and because of all Jesus paid for on the cross – your sins will be forgiven.
May the fullness of the JOY Jesus came to give be yours, completely, wholly, finally! (John 15.11; John 16)
May you find healing in your heart from misunderstandings or hurtful words or hard times and be agents of grace when you are on the other side of that equation. Give healing, too. I bless you with the strength to do that. :) (Psalm 147.3; Psalm 34.18)
May you reflect the Light of your life, brightening the lives of everyone in your path by exemplifying the One who has so graciously shined His face upon you. (1 Peter 2.9; Isaiah 60.1)
May you receive all the wisdom you cry out for today , all the wisdom you need to live a godly life and gain understanding. (James 1.5)
And may you know, at the end of this day, that you were fully living in God’s grace – that empowering Presence of the Holy Spirit who gives you everything you need to be who He created you to be and to have done all He called you to do. May you and your household be the blessed ones and may your loves (DP, Tris, Ryan and Jovan) and your babies (aka my “grandbebes”) get in on all of this, too! May your day be sweet.
Signed with love and blessings~
A servant of the Lord, your mommy and one who admires you so much,Tara, Stephanie, Tredessa, Rocky & Stormie ~ I pray these things and more for you, and I pronounce them with the authority of one called to be yours and you mine. {mom}
“Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much with affectionate longing, we were delighted to share with you and impart to you not only the Good News of the Gospel of God, but our very lives as well. 1 Thessalonians 2.6-8, paraphrased
Ok….so more technical problems…today is actually Saturday (March 1), obvi..but I wrote this Thursday. *sigh // ANYHOO-such profound thinking to follow…ha!
Throwback Thursday
I noticed recently that #throwbackthursday (as in hashtag-throw-back-Thursday) is picking up steam. It’s the chance for everybody to post those hilarious old photographs of themselves way back in the day. I can TOTALLY do Throwback-Thursday today because I have been scanning old family photos and oh, man – did I find some doozies (of OTHER people, of course).
The Moslanders, my family-of-origin, #tbt
Ross the Boss, Mrs. Moss and all the little Landers, 1975 @ Robert, Louisiana (I’m the oldest. I was 16 here)
The Sunday after Thanksgiving in 1988 in Hobart, IN (Southlake Church of God). Two words: shoulder pads!
Thirteen years later, we were all married, I had 5 kids (ages 2-9) and Tami had not grown an inch in height since she was 10 years old.
Meanwhile, I’ll call this Thought-Collage Thursday because that is what this blog is, anyway a collage! :)
I think I’m being followed.
Seriously, everywhere I go, when the Wi-Fi options come up on my phone, there is always an FBI Mobile or FBI Van #7 or some sort of FBI vehicle around. I am pretty sure I am being watched by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Why? I do not know. If anyone questions you about me, send me a coded text to warn me, will you? Thanks!
Willie.
I have this {I own it!}, the Willie Nelson – His Hits and Finest Performances album distributed in a Reader’s Digest collection in 1987. A former co-worker gave it to me just because I have a turntable (or “record player,” as they were known while I growing up!).
And while it is packed with all the great songs you already know by Willie Nelson, there are so many great treasures I had never heard anywhere until I got this. 53 great songs on 5 LPs. Seriously, his rendition of “Let it Be Me” is the best I have ever heard of that gorgeous tune – and it has been sung by every. body!
Any song Willie Nelson sings, with that unmistakable gravel and sophistication actually just sounds more authentic and true than anyone else who ever attempts that song again. A little raw and wholly soulful, he owns any melody that comes out of that talented heart.
Other songs he covers that I would totally encourage you to try out on iTunes or Spotify: “Without a Song,” “Stardust,” and “September Song.”
February is (almost) over.
I am surprised every single year at how quickly it is gone. Every year. You’d think I’d know by now that it is going to happen.
Speaking of things I should know
When I take a drink and sort of miss my mouth…and dribble down the side – I am always appalled. Occasionally when I am eating, I bite my tongue. How is it 50-some years down the road I haven’t totally mastered these things, having practiced SO much?!
My Jesus, I Love Thee, verse 3
I love old hymns and find restoration, when I am frazzled and shredded by life, in just singing them. Modern worship is wonderful, but I am drawn to lyrics deep and timeless, to melodies that have been sung by voices before me and which will still be drifting heavenward long after I am gone.
William R. Featherston wrote the well-known, “My Jesus, I Love Thee,” as a poem when he was somewhere between 12 and 16 years of age. How does such a young man know how to communicate such depth of love?
I was playing the keyboard and singing this song the other morning and the 3rd verse caught in my throat for a minute as I wondered: Will I love Jesus as much in my death as I do in my life? Because I love life, too, really. And what if I am not happy with the whole death process? Will it make me love Him less?
But as suddenly as I questioned myself, I realized, we’re already dying anyway. Part of our living is dying. And if I am loving Jesus wholly each day in my living, then when I step through the door of death from this realm, and actually see Him face to face, Oh, yes. I will be loving Him more fully, more truly than I have ever been able.
I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.
Adoniram Gordon added a melody to the words in 1876. And William R. Featherston died at age 27 never knowing his words would become a hymn of the deepest devotion, sung around the world and included in almost every hymnal for years to come.
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One Saturday afternoon recently, after she’d outlasted all her cousins in some dancing fun, after she’d twirled and leapt and swirled and spun on her toes for over an hour and everyone else had gotten tired and moved on, Gemma breathlessly flung herself across the sofa for a moment and exclaimed, “Oh! I’m soooo tired, but this music just makes me keep on dancing.” And as if the music truly was in control of her, her body lifted and fatigued or not, she went right back to her energetic movement, dancing and frolicking about in full vigor. Music has that kind of power. :)
The Gavinators (he’ll be 11 in June)
“I call this ‘the wall of me,'” Gavin told me as he descended the staircase at my house, gesturing towards the Urbane Bronze (almost black) wall that nearly killed me last May. “Because,” he explained, “every time I look at it, I see another view of myself.”
It’s true. It is lined with framed mirrors and reflects my most valuable and beautiful treasures {the grandbebes} en masse. So much of a good thing!
Malakai {he turned one in January}
Did Kai, the newest family toddler come to me with tiny steps and a big smile on his face over and over when I spent the day with him last weekend? Oh yes, he did. It’s the cutest thing and the icing on the cake was when he came toddling my way saying “Nonna” for the first time and I got it on video! SO serendipitous! :)Be still, my fluttering heart!
Amelie {she’s 3, but almost 4}
Blessed-blessed-blessed Nonna that I am, I have gotten to do pre-school with each of the first 6 grandbebes so far. I’ll get to hang with Amelie until she goes to Kindergarten the fall of 2015 and wow, what fun we are having. She spent a lot of last Thursday hiding in closets and jumping out with the bold declaration “Let there be light!” It was in response to our pre-school day being “sponsored by the number 7” which seemed like a good time to talk about the 7 days of creation. Obviously the time we spent whispering in the dark hallway about the earth being without form and void and darkness covering the face of the earth made a bigger impact than the actual number 7, but I don’t mind that one bit.
Hunter {he is 9 1/2}
Kai won’t eat for me, which is weird because he is a great eater. But regardless of what I try to feed him – it’s a no. This is going to be problematic when he stays with me for almost a week later this year while his parents go to Paris.
Tara was pondering this dilemma at home when Hunter, who felt he knew exactly why Kai doesn’t eat for me, offered this insight,
“It’s too exciting over there! I’ve been there for nine years and I’ve still only seen 10% of all their house has to offer!”
Hahahahahahahahhha!!! That made me so happy.
Plus…
Guinivere (8 1/2)…Is she an astonishing beauty or what?
The K-kids just got to be photographed by a really cool photographer. You can read about it at Stephie’s blog and see his work there. They are fascinating photographs, part of a series the photographer is putting together featuring kids just…being. Gavin gave me the insider information that Gemma had a hard time not smiling and giggling the whole way through the session. Because Gemma is a happy, joyous smiler and giggler – all the time!
AND – Jovan is blogging more regularly again and those three cute girlies keep us giggling. We’ve determined that Bailey Sophia (9 months old) must be made out of marshmallow because though a little chunk-a-lunk she is, she is light as a feather and those fluffy cheeks are fun to smooch!
Pray for Averi who is a little under the weather today – on Kindergarten class picture day! Boooo… Surely for a girl so beautiful they’ll reschedule???
So, let’s see…am I missing anyone? Oh yes! Evangeline! She’s 2 months old now! And she came over and hung out with me yesterday afternoon (oh, her mom, too). And while it is true, she is not saying a whole lot quite yet, she seems to have dedicated her life {so far} to looking for any and all reasons to smile. And I applaud her sweet pursuit! And her leg warmers. :)
That’s 9. In case you have lost count (I sometimes do) I have 9 grandbebes. And I really thank God for them! I was born to be their Nonna! :)
Pictures of Gavin, Hunter, Bailey, and Averi by Stephanie. Picture of Eva by her mommy. Picture of Guini and the 3 Kelley kids by Steve Stanton Photography. Pictures of Amelie and Gemma and the toddling-Malakai vid: me.
TIP: Holy-guacamole! My best Kitchen-Tip-of-the-Week (or maybe the year…since I don’t actually ever share kitchen tips)
Because I may or may not actually be in the kitchen very much these days.
If you happen upon a 4/$1.00 avocado sale, you must take advantage, you just must! Even though avocados don’t “last,” they can be mashed and frozen for Guacamole at a later date. And you should be eating regular and copious amounts of guac. Really. You should.
And – when it is time to cut them in half all at once during that 3-minute window of perfection and you have a mountain of avocado halves in your biggest bowl to smash – attack with your handy-dandy pastry blender. In just a few seconds, no kidding – seconds, you’ll have perfectly prepared avocado. You can leave it chunky or blend until it’s creamy smooth, but the pastry cutter works so fast you’ll wonder what happened!
And speaking of avocados, I saw this hilarious thing on Pinterestlast week and I actually for real LOLed!
TIP: Hanging up now.
I always {at least try to} turn my phone notifications completely off when I am in a meeting or with anyone who means anything at all to me. At least I believe in that.
But lately, I’ve been getting really sloppy at this, because – well, isn’t everyone else checking their phone round-the-clock these days?
The truth is, I have found I can actually turn it off or put it away for 90-minutes and it’s a proven fact I am not really that important anyway. The universe goes right on spinning and the world doesn’t fall apart and the few texts and calls I may miss without my eyes on my phone haven’t been life or death.
I don’t mind turning my phone off and just leaving it off for people who warrant my time to begin with. And I really feel warmly towards people who do the same for me ~ a surprising sweetness to my heart.
TIP: My Favorite TED Talks
First of all, I super-duper love TED Talks. I have been exposed to some really fascinating ideas and seen things in the world I didn’t even know were happening, buildings I thought were only fantasies, possible solutions to world problems that have awed me – what a time to be alive!
TED “is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, under the slogan ‘ideas worth spreading’.” – Wikipedia
The talks were meant to bring together people from the three worlds of Technology, Entertainment and Design, thus TED.
The problem with TED Talks, according to Professor Benjamin Bratton, who actually used the TED Talk platform to slam the TED Talks, said TED more likely stands for “middlebrow, megachurch infotainment,” and he believes that the 18-minute or less talks are way over-simplified and are “making our best and brightest waste their time—and the audience’s time—dancing like infomercial hosts.” Yes. maybe.
To me, though, they are like magazine articles or short papers. I learn maybe a little something, get my mind expanded, discover valuable information I can use.
I watched the whole Chew on This Ted Talks series twice on Netflix and found it fascinating, as the various speakers sometimes even contradicted each other on the topic of food, supply, world hunger, the moral issues for carnivores and vegans. I liked that it made me think about what they were saying and helped me form opinions about food issues in the world in these disconcerting times.
I admire intelligence and thoughtful propositions. And even though I totally believe and see life much differently than many of the speakers do, most of them manage to enlarge my awe of God and confirm my delight in His Word and all He is and will ever be. Because ideas come from the Father of Lights!
So here is a list of 7 TED Talks I like in no particular order.
This one is seriously one of my favorites! It’s barely over 3 minutes long, but has been viewed by almost 3.5 million people. I got such great understanding about the strength of what I bring to organizations I work with by watching this. I love innovative, courageous, visionary people, I’m drawn to them. And when I spot them, I want to be on their train, breathe the air they breathe and bleed the blood they bleed! :) And I bring courage for others to hop aboard, too. I am a Deborah to a Barak, I’m Barney Rubble to Fred Flintstone, I’m the Lone Ranger’s Tonto. This video actually helped me see that my leadership role in being a first-follower is vital, not secondary. I love cause and vision and being in the middle of creative chaos. Visionaries are the most exciting people on earth and getting to be a propeller as a first follower, I am finally understanding, is my life’s work.
This guy can tell a story and this talk just makes me laugh, a really fun watch! He is a psychologist exploring the idea that instead of working get happy, happiness will actually increase our productivity. The idea of “Escaping the Cult of Average” that we’ve been creating through science is awesome!
This is one I just watched recently. I knew it! We do things, we believe things, we buy things, we give our lives to things from the inside out. This is about the heart and soul of WHY. I don’t live by reason alone (though I use my brain fully), I follow my guarded heart…
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4.23
We know body language is “readable” and you can tell so much about a person’s frame of mind from it, but I love that the research shows it isn’t just about reading what is, we can actually power-pose to create a completely different reality, encouraging ourselves through our own body language. And it is very simple!
She is a gamer. I didn’t think I’d get much from this one, but she makes a great case for the good in games and relational connectedness through them. It gave me great hope for my grandchildren’s futures, as we watch interaction becoming more and more digital, or cyber or whatever it is? :) This talk comes with a bonus – potential to find healing through a game AND you get 7 1/2 minutes added to your life just by watching her talk! No kidding!
Mama mia!!! This one is fascinating! This is a woman who is actually a real-life brain scientist and who got to experience and study her own massive stroke as it happened.
More than 10 years ago God began to reveal to me how wholeheartedness, a characteristic I loved reading about in the life of Hezekiah, was not another word for workaholism, but actually the antidote to working oneself to death. I bet God wishes I had wholeheartedly pursued more understanding about it. I do. But I never forgot and wondered…I use the word “wholehearted” a lot (as a user name on many websites, and it’s even my personal email name), but it still seemed mysterious to me. In the middle of the night earlier this year, I felt compelled to discover something new about wholeheartedness, just sensing it was time to flesh out the next thing about it, and ran across this woman {what a delightful surprise}, this TED Talk and wow – LOVE! Brene Brown says all the things I am still trying to find the courage to say. Shame sucks. Being wholehearted is being courageous and having the courage “To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.” This TED Talk, well, it has helped my daily existence on the earth. I’m even in a book-club reading Brene right now. :) WATCH!
That’s enough TED Talks for today. But there are more. Oh yes, there are! :)
Brene Brown on being a wholehearted person of “ordinary courage” from her book, The Gifts of Imperfection
TIP: How to get dancer’s legs
Amelie spent the night here last weekend with her big sister, Averi, and her cousins, Gemma and Guini. And the girl can plie like there is no tomorrow. So can Gemma. Where the rest of “us girls” dance and giggle and maybe are a bit silly, Gemma and Amelie are serious dancers and have the muscular control and beautifully proportioned legs to show it! We danced last weekend! Gemma said, “Oh Nonna, I’m so tired, but this music just keeps me dancing!”
Last night Amelie Belle stayed here all by herself for the first time ever, because, as she told me, “I’m a big kid, now.” Soon to be four and fiercely independent, yes – she is a big kid now.
For over an hour, all the way until she said, “I’m sleepy, Nonna,” she danced and twirled and plied and swooned and swished. She loves getting to go to the record player, which happened to have a Perry Como album in place, to lift the arm and set it carefully down. She finds having control over the volume of the surround-sound quite intoxicating, too.
And so she dances. And dances. And dances some more. And in between dancing, she walks about on her tip-toes and maintains her dancer’s form, a ballotté here, a cabriole there and those little, tiny 3-year old legs are stronger than strong.
Blurry, because that is how dancing is. :)
First thing this morning, after a pancake breakfast with Poppa my Tiny Dancer asked, “Can I put the music on?” And Perry crooned to his band while she, up on her twinkle-toes, stretched and swirled and penchéted about the room and her strong, little muscle-y legs lifted her in a fancy-flight of joy.
Do you want to know, now, how to have dancer’s legs? Dance, my sweets. Dance and dance. Dance before bed and the first thing upon rising. Walk on your tip-toes and pretend you are the best that ever was, because soon you will be. And with strong, beautiful dancer’s legs, too.
