Lest I lead you astray unintentionally...

...I told you yesterday that the piece in this post had been refinished. Well, it wasn't. I was incorrect. I learned today that antiques should never be refinished. If they are, they lose all much of their value. Who knew? I guess all the marks and imperfections that we would think need to be fixed and polished over are really just the scars that give the piece its age and character.

Hmmm... I think there is a spiritual lesson to be learned there. We may wish to hide all of the marks and imperfections in our lives, but perhaps, these are the very things that God uses to show what He can do with a broken vessel that is surrendered to Him.

Just a thought.

Don't ever refinish your antiques! :o)

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

My Grandmother does not live inside her china closet...

Interesting title, huh? :o)

It speaks to something, though. I have this problem with stuff. I like to keep it, even though I might not have room for it and am trying to rid myself of much of it.

Well. Recently, my parents gave me the opportunity to have a small antique china closet that my grandfather (my dad's dad) had purchased and refinished (at some point in time... it could use some more touching up now). My only problem was that I already had a china closet from my grandmother (my mom's mom). Of course, there are always positives and negatives regarding anything that you choose to own. My grandmother's china closet was... well... hers. The bad side is that it was very, very large, and I didn't really put it to the best use, either. I am a pack rat. I tend to keep papers... and more papers... and more papers. I kept a lot of papers inside the china closet, too.



**hangs head in shame**

So, I thought about it for a little while. I thought, It would be really nice to have something from my grandfather, too... and I could have so much more space... and I have another piece of furniture from my grandmother, anyway.

Then, the decision was made. It had to go. I didn't really care for the piece that much anyway. I only wanted it because it was hers... but, honestly, what I wanted was to have her back again.



*sigh*

I just had to come to terms with the fact that she does not live in her china closet.

No, she has been in heaven for 8 years now, and I will get to see her again someday. In the meantime, though, I am living here today, and I needed to get my house in order. Seriously. So, we did it.

We cleaned it out...




and gave her china closet away.




Have I mentioned that I LOVE to give things away? I know that the person I gave it to has really wanted a china closet for a very long time and will lovingly care for it.



Even better than I have. It did tug at my heart just a bit, though. Does anybody else get attached to furniture and cars the way that I do? No? I guess it's just me, then. :o) I'll never forget when we traded in her van...


With as many miles as we had gone together in that van, it was time... but still, I cried. What's new?!?

Now, this beautiful (and much smaller) piece sits in our kitchen.



There will be no papers. Just dishes. Lots and lots of dishes, 'cause you know... I like dishes, too... and crystal... and little Romanian porcelain thingies (plural for thingy)... hey, it's a word... look it up! :o)



Goldie wanted to get in on the picture to say hello. :o)



Ben, too! Um, does it bug anybody else that the rug is not evenly divided between the tiles? No? Guess it's just me and my Type A - OCD self, then. :o)


Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

Tuesday Tidbits

Our time with D.T.'s brother is drawing to a close. He will be leaving this Saturday. Wow, six weeks! The time has sure flown by. Even though we love having him here and will miss him, I am sure that he and his family will be very happy to see each other once again! The dogs will certainly miss him, too. He's been with them all day every day for the last six weeks! For a few days now, we have not been certain that his flight would actually happen because British Airways has gone on strike. Goodness! Problems coming and going! His flight has finally been confirmed, though, so it looks like everything is back on schedule.

***
So, now what? I wonder what this summer will bring us. More dieting. More elimination of clutter. A less stress-filled life? I hope so.

***
I got a little off track with my diet this weekend. It all started with the chocolate covered marshmallow (My Gram used to really love those!) and went downhill from there. There is just something about a routine to keep me on my diet, and I got out of my routine this weekend.



It's ok, though, because I am quickly back on track! My next goal is to make it over the 10-pound hump. This week! That will put me just about a third of the way to my goal!!!

***
Benjamin seemed to think he was quite the little Prince this morning! How cute is he with his legs folded all proper like that?!? :o)



***
I tried a really yummy dessert recipe last night, complements of Hungry Girl! LOVE her emails!!! Check it out... it is really easy, too! :o) Oh... and the only ingredient in here that you might not be familiar with is the True Lemon. You can find it next to Splenda in the baking aisle. This product has zero calories, and adds a very natural taste of lemon to pretty much anything you add it to. Great in water, too! They also have lime and orange versions, but I have not gotten the chance to try those yet.


***
Well, guess that's about it. Checking out for now... have a great day!

Oh, I almost forgot... one more new product which I have tried out is Crystal Light Pure Fitness. I am not so much a fan of the strawberry-kiwi flavor, but the grape is pretty good. Both of them are very tart, but not exactly sour. My goal is to not spend as much money as I have been on Sobe LifeWater, which I LOVE! We'll see how it goes. Anything to stay away from the Diet Coke. With a coupon, I am able to buy a box that breaks down to $.21/packet versus $1/bottle for Sobe. Big difference. Lucky me this week, though. Kroger's has Sobe on sale for $.88!!! Woohoo! :o)

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

Tuesday Tidbits~ brain rolling down the hill...

Where is my brain??? I just introduced our house guest to my coworker... for the second time. You'd think I would have remembered that I introduced them to each other at my house last week when my coworker came to pick up her little girl.

***
I am beyond unmotivated right now. I had a dream in the wee hours of last night. I dreamed that I did not want to finish my group proposal. Therefore, I decided I would just drop the class. You know, the one I already attended and completed everything for except the proposal. Good choice, C.C., good choice! Again, where is my brain?

***
I am not really feeling the whole adoption thing right now, either. I've gone through these feelings before, and I am sure I will go through them again in the future. It's not that I'm upset about anything, but I'm also not really interested in any of it either. I guess you could say I am rather ambivalent. I sorta wonder if I've gotten the whole -God gave me this desire to be a mother- thing wrong. After all, D.T. and I do have a good life and marriage with each other. It's not so bad being just the two of us. I read two things from two different Christian ladies yesterday. One of them proposed the following:

To me, adapting now feels a bit like a negative concept...
like God and I have different ideas about my life,
and by adapting I'm begrudgingly adjusting my view
rather than surrendering to His.
I've learned through the trial and error of life
that I don't want to adapt anymore.

Then, the other lady said:

I think it pleases God when we pursue
the dreams He's tucked in our heart.

and encouraged her readers with this:

Sweet sister, bring your dream, whatever it is,
back out into the light of day and press on.

I'm not quite sure what to do with both of these thoughts. I like them, and I think they each have nuggets of truth, but they are also very different from each other. On the other hand, though, I need to find congruence between both statements and my own experience.

***
I am very much enjoying the weather changes this week, and I really enjoyed the 10 day forecast this morning. Can you say "No coat?!?" The first day of Spring may still be a few days away, but it's already arriving here! :-) I am SO excited!!! :-) :-) :-)

How about you? What's the weather like in your neck of the woods? Can you see the tulips and daffodils yet??? I miss the ones my Gram used to have growing next to her house, and I'm not so good at growing things. LOL! Perhaps, I'll have to call a gardener. :-)

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

My story... learning how to write...

My intention in joining Holley on her 21 day challenge was to do all five (or seven) days of the week throughout the week, posting them together on Friday. Today, I have changed my mind. At least for today.

Today, she urges us to use our senses in the telling of our story. I like this. I feel like I am learning a new way to write. I think that, perhaps, some day I will be a writer. Or a speaker. Or a counselor. Or a mommy. Apparently, at the age of almost 34, I have not grown up yet. I do not know what God has in store for me.

A memory that I have. A happy one. There are many memories I would like to tell in my story, and many of them are hard. Let's just start with a happy one, though, according to Holley's suggested outline. :-)

I see our dimly lit room, and a small light gleaming from the hallway.
I hear my grandmother's voice calling out through the silence of the night.
I feel the warmth of the covers resting on my tired body.
I taste the chalky fruitiness of a TUM because Gram only wanted half.
I smell the cologne of my husband as I crawl back into bed.

Now, the question: Why is this experience important to my story? Because family is important to me, and I love how she provided us a home and how we were able to care for her.

Wow. That was truly incredible. Thank you, Holley.

What is something that you remember? What did you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell?

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...

Trash & Treasure...

I did it. I broke the shredder. Literally. Can you imagine why?



I'll admit it. I am a pack rat. I like to keep things and I don't like to throw things away. Especially papers. Going through papers is probably the one thing I like the least and hate the most. It's not a big enough picture for me. It's too many details. DoubleT, on the other hand, can sit for hours to sort through all my garbage or untangle a big mess of jumbled up necklaces. It's the difference between me and him and one of the ways we balance each other out. I am the visionary and he is the one who has the sense and persistence to clean up my messes. :-)

The huge pile of trash invading the kitchen table was generated from our efforts this evening to clean out the guest room / nursery for the upcoming last homestudy visit... 7 days and counting...


How does one room contain that much useless paper, you ask? Well, that is one of my greatest faults and the result of my view that the purpose of an empty room is to store junk (including piles of papers I don't want to go through at any given moment) until such time as that room becomes needed for a more useful or urgent purpose.

I did experience a variety of emotions as we sorted through all the things from the last few years of our life... happiness, irritation, sadness... At times, I was a bit overwhelmed at the size of the task, but as we neared the end, I felt a sense of relief and accomplishment to see a dim light at the end of the tunnel... at least for this room.




It's kind of like that with our emotional and spiritual trash too, isn't it? As long as we may let our hurts or sins pile up, ignore them, or hide them, the day arrives when they must be uncovered, dealt with, and cleaned up. Even shredded. It can be a painful process, and sometimes, it can even break us. But the end result is a beautiful thing and brings such a sense of freedom.

Occasionally, it can even unearth a hidden treasure.

Like the card I found from my Gram.

She died 6 years ago this month, and I still miss her deeply. I don't really remember the birthday card from when she gave it to me, but finding it tonight was like receiving a very special and unexpected gift all over again.

She did not come to know the Lord until she was an adult, but from that moment, she followed and served Him.

Service.

It characterized her life.

While she was not perfect - who of us is? - she was such a loving woman who spent all of her time caring for each person in her life.

She took care of me when I was little, as I grew up, and even during the early years of our marriage. She always did what she could to put others first. She was a peace-lover and a peace-maker. In her older years when she didn't get out as much, she spent much time listening to sermons on television, taking notes, and clinging to God's word. Even near the end of her life, her notes indicated her love for God and her desire to please Him.

Oh, that I could live out this heritage and pass it on to my children.

I wish she were still here with us to get the chance to meet them...

I know that she didn't have any way to get me a birthday card unless I or someone from the family had taken her shopping. She must have purchased this card when we were out to eat because it comes from a line of cards sold at a restaurant we frequented together from time to time. It wasn't a birthday card specifically, but the note written inside in her shaky script marked the occasion for which it was intended...

"Dear C.C.,
Happy Birthday
Love, Gram"

The pre-printed message on the front of the card she selected? It wasn't a particularly "spiritual" card, but knowing her life, it speaks volumes. And God knew I would find it again tonight right when I needed it... 3 little words...

No test or temptation that comes your way is
beyond the course of what others have had to face.
All you need to remember is that God will never let you down;
He'll never let you be pushed past your limit;
He'll always be there to help you come through it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)

Living in His JOY, HOPE, and PEACE...