Adaptability = Flexibility

I am amazed at how the Lord uses each and every thing in my life - whether great or small - to mold and shape me. I am usually looking for Him in the "great" things of life. I look for Him during the loss of a loved one or during financial reversal. I beg Him to show Himself strong during those times; to reveal the lesson I'm needing to learn so I can move on out of that trial.

The small things, however, are a different story. A child with a cold, one bill that is late, a vehicle with a flat tire or a dead battery. These things don't seem as powerful as the the more serious kinds of trials. In fact, they aren't that serious! Most children recover from a cold! Most people have been late on one bill without losing their houses! Flat tire? Dead battery? Big deal.

I began 2009 feeling parched and dry spiritually. I knew I needed the Lord to do a work in my heart. There was some bitterness taking root; there was some selfishness clinging to me like a sticky vine. There were harsh, unhappy words springing forth from the lips I once guarded so carefully. I tried to rid myself of it, but alas, I have not the strength on my own.

I asked the Lord to forgive me, to help me, to change me. I knew He would do the job.
Oh, no, I haven't "arrived"! I'm writing this while still very much in the midst of "construction." But, it's coming. Slowly, I'm learning. Steadily, I'm adapting.

I asked the Lord to help me to be more flexible. I often go headlong into a school day with four children and let my husband fend for himself. Yes! It's true! You can gasp in disbelief, it won't offend me at all! I've asked the Lord to help me be more selfless, and yes, He's working on that, too!

Most of you know that I have somehow injured my shoulder and that we've dealt with much sickness lately. These are not life altering problems, at least, not yet. My shoulder is healing. My children are well. But I am looking for the Lord. I am seeking His help; His divine guidance during this time.

He's teaching me to adapt. I am having to do many things with just one arm! I am cooking, folding laundry, cleaning, teaching, and diaper changing with one arm. I am left handed, or so I thought, but I'm finding that I normally do many things right handed! I am also finding out that I can do most of those same things left handed also! I didn't realize how I had adapted to the right handed world that I live in! I didn't notice until this injury. I didn't appreciate it until I had spoken with other lefties and heard their surprise at how many things I do right handed!

I'm learning that my Father has other areas in which He would like me to be more adaptable. Things like helping my husband, agreeing happily when the plans have changed, responding with a sweet tone of voice to clamoring children, etc. If I can adapt to being right handed, when my brain would rather be left handed, then I most certainly can adapt in my heart and mind to be what Jesus wants me to be.

He helped me to adapt physically, so He will have to help me adapt spiritually. It can be done, through Him! My prayers are being answered. The Lord is indeed teaching me to be flexible! Adaptability, after all, is a synonym for flexibility.

The children's song says "He's still workin' on me, to make me what I ought to be..." and that is still true for me today. I'm so thankful that He hasn't given up on me!

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1:6

Blogging Break

Due to the regular "busyness" of my life - church work, sickness, housework, homeschooling - I am taking a break from blogging. I do not know how long it will last. Perhaps a few days, maybe a few weeks.
I have to be careful to keep my priorities in order. I always put blogging last on my agenda, but then I feel guilty when I don't get to it, so I squeeze it in by forfeiting sleep or time with my children.

Thank you for your understanding.

Hope to see you soon!

Real Life with Lucy...I Mean Valerie!

It began one very hectic Friday evening. Our friends, Jeremy and Amanda Tyler, missionaries to Brazil, were coming to visit us for a few days. I was about to begin preparing supper, a Mexican Lasagna, when I decided to do a quick clean up first. I started picking up things and putting them away, ordering (sweetly of course) that my children do the same. I found several ornaments that had been knocked off of our tree and began putting them back on. That's when I noticed that the cardinal ornament that my Aunt Kathleen gave me had gotten a broken tail. "Super glue!" I thought at once. My Hubby got it for me. Being a "Mrs. Fix It", I quickly spread some on and began holding the tail in place.
Well, you guessed it. I found that I had not only glued the tail on, but also my thumb!

If you are an I Love Lucy fan, then you will recall the episode where Lucy accidentally glues a beard to her face...I sorta felt like that. I am glad, however, that I glued the bird to my thumb and not my face! That would have been worse!

We quickly began trying to remove the poor bird from my really poor thumb. We tried dabbing nail polish remover on the area. Nothing. Terry even tried to use his pocket knife to separate my skin from that bird - but the ringing in his ears from my shrill sceams put a stop to that!

Finally, after a quick web search, we discovered that I would have to soak my thumb in nail polish remover to get the cardinal off of my hand.

Hey, I love cardinals, but not enough to be glued to one.

I hope you get as many laughs from this as we have!



Yep, Valerie glued a cardinal to her thumb. I can now testify personally that super glue lives up to it's name. I could endorse them! ;)

The soaking begins.

And yes, dear friends, we're still soaking!

Finally, after about 20 minutes of soaking and pulling, the cardinal is removed from my poor, sweet, innocent thumb- who was only trying to repair the beautiful ornament! You can't trust wild animals, though. I learned that the hard way! They don't understand when we're trying to help them.

HURRAY!! Laci's happy for me, too.

There was minimal damage done to my thumb. The bird, however, had some paint removed due to his nail polish bath. I went against my usual OCD tendencies and just took red sharpie, colored him in and hung him back on the tree. I think I heard him breath a sigh of relief. Or was that Terry?

I was so busy getting the cardinal off of my thumb that I didn't get to prepare the Mexican Lasagna. Thankfully, we have several good restaurants in Hope. We took the Tyler's out to eat, and I made the lasagna the next night for them.

And, lest you think these "Lucy" moments are rare for me, I'll just share this. When I got ready to make the Lasagna, I realized I'd forgotten the diced tomatoes!

Ah well. Such is my life.

I Used a Lifeline

This past week was rather busy. We were privileged to have our friends, Jeremy and Amanda Tyler, missionaries to Brazil, with us last Sunday. I was not so privileged, however, to have a cold while they were here. I was doped up on medication during their visit. I also had one of the most embarrassing "Lucy" moments ever this past week, which I will be sharing with you sometime in the distant future. Okay, I hope it won't be too distant! ;) I've also been making Christmas gifts for some people this week.

And did I mention homeschooling??? I didn't think so.

I've been homeschooling this week, also. This is the week before Christmas. I have only bought gifts for one person so far! Can you believe that? Don't panic, it will be okay......I hope.

I decided that I needed to use a lifeline.

You know, the lifelines from that game show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire"? Yeah, that show.

It was just me and Regis:

"Okay, Valerie, here's your next question, for $50,000. Are you ready?"
"Ready, Reege. Shoot."
"You have Christmas shopping to do, gifts to make, laundry, four children to feed and clean up after, a husband, laundry, ironing, a home to manage, laundry, birthday cards to mail, laundry, and homeschooling to do.

How will you make it work?"

a. Curl up in the fetal position and stare into space
b. Scream
c. Beg your husband to save you from yourself
d. Do not sleep the entire week before Christmas

(That weird wavy noise is in the background. The audience is silent, waiting...waiting...)

"Reege...(big sigh) I don't know. I need to use a lifeline."

That's what I've done. I've used a lifeline.

We began school a week earlier than the public schools in our area. We did this because we would be taking a week off in October for our Fall Revival meeting. We also managed to work ahead in Lauren's Arithmetic, because the first ten lessons were review. Some of that review was unnecessary for her, so we skipped it. This put us one whole week ahead in Arithmetic.
This, my dear blogging friend, has been my lifeline. We did absolutely no Arithmetic for fourth grade this week. None. Nada. Zilch. Zero. I think you get the idea.
Let me tell you, it's been a load lifted.
I am not very good at Arithmetic. Not at all. I passed it, but only because I worked and scraped for every good grade. I perspired. It was serious work. And now, I get to work all over again and re-learn it all with my children. Really, it's been good for me, in a character building sort of way.
I'm so thankful that I used a lifeline so that I could survive this very hectic week before Christmas.
I was planning to blog a lot the week of Christmas, but I don't know if I will get to now. On Monday I will be cleaning and buying groceries. OnTuesday we have a wonderful, sacrificial lamb, I mean teenage girl, coming to babysit so we can finally buy Christmas gifts. On Wednesday we will be baking and wrapping gifts. Thursday is Christmas, and Friday I will be in bed all day. So, it's just going to be a hectic week. Okay, I won't be in bed all day Friday, but I will want to be, I'm sure.

I will do my best to have another chapter/post/installment of my love story up next week, for the three of you who enjoy reading it. Consider it my Christmas gift to you.

What?
That's not what you wanted?

Ah-oh.

They're Watching Me

He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Micah 6:8

I have often heard of the Pastor’s life as being compared to living in a goldfish bowl. The fish swims around, trying to do normal “fish” things, but always under someone’s watchful eye. Even if no one is watching the fish, the potential for someone to look in at any moment is constant. So it is for a Pastor’s family. There may not be people watching all the time, but the potential is always there!
Of course, a fish is not a human. It does not have emotions like a human. It can’t feel or care that others stand and gaze at him. He cannot do “wrong” in a fish bowl! He is immune to criticism, and praise. As I sit here in our parsonage, which sits less than 500 feet from our church, I am painfully aware that they, my fellow church members, are watching me. They are watching my children. They see us at home or at play or at work. I often worry that someone might drop by and see me without makeup, or that they might see my house a mess. I worry that I've offended someone, somehow, somewhere. I worry that I’m really not cut out for this after all. I think “Lord, couldn’t you have asked my husband to be an electrician or a banker?” I worry, and then I worry more!
Just about then, however, the Lord reminds me that worry, after all, is a sin. I ask for forgiveness and try to do better, but I usually end up right back where I started. People aren’t after me. They are all really nice. Why then, do I worry?
I worry because I’m out of focus. I’m looking all around me at the people and the world, instead of looking up to Him through His precious Word and prayer. I worry when I’m not busy thinking and doing for others, for when I'm busy I cannot sit and think about myself. I worry when my priorities are out of order. For what does God require of me? Well, today’s verse sums it up:
1. Do justly, or be honest and true.
2. Love mercy, or simply be merciful to others. I must give my church family (and my own family) the benefit of a doubt.
3. Walk humbly with thy God. I must spend time with the Lord each and every day. I must keep my priorites in proper order. I must remember who I am, and how unworthy I am to be married to a Pastor – God’s highest calling for a man.
If I do these things, my worry usually fades and my priorities come clearly into focus.

Oh, and sometimes a church member has needed to drop by when, for some reason, I do not have my makeup on! I just smile warmly and help them.

And after they leave, I pray that they don’t have nightmares.

Dear Lord, I really do want to keep a clean house and yard. I want to look nice each day, and have children that honor You. I want to be good testimony. I fail so often. Please reveal to me the changes I must make, and give me the help I need to implement them. Help me to do my best, and keep my eyes on You.

Coming Soon: A Real Live Post about Something

I'm so sorry for not posting anything in well over a week. My life has been crazy lately. I have had so much going on. We've had guests (which is great), Christmas decorating (also great), a two year old with yet another ear infection (not great), stressful moments(also not great), a Mom with a cold that will not leave (me) (do I even need to say this one isn't great? I didn't think so.), and homeschooling (this one is neutral).
We've had lots of happy moments sprinkled throughout all of the "busyness", and I have been taking photos and making notes. I hope to be able to share these moments with you soon. Thank you, dear people, for taking time out of your busy life to peek in on me and my little life. You are what makes this site worth keeping. ♥


See you soon, I promise.

Really.

I heard that! ;)

Really, I'm serious! I will post soon.

City Girl Solutions

We recently attended a bonfire at a church member's house. At the bonfire, we did something that I haven't done for years - we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows! DEEE-LISH! I love roasted marshmallow's!! This is something that I, as a city girl, do not get to enjoy too often. While growing up, my Dad would sometimes roast marshmallows for me over the fire in the fireplace. It brings back sweet memories! *sigh*

While purchasing groceries for our Thanksgiving Day meal this past Saturday, I noticed those giant marshmallows in the baking aisle. I picked them up. No, I do not have a fireplace. No, I do not plan on camping out anytime soon. (Although I think it would be nice to do that...once!) I planned on roasting them another way. Below are photos of the experience.

The STAR! Hello, Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows! How have you been? It sure has been a loooong time! You haven't changed a bit.

Yep, you probably already knew where I was going with this. You people are so smart! Anyway, as I was saying, get your strong, handy husband to unwind a wire hanger and snip it down to a small size with wire cutters. Bat your eyelashes and look helpless. (Oh no! Did I just put that on here? I hope he doesn't read this! He'll find out all my secrets...oh well.) Place one - or three! - of those beautiful jet puffed marshmallow's onto the end of the hanger and rotate it over the flame of your gas stove. If you don't have a gas stove, then get out your camping equipment, and hurry! It's getting cold quickly!

If you have a gas stove, wire hanger, and our lovely star ready, then start cookin'! Get ready for that ooey-gooey, mouth watering taste of roasted marshmallows!!

When done properly, (Translation: when done the way you like them. You may like yours charred and black or maybe just barely dimpled. Whatever you like. We want you to have it your way. I'm here to please.) they are nicely browned with only slight blackening. This is what I call "Marshmallow Perfection"!

Next, it's time to clean up! Did you notice all that leftover marshmallow on the tip of your holder? Well, don't lick it off right away, that could result in serious injury! You could let it cool and just wash it, but that's so hum-drum. I have a more exciting method of clean up!

Simply hold your wire hanger (aka, marshmallow holder ) over the flame on your stove. I have no idea why the flame isn't showing in this photo. Probably because I'm using a point-n-shoot camera, or maybe it's because I'm a lousy photographer. Or maybe it's both! Anyway, let it flame up for a second or two.

Once you've held it for a few seconds (Please do not burn your house down.), remove it and let it cool down a moment. Then, take a paper towel and remove the black.

*Disclaimer: Valerie is not responsible for any injuries or home damage that may result from lazy roasting practices. Do not attempt if you are under 18 years of age. Do not attempt if you are accident prone. There. Did I cover all the bases?

Next, take a your SOS pad and....GASP!...I'm out of SOS pads! Okay, don't panic if you don't have SOS pads. Simply use a dishcloth and scrub it a little more with some dish soap.

Voila! You have a clean marshmallow holder, ready for use next time. Which in my case is right about now! (Don't worry if it's a little stained, it won't hurt you, I promise! Just look at me! I'm perfectly normal! :P )

I just wanted to throw this photo in for fun. It's just the sun reflecting on my faucet.

Another item I noticed when I was in the baking aisle recently, was Jet-Puffed Marshmallow's cousin, Marshmallow Creme! At that moment, inspiration hit! I decided to take my favorite cappuccino mix and couple it with Marshmallow creme! The result is a sensational twist on my morning routine! Oh, and go ahead and kill time by photographing inanimate objects. It's a hoot!

At first, Cappuccino would have none of it! He was so offended that I wanted to change him! He asked me, "Am I not good enough?" I explained that it had nothing to do with him, it was me! It was just me and my selfish desire to try something new.

He agreed to talk it through with Creme and try to come to a compromise...for me. I was so touched!

At last, they came to an agreement!! YEA! We've been living in harmony ever since!

Now, I can go on with the rest of my day at peace with myself and the world.

What? I heard that! I know I'm a little crazy and have a little too much time on my hands. You don't need to remind me. (sniff) The fact of the matter is, when you have very little talent, you must grasp at whatever amusements you can find. This one was very cheap (free) and made me laugh. Yes, I know, I need to get out more. You don't have to tell me that, either. Just be easy on me, people. Please? Oh, thank you!

Now, go on out there and be one with your morning beverage!

For Dixie

I have this wonderful friend, Dixie, whom I seem to have fooled completely. She seems to think I'm organized, disciplined or creative. Man. Is she blinded by kindred spirit friendship or what? Lest anyone else out there be confused and actually think that I am together, I've included a few photos to prove otherwise. I snapped these today, right after lunch.
It should clear up any preconceived notion that I am "organized" or "disciplined" or "creative". It should prove to the world that I'm disorganized, uncreative and lazy. Wouldn't a creative person figure out a better decor? Wouldn't a disciplined person have all her ducks in row?? I think so. And I, dear friend, I do not have my ducks in a row. I should be making homemade bread or weeding my garden (which still needs to be planted) or mopping the rest of my floors, or grading papers, or cleaning out the seams around my sink. That's what an organized woman would do. I, however, sit here uploading photos and typing on a blog. Surrounded by the clutter in the photos below. Now tell me, does that sound organized to you?? No.

So, without further ado, here is exhibit A in the case against Valerie.


In the kitchen...oh boy.


In the school room...yikes!

In the bedroom...I need to fold those clothes so I can put on the sheets. I'll do it later.

What?

I heard that!

I said I'd do it later and I will, okay! :].

I leave you with this photo of our board from today's first grade arithmetic lesson.

Isn't that the question you're asking? Why??? "Why must you bore us to death with these photos? Why!!" Well, friends and neighbors, I don't know the answer to that. It probably has something to do with my being OC. When I get a clear diagnosis, I'll let you know. ;]

And Dixie, I really appreciate your kind e mail. It's so sweet of you to think so well of me. I have you so completely fooled. Now go put your feet up and relax. I think that's what I'll do. ;]

What?

Okay already! I'll go do the sheets! But then I'm gonna relax.

Anyone wanna watch an Andy with me?? No? Oh well.