If I gave you thirty guesses, none of you would guess where Tom and I went last night.

Where did we go? To a bar. 

Yes, a bar where people stand around and drink alcohol two rows thick beside the counter on floors with missing tiles and they play darts and shout over loud rhythm-and-blues and sit on ripped naugahyde chairs.

And well, calm down. Tom and I did not order any of the aforementioned alcohol nor did we play darts. heh. But we did shout to each other over the music a few times--it was the only way we could converse.

See, our daughter has been a drummer since she was 14 on our church's worship team along with Tom who played guitar and sang. Then when Naomi turned 19, or so, she began playing with many and sundry bands, through the years, who play at, well, bars. And every once in a blue moon her gigs start before 10:00 p.m. and she'll inform us old-early-to-bed folks in case we'd like to hear her current band play. Last night's gig began at 6:00 p.m., happy hour, I believe, and since we'll likely be moving soon, we went to hear Naomi play the drums with her current band.

So that's why Tom and I were at the bar. Honest.

The early years when Naomi played at bars and got home around 3 or 4 in the morning? Those were the years I became intimately acquainted with Worry. With standing at the front door, pacing, or waking up at night so I could check to see if she was home--and if not, struggling with that dark breed of Worry some more. I prayed every kind of prayer over Naomi--and I continued to worry.

Then God, one year, told me He'd had enough of my worrying. He told me to pray, yes, but worry? No. Worry cancels-out our prayers, He said. Worry would make me sick, He said, too. And He told me from now on, to go to bed and sleep. To trust Him with Naomi and place her in His hands. 

He respected--and responded to--trust. Not worry.

And over time I did that, though you other parents of teens and adult kids can guess it wasn't easy and oh Honey, took time. But the trust has increased as my love for God has increased. 

And in the meantime? Naomi's become just about the sweetest daughter on Earth. Last night when Tom and I left the bar, she told us she would stand at the end of the alley and watch us to make sure we made it to our car all right, uninjured by anyone. Naomi worries about Tom and I now-- she sometimes treats us like we're a cute old senile couple. 

We love it.

And well, did I mention that this past year Naomi and her boyfriend moved in together? And how she's known since she was nine years old how Tom and I feel about that? But there again, God has instructed me not to worry. To pray for Naomi, instead, and to just love her while God is changing her day by day, just as He's changing me, also.



******

Choosing Peace Over Insanity

"To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:79


****

Wow. That's what Zacharias said his son, John (the Baptist) would do when he grew up.

But isn't that what all of us should be doing when we "grow up?" Especially the "guiding people's feet into the way of peace" thing?

The problem, though, is that some of us never quite mature enough to lead anybody anywhere. Face it-- we cannot take other people where we, ourselves, have not been first.

Trust me--I tried. For, like, twenty years.

I tried to lead people to a more peaceful way of living and then I'd go home and get frustrated to tears because Tom left his dirty dishes beside the recliner (again), Naomi's bedroom looked like Where All The World's Toys Go To Die and the cats threw-up. All of them.

Or I'd go to church and sit there offended out of my mind after a woman (with no children, by choice) turned around and hushed Naomi because she was coloring too loudly--at the same moment I gently tapped her crayon to quiet her.

I'd be nice to people so they'd be nice to me (and then have a cow when they weren't).  

Stop me before I go on all afternoon!

Of course, most of you know living that way--if it doesn't kill you--will make you sick. Tired. And pathetic.

Such a life whisks us so far away from that daily path of peace we forget even exists.

So you know what God did in my case? He made me start all over.  Me! Mrs. Good Christian for 23 years. He said it was back to kindergarten for me, for I needed to learn to do things His way.

My ways had led to frustration and hypocrisy, but His way lead to the path of peace.

And for the past 13 years instead of fighting for what I want, I've learned how to receive from God. To allow Him to delve deeply into my motives so He can then lead me in a kind of purity of heart which He and others want to behold

His ways lead me to peace--even if they stir things up a bit, first, shall we say. And that has made all the difference.


******


"You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You." ... Isaiah 26:3

"May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways..." ... I Kings 8:58

Where She Runs to the Kitchen, Not the Medicine Cabinet

I don't know. Maybe it's that I'm so sick of all those commercials for drugs on tv. You know, the ones which say, "Side-effects may include searing headaches, wild urges to gamble, turning green, oh, and, well, uhm--death."

And maybe it's all the research my daughter and I are doing into nutrition and the dangers of med's.

But frankly? I think we've all been duped. Brain-washed.

And it's like the book, New Choices in Natural Healing, says:

"What's really tragic about this is that we were so busy learning how to fix broken arms, deliver babies and do all of those "doctor" things in medical school that we considered nutrition to be boring," says Michael A. Klaper, M.D.... "But after we get into practice, we spend most of the day treating people with diseases that have huge nutritional components that have long been essentially ignored. I frequently get calls from doctors across the country saying that their patients are asking questions about nutrition and its role in their conditions and they don't know what to tell them."

Good. Grief.

Well for the past four years, ever since experiencing a months-long sinus/ear infection, I've been educating myself. Heck, I've been doctoring myself (I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv). And instead of racing to a medicine cabinet, I now race to my kitchen or outside or to a quiet place.

Examples?

If I have a headache, I drink a glass of water with a tablespoon of lime/lemon juice added. And/or I spray organic peppermint juice on a tissue and inhale (or I use arbor oil). And/or I take 1,000 Mg's of Vitamin C (good, I've found, for sinus headaches/infections). Or I delve more into what I may be eating/thinking/feeling which may be triggering these headaches.

If I experience ear pain, I chew a couple papaya enzyme tablets and take 1,000 mg's of Vitamin C.

Tummy upset? I drink ginger tea and/or chew an acidolphulus tablet.

Trouble sleeping? I no longer eat after 6 p.m., except for a small portion of (non-meat)protein before bed. I take a Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc pill and a Vitamin D before retiring.

Night sweats? I don't eat sugary foods after 2 p.m., or again, I don't eat a meal after 6 p.m.

Gaining weight? I eat less, take more walks and learn more about nutrition. I avoid processed foods with sucrose (or its forms) because it blocks your body's ability to feel full.

Feeling forgetful? I take a fish oil tablet each day (updated: krill oil. It's more potent and great for many problems). I eat more fish. I avoid drinking out of aluminum cans or using any product with aluminum as an ingredient (as in baking powder and underarm deodorant).

Constipated? I eat a prune or two. I eat more fruits and vegetables.

Bladder infection or discomfort? I take cranberry pills or drink cranberry juice (not the kind with added sugar).

Feeling stressful? I stop and ask, "have I had too much coffee or wheat products lately? What have your thoughts been like? Worry or dread-filled?"

Back pain? I do back-strengthening exercises. I watch my posture. I walk to lose weight and strengthen those muscles. I take hot baths.

Facial wrinkles? I use pure coconut oil.

Feeling arthritic? I cut out all decaf coffee (I've switched to organic and only drink it occasionally). I re-study the list of foods which may trigger arthritis to see if I've been eating any of them lately. 

I use a dehumidifier to remove moisture around our house. I step up my exercise program and do more stretching, including stretching before I even get out of bed. I pay attention to my thoughts and I forgive those who have wronged me. I let it go and then get on with my life.

I-- well, you get the idea. This is just a blog post, after all-- not a book.

And I'm just saying this is what I do--or aim to, anyway. You can do as you wish. 

But as for me, I plan to keep on running just about any other place on Earth rather than a medicine cabinet when I need help. And may I learn more about the healing power of foods, vitamins, herbs and oils as the years go by.


***
I'd love to hear your own favorite natural cures in my comment box!


******

As Though You Didn't Already Have Enough Books to Read...

Please tell me you've read Ralph Moody's, Little Britches series.

You know how you can read some books over and over and it always feels like the first time? Well, the Little Britches series is like that for me. In fact, I believe I've read two of the books, Man of the Family and Mary Emma & Company, anywhere from 20 to 30 times the past 18 years, or so.

No, really!

These books are true recollections of Moody's childhood, first as a boy in the land of cowboys and ranches of Colorado circa 1908 and then later around the big city of Boston. The books after Mary Emma And Company find Ralph on all sorts of other adventures in different states as a teenager and a young man on his own.

Yet it's the early books I love best because of Ralph's amazing mother who had to finish rearing six children alone and the ways those children loved helping her, from earning money for survival to doing their chores without complaining. Sometimes Ralph and his siblings appear almost like kids from a different planet (do they even make kids like that anymore?), but this was a whole other era--and that's why Moody wrote the series--he didn't want his days and times to be forever lost. His books yank me back one-hundred years and I find myself living in Ralph's difficult world perhaps even a tad more than in my own. And at the end of each book I never want to leave the Moody family.

The good news? I discovered today that you can read Man of the Family and Mary Emma & Company both online! Perhaps you can read the other six books online as well (I don't know), but I didn't want to overwhelm you:

Man of the Family
Mary Emma & Company

(The website said you had to sign-up to read the chapters, but I was able to see them fine without doing so.)

If you prefer to actually hold nice old books in your hot little hands, you can find copies of Moody's books on Ebay, at www.amazon.com and www.bookfinder.com. Lately many have been reprinted so are affordable.

I'll warn you--these books are addictive. Tom read the entire series while he recuperated from neck surgery four years ago. He simply could not put them down and trust me that, truly, is saying something.


***

To read an article about Ralph Moody, go here.

Ralph Moody's Little Britches Series:

Little Britches
Man of the Family
The Home Ranch
Mary Emma And Company
The Fields of Home
Shaking the Nickle Bush
The Dry Divide
Horse of a Different Color


******

A Morning Corner

I sat at our dining room table minutes ago, gazing at the bit of sun peaking from behind the pot you see above and I thought, "What a pretty 'morning corner.' I should share it with those who read my blog."

So here you go.

Mornings. Don't you love them? Everything feels new in the morning. Re-born. Forgiven. Even God's mercies are new every morning--He said so, Himself.

Tom is working 12 hours of day shift today so the type of day I have will be up to me. I'm making plans even now before 8:00 a.m. to create a marvelous day. How about you? Or are you the sort of person who believes it depends upon everyone else as to how your day will go? That you are helpless to rise above the hard stuff?

I hope not.

For me, the largest portion of my Real Life is what goes on inside of me. And always, I'm in charge of what goes on in there. Probably that's the only thing in the whole world that I am in charge of. Think about it.

Anyway, happy morning to you! May your choices be wise ones and may what goes on in your inside color your outside in all your favorite shades.




******

Peaceful Nominations

Finally I made it over to Salina's blog today to thank her for nominating me for a Nice Matters Award. 

I appreciate nominations so much, it's just that they, well, uh (can I be honest?) they make me feel kinda awkward, embarrassed and unworthy. Because, well, on most of my blogging days it's more like I'm taking dictation from God instead of writing from my own foggy head, though I hesitate to even say that lest it sound weird, also. 

(Insert Twilight Zone music here.) I mean, I know darn well how my writing comes out when I write without His help.Can you say, "So pathetic that no one would want to read it, ever!"?

Anyway, thank-you, again, Salina.

And now I'm going to break one of my own rules. I'm going to name three blogs which I love because of what they don't do. And there are others of you who don't do these same things. You know who you are, (and I know who you are) so please, please don't feel left out.

I love Salina's blog and Clarice's blog and Kim's blog because I go there and I know they won't be throwing temper tantrums. They won't--

--be gossiping or screaming and bashing politicians, nor giving-up on our Country.

--moaning about the weather, criticizing churches or tv evangelists or other Christians who are trying the best they can.

--nor will they be wringing their hands or crying hopeless tears because of the state of our economy or the decay of our society nor feeling sick all the time because of hot-on-fire nerves.

No, instead, they will be celebrating Life and what's still good and marvelous about it.

You can count on them to be busy in their homes, raising their children to be hopeful, helpful and creative or decorating a new corner a sweet, bright and cheerful way. They'll be singing the praises of a new recipe or the discovery of a new quaint and cute antique shop or tea room, sharing photos so the rest of us can come along, also.

They'll be spreading helpful hints and ideas like confetti for the rest of us who bog down and we'll come away from their blogs longing to be better, more creative bloggers, homekeepers and friends.

Now, am I saying all blogs should be like those? Nah. My own blog isn't even like those, due to my tendency to complain like a baby, go all controversial at times and not be nearly as creative as I know it's within me to be. 

No, I'm just saying Salina, Clarice and Kim are but three of many awesome, amazing bloggers who inspire me each time I visit them and I'm giving each a Peaceful Award. They are creators of places where I can go for some rest, inspiration and cheer and oh, many times I have needed such places.

And so I thank them and all the rest of you with peaceful blogs, also.

Thank-you.
Thank-you.
Thank-you.



******

Live Your Life

Want to know one of my all-time, all-time, so-very-favorite tv shows?

Early Edition.

Did you ever see that one? It's the series where Gary Hobson receives tomorrow's newspaper today, so he races around Chicago saving people's lives after reading about their mishaps/accidents/murders in tomorrow's newspaper.

Well all that responsibility made poor ol' Gary (the handsome Kyle Chandler) a nervous wreck. Often. All those fast-paced attempts to save peoples' lives while risking his own? Crazy scary stuff.

After awhile, that kind of a lifestyle would make anybody a loony, murmuring mess.

But the end of one episode returns to me often. Gary discovered an old trunk which the man, now deceased, who'd had Gary's 'job' for years, had left for him to find. Gary, with his two friends, pried open the large trunk, imagining it was full of answers to the whole early newspaper edition thing. Or treasure maybe.

But instead, a crumpled scrap of paper lay at the bottom with these words scrawled in pencil: "Live your life."

What marvelous advice! It was as though the old man was telling Gary, "In the midst of saving people's lives, don't forget to live your own life. Don't allow your days to pass by without being awake to how you are spending them. And remember to carve out a life of your own. Pay attention before your life, in a blur, is over."

Like I said, I think of that often. And that's why, today, I'll walk, not run, while I feed the birds in the backyard and wash the dishes and sit on the porch while I read. While I hang wet laundry on my wooden racks, put away groceries and clean the house I'll enjoy God in the middle of each.

I'll do those everyday tasks and pay attention to their simple lessons and choose to enjoy it all, rather than enjoy part and resent or just tolerate the rest, missing out on what could have added joy to my day. To my life.

**********

Okay. Since my vain attempts at humor have a tendency to confuse people or make them pity me, I'll tell you this now: the following post is supposed to be funny. Okay?

***

Yesterday I received some devastating news. Today I am still reeling.

See, for a few weeks I've been weighing myself on Tom's Ebay package scale here in our basement. It's very like a regular bathroom scale, except that you have to read the numbers upside-down. And well, for weeks, that (blessed/holy/merciful) scale told me I was losing weight. Without even trying to lose weight. Well, except for eating organic and being more careful to take my daily walk around these neighborhoods (of which I'm becoming tired since--now--these scrunched-together houses are giving me claustrophobia. But that's not part of this story).

Anyway, I even told all of you I'd lost my winter weight (finally, at the end of summer). I'd told a few other people around my town, too.

So yesterday Tom and I were at this ghost-town like shopping mall nearby and while he shopped for tools at Sears, I spied one of those tall, metal and enamel old-fashioned scales which I'd seen in old movies, usually comedies. Blithely, like an idiot, I popped in my quarter so I could see how much I weighed.

Good grief.

That stupid/horrible/unkind scale told me I weighed ten more pounds than I thought I did. Ten pounds!

#$@#%^$&

Unable to even focus on my so-called lucky number, I backed away, horrified, from the scale and went bawling through the mall till I found Tom at Sears. Okay, so I didn't really bawl. But I'm sure I resembled a woman in the first stages of shock.

Well, I threw myself at Tom, told him the whole sordid tale and how his unreliable/broken-down/pathetic basement scale had lied to me. For weeks. And do you know what he said after I stopped sputtering? He said, "Oh, those kinds of old-fashioned store scales are never right. Don't worry about it. I'm sure my scale is accurate and that you've lost weight after all."

What a sweetie. A misinformed and mistaken sweetie, but a sweetie nonetheless.

Well, I walked out to the car to nurse my wounds and, suddenly, everything made sense. How, earlier, when I'd told our daughter and my friend, Laura, and Tom that I'd lost more than ten pounds, not one of them said, "Really? I'd thought you were looking slimmer." Nope. Not one of them said anything like that. And my slacks weren't feeling especially loose, either, and that had had me a bit mystified.

But you know? Here's the wild thing. I'd been feeling slimmer. I'd strolled around supermarkets with a happy-that-I'm-finally-losing-weight smile, practically skipping out to my car in the parking lot. And the few times I peered into mirrors, holding in my stomach, of course, I even appeared skinnier to my (poor, over-40) eyes.

And that realization made me stop sputtering and whining. It came to me, again, that--mostly-- how we feel about ourselves is all inside our heads. That what matters most is what we tell ourselves, rather than what others tell us. What matters most, too, is that we listen to what God says about us-- and He's certainly not standing over us criticizing, condemning or waiting for us to fail.

Instead, He's standing beside us, within us, always ready to help. To inspire. To instruct. And He's always available to love us through the goofy things we do while we are learning how to live His way, not ours. While we're learning to decipher what really matters--and what does not.

I'll Be Glad When....

Probably you--or someone you know--often says, "I'll be glad when...."

You know, "I'll be glad when this day is over." ...or...

"I'll be glad when my kids are in school." Or, "I'll be glad when my kids are out of school."

"I'll be glad when we have more money." "I'll be glad when I feel better."

"I'll be glad when winter/summer/spring/fall is over." Or, "I'll be glad when we go on vacation... (or when we get home from vacation...)"

"I'll be glad when I'm home from the dentist...... or when we have a better house/car/computer/Life... or when my kids get married/pregnant/divorced/remarried..."

And on and on for as long as eternity lasts.

Me? I often used to say, "I'll be glad when..." But now I just enjoy being glad today. Even while things are imperfect. Up in the air. Unsettled.

I've learned that if I wait to have all my ducks in a row--if I wait to be glad only when everything is just the way I like it--well, most likely, I'll never be glad.

And how awful would that be? To go through life never, or even just seldom, feeling glad? To me, that's a new definition of the word 'tragedy':

Tragedy-- living whole decades of ones life always putting off gladness for a supposedly better time. And then dying, never realizing gladness was like gratitude and was available thousands of days... and that gratitude could have been the beginning of feeling better and more hopeful.

Oh my, that's much too large a risk for me to take. I think I'll keep on choosing to just be glad in this moment--anyway.

It's a Maxfield Parrish morning here in my town.

It's the kind of morning where the crisp breeze makes you feel 10-years-old and as though you'll live forever.

It's the kind of morning where it's a crime to sit inside the house.


It's the kind of morning where geese sail, honking, overhead and seagulls circle your house, crying with joy.

It's the kind of morning where you just want to drive and drive and not think about coming back.

It's that kind of morning here and Tom and I are getting ready to go out and celebrate.

I hope you are having that kind of morning, too... and that you are celebrating all good things.

I was thinking this morning that I hate it when people don't take care of their bodies and then, years later, they blame God--and question His goodness--when their bodies crumble. And then I thought, hey! I should write a list in my blog today about all the things I hate that other people do. You know, a type of pet peeve list.

But God interrupted me. He said, "Hmm... Debra--how about if you write a list about the things you hate which you do, instead."

Er. Don't you love it when He nails you like that? :)

Ok, so here's my list.

I hate it when I procrastinate writing emails and doing my housework and answering blog comments and mowing the lawn and paying bills. And then walk around all day with those undone things bugging me in my head.

I hate it when I worry--about anything.

I hate it when I'm trying to declutter my house (and my life) and it just about kills me to get rid of certain things.

I hate it when I can recall useless stuff (like the name of a 1970's actor), but I can't remember to take my vitamins or what I did yesterday.

I hate it when Tom asks me a favor and I whine and moan about it.

I hate it when I spend hours dreading functions where there will be a lot of people--and then I end up having a great time at those functions.

There are more, of course.

But notice that I said I hate it, and not I hate myself. Oh my--never hate yourself! That's a sure way to stunt your spiritual growth. People who hate themselves tend to try avoiding God (or godly people) because they feel lowly, unworthy, guilty and embarrassed. And when we avoid God (or try, anyway) we are sunk. We stop growing. We backslide. We stop changing. Why? Because without God's help we go nowhere. There's no advancing in our walk with Him. Only through Him do we grow and change and find peace and serenity and wisdom.

Jesus said we're to love our neighbor as ourself. So go ahead--love yourself. It's ok. It's more than ok--it's a command. It's only when we go overboard and are in love with ourselves that we find trouble. But I've found that if I stay in love with God, then everything else falls into right places. Eventually. Most things do take time. And patience. And cooperating with God's ideas and ways.

And how incredible that He--seriously--never stops loving us in the middle.

If you've been over to my Autumn Around Here blog, you've already seen these photos.

And this is probably neither here nor there, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

...this house was demolished.

During a countryside drive last week, Tom and I went past this old building, except that it was no longer there. This old stone house of which I'd taken pictures last Autumn, was gone!

I had a near conniption fit (I hate it when history gets imploded--not one brick was left) and the strangest feeling, as well... For the first time, I'd actually saved a house with my camera. Because I took a photo, in a small way, this house will be remembered. The quiet hillside is empty in real-life, but not in my photo.

And in all the bitter-sweetness, I had to smile. With gratitude.

Healthy This and That

So Tom and I have been eating organic and making other changes for less than 7 weeks and I've lost 6 lbs. (without trying), I feel tons better, and my friend, Laura, said over lunch yesterday that my skin looked much clearer and had I changed my make-up?

Gotta love that.

I've had way fewer headaches and now if I begin getting a headache I just add a little organic lime juice to a glass of water and drink that. (Read that somewhere.) Or I spray a little arbor oil on a tissue and inhale it (peppermint is supposed to work, too). Or I sit and think happy thoughts. :) All seem to help within minutes. Of course, it would help even more if I'd get prescription reading glasses instead of just using my cheapo Dollar Tree ones for my poor ol' over-40 eyes. But hey.

Want more good news? Dr. Don Colbert, currently my favorite online/tv doctor (one of the few who won't just hand you a bottle of pills, but will urge you to change your diet, instead), had this multiple choice question in my favorite Bible teacher's magazine (I'm writing this from memory):

Which of these has the highest amount of heart-healthy antioxidants?

a. Green tea
b. Coffee
c. Hot chocolate

Of course, I thought it was yicky old green tea, but no! Dr. Colbert said it was hot chocolate. Hooray! (And another reason he is my favorite doctor. heh.) He said it's the dark chocolate in it which is good, but skip the milk fat and sugar, which are bad.

Well alas, for weeks I've been making a morning drink in which I do just that. I add a bit of pure baking cocoa to hot water, along with vanilla, one packet of Stevia and a splash of organic carob soy milk which I use like cream. After experimenting, I've come up with a not-bad-at-all morning hot drink. And just skipping the powdered cappuccino mix I used for years is probably why I've lost half the weight, since the mix was mostly all sugar.

So on top of all I have happening in my Life at this moment, I've been piecing together a whole new diet, of which I'm only half-way finished figuring-out. And yet, it's fun to learn new things.... it's marvelous to feel an energetic 20-years-old again... it's fantastic to have weight fall off. And it's great to see favorable results in so few weeks.

Yard Sale Finds

Four years ago I spied an old Mother's Oats box at an estate sale and was, strangely, enchanted (having never heard of Mother's Oats). This week I finally bought one of my own at a yard sale for $3. So cool (though don't ask me to explain why it still enchants me).

Found this creamer at an estate sale for only $1. I love the ancient brown 'checking' and just looking at it brings old farms and farmhouse mornings to mind.

All this silver was in a box for $5. Just the way I like it--all scuffed up.

My cute Regal coffeepot, a $1 find. I just use it to heat water, of which it does quickly!

This teapot was in the 'free box' at a yard sale. Always check the free box!

I enjoy sharing my yard sale finds so to encourage you that God can scatter tiny (or huge) surprises around for you to find. And He can make them affordable for you, no matter what your financial circumstances. All it requires is trusting--and waiting for Him to do so. And keeping Him first. And slowing down, strolling everywhere with your eyes open wide.

Life After Microwaving

Well, I know it's been keeping you awake at nights wondering how we're coping without a microwave oven.

We haven't even missed it.

(I know, I'm as shocked as you.)

Nope, it's not hard at all. I just had to return to thinking ahead, which isn't too taxing if you let it become more of a habit than something you actually have to think about. I simply heat water for my pretend coffee in my old-fashioned Regal coffee pot ($1 yard sale discovery) and--don't tell anyone, ok?--I often just store leftover main dishes in the fridge inside the lidded pan I cooked them in, then whoosh! Whip out the pan and heat the leftover contents on the stove. (Which may sound tacky, isn't 100% safe, but hey, it works. For now.) 

Mostly? I view each lidded pan as a miniature oven and that helps me cook/heat things evenly.

I just wanted to let you know it's possible--even simple-- to live without a microwave. It can be done: I know--we're doing it and are still alive to tell the tale.

Not to mention that--in my small kitchen--the freed-up counter space is marvelous!


******

So there Tom and I were yesterday, at the computer, trying to discover a way for me to get to California. 

We considered everything except perhaps Mississippi river boat or oxen cart. I even thought of the time when Lucy and Ethel found a ride with a woman via the newspaper and they all thought each other was an axe murderer. heh.

Eventually, it all got to us. 

What with trains which leave at midnight from sleazy depots five cities away from us, to buses with six transfers and which leave at 6:00 in the morning from Oregon. And just the whole thought of myself, Mrs. Little Homebody, traveling through the vast Midwest alone. So a couple arguments later (Tom kept trying to force me onto planes), we decided to go out for lunch at a recently discovered hole-in-the-wall 1920's cafe in our town, and that was pleasant. Refreshing. 

We could smile and joke around again.

Not wishing to return home, we drove to the next-town-over to see the movie, Mr. Bean's Vacation. Oh. My. Goodness. Exactly what the Doctor ordered! Within five minutes we laughed until the tears came and then stepped away feeling as though we'd been on a relaxing vacation (to France, even!) ever. 

How true that laughter is the best medicine--but I've already blogged about that. 

Anyway, this morning I read an email my sister sent last night--they're sending my dad home today(!). Seems there was minimal damage to his heart, beta blockers (and etc.) will help and if he takes better care of himself, he should be around a bit longer.

So I'm not currently planning to cross our Country alone and Tom and I will keep a Plan A and B in mind for the future so we can travel out there together at the right time.

And during all that planning yesterday? That trying to jam and crash this square peg into a round hole? I recalled whole years I lived that way. How, if I followed Grace and Peace, it only happened by accident. And after feeling the ol' "let's force this, even if it doesn't feel right" thing yesterday, that's when we went to lunch. Stopped what wasn't working and had no anointing.

That's when the peace returned, especially when we returned to trusting that God makes a way where there is none. And if He wants me someplace else? He'll get me there.

We needed to step back on board with Him and over to the theater for a couple hours with Mr. Bean, who brought both laughter and the sunshine once more.




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I wanted to thank each of you who commented after my last post so much! Your words were encouraging, soothing and added Grace to my day. And my whole attitude. Thank-you. Thank-you. Thank-you.


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