Thoughts from 2010

1. A broken arm really, really hurts.  ( Jan. 1, 2010)

2. An allergic reaction to surgical tape is really, really horrible.

3. Dermatologists are really, really wonderful!

4. You should not climb attic stairs with slippers on, especially when there is a hard, concrete floor beneath you.

5. You really can let your child go across the seas without hyperventilating.

6. You don’t have to keep telling your child about things about his passport, especially when he has one and has used it and you don’t.

7. A tie blanket is cool and yet so warm.

8. When Ms. Sue says we are going to make a 1000 pairs of mittens, she means it.

9. You can befriend someone 42 years older and develop a special bond.

10. Sometimes the best conversations happen because you let the quiet moments happen.

11. Faith needs to be unbending, but love should beam forth on every side and bend to every necessity of our brethren.  (someone else’s words)

12. Sometimes faith can feel like a whole loaf of bread, and some sometimes it can feel like the bread crumbs.  But the Bread of Life will always be there.

13. There will always be someone who does not agree with you or understand, and that’s ok.

14. The ‘least of these’ are a potential masterpieces in the making.  Look at them as the latter.

15. Thankfulness and praise gets rid of the pity party bugs.

16. I did not understand what the big deal was about texting until someone texted me, saying “You’re awesome!”  People will text words they won’t say with their voice.

17. Sandpaper people need to be loved too.  Maybe even more so.

18. God can even use a rooster to get you to thinking, pondering…

19. We need to make sure our decisions are Spirit led and not people pressured.

20. Politicians need a LOT of prayer!

21. When you’ve got tendons popping in the left knee and in the right foot, it’s hard to know which way to limp.

22. Chocolate and other goodies just seem to call out my name when I walk by…Kris, over heeerrreee…I swear, there is a magnetic field between sweets and me.

23. Some birds chit-chat, some nag, some caw, some sing, some crow…kind of like people.

24. When you get the doldrums from being in the hospital too long, blow through one of those blue rubber gloves the nurses wear.  You can’t do it without laughing.

25. When you sit 9 hours in an emergency room and think you can’t go on one more hour, you can.

26. Blessings come in many disguises. (they may even glow in the dark)

27. People can pull your strings, but it’s up to you if they break.

28. A parent should not chase a prodigal.  That marathon is for the Holy Spirit.

29. You really can trust the Heavenly Father to watch over  your earthly loved ones.

30. Becoming vulnerable on a blog can be scary, great therapy, and in the end makes me merry.

31.  I have an incredible husband who so readily goes anywhere, at any time with me to help a homeless person.

32. God blessed me this year with a new friend who has a huge, compassionate, servant’s heart.

33. This new friend makes the best chocolate, mint candies I have ever had and I SWEAR, they call out my name!

34. Radical living is a challenging and exciting way to live.

35. Becoming observant of my surroundings on a daily basis brings me closer to my Lord and lot of stories to my mind.

36. You don’t have to be an expert writer to be a story teller.

37. People can say what they want about FB, but it brought 4 lovely, Illinois people into my life, and for that I will always be grateful…yes, that’s you David, Brenda, Lori and Susan J…OH, five…Jena, who reminded me that I can be silly while still being a grown upJ

38. I have a Heavenly and an earthly shepherd who leads with a staff.  I don’t ever want to be without either one of them.

39. My husband’s camera taught me to not just look at the big, unassumingly empty view but to zoom in on the beauty of that one small thing God put there, whether it be a beautiful Queen Anne’s Lace (weed), or the beauty of a human being surrounded by filth. The beauty may not seem obvious at first, but zoom in to the delicacies of the subject and you get a whole new picture!

40. I believe God delights in bringing joy and surprising us through simple things like colorful sacks, footie pajama’s, shooting stars, stars found under the covers that glow in the dark, shooting stars in the sky and many other things…may I always have eyes to catch these surprises and never overlook what is right in front of me.

41. How it made me smile to hear about the young Muslim man who became a Christian through our church and hearing him exclaim right after thoroughly enjoying pork for the first time… “THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN MISSING ALL THIS TIME!”  J

42. We do not need NEARLY as much as we think we do!

43. The humbled aweness you feel as you lay prostrate on the floor of your prayer closet is more than I can put into words.  If you haven’t done this try it. . .(let me just say if you have young kids or animals, keep them out or they will crawl all over you.)  I have gone into my prayer closet, literally, on bended knee for 15 years, but as I age and knees hurt to sit on them now, going prostrate is not only more comfortable but even more humbling.  I get goose bumps every time.

44. Helping someone who may take advantage of you is still worth it…you never can imagine how God will take over.

45. I discovered sugar free chocolates are very good!

46. I learned how to play Bocce Ball and never even held the ball!

47. Wearing footie pajamas and playing video games is fun…you just don’t want it to become your life.

48. Sometimes it pays to turn off the cell phone for awhile.

49. Paying 40 bucks to have your dog groomed is just a waste of time when you live in the country.  They find something dead to roll in and all the pretty smell is gone.

50. I need God a whole lot more than chocolate. If I HAD to, I could live without the sweet, gooey, creamy, milk chocolate delicacies,  but never the sweet presence of my Lord.