Because Self-Flagellation is the Best Kind...

Howdy,

I was going to dredge up my 2009 New Year's Resolutions and do a witty analysis of my epic fail progress on them. But the truth is, I have no business making New Year's Resolutions. I do not follow through well. I am distractible and wait a minute...where was I? And I am highly irresponsible with high ticket priced items. Just ask Big how many times I've lost or "misplaced" a camera. People are more important than things. Right? RIGHT? I digress.

If you're still with me, you probably know that folks are typically firmly for or against making resolutions, with very little middle ground. I tend to make them every year. Most of the time I'm rewriting the same ones. Mitzi Gaynor wasn't the only "cock-eyed optimist". I have no idea why I choose to be in the pro-resolution camp. Seriously. Do you know, as a speech therapist working with my amazing patients, the only thing which grossed me out more than seeing copious amounts of mucous was the super-spidey scary thought of setting measureable goals for my patients to achieve? Oh, the pressure! Would they swallow/speak/pay attention for "x" amount of trials with 80, 90 or 100% accuracy? Well, would they? Inquiring minds (and insurance companies) wanted to know.

I think I make resolutions because it's a grand idea to think that I could pull off writing something down and actually crossing it off my list. In fact, I do write things down. I have several notebooks and pens scattered throughout my house, car, and purse. I'm what you call an IDEA person. I'm sure I read somewhere where my thoughts and creativity are necessary in some contrived group work situations.

One could argue for the intrinsic accountability in making resolutions. However, as I've noted...this accountability did nothing for me.

And because of that...without further ado, I give you:

My Resolution for 2010:

"Wag more and bark less".

So...what camp are you in? pro-resolution? anti-resolution? And BTW, do you have great plans for tonight? Happy New Year, my friends.

Grace, personified.

My son has a sleepover tonight. In fact, right now, he's playing a video game with this new friend. A video game which I'm told is much better with 2 players. And he's sneaking pop for the 2 of them, which I don't think he should have this late at night, and sneaking cookies to share, from the pantry. And for the first time in a long time. He's kinda feeling cool.

Wait...did you see it? I said, "new friend".

My son has a new friend.

A friend who initiated this sleepover. Even though it's at our house. Probably better this way. This first time. More familiar. But still.

A friend who called David first. With no prior arrangement behind the scenes from me.


Whether they're friends for moments, months, or years, they're friends now. And I am so thankful to my God who cares about these heart moment details, and who has heard each fervent prayer for even just.one.friend. for David.

Because everyone needs friends.

The Last GladiTuesday of 2009!

I'm having a hard time believing that the time to make resolutions (or not) has come again. I'll have to search in my archives to see how I fared in my resolutions for 2009. But before I become despondent, I'd like to list some gladdies for the past week, and for the year, in general.



10. I'm so glad that blogging opened the door for me to meet an incredible list of women (and men--howdy Pony Boy). Not only have I been blessed to meet people in real life for lunches (hello, Mer! twice!) and coffees (howdy, Becky! holla, Cathy!), but I had 4 privilege of hosting 4 lurvely and adventurous bloggers for an amazing weekend in August. This may sound trite or like I'm overstating, but I truly thing meeting in real life is a small taste of what heaven will be like. I can't wait. Below is Meredith and me, captured in a brief moment where my mouth isn't either chewing or chatting. I'm so grateful we had time together to chillax. After lunch, she drove me by my old stomping grounds, and I showed her our very first house, and our second, within a mile of one another. Hard to believe all the changes which have occured in just under 9 years.

9. Grateful that I was able to find-Holla!-The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society at my local libarry, so I can spend my Barnes and Noble gift card on other books, like this one. Or, this one. But reading new books is on my new year's resolution list, so I don't want to get ahead of myself. Assuming I work in a linear, logical fashion. Hahahahahahaha. ahem.

8. Grateful that I've had a nice, long time with Big home before his next trip to China. It's never a good time for him to be gone, but we've enjoyed 1/2 of November and all of December with him. I cannot believe our 20th anniversary is just 6 months away.

7. Glad that, as I write this on the evening of my mom's 65th birthday, I am wistful and nostalgic that she's not here, but so happy that she's celebrating her 10th b'day in heaven. I wonder what she and my little brother are talking about. Won't it be great when, one day, I'll meet him? He died a few days after birth, when I was 1. Praying that my friends who have lost loved ones in the last year will find peace and comfort, and will remember the joy and silliness they shared with their folks. Doesn't this just underscore the need to live intentionally and work on making sweet memories with our families? I know every day can't be sunshine and rainbows (especially in the Pacific NW), but losing a parent at a relatively early age has shown me that life is finite. Time to live well. Okay...sermonette finished.

6. Glad that I'm finished going on my eat-everything-in-sight rampage of the last 4 days. Sheesh. Even I am tired of food right now. I'll be ready to make things super right again after our junk food fiesta/sleep over for New Year's Eve.

5. Speaking of which, I'm glad that we're having our 4th annual sleepover with some favorite friends on New Year's Eve. We've done the junk food night since our children were little and we couldn't afford babysitting/didn't want to go out on the icy roads with drunk drivers, and now we've married it to this sleepover. Great, great fun. The only thing missing is Dick Clark. But I guess Carson Daly will have to carry the torch.

4. Was so glad to see the loving eyes of our ooooold Dachshund, Murphy, and our young Golden Retriever, Annie. They missed us while we were in CO, and I have to say...I actually missed them. A little. ;)

3. Glad for a high efficiency washer because I've had nothing but high amounts of laundry as of late. Mercy!

2. Glad for the promise of a new year, with fresh starts and new ideas.

1. Glad for our local law inforcement. Not to be "Debbie Downer", but the Seattle area has lost 6 officers since Oct. 31st. Two were shot by a known cop-hater on Halloween (one lived). Four were gunned down in November as they ate donuts/drank coffee and wrote notes in a coffee shop; and lastly, on Dec 21, 2 officers were shot during a domestic dispute. One of them was treated after being shot in the neck and released, and the other was just taken off life support tonight. He died at 5:04, leaving behind a wife, a 10 year old son, and a 16 year old daughter. I am so glad, not only for our military, but for those in our communities who put themselves in harm's way each day for folks like me.

Oh, my goodness, i just couldn't leave it there...

Do yourself a favor and go see Cheryl's post about the 3 gifts to Jesus. Here.

You're welcome.

Ye Olde Blogg Updateth

Did you think i forgot how to type?

Nine days between posts. Aw...everyone is so busy, it's okay that you haven't had me upping your Google Reader count. Upping. Now, there's a verb. Good thing I cut my losses and went into speech therapy, because proper English usage is just not my strength.

It's too late for a GladiTuesday post, being Thursday and all, so I might just share a few glads and call it good. And I might just randomly type. Let's just see what happens, shall we. Live on the edge, and all.

• I'm glad that the 4 car rear-ending accident which happened last Thur (the night before my play) ended up with 4 people able to walk away from their cars, and minimal damage to my own car. Plus, no ticket for moi, since I was at the front of the line. And the drivers who hit me even had insurance. I almost feel lucky. Almost.
• I'm glad God forgives me for telling my son to "s*** u*!" shortly after the accident, when his jangled nerves put him on verbal overdrive, and mine put me on sensory overload. After the 9th question he peppered me with, in just about as many seconds, I just looked at him and said, "David....s. u. !" Yeah, adrenaline brings out the best in me. Glad he forgave me, too. We laughed about how everyone's personality reacts differently in a semi-crisis situation.
• Glad that our play went so very well, and that most of my guests were unchurched folks, who felt comfortable and said they had a great time. This is event 2 or 3 for some of them, so it's wonderful that they feel welcome and loved, which they are. I hope to have some pictures, soon.
• Glad for prayer warriors for things both big and little. Glad for a God who isn't too busy for the little things.
• Glad for our worship/cast party tomorrow night. We'll prolly watch parts of the play and eat and sing and be silly with each other and our fams.
• Glad for our neighborhood progressive dinner on Sat. night. I'm nervous b/c my house is not even to the place it needs to be, but que sera, sera. If they don't love me for me, I'll just make the cosmos extra strong. ;) Kidding. I'm kidding. It's too expensive to do that.
• Glad for my daily dose of reality with my Bible, in front of the gleaming tree and blazing fire.

So...guess i should run right about now. My son's macaroni has boiled for about 5 minutes over the time limit. Don't want to put a ding in my Mother of the Year chances, so must go stir.

God bless you all at this crazy, amazing, sometimes hard, and all about Jesus time of year.

GladiTuesday!

10. Glad for my "in my computer" friend, Whimzie, who turned 40 yesterday. Words cannot express how much I lurve this girl. And there probably aren't enough words created for our use when we first meet. She's such a treasure to me, and I cannot wait until she comes out of her computer one day.

9. Glad for our cold snap. Though it has triggered some allergies/asthma (please pray), it also brings sunshiney blue skies--very reminiscent of those I grew up with in CO. Crisp. Beautiful.

8. Glad that on a cold (it was Iowa, so I'm assuming it was cold) Pearl Harbor Day, 65 years ago, my grandma and grandpa were married. I owe my life to that, I guess. Full disclosure, they divorced, but still...my mom and uncles evidence their love and God's hand.

7. Speaking of Pearl Harbor Day...I am glad about the phone call I had with my Grum yesterday. She and I are still close, and she is so excited about our Christmas play, which takes place on Christmas Eve, 1944. I'm a little embarrassed to be sending our DVD for her to see, but proud, as well, because it celebrates a people and an era which mean the world to her.

6. While I'm at it...a tip of the hat to our military, both past and present. As I immerse myself in this play, it brings to mind soldiers who serve(d) and who are so far from home during the holidays. So glad and humbled by their sacrifices and those of their families. God bless them, every.one.

5. As glad as I am about participating in this play, I'll be gladissimussly glad when it's ovah. I'll miss it, for certain, and will have to guard against a post-play funk. But it does take a chunk out of my Christmas planning and doing for my family.

4. Glad for my cuddle time with my dtr and the hounds this morning as I finished up my quiet time in my favorite chair, with fireplace and Christmas tree aglow.

3. Glad for an amazing husband. He just is. And I'm just thankful.

2. Glad for friends who have DVD versions of "The Grinch" and "A Charlie Brown's Christmas" because I missed them both. And that just cannot happen.

1. Glad for the light at the end of the school tunnel. On December 19th, I.am.sleeping.in.until at least 9 a.m. HOLLA! And if I can't sleep (which will probably be the case), I'm going to lie there and fake it on principle! :)

Would lurve to hear about your gladdies this week, too!

Using the Broken Pieces

For whatever reason, I am unable to make decent paragraphs. Imagine they're there, please.

He broke the angel yesterday. I received this Nativity set from my in-laws about 5 years ago. Oh, how I love it! It was my very first set. Lurve Jim Shore's artwork--especially in this set--because it marries my lurve of all things quilting with my love of Christmas. You see, I like to call myself a quilter. I am enthralled with the creative process of using useless, cast aside pieces and fashioning them into something useful, and, hopefully, beautiful. But where was I? Oh, yes. He broke the angel.

THIS angel. (grrr.) Oh, I glued the wings back on. But still. You can tell.

Now, I also have a beautiful ceramic nativity set which I bought at a garage sale. It's loaded with pageantry and lovely colors--I'm sure it was JUST LIKE the manger scene all those years ago. ;) No, I know better, but it sure looks nice on my table. Or it did. Before "Baby Jesus" broke and had to be swept and discarded, and before "Gabriel" took a terrible tumble, and required a transverse waist to hip corrective glue surgical procedure. Thankfully, s/he survived. Yes, I know Gabriel was a "he", but isn't it funny--all the angels are girly? Oopsie, digressing again.

Why are all the nativity sets in danger you ask? Because of David. My beloved son. My "(crash!) um, Mom...we have a bit of a problem..." son. A son who loves history, and wants things to be just so. A son who, for the past several years, has rearranged both nativities to suit the picture of authenticity in his mind's eye. Oh, it bugs me. And then i pause (not often enough, of course) and think to myself, "who cares?" I mean, who cares about how these nativity scenes end up if my son knows the meaning of Christmas?

I'll admit this attitude is often hard to come by, especially when David starts breaking arranging my special Jim Shore nativity. My perfect set. My Mary. My Jesus. My Shepherds. Etc.

Ouch. My.

Well, yes, He is mine. But He came to save the world. The battered and worn world. A world full of broken pieces. And He, Himself, was broken for us on the cross.

He came for a boy who feels like he messes up a lot--in school, with other kids his age, but knows he's precious because of who he is and Whose he is.

He came for a girl who traverses the unsure realities of middle school with a brave smile and a too often bruised heart.

He came for a man. A good man. A man who doesn't quite know what to believe, but who knows that Christmas is a time for coming together and for celebrating something special.

He came for all of us who are rehearsing the Christmas play at my church. Oh, the pride, the insufficiencies in words and music. The tireless trying and still not quite getting it right, but getting almost there. Oh, how He eclipses those and brings us all together inspite of ourselves.

He came for a quilter who has sometimes felt useless, battered, and worn, herself. Good pieces here, colors that don't match there. But inexplicably, pulled together into someone who still has holes. Someone who still has rough edges and seams, but in His grace, feels beautiful.

Thank You, Lord. Though it is never enough. Thank You.

GladiTuesday!

Howdy! I know it's not winter on the calendar, but most folks' minds turn to thoughts of snowflakes at this time of year, so I thought I'd shift the gladitude mcbanner to reflect this. Thank you Amber, for the final lurvely banner of the year! Fitting for us in the Pacific Northwest, as we just had our second "hard" frost this morning.



10. Gladdy mcglad to be posting again. And glad I had the chance to miss it.

9. Glad about Advent and my chance to re-read, and really savor John's book. No, I'm not a paid endorsee, as you might imagine by all the times I mention his book. :) But it's so good. And I feel privileged that I got to see at least a glimpse of the heart behind the words when I met him and Mer last March. I'm a relative neophyte when it comes to celebrating Advent, so I'm lapping this up.

8. Glad I got to be on worship team last Sunday. It had been months because I have chosen to lay that bit of serving down as I ramp up rehearsals for our play. We sang one of my favorite songs, Offering, only with the Christmas lyrics. So touching. That singing-whilst-trying-not-to-cry-thing-is something I shall continue to work on.

7. Speaking of last Sunday...what an honor it was to witness baptisms! Not only did we have several planned baptisms and testimonies; but after those, folks were encouraged to come forward, open-fount style, I guess you could say. I was especially touched by the young men who came forward. Lurve to see the young 20-somethings of our future heeding the call to publicly proclaim their faith. Holla! Hallelujah! Next time, however, I'd like to be warned ahead of time of the "no mascara" zone, because I might've had something in my eye. And in my other eye.

6. Gladdy about our low key, relaxing Thanksgiving. We celebrated with just the four of us, and it was good. Very good. I know that many times, Thanksgiving is a holiday to get all the family and friends together and really catch up and have fun. Those times are great, too. But this year, ours felt kind of like a Sabbath or recharging type of day.

5. Gladisimusly glad about being a part of our church's Christmas play. The period (1944),music, and opportunity to get to know my fellow castmates better really all sing to me. One person doesn't have a church home, but found us through VBS, and then again through the play auditions. She's not yet come to church, but I'm excited to be spending time with her. I'm saving her a seat for whenever she's ready. A holla to all those tireless folks who sweat through the hot summers and little sweaty bodies of VBS. You just never know--God uses those times for the children for sure, but look how He also touches grown ups.

4. Glad i know that I have a vitamin D insufficiency. Holla. You know, it's no secret that I've had history with anxiety and her evil friend, depression. Well, to make a long story short, after really feeling a seasonal dip in my mental functions and feeling a constant lump in my throat for several weeks, I prayed with a friend and received a clear message to call my doc's office and get in--that "toughing it out" wouldn't quite work. For the first time, she did a blood test for my Vitamin D levels, and found that they were low. So now, I'm taking my form of sunshine in a pill, thankyouverymuch. I'd rather go to Maui, and told Big that I "needed" to, but I'll take the feeling better however I can. Even if I could get a trip to Maui prescribed by my nurse practitioner, I'm not so sure our plan would cover it.

3. Glad about Target. How would I ever do Christmas shopping without my old, red, bull's-eye friend?

2. Glad that our neighborhood progressive dinner is coming together. It's always a headache to plan and get dates and finally decide who's doing what, but after that, it's a blast. I truly feel blessed by my neighbors.

1. After too long of "not having time", my bestie and I finally met for coffee at 6 a.m. on Monday. We even had a decadent breakfast sandwich together. It was so good. All of it. Sometimes you just need to catch up, talk about everything and nothing, and hug each other's necks. So thankful for the filling of our tanks--even at 6. ;)

So? Tell me? Has anything got you gladdy today? I'd lurve to hear.