Yesterday

You know those scenes in every romatic comedy where the girl is holding her perfect cup of coffee with her perfect hair and is walking briskly down the streets of NYC on her way to work? Think Meg Ryan in You've Got Mail on her way to the Shop Around the Corner. This song is playing (the video is creepy...I know...eighties videos are all creepy). Well on some days, especially Mondays, I like to imagine my mile long walk from my car to my cubicle just as magical as Meg's, and I throw my hair back and hold my coffee with poise. Needless to say, nine times out of ten I might be running instead of walking, because I might be running late and there is not time for the Cranberries to serenade me. I digress. My sister says this is my look and it is really growing on me. Who says tennis shoes and suit skirts were not meant to go together? If your job requires bouts of sprinting and numerous meetings, what's not to love about the outfit?

But yesterday I noticed SO much on my mile walk. Instead of noticing the cigarette buds and trash, I saw a bird's nest in a crepe myrtle tree. It showed me hope for spring.

I saw a lady proudly carrying a totally homemade cake (you can tell when it is homemade) with the biggest smile. She showed me to be thankful for friends.

I saw someone around my mom's age rocking a fashionable gray felt hat with feathers. She showed me to embrace your own style.

I saw two students laughing and talking at the crosswalk. They showed me love for life early in the morning.

Not everything I saw yesterday was happy and carefree. I saw a man that looked homeless, dirty, and angry. My heart hurt, and I did not know what to do. I was driving, and he was walking slowly. I wanted to tell him "Jesus loves you." It is true. I prayed he would know yesterday. And I pray he would know today. He is a child of God.

I saw a man with anguish on his face walking out for some fresh air at a hospital. And I thought of his family that I did not know. I wanted to say, "It will all be okay." Instead a prayed that he would find hope. Is hope better than okay? I don't know, but I know Him who is acquainted with all my ways. That he can turn mourning into dancing.

I am thankful for yesterday's moments. I made pasta for supper. And I am thankful for another day that God has made--one running shoe and suit skirt step at a time.

Pasta with Gorgonzola Sauce (Adapted from Cookie & Kate....her Banana Bread recipe is lovely)
Serves 2

1 cup dried gemelli pasta
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons milk
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cups chopped fresh greens (collards or spinach)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

Boil the pasta about 8 minutes in salted water. Drain and reserve a little (2 tablespoons?) of the pasta water in the pot (helps the sauce to cling to the noodles). Gently boil the greens for about 4 minutes in another pot until tender. Drain and rinse in cool water; saute in olive oil for about 2 minutes. Add all ingredients to pasta with reserved pasta water and warm until melty. Serve with good conversation about the day.

Every moment a blessing

My wonderful friend Anna recommended a book to me called 1000 Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I can't get enough of this book and am already planning on re-reading it once I am done! Please check it out for yourself. It has made me think on my life and many blessings in a whole new way. It has made me think on the hard things in life that "I do not deserve" but that perhaps God is using to refine me; only through this "refining" process will I become more like Christ.
In today's culture, everyone seems to think that we "deserve" these blessings. Day to day I go about life not even noticing tremendous gifts that God has given me, because I am "too busy" or "too tired" and they are really just part of being a human being in 2012, right? But Ann's book is daily prompting me to take a closer look at those "everyday gifts." Maybe I am not short on time but very short on thankfulness. Maybe I am not in need of more but in need of noticing what I have.
Right at this moment as I think about the gifts in my life, I see so many wonderful blessings that God has freely given me. I see a sweet dog in my lap and a warm cup of tea. I see a Bible that I can pick up and read anytime without the fear of persecution or abuse. I have the ability to READ the Bible and healthy eyes to see the daffodils out my window. I have abundant food and clean water. I have family and friends to share it with both old friends and new friends. Thinking and reflecting on all of this makes me ask the same question that David asked in Psalm 24: "Who is this King of glory?" The Psalmist repeats the question twice, and I repeat the verse in my head. Who is this who loves me so much that he created me in His image, died on the cross for my sins, and graciously gives me all things in love?
A good job. A long conversation. A pillow. A bubble bath. A sunrise. A cup of coffee. A smile from a stranger. A phone call. A coat of nail polish. A swim. A long walk. A prayer. A good dream. A similarity with someone. A hope for tomorrow.
I don't deserve any of these things and overlook them all. Who is this King of glory that pours them out on me daily? A new madeleine pan. A sister. A simple guitar. A favorite book. A pile of clean towels. I could go on for days...
And who am I to say that things God allows to happen to me are good or bad? Only He can see the whole picture. Only He can say "For I know the plans I have for you...plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When we say that we pick up our cross and follow Him, we do not say that we will follow Him only down certain paths. We don't get to pick and choose which roads we follow Him down; we just trust that He goes before us just as He went before the people of Israel in Joshua 3. We don't have to know the way. We just need to know Him who does.

Hello October

Slieve Croob in Ireland - August

I had decided that I wanted to write more, and I wanted to write creatively like I used to before the days of college research papers and work deadlines. At the very moment that I decided this, writer's block came over me like the rain storm that soaked me to the bone. So I didn't worry about what I wrote for a while, and I didn't write here either.

I have been taking notes about life and people I see like the wild haired girl in the red rain boots driving the golf cart like she is in Nascar. And the lady talking about her aunt that was afraid of getting lost and to meet up at McDonald's. My grandmother told me a story about her mother getting married at 18 and taking a home economics class to learn how to cook per her mother's suggestion. But instead of learning how to make things like cornbread and buttermilk biscuits, she learned how to make hollandaise sauce. I love taking notes. It makes me more observant and more perceptive. It makes bad experiences funny ones, and sweet stories even sweeter. I jot notes down before I get out of the car to walk into work, right after lunch, or at the gym. There are stories everywhere bursting to be told. They just need a messenger.

I made this bread with roasted butternut squash the other day and it was amazing. Please bake it and share!

Abi (who I am seeing in just DAYS!!) sent me these books all compiled into one, and I can't believe I have not read them sooner.


I think this is the best cheap red wine.

I have pumpkins coming up in my backyard. Please get bigger. Makes me want to watch this for old times sake.

We sang Amazing Grace in church this morning, and I am reminded how amazing God's grace is more and more every day. And His grace is free.