by our love

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Shanda

“Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!”

Christmastime this year has been made brighter by the visit of my precious friend, Hannah. I mentioned a few blog posts ago, when I posted pictures of the blouse she made me, that she is the only friend I have that has battled depression. I have struggled once again with that old curse that I hate so much, and during this time, according to the typical nature of depression, I found myself closing off from almost everyone around me…..except for Hannah. She lives so far away, in the beautiful state of Alaska, but she graciously and promptly answered all my texts, responding hastily with the love of Jesus, verses, encouragement. We talked several times on the phone. I felt comfortable voicing those parts of my heart that needed expression and light.

And then came the moment when she asked if she could come and visit me. She couldn’t take the depression away but she could sit by my side in full understanding. I’ll never forget her words, “If I had to go through depression in order to help you, it was worth it.” We felt the visit was truly God-ordained, even to the price of her round trip, only 36 dollars!

Jesus is always with us, He promised in his Word that He would never leave us, nor forsake us. I believe that He uses His people in tangible ways to love us. What I mean is, Hannah has been *my Jesus with skin on*. I hope that doesn’t sound disrespectful. Jesus is within all believers, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit, we have this treasure in jars of clay, and as we hold one another, sit beside one another, speak to one another, we are experiencing His love through a brother or sister in Christ. He loves me through her. As I spent time with her, I felt as if Jesus Himself was with me.

Hannah is not the only friend I have like this. If you’re reading this and you’re my friend then it is the same with you. God places certain people in our lives whom we cannot forget even if we might sometimes want to. Their names are written on our hearts. I have friends that I will be loyal to until the day I die, I simply cannot neglect the brothers and sisters in Christ that God has brought into my world. I’m thinking of so many people right now that have shared my life with me, and I with them, many of them are my own relatives but some of them are not. Why does He do this? I have to believe that it is because part of the work He has for us to do is to love each other deeply, encourage each other, sacrifice time and energy, so that the journey through life is not without abundant support and meaning. It’s a beautiful thing to see.

The Bible says, “If we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.”

HOW AMAZING IS THAT?

I found a quote on Pinterest that says it well: “When God puts love and compassion in your heart toward someone, He’s offering you an opportunity to make a difference in that person’s life. You must learn to follow that love. Don’t ignore it. Act on it. Someone needs what you have.”

I’ve been writing about lifelong relationships, but this concept of being an instrument of God’s love applies to the “one time” act of kindness for a random stranger, too. How many people have we unconsciously showed grace and love to, without even being aware that our smile, our small conversation, our politeness, touched someone’s life in a meaningful way at just the right time? How many times did a stranger touch our hearts with kindness that made us thank God then and there?

Surely, God is in full operation at ALL TIMES. Moving, breathing, shepherding us THROUGH EACH OTHER. (and his Word, his World, and so many other ways, too). Praise Him with me!

Oh for eyes that see and give Him glory. And in all things, to give thanks.

A few days ago Hannah and I went to a museum together. We drove into the city, parked in a parking garage, and walked a few blocks to the museum. It was a special time at the museum, too, because of Christmas, there were decorated trees and choirs singing as we wandered delightfully through the rooms. Oh how we loved the artwork! We came away determined to enjoy more art and Hannah wants to study art history. It was fascinating.

I took a few photos of the trees. The first picture in this blog post is one that an older lady did. She lives in a nursing home and knitted every single ornament and garland for her tree. I loved it. I loved imagining her working on it.

A bird tree, a tree decorated with origami which reminded me of my David who loves to fold paper, and another view of the “yarn” tree.

A Harry Potter tree! (David is reading all the books these days, he’s now on #6)

And then we made our way into the art exhibits. There was a folded card which showed the details of each painting so we took advantage of that and studied each one.

There was so much spiritual depth in the works, some we understood, others we felt as if there was more to learn….which I suppose is one of the purposes of museums and art…to create a thirst for knowledge as we appreciate the beauty.

And, by the way, we both wore blouses that Hannah made herself~art from the sewing machine!

that beautiful blue color

Book of Hours from the 1400’s. Imagine the work that went into this amazing book and all the hands that touched it through the years.

Egyptian cat

Amazingly carved linden wood.

“Still life with Ham”

a GORGEOUS silver center piece which we stood and looked at for a while

This too! A birdcage!

made entirely of porcelain (I think…or something similar)….amazing detail and beauty

God’s art….above and beyond anything we could even imagine!

God made Hannah, too, a beautiful work of art, and He made YOU as well…so special and unique, truly one of a kind.

After seeing as much as we could possibly absorb in one day, we made our way to lunch at the cafe and then shopped the gift shop for Christmas gifts.

It was a memorable day with a dear friend.

You are LOVED!

together again

Posted on December 10, 2015 by Shanda

“friendships multiply joys and divide griefs” HG Bohn

My Alaskan friend is sleeping off her jet lag this morning so I have a few blessed minutes to tip tap on the keyboard now that the children have been fed their pancakes, cleaned up, and gotten on the bus. It’s a misty morning. Caleb woke up and said he had dreamed that it had snowed, and without missing a beat he cried, “WHY WON’T IT SNOW!!!!!” He doesn’t want a green Christmas but I said it’s better than a blue one.

Hannah and I went for a walk yesterday and just as we were stepping off the lawn onto the road an ambulance came slowly down to park at the end of the trail by our woods. A uniformed man got out and started striding up the trail purposefully. We *needed* to know what was happening so I went over to the window to ask the man in the passenger seat what was going on, imagining that someone was in trouble in the woods. He laughed, “He needed to go to the bathroom.”

You never know what God is going to bring across your path just when you needed a nice laugh. We left the men in peace and continued on our walk quite amused.

There is a delightful little thrift shop in town so we headed there to do a little rummaging. Hannah loves to sew and she enjoyed going through all the patterns which cost 25 cents a piece. She found four to take home and use. We looked through the household goods and for the very first time EVER in this shop, I FOUND FIESTAWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Two ring handled periwinkle blue mugs! Another gift from God to put smiles on our faces. Two mugs! One for me and one for Hannah to take home with her.

All these things for five dollars. (books, something for Dave, an ornament, a piece of pretty fabric, a hand crocheted jingle bell wall hanging, a lidded glass jar with lily of the valley on it.)

AND THE TWO FIESTA MUGS.

So then we put the box in my car and walked up the sidewalk to the coffee shop for a nice lunch. We had bean sandwiches and quiche with water to drink.

After lunch we walked up to our favorite shop. When Hannah came almost three years ago on her first visit, the two of us visited this particular shop together for the first time. It was in my own town but I had not been inside yet. It was delightful, full of charming items and decorated very nicely. It has an “Anthropologie” feel to it, a feast for the eyes and nose because there are fragrant candles in the shop, too.

We asked the shop keeper to take our photo in front of her beautiful Christmas tree.

We headed back home, stopping for small caramel lattes at the Dunkin Donuts drive through.

We watched a movie and then it was time to go get David from newspaper club.

The afternoon flew by as we sang at the piano, played with the kids and worked on a Nativity puzzle while listening to music. We made chili for dinner.

We brought a table in to the dining room and set up a Nativity set with Seth and Sarah’s help.

The kids aren’t allowed to play with it so Sarah sits in front with her own little dolls, which is why Cinderella has made an appearance.

After some TV and a little reading, the first full day of Hannah’s visit was over.

*****

And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
whose forms are bending low,
who toil along the climbing way
with painful steps and slow,
look now! for glad and golden hours
come swiftly on the wing.
O rest beside the weary road,
and hear the angels sing!

“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” third stanza, by Edmund Sears

I hope my friends who happen by this blog today have a blessed and peaceful day. You are loved.

happenings

Posted on December 8, 2015 by Shanda

LOVE

JOY

PEACE

forbearance

kindness

goodness

faithfulness

gentleness

self control

against such things there is no law.

Good evening, my friends.

Today is a wonderful day. I am finally feeling more like myself. Thank the Lord for doctors and modern medicine. After I got the kids out the door for school, my oldest son Jacob got up and showered. When he came downstairs he told me that he didn’t have to go to college today so I mentioned that I was going to go shopping in about an hour. I had some photos to pick up and some things I needed to get. He right away showed his willingness to go along with me without even being asked…he said, “Oh, than I can show you those legos at the mall that I wanted to get the boys for Christmas.” It made me smile that he wanted to go with me.

He drove me after I said I would give him gas money. Gas money is very important to 18 year old young men. He talked to me the whole time we were together. And if he wasn’t talking, he was singing along to his music. He and his girlfriend share a spotify music account now, isn’t that romantic? They also did community service together yesterday by picking up litter along some of the main roads in our area.

Jacob LOVES music. He has quite a varied collection, from classical to Christian metal.

We went to several stores, including Starbucks and Five Guys (burgers) for lunch. Then he drove us to his school so that we could pay for his next semester. He walked me around and showed me the library. He loves his classes, his professors, and the campus. I’m so thankful for the way he is adjusting and becoming independent. The place he works for originally hired him for the Holidays, but recently asked him to stay on full-time. He loves his job and the people he has met.

The chickens get bowls of old leftovers and they love it. It looks sickening to us humans, though. I always have to laugh when I hand a bowl over to a child and say “run this down to the chickens” and they do, while gagging.

Just beyond the hens, in that spot that looks like briars, is a small little pond nestled down a bank. I love that little pond, and so do the chickens. They make their way down and drink from it. Beyond that (the building you see) is our garage.

Holiday FIESTAWARE display!

precious children coming home off the bus

Dear teachers, your students notice everything you do. The other day I told Sarah she would make a good teacher someday and after sitting there thinking about it she said, “No I don’t think so. It’s such hard work! And I don’t know how to make a star!”

Tis the season for gingerbread men. She brought another one home today. It’s a paper plate painted brown, with a circle at the top of it for a head and oval arms and legs decorated with glitter. Only it looks more like a brown turtle then a gingerbread man.

Saturday morning these guys went to a wrestling practice.

Grace brought her rabbit inside for a little while and we had such a time watching funny Gentleman Gray visit with him from the top of the cage.

I put a small box inside of her cage yesterday and she had a great time chewing it up into a bed.

beauty in an apple core

beauty outside the door

Going back to the aloe vera plant. Just a few months ago the planter contained one big “mama” plant that was so big that it was tipping the whole planter over unless I balanced it against the wall. The appearance was beginning to bother me so I cut it right off and threw it away. It has been a delight to see so many baby plants grow up in it’s place. I hope to divide it soon and share with friends. I’m sure there is a parable in there somewhere.

Tonight I am picking my dear friend Hannah up from the airport and I cannot wait.

victorian christmas

Posted on December 7, 2015 by Shanda

As promised, today I would like to show you the photos that I took at the Madrigal performance on Saturday. The group sang at this old house-turned-museum, which was decorated to the hilt for Christmas. The community had it open for the public to come in and enjoy, free of charge, with a donation box for those who could give a little. There was also a small craft table for children to enjoy, a gift shop with reasonably priced Christmas items for sale, and refreshments.

small table tree, covered in decorations

paper dolls under the tree, artificial fruit bowl, ginger bread man, fruit garland.

This was a cobweb Christmas game. The children would each have their own color yarn to follow and as they went along the string they would come across small gifts to keep.

the main Christmas tree, with examples of gifts all over the floor underneath.

The clothesline was hung in the house at Christmas so that the children could each hang their own pillowcase on it, which would have their name on it and be filled with gifts.

The dining room…I loved the wallpaper in this room.

Garland and bows hung all around the tops of the walls.

I have two fireplace mantles at my house so I love to see examples for how they can be beautified for the holidays.

Now this is something that I could handle….simply placing pinecones along the windows.

The day after we visited the museum Sarah and I went in the woods to find some.

Another lovely mantel. So beautiful. Sarah thought the oranges at the tops of the stockings looked funny.

This was a Christmas idea for Grandmother, called a wonder ball. The family would unwind a ball of yard and then wind it back up again with little gifts inside of it for her to discover as she used it up in her knitting.

This pie plate was full of little gifts which were then covered over in bran. Each person at the table on Christmas day would use the spoon to lift a surprise gift…

This is a variation of the bran pie. This one is covered in paper with strings to pull a gift out through a slit in the paper.

“Festival decorations are not designed for close inspection but for general effect, and simple materials may be used with the most satisfactory results.” Vicks Floral Guild 1879

Sarah and I had time to explore the house and then it was time to listen to the Madrigals sing their lovely old fashioned Christmas hymns and carols.

Grace signing “Silent Night”

The audience had to stand through all the songs and I did feel sorry for the elderly folks. The man standing by the mantel propped himself up by his fingertips on the mantel…..but he loved hearing the children sing and at each invitation from the director to “please join us in singing this song” his beautiful old baritone voice could be heard singing.

Grace and I have been listening to a beautiful Christmas album by Elizabeth Mitchell while we work on a Nativity puzzle. This is the song Grace wants to listen to over and over…….(the whole album is on youtube for you to enjoy)

I’m so homesick for Jesus and Heaven. Isn’t it wonderful that this world is not our home….we’re just a passing through. In the meantime, we can fix our eyes on Him and know He never leaves us alone. He loves us so much. At this time of year it’s comforting to snuggle up close to Him and thank Him for all He has done.

grace wants to show you her dress

Posted on December 6, 2015 by Shanda

She dresses up in this pretty gown for her school singing group.

The Madrigals travel our local towns, singing at Christmas time in centers, malls, clubs, and so on. Today they sang at a beautifully decorated old house, decorated in the Victorian style for Christmastime. Before we left, we crossed the road into the woods for a few portraits.

In my next blog post I will share photos of the house and the performance.

(very inspiring!)

sarah wants to show you her new pants

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Shanda

Aren’t they adorable? As soon as I saw them I had to get them for her. She LOVES big cats.

Praying for all my blog friends today. You are loved.

short and simple

Posted on December 1, 2015 by Shanda

There is snow falling in blog-land!

How are you, my friends? I hope you are well, and if you’re anything like me, not feeling your best and trying to be patient while your medication starts to kick in then I hope and pray for you. Be kind to yourself. If you’re staying at home too much, get out of the house and go shopping. That’s what I did today and it helped tremendously.

Everything is going to be okay.

“Let us always meet each other with a smile, because a smile is the beginning of love.” Mother Theresa

I bought a decorative plate holder and added a vintage yellow fiesta chop plate to the top of my cookbook shelf, right underneath Aunt Colleen’s painting. I like this little spot in my house. I put the stool there yesterday and Sarah promptly sat down to sing to herself and color. While she’s at school, Gentleman Gray sits there and tells me what to do.

He wanted me to put the camera down and pet him.

But I wanted to show you a picture of my new moccasins. Grace and I each got a pair this weekend. They are so comfy and just like wearing slippers. She said with a little laughter, “I love these shoes, why didn’t we get these sooner?”

Dave just got home from school.

“This would make a good picture, Mom.”

My little Christmas tree.

Aunt Amanda and Sarah made this paper chain. I helped a little, too. Every day we tear a chain off until Christmas comes.

the boys

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Shanda

had their hair cut today.

in which we decorate a wild evergreen tree

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Shanda

Last week I went for a walk in the sunshine and noticed a small evergreen tree growing just outside the state forest by the side of the road, not far from our house. I envisioned it decorated for Christmas and what a fun feeling it would be to drive by and see a tree that doesn’t belong to anyone, with holiday ornaments on it. I followed through with this vision and bought some large unbreakable ornaments today. When I got home, I gathered up my four happy youngest children plus their two friends and off we went on a exciting short walk to The Tree. As you can see, we had a nice warm weather day today. Several children were barefoot and Seth was shirtless, too.

I stood on the road to take this picture. I hope that once the snow falls the green ornaments will stand out more. I wonder if anyone will notice this little tree when they drive past? Even if they don’t, it will be a secret pleasure for the children and me.

thank-full heart

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Shanda

“The way to find God’s treasure-house of blessing is to climb the ladder of His divine promises. Those promises are the key that opens the door to the riches of God’s grace and favor.”

“He knows the way I take” Job 23:10

Jacob, Emily, Sarah, and Mitch are sitting on one side of the couch with me, Grace, Rich, and Caleb are on the other side. Ethan is on the loveseat with his legs stretched out, with bare feet. Seth is wearing his Halloween costume, on the floor with a football. The late afternoon football game is on TV.

We were supposed to have my entire family here for the Thanksgiving meal but I had to cancel a few days ago. I haven’t been feeling well (depression) and with my brother Dave’s help, we decided to try for a quieter weekend….the love and understanding of my family did so much to humble and soften my anxious heart.

The thing about low points is that the spirit is more desperate and eager to SEE God, feel Him, know Him, want Him. And he pops up everywhere, like even in the movie Sister Act 2 and Grace’s chorus performance at school, it’s a thrill. He is everything, the only Rock-solid truth and the giver of so many good things.

Like family, doctors, medicine, warmth, a friend when you need one, animals, fresh air, etc……

“The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the give of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”