Category: Potpourri

1.1.11

Another “New Year” is upon us… fresh and clean, unblemished and new.  There’s something marvelous and hopeful about a new beginning — a fresh start.  And so, with this blog entry, I pray for, and wish for you as well,  a year of great hope, joy, peace, faithfulness and steadfast walking with the Lord.  I pray for the peaceable fruit of righteousness and faith for each day.

21  This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22  It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24  The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
26  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.

–Lamentations 3.21-26

with love, pamela

cute.

Amelia

(the last baby of eleven) “Mama, I’m so glad you had more children…”
Me: So you’d have lots of people to play with and lots of people to take care of you?”
She nodded, yes, and gave me a hug.

I think she’d forgotten that she’d told me this some time ago.

stuck like glue…

I read a letter from a dear sister and at the end of her letter she enclosed a quote:   “Self-pity is like super glue from hell that keeps us stuck to the past.”   (Love & Thank you, Jenny)

As I’ve worked in our home today I’ve been mulling this quote over in my mind.  I’ve been thinking of other angles on this one  and I’ve come to see another angle on what keeps us stuck in the past — it seems to me that guilt is the “super glue from hell” that keeps us stuck to the past.  Even confessed sin, repentance, a turning from whatever it was, somehow guilt links us and keeps us stuck to, or in,  the past like a super glue.

Guilt’s a heavy thing.  Guilt keeps us stuck and then other stuff keeps us  stuck like glue to guilt! Even when a debt’s been paid, an infraction’s been forgiven, a problem’s been solved – we sort of keep the deal messed up by rehashing and feeling guilty about it all.  Other things keep us stuck on guilt, too. Sometimes it’s other people.  Sometimes it’s regret or sorrow.  Sometimes its just our own stupidity revisiting done deals.  Stuff haunts us when we least expect it and then the ugly event washes over us all over again and we’re buried in regret, super-glued by guilt.

Guilt — and by guilt I don’t mean  what is, in reality, shame and deep conviction of living with unconfessed sin.  I’m not talking about that true guilt… I’m talking about guilt as an emotional response or a sense of being plagued by a problem that was confessed as sin, that was dealt with, that was forgiven.   This guilt plagues many of us — and it’s got a few companions, too.  Guilt doesn’t travel alone.  No… it travels well with shame and regret.  It travels well with grief and doubt.  It travels well with anger. It travels well with pity: self-pity (thus the quote my friend had in her letter).

Sometimes the trapping of guilt comes from other people — sometimes well intentioned, sometimes not.  Whatever the case, I must/we must determine to be not allow someone’s criticism or condemnation to trap us for what we were or what we’ve done, we need to reject it and not allow ourselves to wallow in the condemnation.  If we do, inevitably, guilt or shame or regret will overtake us.  It’s got to be a red flag to us!

Get unstuck from that super glue from the pit — flee that trap — it’s not from the Lord, it’s from the devil.  And here’s why:

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8.2

Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free,
and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Galatians 5.1

It is for freedom the Lord has set us free!

There is therefore now no condemnation
to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Romans 8.1

I’m praying about different things that have me “super-glued” to a past problem — seeking the Lord for His mercy and guidance.  Maybe you’re dealing with stuff, too.  I’m chiming in to say: No matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been or what’s happened:  you’re not too far from the Lord. He’s seen it all — been with you through it all. In Him there is rest.

Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.  12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
13  Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.  14  Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.  15  For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4.11-16

If we had to leave in a hurry…

I’ve been thinking of this a little bit lately… what if we had to leave our home in a hurry.  No, not because of an impending flood, but for some other reason entirely.

For a little background, I guess I ought to say that we’re not all set up to survive for 90 days or two years or whatever.  We don’t have a great huge stockpile of anything.  Well, except wheat and pink salt.  We do have a bunch of both.

So, I’ve been sort of glancing here and there in our home — taking a brief mental inventory of what’s important and what’s not so important.  O, and by the way, I guess I should add that some of this thinking has been prompted by a book I was skimming.   Among many things, the author was recommending a pretty dramatic reduction of personal belongings.   In her book, SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life, Julie Morgenstern tackles some key areas I’ve been seeking to work on in my life – from practical or physical treasures to clutter and time management.  She recommends taking a personal survey (at her website) to help identify personal strengths and weaknesses.  In addition, the results of the survey will also identify simple or challenging areas for needed improvement or change.  The SHED stands for: Separate the treasures,  Heave the trash, Embrace your identity, Drive yourself forward.  It’s not, obviously, a “Christian worldview” book — thus the skimming.

Well, back to the “what would I grab” thought.  You know how people often say that they’d grab their photos and other mementos should the house catch fire?  Well, I’ve thought about that a lot, too.   But in assessing this situation lately, I’ve been thinking, which photos??  Should I take all of them?  Which ones would I leave behind?  I’d love to be able to say that I have them all organized into special books for each child, special occasions and family events.  But no.

Then, what about all the shelves of books?  Then I thought of the special letters, cards, and gifts I’ve received from dear family and friends.  Ahhhh… but which ones would I bring?  Which ones — as in boxes — would I leave behind?   Besides my Bible, what books would I bring?  How many journals would I bring?  My computer — would I just bring my laptop?  Would I leave trinkets, jewelry, and teacups behind?  What about all the other stuff??  And, our children would take cues about what’s important in life as they witness our attention given to the most important things.  So, what would those things be?

Well, I know it would truly all depend on where we were going and if we’d never be coming back.  And, yes, if we were only driving one vehicle away.  So then, my thoughts zero in on the very, very practical:  What will we need to wear, to drink, to eat, to read, to cover up with for sleeping and what’s the most practical way to carry it all?

Since we live right next to a river and a levee,  we’ve faced these questions in a very literal and practical sense already — it sort of makes it a bit easier.  But then, obviously, we’ve always come back home.   But what would we take if we weren’t coming back home?

What if you had to suddenly leave your home… what would you take?


Introducing

rosebulletMy blog journal…  the journey to bake the perfect cake.

I’ve been working on this other blog off and on — more off than on, obviously,  for quite some time.  My husband had secured the biz-name for me a couple of years ago.  And then the site — but I couldn’t figure out how to make the site work and I couldn’t figure out what to share and what not to share and I hadn’t taken enough photos along the way and my phone camera isn’t the greatest and on and on.

I originally thought the site would be a ‘wedding cake‘ site… but then I kept trying different types of cake recipes and so I decided that I would blog about the different ones I had tried.  But, alas, I didn’t write things down along the way and have forgotten pertinent things about different recipes I’d tried from The Cake Bible (Rose Beranbaum) and I didn’t take pictures of the cakes. And then there was that season… you know, the long down-time all spring and summer – and, so, you get the picture.

I now know why it was that I didn’t get things going — besides getting my life back in order — I had to find a reason to write — a reason to share.  So, it came to me — just like this blog is a blog of  things I’m passionate about, so the A Bella Cake blog must be and must contain what I’m passionate about!  I thought, Yes! That’s it: I will blog my journey to bake the perfect cake!

And so… though still wishing I had photographed and written notes about different cakes, I’ve just decided just to get going: right where I am today — with what I’ve got in my hand today — and I’ll just keep pressing on from here.

It did help that my husband set up my page for me and got me going recently.  And it helped totally motivate me even more when he sent me a package from Amazon to encourage me — and encourage me it did!!  I was so delighted when I opened up my very beautiful new book:  Rose’s Heavenly Cakes.

So every now and then I will write a bit in the cake journey blog ♥  which I hope you enjoy as much as I’m enjoying adding to it. ♥

pamelacakesig

The Trash Bin…

stbx.jpgEvery Thursday morning, like clockwork, our trash-man rolls down the lane to gather this week’s investment in a local landfill from our trash bin.

Every two months a billing for this service shows up in our mailbox.

Each week, as I shop for our groceries, I realize there are going to be additional costs to these groceries beyond the initial purchase price.  I’m going to have to pay to drive them home, pay to store them in the fridge, pay to store them in jars or whatever, pay to cook them, pay to wash the pots and pans, pay to wash the dishes on which the food is served, pay to store the leftovers, pay to reheat them, pay to rewash the pots, pay to rewash the dishes, pay to throw away the original packaging… so that the guy will have something to collect in the trash bin.

We have a trash bin in our kitchen… a double lined basket that we bought 27 years ago — a heavy reed basket my husband bought when he worked for World Concern.  I marvel that it looks to be in the same condition it did the first day he brought it home.  It’s served a very useful purpose — and it still looks good.  It’s held a lot of trash — hundreds of bags of trash per year – every year – for the last 27 years.  And it’s still strong.

As I considered this trash basket while I washed the lid, I thought of our lives being sort of like trash baskets… and the need for regular emptying, cleansing and relining.  Still strong.  Still serving.  Still useful.  Still dependable.  Still called to be available for whatever comes…

I thought of Nehemiah and the building of the wall… the rubbish in the way and the seeming relentless pursuit of the enemy to destroy the building of the wall.  But they built the wall because “the people had a mind to work.”  The opposition came in like a flood — fear might have enveloped the people but for this one thing: the power of the Lord.

As believers, we have a lot of people trying to destroy the work of our hands: the work the Lord has given us to do.  We must take seriously the commands of the LORD, to put on the whole armour of God, to stand, and having done all: to stand therefore… (Eph. 6).

In the face of opposition, faith in the Lord and in the power of His might enables us to carry on and do the work He’s called us to do.

quotebegin.gifGod had brought their counsel to nought,
that we returned all of us to the wall,
every one unto his work.

I have so much to share with you all… I pray for the grace, courage, discipline and wisdom to resume and continue blogging.  Like clock work.  The trash bin has been emptied.  Knowing opposition waits at the door.

pamelasig2.jpg

heard at our house today (HAOHT #62310)

♥  ‘melia told me she loved the beautiful ‘drangeas’ in the front.   I said,  O, ‘melia, it’s hydrangeas — further enunciating: HY-drangeas.   She said, O — no mama, not the high ones — the low ones — the drangeas.

♥  This morning ‘melia told Hannah that it would be 73 grees today.  I think she thinks the de in degrees is sort of an article of speech and not particular to the word degree.

♥  Reminds me of when she used to say, that’s a good dea, when commenting on a thought or idea someone else had — as if to think that *i*dea is only used when expressing an original thought or a personal opinion – thus, the *I*dea.

♥  I so wish I’d taken my own advice and had written down all the cute “ism’s” of each child.   Some “______-ism’s” have remained or have become part of our family vocabulary, but many most have been forgotten in  the sea of experiences once lived.  I know I thought at the time that I’d never possibly forget each cute word or comment different youngers said.  But I didn’t write everything down and I haven’t remembered all the things I thought I’d never forget and I didn’t take enough photographs of things, days, events that would have been perfect moments to capture.

♥  So, today’s welcome home is:

  1. write stuff down.
  2. take a photograph of today.
  3. record a child’s voice or play.
  4. record a prayer request, lay it before the Lord – just watch and see, it will not be unredeemed.
  5. smile.  you look so much prettier that way.