Want to be a REAL follower?

I've had a few people ask me how they can get emailed when a new entry has been added to the blog. I'll admit that I'm not the most tech savvy person around, but I did figure out how add a new gadget. Yeah me! Just look on the right side of the screen and sign up to get an email whenever something new is added. Sounds simple huh? Hope so.

Good luck.

How about once a week?

There are many thoughts and strategies about what makes a successful blog. EVERYONE seems to have an opinion! I suppose it comes down to what do I want my blog to be about. Good question. If I were to ask you "What would you want to see on my blog that would make you want to come back and read it again?" What would your answer be? Would you want there to be a 'question of the day' (something for you to think about)? Maybe a 'new recipe every Tuesday'? One of the newer blogs that I follow has 'Serious Wednesdays'. The author writes some really good stuff in the middle of the week. Maybe a 'funny Friday'? Everyone has a new joke or a funny story to share and Lord knows we can all use a good laugh now and then.

I'm gonna start getting creative and changing it up. Let me know your thoughts and ideas. I'd love to have you come along for the ride!

Does anyone read blogs?

I started writing a blog maybe a year or more ago. I enjoy sharing my thoughts, my insights, my take on life and all that it brings my way. I read on someone else's blog once that some people write because they want the feedback from the readers. That they are searching for approval. Yet it said other people write just for the joy of writing. I'm sure some people would love to say that they only write for themsleves and that it really doesn't matter what other people think, but could that REALLY be true? Good question. It would be great to think so, but I wonder how many people could really say that and be telling the truth.

I recently read on a blog that I've started following that dreams don't come with an age limit. It's never too late to go after your passions. Don't let others tell you what you should or shouldn't be doing. Don't let others convince you that you're wasting your time. In that sense it really doesn't matter what other people think. It's what you think that matters.

Do you love to cook or bake? If you do it for yourself because you enjoy it then it doesn't matter that you might not be a famous chef on the Food Network shows, it only matters that your kids' faces light up when you bake them that special birthday cake or that your co-workers really enjoyed your hors d'oeuvres at last year's Christmas party.

For me it's writing. Does anyone out there read the newsletter articles I write at my church or my blog entries? I don't know. I admit it would be nice, but if no one does I guess that's o.k. What it does mean is that I won't give up. There's no age limit for my dream. My birthday is in a few days and while I've had some articles published and I write on my blog I still haven't gotten a children's book published yet. But guess what? I'm not giving up. I enjoy writing these blog entries and articles and whatever else I feel inspired to write. Someday I will write the series of children's stories and maybe even illustrate them (or at least find a better artist than me and show them my ideas so they can improve them and make my characters come to life).

So stay tuned. Send me a comment sometime. Share my blog with a friend. Let me know what your dreams are, maybe we can all inspire each other.

What's new in your world?

It's been damp and rainy for a few days now. Enough already!

On a more positive note ... I got an email today from Bordine's (a local nursery) reminding me that Spring is just around the corner and the Shamrocks are blooming for next week. St. Patrick's Day is just a week away which always gets me in the psychological groove that warmer temperatures really will be coming sooner rather than later. There's also the fact that I am Irish and will be wearing my favorite shade of kelly green. I don't care much for the corned beef and cabbage, but the rest of it I am on board for.

I don't really have any inspirational or exciting things to share with anyone today, but felt like writing nonetheless. And that's o.k.

Life has been pretty busy as a whole lately. School orchestra festival & music lessons for my daughter, card playing with friends, meetings to attend, TO DO lists to tackle ... the list could go on and on. But today (in spite of the mass amounts of gray outside my window) I found myself thinking about spring and working in my garden. Also trying to think of how I could expand my flower garden this summer. We have a few spruce trees in the back corner of my back yard that I'd love to take down and replace with perennials, but I'm not gonna hold my breath for that one to happen. I wonder ... would my husband really chain himself to the trees to save them? Hmmm?

If the gray skies and remaining snow mounds are getting to you, just hang in there and know that this time next month we should be packing our winter coats away.

Signs of an early spring?

This chilly photo shows what my backyard looked like just about a week ago. While it's very beautiful and I was even able to capture the actual snow falling from the sky ... today it reached the mid 50's. I could be optimistic or even naive and think that spring is just around the next corner. Unfortunately the reality of it is that today was nothing more than a glimpse. A glimpse of things to come, but not yet here. Today is Thursday and by the weekend it will be back in the 30s, wet and chilly. But I will have the memory of today when I REFUSED to wear my winter coat and gloves ... it's a matter of principle after all. By tomorrow I will have my winter coat back on - probably for another 4 weeks or so. Some might react negatively and say that the last two days have been nothing more than a cruel tease. I'm more of a 'the glass is half full' kind of gal. I prefer to think that the warmer temperatures came at just the right time and helped to melt the ice dam over my front porch caused by the high roof lines and the foot of accumulated snow.

Sure it would be nice if spring were already here, but for now we will have to settle for the temporary reprieve of walking like penguins across the parking lots ... although you have to admit it is kind of humorous to watch.

I think this time of year when the snow piles are several feet high, putting salt down on your sidewalk has become part of the daily routine, and the fact that we're all tired of explaining to visitors why the snow on the side of the roads is dirty brown ... well it's just signs that we're nearing the end of another Michigan winter season and we're anxious and ready for spring to arrive. We're ready for the snow to melt and the grass to green up. But every season has its highs and lows. In the winter some of us will get cold and tired of the icy roads, in the spring someone undoubtedly will complain about all the pretty flowers causing their allergies to flair up, and in the summer someone will whine about their electric bill being too high from running their air conditioner. Notice I didn't mention autumn? That's because I can't imagine any one ever saying anything bad about it. The leaves on the trees will have so many vibrant colors that they'll look like an artist's canvas and no one will be able to complain that it's too hot or too cold outside.

There is a saying that says 'there's a reason for every season' and I suppose it's true. So while it's only the middle of February my advice to you is to just hang in there. Spring will be here soon enough, but never forget to enjoy today for what it is.

What are you thankful for?

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Gosh I don't know where the past year has gone. It's been a busy year. My husband and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary, our son is continuing in his graduate school studies, our daughter took driver's training and started high school, and I trained and participated in a 3 day breast cancer walk. Wow ... I guess I just answered my own question about 'where' the past year has gone.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving though which gives me a good reason to stop and pause. Not just to have a day off of work, another day to watch football and eat great turkey, or map out my Black Friday strategies, but a day to allow myself the freedom to stop and think about the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Dictionary.com defines 'thanksgiving' as 'the act of giving thanks'. It is easy to get so caught up in everything else that goes on in our daily lives (schedules, responsibilities, etc.) that we can forget to acknowledge all of the blessings that we have. I know I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a wonderful marriage, two amazing kids, a job, my health, a roof over my head to keep me dry and warm, great friends, and a God that loves me. I know I'm not perfect and I will never have all of the right answers, but that's o.k. Those are things I can work on (although I'll still never be perfect).

As the ever-growing commercialism seems to grow around us, let us all stop and remember that Thanksgiving isn't just about turkey and pumpkin pie. It's a time to be thankful. Blessings come in many shapes and sizes. Real blessings aren't the big flat screen TVs or the latest and greatest video game ... those are just 'things'. A true blessing is 'a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness'. It's the newly adopted baby boy by a wonderful family, the clean bill of health from your doctor, the voicemail that said 'you got the job'.

For me it's having both of my kids home for the holiday. It's the laughter and conversation that we'll have with extended family tomorrow. It's the memories that we'll reminisce about and the new memories that we'll make. The old traditions and the new ones. Don't get me wrong ... I'll still enjoy my brother-in-law's turkey tomorrow, especially since it's a tradition that I get to sneak the first taste before the platter is put on the table.

I wish all of you a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Jennifer

What's on your 'TO DO' list?

This week it was my turn in the rotation to give the devotion at our weekly staff meeting. So of course, I added ‘prepping my devotion’ to last week’s ‘TO DO’ list. Being the organized person that I am, I wanted to be sure to give myself enough time to read through a variety of devotions to see which one jumped out at me and seemed to be the perfect fit. I went to the church library and scanned the shelves a few times … such a variety to pick from. I finally decided to check out the book ‘Desktop Devotions for Working Women’ by Elsa Houtz. Each short chapter was a devotion that began with a scripture verse, a suggested list of a few items to ‘slow down & look at’, a worthy story, and ended with a prayer of how I might apply the lesson to my life. I don’t usually have a lot time to just sit down and read for pleasure because my self-imposed ‘TO DO’ list is so long. Apparently I have this problem that as long as I have something left on my list I have a difficult time allowing myself some free time. But because prepping my devotion was on my list, I read through most of the book over the weekend. How ironic … chapter 5 was titled ‘What’s a Woman to Do?’

It began with Luke 10:41-42 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Are you a list maker like me? After many, many years of working in offices I have learned that keeping a to-do list, both at work and at home, help me meet my deadlines and not forget things that I need to do. Sure, there are those usual things that I write on calendars (the one that I neatly hung on the side of my refrigerator) … things like birthdays, anniversaries, dentist appointments, vacation days, school concerts, etc. Then there are the grocery and errand lists that I can grab in a hurry so I can take care of them on my way home from work. There are my to-do lists at work (that’s right, I usually have more than one going at a time). I usually even go so far as to give myself a weekend to-do list. Fortunately I cut myself some slack and give myself ‘2’ whole days to get through that one.

We all have so much to do these days that I find it very easy to identify with the biblical Martha who, the bible tells us, became pretty stressed out about the fact that Jesus was coming to her house. I can only imagine that she had a to-do list a mile long. The Bible tells us she was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made” (Luke 10:40). In fact, she felt so pressured by all of her household tasks that she actually asked Jesus to intercede when she saw that her sister Mary wasn’t helping at all. Mary was just sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him. Jesus explained to Martha that Mary was doing exactly what she needed to do.

It can be easy to mistake busyness for godliness. We can feel that if we are wearing ourselves out trying to do many things for our friends and family because we love them, then we must be doing God’s will. We can feel that if we’re constantly working extra hours at work, showing how committed we are, we must be doing God’s will. It’s easy to convince ourselves that if we always say ‘yes’ to everyone when they ask, again we must be doing God’s will. But are we? I’m not so sure. Maybe we all have a little bit of Martha in us. Maybe we push Mary out of the way when she tries to slow us down. What do you think?

As long as I have my to-do lists I know I can’t just stop doing things. I have commitments and responsibilities - I’ll even go so far as to admit that I’m probably the one who put a lot of them in place. But if you are even a little like me, you may need to find a way to slow down and look at your to-do list. How much of it really needs to get done? Perhaps the one we should be pleasing is God. His to-do list is much simpler and not nearly as long.

Matthew 22: 37, 39
* Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
* Love your neighbor as yourself.

The Bible is full of inspirational and challenging to-do lists that could help us with our priorities … Deuteronomy 11:18-21, Psalm 15, and Romans 12:9-21.

Without adding it to a list, let’s try reading through some of God’s lists. Perhaps it will help us to gain some perspective about our priorities … about what is really important vs. what we let everyone tell us. I’m willing to give it a try. I know I could definitely do without as many distractions.