Others’ Expectations
My healing started when I quit living in fear and started honoring the long forgotten little girl in me, the one God knew intimately and created for His purpose.
Impatient Gardener
One of my sisters sent me a quote about the patience gardeners must have from a book she is reading. I chuckled in amusement because I’m definitely not patient this time of year. I can’t wait to plant all those seeds I ordered from exotic catalogues. I meticulously examine my garden each morning waiting to see which bulbs have multiplied or which perennials didn’t make it.
Circuit Training
Peace is the harvest of an honest life. Getting there requires examining oneself while acting on each subsequent self-evaluation with enlightenment. Obviously, it takes discipline to live this way. At the time, it can be excruciatingly painful, but if I follow through the stations of vulnerability, to epiphany, to service, I become trained by the process, and enjoy the resulting privileged benefits of reaping the peaceful harvest of an honest life.
Spiced Tea
It has been cold, I mean really cold in Texas this month, down in the twenties, perfect weather for a cup of tea.
Refreshment for the Weary
One of my favorite things we did as a family growing up in Lebanon was go on picnics. My parents weren’t into spending money on going out to eat, or the movies, but they sure could entertain with scrumptious picnic food and picturesque rest stops. Daddy loved to drive up and down the Lebanon mountain ranges discovering hidden archaeological ruins in obscure villages.
Mold Me and Make Me, Sugar Cookies
I’ve taught my grandchildren to bake before they could even reach the counter by them just pulling up a stool, donning an apron, and going at it! I do have a method to this madness though. First, we take out all the ingredients from the pantry, talk about the job of each component, measure carefully, and step by step follow the recipe. On this Valentine’s Day, the recipe is tea cakes, or old-fashioned sugar cookies passed down from my husband’s grandmother.
Listen, Watch, and Choose
Look how broccoli flourishes in the dead of winter in Texas! It’s its time and season to do so. I know it sounds silly, but today, I’m grateful for broccoli!
Apple Pie
February is the month for baking extra special Valentine’s desserts. My mom used to quip that the quickest way to a person’s heart is through his/her stomach. This saying isn’t romantic or poetic, but Oh so true! My mom was exemplary in her gift of hospitality. We never knew who was going to be at our table for mealtime. Drop-ins were not unusual, but the norm. One particular dish she was known for was her apple pie; so much so that I cross stitched a pillow for her commemorating and lauding her celebrity chef status as the best apple pie baker!
What’s in a Name?
February is the shortest month of the year, but because of it being in the middle of winter, it tends to be dark and moody. We ache for someone, something, to call our name and jar us out of the gloominess. Sometimes we need to be called out of our dreariness and startled into the promise of tomorrow.
Mulch, a Warm Blanket
One of my favorite things to do in February is to snuggle up in a warm blanket with my back to the sun on a cloudless cold day and read a book, or write in my spirals. I’ll move my chair around to make sure I get as much warmth as possible as the sun arches across my back porch. All is cozy until the infamous Northers blow and I am startled out of my revery and clamor to seek some kind of barrier from the biting wind.