Happy Halloween

G will be Snow White & C will be Spiderman. I helped in G's class for her Fall Festival. I am in awe of her teacher. She is simply amazing with the kids. While I enjoyed myself for an hour, I don't think it will be a career choice for me at any point in time. I am just hoping that N will be home in time to take the kids trick or treating. Usually I hand out candy and he takes the kids trick or treating, but every year I wonder if he will make it home from work.

Neither N or I celebrated Halloween as kids, and I don't think it was out of any feelings of deprivation that convinced us to make changes for our families. On the other hand, we observed that this was one of the few times of the year that neighbors actually had community, and I always felt that not celebrating Halloween was completely misunderstood by others. In fact, I was more likely to be thought of as a member of a cult than as a Christian. So we decided that we would put an emphasis on celebrating community and having fun, and we would not celebrate fear or scare.

Pumpkin Carving

We carved two pumpkins last night. One had the bat signal on it and the other was a ballerina. I am still missing my camera, so there will be no pictures. I am praying that I will find it. So far, I have looked through all the toy bins, under beds, couches, and cushions. I have looked through every bag and coat. I can't think of anywhere else. I have even offered rewards and treats to the kids if they could find it. Last year, we lost our camera at a Fall Festival, and then bought a new one. This year, I put it down next to the couch, and it disappeared. I'm not sure we have the money to buy a new one. (BTW, I am still missing a bread knife that disappeared months ago.)

Today is G's picture day at school. She looked very cute in a pink and navy dress (of course).

After school, we will be picking up G's glasses. The frames on her glasses wouldn't hold the lenses, and finally the store agreed to replace the frames and lenses for no charge. We pick up the new glasses today. I hope that these will be better than her old ones. G has been without glasses for a week, and her school picture won't have the glasses in them, ah well.

It is finally been Fall here the last few days. I might actually have to turn on the heat. The trees are looking really pretty.

Needlework Doldrums

I have 5 projects in progress, and I have 2 projects that I want to start. When I get to this point, I need to finish something before I start something else. I can't really explain this need, but it is like I have too many open ends. That seems strange, but I just need to finish something & in this case, I need the needles from one of my unfinished projects in order to start the other project. I don't even know if I am making any sense. This is a really great 1st post. I'll just go back to my socks now.

New Craft Project for Kids Rooms

I just finished decorating the kids rooms with this project. All I did was buy a yard of fabric at Walmart. Then Suzanne and I cut out the characters. I dipped it in fabric starch and stuck it to the wall.

What do you think?

Sabbath Simplicity

After several of my friends recommended this book to me, I finally took the hint and started reading it yesterday. The book is called Breathe by Keri Wyatt Kent. She talks about Sabbath Simplicity, and reading the book is like breathing fresh air. I have read less than 50 pages, and it makes me want to put aside my to do list, all my worries, and just sit at the feet of Jesus.

The book is centered on the following scripture in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

The yoke mentioned in the verses historically meant a rabbi's interpretation of how to apply God's law, or how to live it out. She quotes Rob Bell, who I know some you know and love, and those of you who don't know Rob Bell, you can find his podcasts at Mars Hill Community Church. He really has a way of explaining things that I never could quite get. In this verse, Jesus is saying that his way of life is easy.

Sabbath Simplicity is a God-focused life rhythm of work and rest. It means to live your life the way that Jesus would, and not in some kind of cheesy WWJD (What would Jesus do?) way. Connecting with God begins with changing our focus and our pace. The first step is to slow down your life's pace so that you can be fully present, mindful, intentional, creating space & to notice where God is working and to join Him in that work.

Even if you don't believe in God or follow Jesus, I think we all miss something in life when we live with our focus on either the past or the future. Slowing down and being present would make this a much better world in our everyday workaday lives. The goal of life is NOT to do as much as I can as fast as I can. Sometimes I just need to hear that over and over, and take the time to appreciate my blessings and what is going right in the world. I know that there is a lot going wrong in the world, but not EVERYTHING is going wrong. While I don't want to live with my head in the sand, I do want to take the time to enjoy what I do have: my family, especially my husband, and my children.