Let's talk turkey, shall we?

So Thanksgiving is just a little over a week away and we are typically in a last minute frenzy over here prepping to host our family Thanksgiving dinner - but not this year!! 

 This was from a few years ago, before we knocked that wall down behind Bill and removed that tacky plastic, printed paneling!

While the battle blazes on for the case of Christmas prep before Thanksgiving, we have our own battle here on the home front.  It's not a deadly battle, thank God, or even one to merit a meme, but it is a battle none-the-less.

Here are some whimsical and fun little turkeys that are heading south for the holiday!

You see for years and years, my husband, children and I have hosted our Family Thanksgiving dinner.  We've enjoyed preparing all of the food, a large turkey, sometimes two, cutting, boiling and mashing the potatoes, providing veggies from our garden, warm rolls and cornbread, homemade pie crusts and pies, and of course plenty of cookies.  While Bill would man the kitchen and handle all food planning and prep (with the help of little hands), I was in charge of cookies and table setting!.  On the day of, my job was to keep everyone out of the kitchen and make the place look pretty. Check!!  I've got this!! In fact, I would look for new ways to set the table each year.  We didn't have tons of room on the table for centerpieces and whatnot, but I did what I could to provide a different atmosphere year after year.

 our "kids" table one year

This year will look a little different for us and the rest of the family.  While we have experienced some change in the past few years, with families growing and doing their own thing and watching loved ones pass into eternity, we are familiar with change and the fact that nothing stays the same.  But sometimes, whether you choose the change or not, it's hard to let go of what once used to be.

If you don't already know this about me, I change around rooms like it's going out of style!!  This room is now our office but then was our dining room.

God has been teaching me how to be brave over the past five years or so.  Especially so over the last three years, I have heard His nudging and calling to let go and let Him navigate and orchestrate.  So with anticipation we've decided to take a break from what used to be, and my hubby and I are embracing change and taking a trip to Alabama!!  The kids are not happy at all about us leaving them on Thanksgiving and I'll admit, it feels a wee bit selfish.  But we feel that it's something that we have to do and that week just made sense for a number of reasons.

We always filled up on appetizers right before the meal was served.  What were we thinking?

So I guess the point of my post really is this......This is our first Thanksgiving without our children, our parents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  We'll be in a different state, where we have some contacts but no one that we "know" or "knows" us.  What do we do?  Turkey sandwiches from WaWa?  Wait, they don't have WaWa there.  Could we find a restaurant that isn't already booked up?  Should we make a mini Thanksgiving meal in our hotel suite?  I don't know.

 Bill makes a mean Pumpkin Pie!! 

We would love to experience a true Southern Thanksgiving.....but where do we start?  Alabama friends, what are your typical Thanksgiving dishes??  What should we know about Thanksgiving in the South?  What are your traditions?  We'd love to know!!

Can't wait to see Alabama and the sweet people there!!!  God bless, Lorraine

My Backwards Bucket List - December

Hey friends, remember at the end of last summer I shared my backwards bucket list here and here??  Well I'd thought I'd share my December with you in that same format!!  Like I've said before, I would much rather look at what I have accomplished instead of list that's not been accomplished....this seems to work for me!!

 Ready?  Okay....here we go!!

1.  Rest....yep, among, perhaps the CRAZIEST time of the year, we found plenty of time to rest!!

We watched Christmas movies and enjoyed laid back dinners on the couch!!  We've even continued that into January!

2.  Family Night Out - Thanks to some generous, anonymous gifters, we were able to go the movies and have tickets for the six of us AND refreshments covered by Regal Cinema gift cards!!  We don't go out on the town very often at all, because, well, six people equals a costly evening!!  It was fun getting ready knowing that I was going out for a fun night!  We saw "The Hobbit", which was very good, even though I'm not a fan of the dark side of good vs. evil.  We also had our very first experience with YoGo!!!  It was yummy!!

3.  Putting my word of the year into action!! On December 31st I started a ridiculous project of literally simplifying my home!!  We took down Christmas decor' and I thought it appropriate to tackle the attic before putting Christmas items back up there!  It went on from there and we've tackled everything from cabinets to bedrooms and the detached garage attic!!!  We will be selling our stuff at a yard sale coming very soon....I cannot wait!!!

4.  My first real cookie order!!  My Pastor and his wife asked us to make sugar cookies for their oldest sons' engagement party!!  I was freaking out!! We make these for ourselves or holidays all of time and we've done them for fundraisers, but this time there was a little bit more pressure!!  I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out!

 

5.  Christmas & Programs-Our chidren's choir worked very hard on about 5 songs that they shared at three sunday services and at the Children's Christmas Eve Flashlight Service!  My hubbs and I also participated in the childrens Christmas Eve service; we played a spoof on Hollywood Squares.  My hubbs was a contestant and I was one of the nine squares!!  It was a blast!  Now that my oldest lives elsewhere, him "coming home" for Christmas is always a highlight <3

my girl all the way on the left 

 younget and oldest (8 & 21)

 My five heartbeats playing games together...a gift on so many levels <3

 

6.  Disney Movie Night- as per Jessica and her Senior Class Trip, they have been doing a montly disney movie night....December?  Santa Claus 1 & 2, Christmas cookie snacks and a fun photo shoot!! 

 

7.  Outreach-the month wouldn't have been complete without opportunities to get outside of ourselves!  We had new friends over for dinner, I was invited to have lunch with some sweet girlfriends that I haven't seen in way.too.long, I was asked to decorate for the Ladies Tea that our church staff puts on for some of the women in our congregation and we held our first big student leadership training & service weekend.  We hit the streets of two local cities with hot coffee, donuts and hats/scarves/gloves for those in need that we encountered.  All of these opportunities were a wonderful way to be the hands and feet of Jesus <3 

 

8. Chalkboard Art - I had moved things around enough to pull my chalkboard out of the garage and find a home for her!!  I've had alot fun with this and love the inspiration that I find on-line!

 

9. Christmas Shopping-thanks to friends!  Our wallet is very, very, very tight and we had come to terms with the fact that we just couldn't swing Christmas gifts at all this year!  I can hear some of you gasp!! lol  I know, the horror!!!  Thanks be to God that He moved some friends of ours to give a generous gift to us so that we could buy our children a few gifts.  It really made Christmas so much more special and meaningful and these were small tokens of our thanks and appreciation to these families <3

10. Seeking the Light -something that I always do!!  He is always present and where there is Light, there can't be darkness....that is my focus!!

11. Date Night-an unexpected opportunity to have a small night out with the hubbs <3

12. Face Mask Fun -we decided to try a recipe from Pinterest!!  Boy was that fun!!

13. Teaching Opportunities-teaching Senior High Sunday School has become a highlight!!

14. Family Walks-they started out as family walks but quickly ended up to be just the two of us!!

15. Don't/Did shave december-hubbs wen all through November and most of December before shaving...he had such a blast shaving it off, I'm sad that I can't share the pictures!!

16. The end of soccer season-Our boys had one make-up game that took us to the first weekend of December!!  They ended up in second place for their division!!  It was a great season and we are so proud of our boys and the team - they have grown tremendously in one season!!

17.  Hot Cocoa Station-it was so much fun to see all of the different cocoa stations out there in blog world!!  Each one is so unique to its creator...what a fun thing to have for the winter months!!

19. Advent-for years I have wanted an advent calendar, something to count up to the weeks of Jesus' birth and every year I go without!  This year I made my own unconventional advent candle"wreath" using a wooden box and candles.  I also had the opportunity to make a calendar or countdown, with empty match boxes.  I strung them up in an empty frame and each night that we were home for dinner we would have a reading from that days box and take part in the family activity included on the paper.  We did anything from performing a random act of kindness (leaving gingerbread men in our mailbox for our mail lady) to heading outdoors to play flashlight tag!!  It was a blast and a beautiful way to worship our Creator!!

20.  Baking-another aspect of the holiday season that we didn't plan on participating in was baking Christmas cookies, sad, but true.  We are learning to accept these things and God is blessing us for our willingness to say "yes, okay Lord, take it".  A dear, sweet, precious friend of mine, Denise, wouldn't hear of us having a Christmas without cookies, so she provided a way for us!  We went nuts baking!!  We were in the kitchen for three or four days straight!!  We were all so very thankful for Denise's kindness and gift!!

 

 

So there you have it!!  My backwards bucket list!!  It's amazing to see just how many things we can pack into 30/31 days!!!  God's goodness is everywhere - you just have to slow down enough to see it!!  What were some of the highlights of your December?  I'd love to hear about them!!

 

 

God Bless <3 Lorraine

 

The battle

"The enemy pursues me, he crushes me to the ground; he makes me dwell in the darkness like those long dead."  -Psalm 143:3

Beautiful thought to start the day off with, right??  Ha!  Tell me about it!!  I woke up this morning and happened upon a moment that I "thought" was a gift from God.....then, without warning, the enemy raced onto the scene and led an attack that I was not expecting and was not ready for....at all!

My beautiful moment of thanksgiving was rudely interrupted and it's taken me hours to recover, I'm still standing on shakey legs.  I guess the thing that I'm trying to convey here this morning, friends, is that there is one who seeks to kill, destroy and devour.  He will do it at whatever the costs, because for him, there is nothing to lose and the greater the cost on our end, the more victorious the battle is for him.  No, the enemy isn't your husband, or boyfriend, or bestfriend.  It's not your mother or your father or even your children.  It's Satan.  Now, I know that we don't care to use the "s" word, or to talk about him for fear of giving him more power than he deserves (which, by the way, is NONE).  But I think that we are foolish Christians for ignoring the adversary.  If we do not talk about his schemes and plans than we are walking unarmed into a horrendous battle.

So here's how the attack went......and I think it's safe to say, that this is his typical M.O.

1.  I was unsuspecting......1 Peter 5:8 says "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."  This tells me that the enemy is ALWAYS on guard....looking for opportunities and we must be on guard and ready!!

2. He hit me where it hurts.......don't be fooled in thinking that satan doesn't know you intimately.  He does.  In this attack, he worked through my children.  Knowing that I am working on teaching my children to love and serve others, he went for the soft spot and highlighted an area where they clearly were not following their teachings, not in just one instance, but in several, one after the other.....that leads perfectly to number three

3. He took over my words.  Instead of responding in the Grace the God offers, I spewed out some nastiness, used words that I wished I hadn't and gave him permission to ruin my entire day!  I "reacted" instead of "responding".  When we react, we just jump off the cuff and let it roll.  When we respond instead, we have taken the appropriate amount of time to process what happened and we choose our words and course of action wisely.  I should have calmly and lovingly addressed the issue and proceded to guide them to the foot of the cross. (yes, that is completely possible)

4.  He took over my thoughts.  I immediately gave him permission to ruin my day, like I said above.  I believe that I even claimed several times that "Now I'm pissed off and everyone is going to have a horrible day!!"  Yikes!!!  I may as well have put on the devil suit and paraded around the house with my pitchfork!!  I also allowed myself to get distracted by nonsense instead of doing my morning devo's (which is the second day that I've missed - boo), I started feeling like we are a housefull of hypocrites (which is true) but I was beating myself up and feeling foolish!  I held onto the anger and the shame and I was ready to make everyone pay for it!!!  Man, that's ugly.

But that's not the end of it!!!  From almost the second that it started, I could feel God's hand and words in my heart and mouth.  I knew the choice that I had to make and I could literally feel the battle rage inside of me.  I was offered His grace time and time again, and I feel like each time it was offered, I was one step closer to taking it.  Turning around on a wrong path that we've started down is not easy.  There are a whole lot of nasty arrows that are flying our way, especially when we decide to turn around.  Fear, failure, embarrassment, weakness, etc.  We have to learn and trust that His ways are better.  That the power that we give the enemy only exists if we allow it to.  The very moment that we throw down our weapons and raise the white flag - God comes rushing in with all of His goodness and mercy and forgiveness.  He scoops us up and cleans up the mess!  We don't really even have to clean up the mess!

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace."
Acts 20:24

I believe that it all started around 8:00 this morning.  It's now 11:00, I've been in battle for just about 2 and a half hours.  He did wreak havoc on our morning, we recovered a bit and have moved forward.  Forgiveness was offered and I'm hoping and praying that it was accepted on all accounts.  I'm thinking that next time I won't resist "The Way" as long as I did this morning....and there will be a next time, trust me.

So, I leave you with this:

Ephesians 6:10-18

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

God bless <3 Lorraine

Giving Thanks.....warning....photo heavy

It seems like I just got out my fall decor and prepared myself for Thanksgiving and now Christmas is thrust upon us!  I'm not sure that I'm okay with that, but I suppose that just doesn't quite matter - Christmas is coming, rather quickly, whether we're ready or not!! 

So before I jump into Christmas blogs, here are a few things that I've been thankful for over the past few weeks:

Cute colored mugs to tote along to chilly soccer games &

the soccer games themselves....Joe, Jaysen & Julia have played great games and it's been a wonderful season!!

Country roads and fall foliage!  I can't take enough pictures of the landscape of fall....nature is a beautiful canvas!

Studying His word daily.  Something that I've struggled with over the years and have finally overcome!  Spending quiet time with Him every morning is a gift not a chore!

His morning light, fresh and new every day, like His mercies!  His faithful gift to me!

Service!  Pulling together clothing to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy!  Our youth group FILLED the back of our Suburban with bags of clothing!!!

This girl.....not so little anymore!!  Watching her grow and learn each and every day!!

Firsts.....her first roller skating party, first time on skates!!  She loved it!!

Bold new haircuts & my momma!!!  Thankful that she is still willing, after all these years, to cut my hair!!

Warm, cozy fires, cuddled on the couch with my people, feeling very full and blessed!!

Working together, as a team!!  Hosting the holiday meals gives us a chance to shine....we all pull together and take part in every aspect of preparation!

Gorgeous flowers still growing at the end of November!  A true gift!!

Pumpkin Pie!  Nuff said!

A place to gather.....friends, loved ones, memories

Warm slippers, winter jammies, hot chocolate, ending the day with the people that I love the most

Never ending Uno & the fact that I was not playing :)

Youth Ministry!!  So thankful for the opportunity to work with our youth!  This group is part of our student leadership team - having the chance to walk along side them and help them discover who God calls them to be is such an honor!

Serving with the youth!  Saturday evening we went across the bridge into Delaware and served at The Sunday Breakfast Mission.  They offer a ton of resources to the needy, including free meals.

 

Being connected across the miles <3 

And the chance to sing praises and prepare for the celebration of His birth! One week until the offical start of Advent! 

 

So, friends, what are you thankful for?  How do you mark the days until the day of His birth?  Come grab a seat and tell me about it!!  I'd love to hear from you!!

 

God bless,

Lorraine

 

 

Happy Birthday Jessica!!!

I could go on and on about all of the wonderful qualities that you have, how you bless your family each and every day, how amazed we are at what God is doing in and through you - in fact, I mention those things quite often....so I'll spare everyone the Hallmark commercial and just say;

 

You hate to be hugged, though you will give a hug if the moment is right.

 

You don't only wear shirts that say "Mission" you actually go on mission trips, each and every day as you serve your family and friends and ultimately God.

 

You have an amazing mother!! 

 Oh sorry.....I mean we have an amazing friendship that I cherish deeply.

 

 

You know how to be goofy, typically whenever Shelby is around!!

 

You know when to be quiet and serious

 

and you certainly know how to fun!!!

 

 

I know that God is going to bless you and do great things through you!!  I am honored to have a front row seat!!  I love you so much!!!!

 

Happy Birthday!!!!

 

<3 mom