For Beth....we really wish you had been here too!

(Kayla and me with dear Mr. Jerry and Mrs. Mary Jane....saints.)

(yes, Kayla is holding a cane....she is fine.....:)!)

It was a bit of a crazy day...my Uncle Dwight's face sums it up! (with his sweet wife Mrs. Yolanda)
But my cornbread dressing and creamed spinach were a hit, the fried turkey was yummy, there was plenty of family members to go around, and we got a good start getting things ready for our church's big celebrations on Sunday....so a good day.

Thankful...

So.....are you putting up your Christmas decorations this week? I'm not! Not sure when I would get that done in between cooking, cleaning, taking Mom to therapy (she's just started back....it's very needed but a very inconvenient time!), getting ready for our big church shiendig this weekend, etc., etc.!! But last year I put it up before Thanksgiving since we went out of town.....and frankly I got kinda sick of it all. So this year I'm waiting until all the company is gone before I jump into Christmas! I have started listening to Christmas music...calming and peaceful...loving it!

I want to be thankful.....to actually purpose in my spirit to maintain a thankful attitude. It has been pointed out in our church recently that a lack of a grateful spirit can be the source of pride and all sorts of other deceptions. (Romans 1) Truly honoring God....serving Him....is our "reasonable service" and then shapes our entire worldview. And it has become even more clear to me recently how those who rely on Self.....who try to convince themselves and others of how strong and "good" they are usually are the ones who carry around resentful, unthankful attitudes....polluting the lives of others. I am so aware of how weak.....how not good....I am in my own abilities. I am so thankful for the presence of Our Lord....who changes us, making us who we are created to be....who encourages us, strengthens us, and loves us. So, while I am waiting a little longer to begin celebrating His coming.....I believe that it is that coming that gives us reason for thankfulness and hope.
Wishing You All a Blessed Thanksgiving Week!

A Friday Fill-In:

1. The last concert I attended was a beautiful choral concert (local university).
2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving: this year....out of town family/every year....cornbread dressing & cranberries!
3. My Christmas shopping is going well....i'm loving amazon deals!
4. Thoughts of "hesitancy" fill my head.
5. I wish I could wear things tucked in more (too short and not skinny enough!:) and boots....seems extravagantly silly to do here since it's not that cold!
6. Bagpipes somehow amuse me.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to sleeping (been working hard cleaning!), tomorrow my plans include taking Mom and myself to see our sweet friend at the Salon, Thanksgiving food shopping, doing my church job, and more cleaning and Sunday, I want to rest and worship!

i saw this on another blog....kinda fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And....a quote about "hostessing" since it's just one of the things i'm stressing about:

• "To be a hostess I'm going to have to surrender my notions of Good Housekeeping domestic perfection. I will have to set down my pride and invite people over even if I haven't dusted. This is tough: My mother set a high standard. Her house (was) always immaculate, most especially if expecting company. But if I wait for immaculate, I will never have a guest.~~~~I don't find inviting people into my life much easier than inviting them into my (home). Often, just as I'd rather welcome guests into a cozy and cute (house) worthy of Southern Living, I'd rather show them a (Kimberly) who is perfect and put together and serene."
• Lauren Winner, mudhouse sabbath. (she terms true hospitality as one of the spiritual disciplines and a reflection of Trinitarian relationship....fabulous reading!)

Yep....not perfect....not a domestic goddess...not very often serene....but learning to be honest and OK with exactly who I am and opting out of the game of expectations...believing that relating and being real really is quite important in the end.

Completely Trivial...

Satsumas....a very good thing about Fall in Louisiana

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Bramble And The Rose

(Barbara Keith)

We have been so close together

Each a candle each a flame

All the dangers were outside us

And we knew them all by name

See how the bramble and the rose

Intertwine

Love grows like the bramble and the rose

Round each other we will twine

Now I've hurt you and it hurts me

Just to see what we can do

To ourselves and to each other

Without really meaning to

So put your arms around me

And we'll sing a true love song

And we'll learn to sing together

Sing and laugh the whole night long

I'd heard this song before and loved hearing it again this past weekend on Garrison Keillor. It's folksy....a beautiful melody and lyrics. (You can hear it here.) There....a completely trivial post!

Enough Already!!!

....you will say when you see this post! But here's the tricky thoughts I'm thinking tonight!

"What really matters....just what is valuable?"

• We could all probably make a list of what really matters to us....faith,family, friends would top mine. But sometimes it seems the greatest part of our time is spent on activities that actually can draw us away from our priorities. Or even if we're spending time on things that even may somehow tie into what matters most to us, is it with the correct focus...motivations?

• I have come the closest this week to an "anxiety attack" thinking of all the things that must be accomplished in the next month and a half. (Don't worry, it didn't happen....if my life thus far has not produced a breakdown, a little holiday stress won't manage to shake me up too much!:)

• But will any of these busy times really matter? Sure....doing stuff for church is important....but that can easily be affected by others' agendas and even my own need to impress. Sure...the typical holiday activities are important....but how much will they simply be about going through the motions....will I really worship and celebrate the Infant King? Will I honor and enjoy my family....or allow grumpiness to get in the way? Will I let "perfectionism" ruin it all? Will a need to be "busy" rob me of needed quiet times?

I am thinking that many of the things we spin our wheels doing may actually disconnect us from ourselves, our loved ones, our Lord. We could wake up after loads of busyness and find our minds weak and our hearts bankrupt.

• "Lord....Help me to honor you...in the ways I use my time....in the ways I interact with others...in the ways I allow you to help me grow."

OK...now it's back to working on that free snapfish book (sucked me right in) and checking on the baking carrot muffins. I promise that the next post will be completely trivial!!

Does it have to be equal?

Reciprocity....the quality of mutual dependence, action, or influence.

It's what I've been thinking about for awhile. Yes, a terribly overdoing it sort of mind activity....I probably could be better engaged in more "sunny" thoughts, but I have to be honest....these sorts of topics are what usually attract me. Life is fine (albeit overwhelming)....but even in the fine times I can get caught up in overthinking on the tricky stuff. These thoughts are sketchy...not necessarily completed, and I'd like to hear what you think! That said: I may rethink the wisdom in actually posting this post, and remove it at some point.:)

This issue settled on my mind after a conversation with a friend about an acquaintance who sometimes stumbles in reciprocity (in other words, we both felt that if any contact is made, we usually are the ones doing it.) And let's be honest.....don't we all feel that way at times? It can be frustrating....cause as much as we would like to think we are above that sort of thing, it's just a fact of human nature (i think) that to have relationships there has to be a somewhat equal basis of give and take. How else can we truly be invested in the life of another unless we show we value them by taking the time to maintain contact? And if it's not somewhat equal then it's not really a relationship....it's either charity or sentimentality.

So those are the "facts" as I see them.....but still:

Does it have to be equal? Do we have to play by the average social contract rules? Can't there be times when we continue to extend real friendship to a trusted kindred spirit even if we are emotionally getting little back in return? (i'm not talking about "reaching out" endeavors....that is ALL give even if there is NEVER anything given back!)

I can only speak personally here....it's all I know. There have been times when I have not had it in me to be much of a friend. (and sometimes that is still the case!) The journey can sometimes be too hard to do much else but attend to the necessities and try to some degree to do a little self-care. And the fact is that people can get tired of your tough times....and a cycle of isolation can be triggered. And that's not exclusive to me, for sure! Aren't those the very times (the times when I'm NOT able to be reciprocal!) that I need others to keep pouring on friendship? Isn't that what we ALL need? Isn't that what Jesus would do? For me, these are areas that need more growth. Grace is needed both in how demanding I am of myself and of how much I expect of others.

I know what it feels like for unreciprocated friendship to continue to enrich! (and I know what it feels like for it to falter.) I am thinking that we cannot necessarily insist on maintaining one-sided friendships...it's just not functional. But on the other hand....maybe we can ask the Lord to help us have eyes wide open with compassion and patience for those we might actually love the most who might need a little extra tolerance.

Like I said, these are very scattered thoughts (maybe too personal)....and there are many more avenues that could be taken...but it's what I'm feeling....and I hope I can take my own thoughts to heart.

~Patience~
(by Kay Ryan)

• Patience is
  wider than one
  once envisioned,
  with ribbons
  of rivers
  and distant
  ranges and
  tasks undertaken
  and finished
  with modest
  relish by
  natives in their
  native dress.
  Who would
  have guessed
  it possible
  that waiting
  is sustainable—
  a place with
  its own harvests.
  Or that in
  time's fullness
  the diamonds
  of patience
  couldn't be
  distinguished
  from the genuine
  in brilliance
  or hardness.

(Kay Ryan is the current Poet Laureate. I'm a little slow in hearing about her, but wow!)