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Last night it rained.
And that was a very, very good thing.
The past week, the pollen has been worse than I remember in years. EVERYthing has been completely coated in the yellow stuff. We even took pictures of our feet on Easter Sunday after walking through the grass barefoot. You know it's bad when the kids don't even want to stay outside.
This morning, we opened the door to let the dog out, and the sweet smell of spring came floating through the air. The rain had washed away almost all the pollen. The air smelled fresh and sweet, just the way a Spring morning should. I cracked the door open again and breathed in the fresh scent, and it lingered in the kitchen as I made the kids' lunches.
I was thinking this morning on the verse from 2 Corinthians 2:14 -- "But thanks be to God! He always leads us triumphantly by the Messiah and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of knowing him."
I also like the version in the New Living Translation, which says:
".... now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume."
For me, it's a great word picture. Do I spread the fragrance of Him? What is left lingering with someone when I leave? Do I leave the sweet perfume of the joy of Christ? Or am I leaving others coughing on the yellow pollen, polluting the air with gossip, negativity or complaints?
I want to be a breath of fresh air, to spread Christ like a sweet perfume. Thankfully, when I mess up, Christ comes like the rain and washes all the yuckiness away, so I can start fresh like a beautiful Spring day.
Today my daughter Emma will be going behind bars, and won't get out for the next few years. She went to school this morning fully prepared to enjoy her last day of freedom. Actually, she's been preparing herself for the past few weeks, doing all kinds of things that she'll miss out on because of those bars. Eating Starburst, sugar gum, laffy taffy, popcorn.....
The scary thing is that if I don't comply with the rules, I may find my own self behind some bars, too. It's a "pay up or else" kinda thing. Bail is thousands and thousands of dollars. I don't prefer orange suits, so I think I'll pay up.
Emma prefers rainbow colors, so that's what she'll choose. She thinks she'll change it up a bit depending on the holidays. I told her ok, as long as she doesn't choose something gross like black and orange for Halloween.
She keeps saying that she SO does not want this, but she knows she'll be SO glad after she's released. Who doesn't love freedom?
Yeesh, I see so many analogies here this morning, but I haven't had my 12th cup of coffee yet. So maybe all the ideas in my head about choosing hard things because of the reward that follows will have to wait for another day.
I need to go run and get some pudding cups from the store. And supplies for chicken n dumplins. And some Tylenol.
This afternoon, Emma will be the proud new wearer of braces, and I will be the despondant poor proud owner of an orthodontics bill.
Not sure who will be needing the Tylenol.......
Today, a nap is calling my name.
But Kristin, you ask. Isn't it only 8:30am right now?
Yes, ma'am. Yes it is.
How can you even think about a nap when you've only been up for an hour and a half? you wonder. Isn't that ridiculously lazy? Maybe you just need some more coffee.
WELL.
I understand your worries, really I do. And truth be told, not long ago I would have been embarassed to take a nap on a gorgeous sunny afternoon, let alone admit it to the world. There are dishes calling my name, sheets to be changed, clothes to be washed, and toys to be put away. And also today, a blood peeing dog that just had surgery yesterday and needs to watched.
But today, I proudly claim my nap.
Know why? I need it. I need my Gilgal.
GILGAL???
Yep. I read the first few chapters in Joshua last week, and was reminded of Gilgal, the place that Joshua set twelve stones after God parted the Jordan river for the Isrealites to cross over towards the Promised Land.
It was where the arc of the covenant returned to each day, after the men compassed the city of Jericho during it's seige. It was where celebrations took place. It was a place of rest.
God had a plan for his people, and there was work to be done. There was a Promised Land just waiting to be claimed. But He knew that in the midst of the work, there needed to be a place to rest and be refreshed. It was Gilgal.
Each day, we have work to do, too. Today, the Promised Land is God's plan for me - His best for me. There's work to do, but I also need the rest. A lot has been going on, and I'm just plain tired. Looking ahead this week, I know that today is the one day that I have a chance to slow down and rest. So I am CLAIMING my Gilgal nap today!
I don't know what you'll be doing this afternoon, but I hope it's something great. Do you have a Gilgal? A time of rest? Is it hard for you to stop and take time to be refreshed?
Well spring is springing and I for one am feeling slightly refreshed.
I took the winter wreaths off the doors today, as my way of telling Old Man Winter that he's no longer welcome in these here parts.
I may get even more bold and pack all the gloves and scarves away in the attic. Not sure how much I feel like tempting fate today.
It's been quite the start to the new year here at the Tea Time house. Not much that's been happening directly to me, but lots of big stuff that's been hard, and quite frankly, a huge weight on our shoulders the past two months. I've enjoyed reading other's blogs the past few weeks, and have even attempted to sit and write a few times. It seemed, at the time, a hill too huge to climb. When 2 million thoughts are swirling around in your head, how do you pick just a few? So I've been quiet, thinking on all that's going on, thinking about the past, and dwelling on the present.
And today I decided that if God can take the dreary, cold land and replenish it with sunshine, and the hope of Spring, then surely He is ready for me to move forward as well.
Yesterday we spent the day playing outside in the sunshine, and boy did it do a world of good for us all. Then my girls and I talked about all the things we LOVE about warm weather, and summer. It made me so excited, I can hardly wait for summer!
Right now, there's the hope of Spring. Each day, I can see it, hear it, smell it, feel it a little bit more. God is doing something new, I know it! He makes a way in the desert, and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19) We may be drowning in unplanned expenses, have family members in crisis, seriously ill relatives, sick pets, and everything else. But He keeps giving grace each day. So while I live in the present, I will choose to keep looking forward. Not behind, not to the right of left. He is doing a new thing - Spring is coming!
So it's going to storm here starting tomorrow night.
I mean, a REAL storm. Ice, sleet, and S-N-O-W. REAL snow, supposedly. Not the 14 minutes of flurries that make our schools shut down early.
(If you are a Northerner, I'm sure the thought of schools closing because of a few minutes of flurries has you laughing so hard that you're about to pee your pants.....)
ANYhoo. Everyone and their dog has already been to the store to stock up on essentials. You know, MILK and BREAD? I heard that by early afternoon today, the grocery stores were wiped out, and there was no milk or bread to be had.
So I made a strategy of my own. I'm waiting until tomorrow morning, when they've gotten new shipments of bread in. And then, I will casually waltz in, and buy every last loaf of sandwich bread on those shelves. I will take those loaves home, and list them on Craigslist for $8 per loaf. And then I will go shopping with all the money that I made off of the crazy fools who bought all the bread.
Because apparantly, North Carolinians eat toast and sandwiches the entire time they are snowed in during a storm. It's the only logical explanation. Why else, upon hearing that you may be stuck indoors for the next few days, would one's first reaction be, "I MUST go get bread!"
Is there no chili, no stew, no roast to be found in these homes? No chicken 'n dumplins to be had? Who would eat sandwich bread with chicken 'n dumplins anyways? That's what biscuits are for, my friends. THAT is what biscuits are for.
And the milk? Is there no orange juice in their homes? No Coke? No tea? No Peppermint Schnapps to dump into the hot cocoa??
Do YOU run our for bread and milk before bad weather? If so, please explain. And, enjoy your sandwiches. I'll be thinking of you with a smile as I lick the last of my stew.
...My MAKEUP Bag, that is!
It's What's In Your Makeup Bag? week at Chic Critique!
I revealed all today with pics of everything in my cosmetics bag. So come on over and visit. Leave me some comments. And let me know what's in YOUR makeup bag!
Another day of crummy weather here in NC. Oh, how I loved the past few days of 65 degree gloriousness!
For the most part, though, the weather has been terrible! Cold, cold, and more cold.
Am I the only one whose cooking revolves around the weather? I mean, if nonstop 32 degree weather doesn't call for comfort food, then I don't know what does. I've made chicken-fried chicken and cream gravy, biscuits, bacon, chicken parm, soup, bacon, roasts, breads, bacon, stew, roasted chicken, bacon, and most any other comfort food you can think of. I'm kinda getting sick and tired of food. And I don't think my jeans think all the comfort food is all that comfortable. Who knew bacon could make the waist in my jeans tighter??
Sitting on the back deck, sipping a glass of something yummy, smelling all kinds of vegetable deliciousness on the grill..... sounds good to me. Springtime, you can't come soon enough.
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