Warm Wednesday Words: Friendship: A Divine Work

Friends warm hearts, evoke smiles, and build up souls.  I’ve recently enjoyed some particularly warm words and sweet times with friends.  It feels like an emotional sun bath after a spell of rainy weather.  Though there may be many in the bigger tent of acquaintance type friendships, I am referring to sweet and personal friendship; i.e. the kind that endears and fills the “love tank”.  At the inception of friendship is some kind of commonality, random though it may be, and the time it takes to discover it.

Then when two or more hearts make this discovery, words are spoken that settle into a heart, find their place, and no matter what fractures may come, the healthy heart will hold onto the good, and ascribe the most positive motives possible to friendship blunders.

When the blunders occur, and they will in all of us called human, there may be a time to question or confront.  As with any other conversation between friends, it is personal, and a preference of private, rather then public should be assumed.

Humility, smiles, hugs, (and maybe even chocolate and coffee) are great accompaniments to any such planned conversation, or a good idea for a follow up, which is an important cusp to transition from possible tension to sweet rejuvenation.

This gregarious and humble camaraderie deepens the roots of a friendship, and harmony and amicability are all but pulsing in each tete-a-tete.  Both heartaches and victories are shared with lavish empathy.  Here we feel freedom to breath, to speak, to be oneself just as we have in our friendship with our Lord, Jesus.  (Acts 17:28) Here, pretext melts and love, empathy, and yes, definitely laughter reign and are freely reciprocated.

The old saying holds some truth, “Make new friends, but keep the old.  One is silver and the other gold.”   And, “When we do the hard intimate work of friendship, we bring a little more of the divine into daily life.”  Do you have friends with whom you feel safely tucked in love and forbearance?  Can you laugh at yourselves as well as weather a rebuke?  If so, treasure these friends as a divine gift.  The hard work of friendship has a divine calling on it straight from the scriptures.  Are you willing?

Warm Wednesday Words: For the Love of Naps!

I love a good nap.  There are several kinds of naps, beginning at a few seconds, a couple minutes, twenty minutes, and my favorite…the lazy nap, which is nearly an hour or more.  The lazy nap is the only one that gets one into the REM sleep, which is the most purifying and restorative sleep.   If I can’t make it to the REM stage before household noise prevails, then I easily wake and am frustrated and groggy; not refreshed and energized!   My children can attest to my attempts at naps when they were young and I desperately needed a little extra shut eye.  They remember well the verbal threats of near “torture” if they could not be quiet for one measly hour.  On such occasions their giggles and sometimes mini wars usually began about the time I would lay down and the noise would increase at a steady crescendo until I would give up and perhaps try coffee instead.

I admire the folks able to micro nap and hope to acquire that skill someday.  It could really come in handy for those days when just a few seconds of stolen sleep could make all the difference.  My dad was well known for taking all sorts of naps in all sorts of places, even occasionally public places!

But meantime, I’m resigned to try to speed up the onslaught of REM sleep sooner then average when attempting to engage in a “legal” nap in my own noisy home.  My favorite day of the week for this luxury is Sunday, usually no sooner then 2:30 p.m., since we often have casual lunch company after church.  Then, with dishes cleaned up, and everyone about their own hobby or nap, off I go to a cozy pile of pillows on a bed with one special pillow to cover my head and muffle noises.  Sunday afternoon naps and quiet times date back to my childhood, where we often read books, snacked on bananas or cookies and sometimes fell asleep, even before the age of real nap appreciation had set in.

Other nap deterrents is accidentally ending up with our cat or one or both of the Bostons in the room with me.  These furry companions can be quite cozy when they want to be, but they have many clever ways of ruining a perfect nap for me.   First their route to the doggy door, which is in the master bedroom, becomes like a rush hour thoroughfare, with the Bostons suddenly needing to bark to protect me from every bird tweet or leaf blowing.  When they feel they’ve got all the scarey things outside the french doors under control they scratch on the side of the bed to be lifted back up (never mind that if they wanted to they could jump it easily).  I reluctantly lift them up, and they turn circles and finally settle down just upwind of my nose.  At this point, they begin to relax and so does their intestinal stress!

At some point during the Boston fiasco, the geriatric cat has decided she needs to scratch her head on the pillow that I have over my own head.  This is not a gentle scratch.  I think she believes she has antlers that need the velvet removed and my pillow is the perfect tree.  After I shove her away, she instead decides she would like to sleep on my arm and quite determinedly settles down to nap nose-to-one inch from my nose with whiskers supplying the final ticklish touch.

This is usually about the time that the phone rings and if I forgot to bring it back with me to the bedroom, I practice my 50 yard dash from the tangled zoo on my bed, open the door, dash around the corner to the end table at the far end of the couch where usually sit one or more oblivious teenagers engrossed in their laptops or other gizmos.

Coming from the recliner at the other end of the living room sounds like the rhythmic noise of a freight train, but is actually the snores of my husband, who is deep in REM.  Meantime the Bostons have followed me out and cozy up on the recliner with him.

I make a beeline back to the bedroom shutting myself in without one live, breathing creature other then myself.   Ahh…zzzz

Finally, in no time, I sink into a deep sleep.  I hear tell there is often the sound of a second freight train, but I don’t believe it.  Sometime later I wake up.  Is it minutes, hours or days?  Where am I?  What am I supposed to be doing?  What day is this?  I momentarily think Rip Van Winkle has nothing on me.  I look out the french doors and let my brain cells gather data for a few seconds.  I’m still not sure about anything, but head out to see the clock and the coffee pot.  Now that, at last, is a perfect Sunday nap!  According to Wikipedia, “Napping was found to be both physiologically and psychologically beneficial. Napping for 20 minutes can help refresh the mind, improve overall alertness, boost mood and increase productivity. Napping may benefit the heart. In a six-year study of Greek adults, researchers found that men who took naps at least three times a week had a 37 percent lower risk of heart-related death.”  What is your best method of rest and rejuvenation?  Have you nailed down a regular method?  Did you know March 10 is National Napping Day?

 

Warm Wednesday Words: Fresh Starts and a Grateful Heart

Fresh morning starts for me involve breakfast and coffee with Tony, cool morning air (preferably sitting on the “chicken yard bench”,  a scripture promise to focus on throughout the day, some worship time with music and a grateful heart.

God really is greater then all my concerns and as a friend texted me this week…”Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—”(Eph. 3:20).  There is so much in that one verse!  Yes, He is able.  He can do so much above and beyond what I even ask or think!  Last is the catch, if there is one.  It works according to the power that works in us, which hinges on our belief and trust in Him.  This morning I am again thankful for fresh starts to to humble myself before Him and let His power be at work in me. 

As our pastor said in another great message Sunday, we have to make a choice who we will be like, the prideful Pharisee who was consumed with a judgmental, critical spirit, or the humble woman known as a sinner, who could not stop her tears of gratefulness for her Savior.  (Luke 7:36-50) “Though the Lord is exalted, He takes note of the humble; but He knows the haughty from a distance.”  Ps. 138:6 HCSB

“Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning great is Your faithfulness! I say: The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him.”  Lamentations 3:22-24

Warm Wednesday Words: Who Inspires You?

I love being inspired by others.  Here is the definition of “inspired” from the “thefreedictionary.com”:

v.tr.

1. To affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence.

2. To fill with enlivening or exalting emotion: hymns that inspire the congregation; an artist who was inspired by Impressionism.

3.

a. To stimulate to action; motivate: a sales force that was inspired by the prospect of a bonus.

b. To affect or touch: The falling leaves inspired her with sadness.

4. To draw forth; elicit or arouse: a teacher who inspired admiration and respect.

5. To be the cause or source of; bring about: an invention that inspired many imitations.

6. To draw in (air) by inhaling.

7. Archaic

a. To breathe on.

b. To breathe life into.

v.intr.

1. To stimulate energies, ideals, or reverence: a leader who inspires by example.

2. To inhale.

First, I am inspired by my God, who rescued me from sin and is always at work in my life and that of my family.   I am inspired from His inerrant Word and from the words of spiritual leaders and friends He has placed around me in the local church and elsewhere, including our pastor and some amazingly supportive women in the (in)courage online groups.   I also am inspired by the Lifeway Sunday School literature commentators and many great authors and bloggers including C.S. Lewis, Jack Graham, James MacDonald, Stormie O’Martian, Beth Moore, Ann Voskamp and Holley Gerth.

 

I am inspired by my devoted and faithful husband who works with grit, determination and tenacity.  He does his best to walk in Godly wisdom and high principles in our family and marriage.   He is a behind the scenes kind of guy, whose influence is not lost on those who are discerning.  When I look back over the years, I am amazed at all the frightening stresses God has helped us through to land us in the place we are now, which is happy, indeed.  Though stresses still loom here and there, they don’t cripple us.  They are refining fires and maybe because of that, I can emphatically say we are best friends.

I am inspired by my parents.  Besides loving their entire family as best they could (which was usually by giving and serving), they were the most hard working, giving and helpful couple I know.   They were often volunteering to drive someone to the hospital either an hour or two hours away, sharing from their garden, visiting people in the nursing home or in prison (my dad, who is no longer with us, did the latter), and involved in various church responsibilities.  At any family get together Mom is usually trying to do more than her share of work.

I am inspired by a friend and mentor who lives out her faith in God and in others lives, including mine.  She is a bit further down the path I’m on, and a sweet blessing to me.  She sends scripture verses for me to ponder by email or texts, hands me books to read and has spent much time in prayer for me and my family.  She “speaks life” to me once every week or two, usually over a cup of coffee.   She does not hesitate to gently and humbly exhort, nor does she hesitate to pass on encouragement and compliments when she sees something good in me, whether I see it or not.  Since we are doing the same dated devotional journal, occasional texts have been know to begin, “look at day…”.https://www.etsy.com/listing/77823945/teach-teacher-art-print-school-gift

I am inspired by many prayer partners, both online and in real life.  One, in particular, meets with me regularly.  We  spend considerable time in prayer for our families, our churches, current events, persecuted Christians and missionaries (the latter two greatly inspire me as well).  She has taught me to hang in there in prayer and we have been blessed to see God at work in many of the things we pray about.

I am inspired by my children.  Each one is a blessing to us and has something unique.  Some of the traits that inspire me most among them are:  gentleness, graciousness, a sense of humor, humility, compassion, goodwill, helpfulness and cheerful enthusiasm.

I am inspired by Augustine’s mother, Monica.  She prayed fervently and persistently for her entire family, and at length for her wayward son.  She enlisted others in praying for him, also.  After 17 years of Augustine cruelly putting her off and breaking her heart while indulging in much sin, he converted to the faith of his childhood.  Shortly after his conversion and during a family discussion on the subject, Monica said her life hope and purpose had been fulfilled.  Within five days she came down with a fever and on the ninth day died in Augustine’s arms (A.D. 387) at the age of 56.

To be inspired is to be enlivened, stimulated, and energized by divine influence.  Who inspires you?

The Ways I Like Coffee

I need to set the record straight about how I like coffee.  The other day a friend and mentor sweetly informed me that she had studied up on lattes, so that when I come by to see her she could indulge us in my favorite drink.   After doing some research she had found a recipe for lattes to make with her Vita-mix.  This was after our first meeting at our local coffee shop, where I think I must’ve taken her by surprise with my  coffee choice.   While it seems natural to me to choose a latte with no flavorings, (though sometimes I indulge in half the regular flavoring amount), skim milk and slightly less hot than normal temperature, it was a new thing to her, to order beyond a simple cup of “joe”.  So while I have fun with a love of coffee and have even blogged about methods (check out this post if you’re interested), here’s the REAL scoop on my coffee habits.  My favorite thing really isn’t about the coffee, it’s about what that cup of joe, latte, tea, juice, water or whatever the drink is, really speaks.

My favorite way to have coffee is with a Bible nearby on the arm of my recliner.  It may be accompanied by a devotional book, a Bible study book, Sunday School literature, and definitely a highlighter and ink pen.   Though I put this at the top, it often gets put off until afternoon, due to blurry morning vision.

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This coffee method ranks right up near the top, and occurs when Tony has picked up his FedEx load and comes back through right past our house on the way to his route.  It is a blessing of enormous magnitude to have a few minutes together over a cup of coffee before we embark on our separate daytime roles.  That stern look is only to belie the fact that he spoils me with great breakfast eggs before he rushes on.   It also may be expressing how he feels about me having Hannah take this picture.

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This is another lovely way to drink coffee.  In a chair beside my teens who wish to remain obscure after stumbling out of bed to the couch while they try to make their eyes open for the day by way of a cup of coffee.  This is that time of day that I enjoy bugging my children with conversation.  Sometimes they actually wake up and converse coherently and pleasantly back with me.  And that makes my day.

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This is a great way to enjoy an occasional sip of coffee.  I love to sit on the back deck and enjoy the view while I sing hymns or practice choir or ensemble songs.   Not only does it afford a great view, but it makes my kids happy when I take this part of my day outdoors.  Buck, my Boston, often joins me, and, when I have to hit the high notes, he accompanies me with howling.  I’m not quite sure how to take that, but it’s camaraderie with the dog and worship time together.

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Here is another enjoyable way to have coffee.  Sitting at the computer writing, blogging, or connecting with friends.  Yes, I’ve enjoyed many a cyber cup of coffee.  If the drink cools, which I am not really focusing on, anyway, I may add a splash of  hot coffee from the pot.   If I can connect with friends in person, that’s all the better.

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This is the “siesta” cup of coffee.  Not long after lunch, I often gravitate to a cozy sitting position on the bed with pillows of every shape and variety to support my neck, which often needs a rest.  I love having a lamp on, a Scentsy warmer wafting some favorite or seasonal scent, and a stack of books beside me.   I may even read a chapter or two if my eyelids allow it.  There is usually a prayer list tucked inside the books for this “coffee” time.   The rest of my day may be on  autopilot, unless I get this little break.  During the days of all (or most) of the kids at home and doing their school, I often unintentionally took this little break in a living room chair “while” reading History to them.  They hated it when I began slurring words and nodding and jerking my head.  It is the time of day that may be beyond the reach of a cup of coffee.  Sometimes it’s just better to take a 5-20 minute time out!

Though it may seem like I drink coffee, espresso and precision lattes all day long, that is only a little bit true.  I just like to have a cup of something nearby, even if it has the original morning coffee in the bottom of it and I’ve just refilled it once or twice.  So, please, don’t think I am truly a coffee snob.  I mainly just like all the pleasant habits that I associate with it.  And for that friend who is investing in me, mentoring me, encouraging me, and/or allowing me the privilege of mutual friendship, I don’t even need a drink at all!  It’s just an added nicety any old way you serve it!

Cozy at Home with Coffee

I love waking up to a day when I don’t have to go anywhere and can read, do chores and sip coffee.  Did I mention coffee?   But first I pray before I ever put my feet over the side of the bed, because I know I am too easily sidetracked.  Very soon after, I find myself in the kitchen flipping on the espresso machine button and starting to heat water in the kettle for French press coffee.

Ahh…a hot latte with steamed milk on a cold morning.  For this I grind a couple coffeespoons of expresso roast beans or dark Sumatra beans.  Can’t get them too bold.  Tamp the finely ground coffee down into the two ounce coffee basket in the coffee filter and attach to espresso machine.   Then I coarsely grind a cup of lighter roasted beans for French pressing.

I put a small glass carafe underneath the espresso filter.  The hot water sends a high pressure stream into the carafe.  I shut if off when it is at a couple ounces and is just starting to turn white with crema.

I pour about a half cup of skimmed milk (my preference) into a coffee cup and give it a head start heating via my microwave.   But the latter is optional.
Then it is steamed until it bubbles and foams.  This is where small disasters are not uncommon, but it is worth it.

And pour the two together.  Beautiful.  Oh and it tastes great, too.  Jacob’s favorite version is espresso over ice and milk.  Come to think of it we all like that version when we’re in a hurry, especially in hot weather.

Flavor only if you are in the mood and can afford to add about 35 calories per pump to your habit.  For those occasions I love putting a half pump of cherry together with a half pump of almond.  Or using a couple drops of my daughter’s friend’s homemade vanilla extract, which is not sweet.

During this process, we are not left coffeeless, because Sylvia keeps her little teapot going and we all must drink from the cups she brings us all throughout the day.  She is quite the server and doesn’t seem to mind us two timing her efforts with our own cup beside the one she gives us.

By now the kettle is whistling, so  I put the coarsely ground coffee  into the French press pot and add hot water to the top.

I add some hot water into the coffee thermal carafe also, just to heat it up and help it keep the coffee hot all day.

Then after the french press pot has brewed  for three minutes, I dump the water out of the thermal carafe, add coffee and put on lid.  Done.  Ready for my Fed Ex man to fill his mug for the day when he stops in on his way through every morning.  Though I would share coffee with anyone, he does happen to be my husband.  🙂

It is also ready for my teens to pour from if they want.  Hannah loves to grab one of these cups and pour coffee even if she leaves half of it.  It just seems to say something like…cozy at home, even while we do our work.

And being cozy and content at home is worth teaching in our too busy society.

Titus 2:5