Thankful Thursday, Take 31

Thanking God for...

• the members of my church sponsoring ALL TEN of the children whose packets Compassion International sent to me--I even had to request one additional packet!
• Jaala's visit on Monday afternoon
• Steve offering to cook dinner Monday night when I got home and was exhausted from being on my feet all day (and it wasn't just throwing together something--he made a crustless bacon, tomato and cheese quiche!)
• simple pleasures like finding the perfect ribbon to match cards I'm making
• a friend helping me work on the cards yesterday afternoon
• finding Bath and Body Works' Sheer Freesia lotion at Opry Mills (the store that's closer to me discontinued it and it's my favorite summer floral!)
• ice cream cones
• new books from favorite authors
• getting a 10% discount off our hotel reservations for our anniversary trip/"babymoon" after finding a cheaper internet rate than the hotel's website offered
• friendship bread
• having to recopy my to-do list on a new paper because so many things are crossed out, it's hard to find the ones that aren't
• a clean, fresh-smelling dog
• ceiling fans
• beautiful prose
• the glorious gospel of grace

Your turn below...

"How Lovely To Be a Woman"?

I think part of godly femininity is rejoicing in the fact that God made you a woman. But I have to admit, there is one area of life in which I cannot thank Him for making me female: Hair.

I generally like my hair itself--it's thick and soft, straight not frizzy, doesn't need to be colored. But I generally hate my hairstyle. In fact, I'm not sure I can remember a single time when I left the hair salon feeling really confident about my haircut. No, I take that back. One time: I really liked the haircut I got right before I graduated from college. A friend cut it in her dorm room, for free.

This morning I got a new haircut, and was reminded of this issue in which I hate being a girl. I've been through this before: Guys have it easy. Girls, on the other hand--we have no idea what we might look like when the stylist hands us that mirror. And even if we really like it, our chances of being able to reproduce the look at home are slim to none.

I don't think the last couple of shorter haircuts I've had have been very flattering on me, so I decided I wanted to let my hair grow again. Not that I want it to be waist-length like it was in college (no kidding--I donated 12 inches to Locks of Love and still had hair well past my shoulders), but at least past chin/brushing-the-shoulders length. So I went to the salon because I hadn't had it cut since October. I know. I don't like to go because I never like my haircut!

I was thinking just the minimum off the ends, maybe a little bit of long layering so I can flip it out or curl it a little if I feel like it. I ended up with TONS of layers, from my shoulders all the way up to my ears. Argh. The stylist flipped it all out, and it didn't look hideous, but it was way too frou-frou for me...I don't have the patience to fuss with it like that, and it just wasn't what I had in mind.

And then, how do you handle it with the stylist? I usually just pretend I like it. I did mention that the layers were shorter than I had wanted but the stylist clearly felt bad, so I just was all, smiling, "Oh, it's fine! Not a problem. My hair grows pretty fast anyway." And do you tip if you really don't like the haircut? I did because I felt bad, but that seems a little odd.

Oh the tribulations of being a girl...

Sacrificial Love

This morning was the first time I've made brownies since getting pregnant. Not getting to lick the bowl and spatula...just about killed me. Chocolate chip cookie dough is bad enough, but brownie batter? Don't think I won't remind this child every chance I get of the sacrifices Mama made for him or her.


ETA: ...And the brownies themselves aren't even very good. They got baked too long so they're not even gooey. Blah!

Yum

Steve and I had the most fabulous dinner tonight. And the best part is, it was completely easy and mostly leftovers (I'd made the dressing for Sunday's church potluck)! It was seriously so fantastic I couldn't even get over it...so I thought I'd post it here, in case anyone's looking for something easy, healthy and summery.

Salad dressing:
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. prepared mustard
1/3 c. lime or lemon juice
1/4 c. vinegar
1 c. oil
Blend in blender or plastic shaker, adding oil last.

We had it last night over spinach, grilled chicken (leftover), sliced strawberries, sweet onion, and candied pecans (you can candy them yourself--get a pan really hot, pour some sugar in and let it melt, and then dump in pecans and shake and toss them around).

The original recipe calls for mandarin oranges instead of the berries, plain nuts of any kind, and croutons. It got rave reviews on Sunday. But yesterday's supper salads tasted like something you'd eat at a restaurant. They were soooooooo good. I want another one today!

Unexpected Visitor

On Saturday afternoon I received an especially fun surprise of a phone call--my dear friend Jaala from college, telling me that she had made last-minute plans to come to Nashville! Her grandmother was speaking in the area and Jaala ended up riding down with her, so she had all day Monday free--to spend time with me!

I met her at Opryland and we enjoyed lunch at the Rainforest Cafe, then did a little bit of shopping, toured the hotel, and finished off with some yummy ice cream. It was so wonderful to spend a leisurely afternoon catching up with her! Yay for the glorious surprise of unexpected visits from old friends.

Simple Minds, Simple Pleasures

If you get really excited about paper products (stationery) and finding the perfect ribbon to match...does that mean you live a sad, pathetic life?

Masked Blessings

"Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it" (Isaiah 5:5-6).

The things God says He will withhold as punishment in v. 5-6 are things we might resent having initially: We don't want hedges and walls as boundaries; we want freedom. We don't want to be pruned and cut; we want to be pain-free. We praise God for sunshine and groan when it rains. Yet when these blessings in disguise are taken away, we realize why God gives us what's best and not what we want: Without boundaries to protect, we will be trampled and destroyed. Without careful pruning, we will be a wasteland, overgrown with even more painful thorns and briers. Without rain, we will shrivel up and die.

Father, I praise You that You are the Creator of beauty and all good things, the Sustainer of Life. You are the True Vine, and though we rebel against You, still it brings you delight to plant us and provide every good thing we need to grow. You care so tenderly for your own, blessing us abundantly--in Your wisdom not always giving us what we foolishly desire, but always giving us what we truly need.

I confess that I often crave what's not good for me; I resent the ways that You say no, refusing to see how You are protecting me and cultivating me so that I will grow stronger and bear more fruit. I crave the easy, comfortable life, and I grow resentful and bitter when others get what I think I need or prefer. Thank You for continuing to protect and provide for me, for pruning and cultivating me even when I bear bitter fruit, for not giving up on me. Thank You that it's not up to me to produce good fruit, but that by abiding in Christ, good fruit is produced through the Holy Spirit working in me. Thank You that I am saved not on the basis of the good fruit I can muster, but by grace, through Jesus.

Please cause that grace to sweeten my bitter fruit, to heal the roots underneath my sin and enable me to flourish for Your glory. Give me strength and patience when pruning comes; teach me to appreciate, not resent, boundaries. Change my perspective so that I am grateful for the rain as well as for the sun. Increase my trust in You as the Giver of all good things, as the Provider of all my needs.

Thankful Thursday, Take 30

Thanking God this week for...

• Sara's safe arrival in New Zealand and all the ways God is at work in her life
• four children sponsored by my church on Compassion Sunday, with others having expressed interest (I'll have the table up again this Sunday)
• the luxury of ordering pizza for dinner once in a while
• meeting a neighbor the other day who's my age and a new mom
• the kicks and flips I'm feeling frequently now, and even seeing!
• the jersey knit capris I've been living in lately
• deep belly laughter
• a friendship bread starter that finally seems to have taken off
• adopting me as His daughter and drawing me to Himself

"Not That I Need to Be Told What to Do"

A new gospel-centered blog has just started up: Gospel Driven Blog (not to be confused with GospelDrivenLife). One of the first posts seeks to answer the question, What Do I Mean By a Gospel-Driven Life? It includes this powerful excerpt:

"...my problem was not that I needed to be told what to do. What I needed was life, strength and motivation to do it (i.e., obey the law)! A Gospel-Driven believer comes to understand that he cannot keep God's commands until he receives Christ's life and strength (cf., Gal. 2:20). So, when you are confronted with God's law (e.g., 1 Peter 1:15-16, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy'), you don't pull yourself up by your bootstraps, make some resolutions, and say to yourself, 'Just do it.' No! That is walking according to the flesh, the old man! Rather, God's law (1 Peter 1:15-16) moves us first to flee to Christ by faith (Gal. 3:24).

...Then, after we flee to Christ (i.e., preach the Gospel to ourselves), our faith is renewed and strengthened. Our affections are burning (i.e., gratitude) and then we will be able to live a holy life! It is only as we consider the privileges of our new state in Christ that our hearts are moved to love God and others, renounce sin, and obey His commandments."

Looks like a blog to add to the feeds!

(HT: Between Two Worlds)

Sufficient

--adjective. adequate for the purpose; enough

"Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain" (Isaiah 4:5-6).

God meets our need in every circumstance: When the sun beats down relentlessly, He is shelter and shade; when the sun is gone and the powerful storms come, He is refuge from wind and rain.

Father, I confess that I often believe I need other things or people for abundant life. I say that I believe you are sufficient, but practically I believe that You are not sufficient in my particular circumstances, that I need different circumstances in order to be joyful and serve You. I have been critical and discontent; I have failed to trust You. Strengthen my trust in Your promises; open my eyes to see You as sufficient to supply every need, in every circumstance.

Win an Ergo Baby Carrier

Two friends of mine have given rave reviews to the Ergo Baby Carrier, telling me it's one of the most important things I should buy. Just found out today that this website is giving one away to a lucky mama! Thought I would pass the info along for anyone else who's interested.

Caring for the Least of These

As Christians, the question we must ask ourselves is not “Should I help the poor?” but rather “HOW should I help the poor?”

One effective and meaningful way to help is to sponsor a child through Compassion International. Yesterday, along with hundreds of churches across America, our church participated in Compassion Sunday. For over 50 years, Compassion has been reaching out to needy children around the world. Compassion partners with evangelical churches in 24 countries to provide for the basic needs of over 770,000 children. When you sponsor a child, Compassion links you to an individual child who needs your help. You receive his or her photo and personal story, and you can build a relationship with that child through letters and prayers.

As Compassion president Wess Stafford has said:

“[So often we] speak of children as ‘tomorrow’s world’ or ‘the church’s future.’ As noble as those phrases sound, they are all about pushing off the value of children to the Realm of Someday. Someday they will add value. Someday they will make a difference. Not today. …When it comes to children, we must stop thinking someday and start thinking of their worth and needs today.”

I believe in the ministry of Compassion. They realize that children are precious in God’s sight, and they respond to Jesus' call to welcome them in His name. I’ve been inspired and humbled by my involvement in this vital ministry. Sponsorship has been a blessing to me, and I pray that through my letters and support, an 11-year-old girl in Indonesia named Leni is experiencing God’s love in a tangible way.

Sponsorship costs $32 a month—an investment of about a dollar a day. That’s less than what most of us pay for a Coke or a cup of coffee--or for other luxuries like movies and internet. But it can provide opportunities for your sponsored child that most of the world’s poorest children never see, including:

• school fees and uniforms
• tutoring, literacy programs and career training
• clean water, medical checkups and hygiene education
• supplemental food and nutrition information
• love, personal attention and guided recreation

And most importantly, they’ll learn about Jesus and receive regular Bible training. Each child will have a chance to hear and respond to the gospel of hope and salvation through Jesus Christ.

The apostle John wrote in his first letter, “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Will you prayerfully consider loving one of “the least of these” today in deed and in truth?

What Do You Know Good?

Contrary to my in-laws' persistent belief, we aren't hillbillies just because we moved across the Mason-Dixon line, and we actually aren't surrounded by hicks here in middle Tennessee. In fact, there are just as many people without Southern accents in our church as those with drawls*--which can probably be attributed to the fact that as Nashville becomes more of a metropolis, there are more and more transplants from up where we talk right ;) KIDDING, Southerners! You know I love you!

Anyway, a little more drawling goes on at the factory where Steve works, and he keeps me entertained with unusual expressions he hears there. Our favorite so far is, "What do you know good?" As a greeting. Like instead of saying, "Hey, Steve, what's up?", or "Hey, how are ya?", he has actually been asked, "Hey Steve, whaddaya know good?" I didn't believe he was telling the truth about this until I actually heard someone say it myself. I swear to you, people really do talk like that down here.

He emailed me a new one today:

I've learned that the South is full of odd expressions, such as the one you already know about:

"What do you know good?"

But just now, I heard one that makes the least sense yet:

"You know, people have more fun than anybody."

What do you suppose the proper response to that is? Yes? No? What!?

*Disclaimer: Upon rereading, I realized it sounds like I'm saying people who talk with a Southern drawl are automatically hicks. That's not what I mean--I actually love listening to Southern accents. I think they're charming.

Thankful for Sunbutter

I first read about Sunbutter over at Shauna's place. Never heard of it? Me either. But her review of it in last week's Thankful Thursday list (you have her to thank for getting me started with those :) was enough to make me check it out. She wrote:

Sunbutter. Sunbutter. Sunbutter. Why didn’t someone tell me about this stuff sooner? And if you did, why didn’t you shove a spoon in my face to show me the light? It’s good stuff, people. Spread it on a sandwich. Or an apple. Or just lick the spoon — yum.

Curious, I clicked over, and as I read about what it was, I thought of a friend of mine whose three-year-old has a peanut allergy. My friend has mentioned how much she and her husband miss peanut butter, so I emailed the link to her, thinking maybe it would be something they could try.

This week I got an enthusiastic email from her, thanking me profusely for the tip. She had never heard of it, but immediately ordered a bunch and is so excited about the prospect of having a product that's completely safe for their family. It seemed like a little thing to me to pass it along, but it was a huge blessing to her--so I'm spreading the word to you all in case any of you are in the same boat. It makes me smile how the little things in life make a difference, and how Thankful Thursday can have such a neat ripple effect.

Thankful Thursday, Take 29

Thanking God this week for...

• coffee with Rebekah on Tuesday night
• the way the internet connects you to people you've lost touch with, and people you've never met
• a day of shopping and lunch with a friend
• hearing her 20-month-old yell, "Amy! Amy!" with an excited grin on his face from across the checkout lanes at JoAnn
• the category of crafty things I needed being on sale this week at JoAnn
• pizza buffets
• the giant slab of beef Steve is bringing home tonight (something like this)
• indoor plumbing
• clean water
• encouragement from people I don't even know
• freedom
• finding cute wallpaper border for the nursery
• grace greater than all my sin
• His faithfulness when I am unfaithful
• His unchanging nature when I am so inconsistent