cheer – Page 20 – Home's Cool!

Snow! And Ice! And Slush! Oh My!

Posted on January 10, 2011January 20, 2015 by Katharine

Whew! What a treat this blast of winter has been!

We just returned last night from visiting our Texas granddaughter for her birthday. Now our fires are rebuilt, house is re-warmed, chicken water is thawed, and icy crud on the car is knocked off. We literally had to plow our way through winter precipitation along a three-hour drive.

In four hours.

I was surprised and blessed at how excited our passengers were. Our adult offspring, home on winter break, were like little children as they recalled rare snow days from their past and giggled in excitement over the frightening but beautiful scenes around us.

We all learned much about snow tires, black ice, legalities, and travel safety in snow-slush-ice. My husband, born in Iowa and raised in northern Missouri, practiced every safety tip he knew, as he drove us home. Since we were experiencing his expertise first hand, he used it for a teachable moment, in hopes the rest of us could somehow be safer one day, should we have to drive in such conditions.

We probably won’t drive anywhere today, though. When universities and government buildings close, it’s time to stay home.

Instead, we will build a snowman. The snow will be perfect and it is deep, from our southern viewpoint: six inches. We will make snow angels and have at least one good snowball fight, although, YES, we’re all adults. We’ll have a huge breakfast with meat, and I’ll cook chili for lunch. Of course, we need more hot cocoa mix, so I’ll stir that up, too.

It’ll be a family day off. Why not join us?

Hot Cocoa Mix
3 cups instant non-fat dry milk
1 cup sugar (OR 1 teaspoon stevia powder)
1/4 cup pure cocoa powder

Place all in blender and blend on high until pulverized and thoroughly mixed. Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix for each serving hot water.

Chili

1 pound ground beef
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup chili powder (or less, to taste)
1 quart whole tomatoes
1 pint cannellini beans
1 large can Mexican style hominy
Black pepper to taste

Fry beef in oil until browned. Add onion and fry until clear and soft. Stir in rest, bring to boil, and serve with corn chips and grated cheese.

See ya’ tomorrow!

Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom

Sunday Scripture

Posted on January 9, 2011January 7, 2011 by Katharine

May the Lord bless thee and keep thee.
May the Lord make His face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee.
May the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee and give thee His peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Inspiring, Sayings, Wisdom

Saturday Saying

Posted on January 8, 2011August 14, 2011 by Katharine

You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Blessings of Habit, Inspiring

Smile

Posted on January 7, 2011March 13, 2015 by Katharine

A smile is a funny thing. All it is, is a couple of muscles pulling the corners of the mouth up. Yet it can mean the difference between life and death, if a surgeon smiles. It can mean the difference between marriage and rejection if a girlfriend smiles. When a mother smiles, a child learns that all is well.

Do you smile? I think sometimes I do not smile enough. I’ve accidentally caught myself in my relaxed, normal look and it is not a smiley face surprising me from some unexpected mirror. Even though I’ve told myself many a time that I look better with a smile, I revert to autopilot and it’s not a pretty sight.

They say if you smile, then the world will smile with you. I think someone was hoping when that motto came about. Still, the good that usually comes with a smile makes people more eager to see you if you’re wearing one.

Sometimes I think about the things I say with a frown, and wonder what the results would be if I smiled, instead. You know the times when someone needs discipline or things don’t go the right way. What would happen if I said, “Dear, you must go to your room, now,” with a smile instead of a frown? At first the child surely would think I was either heartless or joking, but what if it were my normal practice to smile when I disciplined a child? Would the child better understand the love that backs the discipline? I don’t know.

What if when someone were mean to me, instead of crying, I could somehow manage a smile? What if I said, “That co-worker deliberately ignored my presence, today,” with a smile instead of a frown? Those who care about me would probably think I had gone crazy, but only because it is not the norm for me. But what if it were?

I know one thing: When I deliberately smile, when I think it’s not the norm but I smile anyway, I feel better. What if I’m not happy? So what?

I’ll tell you what: If I smile, I become happier, that’s what.

God has smiled on us all. Why shouldn’t we smile?

Believe it or not!, Blessings of Habit, Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom

An Anatomy of Pain – Conclusion

Posted on December 24, 2010March 19, 2015 by Katharine

What then are we to make of suffering?

If we are The Called, in Christ Jesus, everything that happens to us is for some higher purpose, even when life DOES go our way. We can know for sure that the pain of suffering unfair treatment, like all other things, works for good. The Scriptures promise this.

Suffering at the hands of an enemy gives us rare opportunities to extend forgiveness to people in Jesus’ name.
It can draw His precious ones closer to Him, if that’s what we want, not like those who move farther away from Him when they face suffering.
It can quiet us from our boasting, give us peace within our limitations, and explain mourning to us in a way we can understand.
Suffering can make us open our Bibles with new earnestness, and oftener, too.
It can teach us new heights of patience with those who watch us and try to help us.
It can cause us to acknowledge God’s authority over us, and to accept His working in our lives as the highest good.
Finally, suffering can cause us to rest in our trust in God, full of His Holy Spirit, and to see His hand in everything that happens around us.

I pray these blessings on you all. They are the whole reason He came, anyway. Right?

Believe it or not!, Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom, Womanhood

An Anatomy of Pain – The Real Enemy

Posted on December 23, 2010April 6, 2015 by Katharine

: Chess pawn 0985.jpg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Oh, if only forgiveness were the end of it!

But it’s just the beginning.

Suffering doesn’t stop just because we’ve been nice. Our real enemy (who is not a human enemy), knows how to move his pawns and which buttons to push. Sometimes forgiveness must become more like a motto than a choice. Once that choice is functioning, insight grows for us in amazing ways.

We notice patterns. Painful, uncanny coincidences just “pop up”. Ever wonder if it was just you, or if life actually takes a nosedive once a month? At the least timely time? Like clockwork? Mark your calendar; he’ll be back when you’re at your weakest. Why not? He’s the enemy!

For our family, he tries a trick or two every Thanksgiving. I think it’s because we actually celebrate the “thanks” part of it, unto the Lord. Our enemy hates that. So we’ve had four wrecks (none our fault), a baby dehydrating in a hospital, a surgically repaired broken arm, a best friend’s funeral, a small housefire, an emergency cleaning at our church’s parsonage, and a dead refrigerator on ten separate Thanksgivings. We know when to start praying.

But the thanksgiving part is the most essential. If we turn to God in our pain, weakness, and fear; if we cling to Him in trust; if we thank Him and praise Him in obedience to His Word; we come away from our temptations, trials, and tests on His side of the line between life and death. He waits to help and longs for us to choose life.

Oh, but there’s more. During times of great mental or emotional pain we still have our relationships. Precious ones still need us. Promises stand unfulfilled. We simply cannot cry all day because of a meeting tonight. We cannot go for a long drive because of the children. We cannot rent a cabin away from it all because Mom will need her cancer checkup. Or something.

Then there’s the Word. How impossible it is to pitch a good old-fashioned fit with the Word echoing in our brains! Blessed are ye . . .Who for the joy set before Him endured . . . ye have not yet endured to the shedding of your blood . . . Wives, also . . . We end at the ultimate word on suffering: My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And we realize: He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one . . .

Could there possible be more? Yep. We always have helpers. People bring us food we aren’t supposed to eat. People comfort us with ungodly words. People say they love us and we know they lie. It is a call for the patience of the saints. Be a saint. After all, you do have needs. They mean no harm.

Eventually God takes you out, raises you above, gives you a plateau. The plateau has a name: Union with God. You realize it is not about you, was never about you. You realize your co-suffering with Jesus, your helping to fill what was lacking in His suffering, your place in the plan of salvation for someone else. It is heavenly. You see yourself through His eyes, as a warrior for Him, someone He trusts to do part of His work. It’s like a medals ceremony after a big battle.

Then you rest. Only then. Although He has held you tenderly by the hand through the whole nightmare, He now holds you IN His hand and you know you are, finally, safe.

Conclusion, tomorrow.

Believe it or not!, Inspiring, Scripture, Wisdom

An Anatomy of Pain – Remember, the World Hurts, Like a Sledge Hammer

Posted on December 21, 2010January 29, 2019 by Katharine

Why it Hurts – Sticks and stones . . . you know names can hurt worse. A bruise from a stone heals in a week or two, but the pain from name calling can last as long as your memory. It can last as long as we let it.

We can let it hurt for ages.

Do we want it to hurt? Maybe there’s something inside us that does. Do we feel proud if we can get that lower lip to quiver one more time?

I mean, people, IT HURTS!

Right? People notice? They pet us some more? They feel sorry for us?

Maybe not.

It’s just the world – People! Them! It’s not my fault, remember! No, it’s just the world. We forget something: “In this world ye shall have tribulation.” It’s a promise from God, but not one of those promises we name and claim, is it?

Jesus told us. He warned us. We should know it. It’s part of being alive. Tribulation, from the Latin root meaning sledge-hammer. How appropriate. The alternative is leaving this old world behind. Being alive in this world includes getting hammered. Being alive in this world also includes being part of it. We are such sloppy communicators and such confused listeners, no one can help being part of the trouble.

God also told us, “The heart of man is desperately wicked. Who can know it?” I think that is part of the pain, too. We think we know so-and-so would never say that. We find out each person is capable of hammering on us. We think, finally, this relationship is secure.

Nope. Never.

As long as there are people, and that includes you and me, there will be hammerin’. People will hammer. They will hurt and not apologize. They will apologize and not sound sincere, not even know what they ought to have apologized for. It’s just the heart of man, including the women.

Sometimes, oh, I dunno, it seems, especially the women.

People don’t know what to apologize for because they have no idea they did anything. They truly have no idea what they are doing half the time, no idea what they’ve done. They say, “WHAT?!” and they mean it. What have I done? What is it THIS time? What?! They don’t know what they’re doing.

But we don’t remember something. The beloved voice that said, “In this world ye shall have tribulation,” also said, “Be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” He did not mean He could lick any enemy of ours in a moment, although He could do that. No, He meant He has overcome the whole mess, you and me included. The whole world—He could lick it all in a moment, and He will.

The God who said, “The heart of man is desperately wicked,” also said that He knows our hearts. Oops. Scary business, that. On top of that, He told us to rejoice and look up when it got really bad, because He would be close on the heels of the Very Worst Day. When That Day comes, we’d better be ready.

We’d better be cheered up!

More tomorrow.