With only a few seconds of preparation the night before, you can awaken to steamy, creamy, perfectly prepared steel cut oatmeal. It's like you're suddenly transported to a cozy bed-and-breakfast where the hostess bustled around in the kitchen early in the morning in order to serve you this healthy breakfast treat at the moment you're ready. Steel cut oats take a long … [Read more...]
The Blessing of Boredom
"I'm bored," a child whines. Oh, no! Quick, pull out the paints or Playdough—heaven forbid the child actually sits with nothing to do. In our entertainment-obsessed society, we almost panic at the thought of having nothing to do, at being bored. The world seems to want to fill every spare moment with productivity or fun. But is boredom such a bad thing? Could boredom … [Read more...]
Monday FunDay (week 9)–Easter Fun Continues
Happy Easter Monday to you!And welcome to home base for Monday FunDay, a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun.Monday FunDayTo participate in Monday FunDay, just post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or your family has livened up Mondays (or any day).Then link up via Mr. Linky below … [Read more...]
Trees
In the beginning, God created trees.It wasn’t the first or only thing He created, of course, but He spoke vegetation into existence by commanding the land to produce it. And there came the trees bearing fruit with seed in them according to their kinds. God saw that it was good, and then He closed out the third day. Done.And to this day, we can think about trees, bearing … [Read more...]
Good Friday
Yesterday we attended a Maundy Thursday Seder meal at our church.The children remarked at the confusion--Monday? But it's Thursday? I pointed out that it's a near-homonym. Then it became a joke--Maundy? But it's Thursday! Ha-ha-ha.Yes, well, anyway, I tried to explain the basics of a Passover meal to my Gentile/Protestant kiddoes. We haven't observed any kind of … [Read more...]
WFMW "Truth or Bare" Modesty "Tests"
My tween-aged daughters appreciated this outside, objective source of advice for determining the modesty of an outfit from The Secret Keeper website: "Truth or Bare," a set of modesty "tests." Obviously, a reader's personal standards might be much more or much less conservative than this, but it's a starting point to discuss modesty standards, and why they matter. … [Read more...]
Kid-Hosted Tea Party
The kids knew that we were planning on a tea party in the afternoon, so as I worked on something else, two of them set the table with a blue cloth and prepared the treats. They artistically arranged Girl Scout cookies, Trader Joe's Oreo-style cookies, truffles, and Andes mints on plates and pulled silk flowers out of the storage cabinet for a centerpiece.The small white … [Read more...]
Monday FunDay (week 7)–Tea Party
I'm a little late with my Monday FunDay post. I'm still in the post-retreat Slow Zone (sigh). Please accept my apologies. Welcome to:Monday FunDayWhat? You didn't know about Monday FunDay? Why, it's a carnival dedicated to swapping simple, amusing–maybe even silly–everyday ways you enjoy good, clean fun.Just post a story, idea, or explanation at your blog of how you and/or … [Read more...]
Weekend Retreat
The retreat center was out in the boonies, as somebody said, where we had no cell phone reception. The rustic buildings were set on a vast, wooded property.The retreat planners set up a room where people could sit to visit or relax. Aromatherapy candles and vases of flowers were placed on side tables and hot water was available for tea (check out the name of that tea: … [Read more...]
Blogger's Prayer
This weekend I'm off to a women's retreat.In preparation, I've been thinking about this well-known passage from Psalm 19--a prayer, really--and as I've prayed it, I realized how perfect it is for Christians who blog. I offer it to you today, especially for this coming week, Holy Week, but ideally, for every week.For every day.For every moment.For every post....a blogger's … [Read more...]
Virtual Pilot–Can You Land the Plane in the Right European City?
How well do you know your European geography?Let Lufthansa test you with this Virtual Pilot game.Each round is more challenging.First you're given 8 seconds to land the plane in the city cited after a ready-set-go countdown. They provide a map that shows countries outlined and dots representing city locations (but no labels).Next round: 6 seconds, countries only. No … [Read more...]
Wordless Wednesday: Nutell-ahhhhh
Where to Hang Washcloths?
Two clear, plastic suction hooks are functional and discreet.Suction stuff usually doesn't work very well for me--bigger items like shelves or soap holders have been known to un-stick from the shower walls and flop down in the middle of the night--SLAM! CLATTER-clatter-clatter!Scares the liver out of me.But these simple, basic hooks have fallen off only a couple of times … [Read more...]
My Life is Not my To-Do List
Our lives are not our to-do lists. We are more than the sum total of all that we accomplish in a given day, week, year, decade or lifetime.We are not defined by our schedules, activities, appointments, committees, and obligations.There is more to life than what we do.And the abundant life is not defined by how much is packed into our Day-Timers or PDAs.Jesus said, "I came … [Read more...]
The Simplicity of Reading
I recently came across a passage in a book called Graceful Simplicity. In a chapter entitled "The Politics of Simplicity," in a section subtitled "Education for Simple Living," the author claimed that "In educating for simple living, three building blocks stand out: fostering a love of books, developing a stronger aesthetic sensibility, and enhancing our … [Read more...]
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