365 Days – Days 22 - 28

Living in the moment…

 

Day 22 – youth making a special connection – Aha moments

Day 23 – moment of grace and forgiveness after a hard moment with special son

Day 24 – coffee to grow a relationship

Day 25 – listing to animal reports excitement in voices of learning

Day 26 – walking in brisk morning air

Day 27 – bizillion question about the house from young daughters

Day 28 – continued moments of surrender…

How to Live in the MomentHow to Helps

  2.  Take notice of the world.

No matter what you're doing, notice the moments that surround you. Maybe on your way to work or school, you go over a beautiful bridge, or you get a view of the sunrise behind the city buildings.

• When you walk down the street, look at the way the light reflects off the buildings, the tree line, and the birds that manage to nest in random corners and cracks. The simple act of tilting your chin can give you a whole new perspective on the place you live.
• Really look at a flower. Okay, so you know it’s pretty. What is pretty? What does it smell like, besides itself? How many petals does it have? Do the leaves spiral up the stem like a staircase or branch out on opposite sides every now and then? Are there any bugs going about their lives on this plant? Do you think they’re even aware of your existence?

 

My husband likes to say that “God is showing off,” whenever he sees a beautiful sunset.  Take time during your days to notice the things that God shows off in our lives… His fingerprints are everywhere… do you see them?

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inserts from: http://www.wikihow.com/Live-in-the-Moment

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Breaking Dawn

Feeling melancholy…
            full of thoughts…
                    full of promise…
                              full of hope
 



full of breaking joy… breaking dawn…  the light of a new day



in the midst of…
      questions
            concerns

                unsettlement
                     tragedy
                            waiting
                                   darkness  

there is always light in its midst…
                there is always a new dawn
                         there is always hope
                                 because there is always You… 
 
because of his tender mercies…
                                                                      the dawn will break on us…   luke 1:78-79

Pondering this today…   and treasuring His tender mercies…
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365 Days – Days 15 - 21

    Living in the moment…

 

Day 15 -  dancing with my angel girl

Day 16 – spending time with the living word

Day 17 – long hard hug from unique son

Day 18 – working through concerns…

Day 19 – going to the store together – everyone…

Day 20 – fun teasing with hubby

Day 21 – scrubbing hard with golden girl

How to Live in the MomentHow to Helps

Living in the moment is all about living like there's no tomorrow. To do this, you must realize beauty in every moment, and in everyday activities. It’s a conscious act that requires participation, not just observation, but the reward is a richer, fuller life.

Each week I will highlight a step or “how to helps” for living in the moment…

  1 - Dance like nobody's watching.

While you may or may not like dancing, no matter who's not watching, the idea embodied in those 4 words sums the entire experience of living in the moment. 

If you care—if you even consider—who's looking, you're performing. When you are performing your goal is to dance well, to impress (or at least not disappoint) your audience. To live in the moment, to "dance like nobody's watching," you have to forget about performing for others and simply accept the moment for what it is.

Like anything in life, do things without inhibitions or concern for what other’s think.  The only worthy one to dance for is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings…   JESUS

 

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365 days – days 8 - 14

This week…

I have been contemplating how living in the moment is not always…
               this warm, fuzzy feeling.

that sometimes living in the moment brings emotions that are…
                    raw… painful… revealing

sometimes the moment brings emotions that are…
                  not attractive… yet real

      laced with concern, worry, fear

But when turned to the Lord…

brought to His feet…

        laid at His throne…   
                  of mercy and grace

bring us to a place of comfort….

     peace…   rest…  rejoicing







Days 8 – 14 of Living in the moment…

Day 8 – heart desire-ache to see youth know you in worship
Day 9 – time spent hearing fellow mommies hearts
Day 10 -  reading together on coach…  real close
Day 11 – concern and worry over house
Day 12 - emotions – raw and real over special son
Day 13 – worshiping with people who we have grown to love and call family
Day 14 – family rest time together

pausing and counting those moments… daily~

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Weekly Wrap Up – Weeks 18

Weeks 16 –17 we finished up our Advent items, Celebrated Christmas and New Years. 

 

We entertained company throughout, with my sister visiting for 4 days, and a few of our missionary daughters friends visiting at two different times. We had allot of family time together and enjoyed having our whole family home and together.

We celebrated hubby’s birthday. And then we said goodbye to our missionary daughter as she headed back to her “other” home.

This week it was back to reality, so to speak, as we worked on getting back on a “school” routine. We took some time to review and remind ourselves of out routines for the day. (After a break, this is always a good thing) We are finishing up our Unit on Europe this month. We will be coving 3 more countries of Europe, Russia, United Kingdom and Germany.  We started our YWAM biography on George Muller, which we are enjoying.

My Golden Girl finished her intermediate math book during break… yes she did math during break, cause she was motivated to her advanced book this new quarter.  We had some baking fun.  And we received our much awaited approval letter on the home we are wanting to purchase.  (We are now in Phase 3 – the final stages of purchase) We spend part of the break de-cluttering and boxing up things do we do not daily use. This month we have a goal of completing a box a day in between schooling for the day.

 

So that was some of the highlights of our week. 

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365 Days – Days 1 - 7

   
   
   
   


Living in the moment…



Day 1 – watching the flickering light of new years promise and hearing the pain in silence of dreams and desires let go of…

Day 2 – watching young love blossom…

Day 3 – watching morning dew from kitchen window

Day 4 – gazing at my angels round beautiful face and her smile of acceptance and love

Day 5 – watching man I love sleeping on the morn of his birthday

Day 6 – lingering look from special son at church… his eyes smiling

Day 7 – deep breath of relief hearing the approval letter is here

Life is not measured…
by the number of breaths we take… the breath of life we breath each day that substance life…  the beats of our heart that pump blood through our veins and keep us alive…

but by the moments…

that take our breath away…  the moments that we pause…  the moments that we are still…holding onto …   if only for a moment… before exhaling and letting go…

pausing and counting those moments…  daily~

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Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup

We had sub sandwiches for my hubby’s Birthday Dinner.  I decided last minute to make a soup to go with them.  This black bean soup was very quick and easy to put together and very filling and good.  I love soups!!!!

 Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 tablespoons oil

¾ cup finely chopped onions

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (15 oz) can black beans, undrained

1 (15 0z) can of corn, undrained

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

water, if necessary (I usually will clean out the cans by adding a little water  to the cans and then adding it to the soup base)

Shredded Cheese, Yogurt or sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Sauté the onions and cayenne in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute more.

Add the cumin and tomatoes with their juice. Simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes.

Add the black beans and corn with their liquid. Simmer, covered, for an additional 5 minutes. Stir occasionally to keep from sticking.

~ I double this recipe.  I have also added a can of tomato sauce, this will make it thicker.   It is good either way.

Add shredded cheese and spoonful or yogurt or sour cream to each bowl.

adopted from: http://kathdedon.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/quick-and-easy-black-bean-soup/#

Enjoy~

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Happy Birthday David

Today, we celebrated my honey’s birthday. 

            
my unique son posted these words on facebook as a tribute to his dad…




My father is the only person who will tell a security guard at an airport that he has drugs, guns and counterfeit money in his bag.







My father is the only person who could hold on to a grudge for 25 years and than forgive because he played angry birds.







He is the only person that liked Richard Nixon.
He is a man who is not afraid to believe differently than what is traditionally taught.

He is a man ...who has raise us to challenged what we are taught and to look at more than just two sides of an argument.





He is the only man who calls me a heretic and means it as a compliment.

Happy birthday dad, thank you for all you have done in my life. I can't ask for a better father to make me into the man I need to be.


I thought this was a true, fitting tribute to the man who is faithful beyond faithful for his family.

We love you – Happy Birthday~

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LIFE

    “And in the end it is not the years in your life that count,

                                                it's the life in your years.” ―    

                                                                                            ~Abraham Lincoln

I have been contemplating the above quote.  In 2012 I took  this challenge  to “enter the land of the living.”  I also wrote in more detail about it here:

the Land of the Living

I have been thinking about what it means to live – to live LIFE fully.  The Lord is calling me this year to take this entering this land of the living to the next step… by living each day in the moment…

you see, I love to plan…  it’s a good thing…  God calls us to have a vision, to plan…

but I tend to get stuck there…  in the planning…  in the process… and do not always live the plan out… focused on the future… instead of living in the present…

So, I am going to record 365 days of living in the moment… each day.

          to write ONE… just one thing each day that I did that was in the moment living…

What does that look like?

  L – Let go in that moment

  I – Invest myself in that moment

  F – Feel the emotions of that moment

  E – Engage fully in that moment

I want my years to have LIFE in them… to be full of life and memories…

  I cried out to You, O Lord: I said,

"You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living.       Psalm 142:5

~Looking forward to letting go and living…

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