On This Cold Friday

 

By 4:45 the sky is completely dark and even though this has always occurred this time of year, for some reason, it feels more intense this time around.   Do you notice it too?  It's a very strange feeling.  My daughter tells me she's ready for bed and then looks at the clock and exclaims, "It's only 6pm?!"  

Today it's a blistering 40-something degrees and the forecast is calling for possible snow flurries.  That's an extreme difference from the 70 degrees of last week.  Welcome to Pennsylvania.   I'm thankful for a school van that heats up very quickly and a house with working heat too. 

Even the husky gets herself tucked in pretty early.  

Am I ready for the winter that's to come?   No.  Will I complain about it?  I'll try not to but I can't make promises.  

Happy Friday, friends!   Tonight will be the first Friday we've had in a long time where there isn't a high school football game to attend and I'm glad.  Maybe I'll bundle up with the husky and watch a movie.  We watched Elf the other day, one of my favorites for Christmas time.  I'm now in the middle of one called Like Dandelion Dust based on a book written by Karen Kingsbury.   Maybe I'll finish it tonight.   Tomorrow morning we head north to watch our boy in his collegiate cross country championship race.  It's going to be cold but I'm looking forward to seeing what we can do.  

Well, that's it from me.  I spent the morning listening to my Bible app's reading the Bible in a year challenge.  Today we are in Galatians.  Then I read chapters 3 and 4 in Revelation.   I've been feeling an urgency to read through that book, though it's a confusing one for me.  If you ask me if I believe we are close to the end times the Bible speaks about I will tell you yes.  I'm paying attention to what is going on around us and it's scary but I trust in God through it.  Maybe I'll elaborate more in another post.  Not to scare anyone but to help encourage and prepare.  But for now it's time to throw my bedding in the wash and take on some of those household tasks that are calling my name.  

Until next time ... praying you receive many blessings.  

It Sure Feels Like Monday

 It's interesting, when I make an effort to focus on only the things to be thankful for life comes and throws me a curveball.  

This morning I decided to make myself some scrambled eggs.  I went to grab the pepper that we keep on top of the stove and the bottom of the shaker came off and pepper went everywhere.  

Then after eating I went to put the plate in the dishwasher and dropped it onto the floor.

After clean up I did run one mile on the treadmill while listening to the Bible app and then switching to a podcast.  

It's still a good day despite my clumsiness.

Matthew is at the end of his sickness and back to school.   He said a lot of people at school are sick.  Tis the season!  I'm so glad he's heading back to a healthier direction.   Now hopefully it stays away from the rest of us.  Thankful for medicine.  

Oh, I did make a new friend on Friday.  This ladybug hung out with me on the school van ride home.  

It's the little things that entertain me.  

I'm looking forward to the week ahead, regardless of what it brings.  God bless you, my friends.  I'm certainly thankful for YOU!  Thanks for reading.  

Thankful Even When I Shouldn't Be

It has been a tough week and it would be so easy to focus on all the chaos and throw in the towel to think of all I'm thankful for but I won't do that.  Because even in the toughest moments, there's still so many things to be thankful for.  On Tuesday I watched as two men from a funeral home brought the body of my neighbor out of the house.  In that moment I realized that no matter what we go through in this life none of us will get out of it alive.  Is it worth it to complain about the messes my kids leave around the house?  Is it worth it to make a fuss over the results of an election (either way you look at it)?  Absolutely not.  My son has been home from school very sick with a bad virus.  He feels miserable and was told by a doctor that it may last a while.  But he's home with me and he's safe and he's going to get better.  

This week I have been spending the mornings listening to my Bible app, as I am reading through a Bible in a year challenge.  Then I open up my Bible and read through Psalms.  If you are worried about the direction of things right now I suggest the first few chapters of Psalms.  It's comforting.  Last night we went to a concert that was held as my son's college.  Unfortunately, he was too sick to attend but the three of us went.  It was Patrick Mayberry and Josh Baldwin.  They are both Contemporary Christian artists and a night of worship was exactly what I needed.  I am thankful for that opportunity to watch them perform and I am most thankful to be able to worship as I want to.  

We made it to Friday and that's another reason to be thankful.  Even in the hard weeks I know I'll be waking up a little later tomorrow and have a chance to rest.  Thank you Jesus for giving me these little ordinary moments to be grateful for, even in the midst of some unsettling chaos.  

Thankful In the Ordinary 1

 

Here we are in the 11th month of the year.  Very close to saying goodbye to 2026, which moved by quicker than 2025.  This month is for celebrating my son's 19th birthday and for stuffing our faces with turkey but it's also a month that reminds us all to be thankful.  

I do tend to take life for granted sometimes, especially the ordinary, so for the month of November I'd love to turn this blog into a place where I can give thanks for most of those ordinary moments.  

This morning as I was scrubbing the toilet and cleaning other areas of the bathroom I thought of how grateful I am for this time I have at home.  My husband is at work, my daughter is at school and my son is miles away at college and here I am at home doing the monotonous, never-ending housework.  My husband works full-time to use the money earned to pay the bills for this house.  My kids are getting an education so that they, too, one day can work and earn a living.  There have been so many times when I feel like I am nothing, doing nothing, and lacking in succeeding in anything.  Then I remember, I am doing the most important work of all.  I am providing a space for my family that is clean and making sure their bellies are full.  If I knew then what I know now I probably would have worked a lot harder at it before.  I wouldn't have complained so much.  I wouldn't have thought so negatively about it.  Many women of today will look at homemaking as oppressive but I see it as a wonderful opportunity to be able to provide for my family in the most nurturing way.  I can't say I succeed at this, but what a joy I feel when my husband can come home from a long day of work to a clean home and a warm meal ready for him.  He worked hard and deserves to come home to that.  

I'm not only providing for my family but I am also doing the work the Lord has called me to do.  I do have a part-time job because in today's economy it would be tougher for us if I didn't work at all, but I am thankful to be a school van driver, which gives me the opportunity to be home in the middle of the afternoon.  I use this time to clean and even though it never gets all complete by the end of the day I know that there will be a chance to get more done tomorrow.  I am thankful for my role in this family, even when my effort goes unnoticed or may not seem like it matters much.