Oh a hunting we will go....or not

On the 12th day of December my daughter gave to me.... (my gifts to Jesus)

My Best laid plans.... the perfect day, all the little details, arranging schedules, excitement for the day.

I'm a planner... in more ways than one. I like to plan our family's schedules (I am not a control freak....am I?) and I am a wedding planner. So I guess planning flows thru my veins. I am also pretty good at "winging it". However, I am not necessarily fond of winging it. But I find when I wing it, my creative side comes out much more fiercely and it usually ends up better than the original plan. (why is that?) So here I sit looking out my window seeing the slushy, wet, cold rain/snow fall from the sky and know that my plans for today to go hunting...for a Christmas tree... have been dashed. Probably. It's kinda that way with life too... my best laid plans might not be what Jesus wants for me. It's my plan not His that gets dashed. I know that if I listen to his voice I will find that the alternate plan, his original plan, is the best winging it plan ever! So I am going to put a big ol pot of Chili on the stove and see what transpires and if it is nothing other than sitting with my family over warm chili and crocheting up a storm to finish Christmas gifts it will be a good plan! What's your plan for this wintery stay inside day?

(beautiful snowy red house captured on pinterest by www.KenScottPhotography.com)

Winning!

On the 11th day of December my daughter gave to me....(my gifts to Jesus)

My Competitive Spirit…. Wanting to win at all cost, to keep up with the “Jones’s”, to never settle for second place, to outshine the rest…

Oh my goodness do I have the need to be the best… hopefully not in a rude, obnoxious way but deep down inside I cringe if something I do is criticized and isn’t the best of the best. Seriously? That is not ok. I have a problem. I’m watching these cowboys hang on for dear life on the backs of  beautiful bucking broncos or nasty ol bulls and I wonder about my motives. The only thing they have to do is make sure they “Mark up” right out of the gate (a position of their feet) …that’s it..oh and hang on for 8 seconds.. but that’s it. No fanciness or technique is expected, just hang on and do the best you can. Why do I feel the need to have it all together all the time. They aren’t even competing with each other…they are just concentrating on their own ride and figuring out how to stay on and not get hurt in the process. Everyday life is the same, everyone is riding their own beast or beauty... I am not competing with them.  So Jesus, I am giving you my Competitive spirit…I am going to concentrate on not “Missing the Mark” and just hang on, enjoy the ride and take the bulls or broncs you have placed me on for the day and hang on!

( adorable little Norwegian girl taken by  Per  Breiehagen .. www.breiehagen.com/ )

Bon Appetit' ......

On the 10th day of December my daughter gave to me.....(my gifts to Jesus)

My appetite… the want for yumminess, the need for more, a craving, a hankering, an unrelenting “want”, my eyes are bigger than my stomach syndrome. (especially today as I am in Vegas at a HUGE buffet and I need to try it all)

I have a big ol craving for sushi. Pretty much all the time. If I am trying to decide what to eat or where to go out to dine, Sushi pops into my head first. I also have an unrelenting “want” for prettiness, especially in my décor. (which can get expensive, yikes) I also want to be in tune to Jesus. I have conversations with him all the time, really I do. It’s like I have that Star trek blue tooth attachment on the side of my head talking to him all day long.. and yes it is sometimes out loud. It satisfies my cravings to be close to Him. But did you know there are appetite suppressants? Yes, Grapefruit oil is one of them and I do use it for suppressing my want for lots of food. (it works and is refreshing too) But there are Jesus appetite suppressants too… like stress and busyness and pre-occupation. So today I give you my Appetite for you, Jesus. May it be an  appetite I cannot suppress. To learn to talk to you even more, to hear what you want me to hear!  So…Bon Appetit!

(jingle bell and twine utensil idea found on http://www.siegelthurston.com/)

On the Road again.....

On the 9th day of December my daughter gave to me.... (my gifts to Jesus)

My Travel Itinerary… the highlighted AAA trip tic maps (remember those?),  passports and ID…. destination points… the food stops (of utmost importance!)

On the road today and I am eagerly anticipating a mini vacation with friends and family and a bunch of crazy cowboys. But I must make the most of the actual travel. I love road trips, my audience is captured in a small metal box on wheels for the entire time. Talk about a captive audience. All kidding aside , I have had the best conversations with my traveling companions over the years. My hunka, hunka, burnin love and I have discussed at length things like parenting, vacations, future plans for our lives in our golden years (approaching at lightning speed). It’s a time of no distractions. We always stop at historical markers and interesting vantage points, making the most of our travel experience. I must make sure tho that my travel itinerary of my days on this earth are filled with pit stops of importance, stops to love on people, to sometimes stand quietly and take in the beauty around me that was created for me and to appreciate even the smallest nuances of being a captive audience while Jesus is at the wheel. 

(little roadster pic found on pinterest & www.sara-annephotography.com/blog )

Hurry up already!!

On the 8th day of December my daughter gave to me .... (my gifts to Jesus)

My Impatience.... the hurry up already attitude....antsy....immediate gratification mindset.
We are an immediate gratification craving people, aren't we? Fast food, movies on demand, weight loss miracle pills..you name it we want it NOW!  Me too, folks, me too!  (especially in the weight loss and starting a new business dept) I find myself getting irritated at God's timing sometimes... is that a bad thing? I am human and am allowed to get irritated but how I deal with it is what I need to be concerned about. And, yes I have shaken my fist at the sky...probably not the best reaction but it was honest! (I think God smiled at that.. I do tend to entertain Him with my conversations with him I think!)  I have asked/begged/pleaded with God for certain things to happen and He sometimes says YES! Hooray! Yeeehaw!  I get so excited because He made it clear it was a yes... But.....(there's that big ol "B"word..) the timing is a whole different matter. So here I sit thinking it all needs to move faster when it hits me upside the head....God's 2x4... He said "yes" why am I worried about the timing...He said Yes...so if I am smack dab in the center of His will for a particular situation why, oh, why am I upset about the timing? He said Yes!  So now I am sitting here thinking of what I need to do next in certain "yes" situations that will grow me thru them. God gave me a brain and blessed me with talents and gifts so therefore I need to exercise them (along with my aging body) to get the best results...to make the most of my time in the waiting room! So I give Jesus my impatience all the while praying for patience!!

impatient little santa captured by www.melaniepainter.com

Past ,Present & Future

On the 7th day of December my daughter gave to me..... (my gifts to Jesus)

My Past..... the olden days, things done that might have molded me, memories, unforgettable events.
The past... my past to be exact, was an interesting one. A good one. It molded me into who I am today, especially if I learned from any of my shenanigans growing up.  But it has also etched into me certain things that make me react in a different way than most. I was a Missionary kid and grew up in Japan... that's different, right? Well, with it comes a world view different from the normal Joe..the american Joe. To add to that, my Daddy went to live with Jesus when I was only 8 and living in Japan. My mom felt that God wanted her to stay and finish his work there so for 8 more years we lived, loved and laughed in Tokyo. That added a different perspective to life even more. I could've turned out really weird ...(ok, never mind....) So, in my weirdness, I have discovered that even thru tragedy and loneliness and even a sense of abandonment that might be hard to go thru at the time, Jesus was using all of those events and circumstances to grow me, mold me , shape me.  So today in the present I accept all of the things life hands me with the assurance that I will turn out alright if I just lean back and let Jesus mold me thru the hard times. That makes the future so bright that I might need some shades..after all my future has some gold paved roads in it !  I hope you can embrace the past, be present in the present, and hope for the future... because we are gonna be awesome after all of this character shaping molding!

(cute little pinterest cowboys of the past)

Dream a little Dream of me...

On the 6th of December my daughter gave to me:

My dreams… the lofty ideas you tuck in your heart, outlandish ideas you hope will be possible to achieve, the thing that happens when you sleep. 

I’m a huge dreamer. Yup, from future log homes, to outlandish vacations, to comfortable retirement options, to expanding my jobs/passions of Oils and weddings that I get paid to do and even grandbaby outings (when they eventually arrive… not rushing anything...they will be here in God’s timing but just sayin…) But what are my dreams really?  Selfish ones at best. Where are my dreams for eternity and for love and joy and world peace? I need to  expand my dreams, not throw them out with the bathwater, but enhance them with Jesus goggles. To infuse them with God’s will and timing because then they will be reality thoughts or goals and not lofty dreams!!  Sleep tight my friends and infuse your goals and dreams with Jesus!

(dreaming puppies from barkpost.com)