Serenity

A discussion about my Christmas stress on Facebook led me to The Serenity Prayer. I jokingly changed it to the following:

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot get done; the energy to do the things I can; and the wisdom to know the difference.”

But as usual, I had to Google it first in order to get the wording right. And when I did, I found the FULL text of the prayer. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the second part of it, but it is beautiful:

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

–Reinhold Niebuhr

Amen!

Menu Plan Monday: December 21-27, 2009

I’ve been away on vacation, then recovering from vacation, so this is the first menu plan I’ve done in a few weeks.  It feels good to be back!

Monday – To Die for Pot Roast, served with mixed veggies and baked potatoes.

Tuesday – Chicken Florentine Pasta Bake.

Wednesday – Creamy Dreamy Enchiladas, served with a southwest salad.

Thursday – We will be attending church services this evening as it is Christmas Eve.  Dinner will be quick and casual.  Sandwiches, most likely.

Friday – Merry Christmas!  We will have our traditional breakfast of Raspberry Jubilee French Toast.  The rest of the day will be casual grazing.

Saturday –We will be having our big meal of the day with my in-laws.  Ravioli and Italian sausage… yum!

Sunday – leftovers or snacking.

Never Get Tired of This One

Bilingual

My Girl Scout troop set up a pre-holiday store where girls could “buy” items for themselves or as gifts. It was part of the “Penny Power” Try-It — they earned “Brownie Bucks” by exhibiting good scouting behavior and got to spend (or save) however they wished. We will do it again at the end of the year.

Among the available merchandise were a few boxes of Girl Scout cookies left over from our sales earlier this year. When Sophia saw them sitting on the table, she started saying, “Hey! Dulce de Leche! I didn’t know we still had some Dulce de Leche cookies! Dulce de Leche!”

I was surprised because, as much as I love all things caramel, the cookies were IMHO not very good. “You liked those?”

“No,” she replied. “I just like saying, ‘Dulce de Leche!’”

Teen Logic

Trevor has been complaining nearly every night that he is tired. He has even voluntarily gone to bed early. Very strange behavior, IMHO!

Yesterday when he complained that he was tired, I half-jokingly said, “Why are you tired all the time? Are you taking drugs or something?”

He sputtered, “What?!?! No, of course not!”

I asked, “Well, why are you so tired then?”

“I’m a teenager, mom. We sleep a lot because we get really tired.”

“From what?” I scoffed.

“From being awake!”

The Golden Time

I found this poem, clipped from a very old newspaper and yellowed with age, in a journal of quotes and clippings that I started in 1985 and have been adding to ever since.  I thought the poem was rather lovely, and wanted to share it here.

The Golden Time, by Margaret E Sangsten

When is the golden time?  You ask –
the golden time of love.
The time when earth is green beneath
And skies are blue above;
The time for sturdy health and strength,
The time for happy play –
When is the golden hour, you ask –
I answer you, “Today.”

Today, that from the Maker’s hand
Slips on the great world sea,
As staunch as ever ship that launched
To sail eternally.
Today that wafts to you and me
A breath of Eden’s prime,
That greets us, glad and large and free –
It is the golden time.

For Yesterday hath veiled her face
And gone as far away
As sands that swept the Pyramids
In Egypt’s ancient day.
No man shall look on Yesterday
Or tryst with her again;
Forever gone her toils, her prayers,
Her conflicts and her pain.

Tomorrow is not ours to hold,
May never come to bless
Or blight our lives with weal or ill
With gladness or distress.
No man shall clasp Tomorrow’s hand
Nor catch her on the way;
For when we reach Tomorrow’s land,
She’ll be by then Today.

You ask me for the golden time;
I bid you, “seize the hour,”
And fill it full of earnest work,
While yet you have the power.
Today, the golden time for joy.
Beneath the household eaves;
Today, the royal time for work
For “bringing in the sheaves.”

Today, the golden time for peace,
For righting olden feuds;
For sending forth from every heart
Whatever sin intrudes.
Today, the time to consecrate
Your life to God above,
Today, the time to banish hate
The golden time for love.

Menu Plan Monday: November 30 – December 6, 2009

Comments on last week’s menu: I still haven’t made the Famous Butter Chicken.  Going to try again this week.

Monday – Italian Chicken Pie with Caesar Salad.

Tuesday – crock pot pork chops, mashed potatoes, mixed veggies.

Wednesday – I’ll fix Tastes Like Lasagna Soup with Garlic Crostini before we head out to cell group.

Thursday – bacon cheeseburger meat loaf, baked potatoes, green beans

Friday –we won’t be having a movie night tonight, since both kids will be sleeping over at a friend’s house.  I don’t know if Dan and I will go out or stay in, but either way we will be sure to enjoy the peace and quiet!

Saturday – Famous Butter Chicken, served with rice & broccoli.

Sunday – leftovers or snacking.

Works for Me Wednesday: Lunchbox Love

I love shopping the dollar bins at Target, Michaels, and any other store that has them.  I don’t often find much, but every now and then I will stumble upon something that is just delightful.

On a recent shopping trip at Michaels, I discovered sample packs of “Lunchbox Love” in the store’s dollar bins.  Made by a company called Say Please, Lunchbox Love is a “cute collection of heartfelt note cards – with positive phrases on the front and fun facts and inspirational quotes on the back – that inspire and energize, encouraging love and laughter!”

I stuck one in Sophia’s lunchbox without telling her about it.  I’d been hand-writing notes on napkins every day for the past year or so… with a drawing or a little rhyme, or just “I love you.”  I wasn’t sure how she would respond to something less personal.

She loved it!  The messages were so wonderful and varied; the trivia facts were fascinating.  I ordered more from the company and have been packing them in her lunchbox ever since. Each pack also includes two blank cards where you can write your own message, and I have utilized them as well.

The Lunchbox Love cards are an easy, excellent way to make your child feel special when they’re at school.  I highly recommend them!

Menu Plan Monday: November 23-29, 2009

Comments on last week’s menu: The Tuscan Pasta with Tomato-Basil Cream was quite good, and very easy to prepare.  Three out of four of us loved it.  The fourth is a picky eater who thought it tasted “fruity.”

The Crockpot Cheeseburgers turned out well.  I opted to use Velveeta instead of American cheese.  I don’t know why on earth they think that recipe yields ten burgers.  We got five.  The only drawback to this recipe for me was the fact that it has a cook time of 3-4 hours and I prefer to use my crockpot for all-day cooking.

On to this week …

Monday – Girl Scout meeting tonight.  Dinner with the girls.

Tuesday – Famous Butter Chicken, served with rice & broccoli. (Supposed to have this last Saturday but didn’t.)

Wednesday – We will have a quick, easy dinner of soup and grilled cheese sandwiches before heading out to cell group.

Thursday – Happy Thanksgiving!  Normally I cook a meal, but this year I am going to my mom’s house.  I’ll be taking Trevor’s favorite Thanksgiving  sweet potatoes.

Friday – Family movie night.  We will have pizza and watch Santa Buddies, at Sophia’s persistent request.

Saturday – Sophia will be fixing dinner for us (she is working on a cooking badge for Girl Scouts).  She will fix Sloppy Joes, and I will fix some corn (on the cob if I can find some) to go with them.

Sunday – leftovers or snacking.

Mike Huckabee Part III: BOATS

I have a boat.

I love my boat.  It makes me so happy.

It can be a bit of a hassle to take my boat out of storage — lots of work and even more time.  I’m so busy that I rarely get to use my boat.  But boy, do I love it!

Once a week — maybe twice — I get together with other boat owners in a local boat club that meets at the warehouse.  We talk about our boats, sing songs about boating, talk about how we wish our non-boating friends would get boats, etc.   We even take up a collection for other folks with boats so that they can use them.  Those folks send us pictures of them using their boats and we rejoice in their boating efforts.

Then we go about our regular day-to-day lives — work, home, traffic, shopping, etc. —  until the following week, when we meet together again.

The problem with the above scenario is that boats aren’t made to be kept in storage.  They are meant to be in the water.  And no matter how much we might enjoy getting together with other boaters, that is not the point of having a boat.

Do you see an analogy here?

The boat is our faith, the boating club is the church, and the water is the world.

Get it?