Teenagers Say the Darndest Things

After months of neglect, I decided to check out my blog and was sorely disappointed. For starters, my sister, Lori Beth, changed my background and it looks more blah than it did before. She was trying to be helpful, but her "helpfulness" stopped midstream and left me with a pasty, milky white background. Thank you, Lori Beth... (And if you are reading this...I love you dearly!) Secondly, I haven't posted even a single sentence since January. (Has it REALLY been that long?!?) Considering one of my "resolutions" was to "write, write, write", this fact is highly pathetic. Hence, this post.

For several years now my God-loving, church going, aspiring missionary of a daughter (age 16), Savannah, has expressed the desire to have a llama. Yes, a LLAMA! Tonight she learned that friends of mine have a llama on their farm, and that simple fact sparked a revelation. "Mom," she say. "I don't even know if they come this small, but I would like a llama this tall..." Sitting on the floor in the living room, she holds her hands up about two feet from the carpet and continues. "... And it could follow me and spit on people I don't like!" After further reflection, she decided this was not a good idea after all...

Living Life With No Regrets

This past year, like most, was filled to the brim with new experiences, unforgettable memories and a challenge or two (maybe even three or four).

I was blessed with the opportunity to renew relationships with Dwayne and Melissa, two of my good friends from long, long ago. It stills amazes me how ten or twenty years can pass and yet with that special person, it seems as if time has stood still.

One of my saddest 2010 memories was when Heather, Bryan, and the kids moved back to Alaska. Heather and I did our best to avoid any conversation having to do with the upcoming move which was good cause we both would have been in tears. When the day came for them to leave, I was strong and held back the tears until they drove off - a first for me!!

On a positive note, I held a snake, a rabbit and a rat which is saying a lot for someone who is a scaredy cat when it comes to animals. Bug, spiders, frogs and lizards still creep me out, but I'll work on overcoming those fears this year.

Today at church the sermon was about living life with no regrets - learning from the past, taking risks, and choosing to live your life with God-shaped values. It was definitely a message fitting for a new year. I'm thankful that God loves me despite my failures and shortcomings, and I'm looking forward to seeing how God works in my life. After all, He promises good things.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future."

Jeremiah 29:11

I didn't make a new year's resolution, but here are some of the things I hope to work on, some things I hope to do, and some goals I hope to accomplish this year:

• Memorize scripture.
  
• OVERCOME some of my ridiculous fears. If other people can hold lizards and pick up frogs I can, too!!
  
• Let loose my artsy side and CREATE.
• PRAY more, do what I can, and TRUST God to take care of the rest.
• Write, write, write!!!
  
• LOVE others and look for ways to SERVE.
• LIVE simply but passionately.
  
• Be CONTENT.
  

The StairMaster

Last night I went to the gym with excitement, water bottle in hand. I climbed the Stairmaster and punched in the time: 30 minutes. After about 15 minutes of strenuous stepping and “getting nowhere”, my enthusiasm began to wane. I mustered up some positive self talk as I willed myself to keep going. During this time, I was trying to pray, but it’s hard for me to pray when I’m exercising since much of my attention is focused on keeping my heart rate up and well, let’s be honest, not quitting. But God is such a great listener, and He responded to my sporadic communication by placing His Word in my thoughts – “run with endurance the race set before you”. I was so encouraged that God not only gave me a verse to think about but also encouragement for that very moment when I felt like quitting.


(I learned these verses in the King James, but I often read other translations for a fresh perspective. These verses are from The Message.)
Hebrews 12:1-3

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

God's Favorite

Today I wanted to forget all my responsibilities, call in sick, crawl back in bed and put the covers over my head. Instead, after a good cry, I reminded myself that God is good and faithful. He's full of grace and mercy. He is an endless supply of unconditional, perfect love. He never changes, and He specializes in turning lives around. A friend of mine used to always say she was God's favorite, but she knows that I am his favorite, too. Thank you, God!

Camping and the Things You Learn

The girls and I went camping this weekend and stayed right on the Withlachoochee River. It was beautiful and peaceful, and I could've stayed all weekend. I canoed, read a book by the river, made smores around a campfire and enjoyed the playful banter of three teenage girls.

1. While camping, I learned some very interesting facts:

• Florida only has two rivers that flow north, and the Withlachoochee River is one of them.
• The Withlachoochee River has alligators.
• We went canoeing during alligator season.
• Alligators are not aggressive, but Savannah will head back to the shore if an alligator is spotted.
• Mosquitoes and other bugs will start getting bad about thirty minutes after you start hearing the frogs talking to each other.
• This last bit I found out on our drive up to the river: Cora Lynn used to put water on her eyes and come to me crying saying that Savannah hit her.
• Check for hand prints.

There's a Chef in the House

When I got home this evening from an appointment, Savannah asked if she could make dinner for me. Of course, I said yes! So she made dinner and I cleaned my room, swept the floors and spiffyed up my bathroom. It was wonderful...and so was the meal. Beautifully displayed on a sage green placemat was a plate of buttery garlic noodles, a side dish of aparagus and a bowl of fresh fruit. Forks were placed "just so" and as soon as I sat down, she brought me a glass of ice water.

She was so cute as she told me that she wanted to take a picture of the meal before I ate it. Unfortunately, we couldn't find the camera or I would have proudly posted a picture of her delectible creation.

Like a true chef, she asked me to let her know if I liked the flavor and then went on to tell me how she prepared the noodles and asaragus. I must say it was rather comically to find out that an accidental ingredient of the asparagus was...ginger. Who knew???

Funny Things

Laughing is good for one's soul. Between the parent/teen moments, Cora Lynn, Savannah and I laugh a lot. They keep me feeling young - not that I'm old or anything.

When Cora Lynn was in middle school, she had this thing about numbers. She only liked ODD numbers. If you offered her some of your candy, say four M&Ms, she would either ask for another one in order to have five or give you back one, keeping three. The worst was riding in the car with her. The volume on the stereo always had to be on an odd number. She would go to extreme measures in order to reach the dial to change it. I often purposely set it on an even number just to bug her. Thankfully, she's over her fixation with odd numbers, although I think she still prefers them to even numbers.

Yesterday, Cora Lynn and I were talking about how she likes to sleep under covers at all times even if she is hot. I remember being the same way. The thinnest of sheets or holey afgans had the power to protect me from the "something" that was under the bed waiting to grab me. A foot, or even one toe had to be covered up or I was succeptible to this "thing". Funny the mind tricks we play to ease our unrealistic fears.

While we were waiting at the airport last week, Savannah pulls out a yellow bendable smiley face toy which she had named. Cora Lynn and I gave her a hard time about taking this toy with her ,and we all laughed and took pictures with him. It made me think of when they were in first grade and brought Flat Stanley home from school for the weekend. We took pictures and wrote about his weekend with our family. Since Cora Lynn didn't have a smiley face toy, I drew her a Flat Stanley, only we ended up naming it Flat Bammer, after her boyfriend. Just before they were supposed to board, Savannah decides she wanted a Flat Matt, named of course after her boyfriend.

I love my girls and the silly, fun memories we make.