vietnam, haiti and texas-white-sheet-cake: a list

i'm feeling all sharey tonight, so behold, a list!

1. the book, inside out and back again, is a must-read for all humans. it's short and will slam you to the wall when you realize how refugee children feel.
2. it's september which means it's practically time to wrap christmas gifts. consider researching and patronizing on-line fair-trade stores for your gifts this year. a favorite of mine is haitian creations which not only provides a wide variety of awesome handbags and jewelry, but seeks to empower women to survive in their impoverished country.
3. i have other gifts-that-do-good ideas over at my pinterest account. there is a 72% chance that if you click here  you could see my board!?!?!
4. i've found a dessert that makes people beg for the recipe. beg, people. it's a texas white sheet cake. now, if you click here you will find the recipe. BUT, i highly recommend using a cream cheese icing instead of the one suggested here. and i use vanilla instead of almond extract. and i don't use nuts. 
5. esther. she's rocking my world. again. her willingness to listen to godly counsel, seek the lord and then risk is simply amazing. and so much of what i want to be. oh lord, subdue me, and increase you. amen.

so, what's going on with you? 

linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, heather for just write,  joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, jennifer for tell his story, jen for soli deo gloria, barbie for weekend brew

the long-awaited 2013 summer story list

.

my favorite summer stories....a five-minute list-with-links

devil in the white city
my beloved world
breaking night
in cold blood
destiny of the republic
enslaved by ducks
*and the mountains echoed
invictus
hezekiah
danielle - her family moved from south carolina to bangkok
quints - i love this story of a missionary couple's quints
amy - overhead projectors remind me of jesus
kristen - what being a mom is really like

*fiction

i love a great story. what have you been reading lately? give me links, people. i only have two weeks of summer left!

linking with-

the gypsy mama for five-minute-friday, grace for FYBF, beholding glory for faith-filled friday, cheryl for true vine challenge, barbie for freshly brewed life

attention-getters

these have caught my attention this week....

one of jessica rey's designs

• on teaching in NC (blog)
• on the bikini  (video)
• on making it from homeless to harvard (book)
• on the awesomeness of god (bible)

what's got your attention this week? do share!

how to receive deadish flowers for mother's day

1. become the teensiest bit a flower nerd
2. develop the tiniest problem with jealousy
3. whine at least once a week in april over the lack of wake robins in your wildflower garden
4. jump up and down a little when your brother mentions the veritable carpet of wake robins below the farm's falls
5. marry a guy who listens (wait. that should be number one....)
6. and voila! deadish flowers on the porch for mother's day!

seriously, they aren't actually dead, just the blooms are over. my husband and brother contrived, despite the busy season, to meet at the farm, tramp up to the falls, and dig. this makes my heart do some flips because i'm reminded that chris is an ephesians man, living out paul's directive to love me as christ loved the church. and i'm so glad to travel this motherhood road with him by my side.

how about you? did you give or receive any interesting gifts this year?

linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, jennifer for tell his story, jen for soli deo gloria, my freshly brewed life and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

and since saturday i've learned that....

dandelion leaves do not make tasty salad greens
(remember that time you accidentally bit into a tylenol?)
lemon-balm-leaves-infused water does not make good lemonade
(remember that time you tasted dirt?)
dumping freshly popped popcorn into a ziploc bag
because you are getting into a car and are afraid
that you'll spill a bowl-full,
and plus you don't like to scrape your hand across the buttery bag
is not a bright idea
(remember the smell of burning plastic from when you
left a bag on a burner and then turned on that burner?)
that's all.

how about you? any advice from the real life?

joy-jumps, scary-sad sorrow and sweet basil

these have made me joy-jump

this week -
(and....that would be imaginary joy-jumps
because i rarely actual-jump)
a son's home run
food lion brand nutella
fresh sweet basil's aroma
turning soil with husband and son
playing play dough with nieces and nephew
but
i'm watching the news even as i write
and
this world is
scary-sad and sorrowful
and
guilt is snuggling in
beside me on the couch
reminding me that joy should not accompany sorrow
shouldn't it, though?
jesus tells his disciples to take heart
for he has overcome the world
so
i will not allow scary-sad sorrow
to glue me to the screen
yes, i will pray
but
i'm going out to plant my basil....

how do you respond to the scary-sad sorrow of this world?

linking with -

the gypsy mama for five-minute-friday, michelle for caffeinated randomness, studio jru for sneak peek friday, grace for FYBF, beholding glory for faith-filled friday, cheryl for true vine challenge, barbie for freshly brewed life

a whtimanian list of thursday miracles

why, who makes much of a miracle?

as to me I know of nothing else but miracles, 

a boy, mine, fourteen years today

a doughnut craving

peace in first period and third

a smile from that standout student

home with sunlight to spare

chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-brownie bombs

brothers, near

moon, full and peeking through trees 

god's son sent to break for me

his bread

his body

his soul

amen

those first two lines are from walt whitman's "miracles." i love it because i live my life looking for the miraculous in the mundane....what have you found lately that is mundane yet miraculous?

linking with -

the gypsy mama for five-minute-friday, michelle for caffeinated randomness, studio jru for sneak peek friday, grace for FYBF, beholding glory for faith-filled friday, cheryl for true vine challenge, barbie for freshly brewed life

wednesday night news, verklempt and a prayer for sons

• my dog, moses, has hurt my feelings. he's been trekking down the mountain to my brother-in-law's house to hang out with their dog and their kids and their red tire swing. and i feel bereft and not enough, but lucy snapped this pic. how can i stay mad at this, my favorite dog ever?
• i found myself verklempt when i heard my husband's voice on the phone last night - all the way from papua new guinea! the team is well and will be home in nine days.
• i came upon this, one of paul's prayers, today. and i made it for my sons because what better plea could i lift up for those guys?

i have not stopped giving thanks for you
(hank and jack)
remembering you in my prayers
i keep asking that the god of our lord jesus christ
the glorious father
may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation
so that you may
know
him
better

so what's going on in your life? what prayers do you take from scripture to pray for your loved ones?

linking with:

jen for god bumps, joy for life:unmasked, grace for FYBF, faith links, carina for i am thankful, beki at the rusted chain, michelle for caffeinated randomness and studio jru for sneak peek friday

just some news about anti-depressants, chickens and my husband the missionary

• i completely weaned myself off anti-depressants! and distressing dizziness followed. dizziness that huge chunks of cheddar cheese didn't help. tilt-a-whirl dizziness. should get off the ride in about a week, according to my very patient physician.
• one of my chickens turned against me yesterday. she ruffled her feathers and displayed aggression instead of walking obediently into her coop when i told her to. i saw the same one peck the cat yesterday. i've got my eye on you, red chicken! in other news from the coop, we should begin getting eggs this week or the next.
• if you're not my facebook friend, you might not know that i came across a frozen rattlesnake head and skin in my freezer yesterday. my father-in-law took them off my hands today since i could no longer open the door.
• i wasn't going to talk about it, but my husband is away. far far far away. thousands of miles. on a wycliffe trip. i miss him in my very bones. but i'm peaceful about it because he is in god's will and i love that he seeks and listens and obeys. this is cause for joy. 
• i've read galatians five everyday this week. let us keep in step with the spirit. and this is my banner scripture for now.

so what's going on in your world?

linking with -

jen for god bumps, joy for life:unmasked, grace for FYBF, faith links, carina for i am thankful, beki at the rusted chain, michelle for caffeinated randomness and studio jru for sneak peek friday

on where i read and a list for martha

summer mornings find me
curled up on the north corner
of my couch
coffee mug and book in hand
a deep pleasure
i came home from my school year
with a red tub of books -
mostly literature for adolescents
and i will immerse myself
in story as the days pass by
my friend, martha,
who knows this about me
asked for a list
books? a list?
of course!!

so here are five i've read and enjoyed recently -

blue nights - joan didion
look me in the eye: my life with aspergers - john elder robison
outrageous grace - grace fabian
the zookeeper's wife - diane akerman
escape from camp 14 - blaine harden

and a few i plan to read this summer -

operating instructions - anne lammot
the book thief - markus zusak
monster - walter dean myers
riot - walter dean myers
reading lolita in tehran - azar nafisi

how about you? what are you reading? where do you like to read?

linking with -

emily for imperfect prose
jen for god bumps
joy for life:unmasked

my real dining table

writing for five minutes on real

and this is my real dining table
six place mats and napkins, crumby and lying askew
one computer and charger
another computer charger
my bible, reading glasses atop
a loaf of bread
an envelope covered with my husband's notes scrawled in pen
the pen
a graduation announcement
syrup
a bag of hot dog buns
my husband's bible, duct taped
a small, white paper bag containing corn kernels for planting
checkbook
yesterday's mail, sports illustrated showing
a pink, one-quart nalgene bottle
an ipod charger
a paper towel, folded accordion style
two baseball hats adorn my older son's chair
and now my older son's cereal bowl has joined the
real
so what's on your table?

linking with
the gypsy mama for five-minute-friday
beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday

michelle for caffeinated randomness

studio jru for sneak peek friday

i just wanted to list....

1. i don't really feel like writing tonight.
2. but i am (writing) because i feel like i need to stay in practice. for what? i don't know.
3. i think i grew two new gray hairs today. not a terribly stressful day, but these hairs. they are new.
4. i am becoming increasingly intolerant of noise after 4:00 pm.
5. my girl, the one i mentor, lead worship at her incredibly hip warehouse church tonight, and i felt proud. really proud.
6. i wish we had a way to water the earth other than rain. because rain is so...gray. like certain new hairs.
7. going out to dinner with my husband, just the two of us, is still a treat, twenty-five years after our first date!
8. i love to read isaiah 61 because it is just so hopeful. unlike gray hairs.

linking with:

jen for god bumps
joy for life:unmasked
emily for imperfect prose
beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday

michelle for caffeinated randomness

studio jru for sneak peek friday

on what i heard over the weekend

i've always been an abundant user of grace. - our friend, lane, to the congregation at his wedding

i want a pet monkey. - my son, jack. i can tell from this statement that he is ready for 7th grade

you can come too if you want - my son, hank, to his younger brother before going bowling

Oh, the depth of the riches of the
wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!

Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?
Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them
For from him and through him
and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.
- paul, after eleven chapters of theology
he knew what we would need to hear
and for these i am thankful:

282. my parents' 55th anniversary
283. hank passing his driver's test
284. fresh salsa
285. a breeze on a hot summer night
286. one more day of summer break
287. ears of corn the raccoons didn't get
288. a staff dinner to kick off the new year
289. my girl, the one i mentor, working hard
290. my husband, who massages headaches away

linking with:

michelle for hear it on sunday, use it on monday

ann for 1000 gifts

jen for soli deo gloria

in which i actually use some capital letters (reading lists)

summer reading facts:

• i read in the car when chris or hank is driving
• i read while sitting in my special corner of the couch 
• i've read fifteen books since the end of may
• i started three other books but didn't finish them
• my favorites this summer were memoirs

top nine (in order of how awesome they were to me):

1. A Thousand Trails – Hugh Steven (memoir of wycliffe bible translator's founder)
2. The Good Daughter – Jasmin Darznik (memoir of an iranian woman's mother)
3. Brother, I’m Dying – Edwidge Danticat (memoir of a haitian woman's father and uncle)
4. Doorway to the World – Hugh Steven (third memoir of wycliffe's founder)
5. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana – Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (memoir of an afghan woman)
6. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot (biography)
7. The Double Comfort Safari Club – Alexander McCall Smith (for FUN - takes place in botswana)
8. The Story of Lucy Gault – William Trevor (takes place in ireland - crazy story)
9. The Tiger’s Wife – Tea Obreht (takes place in an unnamed eastern european country)

the books i didn't complete:

• The Travels of Marco Polo - Marco Polo and a translator whose name i don't remember (i read about three-fourths. i got bored)
• Where Men Glory - Jon Krakauer (read about half. i got bogged down in descriptions of technical military activities)
• Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (read most, but found the story tedious. read the end to find out if the boy got the girl)

questions for you:

1. what good books have you read lately?
2. where/when do you usually read?
3. do you give up on books or force yourself to finish every one?

the right title will come to me later, i'm sure

i want to list the wrong things today

• i have a headache, again
• we're buying a car for hank - eeeeeek
• and paying for his gas
• and paying for the insurance
• i cried in front of visitors at church yesterday because i missed my nephew and felt so bad for the man with whom i was speaking because his son died on father's day
• my girl, the one i mentor, has gone silent, which means she's really struggling

but
i will not wallow
i refuse to live under a pall of dark
because god has given me oh so much
and i'm counting these gifts to 1000....

226. a headache to slow me down and make me rest
227. the means to buy a car, even if we're stretched
228. a boy who will be able to drive himself to band and baseball and football
229. the minton family and their willingness to bring their grief to god
230. 22 years with my nephew
231. my girl, the one i mentor, she is teaching me faith
232. a funeral for my friend's dear, 87-year-old grandmother.
        i want to leave a legacy of faith like her....
233. my blogger friend, nic, who has returned home with her
        new son from ethiopia!
234. scripture, for it is god-breathed and useful
235. scripture, for it is living and active
236. my husband, who works to bring scripture
        to the 2100 language groups with no printed
        word of god

linking:

michelle for hear it on sunday, use it on monday

ann for 1000 gifts

jen for soli deo gloria

four random happies

and these make me happy:

ilovelocopops.com

1. waking up without a headache after a bad-headache night. it's like magic.
2. visiting sister in the city - cousins, coffee, irregardless cafe, locopops (mexican chocolate)
3. reading the ultimate guide to dinosaurs to my four-year-old nephew. he corrected my pronunciation of compsognathus.
4. remembering, that in humility and with courage,  i may take my worries out of the pit in which i wallow with them and place them on an altar.

the thursday-friday links:

emily at in the hush of the moon for imperfect prose

casey at the wiegand's

beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday

michelle for caffeinated randomness

studio jru for sneak peek friday

lately

for all you voyeurs, this is what's up in my world. oh, and i've included two of my brother's photos to wow you.

1. i spoke with chris (who is in guatemala) for 37 minutes on monday, our anniversary. he and the team (this is a wycliffe trip) are doing well. headed to villages for the remainder of the stay. this is a sort of training trip for him as he will lead future trips for college students into areas in which wycliffe is active.
2. my younger son, jack, makes me laugh a lot. today he said, one time i tasted a boomerang. it was good. i wanna taste another one some day. i have so many thoughts and questions.....
3. hank, the older son, asked me to play a game over the weekend. i beat out facebook and guitar to play boggle. i won.
4. i'm reading the immortal life of henrietta lacks by rebecca skloot. i'm intrigued by a book that delves into science. what that means is this book is well-written. i'm not a fan of science if i am the one studying it.
5. and the pigs and garden? growing. pictures to follow when chris comes home with our camera!

the thursday-friday links:

christy for as of late

casey at the wiegand's

beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday

michelle for caffeinated randomness

studio jru for sneak peek friday

upon a sunday, happy

these three things from today made me happy. and peaceful. and wishing for more.

1. karrie from life from here delivered the message at her church. and i went! and i loved it! here's what i learned - god redeems us from ourselves. because he can. because he wants to. and then? he walks with us while we go about the new living.
2. visited my girl, the beautiful young lady i mentor, for three hours.  i love her physical surroundings - i will be able to picture her now as i pray for her. the language she's speaking - it's positive. i'm so very proud of how hard she is working. still a long way to go. but some progress.
3. i'm writing this while sitting beside my twin sister!!!! i drove on in to see her after visiting my girl. we're sitting criss-cross-applesauce on her couch, our laptops up and running. bliss!

and for these i am also thankful:

86. lattes
87. chocolate
88. my husband, who will take the kids to school for me in the morning!
89. front porch swings
90. nephews who ask me to play

linking up with three awesome writers today!

a day in the life

today, other than the mundane (you know, arose at 5:09, taught five classes and attended meetings) i....

• studied hank's and jack's faces while chris read us a psalm this morning. i thought i would burst. into tears. or open with joy. i really like those guys.
• drew a picture of a worm while i was at a meeting. i named him virgil and gave him a hat and shoes but no arms.
• learned a new word - resorb. please don't laugh at me for not knowing.
• reflected on the day my grandmother died in 1978. i remember wanting to cry because mom was. but i couldn't. i selfishly thought about how she would be home more now. i was 8 years old.
• wrote a letter to my girl. i wish i could revise it. but it's gone. so i'll call her and tell her what i meant to say but didn't.
• listened to friends who are separately afraid of the future.
• didn't get upset with a woman who gave me the once over to see if i weigh enough.
• laughed at/with my siblings via email. i get to see them all on sunday.

and all day i carried the verse, be joyful always, in my heart. that i might be.


this is the part of the week in which i run around with some of my favorite bloggers! here are the links!

tiffani at the house of belonging for a day in the life.
beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday

49-59

it's really okay if

i didn't write a creative post today

i don't dust before bed tonight

i don't cook a big dinner

i watch television instead of grading papers

i go to sleep before my children

but

it is not okay

for me to ignore the invitation

to gratefulness

and for these i am thankful

49. my mother-in-law. happy birthday, nana!

50. my soon-to-be-four-years-old nephew
51. hand-me-down day for the nephew (photo)
52. the inspite-of kind of love
53. my girl's list of thankfuls
54. heavy covers
55. scrabble on the kindle
56. rosebud salve
57. my friend's new granddaughter
58. the worn place on my kitchen floor
      where i stand to cook
59. my husband, who serves


and linking up!