Seasons

So we got whacked with a storm yesterday, about 10 inches of snow......after having temps in the high 50s last week. Crazy New England weather.

But I think we are at the tail end of the winter season....and like most of us, I am looking forward to spring. Now I love the gorgeous snow, don't get me wrong (I've appreciated it here and here)......but my sandals are calling and I am starting to get cabin fever.

Spring just represents so much.....new life, new beginnings, a fresh new start. I can't wait to clear out the debris from the garden beds and make way for my flowers and plants to come alive this year. My garden is one of my favorite places to be......I designed it so that I can look out the window and get a front row, up close and personal view of God's amazing imagination (now you know where my blog title comes from). It is filled with a variety of colors, nectars and blooms that invite the greatest diversity of visitors. It is not one of those perfectly groomed gardens with perfect spacing and not a weed in sight. It is more like a cottage style garden....mirroring my personality.....no borders/boundaries, stuff getting a little crowded and overgrown....plenty of weeds. ;)

With spring approaching...... I can't wait to fill the hummingbird feeder and expected my daily visit from the family that lives nearby. I also look forward to sitting on my front step with my coffee and wait patiently for one of the most amazing creatures that God has designed, the butterflies. OK, so maybe that is more summer and I am getting ahead of myself here.....

Anyway.....speaking of seasons......my bestest friend Lili dropped off a CD for me to listen to. She knows I love to hear some good preaching and she was right on with this one. This is an amazing woman name Martha Tennison and it was from a women's retreat in 2006. (if you Google her name, like I did.....you will see how she has influenced many Believin' bloggers and writers)

This woman of God is so awesome.....she'll make you laugh, she'll make you cry.....but most of all, she will instills a powerful Word in your heart. So far, I have only listened to half of it.....but felt moved to share what she has taught me so far.

With this sermon, she talks about seasons. And she opens with this mighty statement "Seasons are certain.....not final"

She reminds us that no matter what season we are in, in our life......we need to remember that when God places promises in our heart.....He has it all orchestrated and will fulfill that Promise. What is hard for us, is that we need to press through the season, no matter how long it is. It could be a season of despair, a season of financial downfall, a season of sickness. These seasons can last weeks, months.......even years.

We need to relate to a farmer's way of thinking. A farmer does not fret about the seasons. He knows they are part of the life cycle of his crops. So we need to stay planted in God's word, His power, His love during every season of our lives.

We need to trust that seasons are all part of His plan for our life. So today's situation includes yesterday's Promise and will not stop tomorrow's fulfillment. Woah. powerful stuff.

This woman can preach it like no other, so I won't even try to reiterate 1/10 of what she spoke about.....it wouldn't do it any justice. I just soaked in her teachings and heard His wisdom in my heart. If you ever are able to get your hands on one of her sermons or better yet, find a retreat or conference with her on the bill....my advice is JUMP on it! (edited to add......in my Googling efforts, I found a site with audio sermons/podcasts and she has two available, Feb 8-9)


So I will end with this last powerful statement that planted a seed in my heart (no pun intended)

Spring is coming......making way for summer.......and fall will bring the harvest.


Hope you have lots of sunshine today

Peace
*~Michelle~*

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

So today is Dr. Seuss's birthday!!! Funny how many of his playful stories and quotes had a life lesson woven in. So I wanted to share some of my favorites........


“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter won’t mind.”

“Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.”

So now, I am going to make our traditional green eggs this morning (no ham) and enjoy our snow day......

.....I'll leave one last great motivational thought for you.

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way.”

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! (1904-1991)
xox
*~Michelle~*

a little tune-up

I came across this couple's blog from Pastor Pete Wilson's blog that had a series pertaining to things that destroyed their marriage. I enjoy watching and listening to Pete's series, he delivers powerful with his "you-can-relate" style. Currently I am watching his Dream Job series. If you haven't been to The Cross Point Church site, you are missing out on some great preaching.

So back to this marriage series........

I can say that Josh and I have a pretty solid relationship, but I don't think that anyone is never in need of a maintenance check, once in a while. And we do have some barriers that keep us from being even better. We all know that marriage is a work in process and I believe that every marriage can use a tune up.

http://refineus.blogspot.com/2009/02/8-things-that-destroyed-our-marriage.html

Anyway......I really found this enlightening and wanted to pass it along....There were just some key areas that hit home to me.......specifically this


Here is the truth: If you want to grow in your intimacy with your spouse…if you want your spouse to pursue you again…if you want your spouse to respect you again…if you want your spouse to find you attractive again…if you want your spouse to forgive you again…if you want your spouse to love you again like they loved you when you were first married…pray for God to change you into the person your spouse needs you to be.

I applied this to a different situation with me......not so much wanting or needing Josh to find me attractive or respect me.....but more in the sense of wanting him to think or act differently in some areas. I can honestly admit that I pray selfishly sometimes when it comes to my marriage. I pray and ask God to change Josh's heart on certain things to accommodate me and my needs/wants. I am not really asking for what will be best for our marriage or more importantly what is pleasing to God.......I am asking for what I feel will be best for me. So I want to make some changes. This piece brought to light that how and what I am praying for is great place to start.

Bottom line, Christ needs to be in the center of our marriage, ALL the time.

I think that if we treat each other with Jesus's compassion, selfless ways, true forgiveness and understanding....we can make our marriage stronger than ever.


xox
*~Michelle~*

Matthew 7:7

"Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you."
~Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

Wanted to just put this out here.....hoping it touches someone's heart today. :)


Happy Friday!
Peace and love~
*~Michelle~*

Three Things This Thursday.......(Lost thoughts, Treats and Blessings)

1. Disturbed.

That is the only word that can described how I felt after last night's episode.

Who is good? Who is evil? How the heck could Ben kill John like that? *shudder*

OK, so some of the things discovered last night:

We find out/confirm that the creepy man who shows up at random places is Charles Whidmore's right hand man, so to speak. He reminds John that it was him, posing as the intern, who convinced him to take the initial flight in the first place....

We also find out that Whidmore knows exactly where the "exit" is from the island as he had his cameras and security system ready and waiting in Tunisia. (I am assuming the same desert that Ben was plopped into)

There is def. conflict unfolding between Eloise Hawkings and Ben. When she was asked if Ben was lying (back at their little get-together) she replied probably. Ben seemed a little miffed with his snarky reply to Jack about how he was the one who had to stay after with Ms. Hawkings......and then the ultimate was when Ben heard John Locke mention her name and meeting up with her.....he just snapped into murder mode. Was I the only one who felt a deep pit in your stomach in that scene? It was very disturbing to watch. Not just to see our friend John Locke get strangled, but man.......these Lost writers are getting brutal. I am still trying to shake the image of that French dude's arm getting ripped off from outta my mind.

Questions:

The obvious.....Why would Ben first rescue John from suicide, but then kill him?

We confirm that the "concerned" passenger (the one who offers Jack his condolences at the airport) and the marshal who was handcuffed to Sayid were definitely meant to be on that flight as well....for the same purpose of getting to the island. They clearly were not surprised to have crashed on some island as they are found exploring what appears to be another hatch. Not to mention.....they had those boats ready on the shore? But, who would these two new characters be affiliated with?

My husband seems to think that they (this newest plane "crash") are not on "the" island as John was looking out at another island in the distance when he was standing on the beach. It could be the smaller island that Kate and Sawyer were held captive a few seasons back. Remember Ben took Sawyer to to show him that even if he did escape from his cage, there was no way off?

But it does appear that Jack, Kate and Hurley landed on the original island (and quite possibly a different time as well...., the familiar lagoon, Jin in Dharma uniform, newer VW bus??)

I wanted to shout at John to shut his mouth when he was telling Ben about Jin. Ben looked surprised to hear that Jin was still alive. His buggy eyes were more shifty than normal. (have I mentioned that Michael Emerson is a brilliant actor?)

I am still pondering my thoughts from a few weeks ago that Charles Whidmore might possibly be Daniel Faraday's father....

No real "best line of the night" with this episode, but I just loved how Hurley was nonchalant talking to John, just assuming he was another dead person from the island.

This week, I have to say......I am really LOST. I cannot figure out who has the best intentions for the island. Ben can be such a slimeball and has no real concern for human life (except his daughter Alex so far).....but Whidmore will stop at nothing to get to that island including staging plane wrecks, hot wiring a desert, and has had his share of sacrificing people.

Will the real "good guy" PLEASE stand up?

..... Or maybe they both are bad guys?

I don't know if my heart can take this......until next week.........


On to my other things this Thursday

2. I made a batch of brownies this weekend.....but a friend suggested I melted about 1/4 cup of peanut butter in the microwave and stir it in......I think I might have found my new comfort food.

(I did limit myself to only 4.....remember, I have new jeans.....sorry, I know I am repeating myself and obsessed with them......but they really did change my life!)

3. God has been extra good to us this week.......and has a hilarious way of letting us know that He can handle any/all of our finances. Quick story (if there is such a thing with me). We have extra "tight" weeks, as we pay our mortgage every other week. So the weeks that the payment goes out, leaves us with a much less amount to live on. Well, between signing up G for a driver's ed course that was $125 and catching up on a higher than normal electric bill......let's just say we had a very weak checking account balance by Tuesday.

Like He always does.......God sends along this random check to us for $50. It was an overpayment I made last month to a bill and I totally forgot about it. So I rushed to the ATM to give our balance all the help it could get. I said "thank you" to God as I put the check into the little slot. The receipt pops out and my balance is now ALOT higher than the $50 addition. I mean ALOT. So I instantly think.....WOW, God...I know You can do anything, but this is CRAZY.
.....then it took me a few minutes to realize that our state refund had been wired in....but the still crazy thing is that we only did our taxes this past Saturday. Call it lightening speed electronic tax filing technology......I'm calling it the way I see it.

I'm giving God all the glory on this one.

Wrapping up this story.......one last blessing from God......is that when I went home from the bank, I went to turn on the water and we had none. great. We've had our share of well problems, and usually they have a $1000-1500+ price tag on them. Not that anyone is in any financial situation to swallow a bill like this, but things have been extra tight around here lately. Josh basically had a vein throbbing on his head when I told him about it. I tried to remain calm and just remind him that even though we only got to see the money pending in our account, at least God gave us a head start on what we were facing. We made the dreaded call to the well people.....they showed up Wednesday morning.

It was only a fried wire in the motor. I was never so happy to see a $123.50 bill in my life. Praise Him!

So there you go.........my Three Things this Thursday. If you feel like popping on the Lost-aholic train or join in sharing three random things.......please do! The more the merrier. Leave a comment and/or leave your link here:






Peace and love~
*~Michelle~*

God's Pharmacy

A friend sent this to me and I really wanted to share.....this is amazing!

It is said that God separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, made animals and fish......planted The Garden. He made what we needed before we were born. These are best and more powerful when eaten raw.

We are slow learners.....so God left us great clues as to what foods help what part of our body.

God's Pharmacy

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

I want be able to wear the new jeans that changed my life for a long time........so This works for me this Wednesday.....check out other great ideas on We are THAT family's blog.


Peace and love~
*~Michelle~*

A good pair of jeans....

.....makes for a GREAT day (life).

OK, so let's face it......when you are wearing jeans that fit right, make your waist look small and your "butt" look perky.....nothing can bring you down.

I, like most mothers.....always put my children first, especially when it comes to clothes. For example.....H has to have certain jeans from Pac-Sun that fit his super skinny rocker frame. G needs those basketball sneakers whose price tag is comparable to our mortgage payment. You get my drift.

So when it comes to me....factoring in that my wallet is in the red after taking care of said children's wardrobes and the mother's guilt that comes with spending any money on myself....I usually hit the second hand stores or defective styles at TJMaxx these past few years.

I consider myself pretty current or "hip" as far as I can see when I compare myself to today's youth. I cannot compare myself to many fashion magazines as they either feature corporate America business/conservative styles.....where I have never worked a 9-5 job in my life.....or high fashion Hollywood garb that I cannot even afford the socks they have on.

So, I like to just shop at stores that have a more youthful appeal to them and see what works for me. I know my limits and will not try to pull off the super tight tees baring my mid-drift.....as that would bare what is referred to as the onset of a muffin top, not to mention......how comfortable is that? I prefer looser, more comfortable tops such as a nice broken in tie dye tee or a peasant style hippie shirt.

But let's get to jeans. My current wardrobe has jeans are acceptable.....they fit fine, they are just....well jeans. They are not mom jeans with stretchy waistbands fitting under my ribcage. They do not have 50% spandex in them where they look like denim Saran Wrap. They are simply normal ho hum jeans, slightly low rise (I feel suffocated with anything up high) with a little flare at the bottom. They don't make me look great......they don't make me look bad....they just are there, I guess. I never looked in the mirror and felt WOW....I feel great! I just give one last glance, make sure I don't have anything stuck in my teeth and go on my way.

Well this weekend.....after re-evaluating the important things in life......and listening to the words of wisdom from Big Mama and other fashion connoisseurs of the world.....I put my priorities in order and changed my fate.

I went out and splurged on not one.....but two....new pairs of jeans at The Gap.

At first I felt sheepish and awkward walking into the jeans department. After all....I was accustomed to flipping through a rack of miscellaneous jeans grouped by size with not many options. I was overwhelmed by all the choices......what style do I want/need? Long and lean? Comfy and curvy? Stylish and sleek? Bootcut or straight? ACK! Apparently these are options I have failed to address in my previous jean purchases.

So I sucked it up and actually went against every grain of integrity in my body, approached the sales person on the floor and asked for that four letter word.......h-e-l-p.

Of course, she was this young perky little thing.....a size 2, if that. I took a deep breath and held my head up high while I asked if she could help me choose what might work best for me in the jean department.

She bounced on over to me (did I mention she was perky?....in all areas?).....and asked what style I was looking for. I politely reminded her that was why I needed her help....I am a Gap jeans virgin and have no clue.

I felt the need to remind her that I was over 40 and these hips have birthed four children. But I also asked her to be kind when she when she suggested a size.....and that I would forgive her if she overshot the actual size number.

We narrowed it down to a low rise, wider leg style, The Essential jeans.....Ms. Perky was kind enough to use the term flattering as opposed to "these will camouflage your thicker thighs".

So I went into the dressing room.......fully expecting to be disappointed. I did, however, notice that a woman definitely was the one who designed the dressing room as there was very soft lighting. Lord knows that most dept. stores have men calling the shots with their choice of fluorescent lights that will send most woman out in tears. Well at least I have. Those suckers show every vein, dimple, roll.....*shudder*.

This dressing room was very pleasant....and soothing. Almost like a sedative before the dreaded deed of trying on clothes. I walked in with the two pairs and went for it.

To my surprise.....they went on nice....I didn't have to suck in my belly or wriggle them up like a wetsuit. The only word I can use to describe it was.....they "glided" on. Doesn't that sound so nice?

I looked in the mirror and couldn't believe how nice they fit.....I ventured out to those three way mirror dealios and positioned myself to get a "rear-view" shot. I was even more excited when I didn't see something that resembled a sausage casing.

I think I even giggled out loud in excitement. So *this* is what those women I envy when I see them strutting around in those perfect fitting jeans feel like ALL THE TIME? I have been missing out on this euphoric feeling all these years? I am pretty sure I bounced......yes, that happy little perky bounce that Little Miss Size 2 does....to the dressing booth and tried on the other slice of heaven....pair of jeans, which although was a different style....fit every crook and nanny of my body perfectly. At least I think so....even if it *was* the magical lighting.....I was taking it all in and riding this wave.

I was tempted to be like my daughter and ask the cashier if I could wear them out....but I decided that it wasn't a great idea. After all....my debut in these jeans had to be so much more spectacular than pairing them with the Native American style blanket/wool hoodie I was sporting.

The cashier asked if found everything OK....and I almost jumped over the counter to give her a hug, but I refrained and just gave her a big smile with a nod. And then she told me that this sale gave you $25 off any purchase over $75......so that was like a cherry on top. :)

I am a new woman. I have new jeans that make me feel good inside.....and make me smile. :)

So, I will wrap up this testimony of how a good fitting pair of jeans can change your life and encourage you to do the same, if you haven't already. If you have, please leave your favorite brand in my comments as I feel an addiction coming on.

.....I leave you with a quick snapshot of my glorious new jeans..... (excuse N's messy room). The photo doesn't do them much justice. I should have shot a video, because I am sure you would see a little bounce in my step. ;)

Talk soon~

*~Michelle~*