Man Shall Not Live By Bread Alone

But I am pretty sure I could...if I needed to.  Physically speaking, of course!  

Recipe I made this evening found at www.oldfarmhousecooking.blogspot.com

Today was one of those days.  You know the kind that find you lazingly rolling from bed, thinking gleefully that today might actually be a slow Saturday as there are no deadlines, not even a mile long to do list floating around your head?  You go to put away the Christmas decorations only to find the packing box they share with misc. other things has been invaded by little worms slowly eating their way through a handwoven basket from Uganda, Africa my brother brought me.  They have also eaten their way through other special trinkets and pictures awaiting their glass cabinet to be displayed in someday.  You are apalled but not quite as much as when your three year old, upon hearing your cries of dismay, comes running and faster than you can blink grabs the little basket and in a FLASH flips it upside down on her mass of curls and looks at you and says, "What happened, Mommy?!"  Your cries of dismay turn to cries of horror and you frantically peel little worms and bugs out of her hair before they disappear altogether in the tangled mass of uncombed curls.  

And so you end up cleaning, reorganizing, moving around, cleaning some more, parting almost tearfully with special things people have given you over the years that are so carefully and sentimentally stored in hopes of actually having a special place for them someday.  A garbage bag later, you hardly have time to grieve because now you hear running water and know you are in trouble...again!  This time a rag has fell into the sink that your washer empties into, plugging it to overflowing and now your laundry room is covered in water.  Well, you weren't planning on cleaning the laundry room either today but here goes!  And the baby wants to eat every.two.hours.on.the.dot and the family needs lunch and dinner and the little girl child spills juice all over the floor you cleaned yesterday.  Well, it was one of those days at my house!

Oh, and it is so HOT that I was literally dripping all day long while putting out fires.  But then, putting out fires is a hot job!  And a side note: there literally was a fire outside our condo this afternoon, so during the hottest hours of the day, our windows were all shut against the smoldering smoke threatening to overwhelm our lungs.  When I received my weekly call from my parents, I told mom it was a laugh or cry kind of day so we laughed together! 

And call me utterly, completely crazy, in the middle of it all I decided to make bread.  Yup.  Have NO.IDEA.WHY except that there is little that brings comfort and peace like two, beautiful, round, white loaves of bread rising in the middle of the chaos.  And rise they did.  We had toasted ham and cheese sandwiches tonight on that beautiful bread.  And iced tea.  My world felt okay again!

And now the babies are in bed...asleep I might add!  My man is watching television.  The dishes are once again done.  The laundry room is no longer flooded.  The bugs are gone...I think!  The toys and blankets and dollies and pens and tablets are all put in their places.  And I wonder what tomorrow may hold!  It is so rare that I have the ability to laugh in the face of the craziness (I tend to cry more in the midst of crisis!) but today I did and it was...freeing.  Maybe having the big man sick and in the hospital in November and the little man injured and in the hospital in December and my precious father being treated for some serious heart issues and two dear friends walking their respective cancer journies...I don't know.  Maybe I am learning to keep things in perspective.  At least I can HOPE!

HOPE is my theme for 2014.  As I have journaled the last few days, it is the one overwhelming sensation and emotion I have.  I feel anticipation, hope, expectation.  I have absolutely NO IDEA what God's plan is for my life this year or for those I love, but I know it is a plan of Hope and a Future.  He has promised it to be so.  I choose to believe that. 

New Year's Resolutions: I  always make a lot of them.  I actually write them down, too, and actually do look back at them at the end of every year.  Mostly because I am an obsessed list maker and LOVE to check things off my list.  So, of course, I have to see how well I did at the end of every year.  And every blessed New Year I journal up a storm, listing my visions, resolutions, goals and hopes for the new year.

Of course, this year I am a mommy of two, so am a little behind!  Sigh.  Smile!  Anyway, yesterday I came across a very interesting blog, authored by what I am sure must be a very interesting woman.  I don't know her but her post about resolutions made me stop in my tracks and pay attention.  Her thoughts (shared much more beautifully that I can share here) are that resolutions are very focussed on ME.  My strength, my motivation, my self-discipline, my self-motivation, etc, etc.  Her point was that maybe we should focus more on God and less on ourselves.

 This author believes the most important resolutions we can make this year are 

1. Acknowledge God, asking daily to feel the power of something greater than you and

2. Let EVERYTHING else go!

I like that.  Concise.  Direct.  To.The.Point.  I like that.  I love that!

So, as I once again would love to simplify more in my life, my resolutions are simple.  Not simple to do but simple to remember.  I won't even need to check my list.  They are engraved on my heart.  Lord, give me Your grace to actually stick with them!

Goals for 2014 I have, as well.  We will leave those for another post!

C.Jane Kendrick is a fascinating writer.  If you are interested in her blog, check out
www.cjanekendrick.com.

Good night, dear ones.  May His presence and peace surround you tonight.

Happy 2014.  Happy letting go.  Happy letting God be God in our lives,

JAMA