Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Bit of Truth for the Journey...and One More for the Road

One more for the road...

Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?

And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?

And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.

Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?

For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.

But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:25-34 Amplified Bible

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ A Bit of Truth for the Journey

If you think you are on your path all alone. Without someone to watch over you. Think again.

Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's leave (consent) and notice.

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Fear not, then; you are of more value than many sparrows.

Matthew 10:29-31 from the Amplified Bible.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Laundry Time, Soul Starch...

My friends are all in various stages of life, and each of us has our own unique set of problems.

I was discussing this very thing with two friends the other day. One has a multiplex of relationship issues and is in the midst of trying to sort out the details, the other, well, she has some relationship issues, too.

Another friend doesn't speak the same language as her husband. Wait. That likely describes every married woman I know. Let's just say that her communication failures seem extraordinarily confusing. Another. Well. We probably all struggle with the fine balance of supporting, loving and respecting our men with varying degrees of success and failure waning and waxing with the phases of the moon and/or hormones. 

And that's just the marriage struggles. Pile on work issues, church issues, children, budgets, extended family, friends, health...oh we can have some problems.

As my friends and I chatted we all looked at each other and said things like, "I could not have survived what you went through." or "I think my life sucks, but it's nothing compared to yours. How can you even get out of bed?' Or, "I'd have locked and shut that door a long time ago." And an old story came back to me. Three women hung out laundry to dry. They compared their items, they lamented with the others stains and struggles, gave advice and listening ears. In the end, they all chose their own laundry, folded it and took it home.

When I look at the lives of others, I am amazed at what the human spirit can endure for love, or for sanity or for survival. Amazed. And when they look at mine, they may well wonder why I've made the choices I have.

Bottom line. We humans are stronger than we give ourselves credit for. The will to live, survive, thrive and love is a strong one indeed. When given the choice to choose faith over substances, peace over numbness, joy over bitterness, the survivors in life choose faith, peace and joy. 

Bottom line. Our paths are ours. And given the choice, we will still pick our path over our neighbor's. Our laundry may be stained and dingy, but it is ours and is permeated with our essence. We who will continue to live will choose our journeys no matter how difficult they may become.

So survivor. Put those feet on the floor, pray hard, slide on the freshly laundered big girl panties, make one decision at a time, and go thrive on that path. It's all yours, and for all it's bumps, potholes and ruts, you know you'd choose the same one.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Herd Mentality

Trying to blog with a herd of animals surrounding me is a challenge of epic proportions. Trust me. Especially if two of said animals have the need for scritches, scratches, constant attention or want what you are eating/drinking. Oh. And their heads are the size of my lap top.


Duncan may have been on my list several times (read daily) this week. But, I have a feeling he's taking home some different and possibly as annoying (ha, more annoying than stealthy pooping on the floor, doubt it!!!) habits. He's run with two big dogs (and manages to join their wrestling matches without fear or injury) all week, and he's made a frenemy of Feral.

Feral thinks he's part of the pack. And he pretty much is, however, Lola is always annoyed at Feral's ability to jump onto small spaces to get closer to the humans, and often head butts him or slugs him. Duncan is a little more up close and personal with Feral and he can get to places that Lily and Lola couldn't even consider, leaving Feral with a very unwanted shadow more often than not. Feral has done a lot of growling (yes, he growls... weird cat trick...he growls when someone knocks on the door) and running.

Duncan also has discovered the peanut butter knife ritual. Every morning I make Rob and I a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. And every day the girls get to lick the magically delicious peanut butter spreader. Duncan now lines up with them and sits, waiting his turn for a lick of doggie nirvana proportions P B and J. 

He'll leave tomorrow and I'll kind of miss the little nugget... but not his stealth nuggets, mind you.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Presto-Chango...

The more things change, the more they stay the same.?.

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. 

James 3:17
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
James 3:16-18 

Duncan is still pooping on the floor. Check. This has not changed. Even though he is using the outdoor facilities almost as often.

The girls still stop everything when it's time to make peanut butter sandwiches because they get to lick the "spoon".

Chocolate Covered Katie's Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Pie is delicious for dessert and for breakfast. 

No. These things have not changed.

My hair has. Drastically.

And there is a big decision in our future and Rob and I are praying for wisdom. After three and a half years we may be opening our home again to someone who needs us to. And it's really scary. I crave peace and my home is a place where that emotion reigns. Even when it's a mess (often), hurried/busy/harried (yep, often there, too), more often than not I breathe a sigh of contentment when I walk through my red front door. 

But, our home has not always been that haven. As a matter of fact it has been a battlefield.  And I remember having to put emotional armor on before walking through the door. The conflicts had grown subtly so that the intensity of the ugly didn't fully become apparent until the big battle ended with lots of casualties. In the absence of shells and bombs, we noticed that peace was creeping back in.

self portrait with crappy camera phone....new hair.

Our decision is probably already made. See the verse in James above. The details will need to be ironed out, decided and fully agreed upon. But our hearts are already longing for this to be the thing that helps and brings restoration and healing to a past combative, present tolerable relationship with our child. 

I have no idea what this new change is going to look like and what it's going to cost me. I am struggling with the concepts of helping vs enabling, toleration vs. acceptance, selfishness vs. what I know to be right, hope vs. fear. 

This week that the world touts Random Acts of Kindness...I feel very convicted that a deliberate act of kindness toward someone I love is required of me. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Dig-Doggity Day

If something fails to make sense in this post (more than usual) it might be because I'm being leaned on by a needy big dog.

We have a visitor. Day 5 of said visitor. The girls are still adjusting. 

Meet Duncan. 

& has a dog-sitting/house-sitting side job that is booming. Duncan is part of that.  Usually she stays with to-be-sat-upon dogs and we get the girls but every once in awhile the dogs come here. 

Duncan, with his gray bouffanty Dutch boy haircut and his shifty human-like eyes is quite the character. Rob is keeping count of the times I have told Duncan that he's on my list. This is why he's on my list....he keeps stealth-pooping on my floor. 

Why stealth-pooping? Well, it would be because we will spend long, long periods of time in the great-out-of-doors, the frigid great-out-of-doors, I must say, doing all the things we think might entice him to use the said great-out-of-doors as a potty.

Until yesterday (Day 4 for those of you who are keeping track) he had only been enticed once. (So, if you are doing the math, that would be seven little piles in various assorted indoor locations.) Often those little piles are right upon returning inside after twenty minutes spent out. 

It's not the frigid temps, or the snow. I know this because he will bound and hop and play and pee with great doggie gusto. If he cowered near the door and whimpered to go in I'd assume he was delicate and couldn't handle the cold. Oh no. That's not the case. But yesterday, and so far today (well, yesterday after the early morning gift deposit....in his defense it was Valentine's Day and I guess he was feeling generous.) he has used outside four times. This is a cause for much joy. I'm sure the neighbors are enjoying the high-pitched celebrations that we've been throwing. 

And. All this "clean-up in aisle 5" business is making our girls seem like perfect, perfect doggie angels, so I guess it's win, win, win for them, too. 

Here's hoping you don't find special brown, fragrant gifts in your life today...unless they are brownies, that is.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Kindness of Strangers and Ginger Pear Kindcakes

Day two of Random Acts of Kindness...

Here is something I thought was pretty cool. If you are a writer, or love getting letters, this might be just right for you.

It's a group that sends out handwritten letters to people who need a little boost. I know that a written note can make all the difference to someone. Words and the feelings behind them are important and I think they bear eternal weight.

Yesterday & and I took the dogs outside and began shoveling the driveway. I was working the edge of the driveway where it meets the street and picks up all the nasty ice accumulation. I wasn't really paying attention to the cars driving past. All of a sudden I hear. "If you step back, I'll get that for you." A guy in a pickup with a blade had stopped. He had a kid and a dog in the backseat. I told him thank you and backed out of the way. He scraped away the ice and dirty snow, backed up and made a pass at the driveway, and again. I sent & in for some cash. And He waved it off, told me to have a nice day and rode off into the sunset. Super cool.

So. Two big blessings on the first day of Random Acts of Kindness. I guess I'll call these pancakes...

Ginger Pear Kindcakes...

2 Cups flour (I used half unbleached all purpose, half whole wheat pastry)

1/4 Cup maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 Cup applesauce

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1 and 1/2 TBSP baking powder

1 TBSP and 1 tsp cinnamon

3 Cups non-dairy milk (I used vanilla almond)

2 pears small dice

1/3 cup chopped walnuts.

Mix all dry ingredients until incorporated. Add applesauce, syrup, milk until mixed thoroughly. Add diced pears and walnuts. Prepare as you prefer to prepare pancakes. : ) Eat up. Makes about 20 medium sized pancakes. Freeze the extras, they are great popped in the toaster.