To celebrate some reading accomplishments and our Minnesota heatwave — it was 31 degrees — we spent a few hours sledding this afternoon. My girls sled quite often on our neighborhood hill, but it’s rare for Michael and I to go sledding with them. When we do, we usually go to this ball field and take our sledding tube along — which makes it extra special fun for the girls.
Here’s a little slideshow of our joy rides.
Dear Friends and Family in Snowklahoma,
I hear y’all down south. Some of you are calling it “snowmageddon” or “snowpocalypse.” That’s cute. It’s really a blizzard down there in Oklahoma — and elsewhere!
Having been an Oklahoman the first 22 years of my life, I sympathize with you. Really, I do. No matter where you live, temperatures below 10 degrees accompanied by 16 or more inches of snow in a short period of time are certainly cause for excitement. And that’s especially true when you just had a lovely 75 degree day earlier this week. Such a change in weather is quite shocking, no doubt.
So, as you sit trapped at home, sipping hot beverages, checking Facebook (again) and trying to decide whether to clean your closets or bake cookies, know that I am thinking of you.
And maybe you’re thinking about me, too? Maybe your crazy, record-breaking blizzard makes you wonder just how any native Oklahoman could possibly survive 5 minutes up here in the Frozen Tundra of Minnesota.
Well, somehow I have survived 13 Minnesota winters — practically every winter of my adult life! I’m still not sure how I have survived thus far, or if I will even survive this brutal, record-breaking winter we’ve been having here. But I do have a few secrets to share. These probably won’t help you in your current snowpocalypse conditions, but should you ever consider moving north, you will most certainly need to re-visit this list.
1. Get acquainted with a really good snow shovel. Even if you have a strong, energetic young husband who prefers to handle the job himself, he will most likely be on a business trip to Florida when the biggest snowfalls come, leaving you to regularly fend for yourself in the driveway. So, befriend your resident snow shovel and always keep track of its whereabouts. You will need to use it someday. Unless you live in a neighborhood that provides snow removal as part of your association dues. In which case, you will need a shovel anyway because the your neighborhood will inevitably be last on the snow removal guy’s route.
2. Stay on good terms with your neighbors and share some of your famous baked goods with them. Some of the really macho neighbor guys love to use their snowblowers and will occasionally compete to see who can get your driveway cleared first before you even notice it has snowed. If you can determine who to thank, it is appropriate to reward them with more baked goods.
3. Try to think kindly of snow plow drivers. Yes, their enormous orange plows create a deep ridge of chunky gray snow at the end of your driveway, which frustrates you and traps you at home even though you just spent a full hour shoveling snow in subzero weather. But really, they are only trying to clear the streets and highways so you can get to your destination easier. They are a priceless fleet of hard-working folks, and you simply cannot get to the grocery store without them.
4. Invest in a down parka with a hood. What I used to call a “coat” in Oklahoma is really only a lightweight jacket here in Minnesota. For winter, you seriously need something substantial from The North Face, Patagonia or Columbia. But keep your jacket; you’ll need it frequently in late spring, early fall and maybe even on the 4th of July.
5. Learn to tie a scarf. As an Oklahoman, I always thought scarves were dorky and useless because we only wore them on the outside of the jacket collar. As a Minnesotan, I have learned that wearing a warm scarf tied snuggly around my neck increases my body temperature by about 42 degrees, and even more so if there’s a breeze. When not in use, my scarf stores nicely in the sleeve of my parka — except when it slips out unexpected and lands in a pile of melting snow on the mudroom floor, thereby sending me into the Anne-of-Green-Gables-like depths of despair and lowering my body temperature by 42 degrees. Perhaps owning two warm scarves is a good idea.
6. Don’t forget to accessorize appropriately. My how-did-I-ever-survive-without-this winter accessories include: my REI hat, Sorel snow boots, Cuddle Duds, Smart Wool socks, Thinsulate-lined leather gloves, and flannel sheets. Okay, maybe flannel sheets are not truly an accessory, but how did I ever survive without them?
7. Invest in snowpants, too. These are mandatory apparel for all Minnesota school children (they wear them during recess and on the bus because they almost never, ever, ever get a “snow day” off from school). Snowpants probably should be mandatory for adults, too. Most come with an elastic cuff that fits over your snow boots to ensure none of that powdery white stuff sneaks up against your skin. If you want to get any fresh air between November and April, wearing snowpants (along with the parka and accessories mentioned above) will keep you quite comfortable outdoors for at least 20 minutes, maybe longer if you’re actually able to move while wearing them. (Remember the little kid in A Christmas Story?) You can always add more layers and feel warm outside. Unless of course the wind is blowing. In which case you should just return the snowpants, parka and accessories mentioned above and use the money to buy a one-way ticket to anywhere in Mexico.
Stay warm!
Signed,
Starlight Writer, a Southerner-turned-Northerner
Note: I recently read the book One Thousand Gifts, and now I’m making my own list of one thousand gifts. As they accumulate, I’ll post them on Mondays and keep the running list on this tab, titled All is Grace.
13. the good deed of an 8-year-old secretly making up her parents’ bed
14. a January morning beaming with sunshine and bright blue skies
15. tracks in the snow
16. chatty little girls who linger too long over breakfast because they are so busy sharing life with each other
17. the sweet, chubby cheeks of the 15-month-old boy I borrowed for a walk
18. a freshly cleaned and re-organized freezer
19. the passion of a little girl who thrills at wondering what Dick and Jane will do next
20. a refreshing dash to the mailbox without wearing a coat, hat or gloves
21. freshly folded stacks of clean laundry, ready to put away
22. dinner planned, prepared and waiting patiently in the refrigerator all afternoon
23. three hot chocolates overflowing with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate
24. the little girl who decides she’s ready to read the Bible all by herself
25. sunshine pouring in the windows on a warm January afternoon
26. deep giggles that make you roll on the floor
27. a house full of friends
It’s a 5-Star Friday! Woo-hoo! That means it’s time for me share the links to a few things I’ve been reading here and there online over the past week or so. All are articles that I rank as worthy of five stars. May these words encourage, challenge and bless you also!
1 Why You Need Words posted at Heart to Heart with Holley Gerth
2 A Good Laugh from the GirlTalk blog
3 Listening to God by Renee Swope at Proverbs 31 Ministries
4 Discerning God’s Voice also by Renee at P31 Ministries
5 God’s Grace for Everyday Situations from Mentoring Moments for Christian Women
Having just finished the book One Thousand Gifts, I’m starting my own list of one thousand gifts. I’ll post them as they accumulate and keep the running list on this new tab, titled All is Grace.
1. the aroma of fresh bread baking
2. soft, pink, ever-so kissable cheeks and strong little girl arms that hug me almost too tight at bedtime
3. improv puppet shows with an orange, hairy Mr. Nobody puppet and lots of little animal puppets drinking lemonade
4. little girls learning to sew
5. warm chocolate chip cookies on a cold January evening
6. words read aloud, together, that take us high into Swiss Alps with a little girl and her grandfather
7. a Jesus follower who faithfully lists endless gifts and serves up words that transform me
8. the scent of her hair as she slumbers beneath a heap of blankets
9. haphazard, random snowflakes falling on a warm January morning
10. playful little girl voices trailing up from the basement
11. good asthma test results from the lab
12. stories about hermit crabs that make us smile and laugh and wonder
A Book Review:It’s a few minutes after 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, just under 48 hours since my much anticipated copy of One Thousand Gifts arrived in my mailbox, and I just finished the last page.
I hadn’t intended to plow through it so quickly; I’m certainly not a speed reader. But the book is powerful. It merits a second or third read, which I will do while taking part in the online book club at DaySpring that begins in a couple of weeks.
I am so eager to share my thoughts about the book with you. But first let me say this. A week ago in our small group, I mentioned that God has given me three words for this particular time, three words that He keeps putting up as holy billboards along my spiritual path as I read and study His Word. Those three are: the Word, grace and servant. And yet again, through One Thousand Gifts, God is using Ann Voskamp to reveal so much to me about His Word and grace and being a servant. Thank you, Ann, for serving with your words.
That said, what’s the book about? Well, Ann took on a friend’s dare to list one thousand gifts from God. Written down by hand. This inventory process, this counting of blessings, revealed to her Whom can be counted on, and it profoundly changed her life.
In the book, she shares some of that gift inventory and weaves in many of her life experiences and struggles for joy. Some are raw and heartbreaking. Some are poetic and magnificent. All are real and honest. Throughout the telling, Ann vividly illustrates how grace and thanksgiving lead to joy and the full life Jesus came to give her — and all who believe in Him.
Ann has contemplatively weighed each word of One Thousand Gifts as a skillful painter mulling over each brushstroke. Collectively, her words become a true masterpiece — inspiring humility, encouraging gratitude, challenging ingratitude, and pushing readers on to trust God, to serve Christ and to experience life more abundantly: joy in Him.
What I love about Ann’s writing is how descriptive she is and how she carefully crafts her stories to tie in the everyday ordinary — like dirty laundry and mud-tracked floors — with extraordinary spiritual insights. I also love that her writing overflows with quotable, memorable lines.
So, here are 21 of my favorite lines from the book:
1. “On every level of life, from housework to heights of prayer, in all judgment and efforts to get things done, hurry and impatience are sure marks of the amateur.”
2. “Life is dessert — too brief to hurry… I want to slow down and taste life, give thanks and see God.”
3. “Darkness transfigures into light, bad transfigures into good, grief transfigures into grace, empty transfigures into full. God wastes nothing — ‘makes everything work out according to His plan’ (Ephesians 1:11).”
4. “…suffering nourishes grace, and pain and joy are arteries of the same heart — and mourning and dancing are but movements in His unfinished symphony of beauty. Can I believe the gospel, that God is patiently transfiguring all the notes of my life into the song of His Son? What in the world, in all this world, is grace? I can say it certain now: All is grace.”
5. “All beauty is only a reflection. And whether I am conscious of it or not, any created thing of which I am amazed, it is the glimpse of His face to which I bow down. Do I have eyes to see that it’s Him and not the thing?”
6. “How we behold determines if we hold joy. Behold glory and be held by God.”
7. “The truly saved have eyes of faith and lips of thanks.”
8. “The art of deep seeing makes gratitude possible. And it is the art of gratitude that makes joy possible. Isn’t joy the art of God?”
9. “Christ incarnated in the parent is the only hope of incarnating Christ in the child — yet how do I admit that people made in the Image can make me blind to God, my own soul contorting, skewing all the faces?”
10. “Feel thanks and it’s absolutely impossible to feel angry. We can only experience one emotion at a time. And we get to choose — which emotion do we want to feel?”
11. “But the secret to joy is to keep seeking God where we doubt He is.”
12. “And trust is that: work… Are stress and worry evidences of a soul too lazy, too undisciplined, to keep gaze fixed on God? …Isn’t joy worth the effort of trust?”
13. “Anything less than gratitude and trust is practical atheism… I can’t experience deep joy in God until I deep trust in God.”
14. “Trust is the bridge from yesterday to tomorrow, built with planks of thanks. Remembering frames up gratitude. Gratitude lays out the planks of trust. I can walk the planks — from known to unknown — and know: He holds.”
15. “All gratitude is ultimately gratitude for Christ, all remembering a remembrance of Him.”
16. “Instead of filling with expectations, the joy-filled expect nothing — and are filled.”
17. “While I may not always feel joy, God asks me to give thanks in all things, because He knows that the feeling of joy begins in the action of thanksgiving.”
18. “The demanding of my own will is the singular force that smothers out joy — nothing else.”
19. “My own wild desire to protect my joy at all costs is the exact force that kills my joy.”
20. “It’s the astonishing truth that while I serve Christ, it is He who serves me.”
21. “The servant-hearted never serve alone. Spend the whole of your one wild and beautiful life investing in many lives, and God simply will not be outdone.”
I’ve read the phrase “All is grace” at the end of Ann’s blog posts. I’ve probably read it more than a hundred times. And now I am starting to understand. All is grace. All is grace.
Ann, how you have blessed. Thank you! And please know that I thank God for you! You’re on my list!
My brother and I had a memorable moose moment during our childhood trip to Yellowstone National Park. It was the summer before I started 5th grade, and my parents had left Brent and me back at the rental cabin so they could enjoy a quiet dinner together at the lodge. I don’t even remember what caused us to look outside, but all of a sudden a big moose was lumbering through the forest nearby. We grabbed my mother’s expensive camera, which had film in it for slides and was not something we usually touched. Somehow we captured a blurry shot of the moose, I think. I don’t actually remember seeing the shot. But I remember being really excited and discussing the idea of keeping the whole memorable moose moment a secret. That way, our parents would totally wig out when they viewed that particular image in the slides from vacation. But, our memorable moose moment was too thrilling to keep as a secret, and I am pretty sure we gave our parents a full account of the event within seconds of their return to the cabin that evening.
If you read my post last summer about our trip to a cabin up north, you might remember that I mentioned seeing moose in the wild then. Actually, I mentioned moose that evaded the camera. Really, there were two specific moose that evaded me, my camera, my shutterbug friend Kate, her camera and one of her daughters.
Yes, we missed the memorable moose moment because we stayed back at the cabin while everyone else in our two families ventured off to get fresh water from the spring. Two moose approached the slow-moving minivan en route to the spring. Everyone in the van saw them but no one had a camera. So despite having lots of passionate witnesses of the memorable moose moment, we have no evidence.
This week I had another memorable moose moment. The girls and I were joining a few other families in our homeschool group for a field trip to Stages Theater to see the play If You Give a Moose a Muffin, based on the children’s book of same title. It’s a light-hearted and humorous story about a boy who encounters a loquacious and hungry moose while spending time at the family cabin.
We arrived at the theater a few minutes early, and so we had time to read the book together, and all agreed we were in for a treat. As the other families began to trickle into the lobby, the girls set off to look at pictures from earlier performances of the same show. They usually love to see the costumes and the cast of characters.
Pretty soon Laurel approached me, looking very somber, and said, “I’m afraid of the moose. He looks tall and scary.”
“Oh, no. Not good.” I thought to myself, remembering last month’s angel incident at Orchestra Hall. I tried to reassure her. “The moose isn’t scary. Remember the book. He’ll be funny. You’ll see.”
“But I don’t want to see the moose. I’m afraid of the moose,” she maintained in worried tone.
Soon it was time to line up and head inside to our seats. We were assigned seats as a group, on the second and third rows. Laurel ended up with an aisle seat on the second row. That sent her anxiety level through the roof because we were entirely too close to the stage plus who knows what might slink down that aisle beside her. She started sobbing. I was still struggling to get her calmed down when the theater’s photographer walked up to our group.
Then I remembered the e-mail. The theater had asked permission to photograph our homeschool group as we watched the performance. I tried to respond kindly as the photographer introduced herself and confirmed the agreement to photograph our children. But Laurel was such a mess and I could barely focus. What am I going to do with her? I was growing anxious, too.
The photographer scurried off somewhere, the theater grew more and more crowded, and Laurel continued to cry. I felt helpless. All I could do was pray. So I held Laurel close to me and whispered prayers. I thanked God for the opportunity to share this experience together. I asked God to help her overcome her fears, to be brave. I asked for peace.
Soon after I opened my eyes, the photographer reappeared closeby and noticed Laurel’s tears.
“What is wrong, Honey?” she asked Laurel.
Laurel couldn’t answer so I replied, “She’s afraid of the moose. She saw his picture in the lobby, and we just had a bad experience with some large puppets recently and…”
“Would you like to meet the moose backstage?” she asked Laurel.
Laurel shook her head. “No, no, no.” She was convinced it was a terrible idea.
I, on the other hand, thought it was a grand idea. “Yes, let’s go!”
So off the three of us headed toward the exit at stage right. It was darker there and Laurel was still certain she didn’t want to meet the moose.
“This is the special, secret passageway. Follow me,” the photographer explained.
Being rather fond of secret passageways, Laurel followed a little less reluctantly, her curiousity piqued.
Next we stood in a well-lighted hallway just outside the dressing rooms. The photographer went in to fetch the actor. Seconds later she came back with the moose-man, who knelt down to Laurel’s eye-level to introduce himself. He was only partly dressed in his moose costume so his face was completely uncovered.
“My name is Todd. What is your name?” he asked.
“Laurel,” she managed.
“Nice to meet you.” Tugging on a mysterious contraption around his neck, he said, “Laurel, this is part of my moose mask. I’ll wear it on my face when I come out on stage, and my first line will be ‘Mmmmmm… What is that delicious aroma?’ Okay, enjoy the show!” He disappeared back into the dressing room area, and the photographer pointed us back toward our seats.
I sensed Laurel was calming down some, but I still was not certain she was going to make it through the show without another meltdown.
Back in our seats, I noticed a little girl in the front row with a little stuffed moose.
“Laurel, if you can be brave and watch the show, I will buy you a little stuffed moose like that. Would you like one? Do you think you can be brave and not cry?” I asked.
“Yes, I’d really like a little moose. I’ll try,” she commited. “Can I please sit in your lap?” she asked.
“Yes, yes. You can sit in my lap.” I said, pulling her close.
Pretty soon her sister and other friends asked what it was like backstage. She proudly told them that she got to meet the moose and that she knows exactly what his first line will be.
“Mmmmm. What is that delicious aroma?” she said over and over. The words seemed to help her.
The performance itself went just fine; we had no further moose anxiety. God answered our prayers for peace and courage.
Afterwards, I did buy a moose for Laurel, and Linnea used her allowance money to buy one also. I felt a little ridiculous standing there buying two moose, but they were quite inexpensive and I really felt like Laurel’s bravery should be remembered with a furry “bravo!”
For dinner that night, the girls had a little muffin party with their new moose friends. And that memorable moose moment was easily captured by my camera.
The book One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp has shipped and should arrive in my mailbox any day now. I can’t wait to read it.
If you’re also interested in reading it, be advised that Dayspring has it on sale for $10 right now.
I plan to participate in Dayspring’s (in)Bloom online book club while I read it. Follow this link for more details about how the book club works. I’m so thrilled that the videos will include the author. It all starts Feb. 6 online.
In the meantime, enjoy this video about the book!
I am quite fond of trees. I suppose you know that already because I mentioned it in this post.
We have four trees in our yard — which is entirely too few trees in my opinion — but at least enough to attract a few robins in the springtime.
Oh, please come back soon, little robins!
Last summer our next-door neighbors planted this little evergreen tree.
I don’t know how the neighbors feel about it, but their tree brings me great joy each day when I stare at it through the window at my kitchen sink.
How can a tree can be alive and green and growing despite bitter winter weather?
That’s a hardy tree.
Interestingly, Jeremiah 17:7-8 says people who trust in God are like hardy trees, too. It says,
But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.
Four years ago in my Christmas letter, I said that said rather than growing like weeds, I want my kids to grow like those hardy trees in Jeremiah 17:7-8. I want them to be rooted and established in the love of Christ so they don’t get blown over by a storm or wither in a drought.
How do you grow strong enough to endure hardship?
Trees need water and sunshine and nourishment; likewise, growing souls need living water, light from the Son, prayer and lots of nourishment and encouragement from God’s Word.
What kind of tree am I?
What have I been trusting in lately?
Am I helping my children to trust in God?
How can I help root my children in love?
Am I serving up nourishment and encouragement when I speak to my kids?
Or I am just speaking in logistics? “Go here. Eat this. Put that away. Change that. Finish this.”
What does God want these children to be?
Will they be able to withstand the trials of heat and drought?
Will I notice when they bear fruit?
Will one be like an orange tree and the other more like an oak?
Okay, those were some deep questions. And we may never figure out all of the answers this side of heaven, but I had to share them anyway.
On a lighter note, Laurel has been dancing to this fun “Tree Song” by Ken Medema in her creative movement dance class. It’s so catchy. Listen and I think you’ll see why we like it so much.
I’m feeling a little reflective this week. It started on Sunday when our pastor preached this sermon about heaven. It continued last night as a dear friend and I discussed how quickly our 30s are passing. And then, just this afternoon, I read this post on Filling Time with Gratitude and Grace.
The article included yet another deep thought from Ann Voskamp:
I watch the hands move grace on the clock face. I’m growing older. These children growing up. But time is not running out. This day is not a sieve, losing time. With each passing minute, each passing year, there’s this deepening awareness that I am filling time, gaining time. We stand on the brink of eternity.” -Ann Voskamp
What a refreshing perspective on time! Especially when you have little ones about the house, time seems to pass so quickly. Not necessarily the days — filled with diaper changes and feedings and naps and such — but the years. The years pass quickly.
These past four or five years, I have grown comfortable and familiar with being a mom of a preschooler — first with Linnea and then again with Laurel. There are nearly three years between them, but somehow it seems there was no interruption in my era of being a mother of a preschooler.
As that era is now quickly drawing to a close, I present my own little poem about it.
My babies don’t look like babies anymore.
Though I swaddle them up, lie them down on the floor;
It’s ridiculous.
Oh, they simply are not babies anymore!
So back I look at pictures taken not long ago —
Back when the littlest one’s curls were tightly so;
Back when the oldest’s baby teeth had yet to go.
And I see these children a-growing up.
‘Tis a precious process I dare not disrupt.
But yes, my babies are a-growing up.
Starlight Writer 