lasts lead to firsts

find the beauty in the lasts

last is such a finalizing word

your last day of 29
your last day of high school
the last piece of pie
the last weekend of summer vacation

but last is the next step towards the next new beginning
and without lasts we wouldn't have firsts or middles or in betweens

the first day of 30
the first day of marriage
the first piece of cake
the first day of school

and while we don't want things that have "lasts"
we definitely want "firsts"

and may we hold on to what the lasts have left us with
so that the firsts may be even better

pray for me as i have my first year as an eighth grade social studies teacher, my first year with a 2nd grader, my first year with a two year old GIRL and pray that my lasts will have taught me exactly what i need to know to make it through 

what can firsts and lasts can i pray for....for you?

decoration day

since i was born

on the third sunday in august

we have traveled up the mountain to my great grandmothers

in the appalachian mountains of nc

for decoration day

a holiday from long ago

that takes me back to my roots

to honoring loved ones

and remembering a culture long forgotten

where time moves slower

where generations of women laugh 

while they wash dishes

by hand

because there is no dishwasher

and they don't care

where the men still sit on the front porch

no matter the weather

and discuss all things life related

where the kids still run in the yard

and play hide and go seek

dirt on their church clothes

and not a worry on their mind

and i wish time still moved so slow

that the young still cherished the old

that front porch sitting became an every day thing

where houses were too small to hold us all 

but we didn't mind at all

and kids only had to worry about how many slices of watermelon they can eat

before they go home

what traditions do you still have in your family? how do you hold on to your roots?

lovely linkys

hear it on a sunday, use on a monday
Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood

rejoice even in the rain

the rain is falling

from the sky

and from eyes

today

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  Philippians 4:19-20

small

yesterday at lunch
a coworker prayed before we ate
"dear lord, bless this food to our small bodies"
and after the prayer another coworker says
"i love that you said small bodies" (because in my head i was thinking i'm not small....i'm large...xlarge)
and the prayer warrior answers
we are small compared to Him

and i've thought of this
how small we are compared to Him
and yet He loves us
enough to send His son to die for us
enough to say don't worry about tomorrow...i got it
enough to be with us where ever we go

and even though we are small.....
we are made in His image
His creation
to do His will....
no matter how small 

 unrelated but i love it! Calvin and Hobbes are my favorite

be still

like the stingray

we have to be still

to feel God

my son

is not still

ever

so

this experience

took a while

for him to hold out his hand still enough

for him to not be distracted by those beside, across, in front of him

are we any different?

do we not ask God 

why can't I feel you?

as we are distracted

by those beside, across, and in front of us

but when we are still

God comes

He lets us feel His greatness

like the stingray

lovely linky

5 minutes on being lonely

lonely....i've been lonely
in a room full of people
on my couch at home
sitting in my car
and walking in a store
lonely sneaks up on you
it crawls inside 
and whispers things you don't want to hear
"nobody likes you"
"why haven't your friends text you"
"you are ugly"

lonely is a bully
lonely has no friends
lonely crushes happiness and joy

so how do i beat lonely
i don't feed it or sit down and let it win

nope

i send up a prayer to my one true friend
who tells me He will never leave me alone

“Never will I leave you;
 never will I forsake you.
Hebrews 13:5

story of the pearsauce

In Old World folklore, planting a pear tree was a living good-luck charm on your property. My dad bought our farm over thirty years ago from an older couple, who had built and worked the land.  The farm had all kinds of fruit trees and perennial goodness, which over the years my dad has preceded to kill all of, except the pear tree.  My family has done nothing with the pears, well my brother and I used them for ammunition and let me tell you they do hurt.  When I was young, there were a few times when people would come to pick them and I always wondered what they did with them.  Several years the frost would get the tree and we wouldn't have many or any pears.  I remember one year in high school, I was arguing with my dad about whether there were pears on the tree and he said there wasn't and I said there was at least 1, because I had saw it.  So about 10:30 that night I took my dad's big Duramax Chevy truck, backed it up to the pear tree, climbed up on the back and on top of the tool box to pick the ONE pear that grew on the pear tree and take it to my dad.  {i'm not stubborn.....wink}

i think it is a kieffer pear tree, thats what my research has said

Well, it is no secret that I love to garden and cook and find it absolutely amazing to take raw goodness of the earth and see what I can do with it.   Last fall I made crock pot applesauce, which is delicious and super easy.  And these pears are a lot like apples, they aren't really to eat because they are hard and best used for cooking.  So, I replaced the apples in the applesauce with pears and made pearsauce.

Pearsauce

12 - 15 pears cored and cubed
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
cinnamon or apple pie spice to your tasting

place and stir in crockpot on high for 4 hours
use can mash to the consistent you like

(you can use the same recipe for apples)
(makes house smell scrumptious)

I, then, decided it that I liked it so much and there was plenty of pears on the tree that we should be able to enjoy it all year!  So I canned 12 half pints.  It was my first time canning by myself (my husband did help a little).

It is sooo good on ice cream with caramel!

My kids helped me pick the pears and they did enjoy throwing them just like my brother and I.

see her hiding that pear in her hand

a sunday story of beautiful living

i often look at people and wonder "what's their story?"

last sunday as we walked around downtown asheville i thought that a lot

we drove there, my husband, my brother, and my sister in law

we hadn't ate dinner together without children in 8 years

there was a historic street festival going on Bele Chere

and we had no idea

even though the husbands didn't believe us

because there is no way we would have got them there

there was bad karaoke and interesting art

and it wasn't the story we planned on

we planned to see our favorite acappella group at a club

but it was sold out

so we walked the streets

and gave culture to our husbands

and as it turns out

bele chere means 

beautiful living

and isn't that the story we are all trying to write