What if there were no presents under the tree this year – or no tree even, to stack presents under? What if your loved one can’t make it home for Christmas because they are incarcerated or fighting a war many, many miles away? What if there’s no turkey or mistletoe to help to make the season bright? What if Santa Claus didn’t come to your town?

 This year, more than others, I have been listening more intently to the words of Christmas carols. What, for you, would make this a merry Christmas? For me, it’s having my family together. My son has been away in college and has not been home since July, but will be here this Christmas. The other day, my youngest child told me that she didn’t care if there were no presents under the tree this year, as long as we could have a family dinner together on Christmas day. That brought tears to my eyes, especially coming from a 12 year old!

 My husband and I have been burdened lately by people facing personal tragedies, especially at this “most wonderful time of the year.” From celebrities in the midst of pain, divorce and tragedy, to everyday people who have lost hope and are struggling under the formidable weight of adverse circumstances.

This Christmas, please spare a thought for those around you for whom Christmas is not a happy time. You may not have the means to give financially to someone in need, but some of the best gifts have little or no monetary value anyway: a prayer, a hug, a phone call, a couple of hours volunteering at a local charity, church, hospital or retirement home. The possibilities are endless – all it takes is a phone call or quick search on the internet. For all you know, you might be someone’s ‘Merry Christmas’ this year!

 So whatever dire circumstances you may be facing right now, take your focus off what you don’t have and put it on what you do have, however small it may seem to you – family, friends, health, time… If  nothing else, enjoy this fleeting season when people are in a good mood because of “Christmas cheer,” whatever the heck that is! Before you know it, it will be gone beginning January 2^nd, when the credit card bills start to arrive

 Whatever you do and wherever you are, don’t just wish, make it a MERRY CHRISTMAS, for yourself and at least one other person.

How is it that we can fill our lives up to the last minute of the day with stuff to do, even without the obligation of a 9 to 5 job? Or is it just me? These last few days…weeks…months - oh, I don’t know; they keep blurring together! – I seem to be going on fast-forward constantly. So much that I have to remind myself to breathe.

Then I got to thinking…what exactly am I breathing in when I do breathe? Our lungs need air, but not just any air: clean air! Imagine working out on a spinning (indoor cycling) bike in a room filled with smog. You may be able to stand it for a little bit, but it won’t be long before you have to stumble out of there in search of clean air. That smog won’t sustain you for the task at hand. In the same way, when my life cranks up to warp speed, I have to stop often and take a breath in God’s presence so that the smog of life doesn’t choke me. It’s so easy to do the fast-food, drive-thru version of my time with God, but I must remember that garbage in, garbage out. Any compromise on the quality of my food, spiritual or otherwise, is a compromise on the quality of my strength.

Excuse me while I take a breath…

This morning, I was in the kitchen while Temi, my 12 year-old, was pouring herself a bowl of cereal before heading out to catch the school bus. I glanced at the box of Cap’n Crunch that I’d been pressured to buy (Ok, it was a buy-one-get-one-free deal from Publix). I said, “I’ll bet you that cereal has zero nutritional value.” Temi looked at me with a look that translated as “duh!” and promptly replied, “Of course it does, Mom, otherwise it wouldn’t have a Nutrition Facts label!”

[sigh] Ay, ay, Cap’n…

Don’t feel like talking (or writing) much, but I’ll let this video by Rich Mullins speak for me. It echoes the cry of my heart today.

‘Nuff said…

‘Bout time I visited my blog and actually wrote something…you know, just in case there really is someone out there who drops by every now and then, wondering what’s going on in my world (hey, it could happen!).

Recently, I got a gig writing for an online publication, Examiner.com. My official title is the Orlando Christian Women’s Examiner. It’s fancy speak for “I get to write articles pertaining to Christian women with a local angle.” When I accepted the gig, I thought to myself “psh, piece of cake!” You see, writing has never been hard for me. Being a student of language, I enjoy the nuances of the art – writing, reading, sculpting words to create a masterpiece, especially on a topic I absolutely love… However, this formal writing adventure I’m just embarking upon has me scratching my head a few times too many.

It’s one thing to blog about n’importe quoi (whatever), but quite another to come up with topics you think other women would be interested in and sound like an expert while you’re at it. What’s more, you have to post frequently, to encourage traffic on your page! If you’re a praying person and have noticed how infrequently I’ve been blogging of late, please consider this a prayer request… and come visit my Examiner page as often as you can – it translates into pennies for me. And feel free to leave a comment or two, or email me (but only if you have something nice to say )

Until next time  – peace!

I just recently discovered the Anne of Green Gables video series, thanks to a group of girlfriends of mine who had the ingenious idea to have an Anne video tea party. OMG – we had all kinds of fun! I will admit that initially I went more out of a desire to hang out with some “kindred spirits” than anything else, but after seeing the movie, I was well and truly hooked.

Anne is a precocious, outrageously outspoken orphan girl with flaming red hair which she thinks is the bane of her existence, and an imagination to match. All of the trouble she seems to land herself in only serves to make her more and more endearing.

After my Anne encounter, I immediately thought of my girls. I have a 15 year old (Bimi) and a 12 year old (Temi) in whom I’d really like to instill an appreciation for the old classics. I mean, I guess High School Musical and CGI movies have their place in pop culture and all, but what about the timeless oldies like Sound of Music (one of my personal favorites)?

I knew Bimi and Anne were kindred spirits with their technicolor flights of fancy and love of the written word, but I wasn’t so sure about my laid-back, Disney-doting Temi. Anyway, armed with the first Anne DVD which I borrowed from a friend and appropriate snacks, we had a girls’ movie night. What a night! We laughed at Anne’s melodramatic antics, cried when Matthew died and loved every one of the 195 minutes (it ended at 1 am). What’s more, the girls want to watch it again and haven’t stopped talking about it and dropping Anne quotes since! They even walk past the DVD and break into giggles over one scene or the other that they remember from it. Warms my belly, it does!

Next weekend, the same group of ladies are getting together for another tea party viewing of Anne – The Sequel, raspberry cordial included (you have to watch the movie to get that inside joke). I’ll be taking my young ladies with me and we can’t wait…wanna come?

 

Today marks the day I was born, many, many, many, many years ago – or so it seems! When I look back on my life, I feel like I’ve lived many lifetimes. And I’ve loved each one of them. Maybe not necessarily while they were happening (for some of them), but certainly after the fact.

It was a quiet day, spent at home with the family (not counting the couple of hours at the gym), with good food and good company. Plenty of time to ponder my many blessings, take all my birthday phone calls and respond to each of the umpteen Facebook birthday greetings I got (yes, I’m weird like that). I feel so blessed! Sure if I had it to do over, I’d script a few things a little differently. For example, I’d have washboard abs and better hand-eye coordination. I’d have my son home for the weekend from college. When my Dad called from Nigeria, I’d get to also hear my Mom’s voice, instead of sending her hugs and messages through God. I’d have answers to some of the questions I’m asking God during this season of my life…you know, stuff like that.

For now, though, there are many things in the script of my life that I am most grateful for. Things like good health. A family I love, that loves me back. Friends who care. A car that’s old, but paid for. A nice roof over my head. Food in my fridge and pantry; a fridge and pantry! Nice clothes and shiny, pretty things to wear with them. Oh, and the shoes…yeah, I’m a shoe girl and I like my shoes. For these, and so much more, I am truly thankful.

On top of all of that, it’s Friday – booyah!

OK, can I just say that I found out this morning that sand dollars are false advertising? I’ll elaborate in a second.

My family and I spent the weekend at Fort Myers Beach in a beautiful beach condo, courtesy of some lovely friends of ours. I had an idea for a craft project (does that make me crafty?) that required me to collect some shells, so I hopped across the street to the beach bright and early, kicked off my sandals and made a beeline for the shore, armed with my camera (you never know what sights you may come across), cell phone (you know, in case of emergency) and a ziploc bag (to store aforementioned shells).

First, let me digress a bit. Whodda thunk that you can get a pedicure just walking along the shore? Just occasionally grind the soles of your feet in the combo of wet sand and shells as you walk, and let the water wash over them repeatedly – bam! free pedicure, courtesy of nature!

OK, back to what I was saying. I found quite a few treasures along my walk, some really pretty shells, including a rather large conch and some bits of what looks like mother-of-pearl (well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it until some mother-of-pearl connoiseur can prove otherwise). As I walked, I spotted something large and round that was washed ashore. Let it be a huge shell, I prayed silently. I picked up said object and inspected it. A sand dollar. Only it looked nothing like the pretty white ones I’ve seen in stores and framed art, the ones that are in the picture above (which, by the way, is a stock photo but could have been a snapshot of my collection, minus the sand dollars). This one was brownish-black with fuzz all around the edges. When I flipped it over…ewww! The backside was completely covered with gill-like stuff that reminded me of the underside of a portabella mushroom. I noticed that there were a few others around me and they all looked like that. I dropped it, stepped away in disgust and kept steppin’. A little further up, I stopped to indulge in a beach pedicure. As I dug my ashy heels into the sand/shell pumice, a lady walked up to me. She had noticed me picking shells and proudly held out her hands, with 5 sand dollars in them. “Ma’am, would you like one? I found these back there!” (pointing in the direction I’d come from). I marveled at her enthusiasm. She looked like she’d found a treasure and was eager to share. I tried my darnedest not to poop on her parade and so I nicely declined, thanking her for her generosity.

As she walked away, I marveled. The same object that I had dropped in disgust and walked away from, she had found and gathered like a prize. My trash was her treasure.  What a reflection of life! It made me begin to second-guess my rejection of the ugly sand dollars. Then I thought ‘nah!’

Imagine with me that that sand dollar was a person who had feelings. It would have suffered rejection and a blow to its self-esteem by my insensitivity. I saw no beauty at all in it because I was comparing it to an ideal, commercially appealing image. But then right on the heels of that rejection, God sent along someone who did not see it through the same filter that I did. Instead she saw the raw, natural beauty in that sand dollar and ascribed value to it, pouring salve on the bruise inflicted by my repulsion and restoring its self-esteem.

Who knew that my simple quest to gather shells would end up being a gentle reminder from God about the power of love and checking the lenses through which I see? I love how He can get my attention even when I’m not paying any!

So…our son Demi came home from college for the Independence Day weekend last week.  After the hugs and squeals of excitement at seeing him again, we resumed our activities around the kitchen. I was braiding Temi’s hair and Bimi was at the computer. Demi was opening cupboards and checking out the pantry to catch himself up to speed on the things that were obviously of major significance to him – food and all things related! Noticing the snack items in the pantry and the brand new rice cooker on the counter (our old one had recently died), he said, “I see you guys waited for me to leave and then went on a shopping spree.” To this Bimi replied, without missing a beat or looking up from the computer screen, “Yeah, we have more money now!”

…but I’m back! Took an unplanned hiatus from blogging, but here I am now.

I’ve got a renewed approach to the whole blogging thing and it’s been quite liberating. I used to blog being somewhat consciously aware of other people reading my blog, but now, frankly, it doesn’t matter to me. Now if there IS anyone reading this, don’t get me wrong. Not that I don’t care about YOU, but I’ve decided that I will blog as an outlet for some of those thoughts that clutter my mind. Kinda like an online journal, rather than a platform from which I must write something cute, profound or clever. This means that sometimes I’ll make sense, and other times I’ll ramble incoherently. Either way, I’ll give those words that pop up in my head (ok, some of them) freedom to roam without restraint in the vast abyss that is cyberspace. After all, I’ve gotta make room for the many, many others that are vying for stage-time in the grand theater that is my brain.

So if I choose to, I can blog multiple times a day. Or I may not blog for days or weeks. I may include a nice graphic or photo. Or I may not. I may be deep in my musings. Or I may be shallow and blog about…oh, I dunno…nail polish! Pressure-free, expectation-free, authentic expressions of thought.

Ahhhh….my kinda blogging!