A New Focus

Today I read some stuff from my old blog, the really old one I did through a teenie-bopper web journal before I started these two. I don't think that old blog exists anymore, and if it does, I have no idea where to find it, but I had been laboriously copying and pasting each entry into Word so I could keep it for posterity, and today I pulled up that old Word document and read some of it.

In the old days, I went through a blogging spell where I did "VOTD" which stood for Verse of the Day. Sometimes I wrote about the verse of the day, and sometimes I simply quoted it.

I am going to try to start doing that again, here.

I hope I can keep up with it.

We shall see what happens.

Smoothie Recipe

Just posting this here for lack of somewhere else to post it, not that it has anything to do with this blog, but nobody reads this blog, so it doesn't make any difference...

I'm hoping to get Shannon onto eating breakfast, and preferably a healthy breakfast without too many sugar and white flour carbs like your average bagel, juice and coffee breakfast. Also, this is something I can hand her on her way to the car and she can sip it as she goes. The rest of us drink kefir smoothies, but Shanny took one look at kefir grains and refused ever to let kefir pass her lips again.

Smoothie I'm hoping Shanny will like:

Vanilla yogurt (~1/2 cup)
Orange juice (~1 cup)
Frozen strawberries (~2/3 cup)
Two bananas
Oatmeal (uncooked flakes) (~1/3 cup)
Ground flax seed (~2 rounded tablespoons)

I made this today and Jon and I shared it. It was tasty, if a bit grainy, and plenty for two, so if Shanny makes these for herself next year, she can half the recipe. I'd like to try it with a scoop of whey protein powder, probably vanilla. Our bananas were room temperature; it would be better with chilled or frozen bananas. I can't remember if Shannon hates bananas in smoothies. Somebody does. I hope it is not her, because bananas are so handy and affordable.

Finally?

I think spring is finally here.

It is 71 degrees, for one thing. I went to the doctor this morning and I didn't wear a coat, only a sweater, and a three-quarter length sleeve sweater at that.

The best thing: the tiny leaves are starting to grow, spreading a soft green mist among the bare branches.

Daffodils are up.

Forsythia is blooming. Forsythia is not my favorite, crazy yellow shrub. But it is definitely a sign of spring, so I always welcome it, zany as it may seem.

The hyacinths are up, too. They always look a little forced and artificial to me, but they are undeniably pretty in all their varied pinks, purples and blues.

If it just doesn't snow tonight, I think we'll be in business.

A year later

I haven't posted here for nearly a year.

It has been a difficult year.

This past winter was brutal. It started early and snowed hard, froze hard, and continued long.

This week is spring break, with Easter coming on Sunday. Temperatures are predicted to be in the 40-50 range with lots of rain. Last night, howling wind, thunder and lightening kept me from peaceful sleep. My daffodils are up, but they look pale in the dim, clouded atmosphere. I don't feel like taking pictures of them. The rabbits ate most of the rest of my landscaping... the holly and the rose-of-sharon are bare of bark. We will likely have to replace a lot.

It is a good atmosphere for practicing Habakkuk 3:17-19.

On a bright note, DJ is doing better.

Bursting

I took this picture three days ago, but just uploaded it to look at it today. What a surprising insight it gives us into the process of blooming. Full bloom doesn't happen all at once, but each small burst of color is a major triumph.

I will heal their waywardness
and love them freely
for my anger has turned away from them.

I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
he will send down his roots;
his young shoots will grow.

His splendor will be like that of an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

Men will again dwell in his shade.
He will flourish like the grain.
He will blossom like a vine,
and his fame will be like the wine from Lebanon.

Hosea 14:4-7

Spring is beautiful

Life is messy. Sometimes it can really get you down. Sometimes you want to collar people and shake them until some sense gets into their heads. Other times, you want to just curl up in a ball in a dark place, a dark and warm place, and sleep forever.

But God makes beauty from ashes. God makes flowers bloom after winter. God, and only God, brings life from death. Jesus is our hope, our only hope, and in Him we need to abide.

"In that day the Lord Almighty will be a glorious crown, a beautiful wreath for the remnant of His people. He will be a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment, a source of strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate."
~Isaiah 28:5-6

"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because God has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion--
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting for the Lord for the display of His splendor."
~Isaiah 61:1-3

Signs of life

It got up to 88 degrees this past weekend. It was a truly glorious Resurrection Sunday.




My daffodils are blooming!



My lilac bush is budding!

God is renewing the earth once again.