thankful feasting without our mouths

As we get ready to celebrate God's goodness around our tables it might be a good time to consider this...

I always joke because I'm Italian. Food is part of life. We celebrate with food. We fellowship with food. We comfort others by SENDING food. *geesh!*

Yup. Need this book.

buggy blessings

"Gnite!"

"Sleep tight!"

"Don't let the bed bugs bite!"

This was the ritual at bedtime between my sister and me. We had no idea what a bed bug was, but we'd snuggle under the covers tightly to keep them out, just in case. (does anyone else see the irony in this?!)

Sometimes I hate being a grown-up. I hate knowing so much. It doesn't feel as safe or as simple as pulling the covers tighter around me.

Dealing with real bed bugs has probably ruined it for my future grandchildren. I can hear it now: "Shhh, don't say that! It makes Grandma Joy's face twitch funny."

*sigh*

The first of three treatments by our wonderful exterminator was yesterday.

I woke up this morning and my house feels and smells so fresh. It's probably in my head, but that's okay. The blessing I unwrapped this morning was peace of mind. It's being handled.

And my house is clean for the holidays! :oD

This bug-free morning is brought to you by Tuesday's Unwrapped, a reminder to find the hidden blessings in everyday life.

tuesday's child

After a long day at school I was ready to get home to a fire pit, two lawn chairs and my favorite Man. After sitting in bumper-to-bumper tunnel traffic (at 9:30 PM!) I couldn't change clothes fast enough. The sky was bedazzled with stars. We talked about never getting tired of staring at them and how good God is to put them there for us to see. We sipped hot chocolate and talked in whispers. The Man was tempted to talk about serious stuff, but I reminded him tomorrow is another day. We talked about grace and facing whatever comes with courage, knowing in Him we are never alone. We watched flames lick at the logs and listened to it crackle as fall breezes chilled our faces. And we wished we had a fireplace indoors so we could fall asleep without moving anywhere. Sleep came easily, preparing the way for a happy start this Tuesday morning.

Decompression time is so very important to our spirits, yet I don't stop to do it often enough. Experiencing a month of grace has me renewing my efforts to breathe deeply and enjoy the daily stuff I'm tempted to whiz through, even tunnel traffic. Most especially I want to enjoy the people around me even more and ignore the things that continuously try to undermine peace. It's hard. But at the end of the day I want my memories to be of the rich things, the humorous things, the blessings, the sights and sounds of living abundantly.

This grace-filled moment brought to you by Tuesday's Unwrapped, a weekly reminder to enjoy the magic that is life.