"5 Small Things Friday" No. 8

Go back and read this post for the story behind "Five Small Things Friday".

For this week, here is my list:

1. Sight: My Hope Star On The Horizon

2. Hearing: Rain On The Roof During An Afternoon Nap

3. Smell: Woodsmoke

4. Taste: Home-made White Fudge

5. Touch: My soft red fuzzy scarf


The stories behind the list:

1. There is a star that is bright and clear, and in the Fall it appears in the western sky above the horizon in our neck of the woods. I call it my "Hope Star". I want to find out if it really has a name - it is so bright and definite that I'm sure it must.
I call it the "Hope Star" for a sort of long-story-reason. Maybe one day I'll get the story told here. Until then, lets just say that once I was very discouraged and I looked up and saw it, and somehow it gave me hope. So when I see it now, it gives me a warm feeling.

2. One day this week, (Tuesday, I think) we were afforded the luxury of an afternoon nap. It was raining too - a perfect, steady, soothing, pitter-patter type rain. Absolutely delicious to sleep to. That nap was so refreshing!

3. I was driving either to school and work for the day, or back from school and work at the end of the day - I can't remember which - one day this week, and suddenly I smelled the smell of a wood-burning stove or fireplace. Or it could have just been someone burning in their woods. Anyway, it was the smell of cozy nights, winter weather, roasted marshmallows, and Christmas. It made me smile.

4. Mom made white fudge for Thanksgiving. I usually do not care for white fudge very much, but I tasted a crumb of it after she made it, 'cause it was making me so hungry, and it was delicious! I don't know what she did different this year, but that fudge was A. May. Zing.

5. This one is kindof funny... A couple of years ago, during the winter, Mom and Trissy and I were grocery shopping in Wal*Mart, and we passed a rack with a bunch of those knitted scarves out of that fuzzy 'yarn'. There were white, and black, and red, and blue, and lavender, etc. etc. They looked so soft and tempting, so I touched one as we went past. It WAS soft! I wanted to rub my face all in it :) ! But I would never wear something that outlandish in public, and they were ten dollars - way too much to spend on something just because it was soft!
Every time we went back to Wal*Mart I checked to see if they'd gone down in price. They fell to $7. Then to $5. Still too much to spend on a 'just for fun' item, without it being practical as well.
Several more days later, maybe even weeks, I can't remember, we were in again, and I went and looked at them. By this time there were not that many left, but there was still a red one - my favorite color. Only this time when I checked, there was a $3 tag on them, and a worker taking them off the rack and putting them into a cart. If I was going to get one, now was the time.
Yeah, I did. And yeah, I sleep with it every night. It's so soft! Don't judge me! I know alot of y'all still sleep with stuffed animals, and this isn't so much different... :D

"I'm thankful for..." - Week 2 of 2

Friday:

Woodsmoke
Helpful maintenance men
The fact that God understands why bad things happen even when we don’t
Free honey buns and chocolate milk
God-made coincidences
Modern-day Barnabases
The beauty of the sparks of a copper-colored bonfire on a black-velvet night
The Grandmother’s voice
Clean sheets


Saturday:

Home-made French Toast
Simple Fall-ish table decorations
Early mornings
Three good meals a day
Blue wheelbarrows full of leaves
Family soda-can-smashing sessions (selling for scrap metal)
Family leaf-raking sessions



Our cat Bobby



A camera
A clean room
A washing machine and dryer
Laughing hard


Sunday:

A pastor who leads by example and not words only
Church members who follow their pastor’s good leadership
Musicians who pour themselves into doing their best
Teenagers with good attitudes
Kindred spirits
Willing helpers
Beautiful night-time foggy mists
Bro. Dennis and Mrs. Carrie's baby
Early mornings


Monday:

The smell of Vanilla
Strawberry wafer cookies
Oreo balls dipped in white-chocolate-mint Almond Bark
People that share
Home-made white chocolate fudge




Tuesday:

Naps on rainy days
Raspberry chocolate chips
Plastic toy dinosaurs
The medieval paintings of Edmund Leighton
The sound of a group of Christian ladies talking and laughing as they clean a kitchen
Potato soup with shredded cheese and bacon crumbs in it
A quilt that my Dad's mother made, now reinforced by my Mom
Bonbon sunflowers



Cute pennant banners




Wednesday:

Stars on a clear night
Thanksgiving cooking with family and friends
White-chocolate-dipped Ritz-cracker-and-peanut-butter cookies



Soft red fuzzy scarfs


Thursday:

Big get-togethers that turn out well
Organized jobs
Clocks and watches that go "Tick-tock"
Meaningful conversations with relatives
A star on the horizon



Thanksgiving Day


"Oh that men would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!" Ps. 107:8

His Mysterious Ways

This morning as I was grabbing my laptop, charger, books, and papers I would need for school, and trying to get it all in my bag, I was frantically looking for anything I could leave! That bag gets very heavy, and even a few papers sometimes seems to make a difference. I unzipped the outside pocket to drop in a CD I had to return to one of the teachers at VRCA, and found my DVD copy of "Lost Or Found". It has been there literally for a couple of months, waiting for me to get a few minutes (and the memory!) to run by Victory Rd. and ask our secretary to make a copy of it for The Grandparents. I took it out for a minute, then shoved it back in. If I took it out now, that copy would never get made! Hopefully it would be safe.

In art class today, all we had was a vocabulary test. That only took a couple of minutes, so I moved to the next room to use one of the computers in her Mac lab for the rest of the time that would have been used for class. It was in that same room, on one of those same computers, that I made "Lost Or Found" last Fall. Funny, touching a Mac keyboard still gives me a nice feeling and brings back all those memories!

I'd been there about an hour or so, when Mr. Smith, my instructor last Fall for the class where we made the movies, stuck his head in. "Oh! Hello! Just the person I wanted to see!"
He's what you'd call "hyper", I guess, always bouncing, always unpredictable, but a great teacher.
Now I wondered what on earth he would want me for, but as he came into the room, a whole string of students was following him, and he was talking to them.
"...in last year's class...made a movie...you wouldn't happen to have a copy of the movie you made with you, would you?"
I blinked, then nodded slowly.
"Yes sir, I do."
"Do you really? Would you mind if the class saw it? They were wanting to see an example of what the finished product is supposed to look like."
I got up and went into the other room where I'd left my stuff, praying all the time.
My little movie was going to be shown - again - to a group of students. The very same class in fact, that I'd made it in, and for. What's more, some of my classmates from another class were now in this one, and would see it as well.
I unzipped that outside pocket, and took out the DVD case. I'd almost left it at the house that morning.
So sure enough, he turned my computer screen around so most of the students could see it, I popped the disk in, and after a few minutes (where my mind blanked out and I could not for anything remember how to play a DVD on a Mac), the menu screen came up, and I hit "Play Movie". As I got up and stepped away from the computer, I heard the familiar "Boing!" of the intro, and Mr. Smith's voice explaining how an intro was a requirement...that I hadn't used a video camera...a digital camera to photograph...put the images together and used the Ken Burns effect to create the illusion of movement...about 3 or 4 minutes long...
My legs were so wobbly! I was standing sortof a little to the side and behind the screen so as not to block anyone's view, but as the soundtrack to Chris Rice's "Come to Jesus" played, I could see the images playing in my mind.
It was interesting to watch the faces. Boredom, curiosity, thoughtfulness, skepticism, etc.
But when it finished, one of my classmates from last Spring leaned over and said, "That was really good Kyrie." I was surprised she even remembered my name! I got to chat with her for a couple of minutes before they had to begin their work.

What an opportunity! There was no way all that was a coincidence!
Me putting that DVD in my bag in the first place, all those weeks ago.
It staying there, me forgetting to take it to have a copy made.
Me deciding at the last minute to stick it back in this morning.
Me staying over after the test to work on one of those computers, instead of going on up to the library, like I usually do.
Staying that long. I'd intended to leave after just a little while, but I was still there when Mr. Smith's class came in.
My classmates from another class, now being in this one.

It had to be what they call, "a God thing".
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
May He be glorified, and continue to use this little movie for His purpose - for that was why it was made in the first place!

"5 Small Things Friday" No. 7

Go back and read this post for the story behind "Five Small Things Friday".

For this week, here is my list:

1. Sight: Glittering morning frost on my car

2. Hearing: Sunday-afternoon choir practice working on our Christmas cantata

3. Smell: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

4. Taste: Home-made Peanut Butter Chews

5. Touch: A thunderstorm wind


The stories behind the list:

1. Have you ever seen a clean surface, covered in pure white frost, early in the morning, and the glittery effect it has? Much more perfect and stunning than anything man could make.

2. I am SO thankful to be allowed to be part of the choir at Victory Rd. I can't sing that well, and sometimes I feel like I should just quit. I know how my part is supposed to sound, and I can read music, and even hit the notes, but the quality of my voice is a little too grainy to be really nice, and I feel like I'm just messing up some of the others, and making myself look silly in the process. But then we have a session like this past Sunday, and I just can't quit! I love it too much! It's such a great time to get closer to people, to learn more about them as individuals, and to learn more about music. Bro. Dennis really works hard to whip us into shape. Right now we're working on our Christmas cantata and it is probably the best and most beautiful one we've done since my family has been at Victory Rd.
Then there's the great camaraderie and joking that is such a part of any small-ish gathering at Victory Rd. The Bass section sits behind the Tenor section in choir, and all those guys do like to carry on. The fun and banter is mixed with serious moments of concentration and friendship. It's wonderful.

3. The other night Mom made grilled cheese sandwiches for supper. I had already been thinking how wonderful a grilled cheese sandwich would taste, and that aroma as they were toasting - WOW! Toasty, cheesy, perfect.

4. Henley makes the best peanut butter chews. She brought some to our church Thanksgiving meal Tuesday evening and they were SO good.

5. One of my favorite outdoor 'activities' is a walk during a summer thunderstorm. Obviously it's not summer now, but I was out momentarily during the wind before a storm this week, and the fight with the wind is always so exhilarating - and comforting. The force, the power, the energy, the amazing beauty... I feel almost like I am being hugged by God, and I mean that in the most awe-filled, reverent way. Many of the moments in my life when I have felt His presence the strongest were when I was out in a storm.

"I'm thankful for..." - Week 1 of 2

I have really been challenged recently in the area of Thankfulness, stewardship, and using what you have (even if it seems small) to glorify the Lord.
This week, the author of the blog Simple Delights, had a great idea and invited her readers to join her: For each day of the last two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, compile a list of the things you are thankful for that day, and post your lists each day, or the whole week's worth at the end of each week. She is planning a link-up so we can share our lists with each other.

This goes so well with my goal of trying to notice and be more grateful for all the wonderful little things the Lord provides to us, and I am grateful that others are doing the same thing.

I may not have long lists, but they certainly do not include all the things I am thankful for! Mainly I just jotted down some of the things that were really brought to my mind during the day, but I am actively trying to cultivate a constant attitude of thankfulness. Certainly that should be our goal every day!

I started making my lists on Friday, but I included things from Thursday that I had on my mind and was thankful for as well.

Thursday/Friday:

Good times with good friends
Cream of Chicken Soup
Blogging time
Creative ideas


{Photo and idea by Unoriginal Originality}

Canceled college classes
6-year-old boys with brown eyes, sandy hair, dimples, and a huge appetite for learning and friendship
The safe arrival of Aron and Henley's Timothy, and all
Babies born to Godly young couples
Crochet
'Adopted' brothers


Saturday:

Finished Algebra homework assignments
Godly teaching
Cheery candles in red glass holders



Symphony music, specifically this song:



Doughnuts
Mid-week church meetings


Sunday:

My own Bible
The health and freedom to be able to go to church
Christmas music
Good teachers
Impressionable young friends and the chance to influence them for the Lord
Victory Rd.
Beautiful fall weather
Being picked on by good friends


Monday:

Psalms 107:8-22
Being able to read
Tall trailing bushes with yellow flowers that drape over wooden fences



Text messaging
The kids at VRCA that call me "Miss Dr. Pepper" and my friendship with them
Michael O'Brien's CD, "Be Still My Soul"
Thunderclouds
The texture on a coffee cup from my favorite coffee shop



Cool brisk wind


Tuesday:

Prayer
Rain
Sleeping in
Easy Algebra
Rainbows
A laptop
Pet chickens
A rare phone conversation with an out-of-state friend
Good grades


Wednesday:

"The Conference" - a Bible conference in the north part of the state that has become a family tradition for the week before Thanksgiving
Mild weather after it's been cold
Meeting new friends
Spending time with old friends
Long denim skirts
Good music
Safe journeys
Answered prayers
My Rebelution t-shirt


Thursday:

Hot showers
Grilled cheese sandwiches
College-age Bible studies
Giant peppermint sticks



Mom-made home-made hot chocolate
Pecans
Visions for the future
Hilarious choir practices
Hand-pumped flashlights



A soft bed and warm covers
My own room
Physical and spiritual protection

The Lord is so good to me. This is just a scratch on the surface, but these things are some that really touched me this week.

"...Jesus Christ, Is Coming Soon"

Thanks to Jenn from Unoriginal Originality for sharing this gorgeous music with her readers. She made my week - my family has been listening to this over and over since she posted it!

It's long, but it's SO worth it! Please listen first, then read my thoughts on it below.


This is a comment I left on her post:

"I'm back, listening to the symphony. Again. I let my sister hear it, and she said, 'I wonder what the music in Heaven will be like. It sounds like a triumphant hymn.'
And really, as I listened to it, I realized she was right. The beginning is our life here on earth: waking up into existence, then happy sometimes, complicated sometimes, adventurous, and a little uncertain at times, but exciting! About 3:40 is the end of our life, or the end of time itself. Solemn. A little sad. Yet hopeful (5:10) because Christ still reigns. And He's coming again (5:20)! Look! There He is! And victory belongs to those who will remain faithful and true to Him (6:00) ! And He will take us in His arms (6:40) and He will wipe our tears away, explaining the reasons for each sorrow, or simply lovingly wiping them from our memory. Then He will stand and open the doors to His glorious land (7:15), revealing to us it's unspeakable beauty and awesome glory for the first time. And we will stand in awe and wonder (7:50), then enter, slowly, like children being shown a great surprise. And forever after will be peace, safety, new adventures just around each corner, and our King always beside us. Forever after."

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

-Kyrie<><

"5 Small Things Friday" No. 6

Go back and read this post for the story behind "Five Small Things Friday".

For this week, here is my list:

1. Sight: An autumn yard arrangement.

2. Hearing: "Miss Dr. Pepper"

3. Smell: Hot biscuits and gravy.

4. Taste: Cream of Chicken Soup.

5. Touch: A hot shower.


The stories behind the list:

1. The house closest to ours is The Grandfather's brother and sister-in-law's house. They have both past away, and now our neighbors are the youth minister from The Grandparents' church, and his family. They are really nice people!
The yard is beautiful and old-fashioned, and they have added their own touches without taking away from the wonderful old memories of the place. I was driving up to The Grandparents' the other day, and noticed a wonderful autumn arrangement they had made next to the old mailbox, using hay bales, pumpkins, and squashes.

2. I talk alot about the kids at VRCA, but they are such a big part of my life, that many of my recent, treasured memories come from them.
A few weeks ago, I took a can of Dr. Pepper to after-school to use as a prop for some photos I was taking for my Etsy shop (I like to multi-task, and am always taking projects to work on while I watch the kids). Some of the new teachers' kids didn't know my name yet, but when one of the students (who knows me well) thought it would be fun to steal my can of Dr. Pepper, that can began making rounds of the boys' pockets, with the hopes that they could persuade me to forget I had brought it, and they could have it :D ! It was a fun joke, but after that, a couple of the new teachers' kids (a brother and sister) began calling me "Miss Dr. Pepper". The first time the boy called me that, it caught me off guard - I had no idea what he was talking about! But when I asked him he said, 'Cause you brought the Dr. Pepper to school, and I didn't know your name!'
They all know my name now, but that brother and sister still call me "Miss Dr. Pepper", instead of "Miss Kyrie", and I love it.

3. Last Friday night I came in cold, tired, and hungry from school and work, and (we pretty much always go to The Grandparents' house for the evening on Fridays) The Grandmother had made biscuits and gravy for supper. One of my favorite smells in the world. My spirits rose from knee-level to the tree-tops.

4. Last night before Thursday night College Bible Study, Trissy and I opened a can of Cream of Chicken Soup for a quick (and hot) supper on the way out the door. Cream of Chicken Soup has got to be one of my favorite "comfort foods".

5. How often do I take a hot shower for granted! So much of the world does not even enjoy indoor plumbing, let alone hot water. Yet after a long day, I find that a hot shower is one of the most comforting, relaxing, soothing things, and I am taking them less for granted. They are also extremely conducive to creative thoughts. I come up with my best creative writings and ideas while in the shower. Often Trissy has come running to my rescue and slid a piece of paper and pencil under the door for me to make soggy notes on!

"5 Small Things Friday" No. 5

Go back and read this post for the story behind "Five Small Things Friday".

For this week, here is my list:

1. Sight: Persimmons on a china saucer.

2. Hearing: A car-load of kids on the way to school.

3. Smell: Taco shells frying.

4. Taste: The first home-made hot chocolate of the season.

5. Touch: A soft white scarf.


The stories behind the list:

1. There is a persimmon tree in The Grandfather's brother and sister-in-law's yard, next to our place. They always let us have persimmons from it, and it's persimmon season now. They are so delicious! We've been having them as snacks in the morning, and the other day Mom made a little party out of it, cutting them onto china plates, and setting out our nice silver-ware to eat them with.

2. Thursday morning at the Thursday Morning Breakfast at the church, we had probably the biggest group of students since the school year started. After breakfast when it was time to get the kids to school, there weren't enough vehicles to get all the kids to school, so I volunteered to take a car-load. It was so much fun! We fit a little person between Trissy and me in the front seat, and four in the back. Yes, they were all buckled, though a couple of them had to share a seatbelt :) ! They were having so much fun, and the merry chatter was such a sweet sound. One of the older girls decided we needed a theme song and started whistling the theme to "The Andy Griffith Show". We dropped them off at the academy, and there were cheerful cries of "Bye!" and "Thank you!" as they all scrambled out of my little 'Tilly-bus' and hurried in to school. It made my day.

3. Trissy made tacos one day, and she was frying the shells when I got in from work and school. Ohhhh it smelled good!

4. It is finally starting to really get cold. Mom has gotten hooked on those fancy creamers for her coffee, like French Vanilla, and Irish Cream and all that. I was tired and cold from sitting still at the computer doing homework, so I got up and made myself my first home-made hot chocolate of the season (I had bought a hot chocolate at the little local coffee shop a few days before). Mom wanted me to use her French Vanilla cream in it, just to see how I liked it ;) . I don't drink coffee, but that cream sure was good in the hot chocolate!

5. Mrs. Gayle, the assistant administrator at VRCA, was one of the ones that went on the church mission trip this past summer that Trissy and I went on. While we were there, she discovered that I know how to french braid my hair. She was so excited, and asked if I would do hers :) . She is so funny! I french braided her hair the rest of the time we were over there, and since school has started, she asks me to come by the academy on my way to college and do it once a week or so. I enjoy getting to do it :) !
Last Friday, she came in to after-school to get her kids and she was wearing a nice black scarf. I'd been trying to find a white one almost just like it and I commented on it, and asked her where she got it, but she said she didn't think they had white ones.
Sunday between Sunday School and the church service, I heard her voice out in the foyer asking where I was. She has a trumpet voice that comes in very handy at the school, and has just become part of her personality :) . It made me smile. I called back to her, and she came around the corner with a gift bag in her hand, holding it out to me. "What's this for?!" I asked her.
"It's because I love you!" she answered. "Do I have to have a reason?"
She wanted me to open it right then. "I want to see if you..." she paused. "If it's what you're looking for".
I couldn't imagine what it was, but I sat down, took out the dark green tissue paper, and there was a beautiful white scarf! It was a really nice one, and SO soft.
I didn't know what to say! She just grinned. "It's for braiding my hair!"