...when I've had a long, stressful week and decide to do something crazy and fun!    It helps that this is only about the third day this winter that we have both 1. had enough snow and 2. it was warm enough to make a snowman! 

Since I couldn't decide how to decorate it, I decided to try several different looks.

The regular snowman:

    

At the beach (notice the "waterfall" in the background):



The cowboy (yes, John, those are your boots - no, I did not leave them outside!):



The techie (yes, I was desperate for appropriate props - that is an ancient Palm Pilot, not an iPod ):



The animal lover:



The gardener:



This is the most snowpack we have had in quite a few years.  It is knee deep in the middle of the yard!  For those who have been here, our snow pile from shoveling the driveway is taller than me, and more than half the length of the garage. 



Have a great day, everyone!  God bless!

I am feeling very tired, but it is a good tired.    I am really enjoying life these days.  I don’t know that my circumstances are much different than in the past, but I am learning to really enjoy the beauties that God has placed around me.  The sound of children laughing together, the sun shining through the trees, the light that goes on in a child’s eyes when they learn something new, the smell of sweet pea flowers, heart level connection with friends, the taste of ice cream, the winding path through the woods, a newly made piece of paper drying, being able to connect with people through cell phone and internet, white birch trees, and on and on.  God has been giving me eyes to see beauty.  I am so thankful! 

I love tutoring.  I love helping Amy with wedding planning.  I love learning new skills (like making paper!).  I love talking with friends and family.  I love bargains.  I love listening to good music.  I love the busyness of three children asking me questions about their school work all at once.  I love the quiet of being all by myself.  I love making someone else’s load lighter.  I love the tiny bubbles Mrs. S blows into the air from the dish detergent bottle as she starts the dishes after supper.  I love M&Ms (dark chocolate are best).  I am learning to love who God made me to be. 

And now, back to making paper! 

Yes, this post is how long overdue?!  Never mind!    Life has been a bit crazy.  Now, how do I summarize several months in one post?

I finished my free month with ALEKS.  I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys using a computer and needs to learn some math – anything from third grade through college.  I was able to finish the Geometry.  I still had a week and a half left, so I decided to try Algebra 2.  I started out knowing 35% of the material, and ended up knowing 87% of it.  I have decided that Geometry is easier than Algebra 2.  Some of those problems in Algebra have a LOT of steps, and if you forget to add one thing or forget to change the inequality sign when multiplying by a negative number or something like that, the answer can turn out way wrong!  In any case, I had fun and learned a lot.  

The big news that most of you have already heard is that my brother John is engaged to Amy!  I love Amy very much, and am sooo glad that I will have another sister!  We have had some wonderful times together, and I am sure there will be many more.  I am VERY happy for them both!

I have done some traveling this year to help out with some conferences put on by Noble Call Institute www.noblecall.org.  It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot too.  All of you who are still single might be interested to know that he has recently developed a Personal Vision Conference.  I was able to attend the first one in June and am very excited about it!  If you want to know how to build a relationship with Christ and want to learn who you are (who God has created you to be), this would be an excellent conference to attend. 

God has taught me so much in the last months.  Here is a sampling:

• God wants me to learn to ask the right question when things go wrong.  I need to stop asking the question the enemy wants me to ask, because that one always has the wrong answer.    Basically, I need to focus on what God is trying to accomplish rather than feeling sorry for myself and being selfish.

• God really does want to meet my needs and fulfill my desires.  But He may not do it in the way I think He should.  

• Fear must be faced.  Avoiding it doesn’t help anything.

• Good friends are wonderful helpers in overcoming fear, once I am determined to face it and conquer it by looking to the Lord for strength.

• When expectations are totally yielded to the Lord, He can create perfect things.

• Friendship is a treasure from the Lord.  It is very fulfilling when it is valued enough to put the other person’s best interests first. 

• It is important to be thinking through some heart level issue on a regular basis.  It keeps the mind sharp.  It gives focus to Scripture study.  It provides deep conversations with others.  It proves that I don’t know very much compared to what God knows.  (In other words, it contributes to humility.)

• Growing up is difficult, but very rewarding.

• God can use what He has taught me to help others down the same path if I am willing to share it.  It may seem like a minor thing to me, but it may be life-changing for others.

• God is always faithful!  No one else can meet all my needs, but He is always there. 

One of my sisters bought two new colors of fingernail polish.  She decided to try both out at once.  Then the other two sisters decided to get in on the fun.    Here is the result!

I have been learning a lot about satisfaction recently.  Satisfaction is a funny thing.  Part of it has to do with being happy, but it is much more than that.  Being satisfied only happens when I do the right thing, but following a list of rules doesn’t satisfy me.  Sometimes it is the end result that satisfies me; sometimes it is the process.  Things that satisfy me may not satisfy you at all.  Sometimes the road to satisfaction includes pain, maybe even most of the time, and yet satisfaction is so desirable that the pain is not a deterrent to seeking it.  Satisfaction can be found in big things or tiny things, beauty or plainness, hard work or rest, relationships or time alone, helping someone or being helped, having fun or being serious, etc.  It can be found easily, yet I often search for it without seeming to find it. 

Making a choice to do someone else’s job for them without expecting anything back from them is satisfying.  Getting upset with someone because I am taking responsibility that is not mine and am too tired to think straight is definitely not satisfying.

Eating a few cookies is satisfying; eating too many is not.

Knowing that I have encouraged someone satisfies me.  Feeling like I have to always be encouraging is not; I need to be encouraged sometimes too.

I am satisfied when I am growing, when I am learning things that I know are valuable.  Spending time on random and interesting, but unimportant information doesn’t satisfy me. 

Fighting through brain cramps to make sure my conclusions are correct is rewarding, especially when I know those conclusions affect not only me but many others.  And especially when I can do it with a group of friends who help keep me on track.  Arguing with others over controversial issues that have been debated by scholars for centuries without coming to agreement does not appeal to me at all.  If we are just taking sides without really listening to each other, I am not interested. 

Keeping things clean and neat is very satisfying to me, but demanding that others do the same with their things is not.

Being with a small group of people satisfies me more than being with a large group. 

Brownies are more satisfying than oatmeal cookies.

Cycles of work and rest satisfy me more than constant, frantic work or endless vacation.

Wearing foam curlers on a lumpy pillow is not very satisfying.  But having curly hair the next morning is. 

I am satisfied when I act on the good things that God has put in my heart, but not when I let my selfish heart rule.

Knowing God is infinitely satisfying.  Knowing that He truly loves and cares for me makes life worth living to the full.  Knowing that He has a very good reason for all pain that He allows makes it a joy to trust Him.  Knowing that He delights in me makes me feel special and valuable.  Do you know Him?