"Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Ps 42:11 ESV
I've been spending a lot of time in Psalms. The first time I read through them this year I have raw, argumentative notes in my margins. Things like "goodness and mercy??? Why didn't Josiah see this?" But, of course, he did, and does, see goodness and mercy.
The term "spiritual bypass" is becoming familiar to me. This is the syndrome where we (or others) slap a bright, happy Christian band-aide over a wound instead of admitting and processing our emotions...which leads to HEALING. Each time I make it through Psalm's I see deeper understanding in the margins. It takes TIME to walk through the valley.
Verses like the one above, which I'm using for memory work this week, gave me the freedom to ask my soul, "How are you today?" And then to listen and pray about how I truly am on any given day. Obviously, as the 23rd approaches I DO find my soul downcast and in turmoil quite often and I KNOW why....but I also know where to look for hope.
I'm rambling...this morning I found my soul excited. I knew it was going to be a day with PEOPLE, and I do love my people! The day turned out to be full of soul treats.
Brenda invited me to her home for tea today. There was a time when she and her husband, Carl, were in our home weekly. Much has changed since that time - grief, first for Brenda and now for us. We have to be intentional now to see each other. We spent a lovely couple of hours chatting about life, grief, church communities (hers and ours), her upcoming travel and our upcoming events. It is great to connect, we need to do it more often. My time with Brenda always refreshes me deep down in my soul. We are somewhat kindred spirits and it's good to be in community again. No pictures - I'm not brazen enough to photo friends for the blog without permission and we were instantly talking - forgot the photos.
It was also a TREAT for the soul when Larissa and Noah stopped by just to visit Michael and me. We love having everyone together at once and we also cherish our one-on-one time with smaller groups of the kids. As we talked about plans for the upcoming Family Celebration and then the days up to the anniversary of Josiah's death, she offered to design the card we planned to design to give away. Larissa is so much more creative than me. 
We are three weeks away from the general election. While I know most eyes are focused on the federal election, ours also focus local. Jared has been through the district so many times. I think Jamin has gone out nearly as many times. I was glad these two visited us while Jared knocked on doors. Three more weeks...and there will be a bit of rest after this hectic season.
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| Check out Noah's sweatshirt! |
We have started having Nolan over for dinner and an episode of "Lost in Space" on Wednesdays. He hasn't been feeling well but has been to the doctor and is on the way to better. He's cut out all gluten, in addition to the previously cut out dairy. It was great to see him tonight. There is nothing better than having adult children visit. Hang in there tired mamas...you will reap the reward of your current investment. 
I looked forward to a new freeze-drying adventure today! Things didn't go quite as expected. I had my first freeze dryer "fail" today.
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| Tootsie Rolls, Gummy worms, Caramel MnM, caramels, Skittles, Nerds clusters |
I am trying to get a variety of candy ready for Saturday. Stacia has TMJ and can't eat many of her favorites due to her jaw, freeze-drying allows the flavor with an easier texture. All turned out good except for the Werther's soft caramels. I cut each piece into 3 and STILL they blew up over the sides of the tray, stuck on the tray holders...I will try again. Allie and my favorite are Caramel MnM, she also likes Skittles, Stacia likes the Nerd clusters, Michael's favorite is Tootsie Rolls. Oddly enough the Tootsie Rolls did not blow up like the caramels. 
About those caramels...I think it will make a delicious popcorn sprinkle!
Yes, it's been a good day....
1. Brenda, a friend who understands much and is willing to try to understand the rest.
2. So fun to spend some time with Larissa and Noah.
3. Time with Nolan.
