gratitude this week

I'm bringing you my gratitude post a day early this week because today is November 30th and my month of blogging every day is done and I plan to take tomorrow off! (Based on the lack of comments on the posts this month, I'm pretty sure I've been talking to myself anyway.)

November 24: The good thing about coming home from the beach before the holiday weekend was over was that I could get the Christmas decorations up. Last year, we didn't get the house decorated until the weekend before Christmas and that was a disaster. My very favorite decoration is our creche. If I put nothing else out, I would be fully satisfied. (That's foreshadowing for our home after the kids are grown and moved out.)

November 25: But since you have to put the other stuff out, you might as well be thankful for it. The tree is a comforting sight each night, that is for sure.

November 26: Of course, the best part of the tree is the lights. They are what really bring the Christmas shine to things.

November 27: My sister and I had our own tree growing up filled with angel ornaments. When we married and left home, my mom let us have half of them each and I still love putting them on the tree each year.

November 28: The other ornaments that mean the most to me are the ones that my kids made (or their daycare teachers made for them) when they were little.

November 29: Not a strictly seasonal entry for this day, but I really do love the bare tree branches that are starting to show up all around as the leaves are going, going, going.

November 30: My pastor gave me Watch for the Light (an Advent devotional) several years ago. I have read it each year since then and there are always new words for my heart to hear. I can't recommend this book enough.

that time of year

The Christmas season is very hectic...more so than I remember things being when I grew up. When the calendar turns to December, we will have three very busy weekends leading up to the holiday. Three dance activities, one band activity, and one Christmas cantata. By the time we make it to the last of the dance events, I will be very tired of the auditorium at the high school where three of those five events will take place. 

BUT, the first of the events of the season is the city Christmas parade and I just love it. The weather looks to be great this year and the studio has another cute dance they will be performing along the entire parade route. Hope to see some of my local friends there this Saturday. 

Here's last year's parade performance to the coolest song ever (my Lizzie is the third girl back in the left hand line):

surprise

One good thing about failing eyesight is this, I suppose: sometimes a picture turns out to be of more than what you thought you were capturing.

tricks

I thought I would share with you some quick, free Photoshop actions that I have in my bag of tricks for photoediting and show you what a few of them can do with one photo.

Here's my unedited photo of sunrise on our last day at the beach last week:

The first action is from Addicted to Design. This is a sample of one of the variations of their free Lomo action:

I don't remember buying an action, but I also have their Velviator action, so I guess I did. This is the highest impact of the versions that come with that set:

Now, those two actions are great and all, but, as you can see, you get some very dramatic effects with them. Usually what I am looking for in an action is one that can just tweak some contrast and color so that I have pictures quickly fixed up for digital scrapbooking. This is where The Pioneer Woman's free actions simply rule. I often use one called Boost to just fix up a photo a smidge. Another couple of the many great actions in her sets are Fresh & Colorful:

and Lovely & Ethereal:

These are especially nice because you can run a couple of them and use different opacities and get just what you want. 

If you want to learn more about Photoshop and what all it can do, try some tutorials instead. A couple of my favorites are this HDR tutorial, which gives real dramatic results and will teach you a few things in the process: 

and this Dave Hill tutorial, which is not as impressive on scenery as it is on people*:

So, those are just a few of my tricks. I'm not telling which combination of these and/or other bits of knowledge of mine were used to get the results at the very top of the post. It's not that I'm holding anything back...it's just that I'm not sure what combination of actions and other tools I used to get there at this point. That's the way it goes with these things. You need to use everything at your disposal to get just what you want. That's kind of a good life lesson, actually.

*I don't recommend this on people over 30 or less than 80, by the way...not too flattering.

light of love

Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.

-Ruth Carter Stapleton

one year

Today marked the completion of the first year of a service I have had the privilege of serving in at our church. It's a small service with usually no more than twenty attendees outside of those of us serving in worship. It's a quieter, slower paced service with more scripture readings than in our other services. We do not use the screens to guide the parishioners through worship. Instead, we use the bulletins and the hymnals just like the good old days. The service isn't afraid of quiet moments and pauses to let everyone find their place. We have communion every single Sunday and, because we are small in number, we are able to serve people while they kneel at the altar rail. 

This service feels like home to me. The additional scripture readings, especially the responsive reading of the Psalm, along with using the hymnal and bulletin to navigate through service reminds me of how church was growing up in the Lutheran church. And, kneeling at the altar rail is the very best way to take communion I believe. I miss that so much and I wish our church could offer communion that way at every service. 

This morning as I was getting ready for the service, the lights in the sanctuary went out. The breaker had switched off and it was clear from the heat coming off of the fuse that it wasn't wise to turn it back on. So, we had worship in a dimmer sanctuary. The altar, decked out in white for Christ the King Sunday, was aglow with several candles, making it the brightest spot in the room. It was an unexpected lighting scheme, for sure, but it was just beautiful. 

It seemed a fitting way to close out the year and to look toward Advent, a time of waiting for the light of Christ, which shines so brilliantly on Christ the King Sunday, to enter the world again upon the celebration of his birth. 

gratitude this week

This week we took a vacation, so that naturally figured into my gratitude journal.

November 17: The trip home from Auburn includes journeying over roads that I have travelled since I was little, including the I-65 bridge north of Montgomery which makes this bump-da-bump sound and makes the car rock as it goes over it. I love that feel and sound. It reminds me of trips to see family for Christmas and of those same trips coming home.

November 18: RENT is one of our favorite plays and we were excited to see it last weekend at University of Montevallo. When Collins sings as he mourns Angel's death, I cry. Every time. Big production or small. (If it's a really great production, I cry when that song is introduced near the beginning of the play.)

November 19: It was just an ordinary day, with an ordinary entry for the gratitude journal. Pictured is the best fast food hamburger around. Not pictured is the Frosty which I consumed before even making it home.

November 20: Half days at work are almost as good as whole days off. Not gonna lie.

November 21: Sunsets at the beach are just spectacular. Thankful we got to see some this year.

November 22: Thanksgiving was so different this year being at the beach with just the four of us. Different...and wonderful. We ate our Thanksgiving fixings for brunch on the balcony. Sweet.

November 23: Of course, sunrise at the beach is also wonderful. Got up early the last day of our trip to catch one.

not a moment wasted

We were fortunate enough to grab a small vacation for ourselves in Destin, Florida. We left on Tuesday after the kids got out of school for the Thanksgiving holiday and returned home today. Just three nights away before the chaos of the Christmas season starts.

I took with me grand intentions of working on the papers I need to get written before the end of the year. Must make the most of every moment, you know.

But instead...I laughed with my family...I snuggled with my husband...I walked on the beach with my daughter...I watched my son play in the sand...I sat at the pool...I took pictures of the sun setting and the sun rising...I finished a book...I ate good food...I fell asleep at 8:30 watching reruns of The Big Bang Theory.

And, now back home with papers that still need to be written on top of the house to decorate, the cards to address and mail, the presents to be bought and wrapped, and the dance and band performances to be attended, I declare all of that time spent in such lazy familial pursuits perfectly used.

imagination

  The sky is the daily bread of imagination.-Ralph Waldo Emerson

perfect

Just an iPhone photo, cropped and framed...no other editing. God's work simply doesn't need any help.

king of the road

A driver is a king on a vinyl bucket-seat throne, changing direction with the turn of a wheel, changing the climate with a flick of the button, changing the music with the switch of a dial.-Andrew H. Malcolm

hope

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.

-Samuel Smiles

connections

Allow me an odd comparison for a moment. First, Phillipians 4:7:

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Second, Death Cab for Cutie's I Will Possess Your Heart:

How I wish you could see the potential, 

the potential of you and me

It's like a book elegantly bound, 

but in a language that you can't read just yet.

(Chorus) 

You gotta spend some time love,

you gotta spend some time with me 

And I know that you'll find love,

I will possess your heart

You gotta spend some time love, 

you gotta spend some time with me 

And I know that you'll find love, 

I will possess your heart 

 There are days when outside your window, 

I see my reflection as I slowly pass 

And I long for this mirrored perspective, 

when we'll be lovers, lovers at last 

(Chorus)

I will possess your heart I will possess your heart 

 You reject my advances and desperate pleas 

I won't let you, let me down so easily, so easily  

I know. I'm weird. But, I just connect things like this sometimes.

I hear in those lyrics words of a God who pursues us and wants us to spend time with Him. I hear words of a God who wants to possess and guard our hearts. It's strange connections like this that deepen my understanding of a love that passes all understanding. 

I challenge you to put on some headphones, lay back, listen to that song, and think about the words as if spoken by God to you. Here's a link to the full eight plus minute album version video* of the song. Just spend some time with Him. 

*After watching the video for the first time just now, I find it to be very appropriate for what I've said here. I love when things work like that. Synchronicity. Sweet synchronicity.

gratitude this week

A very movie-centric week of gratitude, plus a couple of introspective items. Here goes:

November 10: Daniel Craig is a great Bond and this movie was the best of them yet. Easy to follow, the movie has stunning visuals (we saw it in the IMAX) and a cartoonish villain played to Bond perfection by Javier Bardem. Highly recommended.

November 11: The executive ministry assistant does a beautiful job of decorating the altar in our traditional sanctuary. This week (and for the next several) the decor is Thanksgiving oriented and is warm and truly lovely.

November 12: I have the best mother-in-law in the world. You can't convince me otherwise. Happy Birthday, Barbara! I love you!

November 13: Already covered my love for Twi-soundtracks earlier this week.

November 14: I chose to say "no" to something on Wednesday. It felt good. And, in trying to portray it for my pictorial gratitude journal, I realized that when you say "no" you end with your mouth pursed not unlike in a kiss. I thought that was fitting because, in this case, saying "no" was a big kiss on my own cheek, respecting my needs at the moment over other things that might have led me to saying "yes" instead.

November 15-Another item already covered in a blog post this week.

November 16-The Twilight saga came to a close this week with the last installment hitting the big screen. I have loved every page of the books and every minute of the movies. Yes, every overwrought emotion, every cheesy line...regardless of terrible wigs, bad special effects and moments that seemed funny when they weren't supposed to...I truly enjoyed. Now, on to regular scheduled programming.

things that make me laugh

You know what is my favorite thing in the world? Laughter. I LOVE to laugh. Ask anyone who has had to sit in a meeting with me. Me? Serious? For more than fifteen minutes? Not likely.

So, today, I would like to share a few of my favorite You Tube videos.

Just for laughs.

Psych is a good, clean mystery show our whole family loves to watch. My favorite thing about it: the nearly non-stop pop culture references. This scene, which basically parodies an entire genre of 70's shows, is a classic.

Everybody Loves Raymond, featured this scene which at about 1:25 in is so funny I don't even have to get that far in to start laughing.

I thought, for a few episodes, that The Big Bang Theory had jumped the shark with the addition of Mayim Bialik as Amy Farrah Fowler. Scenes like this one have proven me oh so wrong.

The Amazing Race featured this scene a couple of weeks ago. Now sadly this clip doesn't show what was so funny. The guys stand there and shove that ice cream down and then turn to the vendor and open their mouths as wide as a crocodile to show that they ate it all so they could get their clue. Thing was...that was the wrong ice cream stand. Just imagine what the vendor was thinking about the crazy Americans. (Don't even get me started on how funny these same two guys looked trying to dive into a swimming pool this past Sunday.)

And, just to prove I do know about things other than TV...I know about practice. Practice? PRACTICE?!?

validation

Today my husband was in an art gallery getting a gift for his mother and while he was there he asked the owner all about what she would need to put up some of my photography. To have my work validated by him in this way was a huge lift to me. After I sat down here to share this, it struck me that recently a lot of things in my (unquestionably very good, full, productive, and contented) life have left me feeling a little bit drained and a whole lot under-appreciated. So, what my husband did and said made this day different than a whole lot of other days leading up to today. For that, I'm very grateful. 

And, I'm going to take this as an important "a-ha!" moment and am going to make a point to lift at least one other person else up tomorrow with words of praise, recognition and kindness. Tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the day after that, in fact, until it's engrained in my hard heart. 

Which reminds me of a verse I found convicting when I was on a retreat earlier this year and which I made a personal prayer for that day and some days after.

I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
-Ezekiel 11:19-20

It's time to return to that prayer. It's time to renew my prayers to have my heart softened, to be transformed, and to then move in His will in this hurting world. 

And, now, after plowing through this thought process only after making myself sit down to do my obligatory NaBloPoMo post, I can say that I have learned the value of daily blogging. Validation indeed.

seasons

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. -George Santayana

twi these out

As uncool as it may make me, I love Twilight. The last soundtrack came out today and, as usual, it's full of great alternative music. I put together an 8-tracks* set of music from the movies and from the artists that have contributed to the movie soundtracks. Enjoy (if you dare).

*Why, yes...there's an app for that.

fallback post

Days like today make me think that signing up to blog every day for a month wasn't exactly the smartest decision I've ever made. (But, hey, it's far from the worst decision I've ever made either.) Please enjoy a picture from my archives taken on a cheery November day three years ago. In the spirit of the one-minute whine rule, I'm going to end today's post at that and promise to be back tomorrow fresher and with more to offer.

none other

We allow farther, that the use of all means whatever will never atone for one sin; that it is the blood of Christ alone, whereby any sinner can be reconciled to God; there being no other propitiation for our sins, no other fountain for sin and uncleanness.-John Wesley, "The Means of Grace"