Random Week

Mid-November.

I received this sweet gift from the Crusaders' head coach and his wife.  I'm pretty sure she was the one who picked it out.  She is a great listener, because somewhere along the way I must've told her I love tea, and blue things.  What a great gift!

A few days later, I attended Kelle's and Michael's wedding shower.  How sweet for Michael to come with Kelle and open gifts together!  I snapped a few pictures for Kelle's mom when she realized she had no more room on her phone camera.  What a fun evening!

Then, a few days later, I decided to try my Earl Grey tea from Laura (part of the blue tea cup gift from the Crusaders).  I made it in my Taiwan tea cup, given to me by Gabrielle M. who continues to do missions work in Taiwan.

My random post for the week.  :)


Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- As I Do Today

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...it's time for a cup of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate!  So rich and creamy and chocolatey.  Mmm...

I'm feeling...fine and dandy.   I resist the urge to share all my aches and pains with you.  It's a simple fact of aging, and I won't dwell on it.  My heart is happy, and that's all that matters for Tea Time.  :)

On my mind...is helping my parents get ready to move!  They've listed their house on the market and there's still lots to do helping them pack things up.  I love logistics, and I love helping my parents!

I leave you with...a passage of Scripture I literally just came across as I was reading.

It is the living who give thanks to You,

as I do today;

A father tells his sons about Your faithfulness.

The LORD will surely save me;

So we will play my songs  on stringed instruments

All the days of our life at the house of the LORD.

Isaiah 38:29-20 NASB

Spring flowers in the woods

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- A Home for the Lonely

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of pomegranate green tea, leaves given to me by my sweet neighbor Lorraine.

Green tea leaves with pomegranate

I'm feeling...warm and humid!  You would not believe how warm it was here yesterday--close to 80 degrees Fahrenheit!  In March!  In Chicago!  Here (below) is a picture of a teacup; I took it at the Mother/Daughter Encouragement weekend and it fits these summery days perfectly.  The warmth is supposed to continue for a week or so!

On my mind...is lots of stuff, as usual.  Jacob has gotten some appointments and things out of the way and on the calendar (that's always good to get appointments set!).  I'm helping my mom de-clutter so she and Dad can get ready to list their house for sale.  And I scheduled a photo shoot for April--always something to look forward to!  Everything else is rather haphazard right now, so I'm trying to muddle through.  I also have big plans on my mind for Fernando and me to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this autumn!  Fernando and I have been huddled around books and the computer screen a lot, doing research and mostly dreaming right now.  Hopefully one of the dreams will become reality, and I'll let you know as soon as it does!

I leave you with...a little passage of Scripture.

God makes a home for the lonely;

He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,

Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

Psalm 68:6 NASB

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- No Longer

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of Irish breakfast tea to start off my morning.

Two cups for two sisters

I'm feeling...tired.  We have had a trying week, and I feel weary attempting to process the wildly erratic emotions connected with event after event.  Mind you, the events haven't been earth-shattering, but the week has been one thing right after another.

On my mind...is my to-do list with deadlines looming and no desire to get anything done.  I'm not down in the dumps; I'm just tired.  I know the Lord will lift me up, and I know that many are praying for me, and for our family (again, nothing dire).  I'm resting in His mercy and strength in time of weakness.

I leave you with...hope from the Scriptures.

And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes;

and there will no longer be any death;

there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain;

the first things have passed away.

Revelation 21:4 NASB

Last week--looking down the street where my parents live

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- Get Yourself Up!

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

A quick note--I can't believe I haven't blogged in over two weeks!  I spent several days out of town, and just haven't had any time to blog since I returned home.  I think I'm finally getting back into the routine of my life, though, and I'm very happy to start blogging again by sharing Tea Talk with you all today!


I'm having...a cup of Irish breakfast tea in my Polish pottery mug.  Since you've seen my tea cups before, I'm sharing someone else's cup with you today.

A tea cup from a Christmas tea party

I'm feeling...fine.  Some of the muscle pain in my neck has eased, and I am leaving the rest in the Lord's hands.

On my mind...is editing the final 15 of the 300+ images I took at the SECHDF Mother/Daughter Encouragement Weekend in Georgia.  Not only did I get to shoot the two-day event, I got to spend lots of time with my sister D.  :)  Now I have just a bit of hard work left, then it's organizing everything, getting portraits printed, then mailing them off.  I'm also praying for a few print orders from the event!

I leave you with...a passage of Scripture that brings hope.  I'm looking ahead to warmer weather (though this winter has been nothing to complain about!), to spring and to the celebration of Jesus' resurrection.  This passage also helps me look ahead with hope and excitement.

Get yourself up on a high mountain,

O Zion, bearer of good news,

Lift up your voice mightily,

O Jerusalem, bearer of good news;

Lift it up, do not fear.

Say to the cities of Judah,

"Here is your God!"

Isaiah 40:9 NASB

Looking forward to spring!!

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- So Great and So Far

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of tea with honey and half-n-half.  It's my typical morning cup of tea.

Morning tea in my Pfaltzgraff Ocean Breeze teacup

I'm feeling...fine, mostly.  I slipped on the stair into our garage last weekend, and it exacerbated the pain I was already experiencing in my neck due to pulled muscles.  Nothing has worked so far, so I'm off in a few minutes to see a massage therapist.  If nothing else, I'll end up relaxed by lunchtime!  :)

On my mind...is my upcoming trip to Georgia!  Details are swirling 'round my brain, including figuring out how not to have to check a bag (it's $25 each way to check a suitcase; can you believe that??).  I have to get all my photography gear in order, clean my camera's sensor (a tricky procedure I've never done), put together pricing sheets, edit photos for display (digital picture frame) at the two-day conference at which I'll be shooting.  So many details!  I'll soon be in full swing pulling all of this together.  All I do is start making lists, and that eases any panic I feel.  Then I simply start "doing" and checking items off.

I leave you with...a passage from Psalms that brings such comfort to my heart.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west,

So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Just as a father has compassion on his children,

So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.

For He Himself knows our frame;

He is mindful that we are but dust.

Psalm 103:10-14 NASB

Sunset in the woods

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- My Hiding Place and Shield

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's Irish breakfast tea.  I drink it every morning, and drink other teas throughout the day (in winter).  I'm posting a photo of the below teacup (from a recent Ladies' Christmas Tea) because it reminds me of spring.

Thinking of spring!

I'm feeling...cold!  That's why I'm dreaming of spring.  :)

On my mind...is my crazy schedule today and for the next several weeks.  Thomas joined a local math team!  I think it's great, but they're currently meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which are the two long days for Jacob and Danny down at Joliet Junior College.  Plus Fernando has physical therapy on some of those days, so my Tuesday/Thursday afternoon schedule looks like this:

• 12:30pm -- take Fernando back to work so I can have the car in the afternoon
• 1:00pm -- arrive home from taking F. to work
• 1:45pm -- take Thomas to math team meeting
• 2:15pm -- home from dropping Thomas off
• 3:15pm -- pick up Fernando from work and take him to therapy
• 4:00pm -- drop off Fernando at therapy and drive down to pick Thomas up
• 4:30pm -- arrive home for dinner preparations!?!

This is no fun.  But at least there are only a few math team days when Fernando has therapy, so all I have to do is take Fernando back to work at lunchtime in order to have the car.  I'd really like to have a steady routine for at least a little while.  I think the Lord has other plans for me.  :)

I leave you with...as usual, a Scripture verse.  Short and sweet.

You are my hiding place and my shield;

I wait for Your word.

Psalm 119:114 NASB

• hiding place -- a covering, secret place, shelter
• shield -- buckler; from 1598 (to cover, surround, defend, protect)
• wait -- await, have hope, wait expectantly

Told you I was thinking of spring...!

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- Be On The Alert

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!
Click on Ruth's button above to participate with me.

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's Irish breakfast tea in my Polish pottery.  The below is a picture of one of Lori's teacups.  Isn't it pretty?

I'm feeling...healthy and well.  Thank you for asking!

On my mind...I'm helping Jacob with some issues he's having with the community college he is attending.  He is receiving the "run-around" from various people, so I'm helping him put together a strategy and plan of action which will help him obtain what he is seeking, and which at the same time is God-honoring and respectful.  It's so hard when I have been wronged; I just want to charge in and demand my rights.  It's even harder when my young men are wronged!  Even though they're older, they still don't have the skill (which is built through experience) to negotiate and figure out what to do.  We're praying that the Lord would be glorified through this situation.  I'll definitely keep you posted!

I leave you with...the end of a passage of Scripture we read in family devotions last night.

Be on the alert then,

for you do not know the day or the hour.

Matthew 25:13 NASB

• alert:  formed from the Greek word to awaken, to raise up.  Meaning to be awake, to watch.

Jesus spoke these words after He shared the parable of the ten virgins.  All ten took their lamps.  All ten fell asleep.  But only five were prepared for the bridegroom to come.  They stayed the course and were faithful til the end.  Jesus admonishes me to be on the alert, to be aware of Him in all things--in my own personal life and in world events.  It is not physical sleep that is at issue here--it is my spiritual alertness to Him in my life.  My constant surrender to and focus on Him keeps me alert and awake in Christ!

The DuPage River in winter

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea talk -- He Who Trusts in the Lord

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate in my Gibson china.  What a treat!

I'm feeling...just fine, thank you!

On my mind...is my visit with my dear sister in Christ this afternoon.  She hasn't been feeling well (back issues, I can so easily relate!), and I pray that I will be a blessing to her.  This morning, I'm finalizing plans for my portion of our state convention--that has to be done by today!  I'm in the last stages of getting information together and emailed to the appropriate people.  Whew!

I leave you with...a Proverb that I read today:

The fear of man brings a snare,

But he who trusts in the LORD will be exalted.

Proverbs 29:25 NASB

• fear of man:  Getting (or desiring) man's approval, swayed by man's opinion.  Doing this constitutes idolatry.
• snare:  I am taken prisoner by this snare; the more I struggle, the tighter I am caught.  (Proverbs 5:22 says, "His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin.")
• trusts:  This is in the present tense.  I am to leave my care with the Lord, in the present, over and over again.  Trust = dependence on and confidence in.  (Psalm 118:6, Proverbs 18:10, Luke 12:4-5).

If I live as if I were approved unto God, I will live in the absence of the fear of man.

Aren't winter trees starkly beautiful?

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- His Name

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate.  (I actually had this last night.)  Very rich, very chocolatey.  :)

Hot chocolate in my Gibson china teacup

I'm feeling...just dandy this morning, though still a bit sleepy.

On my mind...is how to calculate the radius of a curved roadway, how to use the triangulation method to place evidence in a field sketch, the length of a yaw skid mark...  Yeah, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me, either.  These past few days, I have been typing up an outline of a "Traffic Accident Investigation" field manual for Jacob.  I have learned more about parts of cars, skid marks, flares, and evidence-gathering than I ever wanted to know.  And today will be the final push to complete the outline.  I'm nearing 80 pages of typed material!

I leave you with...any Scripture should take my mind off traffic accidents and evidence, lol.  I leave you with this particular passage as my mind and heart look toward this Christmas season:

For a child will be born to us,

a son will be given to us;

And the government will rest on His shoulders;

And His name will be called

Wonderful Counselor, 

Mighty God,

Eternal Father, 

Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 NASB

O Come, O Come Emmanuel!

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- Every Word

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

Lake Bonaparte wildflowers

I'm having...a cup of green pomegranate tea.  My friend and neighbor Lorraine brought some of this loose tea for me to try, and it's excellent and very flavorful.  I'm using my everyday Pfaltzgraff Ocean Breeze pattern tea cup.  Kudos to you if you can spot it in the below picture of the basement computer desk!  This is where I do my photography editing and blogging.  Danny and Thomas built the computer and it is the only one in the house that can handle my photo editing software.

I'm feeling...fine!  The Lord has been keeping me in His care this week.  Fernando had surgery on Monday to repair his left rotator cuff and bicep (an injury from last May), and he has already had two rehab therapy sessions, with another scheduled for tomorrow!  I think that's amazing.

On my mind...is my dear sweetheart, of course.  I'm playing nurse to him, but the boys are helping so much that I feel as if I'm hardly doing anything.  Friends have blessed us with meals, too.  There are obviously things waiting for me on my to-do list, but the Lord has His own focus for me this week, and it is to take care of my darling.  The funny thing is--when I was a little girl, I wanted to grow up to be either a nurse or a teacher.  Well, I am a homeschool mom.  However, I have realized that I would have made a terrible nurse!  :)

I leave you with...another funny thing is, I've been reading Scripture before going to bed each night.  (No, that's not the funny thing.)  This is the funny thing:  I've been reading about all the kings who followed or didn't follow the statutes of the Lord, and famines where women were boiling their children to eat.  It has not exactly been ideal bedtime reading!  (I can hardly believe that some of that stuff is in the Word!!)  I refuse to share those verses with you.  (You're welcome!)  Instead, I have chosen this one:

Every word of God is tested;

He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.

Proverbs 30:5 NASB

tested -- 6884.  To smelt, refine, test.  This Hebrew word carries connotations of having been "through the fire," as when a metal is smelted and refined to remove impurities.  In the side margin of my beloved Bible, I wrote pure next to tested.  This is every word of God!  Every single one.  How marvelous to take refuge in the One whose every word has been tested and proven pure in every way, without blemish, stain, or impurity.  He is my shield!  My heart sings praise to Him.

 This photo makes me think of Christmas.

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- Be Exalted!

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's Irish breakfast tea.

Lori has such pretty tea cups!

I'm feeling...extremely rested after a long sleep.  I think I needed to make up some snooze time, which has been lacking lately.

On my mind...is today's and tomorrow's events.  We're spending the day with my parents and younger brother at my parents' home.  My whole family lives close, so we see them all the time, but Thanksgiving makes seeing them even more special.  Then on Friday, we get to spend the day with Lori and her family; we're driving to Wisconsin to get a Christmas tree.  Fun, huh?

I leave you with...simple words of thanks and praise to God.

My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!

Awake, my glory!

Awake, harp and lyre!

I will awaken the dawn.

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to You among the nations.

For Your lovingkindness is great to the heavens

And Your truth to the clouds.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;

Let Your glory be above all the earth.

Psalm 57:7-11 NASB

Along Hermitage Road, Lake Bonaparte, NY

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- Till Your Land!

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

I'm having...a cup of Trader Joe's sipping chocolate in my Gibson white china cup.

I'm feeling...speechless.  (I know--huh?)  For those who have spoken to me in the last five days, you know that I have laryngitis.  I'm just starting to get my voice back again, so it's scratchy, low, and husky.  (My husband keeps asking me to say something in French.  *wink*)  I feel fine otherwise, except for a little scratch in my throat every now and then, and I get tired in the afternoons.  Not too bad for a cold, I guess!

On my mind...hmm.  I just finished editing images from a photo shoot several days ago.  I've gotten a lot of little things done lately, and today seems like a day to check off more items from my list.  Thursdays are my stay-home days, when I don't have to go anywhere, take anyone anywhere, or step out of the house.  And that's a very nice thing as the weather turns colder.  I do have to run out this afternoon--non-driving boys have dentist appointments--but I'm hoping to just plug away at my to-do list and get things done!

I leave you with...a Proverb I read yesterday that impacted me:

He who tills his land will have plenty of food,

But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.

Proverbs 28:19 NASB

After having canned much of my garden produce throughout autumn, this verse is especially meaningful to me.  No wonder I feel satisfied about having stocked my shelves for my family's benefit!  But more deeply than that, I think this verse is talking about being diligent about the work that the Lord has given me.  It's so easy to become distracted with computer games, reading (pleasure) books, Facebook, and even blogging (!), that I neglect the area over which the Lord has given me jurisdiction--my home.  Maybe this is a not-so-light post for Tea Talk today, but I hope that these words encourage you--as I am encouraged--to be about the Lord's work today!

Sunset on Lake Bonaparte

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- The One Who Holds My Hand

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

I'm having...a cup of my regular--Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast tea, in my regular mug.  I took several images of my Lake Bonaparte mug from earlier October when I went on a special trip with my parents and older brother to upstate New York.  My parents travel there every fall to enjoy their lake house one last time, see friends and family, participate in a Columbus Day cook-off event, and get their house ready for winter.  My brother Matt and I tagged along this year to help them, and to make some special memories of our own.

Morning tea on the back deck at Lake Bonaparte

There's my mug!  I claim it for my personal use whenever I'm at the Lake.  It's a tall white mug, with a blue Giants football helmet on the side.  My mom crocheted a cozy which ties around the handle.  I like both the size and the cozy, and it's great for a nice mug of tea in the morning--especially an autumn morning!

I'm feeling...renewed, refreshed, and relaxed.  That was the whole point of my trip to the lake.  I was so overwhelmed with the hectic and rushed feeling of life; I felt swamped and not able to stay afloat.  The Lord orchestrated this trip to renew my soul and calm my spirit.

Our little piece of the Lake

On my mind...even though scads of issues continue to wait for me to handle, life is not so overwhelming right now.  My anchor is resting firmly in His Word and His Life and His Love.  A few weeks ago, I created a "Daily Docket" for each day to help me accomplish those things that need doing today.  I'm using my daily docket to help me get things done--today will be processing the rest of my garden herbs, going to Costco to stock up on a few items (and to get dishwashing detergent--we've been handwashing for two days!), and concentrating on helping Thomas write a report.  There is lots of other stuff on my mind, but I'm focusing on today, and today only.  :)

 In the garden at the Lake

I leave you with...I was reading Psalm 37 in my devotion time yesterday, and I was refreshed all over again!  I will share just a portion here for you.

The steps of a man are established by the LORD,

And He delights in his way.

When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand.

Psalm 37:23-24 NASB

But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;

He is their strength in time of trouble.

The LORD helps them and delivers them;

He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

Because they take refuge in Him.

Psalm 37:39-40 NASB

Autumn sunset on the Lake

Thank You, Lord, for Your precious peace!  Thank You for Your strength and Your promises.  Thank You for Your hand in mine that will never let me go.


Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Tea Talk -- The Generation of the Upright

Welcome to my home for Ruth's Tea Talk!

Sit and share a cup of tea with me as we encourage each other in the Lord.

To participate, click on Ruth's button above.

I'm having...a cup of coconut black tea, in my Gibson china tea cup.  I took this photo last week because I shared tea with...

...two of my "borrowed" daughters!  I'm so glad Helen lets me "borrow" them, especially for tea.

Gabrielle, Michelle, and I sharing tea time together!

I'm feeling...fine, and less overwhelmed than last week.

On my mind...is preparing for a trip!  I'll be gone for a mere seven days, which means I'll miss Tea Talk next week (no internet where I'm going!).  Though half the time I argue with myself that I should just stay home and try to get things done, a small voice tells me I need to go.  I will have precious chunks of time to read His Word, reflect, and pray, and even just sit and relax without distraction.  I'm definitely looking forward to that part of my trip.

I leave you with...the passage of Scripture that we are memorizing together for church.  What a promise the Lord has given us!

Praise the LORD!

How blessed is the man who fears the LORD,

Who greatly delights in His commandments.

His descendants will be mighty on earth;

The generation of the upright will be blessed.

Psalm 112:1-2 NASB

Gabrielle took this shot -- looking up into my drying cayenne peppers

May He be the spice in your week!


Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website