You can't reason with the unreasonable...

...and you can't rationalize with the irrational. Of all the things I have learned in my decade of Education, those are two absolute truths. You can spend a lot of time spinning your wheels trying to get someone to see your way of thinking, but until they step away from their own perspective, its all for naught. Sometimes all you need is to press the pause button. My advice is to stop trying to get your point across, and just stop. Once ego and anger dissipate, productive dialogue can happen.
But sometimes it can't. Not everyone wants to resolve conflict; some people use conflict as their lovey. What else would they snuggle up with at night, rub across their fingers, turn over and over in the minds? These people, the conflict-lovers, see the actions of others through fun-house mirrors. They don't see what we see, and so our help does no good. Our prayers do.

Finding My Joy..

So far, in my quest to find out what I really enjoy, I have decided that I like to sing in the car. I really might just enjoy singing. I'm not sure yet.

Sabbath

This week at church, part of Jennifer's sermon revolved around the idea of keeping a reflective, unburdened Sabbath. She reminded us to "act as if you have no pressing tasks, nothing else to do." We kept this thought as we enjoyed a leisurely coffee hour, spoke with friends and never once looked at the clock. Anything to be done at home, could be done tomorrow.

My favorite part of yesterday was our walk to church. We live in a slightly suburban area, but very close to the city and other urban neighborhoods. The immediate area we live in is full of mature trees and well kept properties. The streets are quiet, we know neighbors by name, and even those we don't know say "hello" when you walk past. That I am walking to church with my husband and children, with the rustle of the wind in the trees, always strikes me as a sacred scene. For generations, women have walked to church on Sunday mornings, many under these same trees. It fills me with peace.

Blessings

There have been so many blessings in our lives these past few weeks, some small with a large "ripple" effect and some unexpectedly generous.

Usually when I desire something that I do not have, I wait on it. During this time of patience, I may or may not share my desire with others. It doesn't seem to matter though, because either way, the gently used item makes its way into my home, without cost to me. A quick for instance : bread machine, hair straightener, purse(s). This week I was blessed with my long desired waffle maker! I knew my kids would love making and eating waffles, and I was right! Thank you Laura's mom!

Last week was my husband's birthday. I was able to bless him with the money to purchase a new cell phone (badly needed for his new job..yet another blessing!!), and give him a ticket to see the Red Sox with his friend. This was possible only because of the blessings we received around food, leaving me "extra" to use for my husband! We have been eating from friends' gardens and even received "leftovers" that filled our bellies for days.

Two weeks ago our central air conditioning stopped working. After going without (during a 100 degree heatwave), an old friend was able to take a look....and fix it..for just the $3 the fuse cost. Even my husband remarked "What a blessing!" Because of this averted expense, we are now continuing with our plans to visit family near the end of the month. I had been feeling conflicted about adding the expense of the trip to our budget, but now I firmly believe God wants us to spend time with our family, and he paved the way :)

We are still in early July, but so far, it has brought the breath of fresh air we all needed. I am excited to see where the summer takes us!

Take Two....

Last summer I started to blog, then I stopped. I am beginning again. More soon :)

Living Life

So, originally I wanted to document daily life....probably because I could feel how quickly the days pass. But instead, I have just been focused on living life. I don't need to remember every day or every feeling. The days and weeks combine into the feelings I will remember. That is enough.

Raw Milk??

I keep reading about raw milk. I just googled where to find it. Guess who lives in the only state where it is illegal to buy raw milk??? You guessed it, me. Bummed out :(