Thank You For The Award!

Thank you for the blog award Kimberly! It's nice to be appreciated and it means a lot coming from you! Kimberly is an awesome woman of God and is holding down the home front while her Hubby is deployed. Holding down the home front includes home school 5 kids and taking care of some of their special needs. Maybe when you read this, you can say a prayer for her and Hubby - that Kimberly will continue to be strengthened by God and that Hubby will come home safely. Less than 2 months to go! Woo Hoo!

So here is the tricky part for me! There are many blogs I read on a regular basis and love and I have many blog friends who I know in real life too! Maybe I'll have to pick some of my newer reads. Here are the rules:


1. Post this award on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least 4 other bloggers, and add their links as well.
4. leave a comment at the new recipients' blogs, so they can pass it on.


Wisteria and Roses - This is a lovely blog that I have just begun reading this summer. Not only does she have lots of "lovelies" to share, but her faith sparkles through. One of the things I appreciate about her writing is that she speaks honestly about living with Autism and losing a child as well as the daily ins and outs of life with family. I'm enjoying getting to "know" her.

Woolly Tales - Heather has been allowing all of us to vicariously be shepherdesses on the Canadian prairie! I love the little glimpse of ranching life she gives me and I'm enjoying getting to know her beautiful spirit as well!

Down On The Farm - Marci blogs about life on Amazing Grace Farm. Lately she has photographed George as he emerged from his chrysalis, the amazing bounty God has blessed their farm with and daily snippets of farm life. In addition to her blog, Marci has a little General Store where you can find all kinds of neat products for simple and healthy living!

Deborah's Doings - I never know what I will find on Deborah's blog - snakes, babies, bread, turkeys, chickens, knitting and weaving. Their family survived a hurricane and now they are needing to relocate again. Please pray for them to be able to sell their home quickly so they will not be separated from Daddy at his new job!


Hmmm... do you see a theme? Perhaps being cooped up in the house since August 28th has me enjoying the outdoors vicariously! LOL

Here are a few other blogs for your enjoyment (And I am updating the links at right. Don't see yours? Let me know so I can remedy that!) that I did not leave an award for. These are blogs where I do not really correspond with the person, but enjoy the inspiration from their blog. (I feel funny leaving a blog award for a stranger - like I'm a stalking blogger fan! lol)

Eyes of Wonder - Jewels opened her blog back up for public viewing! Yeah! Then her camera broke! :o( Hopefully she'll be posting more soon because her photography of their simple life, gives you a feast for the eyes!

Little Cabin in the Woods - Lovely photography of life with "Three Empresses".

Little Jenny Wren - She makes the most lovely little Waldorf style dolls I have ever seen! Many posts feature knitting and homemaking skills in her beautiful Australian home.

Britt-Arnhild's House in the Woods - Beautiful photography in Scandinavia.

Amish America - News and views of the Amish land and people.

Handbook of Nature Study - Charlotte Mason method teaching from a nature book my Grandma used in college in the 1920s! Lovely photos of her family's outdoor adventures.

Yarn Storm - Her book just arrived in the mail today and I can't wait to delve into. My friend Pamela in England, who sadly, no longer has a blog, introduced me to this riot of color! There is always something fun to see even if you are not a crafter or baker!

Speaking Of Reading

I was visiting The Scrabble Queen, catching up on her blog when I saw this interesting post about The National Endowment of the Arts The Big Read Program. Normally I don't give either NEA the time of day but I was interested to see how this reading list has changed over time. Some of the entries were questionable to me as far as being classified as literature - they seemed more like pop lit than destined to be classics. And for that matter some of the classics listed or modern literature, I wouldn't waste my brain energy on reading. The older I get, the more I believe in the "Garbage In, Garbage Out" theory. Some people think it's just because of my black and white views or that I am a prude. It's not that I think that certain things are a "sin" to read (some might cause the reader to want to sin, so that could be a consideration in choosing what you read), but that they honestly have little profit. Why not use what little extra time I have reading something profitable or at least entertaining without putting corrupted thoughts into my brain?

So, I was thinking about what I read and have been thinking for awhile about literature since I am adapting the Charlotte Mason method for home schooling. This method uses "living books" and literature as well as hands on time out of doors. So one question I would like to propose, is what children's literature do you recommend reading to my children and having available for them to read?

I also wondered what you all are reading now. I always have a few things going on at once. I can never be monogamous with my reading list or my knitting projects! lol Have you ever read anything that surprised you? One thing I read that surprised me was The Historian, which is a long novel centered around Vlad Dracula. The novel is NOT occult centered but approaches the myth from an historical research view, which I loved. My brain was engaged for the whole read, which was simultaneously relaxing and suspenseful.

What books have you read over and over and over and can't wait to read again? For me it's the Bible and I would probably add the Anne of Green Gables series and The Chronicles of Narnia, but I can't think of any adult literature that has had that same impact. For fiction I have enjoyed Bodie Thoene's series that takes place in WWI and II. And in non fiction, I love the writings of Corrie ten Boom.


*Look at the list and bold those we have read.
*Italicize those we intend to read.
*Underline the books we LOVE . (I can't underline, so they are in purple)


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
5 1 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnet
t74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flauber
t86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Faith On Friday... I Am, I Think, I Have, I Know

This week in our Bible reading we have finished the Pentateuch (first five books), Israel possessed most of her land, fell into sin and everyone "did what was right in their own eyes"! Today we will start off with Samson's demise. What amazes me so much each time I read through these passages, is how quickly the Israelites fall away from their belief in an Awesome God, who worked miracles in the presence of their elders and who still occasionally appeared to them through the presence of the Angel of the Lord. Instead, they chose to believe in gods of stone and wood and metal, gods who were dead and unable to love, protect or guide them!


My "prime directive" in life, now that I am a Mommy, is to teach my children about the faithfulness of our Heavenly Father, so that they will love and learn and grow in knowledge of righteousness and holiness. Every time I hear a Christian woman say, "I'm just a mom", I cringe. We have a huge responsibility to teach this, not only through Bible lessons and books and taking them to church and Sunday School, but by living it out daily in our own lives.


Do we walk through life victoriously? Or do we give up on ourselves and the calling He has given us? Most of the time I would venture that when we (I) give up, it's because I am not living up to my own expectations. These expectations are heavy, burdensome, painful and impossible to meet. These expectations don't come from Him, but from us (me). Christ told us His burden is light. Why do we exchange it for something difficult and overwhelming?


In order to walk victoriously, we need to allow the Father to show us who He expects us to be. We can find that in the pages of Scripture, sometimes with Godly guidance from a mentor, often whispered to us in times of prayer and frequently when we search our own hearts, because He has written it there!


Do not depend on how you feel! Feelings are deceptive! Do not depend on what society tells you! Society is generally wrong on spiritual issues. And even what your friends and family tell you, needs to be filtered through the Holy Spirit and God's word. When we listen to the voices and thoughts of everyone else but Him, we will always find ourselves coming up short. This is obviously true when you come from generations of perfectionists as I do, but also for those of you who do not. Who do you answer to? Jesus and our Heavenly Father! When we are washed in the blood of Jesus, that's what our Heavenly Father sees. When we fall or have shortcomings, we need to seek His forgiveness and then we need to accept it! Certainly some issues take longer to face and work through, but in all things we should ask forgiveness, repent and move forward in Him.


Most often I find that it is easy for me to accept His forgiveness, but I cannot forgive myself. This is much more difficult. But when we view ourselves differently than He does, we end up in trouble. This causes us to think too much about ourselves, cripples us for ministry He may have prepared for us and if we are parents - the enemy uses this as a bad example to our children.


There is no magic answer. Jesus is not a magician. But there is power in the blood. The Bible says that all our righteousness (attempts to be good) are as filthy rags. I have heard that this literally means menstrual rags. Yuck! What a picture that makes. But Jesus knew that we could not do it on our own and became the perfect Passover Lamb, firstborn male without blemish. He is the ultimate sacrifice. He has made me white as snow! My own filth is covered by His blood, which the Father sees. He forgives. He knows we have had the ultimate cleansing.


Michelle Pillar sings a song:


When He sees me, He sees His righteousness.
He sees His Holy Spirit filling up my emptiness.
And when He looks at me, He sees the blood He shed.
I know He sees Himself each time He looks at me!



Pride does come before a fall. Our righteousness is a gift we accept humbly, not of ourselves unless we should boast, as Paul says. However, walking around moping and defeated is like spitting in the wind. I do not advocate faking confidence, but I realize through years of insecurities and "low self esteem" that this is just an inverted form of pride that focuses on Me, Me, Me! I didn't need self esteem. I needed Christ esteem. I needed to see myself as He sees me and then walk in that! So I encourage you today, if you are struggling in this area to look at who God made you to be. Accept His assessment of you. One of my favorite places to read this is Ephesians, especially the first couple chapters. You might think I make it seem too simple. Well it really isn't as complicated as we all make it out to be and yet at the same time it is a wondrous thing to explore the deep, deep love of Jesus!



God often speaks to me in songs. Amy Grant's words ring true and speak to me time after time:


All I ever have to be is what you made me,
Any more or less would be a step out of your plan,
As you daily re-create me, help me always keep in mind,
That I only have to do what I can find,
And all I have to be,
All I have to be,
All I ever have to be,
Is who You have made me.


Any more or less would be a step out of His plan. What convicting words! Can I add to the work of Christ and make it better? Could I take from it and accomplish His will. The safest place is to rest in His plan for our lives! 21 years ago, my cousin Dan, who now is a missionary, gave me a verse to encourage me and it has become my "life verse". Many are familiar with Proverbs 3:5-6. It speaks to me because of my own weakness of leaning on my own understanding!



Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight.



If you are walking on a crooked, dry or dangerous path today, I ask you humbly to consider if you are walking in His way carrying His burden (which is light) or are you walking your own way with a burden He has not given you? I do not have all the answers. I may not even have some answers. So, this question is asked humbly. I do not know. But, He does. Walking in the way of the Lord is not always easy. It's not butterflies and singing and roses all the time (though He delights in giving good gifts to His children!). It is a way of reality. But in reality, He brings us through all things, even those humanly unbearable, and His healing and fellowship are sweet. Come walk with me today, my beloved, is His call to our hearts!



This post today is inspired by a meme I saw at Wisteria and Roses. Her answers are creative and genuine. I have enjoyed exploring her blog. I'll put my answers here and invite anyone who would like to join in!



I Am... A child of God

I Think... Too much sometimes.

I Know... God's Word is True

I Have... Often stumbled and "cut off my nose to spite my face"!

I Wish... That I listened more to His voice and less to mine or the world's!

I Miss... My Daddy and my brother Danny

I Fear... Losing those I love in death

I Feel... Overwhelmed in my own "to do" lists

I Hear... Little voices playing with Tinker Toys

I Smell... Smoke in the air!

I Crave... More time to study His Word!

I Search... My heart, to clear and crumb or cobweb that hinders

I Wonder... As I watch my children explore His world

I Regret... Not handing my regrets over to Him sooner!

I Love... The Lord my God with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my strength and with all my soul

I Ache... For those I love who do not know Him

I Am Not... Abandoned or Alone

I Believe... He will continue to guide me

I Dance... only in my heart, because I have 3 left feet and no rhythm! lol

I Sing... When the Lord fills my heart with praise

I Cry... In movies when someone dies

I Don't Always... Remember to "lean not on my own understanding"

I Fight... Perfectionism

I Write... To keep my brain from exploding with all the ideas!

I Win... When I keep my eyes fixed on the goal, the upward calling in Christ!

I Never... Say never! It can get you in trouble!

I Always... Need His strength

I Confuse... Need and Want sometimes

I Listen... To hear His voice calling in the wilderness

I Can Usually Be Found... At home, with my children

I Am Scared... That I will die before my children are grown

I Need... Daily reminders to "trust in the Lord with all my heart"

I Am Happy About... Sharing with you

I Imagine... That some of my readers will not understand my heart in this post and be put off by it.

My Mosaic

Amy talked me into it again! :o) She has a fun mosaic on her blog and suggested I try it to, so here are the instructions and my answers below will explain the photos.

How to make a mosaic:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.


The Questions (and my answers):


1. What is your first name? Theresa (photo is a quote from Mother Teresa)
2. What is your favorite food? Raspberries
3. What high school did you go to? Mariner High School, Everett, Washington (photo is the Mariner Alumni Society dinner)
4. What is your favorite color? Purple
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Michael J. Fox (I have a hunky Hubby that I am madly, deeply and satisfied in love with... I don't need crushes! However, in order to complete the list, I chose him because when I was in high school I had a crush on him. He was a "local" boy from Burnaby, BC, a Vancouver suburb and I grew up seeing him on some BC local tv shows before he became Alex P. Keaton and Marty McFly.)
6. Favorite drink? water
7. Dream vacation? Scotland
8. Favorite dessert? Chocolate Pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Photographer
10. What do you love most in life? Family
11. One Word to describe you. Christian
12. Your flickr name. talindamood




(Credit for photos taken from Flikr)


1. no great things, 2. raspberry show off, 3. Mariner High School (Everett, WA) Alumni Association Dinner - May 2, 2008, 4. drops of purple petals, 5. Michael J. Fox, 6. 2007 SEPT 08 TRANSIENTS WEST OF PENDER, MILLING, 7. Eilean Donan, 8. Grandma's chocolate pie, 9. Backlit Beauty, 10. the rest of the family, 11. The Ultimate Sacrifice, 12. Theresa

Three Things Meme

Amy tagged me for a meme and since I'm tired from the smokey air and chasing children, I think I'll participate. I'm tagging anyone here who wants to do it!


Three Things…
…THAT SCARE ME: losing a family member, those I love not loving God, losing the liberty to raise my family as God asks me.
…I LOVE: God, my family, and creativity.
…I HATE: phony people, distortion or lies about God's truths, pickled/sour foods.
…I’M DOING RIGHT NOW: Blogging, watching the kids, considering a nap!…I CAN DO: knit, sew, take pictures
…I CAN’T DO: jog/run, water ski, clap and sing at the same time! LOL
…THAT ARE MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS: raspberries, spaghetti, eggs
…SHOWS I WATCHED WHEN I WAS A KID: Little House on the Prairie, Disney Sunday Movie, The Waltons

6 Word Philosophy of Life

I had a very lovely picture to show you here with my 6 words but blogger is having a known image loading problem that is being worked on, so I'll have to be patient! :o)

Seek First The Kingdom of God

Theresa at Knitting Nonpareil tagged me for a meme that I thought was more interesting than some. The challenge is to describe your life philosophy in 6 words. My life philosophy in 6 words is written above and comes from Matthew 6:33 which reads, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

God has never failed me on this one! He comes through every time, even when I do not deserve it. And the older I get and the longer I walk with him, the more content I become in seeking Him first and trusting Him to provide all I need and many things I want... even a few frivolous things, because God is like that - He is extravagant with His love!



So here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules.

3. Share a 6 word philosophy of life

4. Tag 3 other people

I am going to tag:

Susan

Lynette

Amy

If anyone else does this, let me know, I'd love to see your answer!

Letter Writing Meme

Susan has tagged me for a letter writing meme. She doesn't know it but letter writing has been a huge part of my life. From junior high onward I had pen pals all over the world, I met my husband through writing online and fell in love with him long before we met in person and even though I do not write as many handwritten letters as I used to, letter writing via email continues to be an important part of my life and a great encouragement. Actually lately I have been contemplating setting time aside on Sunday afternoon to write letters to people I care about and love. This has me thinking about it even more!


Tag 4 people and then write one of them a real letter! Let’s inundate the postal service with some “love” mail. Be sure to tell who you sent your letter to and why.


What was the last letter you wrote? To whom? The occasion? Was it a letter or more of a note? The last letter I wrote was probably a "catchup" email to my friend Beth in Washington. We met through an eBay sale and it was "destiny". I hope to meet her this summer when we travel home to see family. I have written several email notes recently, but cannot remember the last snail mail letter I wrote.

Do you prefer writing with a pen/pencil or with a mechanical device like a Blackberry or computer? I do write with pen, usually black (comes from charting in the medical field for so many years!), usually a blue stick, though I used to write with Parkers all the time. Hmmm...where are those...they got pushed aside when I started using the computer I guess. Today, I generally type letters on the computer. Part of that is time, as I have done transcription and can type much faster than I write. Part of that is due to tendinitis (which came from, as my step Dad Jack puts it, "Poking holes in small children"!) and it is sometimes painful to write manually.


Do you prefer receiving handwritten letters/notes over email? Or makes no difference, it’s all communication. I love receiving hand written notes. They are so special and carry the essence of the writer with them. That being said, I appreciate communications in varied forms and I think this fits under "it's the thought that counts"!


Do you save your hand-written letters? Why or why not? Describe a special letter that you’ll never toss. Yes, I do save many letters. Hubby and I were talking about this today. I was remembering the distinctive and strong printing in capitol letters that my step Dad Andy used. He is really the Dad that raised me and he died when I was a senior in high school. I was lamenting that I don't have anything written by him and Hubby doesn't have anything written by his mother either. I have many letters written in my Grandma Hopkins' distinctive hand and also tons of encouraging cards and letters my Mom has sent me through the years. In addition I have saved way too many of my pen pal letters and may have to weed through them at some point in time.

The one letter I will NEVER willingly be rid of is written my Daddy. We were estranged for about ten years and then spent another ten trying to work out some type of relationship. By the time he died 7.5 years ago, he had developed a relationship with Jesus :o) and we had resolved much of the pain between us. About a month before our wedding he sent me a note telling me how proud he has always been of me and how much he always loved me, even when his actions didn't show it. He also expressed his feelings that he felt that my life was taking a HUGE positive turn in marrying my Husband and that he felt we were good for each other. I hold on to that letter to remind me of the miracles that God performed in our lives after many years of tear soaked pillows and prayers. It is even more precious when I see his heavy southpaw writing, which was not easy for him to do. It is a tangible reminder of not only how much my Daddy loves me, but how much my Abba Father loves me too!

What kind of paper do you typically use? Envelope? Stamp? Embellishments? In high school when I wrote Heidi in CA and Micheal in AK, we wrote reams of notebook paper embellished with stickers and drawings. I remember the rush of excitement as I opened a thick envelope and headed to my room to shut the door to relish every word and page of the letter. I spent many hours pouring my self into return letters. These missiles are where I discovered who I was as a young woman and sorted out the things I did not understand. In my correspondence with Jutta in Germany, 1982 to present, I often used air mail paper... I still love its thin luxury or crinkly tissue like texture depending on which type I had. Today my letters are usually on cards which I create with my photography.

What is the most unusual letter you’ve ever sent? Received?
I don't know if I have sent any unusual letters, other than their contents! LOL I have received several wooden postcards. I loved receiving letters from Jutta that she embellished with drawings. One unusual one does stand out now that I think about it... One summer on the Washington Coast I put a letter in a bottle and sent it to sea. A German teenage boy visiting family, found it at Kalaloch and wrote me back about how wonderful it was to be in Germany with a low drinking age and no speed limit on the Autobahn. He was a heavy metal rocker and we had so little in common, I don't think it lasted past two letters! LOL The experience was fun though.

What was the last handwritten letter you received? From whom? The occasion? How did it make you feel? The last handwritten letter was from Mama to encourage me in my faith during a LONG, HARD week with many challenges. It was a labor of love and evidence of the faith and growth in her own life. Thank you Mutti! (I forgot to tell you on the phone!)

Tag 4 people and then write one of them a real letter! Let’s inundate the postal service with some “love”mail. Be sure to tell who you sent your letter to and why.

Hmmm... A lot of people who I would tag, have already been tagged or are at stressful times in their life where they don't have time to do a meme, so I am going to tag any of my readers who think this would be fun to do. If you do it, will you let me know. And I would love to hear comments on your letter writing experiences! As for my letter, I am going to send it to a friend whose husband just lost his job in an unfair/unethical situation. (You could pray for them... God knows who they are!) I would like to encourage her during this very stressful time!

Interesting Quiz

This was an interesting quiz to take and some of the questions really made you think...and some I honestly could not understand. I have probably read more than the average Joe on theology but it still confuses me. I'm glad that God won't be quizzing me with man's questions! I am not a Lutheran, but I believe that this was where I came out on top because I believe in "salvation by grace alone, not works". Someone must have a lot of time on their hands to think up these quizzes! I also found it interesting to see on several other blogs, the different answers and yet we all have so much in common in the Body of Christ!

Which theologian are you?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Martin Luther The daddy of the Reformation. You are opposed to any Catholic ideas of works-salvation and see the scriptures as being primarily authoritative. Martin Luther 93% Anselm 93% John Calvin 87% Karl Barth 80% Jonathan Edwards 60% Friedrich Schleiermacher 60% Augustine 53% Jürgen Moltmann 47% Paul Tillich 47% Charles Finney 20%

Thankfulness

Sometimes holiday services are hum drum and cliche. Today's Thanksgiving services were neither of these things. In fact it probably goes on my list of all time most meaningful services.

It began with a hauntingly beautiful flute solo of Amazing Grace and then continued with the congregation singing the hymn. I could not help it. Tears streamed down my face, but joy was in my heart! Amazing Grace always takes me back to my salvation experience at family camp when I was 11 years old. A day or so after I accepted Christ as my Savior and was baptised, I played that same tune on my own flute for the camp's talent contest (which I didn't win! lol).

A young family from our Sunday School class dedicated their 3 sweet children. A newly married couple who had come to know Christ through the love of our church family, were baptised. Special music was shared and the congregation joined in responsive reading from the Psalms. Jenny put together a great Power Point show with photos and comments from the "I am thankful for..." cards that we all filled out a couple weeks ago. The music from both worship choruses and hymns was awesome in the best sense of the word!

The "finale" was about a half hour of sharing from the church family. Some things were short and sweet, while others were moving, heart wrenching testimonies. At the end, we left the service with the Holy Spirit warming our souls. And so, I resolved to share my Thirty in November for this year. The first few are in order and then it gets random. Hopefully, I didn't miss anything/anyone important!

1. My faith and my relationship with God, who as my friend Lynette wrote in her list, is the lover of my soul!

2. My husband, who grows in faith each year and is one of the most awesome dads I have ever seen.

3. My kids, who the doctors said I would never have, but God had better plans!

4. My church, which is like a family. We're still getting to know each other, but the fit is good! :o)

5. My Mom and step Dad, who are friends and great Grandparents!

6. My best friend, Shelley, who has been through thick and thin with me. She is an integral part of our family! I love the adventures and the laughs. I love that we can work through the tears and sorrows too.

7. My friend Lynette, who is linked in #1 above. She has listened to my parenting heart aches, prayed with me and called me up to see how I was doing. And she does an awesome job as the Children's Ministry Director at church.

8. The fellowship of Believers and fiber artists at Christian Artisans. I love being a part of this cyber family, where I continually, learn, grow and receive encouragement.

9. Blogs... because I often process my life through writing.

10. My new friend Jenny and her family, that we have play dates with.

11. Ravelry, which has been a fun place to "waste" time on the Internet! :o) I have a queue of future projects here that will probably take a lifetime or two to complete.

12. My new Nikon D80 that was gifted to me this year. I love photography and this camera makes it even more fun.

13. My family that have gone on before me, passing down the torch of faith.

14. Access to good organic food and healthy foods in so many locations, close to home.

15. Sonia, another local, blogless friend, with whom I have bonded over all day scrapbooking sessions and Christmas teas.

16. The beautiful Sonoma Coast which refreshes me when I grow weary of the dusty, smoggy valley.

17. Homeschooling, which gives me more opportunity to spend time getting to know my children.

18. Amy, who I met first IRL at quilting class when she so graciously explained to this newbie what a "blog" was! The rest is history! lol She is also a beautiful woman of God with an incredible story that God has not finished writing yet.

19. Photographs by which to remember those who are far apart in distance or separated by death.

20. Computers which introduced me to a whole other world...and my husband!

21. Books...something one can never have enough of!

22. Music...which soothes this savage beast!

24. Raspberries...my favorite fruit and Strauss Family Creameries organic raspberry ice cream! Hmmmm....

25. Praying with my hubby, a gift not everyone shares with their spouse and I cherish.

26. My new self-inking stamp that I had made at Office Max with my photography information so that I don't have to write it all out on every single photo card I create! :o)

27. Abbie, my kitty, who is unique and lovable and comforts me when I am not feeling well.

28. My Bible, because by hearing the Word of God, my faith grows. I am thankful that I live in a country where it is still legal to possess the Scriptures and speak and write about them.

29. KLOVE, my local Christian, listener supported radio station.

30. Improving health...since beginning this journey, each day I have felt some small improvement!


16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Just For Laughs

I've been pretty serious lately, so I thought I'd lighten up with a game I saw over at Amy's. Some of them make you think!

The rules are: Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the questions. They must be real places, names, things … nothing made up! If you can’t think of anything, skip it. You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question. If your name happens to start with the same letter as mine, sorry, but you can’t use my answers! So join in the fun…

My name: Theresa
Famous Singer: Tammy Wynette
Four letter word: Tape
Street: Terrace
Color: Teal
Gifts/Presents: Toys
Vehicle: Toyota Tacoma
Things in a Souvenir Shop: T-Shirt
Boy’s Name: Timothy
Girl’s Name: Tatyana
Movie Title: Titanic
Drink: Tea
Occupation: Teacher
Celebrity: Tanith Belbin (an icedancer...a celebrity to me!)
Magazine: Time
City: Tacoma
Pro Sports: Tennis
Fruit: Tomato (yes it is)
Reason for Being Late for Work: Tummy Ache :o)
Something You Throw Away: Tube of Toothpaste (when empty)
Things You Shout: Thief!
Cartoon Character: Thomas The Tank Engine

Sherri tagged me for this meme which I have done before, but will do again because it's just fun to play with friends! :o) Most of the bloggers I know have done this, so I will let you choose if you want to play too!

The rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

1. I learned to knit from Grandma Hopkins when I was in Kindergarten, but found crocheting easier as a child. However, in the 1980s, the beautiful wool and mohair sweaters and vests and Lopi sweaters knit for my German friend Jutta, by her mother Renate intrigued me. Remember the 80s were all about big sweaters and Mohair was really "in". This got me started thinking about knitting again and I did dabble. However, I really got into knitting about 1990 when I moved to Bellingham, WA and didn't know too many people. I found Knitting Around by EZ and was enchanted by her old photographs, art and knitting designs and cunning. Then there was no going back! :o)

2. The first time I went to Germany I took too much Pepto Bismol for my travel sickness as I adjusted to the time change and I got scary brown fuzz growing on my tongue...harmless but scary! I have never taken it since! LOL

3. In the mid 1980s I went to every Christian concert I could when they came to the Seattle area and have happy memories of Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and others when they were just getting started. Some of the singers and groups were really awesome but if you mentioned their names now, most people would say, "WHO?"

4. The worst pizza I have ever eaten was in Italy!

5. I have a hard time relaxing to read many non-fiction books because I want to have the highlighter out and make notes! (Yes, I know I am a nerd!)

6. When I was a Girl Scout I was in a Totem Girl Scout Council cookie sale ad (ca 1976) that aired on local Seattle television stations.

7. When I was in Kindergarten I decided that I did not want to be girly so I would not like anything pink. Blue became my favorite color in childhood. Now I like pinks and burgandies as well as blues but purple is my favorite color.

See, I'm kind of boring. I couldn't think of anything that I hadn't already written! Go check out my friend Sherri's blog. Not only is she a neat person, she "co-starred" with John Wayne! LOL

This is a Family Blog!

They tried to sneak in some code for "free online dating" but I deleted it, because after all this blog is rated G! LOL

The Meme...

Well, to distract you from the fact that I have no knitting news, I am going to share a meme with you...again! LOL I'm exhausted after a week visit with my Aunt, a day trip with her and the kids and I have been having some pain/?arthritis in my finger joints. I'm too tired physically, mentally and emotionally to knit! How can that be? I don't know but it does happen. Maybe over the next week I will share some photos of our trip to see the Sierrra Redwood trees (Giant Sequoias) at Big Trees State Park in Arnold, California. Pictures never quite do them justice but they are amazing! There is literally nothing like them in the world.

So, the meme...for which I have noone to tag because I am probably the last blogger in the world to do this. Amy...have you done this? If not, you are tagged!

Here’s how to play…
1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names.

Eight Random Things

1. If you looked at my house you would see lots of clutter...it's too small, I have too much stuff, there's nowhere to put it. In actuality I am a very good organizer and some things I organize obsessively. I think that I would be a good professional organizer because I could understand the messy person, the space challenged and the creative disarray, but I could also see how to do things better. My Grandma Hopkins always said she was "not a perfectionist, just an efficiency expert." I often organize things so that they can be used more efficiently and like to color code things that get stored. Also when I clean I can't just shove stuff anywhere, like in "Fibber McGee's Closet" (unless there is surprise company! LOL), I have to start in one spot and have it perfect and then move on. My husband has mild ADD...can you imagine how I drive him crazy! :o)

2. I have always been interested in "old fashioned" things. As a child I was often found sitting with the older women, listening. I have never felt comfortable with people my own age because to them I was boring and weird. I loved my Grandma Johnson's stories about growing up in the depression and my Grandma Hopkins nourished my desire to learn about different things like cooking, sewing, crochet, art etc.

3. Photography is a passion for me. Sometimes my shots come out great...sometimes not so much. I have only taken one photography course and I didn't learn much in it other than developing (which I can't remember...except for how hard it was to wind the film on those metal coil things without ruining it by having it touch!). My Grandpa Johnson taught me a bit but mostly I learned how to "see" and compose from my Aunt Grace who is an oil painting Artist, photographer and an art teacher. However, my best shots are created from the deep passion within me that aches and longs to share the beauty and awesome wonder and mystery of all of God's Creation so that others will know Him too!

4. No big surprise...I love to scrapbook, though I rarely have time. I especially love heritage scrapbooking which combines several of my interests. I used to teach heritage scrapbooking classes and I am currently designing a class on sharing your faith through scrapbooking, art and journaling. I don't know if I will ever get to teach it but I am having fun thinking about all the things to include and hope this summer to work on some projects for it. I also hope to learn how to do digital scrapbooking.

5. I love to write and have had penpals since I was in middle school...from England, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Ireland, Africa, California, Canada...but the ultimate penpal was my hubby who started out as an email penpal in 1996!

6. Many doctors told me I would never have children...now I have oodles...well, okay, 3, but they feel like oodles when you are 40 and have a 5 yo and two 4 yos! LOL DS was conceived on fertility treatments. Fertility treatments are not fun on many levels. The twin girls...well they were a gift from God...a surprise "flu" that just wouldn't go away! :o) And man, those two little girls have the energy and mischievousness of four little boys! When they were born four years ago I had very dark brown, almost black hair...now it is salt and pepper, heavy on the salt! In spite of all the hard work they are a testimony to me of God's faithfulness and working in my life.

7. Spending time at the ocean rejuvenates my soul. It seems to be the only place that I actually *physically* relax. I hate living so far away from the ocean after growing up in Washington State rarely more than 30 minutes from some kind of a beach.

8. Like most Americans I am a Heinz 57 mix, but when it's all put together I am mainly Irish, Scots-Irish and English. There is a large chunk of Swede with smidgeons of German, Polish and Slovakian thrown in. My greatest genealogical road block has been the Slovakian family...Dipko. The most genealogy data I have is on the Hopkins/Wolcott families, but probably the most rewarding families to research were the Johnson/Landgren, Larimore and Tisdale because I started with virtually nothing and ended up with cousins all over the US and Canada and many pictures that I never knew existed.

There you go...8 more things about me that you probably didn't even want to know! LOL Anyone else game to try? Tell me in the comments and I will go learn about you!

Knitting Meme

I've seen this Meme going around and then saw it at Marguerite's last night while scanning slides for my Aunt (England, Scotland...some sheep...fun!). So I have decided to do it:

Bold for things you’ve done, italics for things you plan to do one day, and normal for things you’re not planning on doing.

American/English knitting (as opposed to continental)
Bobbles
Button holes
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Continental knitting
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Drop stitch patterns
Entrelac
Fair Isle knitting
Freeform knitting
Fulling/felting
Garter stitch
I-cord
Intarsia
Kitchener BO
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with DPNs
Knitting and purling backwards
Knitting smocking
Knitting small tubular items on two circulars
Knitting a circular item using the Magic Loop
Lace patterns
Long Tail CO
Moebius band knitting
Norwegian knitting
Provisional CO
Short rows
Slip stitch patterns
Steeks
Stockinette stitch
Swatching
Textured knitting
Swiss Darning
Thrummed knitting
Tubular CO
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Knitting with alpaca
Knitting with bamboo yarn
Knitting with banana fiber yarn
Knitting with beads
Knitting with camel yarn (I have spun it but not knit)
Knitting with cashmere
Knitting with cotton
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Knitting with linen
Knitting with metal wire
Knitting with soy yarn
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Knitting with someone else's handspun yarn
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Knitting with silk
Knitting with synthetic yarn
Knitting with recycled/secondhand yarn
Knitting with wool
Afghan/Blanket
Baby items
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Gloves
Hat
Hair accessories
Household Items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Jewelry
Mittens: Cuff-upMittens: Tip-down
Pillows
Purses/bags
Rug
Shawl
Scarf
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Slippers
Socks: top-downSocks: toe-up
Stuffed toys
Sweater
Toy/doll clothing
Charity knitting
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Knitting art
Knitting for pets
Knitting for preemies
Knitting items for a wedding
Knitting a gift
Holiday related knitting
Designing knitted garments
Dyeing yarn with plant colors (Cannot do because of asthma & chemicals)
Dyeing yarn with acid dyes
Participating in a KAL
Publishing a knitting book
Knitting to make money
Knitting for a living
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Knitting on a loom
Machine knitting
Olympic knitting
Resizing patterns
Spinning on a drop spindle
Spinning with a spinning wheel
Teaching a male how to knit
Teaching knitting classes
Writing a pattern
Knitting in public

Being A Nerd Pays Off

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary!You must be quite an erudite person.

How's" Your Vocabulary?

World Book Day

And you thought this was a knitting blog! :o) Well, I have been doing a little knitting, a sock for Charlotte in our exchange and I started the Peacock Feathers Shawl from Fiddlesticks for my step Grandma in hopes of getting it done in time to deliver to her in person this spring when we visit our family in Washington. No pictures though. I've been too sick to do a whole lot and just not enough energy in the day. It's coming back, and hopefully quickly as hubby's birthday is Saturday and we are hoping to go to the San Francisco Zoo together as a family. We'll see. The kids are still sick too, but running around like crazy and not likely contagious. Is it spring yet?!

Anyway, Susan, who is our fabulous women's ministries director, posted about World Book Day, the first Thursday in March...a holiday I never knew existed! But I am definitely a bibliophile and it's a good thing that most of our books are in Banker's Boxes because if they were all in bookcases and an earthquake hit, we'd be gonners! LOL Anyway, Susan made a list of top ten books that you enjoy reading over and over. I'm leaving the Bible off because that is an obvious one for me and I have and do continue to read it over and over as I glean so much every time I read through it!

1. Anne of Green Gables series
2. Chronicles of Narnia series
3. Bodie Thoene's historical fiction series
4. Little Women, Rose in Bloom and all the other Louisa May Alcott novels.
5. The Secret Garden
6. Little House on the Prairie series
7. Knitting Around by Elizabeth Zimmermann
8. Rosamunde Pilcher books
9. Liz Curtis Higgs historical fiction set in Scotland and based on the stories of Rachel and Leah and Dinah
10. My Utmost For His Highest by Oswald Chambers

Now if I made a list of my ten favorite books that would probably be different, but when I think of books I would re-read, there are many that I really enjoyed reading the first time around but would not necessarily go out of my way to read again. The books I have listed above are ones I have either read several times or am planning to read again. I love a good story that draws you in and makes you feel like you are a part of the world, not that you are just reading about someone else's world. Inevitably I will think of some other books to post later that would have made the list "perfect", but I think I'll stop there! :o)

Silliness

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Excellency Theresa the Omnipresent of Goosnargh on the Carpet Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

I feel like "Goosnargh on the Carpet"...doesn't that conjure up lovely mind pictures?! LOL Still here. Still coughing. We're all still miserable. I'm getting at the end and lucky me...I get to go to the dentist to diagnose what I already know...that I need a root canal! It's the only tooth on that side that doesn't have one and I am in miserable pain everytime I drink or if food touches it. So hopefully once they diagnose, they can get me in soon! And hopefully we'll all get better in time to do something fun for Daddy's birthday on Saturday!

Silly things to distract you from my lack of posting...

Okay, I am sick and miderable and trying to get better by Sunday so that I can see my son interviewed at church about how he asked Jesus into his heart. If anyone reading this prays, please pray for my asthma. Sometimes these viruses hit me harder than most people because of my asthma and that has been complicated in the last year because of heart reactions I have had to Albuterol and other asthma meds. I just took some mineral supplements which the doctor wants me to take when I take the Albuterol (because Albuterol uses those minerals to open airways but when they are depleted it causes heart rhythm issues), I'm going to go suck on my inhalers and curl up with a good book. Yes, I'm whining! It is hard to be sick with your head about to explode with 3 people in the house who don't know the meaning of the word "quiet"! LOL Praise God for three day weekends and Daddy home to help! :o)

You Are Scooter

Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick. You're always willing to lend a helping hand. In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going. "15 seconds to showtime!"

The Muppet Personality Test

New Career?

Okay, don't flame me here...but after a week home with sick kids, having a migraine and being sick myself, sometimes I think moms who work outside of the home have it easier! LOL So when I saw this I thought it would be funny to do. Of course these things have no way of really knowing in 4 questions, but I thought it was funny that it had teacher...which I went to 3.5 years of college to do, but ended up deciding it was not my cup of tea and pediatrician...nope, never been a pediatrician, but I did work in pediatrics for ten years! What am I talking about? I still work in pediatrics! LOL Sometimes ya gotta laugh or you will cry! :o)

Your Career Personality: Quiet, Sevice -Oriented, and Practical

Your Ideal Careers: Artist Chef Concierge Esthetician Forest Ranger Gardener Geologist Jewelry designer Pediatrician Teacher

The Quick and Dirty Career Test

The Letter of The Day

(can you tell I have preschoolers?!) Amy tagged me with this meme for the letter L a couple weeks ago and I keep forgetting to post! If you want to do it too, let me know and I will assign a letter.

TEN THINGS I LOVE...Letter L

1. Lace...if you have been to my blog much you will know that I love knitting lace.

2. Literature...I LOVE to read!

3. Libraries...Not only do I love to read but I really enjoy research.

4. Languages...I have always been intrigued by the etymology of words and while in school I took 7 years of German, a year of French and a year of Latin. I can read a little bit of Swedish because it is so much like German (but couldn't understand the poem). If I was a trust fund baby, maybe I could have spent my life researching languages in libraries! LOL

5. Learning...I have always had fun learning, just about anything.

6. Laughter...does a heart good like medicine. I especially love to hear my children laugh when they are tickled about something.

7. Light...which is essential for life, vision, color, photography...

8. Lavender...and other shades of purple are my favorite colors.

9. Mr. L.....My hubby whom I adore!

10. Love...For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have eternal life! (John 3:16) His is the ultimate love!