That Good Part

Two years ago my husband and I took a trip to Monterey .  He had never been, I had been as a child.  Some sweet and generous friends gave us loan of their car, another loaned Dave (the actual photographer in our family) a nice camera so he wouldn't be bored during my picture taking and we were off.  The first day we went up the coast, stopping in Carpinteria for gas and lunch.  It was then I had the bright idea to use Yelp to find a place to eat.  That decision changed everything. I found a little deli in a strip mall with really good reviews, all of them well deserved.  After a sumptuous repast of a fresh roasted turkey sandwich with the best coleslaw I ever had in my life, we made a pact.  This trip, we said, we will eat at no chains, only local places we find on Yelp.  The crepe place just off Cannery Row in Monterey and  Salinas City BBQ in the tiny house on the outskirts of town were unforgettable.  We hit...

Yesterday the blog world lit up with fiery indignation.  Martha Stewart, queen of the the Good Thing, allegedly has come to the opinion that bloggers are people who should not be trusted. Here's the a quote from a video of Martha that has surfaced: "Who are these bloggers? They’re not trained editors at Vogue magazine. There are bloggers writing recipes that aren't tested that aren't necessarily very good, or are copies of what really good editors have created and done. Bloggers create a kind of a popularity but they are not the experts. We have to understand that.” I don't know the context of these remarks, and I think that's important to remember before we get too offended.  But it seems lots of bloggers are offended, for a variety of reasons. They accuse Martha of being bitter because she is losing money when people blog and share instead of buying her books and magazine. Maybe.  I do know this-there are a number of Pinterest Fail blogs ...

A few years ago, my doctor told me that I needed a hobby.  Apparently work and worry is not considered a hobby.  That was my first clue that I wasn't very good at finding and having enjoyment just for the sake of it.  Pretty much everything I did, even the things I once enjoyed, had become stained with work, the way every mug I own is stained with tea. I thought football was a hobby but my husband declared the season wasn't long enough to count and said a hobby was for relaxing, not screaming wildly for three hours.  During a long discussion with him over what I used to like to do before I forgot how to have fun, I dredged up a few options.  One, as you know by now, was writing.  Another was crocheting and cross stitch, (Crocheting ultimately saw a rebirth when my daughter was pregnant last year) car races, photography, body building (I know, who knew?).   My husband immediately said I needed a camera.  I had a ca...

Lately I've been using a NLT bible for my devotions. Some years ago I went through a gospel with a group of gals using a New Living Translation and it was driving me nuts, because so much of what was familiar text seemed to be in a different language. I was constantly going to my New King James Version to compare.  It was a good exercise; it helped me to learn to hear the text in a different way.  When I prepare a teaching for women’s bible study, my favorite starting point is to read the text in multiple translations.  But I've never used anything but an essentially equivalent translation for my daily reading. Now that I am, I'm finding a fresh enjoyment of familiar passages, and fresh understanding as well. New themes are being made clear, but whether from the different season of life or different translation I can't say.  I would think some of both.  I've already alluded to hearing the book of Ecclesiastes in a different voice this year, lately I wa...

The month is just about half over, and so is my 31 day challenge to finding enjoyment.  I don’t know where this comes from, but one of my friends has the same tendency I have when we hear a word or phrase-we burst into a song that contains that word or phrase in the lyrics.  Too much Name That Tune when we were children perhaps.  If you were 13 to 30 in the late 80’s or if you’re my daughter, you may know where I’m going with this…. Whoooah, we’re half way there.. Whoa! Livin’ on a prayer Take my hand and we’ll make it I swear Whoa! Livin’ on a prayer…. Ah, Bon Jovi.  How big was your hair in the 80’s?  While you won’t find this song on any Christian album that I know of, it the chorus does capture that hope-filled anthem of believers-we’re almost there. Where? Why, Heaven of course.  I love how God weaves something He wants me to think about through different channels in my life to help me hear Him.  In the last weeks there has been...

The beginning of the month was my birthday. We had a really fun time going to my favorite burger joint, and then to my daughters house for my favorite lemon cake.  We did the present thing which is good, because if people didn't give me things, I would carry a ratty purse and never wear anything but jeans and a black t-shirt.  I noticed something in recent years both at my birthday and at Christmas.  When someone asks what I want for a gift, more often than not, I respond with somewhere that I want to go or something that I want to do, rather than something that I want to have.  Not that jewelry isn't always appropriate.  Because it is.  Always. This is particularly true when my husband asks me what I want.  This year, as it’s been for the last several years, he has planned a romantic birthday getaway for me.  It’s one of the best gifts I've ever gotten.  I look forward to it every year.  The first ...

Bask in the truth of His delight in you....