God's Got This

I've been anxious and worrying a lot over the past six weeks...really, from the onset of my pneumonia before Thanksgiving. Lots of turmoil. Lots of bills. Lots of doctor appointments. Some changes already happening. Others coming soon. Uncertainty. Upheaval. And all that on top of a life that's already pretty chaotic.

So tonight, with only some of today's goals accomplished and even more on deck for tomorrow, I turn to Matthew 6:25-34 in the New Testament. Well-known words, yet somehow - sometimes - difficult to remember. Even when I stumble, God's got this; God's got me.

25Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?

28And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans pursue all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

HAPPY New Year's!

For almost all of the past 10 years, I have lamented on New Year's Eve that the year hadn't been so awesome and that the following year was bound to be better. What I should have been doing was celebrating the various tough times we survived through then between major illnesses, surgeries, deaths, now divorces...and yet we - and here I can only speak for the kids and I - keep trucking along.

Enough of that noise. There will always be tough times. Heck, I ended up in an aircast and on crutches today after injuring my foot and ankle a couple nights ago and finally going to the hospital mid-ice storm today after my foot swelled and I lost feeling to my toes, which, it turns out, will not currently bend. But whatever! I'm done with that nonsense defining me and settling for merely surviving.

So I'm here to say that 2018 is going to be AWESOME. Completely and totally awesome. For all of us! And I can't wait to work my way to what I know will be great things in store. Bring it, new year! You're gonna rock!

Much love to you all! Mwah! 😘

Now having watched the ball drop in NYC with the kids, we're off to sleep because we get to visit with dear friends tomorrow and need some good rest first! G'night, world!

What I'm Watching: Why Him?

I tend to watch a lot of movies over the holidays. Reruns or cheesy movies are on TV, there's extra downtime to fill, and for the past two seasons, the kids are away for blocks of time with their father. So...Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Redbox keep me fully stocked on movies.

A recent selection was the 2016 film Why Him? I give this movie 3.5 stars, and here's why:

First, a half star is deducted for constant "normalized" use of cuss words. Don't get me wrong; I can cuss a blue streak if I'm of a mind to do so. But in this movie, one of the main characters couldn't seem to get through even one moment without another curse flying out of his mouth. We get it: he's a bad boy and the use of language further demonstrates that. In this production, however, it was over the top and became unpleasant to listen to after the first 300 or so f-bombs. The same effect could have been accomplished in this film with a few thousand less instances of gratuitous cursing.

Second, a half star is deducted for turning out to have a cheesy premise: don't judge a book by its cover. I really thought Why Him? would turn out to be a lighthearted comedy. Mindless, if you please. However, with the above-mentioned language and then the theme of "not judging a book by its cover" really brought the movie down. I mean it, seriously...I'm (obviously) a big proponent of being open-minded, accepting and treating everyone in the same way. However, the continual emphasis of the theme began to feel a bit much as the movie progressed. We get it, he's a bad boy who turns out to be not-so-bad after all. Huzzah.

Third, a final half star is deducted for story-line purposes. Too big of a leap was made between the father's company at the beginning and at the end. The effort to connect the two felt forced and contrived. Also, hello massive surprise ending.

As for the 3.5 stars the movie actually kept, I'd have to say the pace was well done, the acting and casting on target and a premise interesting enough to keep me halfway tuned in from beginning to end. Bryan Cranston as the dad was obviously channeling his inner Tommy Lee Jones - honestly, the similarity was jarring at times. If anything, he took it a bit over the top. And Karen - ah, excuse me - Megan Mullaly as the mother was a delightful addition. My one criticism of Karen - let's face it, that's all I'll ever think of her as, since I aspire to be Karen myself later in life - is that while she tried to keep her voice neutral through the movie, it turned into the signature Karen pitch and timbre at times.

So here's my recommendation - do you need a movie to watch in the background while accomplishing something else like folding laundry or playing on Facebook? If so, this flick's for you. Anyone expecting a masterpiece may need to look elsewhere.

On Having a Minimalist Christmas

I normally go all-out at Christmas, in terms of decorating, celebrating, and gift giving.

This year, not so much. Several weeks of my life between Thanksgiving and Christmas got sucked up in a miasma of sickness, and it's changed my whole approach to the holiday season this year. See, I got pneumonia the week of Thanksgiving and was admitted to the hospital the following week for what would become a 10-day stay, followed by a week of bed rest at home.

That's the time I normally would have spent decking my halls to the nines - my Christmas decorations, when packed away, fill a walk-in closet, floor to ceiling. I dress up the whole front yard. The tree gets decked and then some. And every room in the house gets other decorations as well.

It didn't happen this year. We were lucky to get the tree up about a week ago. A few other treasured decorations made it out several days after that. As late as yesterday and today, the kids were bringing a few other things out to use. And the front yard didn't even get touched this year.

In addition, I usually do my Christmas shopping during the time I was in the hospital...using money also earned during that time. But when Momma, who is self-employed, doesn't work for three weeks...neither does she receive that income.

Please know, I am not saying any of this as a ploy for sympathy. Rather, I'm looking at this year as a blessing. As I've told my kids recently, with having gone through this illness and facing a few other upheavals soon, we ARE fine, and we are GOING TO BE fine.

Having not had or taken the time to do all of our decorations this year, we've instead had a chance to reflect more on the coming birth of Christ and what that means to our lives. We've gotten back to praying before each meal and at bed times regularly; something we'd fallen out of the practice of doing not so long ago. We've had lots of great Biblical discussions; it's amazing how much my kids have sponged up.

And I've tried - and hopefully somewhat succeeded - in setting more realistic expectations for the kids of what they'll receive this year from both Mom and Santa. My son, in particular, worries me. He has his heart set on an expensive gift that just was far out of reach. I've talked to him, now, numerous times about both Mom and Santa being on very tight budgets this year. And still he shows his faith that this present will somehow arrive. Who knows? Who am I to say it's absolutely impossible that it will? But what I'm hoping is that with less presents both from Mom and Santa this year, the kids will take more time to appreciate each of the presents.

Beyond that, we still have Orthodox Christmas on January 7th...and the kids know I always reserve some gifts for each of them to open then.

Either way, I'm sort of treasuring having a bit of a minimalist Christmas after so many years of making it the absolute production of the year. I've had more time to appreciate my family, my dear friends, and the many blessings in my life - first of whom are my children - than I've possibly had in recent years. And there's nothing wrong with that!

Now, this Momma has to go...I have to hang up some more laundry, then whip up some "Aunt Grace cocoa" and drive the kids around the neighborhood at bedtime to admire everyone else's lights. No matter what, we're enjoying this season and feeling the many gifts God has provided in our lives.

In the Middle of...Purging

Stuff, stuff, stuff and more stuff.

My house is jam packed full of stuff. How 'bout yours?

Right now, I'm in a season of purging and cleaning. We have waaaaaay too much stuff. So far, we've rounded up a half dozen bags of purged clothes - things I no longer need or fit into, and things the kids have outgrown. The kids have also packed up a bunch of their toys that are now too  young for them.

Last year, around this time, I began following KonMari as a way to skinny down my ownership of stuff. Have you tried her method? Marie Kondo has you go through your home in phases and recommends keeping only those things that bring you joy. And, as I noted a few posts ago, I'm at a point in my life where I'm consciously choosing joy.

How do you go about purging in your own home? Do you hold on to as much stuff as you can? I did that for many years. The more I owned, the more secure I felt.

And then came the realization that it was just stuff. My life isn't stuff. It's my kids, and my family and friends, and the work I pursue, and the past-times I enjoy. Stuff is just that - stuff. It doesn't define me. And I don't need it to define my home, or my family, or my future, or our security and well-being.

Would you like to join me in a season of purging this holiday season? I know we can all prowl around our homes and find junk that needs tossed, items that can go to a new home, clothes that can bless a different family, and other stuff we simply don't need for myriad reasons.

My personal goal is to purge about 1/5 of the stuff that's in this house. I'm not going minimalist - that's just not my style - but I'm finding as much as I can to throw away and re-home. It'll make the house more manageable when we are in it, and easier to move whenever we leave.

So that's where I am right now...in the middle of PURGING!