Take Nothing for Granted

 I can procrastinate with the best of them.

My life is fairly simple (isn't that my goal) which makes tasks fairly easy to juggle.

Last week, I mentioned that I was glad that I had finished painting a dresser.

It would have been terrible to see it staring at me for 6 weeks  ....

and hubby would have definitely wanted the space back in his garage.

So often, we think of not procrastinating in the realm of fixing relationships.

You never know what the next day will bring ...

death, illness, mental troubles.

But there is also the simple matter of just being deligent.

Get todays work done.

You never know what tomorrow holds.

I am "flying solo" again this week.

Hubby took his work back to the office.

I never would have imagined that I would be doing my everyday work with primarily one hand.

I am glad for the work that I stayed up on,

and sorry for the projects that I pushed to "tomorrow"

which may now be 5 more weeks.

Update:

I am one week into my healing.

I am primarily without pain except when I make a few odd movements without thinking.

I am actually using both hands to type this blog.

I have my first follow-up next Tuesday.

The surgeon said that he will remove the splint and cast the arm then.

I assume that there will be another xray - and I hope to hear that we are running ahead of schedule.

My Right Hand Man

 My dear one has always been a hard worker,

but even more so this week.

While working from home, 

he has taken on ...

lawn care,

cooking,

dishwashing,

shopping,

and general help when I get "stuck."

Just hours before the event which we would like to forget,

I bought two bags of Macintosh Apples.

They are my favorite and are quite difficult to find in the PNW.

I told hubby that I had planned to make him a pie and some apple sauce

(as well as just enjoying them as snacks).

I should have bought them the week before to "keep the doctors away."

Yesterday, hubby decided to tackle some mini pies.

He did just great!

Here they are ... ready for the oven.

I may be out of a job when this is all over.

Little by Little

 The man who did the framing walk through with us last week said that insulation should happen this week.

Hubby and I popped over to the new house on Thursday,

And I am happy to report that they had indeed insulated throughout the house.

Next step ... Drywall.

Once the drywall is up, we were told that they might be able to give us a more definitive closing date.

Little by little.

A great exercise in patience.

Different Days

 My normally scheduled life is a little less scheduled these days.

Frequent phone calls from builders, banks, or realtors.

Being available to show the house to prospective renters.

Packing when I think I may have no more use for an item in this location.

Right now, I am blogging in the garage as I wait on the landlady to do 2 showings.

It does help me keep the place clean, but I do hope that the house rents soon.

This is the second group of 2 prospectives in the last 2 weeks.

Last week, the showing was just before church on Wednesday night - 

not quite convenient for getting out the door.

I got a lot done over the weekend.

Hubby was doing some last-minute family visiting up in Washington,

and I stayed to continue packing, sorting, and finishing up church responsibilities.

It sure was nice to have him home after 4 quiet days.

Hubby announced his departure from work yesterday.

Praise the Lord that they are going to let him work right up until the end!

They are even having a little cookout for him on the last day.

It is turning more "Spring-y" every day.

We are enjoying the daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus.

The color is so welcome after the grey winter.

The warmer weather invites me to walk to town,

which is a blessing since I am not doing large shopping trips but merely an as-needed shopping.

The longer days give us more energy.

Speaking of grocery shopping,

I went through the pantry while hubby was gone and made a list of meals to use up many canned foods.

I cannot assign a day to each item,

but here is what we will be eating for the next 2 weeks.

Bean and Rice Burrito

Chili and Baked Potato (Lunch item)

Red beans and Rice (lunch item)

Tuscan Chicken

Stuffing breakfast casserole (x2)

Asian noodles (x2)

Fish and French Fries (Friday night x2)

Tuna (lunch item)

Red Lentil Soup

Veggie Stew

Grilled Veggie Sandwich

Salmon Cakes

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Spanish Rice with Beans

Almost A Year?

 Dear Reader,

Has it really been almost a year?

I'm afraid it has.

It has been a busy year - 

busy with new activities, new responsibilities,

new cares, new demands,

new experiences and learning.

Perhaps the biggest thoughts of the year have been on the temporal nature of life.

You know that hubby's mom was diagnosed with cancer.

A woman my age has been battling cancer in our church.

Our former pastor's wife, just slightly younger than I, was called home to heaven after a battle with cancer.

Just this week, I heard of a pastor, again my age, who died in his sleep.

There are just no guarantees in this life.

Hubby's mom finished her battle in August.

While her doctor's appointments ended in January of this year,

there were more responsibilities in visiting and doing excess chores and errands.

In July, we assumed full care as she became home-bound.

There was a lot more running, two visits a day, shopping, and in-home nursing visits.

There was a learning of new nursing skills and jargon.

God was gracious to her and to us. 

Her time with a lack of independence was relatively short - 

really only 1 1/2 months.

We prayed that God would allow us to be with her when she passed.

We almost didn't go that night.

I was tired and just worn out.

I had been over 2 times already that day.

But, we went ...

And she was in the middle of her final pain attack.

We were able to administer medication and pray and sing until the medication kicked in.

She never really resumed alertness but seemed to respond slightly in her last hours to our words and stories.

She passed the next evening.

Again, God's grace - only a short time where she was not truly conscious or alert.

And God gave me a new awareness of the burden of caregiving that many people shoulder for many, many years.

As hubby's last parent was fighting cancer,

as a wife, I couldn't help but think of his health, of our health.

In human terms, both of his parents died young.

Of course, life and death are in God's hands.

The "healthiest" person can die young.

The most "unhealthy" person can exceed 100 years.

But I do feel a responsibility for our health.

Was I doing all that I could for our health and well-being?

After much reading,

we began pursuing a more plant-based diet.

Many bleak diagnoses have been reversed with a change in diet.

This was not an easy task.

It is not just eating vegetables.

You have to find the protein.

You have to find the right balance.

You have to find enough calories.

You have to pay attention to vitamins.

Research and new recipes again ...

Couldn't I just leave well enough alone when it came to diets?

It has been a new challenge, but one that has yielded some good changes in our health.

No, we have not kicked meat to the curb entirely.

I still embrace balance😉

But it plays a little less of a part in the meal planning,

it is a much smaller portion on the plate,

and it forces me to focus on vegetables and whole grains and beans and seeds.

This week - 

Sunday - Rustic Winter Vegetable Soup with polenta

Monday - Teriyaki Salmon, Roasted Brocolli, Brown rice 

Tuesday - Garlic White Bean Soup and Biscuits

Wednesday - Breakfast for supper (usually eggs, avocado, and smoothie)

Thursday - Twice Baked Veggie Stuffed Potato and Grilled Chicken 

Friday - Fast Food Fix (This is the night we satisfy our french fry cravings with an easy meal that includes baked french fries) - did I mention I still embrace balance?

Filled to Overflowing

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3:16

 What is filling you?

In so asking, I also ask ... what is flowing out of you?

This week, we have heard much about politics.

It has been an unusual week.

But the question is: Are you filled and overflowing with Scripture?
I was challenged to look at a thanksgiving passage each day this month.
The first verse on the list included this verse.

And I thought, what is filling me?
A life saturated with the Word will spill over into the lives of others.
What is spilling?
Is it profitable?
Nothing is more profitable than God's Word!

As I thought about this, I prepared for church with a specific verse on my tongue.

Habakkuk 2:20
But the LORD is in his holy temple:
let all the earth keep silence before him.  

I want my words to be God's Words and to overflow with life for others.

Are you ready for church tomorrow or for work this week?
Are you saturated with the news?
a book?
a movie?
or with the life-giving Word?

The choice I want is obvious,
but it will take discipline and focus.
But oh, it is worth it!

Just Turn it Over

 Philippians 4:6

Be careful for nothing;
but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God.

It seems like there are
cares,
worries,
concerns,
stressors
all around us. 

God already knows my burdens and cares,
but He wants to hear from me ...
every burden,
every care,
every worry.
I can thank Him as I turn every care over to His loving care
knowing that He will deal with the burdens in His will and way.

Lord, forgive me when I have an apathetic approach to prayer.
You want to hear from me.
You want to show yourself strong on my behalf.

I Have An Addiction

 I am going through withdrawals

and they are not easy to deal with.

I am addicted to my almost daily walks

and to fresh air.

The past week and counting have shown me just how addicted I am.

As the air quality has been in the "hazardous" zone, we have stayed in.

It appears that the levels are coming down.

Today we are at the "unhealthy" level.

We are still praying for a good soaking rain or a favorable wind.

It will probably take a while to clear the valley,

also known as "The Valley of Death" because it traps air and allergens.

I have missed my nearly daily walks outside

and walking dates with my hubby.

An addiction to walking is not bad.

In fact, it is what has kept us sane many times in the past year.

Hubby is using a respirator to survive his days at work.

He mentioned possibly getting me one so that we can walk outside again.

We'll see!

Now, if only I could get addicted to broccoli!

WAITING, PATIENCE, BLESSINGS

 It is certainly rare that I write on a Saturday.

Then again, it has been an odd Saturday,

or perhaps an odd week.

On Labor Day evening, the smoke started drifting into our little town.

We have been inside most of the week because the air quality is so poor.

Our yard is full of ashes.

The siding on the house is filthy.

In fact, we tried to carry on with our Burgerville Friday night tradition last night

and they had closed due to the poor conditions (especially for the worker at the pick up window).

Today, we just planned to stay in for the day.

Usually, our Saturdays start with a "wog."

I am not a fast jogger and my jog actually looks like a fast walk,

so I call it a "wog."

We actually interval run together.

We will run for 3 minutes, walk for 2 minutes for 7 cycles - 35 minutes.

When we complete that, we will find a coffee or juice treat in town.

Then we finish our steps for the entire day (13,000) and head home.

Then we have brunch around 11,

clean up,

and then enjoy our Bible study for the day.

We started this schedule about 2 months ago and have really enjoyed it.

I only cook 2 times on Saturday and we enjoy something snacky in between meals or a special treat after dinner.

Today, we were not going to be able to interval run outside.

So we woke up and did a walking video inside.

A good 70 minutes of walking.

While we didn't get all of our steps for the day, it was a good start.

We carried on with our brunch tradition and enjoyed cinnamon raisin french toast.

Then we cleaned up and did our Bible study.

Then it was time for another 30-minute indoor walking video,

followed by a family movie.

How about another 30-minute indoor walk

followed by dinner?

We had a BBQ Salmon BLT salad.

Delicious.

And now we are blogging "together."

Later tonight, we will have a little strawberry shortcake as our treat.

All that to get to my point about waiting.

Right now we are doing a lot of waiting.

Waiting for an evacuation order?

Waiting for rain.

Waiting for the smoke to clear.

Waiting to walk outside again.

Life is full of waiting.

Last week, I thought about this verse because of some different struggles in our life.

Psalm 145:15

The eyes of all wait upon thee;

and thou givest them their meat in due season.

The true Christian life is one of dependence,

is one of patience and waiting, 

is one of trust.

I personally hate waiting.

I hate being patient.

But I have to remind my flesh that God's timing is perfect and His plans and blessings are worth the wait!

I don't necessarily know what "smoke" is hemming you in.

I don't know what you are waiting on.

But I do know that you are waiting.

Everyone is or should be waiting for God's next step in his/her life.

Just remember that it will be worth the wait.

He is waiting to give the blessing "in due season."

Always

"It is ALWAYS safe to trust the Lord

in times of famine and feasting,

blessing and bondage."

I recently started reading through Genesis again in preparation for my new Sunday School class.

The editors of this Bible had written this quote in the introduction.

They linked it to the generations in Genesis.

Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

They all went through hard times.

They all saw good times and bad.

Sometimes they met the times before them in faith.

Other times they met with self-sufficiency or doubt and fear.

Typically at the end of the trial, they had learned that reliance on God is really the best and only option.

We live in troublous times, don't we?

There is so much around us that in the flesh I want to take care of on my own.

But the right answer is always to trust God,

to be in His Word,

to be following that Word.

Even yesterday on our long walk,

we were mentioning all that God had done for us in the last year.

As we walked by apartment after apartment that was full or that wasn't open as hubby searched,

we recognized that God was in control to put us in a HOUSE that was right for us.
God knew that the apartment fitness center that we were ready to use would be closed for Covid.

He gave us a garage for plenty of workout space!

He knew better than we did the parts of town that were less than desirable because of drug activity.

He put us in a perfect location for work and shopping and walking.

As I mentioned, my flesh wants to take control,

to put everything in its place,

to know the next steps months ahead of time,

but where would the trust be in that?

Perhaps some of our struggles right now

as individuals, as families, as churches, as a nation

are a little reminder to us to just trust and obey.

Just do right.

As Elizabeth Eliot would say,

"Just do the next right thing."

Some Change

Multiple Meanings Ahead

It seems like there is change occurring all around us each day.

New rules, new policies, new stats ...

Right now America is going through a change shortage.

The signs in the store requiring exact change or credit and debit only are odd.

I am still earning some change daily.

If you have been reading long, you know that I love my Fitbit.

They should hire me to be an Ambassador for them.

I love the accountability and the challenge it gives me.

It has helped me to learn about my health and fitness.

Did you know that it tells me when I am getting sick?

Yes, my resting heart rate will skyrocket (at least 5 beats per minute)  a day or so before I go down.

The Fitbit also earns me money!

There is a website that lets you earn money for tracking your steps, your weight, your food, your water.

Whether you use a Fitbit, a Garmin, myfitnesspal, mapmyrun...

you just link it and earn points.

I earn about 500 points a week,

and after I earn 10,000 points,

they deposit $10 into my Paypal account.

Since we have two trackers in the house,

it is a fun little surprise every couple of months.

We have used the Achievement website for over 3 years with no problems.

If you are interested (and comfortable with the sharing of this type of information) and sign up using one of the links below, both of us get 100 points.

http://tinyurl.com/yxquyjfl

http://tinyurl.com/us4whla

And while we are on the topic,

hubby and I updated our trackers earlier in the year.

We have two trackers that are still perfectly usable and with multiple bands for each.

Check them out ... the Alta HR and the Charge HR

If you are interested, just comment or get in touch with me by text or email if you know me personally.

We would be happy to mail them off!

We will send them individually

but would be happy if they helped a couple or a family to challenge each other😀

**UPDATE**
the trackers have been claimed!

Praying the Psalms

The Lord has brought us to a place of complete reliance again.

I remember this place as a young adult - seeking direction for college,

seeking direction in employment,

seeking God's will for a spouse.

As I have aged,  it is easy to get self-reliant and assured of myself.

But the past weeks have been full of prayers for wisdom and direction.

A friend sent me this "prayer" this morning.

Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me:
for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

12 Years of Donuts

It is February 17th and in grand Bickish tradition,

we celebrate Donut Day.

We began our day with cinnamon donuts that I had tucked away in the freezer from a Christmas gift.

We also enjoyed a cup of Teeccino - my coffee substitute.

I also made a half of a recipe of our favorite protein smoothie to hold hubby over until snack time.

It is always special to remember our first date, now 12 years ago.

The donuts aren't near as special as they were at that little Italian bakery,

but the remembrance is just as sweet!

Life continues to teach us many things.

On Friday, after taking hubby his valentine lunch,

we went to a 7-11 for a coffee.

Just a decaf coffee with some amaretto cream.

It sure was good.

I was very moody on Friday night.

And then on Saturday,

exhaustion and more tears when I awoke.

I felt "glutened"!

But I had cooked all of our meals,

and there are very few "oopsies" at home anymore.

It must have been the creamer, right?

Alas, the creamer was gluten free.

The coffee?

Does coffee have gluten?

No, coffee is gluten free,

but I have since found out that there is a protein in coffee 

that many gluten sensitive people react to just like gluten.

I think that I am past the reaction now.

Maybe another detox brew this morning for good measure.

This weeks menu plan:

Monday:  Deer Tenderloin

Tuesday:  Clam Chowder

Wednesday:  Vegetable Frittata

Thursday:  Creamy Vegetable Beef Soup

Friday:  Balsamic Chicken

Saturday:  Roast Beef Au Jus / Chili

Sunday:  Hoppin John

Incoming...

Spent yesterday tidying the outside of the house:

mowing, weeding, scrubbing the back deck.

Today and Monday will be inside tidying.

Why?

Our first overnight guests in our new home arrive Monday.

Hoping to be over the "creeping crud" by then.

Our church has been "sharing" again.

You know ...

coughing, head congestion, sore throat ...

ICK!

It Just Doesn't Have to Phase Me

The news media is swirling ...

Affordable Care Act

Debt Ceiling

Government Closure

Syria

I am thankful that my hope and safety do not rely on the United States - 

its government,

or its leaders.

 Psalm 20:7 

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: 

but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.

The Safest Place to Be

 Psalm 91:1 

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High

shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

 

It is easy to get riled up with the abominations around us.

Yet timeless truths remind me to rest in my Holy God.

It does not matter what Constitutional rights my President disregards.

It really does not matter which sin the government chooses to honor.

 

The safest place to be is dwelling in God.

While the external body may suffer persecution,

while sin around me may flourish,

my soul and future is secure in His shadow.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I just received yet another phone call regarding the election.

This one was from the candidate himself.

He said a vote for him would help America to remain the "hope of the earth."

Neither America nor this candidate is the hope of the earth,

but I know someone who is -

and He is greater than any Presidential candidate!

How Could You Forget?

I don't think that you could forget -

not with all the phone calls,

the mailings,

the news coverage.

But just in case -

Don't forget to go vote today.

Sad, but Not Surprising

The events that occurred last week in Colorado are very sad.  Any death or injury should be a great grief to all of America.  Around us swirl sinful man's ideas of how to stop future violence ... more gun control, more intervention, more accountability, more security.  I am amazed that man fails to see the GIGO principle.  Garbage In - Garbage Out.  I have heard of at least one movie and one comic book which  have delayed their release due to similarities to the Colorado shooting.  It is not surprising that when man "feasts" on garbage...violence ...evil, that in turn is what will come out.  Oh, if only America would turn back to God and follow His ways!

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,

whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;

if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,

think on these things.