Where have you been? The Conclusion

Well, I think that you, my friends and family,

are all caught up.

The summation of the past 4-5 months has led me to a conclusion.

As I finished this series of posts,

I was reminded of a conversation that I once had with an older woman in NC.

She was discouraged,

she felt as if she had no ministry,

she wanted to do more, to help more.

I remember encouraging her to look outside the normal "ministry" spots.

I encouraged her to try something new.

These posts show a bit of that need to heed my own advice.

Where have I been?

I have been in the school of patience,

in the school of flexibility,

in the school of waiting (sometimes different than patience).

I have been in a school that called for some creativity.

I have been in a school of relying on God alone (and that is a good thing).

God is always good.

There are always ways to serve Him.

There are always people who need you (and me, too).

And two little side notes:

First, thanks to all those who welcomed me back to the blogosphere with a hearty, "We missed you!"

And second, a funny little "I am still learning as a wife" moment.

A friend challenged me to post 7 days of pictures of hubby and me together.

I did a walk down memory lane.

Day one - a dating picture

Day two - wedding day and honeymoon

Day three - NY pics

Day four - WA pics

Day five - NC pics

Day six - OR pics

Then I needed one more pic for the last day.

So I took a picture in the garage before hubby left for work.

His comment:

"I wondered why you brushed your hair before I left."

Guess who has been running a brush through her hair as soon as she wakes up.

Yeah!  Guess I had gotten a little slack.

Have a good weekend, all!

Where have you been? Part IX

OK, this one is just for fun ...

and for those who haven't seen our faces for a while.

We have made it to the coast twice during the pandemic/quarantine - 

once before it got really serious and once when restrictions started to lift.

Where have you been? Part VIII

Something for the little ones

and a way to show love.

Early in the quarantine,

one of hubby's coworkers had a baby - 2 months premature.

We decided to reach out with a gift and the gospel.

A blanket, some wipes, some baby lotion

and a tract and letter with the gospel.
I had many of the blocks completed,
but hurried to finish the rest and put the border on.

And then I got to thinking that I should always have a little blanket on hand to give.

If there is one thing I have learned in life its this:

if you love on someone's child(ren), you automatically show love to the parent.

And so, I crochet to and from church.
I can get one block done per trip (which makes 3 a week)!

I crochet on quiet evenings at home.

I am well on my way to having another completed.

(they are anywhere from 5 blocks x 5 blocks to 7 blocks x 7 blocks - depending on the pattern)

I think that this one is set to be 7x5.

Where have you been? Part VII

This one is a strange one ...

but none the less, it occupied some of my time during the blog break.

With the return to church services, also came the need for social distancing.

Rows were separated and spread apart.

Our little church has plastic canvas tissue box covers on the tissue boxes in each row.

While they are not quite my "cup of tea" and a little dated,

they do help the boxes to hold up a lot better.

tried to at least use more modern colors and patterns

Suddenly the need for tissue boxes and covers multiplied by 2.

So another member and I made tissue boxes.

I still have one more to complete.

one of the originals

Where have you been? Part VI

Where have I been?

What have I been doing?

Another birthday passed in the blog break.

Another "big" milestone - 45!

No big doings because of the shutdown,

but hubby still spoiled me.

Balloons and flowers ... no better!

And a few weeks later, he took me shopping.

still holding on after 2 months - but just barely

so cheery!  was a lot fuller 2 months ago

a patio lavender bush 

I love that lavender grows so easily in the PNW

And May produces my favorite flower - lilacs.

Some church members brought me clippings twice ...

and I actually found a bush that had crept between the cedar bush "fence" from the neighbor's house and then hung into our yard. 

So pretty!

And yesterday (or all weekend),
we celebrated hubby's birthday.
Busy with work and church,
but we had some of his favorite meals,
some pie,
and a trip for frozen coffee!

Where have you been? Part V

When in lockdown ...

publish another book!

Yes, the blog break was also due in part to the publication of another book.

This book, though still an expository commentary,

was written in a totally different style.

This study is more devotional in style with more pointed application.

It also got a new format inside.

It was less than 100 pages which made the proofing a lot easier.

And the new format and style were fun and exciting.

I never know if there will be another in the future,

but each one is a blessing to me as I get to read each numerous times.

And as I write this blog,

I realize that I still have not put together the ebook.

Guess I better add that to the to-do list.😀

Where have you been? Part IV

As the "lockdown" came to an end,

another ministry presented itself.

Libraries were still closed,

typical summer activities for children were canceled,

and moms continued to work without a break.

I wanted to help out a church mom and the church ministry at the same time.

And so, on Thursdays, I have been able to entertain 4 little friends.

We work on songs to sing in church,

on verse memory (it holds me accountable),

read books,

play games,

do a craft,

help with ministry (like bagging treats for police officers).

It has been fun to be in "teacher" mode again.

I don't know who is helped more ...

but, I would guess, that it is probably me😉

Where have you been? Part III

With every move and change in ministry,

there is a time to find your place.

A time to observe what is happening.

A time to contemplate what is needed.

We have not been without ministry in our new home,

but as we passed our 1 year in OR,

I began to feel like I had observed enough.

The music ministry has been a place of ministry for me.

Hubby is back to teaching fairly regularly.

But what else?

Is anyone else frustrated by the fear of personal interaction that the virus has promoted?

It makes it difficult to distribute tracts and definitely has shut down door-to-door for a while.

Recently, hubby helped me lead an outreach to police in our area.

I was upset by the struggles of officers in the nearby cities of Portland and Seattle.

Drawing on a couple of ministry ideas from our former church,

we asked church members to bring in snacks for police.

Using 4 big laundry baskets,

we were able to give to State Police and 2 town's police and sheriff's offices.

Flavored waters were labeled with our thanks.

Treats were packaged with a tract (similar to our treat bags at Christmas).

The feedback from those who participated was positive 

and we received positive remarks from those who received the baskets. 

I forgot to take pictures of the finished gift baskets,

but here was the start.

By the end, they were overflowing.

And a quilted, embroidered note of thanks was on the side of each basket.

Where have you been? Part II

There are times in life when you just have to (or get to) sit back and evaluate what you are doing.

Moving cross country creates a natural opportunity for that.

You disconnect from almost everything that filled your schedule outside of homemaking.

It was hard to leave a Sunday School ministry,

a piano ministry,

choir,

a printing ministry,

and regular interaction with college students and young couples.

On top of that ... add a pandemic that halts everything.

Early in the fall,

I was really feeling disconnected and lacking ministry.

Through blogs and podcasts that I read and listen to for encouragement and challenge,

I thought that I needed to find some younger women to encourage.

I needed to be a part of the older encouraging the younger.

That demographic is a little sparse around me right now,

so I began writing letters - yes, good old fashioned snail mail.

Some college students, some young mothers, and some women just waiting on God's plan.

And then the pandemic began and there were church shut-ins to add to the list.

It has been a fun ministry for me.

Who doesn't like to get mail once in a while?

And hopefully, it will encourage a young woman in right paths.

Where have you been?

A friend recently commented that I hadn't written for a while.

I was reminded that this forum is a way that many people learn about me.

It is definitely a way to update family and friends.

It is also a way to evaluate what I am doing,

why I am doing it,

and to think about whether it lines up with my goals and aspirations - 

you know, keeping my life simple so that I can focus on God and my family and ministry.

(Just look at the header of the blog)

So where have I been?

Good question, huh?

I guess I struggled as most people have.

Covid-19 and its ramifications hit us all in different ways.

We were actually not disturbed too much.

Church was online for about 2 months.

Grocery stores lacked some staples for only a few weeks.

But mostly, it was just a lack of personal interaction.

That kind of hit hard.

It also led to a little bit of monotony which made writing about the day to day seem uninteresting.

But we were thankful for work.

We were thankful for food on the table.

We were thankful that until July 1, masks were optional in most places.

We were thankful for the technology that connected us to churches around America.

My days were actually fairly unchanged.

Homemaking doesn't stop for Covid-19.

We still had laundry, still dirtied the house, still needed to eat.

During this time, I worked to keep our immune systems running at optimum performance.

We cut way back on the sweets.

But occasionally, I really just wanted a cookie.

And then I found something that satisfied.

Enter the 4 ingredient Breakfast Cookie.

Ingredients

2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

3 large overripe bananas, mashed

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup chocolate chips or craisins

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix very well, until fully combined. 

If using chocolate chips or craisins, stir them in with a spatula.

Use a cookie scoop to drop balls on parchment.  Flatten slightly.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until slightly golden on the edges. Remove from the oven. 

Allow cooling on the mat for 10 minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Makes 8-12

If not eaten right away, keep in refrigerator (or the banana will get very slimy.

Hubby was skeptical, but the cookies are actually really good.

I guess they don't really have a normal cookie texture,

but it is a sweet treat and can be eaten as breakfast, snack, dessert ...

And during a pandemic when flour and sugar are hard to find ...

Not A Problem!