It’s that time of year again! You’ve collected your family’s favorite recipes, some handed down from previous generations. You’ve double-checked the shopping list and are sure you have all the necessary ingredients.  

Ah! As the aroma of celery, onion, and other spices simmer on the stove, you close your eyes momentarily and take in the delectable aromas. You look forward to preparing the best meal possible for your family and friends.  

Some guests bring their favorite dishes to share, while others bring hearty appetites, ready to indulge in the meal you have worked so hard to prepare.

But sometimes recipes aren’t perfect, and neither are oven temperatures—or cooks. You’re not sure what happened, but the turkey wasn’t supposed to be dry, and the rolls weren’t supposed to turn dark brown on the bottom. It’s too late to do anything about it now.
  
Families aren’t perfect, either. Uncle Buzz had a few too many beers and yelled at Cousin for changing the channel on the football game.
 
Junior didn’t watch where he was going and spilled a can of red soda all over your new carpeting. During dinner, Aunt Rizzi bad-mouthed the meal for not being gluten-free (but she’d never informed anyone prior to Thanksgiving that she couldn’t have gluten).  

But no matter the kitchen glitches, behaviors of families or guests, ingredients in the recipes, or what dishes are served, one ingredient should stand out as the most important on this holiday: thankfulness.

Family dynamics can cause stress for some people. Times change, and relationships can change. Not one Thanksgiving is exactly like the next. Memories and longings can interfere with accepting present situations and circumstances.

However, despite the uncertainties and imperfections, we can do our best to appreciate what we have (and who we have) in our lives (including forgiveness for certain cooks and the Uncle Buzz’s, Juniors, and Aunt Rizzi’s of the world.
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Thankfulness—it’s one thing we can keep at the top of our shopping list.
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“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” – 2 Corinthians 9:11
“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of the lips that acknowledge his name.” – Hebrews 13:15

​Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com
 

"Nanc'," my husband called as I wrangled with a load of laundry.  "Have you seen my tape measure?" 
"Yes. It's in the second-bedroom closet," I answered. 
I heard my husband's voice from down the hall. "There's no way I can go in there. I can't find a place to walk into your 'walk-in' closet!" he exclaimed. 
Oops. I forgot to warn him about the closet. It was packed from floor to ceiling. I could barely wade through it myself. I retrieved the tape measure after moving a pile of stuff away from the doorframe. 
"How did I create such a mess?" I asked my husband. "We've only lived in this house for five years."   
My husband shook his head. He didn't know what to say. 
The closet's sorry state was my own doing. I'd made the second bedroom my refuge for writing, music, crafts, and other hobbies. But, gradually, the closet became overloaded with everything I needed to support those hobbies. However, a walk-in closet you can't walk into was not acceptable. 

Had I become a miser of all things past and present? I scolded myself. Evidently so.

Something had to change, but  there was a problem:  I was attached to all my "stuff." I'd owned a lot of it for a long time. It felt like the items were part of me. (Have you ever felt that way about things?)

The other problem was that all of this "stuff" was getting in the way—and not just because I couldn't walk into the closet. The overload of owning too many things had become a burden to my well-being. I'd tried shutting the closet door so I didn't have to look at the mess, but that only hid the problem. And the problem wasn't the stuff itself—it was my unwillingness to let go of it.

Why do we hold on to things? Does it give us a (false) sense of security? Possibly. Or, do we fear losing part of ourselves when we give things up? Maybe. Or, perhaps it provides a feeling of fulfillment to own or acquire things.      

I knew I had to do something about the mess I'd created. It had gotten in the way of my living space, and it was taking up needed space in my conflicted heart. I'd been collecting too many "earthly treasures" as mentioned in the book of Matthew.

In Matthew 6: 19-21, the Bible warns about excess: 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourself treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  
The last line of the verse gets to me. It's definitely a reminder to be on guard to seek the right kind of treasure.  

Over the next three weeks, I purged the contents of my closet. It took a lot of time and it was hard to do, but I had to be honest with myself. To make a decision about each item, I asked myself if it was something I was really going to use, or was I hanging onto it because I was emotionally attached to it?  I found special things I could hand down to my family. That was fine. But other than that, nearly half of the "stuff" had sat on those shelves unused—or rarely used. 

Letting go of things isn't easy, but one thing that helped was thinking about others who could use the things I'd been blessed to own. And besides, the items were just "things," and things can be replaced.

When I finished clearing out the closet, I was elated to have everything labeled and in its place, and we could walk into the closet again! 

Using my hobby/writing/craft/music room is an inviting space now, where I enjoy working. The clean-up experience was arduous, but resulted in a great feeling of personal renewal. 
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What experiences have you had with the "stuff" in your life? Feel free to leave a comment. Thank you for stopping by. Wishing God's Blessings for your week!

Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com 

Rocks! They're a seemingly natural attractant: kids love to see how far they can throw them, skip them across a pond, use them in play, or save them in a collection. 

When I was nine and on a family vacation in the Rocky Mountains, I was elated when we stopped at a gift shop. I marveled at a long aisle filled with bins of rocks and minerals. 

Eye-candy anticipation kept me glued to the displays as I picked up each colorful rock. I was in awe of the varied shapes and forms: some sleek, some shiny, some muted with variegated streaks and colors, but all unique in appearance.

 Then, I saw it—a glistening, shining rock at the bottom of a bin of small river stones. I picked up the rock, it's yellow-gold slivers gleamed brightly in the light. This was the most beautiful rock I’d ever seen. I'd just found a treasure—surely it was gold!   

Giddy, I excitedly ran over to my father. "I think I found gold, Daddy!” I exclaimed, holding up the rock for him to see. 

He looked at it and smiled. “Sorry, Honey," he said. "It's a very pretty rock, but it's not gold. It's called ‘Iron Pyrite,’ otherwise known as ‘Fool’s Gold.’” He handed the rock back to me.

“Fool’s Gold?” I replied.

“Yes," he said. "It's called Fool's Gold because people are fooled by it's appearance. Just like you, they think it's gold."   

“Yeah. Darn!" I exclaimed. “If only it was gold, because it sure is pretty!"  

“It is. If you'd like it for your rock collection, we can buy it," my father replied.  

I gladly agreed and was happy to go home with the “Fool’s Gold.”

Treasure! Whether young or old, we seek treasure, hoping to find things of great value in our lives. But, sometimes we are enticed by things that appear valuable, but aren't. Like Fool's Gold.  

Some people spend their lives searching for the “wrong kind of treasure." In the Book of Matthew in the Bible,  Jesus has an important message for us about searching for the right kind of treasure: 

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:19-21

A striking part of the verse, to me, is the last line: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  It's a good reminder for us to do a "heart check." Are we seeking the right kind of treasure?

May we be seekers of the true treasure that is found through Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 
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Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com

"Owie, Mommy!" Becky cried after she'd skinned her knee roller skating on our front sidewalk.  

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry. Let's get you fixed up," I unlashed her skates, then led her by the hand to the bathroom, sat her down, and retrieved first aid supplies from the cabinet. 

We'll need to cleanse the 'owie' first, Honey," I said, dabbing at the slightly bleeding wound as tears trailed down my five-year-old's cheeks. "Now, we'll put a little bit of this antibacterial ointment on the band-aid, and now we'll place it on your knee," I said and "threw a kiss" on it for good measure.  

Becky looked down at her bandaged knee, stopped crying, and then looked up at me, her large blue eyes intent as if she was waiting for something more. I knew that look—my child's anticipation, the longing, the want for all that love can supply—more than what a band-aid can provide.  
 
My daughter smiled as I gave her a big hug and held her close. "Is your knee feeling better now, Sweetie?" I asked. She nodded.

"You're not going to let that bad old sidewalk hurt you anymore, are you?" I said with a smile as Becky giggled. "Nope!" she exclaimed, sliding down from my lap. She'd had enough of roller skating for the day and opted to play school with her dolls.  

I was happy that my little girl's "owie" was better. But only if the hurts she'd experience later on in her life could be so easily remedied!    

It takes more than a band-aid to heal some of the things that lie deep within our hearts. However, there is an answer. What about love? Just as the way "love is applied" to a skinned knee, so, too, we can apply love to other hurts in our lives.  

Sometimes we tend to make things more complicated than they should be. However, the answer to the ills that befall us is really quite simple. Might we look up—to the One who created us in His image, to the One who created love. Yes—the immense love God has for us, the love He freely gives to us without condition. All we need to do is ask. The Lord is compassionate, ready, and waiting to comfort us and sooth our hurts and sorrows.  
  
Love—it's so much more than a band aid! 
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"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever should believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16 

​Photo: N. Johnson

A surprise gets your attention, doesn’t it? Perhaps it’s a surprise birthday party, wedding shower, baby shower, or the celebration of a promotion or retirement. Or, maybe you are given a gift you didn't anticipate. Whichever it may be, such surprises put a smile on our faces and bring us joy.  

The wonder of a surprise is the unexpected. On a drive home after vacationing in the mountains, my husband and I enjoyed our stay. We had a nice time away; however, we had other concerns on our minds, including the health of those dear to us and prayers for those who had recently lost loved ones.  

As we came down the canyon, I hardly noticed the scenery as I focused on reading a story.  

"Look!” my husband called out suddenly.

My attention diverted, I lifted my nose out of the  book just in time. Looking to our left, the multi-color hues of a double rainbow stretched across the horizon. To our right, the eye-candy feast of an orange, yellow, and peach sunset cascaded against a backdrop of purple mountain peaks. Bright white billowing clouds touched down, rolling across the desert floor like they belonged there. Then, an opening of blue in a distant cloud poured out a stream of glistening rays of light upon the land.

A few vehicles pulled off the road to watch. God had dabbled in His sky artistry, in a way that only He can do. “Surprise!” He seemed to say, grabbing our attention at the marvelous setting before our eyes. This moment was a gift. We smiled, our hearts filled with joy, as the worries and concerns of the day seemed to instantly melt away. It was as if God's signature was being written across the sky, with His love pouring down upon all creation. 

We usually think of surprises as coming from our friends and family—but they come from God, too. And He is the ultimate gift-giver!  

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What surprises have most touched your heart lately, and how have God's gifts impacted your life? Feel free to comment. 
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“For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 

Photo courtesy of Vecteezy.com