guess who's coming to dinner?

dear emily,

unlike some of my stories, this one is 100% true and kind of funny.

saturday was a a gorgeous evening for a garden party at our local
museum.  the lovely ladies were bedecked in their pretty frocks
and skyscraper heels.  the men wore seersucker suits and dirty
bucks.   some were over-enjoying their cocktails, but that's not
part of this story.

the tables were extravagantly decorated with every shade of
purple flower, from the palest lilac to the deepest magenta lilies.
we were surprised to see two strangers seated at our table, but
found them delightful.

two days later, i received an exquisite bouquet of flowers from
the museum director with a note apologizing for the disappointing
evening.  ???   i couldn't, for the life of me, understand what he
meant, as the garden party had been perfect.   later, i  discovered
that our dinner guests had been party crashers, which hit my funny
bone.

you might think they got a free meal, but really they paid a high
price; they had to talk to us all evening.

love,
lea

ps.  "do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing
so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing
it."  hebrews 13:2

crumbs from the table

dear emily,

i would do many things differently, if i had the chance, but there is
one i would love to do over and over again.

when my children were 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11, i heard about a great
preacher who was to speak at the local Christian university.   as
i always wanted to expose the kids to inspiring men and women,
i purposed to take them.

unfortunately, as we slipped behind the 12 foot high doors of the
chapel, an usher whispered that the service was reserved for the
college students.  crushed, i  remembered the canaanite woman
who begged help for her daughter.

Jesus told her that he "was sent only to the lost sheep of israel. . .
it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs."
(matthew 15: 24, 26)

her reply resounded in my ears, "yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat
the crumbs that fall from their master's table."  (mt. 15:27)  with
renewed courage, i heard myself say, "we won't take a seat from
any student but will just stand in the back."

the preacher was as anointed and full of God's power as any i
have ever heard.  as he closed his sermon, he looked to the back
of the auditorium and asked, "are those children back there?"  for
a moment i was afraid that we would be scolded, but instead, he
said, "bring them up here, so i may pray for them."

pretty sweet crumbs.

love,
lea

ps.  it was brought to me attention that i have already told this
story. . . sheesh.   oh well, chalk that up to old age. . . and get
used to it!

dear emily,

a few weeks ago i found a wonderful blogger who shares some
yummy secrets to adapting 'fake' snacks into healthy treats.  her
simple genius has helped me think outside the box, too.  i would
love to send you to her blog, but i've lost it.  dang.

want to know what else is in your mr. redenbacher's microwave
popcorn?  i don't even know what a couple of these substances
are:

popcorn
palm oil
salt
potassium chloride
butter
natural and artificial flavor
color?
TBHQ??
citric acid

here's the ingredients for your just as easy microwave popcorn:

popcorn
salt, if you want . . .
butter, if you like . . .

pour 1/4 cup popcorn kernels into a paper lunch sack.  fold the
sack over twice, creasing each fold, and set microwave to the
'popcorn' setting.  once your corn has popped, season as you
wish, happy with the knowledge that nothing artificial has been
added to your healthy snack.

yum!

love,
lea

ps.  "dear friend, i pray that you may enjoy good health and that
all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."
3 john 2

i blow dry my feet

if you think it strange that i blow dry my feet, then you must not
know my aunt susan.  she can blow a sunflower seed through a
straw and knock a squirrel plumb off its sycamore branch.   that
used to tickle us kids, because that meant meat for dinner.

aunt susan's sister in law, doris, had special powers, too.  one
time i saw her spit a watermelon seed into the eye of a racoon.
she didn't "cotton to his helpin' hisself to her corn cobs." now
that i think about it, neither did we.

doris' son, my friend jimmy, was a might  'tetched'  but we
loved him just the same.  the baker boys on the south 40 were
afraid of him, which kept them from beating up on us.   which
is why i still have both my arms and legs.

which leads me to my feet.  they get freezing cold, so to warm
them up, i turn the blow dryer on them,  which is the only true
part of this story.

yep,
lea

"oh God, thou knowest my foolishness."  psalm 69:5

hosanna!

hosanna!!!!  i love palm sunday almost as much as easter sunday.
the children waving palm branches and singing, "hosanna!" so
perfectly reflect the big hosanna in my heart.   when we had
little ones, i used to get excited to pull out the resurrection eggs.
they were such a fun way to retell the greatest story ever lived.

as long as i can remember, i have awakened at the crack of dawn
on easter sunday to race down to the church by 7:00 am to begin
our marathon of three celebratory services.  the beautiful hymns
declaring His resurrection are frequently cried instead of sung,
because the message of the cross rings so deep that morning.

we are thrilled to spend this easter in a quieter fashion, away
from home with all our children.  no fanfare, no hats, no trumpets
declaring His praises.  just sweet and simple thankfulness for
His death and joy at His resurrection.

He is risen, indeed!

love,
lea

treasure in a month

dear emily,

it has been one month since i have written a word here, and i am
completely refreshed.  there is an amazing enrichment from rest.
the Lord grafted it into each week, but we seldom take advantage
of it.

the schubert "mass in G" concert went surprisingly well, consi-
dering we were still working out some glitches during our warm
up.   i wanted someone to shoot me right before to put me out of
my misery.  imagine the epitaph:  "her nerves done her in" . . .
or "she died because of the 'mass'. "
 
it was so fun of you to come.  when i would look up and see you
holding that sweet, precious baby, it made my heart sing sweeter.
as i spied shelby suppressing the wiggles of #3, it brought  the
perfect distraction from my nerves.

love,
lea

"My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."
exodus 33:14

plenty of satisfaction

dear ones,

as i mentioned a few weeks ago, my life is FULL right now, so
i'm taking a blogging break.  but, lest you breathe a big sigh of
relief, i am still watching YOU!

i have been feasting on this passage of scripture, since i've been
eating less sugar.

"satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may
sing for joy and be glad all our days . . . may the favor of the
Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands."
psalm 90:14, 17

i pray that your lives will be filled with this satisfaction and His
favor,
lea