my superpower

dear emily,

i have a new superpower,  but you may be wondering, "what are her
old superpowers?"  uh huh.

my new superpower is invisibility.   can you possibly imagine how
convenient this might be?   i could slip right in front of any line in whole
foods, AMC theaters, or the bank.    heck, i could rob the bank, and no
one would see me.

i'm as see-through as the very air i breathe . . . unless i'm under water.

it has been a gradual disappearance, so it only dawned on me recently
that i have become invisible.    a small disclaimer, though:   i am not
invisible to everyone.  for some reason, children can still see me.   they,
of course, have their own superpowers..

my secret?   skip the lipstick and tuh dah!   invisible.

oh the power,
lea

"so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.   for
what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  1 cor. 4:18

blessing and sorrow

dear emily,

my friend patricia and i were discussing the random nature of blessing,
wealth specifically.   this is an uncomfortable subject for me, because
i like to pretend money is like the leaves of a tree, available to whom
ever reaches their hand to pluck it.   that, of course, is fiction.

one can't really think about blessing without a nod to its sister, sorrow.
remember when 'much afraid' (hind's feet on high places) is bound to
her new friends, 'sorrow' and 'suffering?'   shudder.   they were truly
friends and protectors, though.

why do some have a bucket of blessing, and others a hayfield of sorrow?
heck, if i know, but this i do know:     how we respond to either is the
spoonful of sugar.

there are innumerable non-fiction stories about men of great fortune
who dithered it all away . . . along with wives and children.    there
are also accounts of women who endured great suffering and through
it blessed many.

oswald wrote today that if we yield through the fires of sorrow to the
Man of sorrows, "God will make us nourishment for other people."

feast on me, baby!

love,
lea

"He was . . . a Man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering."  is. 53:3

spinach pesto turkey sandwich

dear emily,

i have really been trying to replace bad fats and sugars with good fat
and VEGETABLES.   aaargh.   i just can't make myself eat enough
of those nutrient rich foods, so i've had to be creative.   for instance,
instead of slathering mayo and mustard on my sandwich today, i made
a spinach pesto with coconut oil.

think that sounds gross?  well, you're wrong.   it was delicious and full
of good fat and green veggies.   "i'm dreaming of a" whole grain pasta
and vine ripened tomatoes drizzled with this yummy pesto.

while i wrote those two puny paragraphs, my husband just ate half of
my sandwich.   here's the super easy recipe:

an entire package of baby spinach
3 garlic cloves
1/2 cup parmesan
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. apple cider vinegar
1 T. honey
ground pepper
1/4 c. coconut oil
tiny dribble of olive oil as a token to normal pesto

squoosh it into your food processor and season to taste.

you're gonna' love it,
lea

"the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."  psalm 24:1

PG-snake

dear emily,

several weeks ago, a good friend and i were hiking around turkey
mountain.   in our neck of the woods, you don't really hike UP
anything, because everything is so flat.   we rounded one bend and
stepped over a grass snake.   i felt obligated to scream like a school
girl, since i did go to school once.

my friend said, "don't worry about it, it was just a grass snake."  i
thought, "is there really such a thing as 'just'  a ANY snake?"

i lost all the endorphins i had gathered from the hike and put the last
of my energy into scanning back and forth along the trail like a drone
searching for terrorist snakes.

sure enough, we ran into another harmless grass snake.

"he is more afraid of us than we are of him." (friend)

"really?   well, why is he staring us down like he wants to make the
first strike?"  now, a spoiled princess, i begged to turn around and
go home.   "that was a bad grASS snake."

love,
lea

"now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field."
genesis 3:1

struck down but not forsaken

dear emily,

a week ago our state faced the military grade assault of an F-5 tornado.   the
loss of life, possessions of life, and way of life can not be measured.   those
who endured the battle will count their days as BT and AT, before and after
tornado.

our children have a friend who is a firefighter and first responder.  he didn't
come home for five days and will most likely suffer from the same post
traumatic stress as our finest marines.

the question, "why?" has been fired at the heavens like puny artillery.

i don't deny anyone the right to "why?" and have felt it bubbling up in my
own heart, as well.   the response i keep hearing is, "why not?"

so stark, harsh, and cruel, that.

this earth is a hostile place, doling out earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes,
diseases, war, and tornadoes.  Jesus spoke about a tower that fell on 18
men, admonishing us to be greatful that it did not fall on us.

"we are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed;  perplexed, but not in
despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned;  struck down, but not destroyed."
2 corinthians 4: 8,9

love,
lea

make way for goslings

dear samara,

several weeks ago a gaggle of geese descended upon the 'island' by
our lagoon.   their graceful long necks and soft grey feathers were
beautiful.   i thought that surely swans could not be lovelier and was
sad when they flew away.   hans said that he wouldn't miss all the
honking.

we were strolling along the grounds last night and noticed two of the
geese had remained with a surprise.   six surprises!   can you guess?
yep, six fluffy grey goslings.   they reminded me of your baby chicks
but with longer necks, and i haven't heard any chirping.

google image

today they walked up the big hill and around all ten acres.   can you
imagine?   their little legs must have been so tired.   i followed them
down to the lagoon, while the goose (mommy) and the gander (daddy)
took turns watching me.   i wished you were with me to see how cute
the goslings were, imitating everything their mom and dad did.

i hope that if i visit them a few times each day and leave them a present
of bread crumbs, then maybe they will let me get closer.   what if the
geese return every year?   then i might call myself a grandgoose.

miss you,
lea

"the birds of the sky nest by the waters . . . "  psalm 104:12

just do it.

dear emily,

i'm preaching to the choir here, because you are the 'fittest' person i
know, but you will look up someday and be 20 years older.    that's
when you will thank yourself for keeping your body in shape.

speaking of shape, my trainer (and great friend) was bemoaning how
many women our age have just let themselves evolve into a 'soft' pear
or apple shape.   fruit should only be smooshy in a pie.

it is harder to work out now, i admit.   sometimes my hip or back
aches, but that's no excuse.    there is always something i can do to
get my heart rate up and my muscles working.

someday, i want to be the grandma who throws a football to her
grandson and plays on the floor with her granddaughter.    how can i
do that if i don't strengthen my arms and legs now?

i will sit in the rocking chair with my great-grandbabies.

love,
lea

"therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees."   hebrews 12:12