want to live a happy, fulfilled life?

dear emily,

did you know that many studies have shown that people are much
happier, healthier, and live longer if they do just one little, fun thing?

sing in a choir!

singing requires steady aerobic breathing which oxygenates the
bloodstream and releases those 'feel good' endorphins we all know
and love.  the same ones released from eating chocolate but without
any of the calories.

in fact, consistent prolonged singing is great exercise, working the
heart, lungs, back, and abdomen.  i typically lose two - four pounds
during the Christmas season from the additional rehearsals and per-
formances of the season.

for those of you, natasha!, who like to celebrate Christmas longer,
singers begin enjoying the lovely Christmas music in august!

choir members experience sweet camaraderie from the challenge of a
new and difficult song.  we laugh at our hilarious mistakes, and our
spirits soar when we have learned to sing the music as beautifully as
we had hoped.

even the shyest of creatures cannot be lonely in a choir, because the
esprit de corps automatically enfolds everyone.

this lovely lady is 84 years old and sings like an angel.  she's also
sitting by an angel.

love,
lea

"i will sing of the Lord's great love forever."  psalm 89:1

lonely moms?

dear emily,

i just ran into a young mom who wished she had a friend with whom
she could share her heart and struggles.  she said that as much as she
loved her two little boys, they couldn't discuss the issues in her heart
or even fashion, for that matter.  her husband could only answer,
"does this make me look fat?" so many times.

i've also read a few blogs written by some other lonely moms, saying
that they just didn't have time to be with their friends.  no time for
friends?

it is heartbreaking to hear about such loneliness . . . and a little
befuddling.  when my children were little, we met my friends and
their children at the park, the pool, or the church all the time.   once
they began attending 'real' school, it was harder to see my closest
friends, but i made new ones in the basketball stands, and i caught
up with the old ones whenever possible.

is it really harder now for young moms to make new friends or to spend
time with their dear friends?  is it that we are becoming more remote
from each other because of the internet, etc.?

i have the most wonderful, caring, selfless friends in the world, and
cannot imagine my life without them.  i can remember my mom's
best friend laughing in our kitchen over coffee and my grandmother's
helping her to can sandplums.  women are wired for companionship,
and it worries me to imagine our culture without that.

i would love to hear your suggestions to help these lonely moms find
some kinship.

love,
lea

"a friend loves at all times, and is born, as is a brother, for adversity."
proverbs 17:17

all done

whew!  eight hours later, with the help of a sweet little

encourager, i'm done.  

five trash bags, five give away bags,  and countless little trips

hauling stuff  to more appropriates resting places pretty much 

"done me in",  as eliza doolittle would say.

did anyone notice the sign on the right?  one of my favorite sayings:  

"if momma ain't happy ain't nobody happy!"

"come unto Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden."

matthew 11:28

love,

lea

office or homeless shelter?

dear emily,

having just been in your immaculate, beautifully designed home that
serves as the backdrop for four vibrant, imaginative, young children,
i was ashamed to come home to my disarrayed dwelling.   i have no
little ones running around leaving shoes, socks, crayons, or tea party
accessories, and therefore have NO excuse for my mess.

i'm afraid that I am the mess.

here is the proof.  do not be fooled by the facade.  those sweet cows
are covering a multitude of sins.  don't you just love their precious
faces . . .

now that i have fortified my resolve with a hearty helping of straw-
berry shortcake, i am going to dive into that homeless shelter and
throw away, give away, or file away my mess.

i LOVE when my blogger friends reveal their before and after pics,
so here are mine.  please don't judge me . . . pray for me!  in a day
or two, i will reveal THE NEW ORDER!

love,
lea

"she watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat
the bread of idleness."  proverbs 31:27

all 'grilled' up

the afternoon before i left my colorado refuge, i decided to surprise
hans by cleaning his grill.  i have never thought of touching that
thing anymore than he would consider picking up a tube of my
mascara.

"this won't be too bad." i started out with a paper towel and some
windex.  ha ha!  not even a smudge was lifted from the monster.

the grease and grime taunted me.  so did the laughter of  the men
sitting in the pool beneath my porch.  "what in the world are they
doing in there?  why aren't they out fishing or hiking?"

the only solution for that grill was hot, soapy water in my sink.  so
i scrubbed and scrubbed and managed to slop grease all over my
clothes and kitchen.  i got a little fussy.

more laughter from the pool.

"i bet those lazy guys think i'm the cleaning lady.  they better not
ask me to clean their grills . . . if they do, i will just tell them how
expensive i am."

in order for me to clean a man's grill, he has to have been married
to me for 30 years!

love,
lea

"she sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her
tasks."  proverbs 31:17

bruce willis

ok, confession time.  i have a weakness for bruce willis.  i know, it's
embarrassing.  but after he made the film with the autistic boy and the
boy who saw dead people, i just had a soft spot for him.

his silly "die hard" movies seemed to come alive for me after that.   i
mean if a tough guy can be that kind to disturbed little boys and then
beat the 'you know what' out of bad guys, he's my kind of hero.

one Christmas, my son isaac gave me all three "die hards." i ought to
be humiliated by that, but instead i memorized many of the lines.

in "die hard 2" he is having a knock down fight with a bad guy on the
wing of a moving plane (seriously?)   after he receives an especially
mighty punch from bruce, the bad guy says, "i kinda' like you."

willis looks at him for a second and then says, "i got enough friends,"
and then pushes him into the engine turbine.  the moral of the story:
don't let your friends choose you, particularly if they are trying to kill
you.

soooooo inspiring.  :)

love,
lea

"there are friends who pretend to be friends . . ." proverbs 18:24

is it hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk?

it may seem that some of us in the south have been complaining
too much about the heat.  all errands have to be finished by 10:00
a.m., because after that the temperatures are dangerous.  it was 98
degrees at 9:00 p.m. and 105 a couple of hours before that.  cabin
fever is setting in.

yesterday afternoon i was looking out the kitchen window at my
brick porch and thought it was truly hot enough to fry an egg.

"you may have a heart of gold, but so does an egg."

"a true friend thinks you're a good egg even though you're
slightly cracked."  bernard meltzer

"you cannot go on indefinitely being just a decent, ordinary
egg.  we must be hatched or go bad."  c.s. lewis

love,
lea

"how often I have longed to gather your children, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings . . . " luke 13:34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhokcT7HhEo