Author Archives: explorenewness

a NEW awareness of gratitude – Day 4

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grateful

Happy November 4th! I am grateful for Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches…for fresh, ripe peaches (enjoyed with milk and sugar – especially the peachy milk – drank from the bowl when all the peaches are gone)….and for turkey with cranberry sauce (Thanksgiving dinner – I love you! :o).

Have a great day! Find something NEW to be grateful for!

Miscellaneous Monday…NEW stuff i gotta share

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haybalessign

Happy Monday and Happy Halloween!

I’m serious craving some hot, spicy, apple cider! My taste buds are going crazy for some! So tonight while all the little goblins are intermittently ringing my doorbell and yelling Trick or Treat, I’m going to have to make a batch.  I don’t know where my regular recipe is, so I had to google for some.  Here’s a couple I found:

cider(source)

cider2(source)

Don’t they look YUM!!!

So…it’s Halloween.  That means it will soon be Thanksgiving. And THAT means Christmas is right around the corner! I gotta get busy! Last year, I made about 200 homemade Christmas cards for the college students my husband works with through our church. It seemed like a simple design!  It seemed like a good thing to do. But yikes! Making 200 cards took some serious chunks of time out of my month!  So, this year, I’ve decided on a really simple design. Whatdayathink? Pretty easy, right?

cmascard

And lastly, I probably shouldn’t share my NEW awareness of my uneducated naivety, but I guess I will. You know, I’ve witnessed a least a half-dozen live performances of different pieces from La Boheme through the years.  I have loved the dramatic swells of the music…I’ve appreciated the technical difficulty of the music and the range the singers had to master…I’ve enjoyed the aria immensely!  But – it wasn’t until I went to see the entire opera (with sub-titles) that I learned that Musetta’s Aria wasn’t the serious, dramatic love song that I always thought it was. Am I the only one that has been mislead and thought this piece was a “serious” piece? The music is so….so dramatic and serious-sounding. I was totally laughing at myself when I learned the lyrics were so flippant! Yes, I’ve been duped all these years.  Silly, naive, uneducated me!

Want to listen?  HERE is Musetta’s Aria (without sub-titles) and  HERE is Musetta’s Aria (with sub-titles) – Be sure to watch the one w/out sub-titles first! :o)

Have a great day! Do or learn something NEW!

a NEW Thursday thought

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pumpkinsandtractor

Happy Thursday! Here’s a couple of Thursday thoughts.  The first, although true enough, seemed somewhat depressing, so I added another.

In the chequered area of human experience the seasons are all mingled as in the golden age: fruit and blossom hang together; in the same moment the sickle is reaping and the seed is sprinkled; one tends the green cluster and another treads the wine-press. Nay, in each of our lives harvest and spring-time are continually one, until Death himself gathers us and sows us anew in his invisible fields. – GEORGE ELIOT

The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest. – WILLIAM BLAKE

Have a great day! Learn or do something NEW!

 

Miscellaneous Monday…NEW stuff i gotta share

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waspnestinautumn

Happy Monday!

As is my typical Monday tradition, here’s my weird, miscellaneous photo of the week.  Yeah…what can you say about a wasp’s nest?…not much!  And, really, not anything nice.  Who likes wasps anyway? No.One.Right?  So, we’ll get onto other randomness:

Here’s a podcast I really enjoyed listening to a few weeks ago: Flipping the Gratitude Switch.  Great advice for all of us!

What I’ve read lately (one for my book club and one for work):

jaminn leadership

The library where I got Jamaica Inn, also had Alfred Hitchcock’s movie based on the book.  So, I got them both at the same time and watch the movie after I finished the book.  Well, I admit I slept through most of it!  It was VERY loosely-based on the book.  Very cheesy! But what can you expect from a 1939 film, right?  I’ll just say, the book was SO much better than the movie!

And lastly, I’ll just let you know I tried a NEW way to grocery shop!  The best thing is that I saved time AND I went shopping right after a gym-workout, so I was really sweaty and gross – but didn’t even have to go into the store!  I’m talkin’ about Walmart’s Pickup Service.  I’ve only done it once, but plan to make it a habit. It will force me to make my weekly menu (something I was so good at when my boys were little – but sadly, not anymore). I can buzz right over to the store after I workout, then come home and be productive!

Well, that’s about it for this week’s randomness.  Have a great day!  Do or learn something NEW!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a NEW photo of my week and a short Sunday sermon

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roseandironfence

Happy Sunday!

For today’s short sermon, I’ll share a story I recently heard about prayer:

A grandfather was visiting his son’s family and one evening after dinner and homework, the grandfather climbed the stairs with the grandson who was on his way to his bedroom to get ready for bed.  The grandfather said, “Remember to say your prayers”.  The grandson replied, “Oh, I always say my prayers. I never forget!”.  Since the grandson was so emphatic, the grandfather decided he’d stand outside the door and listen. The 5-year old grandson proceeded to vocally say his evening prayer. He thanked his Heavenly Father for various things. He asked for various blessings.  Then at the end of the prayer, this 5-year old said, “Now, Heavenly Father, is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

What a good example to us! We need to remember that prayer is meant to be two-way communication.  We need to ask God what he’d like to tell us – and then listen!

Have a great day! Do or learn something NEW!