From My Journal....A Birthday Full of Fun and Surprises

So Friday was my actual birthay,  but the celebration(s) began early.  I firmly believe it takes more than one day to fit in all the fun. Every Wednesday morning, I already have a standing appointment.  I head over to a friend's house where about six of us gather to work with our hands.  To make handmade projects.  To create.  I look forward to this group every week.  We have fun getting to know one another and lend opinions/help on each other's projects. I learn a lot.  Older women teach younger women.  It's God's way and I love it.  It helps, too, that in this case, I'm a younger woman.  Not for long, I presume.


The girls surprised me with a yummy lunch of chicken salad on croissants, an amazingly beautiful fruit salad and this cake.  It's my favorite cake - a Wegmans chocolate cake w/white frosting.  Lots of frosting.


Mmmm mmmm good.  



And some presents.  I love presents too.  Below you'll see one of my favorites.  Well, they are all my favorites.


 Thurday morning started with breakfast out. Is there anything better than a girlfriend breakfast at a diner?  The answer is no.

It seems like each time the three of us get together, our breakfasts get longer and longer.  This week, we ran way into the lunch hour.  I noticed the tables around us being served these yummy things and thought, "That looks like fried dough."  I.Love.Fried.Dough. Maybe as much as frosting.  So I inquired.  Our waitress confessed she had forgotten us and would bring us some right away.  She also said they are complimentary, for everyone.  Well, that works!  And they were good.





Two of us girls were celebrating birthdays and both got gifts in these cute blue canning jars.  Hers was filled with PB buckeyes.  Mine was filled with this.  Yup, it's white frosting.  And yes, I will eat all of it eventually.  Soooo good!  Another reason to love girlfriends!






Later that day, I received this in the mail. 

It requires some explanation.  Saturday I broke a tooth/filling while eating almonds.  One friend said, "that's why you shouldn't eat that healthy stuff".  No.  That's not why.  But it sure hurt so I had to find a dentist asap.  Since moving here just over a year ago, we haven't gone to the dentist yet.  Don't judge.  We'll get to it.  After my examination, it was determined that I need a crown.  That's something new.  To date, most every tooth has been filled, I've had three wisdom teeth extracted, three root canals, a broken tooth that had to be pulled and now this.  I've inherited my father's teeth.  Not a good thing.  I cried when I heard what the bill would be.  I was thankful for ibuprofen 800's after the 2 hour manhandling I received.  So, it was really  nice of them to send me this birthday greeting just two days later.  To refresh my memory of their existence.  Ugh.

 After dinner, Scott and Ally experimented with baking me a cake.  This is a first!  I sort of created a recipe for them and laid out the ingredients.  Spice cake with the Pioneer Woman's favorite white frosting and heath bars all crunched up between layers and on top.  Doesn't that sound yummy?  I like to see men and children working in the kitchen.

Because my oven is whacky, the cake was a little overcooked.  Tiime to be creative.  No one wants a dry cake.  So, I suggested we poke holes and drizzle caramel topping on the layers.  A good decision.  Assembling and frosting would take place the next day.

I'm so proud of them!







Friday morning I woke up to a sleepy "Happy Birthday" from my husband.  Then I remembered I had left this pile undone the night before.  There is always laundry to do.  Even on birthdays.  So, this was my first order of business.  From chaos to order.  This makes me happy.

 Next, I headed for a cup of coffee and my priority spot every morning.  Here's the favorite gift I told you about earlier. Isn't that the cutest mug ever? And yes, it has a chicken on it. Well, maybe it's a rooster.  Regardless, I hope it's prophetic.  There's no better way to start off a birthday than with your Maker and His Word.  After all, if it weren't for Him, there'd be no birthday.

After the kids were off to school, I got ready and headed here to meet another favorite friend for breakfast.  You can imagine it was delicious.  The perfect day to splurge on pancakes. Loved it.  Loved the company more.  A great start!

 

By the time I got home (because we chatted a while and then shopped of course), it was time to get Scott and head to pick up Ben for his Friday Last Days of High School Lunch Out.  Ben and I decided lunch out every week was a good way to celebrate these last months until graduation.  A new eatery every time. We tried out a local pizza parlor this week.  The guys had pizza slices and I had this amazing calzone.  Worth every bite.




I was pretty tired by then (all day birthday celebrations can wipe a girl out), I headed to my chair with a warm corn bag and worked on my Bible study homework.  It was the perfect thing to do on a rainy afternoon until the kids come home.

Along with reading messages from Facebook all day long.  It's so good to hear from friends we don't get to see much or ever.


 I greeted the kids at the door and discovered surprise guests!

This couple is so important to us.  We have loved them for many years, but this last year especially they have demonstrated an amazing commitment of friendship to us.  They bless us over and over again.  They are God's gift to this family.  And they drove down here from Syracuse to bring me a gift!

Had it been warmer out and not raining, I imagine they would have challenged us to a game of putt-putt golf.  They kill all five of us every time we play.












Back to the kitchen for these two....time to frost the cake.  They did a great job and it was delicious!!



Scott then took me out to dinner to my favorite authentic Chinese restaurant.  We ordered the same thing we have EVERY time we go. Black pepper chicken in sesame oil and shrimp in black bean sauce.  A.m.a.z.i.n.g.  We ate almost all of it.  Still, I felt guilty for leaving the kids home alone.  What kind of mother leaves her kids on her birthday?

Scott assured me they would be fine.  I wondered what they would eat, but they all pushed me out the door.  I should have been suspicious. I hurried us home so we could spend the rest of the evening with them.  On the way, I whined, "Almost 200 facebook messages today, but none from Drew (my college son)."  Even his girlfriend texted me first thing in the morning.  I no sooner said it then pulled into the driveway where his car was parked.  He didn't forget!!  Instead he surprised his mom and came home.  Yes!

And if that wasn't enough.....my living room was filled with people I love.  I mean filled.  A surprise party!!  Another first for my husband and kids.  They did a great job keeping it from me!  As I gazed around the room with that silly grin on my face, I gave thanks to God in my heart for filling my life with these people.  A year and a half ago, I didn't know even one of them.  Now I can't imagine life without them.  Scott and the kids outdid themselves in the food department too. There was a lot of frosting.  And party mix.  And presents.  It was a good night. 

 I go to sleep a very happy woman.  When it comes to the things that matter, my life is full and quite satisfactory.  A blessed life. 

An Armful of Gifts for an Undeserving Woman

There's a passage in Luke 5 that speaks to my heart this morning.  Jesus was about to choose his first disciple.  His name is Peter.  Jesus found Peter in his boat with empty nets - no fish caught that day.  Jesus did a little teaching at the site and then told Peter to go ahead and put the nets in the water again.  Skeptical, Peter did what he was told.....obedience in spite of unbelief.  He didn't believe he'd get any fish, but he believed in the One who gave the order.  Of course, a miracle happened.  There were more fish than two boats could handle.

Here's my favorite part.  When Peter saw the fish, he turned to Jesus, fell on his knees and said, "depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

Ever felt that way?  When you look right into the face of God's goodness and recognize how much you don't deserve it?  I'm feeling like that today.  It's like I have an armful of gifts, given to me from the One who is over-the-top generous, the best giver of the most perfect gifts (James 1:17).

Has He given because I deserve it?  No.  Because I've believed or obeyed?  Maybe.  Because of who He is?  YES!  Because He wants to delight His children?  YES!  Because He is for me (us)? Definitely!

Take a look at what fills my arms today...

• Two of my kids are in the Dominican Republic on a mission trip they shouldn't have been eligible to go on.  They are fully financially funded.  I get to see pictures of them and their team at work everyday.
  
• My husband finds himself unemployed (for the 2nd time in 6 months) and we:  1. have received an overage check from our escrow account.  2. our mortgage payment is decreased a significant amount.  3. our kids are given spending money for their trip beyond what they need. 

• 2 days later, we are invited to join friends down south for a mini-vacation.  Scott drops everything to drive us 700 miles one way for 4 days. 

• Our hosts treat us like family.  We eat abundantly.  We laugh and enjoy friendship. 

• We spend a few days on the ocean, overwhelmed by God's vastness, reading His Word and listening for His voice. 

We are refreshed.

•  I get to put my pale winter skin in the warm sunshine in April. 

• Friends text me and make me laugh all the way home because I'm bored from sitting in the passenger seat for hours and hours.  

• On the way home we drop in on our college son (and 2 more cuties) and kiss that face we love so much. 

• I come home to an opportunity this weekend to minister with one of my heroes and share God's Word and my experiences with over 100 women.

As I look at all these gifts that have been heaped in my arms, I am like Peter, whirling around to acknowledge the giver of all these gifts.  I look into the eyes of Jesus.  I am immediately aware of how undeserving I too am.  I've disappointed Him (and myself) too many times.  And my response is also like Peter's, "Go away from me, I am a sinful (wo)man."  I don't deserve these gifts.  I can't handle His glory.  I don't deserve anything but punishment.  He's simply too good for me.

But I don't see condemnation in His eyes.  I see the warmest smile.  What I see there is love. Love for me.  How can He love me so much when He knows me so well?  I also see delight.  Like how I look at my kids on their birthdays or Christmas morning when I'm about to give them gifts that I took much time picking out because I know it will speak how great my love for them is. 

It's true I don't deserve any of God's gifts but I am no longer rejected or condemned by my sin past, present or future.  Because of Jesus' death, resurrection and sacrifice for me, I am now in His family. His daughter.  He loves me.  He is for me.

So I choose to accept the gifts, run to Him and say "thank you" over and over and over again.  I will never run out of praise.

"We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next.  In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged.  Quite the contrary - we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!"  Romans 5:3-5

Sweet 16

Birthdays have a way of reminding us that another year has passed.  Another year closer to our kids growing up and leaving the nest.  Another year we can't get back.  Stink.

Sixteen years ago today I gave birth to our, as my sister-in-law Chris described, "baby girl Scott".  Truly, she is a Burtis when it comes to looks - and that's not a bad thing.  She is a vanilla just like her Dad. That means just what you might think it does.  Last year on her birthday I wrote a post that included pics of her through the years - you can read that here if you missed it.

Sixteen feels like a milestone year.  Not really a little girl anymore, more like a young woman.  Still, she's my baby.  She hasn't tired of cuddling up with me or sitting on her Dad's lap.  She's eager to grow up, but exchanges some "baby talk" with us from time to time.  I think she has this notion to get her learner's permit soon.  Not sure if we're ready for that!  I'm thankful for much growth in her recently physically (she's taller than me), emotionally and spiritually.  I love her so much.

Girls are different than boys, it's no secret.  Ours is so much fun.  She laughs loud and she loves loud.  She doesn't think she's funny yet brings the party wherever she goes.  She's miles past her brothers when it comes to social skills.  She would ask a store clerk for help when she was 10 - the boys still struggle with that.  :)  And she cries at the most tender things.  She compliments me on my clothes (then borrows them), tells me often how much she loves me and will text me her cuteness all day if I keep it going.  I dig that.

Tonight she leaves for her first missions trip.  Who could've guessed back on March 28, 1997 that this is how she'd spend her 16th birthday?  Not me, but we wouldn't have it any other way. What a gift from God!  She will be in the Dominican Republic for 9 days serving, learning, growing.  Feel free to pray for her, her brother Ben, and the other 40 team members if you feel so inclined.  Their adventures and prayer requests will be posted on the team blog here.

I thank God everyday for giving us a girl to dress up pretty after five years of denim and blue.  I thank God for giving us this little girl.  Don't forget Ally, just like the poster on  your bedroom walls says, "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.  They are plans for good and not for evil to give you a future and a hope."  Jer. 29:11

And this too..."He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." Phil. 1:6

Jesus loves you.  He is for you.  Daddy and I love you and we are for you.  No matter what.

The Silly Side of Easter

As previously posted on my Facebook page, I am a big fan of Easter candy.  Have you noticed how these wonderful treats are only available this time of year....cadbury eggs, malted milk eggs, white chocolate bunnies, different kinds of jellybeans and all sorts of marshmallow eggs?  So good!

Some years back, as the kids aged, I stopped making individual Easter baskets for them.  Not because I'm against Easter baskets, per se, though I do believe it's become quite commercialized and over-the-top as a gift giving holiday.  I stopped just to consolidate.  So what I tend to do now is make one big family basket loaded with our (my) favorite candy.

Last year, I waited until the Saturday before the Big Day, and was astonished to find certain items SOLD OUT.  Unacceptable.  I couldn't risk it this year, so went out shopping today.

You can imagine my delight when in the first store I was greeted with this....

 and then this!!!

 Oh my...where to begin?

With all these choices, you'd think I'd "seen it all", but no!  I was after one particular item that I first discovered last year but had not yet seen this Spring.  No worries, with the help of a friend, the chocolate mousse peeps dipped in chocolate were located in Johnson City!  Yahoo! 

 Not tried them yet?  Don't delay - they're better than you might think.

With all those choices....this is what I came home with.  Jealous?  Come on over.  I share, mostly.

When Everything is Everything

I've spent this entire day reading, praying and studying for an upcoming speaking event where I will tackle the subject of Surrender.  I've stumbled across so many encouraging thoughts.  I just have to share them with someone!  I wonder if this speaks to you....

"When Jesus isn't our everything, our enough, we pursue every other thing that fills.  Just like the rest of the world.  But Jesus says we're not to live like everyone else.  Our lives should be different, marked by fearlessness and bold belief.

Consider His words: "Don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat?  What will we drink?  What will we wear?'  These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.  Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need."  (Matt 6:31-33)."*

I.Needed.That.Today.

When He's our everything, we have everything.

Promise me this - never ever doubt His love and care.  I won't either.

P.S. All these promises were solidified by Jesus' finished work on the cross and we get to celebrate that in just a few days!


*Everything  by Mary DeMuth