I will let you in on a little secret…I did not choose my new name…
But I have no Doubt who gave it to me!
Beloved…
Author: Wiwohka
I am a work in progress, disclaimers out the wazoo, and few that I can truly call ones who love me for me. Don't know why and I am done trying to figure it out or care...I am flawed, loud, a force of nature, but underneath there is a soul...I hope you take the time to see her.
Chocolate?
Of all the LIFE INTERRUPTUS going around, it seems, why would writing a blog about chocolate be something I focus on? Hmmm…well, as much as I do like chocolate, and I do have some go to sweets, I can actually go without it for the most part.
I do have some random funny memories of chocolate, and I guess if one can ask me randomly about my chololate love, I can answer with randomly funny memories. At least that is what I am telling myself, as I sit here typing this.
I do remember eating a whole bag of Riesen chocolates, in one sitting, nearly causing myself to founder…don’t judge, I am proud of my accomplishments in chocolate and caramel.
I remember teaching my kids how to play poker and blackjack using m & ms as our different money currencies, and then we could eat our winnings. Not as fun as it sounds, since, by the time we were eating our winnings, they had passed through the sticky fingers of three little card cheaters.
I remember making, what others refer to as the best chocolate chip peanut butter cookies ever! I used to make a triple batch to sell at the church bake sale, and every time someone asked for the recipe, I told them that if I told them, I would have to kill them. Not kidding!
The last memory worth sharing is the one where I thought my husband had poop on his side and on the back of his shirt one morning, until he reminded me of our chocolate chip party from the night before, with a disgusted look on his face saying, “If you thought it was poop, why did you stick your finger in it, ugh”!
I guess this might be the reason that WordPress gave the chocolate question. Sometimes, what we think is something silly, or even oddly placed, can in fact be an opportunity for ideas. Who know, but I am happy to have made the effort to ponder and find an applicable answer, that isn’t more than a list of edible morsels.
I, personally, am walking away from this excercise with two stories for my monday posts, a feel good about making some other reader smile, and an overpowering urge to dump half a cup of Hershey Chocolate Syrup into my morning coffee…
To Be a Flower…
I dreamt of being a flower, blooming and then fading away… Perhaps the fragrance I leave behind will remind you of Him…
Investigating Truths…
Episode 9
Reflections from my daily read…
I will admit that as I am a creature of habit, I make an effort to spend at least a few minutes each day in the Bible. Some days I might get into a really good part and end up reading for hours. Life, weather, attitude, and a host of other scenarios can play out on any given day to have an effect on this creature’s habits!
If my time in the word becomes lacking, it can begin to unsettle other aspects of my day, mainly my writing! I will admit that my life is as far from organized as is possible, but for the most part, I am acclimated to chaos on a daily basis. I am guessing this to be the reason that my morning read is so necessary for carrying me through to the morrow. I have had to establish some attitude adjustment practices, to keep things in a healthy perspective.
As you may have guessed, I am going to be using the Bible as my Attitude Adjuster! Everyone has, at least once in their life, been lectured about how fortunate they should be for what they have, so I am not going there at all…quite frankly it makes me wanna throw up in my mouth a little, with each ignorantly gifted piece of advice, given from a place of comfort. Trust me, those with their face in the dirt, do not need others to point out that at least we have a toothbrush to get the dirt out of our teeth. What I am able to do, however, is reflect on the lives of those in the Bible. If Paul could write countless letters and passages in scripture, often from within a prison cell, I aspire!
Unlike Paul, I am blessed with a means to write down anything and everything from the comfort of my chair, clicking Save and Share willy nilly, with all the modern writing tools readily available. Try imagining how long and painstaking it must have been for anyone to write down and record information back then, let alone get it out on the wire to those in need. If you wanted to like or respond to anything Paul said, you would have to put your shoes on, pack your bag for a long journey, and hope you arrive before winter. If you wanted to let him know that you were coming, you had to either send a letter many months in advance, or just show up and hope he was located where you planned to visit.
By comparing myself to those who came before, I am simply sharing a method of thought that helps me place things into perspective. This is the place I go to bring back a sense of gratitude for what I do actually hold within my grasp. If I dwell on actual stuff in my hands, well, it does not help keep a healthy attitude. What I can attest to, is the fact that I am here…I have not starved to death, nor am I walking around naked, for which you can thank me!
If men and woman of biblical times could lead full lives in Christ Jesus, then for goodness sake, so can I!
We walk by GRACE…
I may not have what the world views as “much”…
But, God’s Grace does and will continue to sustain me!
I will never forget you Ralph…
I have been a fan of Beverly Cleary since I was a small child. I read most of her books, but the most vivid memories come from one book alone… Runaway Ralph! To this day I can picture a tiny mouse on a miniature motorcycle driving across the furniture. Once I was an adult and a mother, guess where we spent many a night storying it? Ralph and I found great joy in expounding on details of his little bike, things he was doing, or places he drove his set of wheels. I loved seeing the story come alive in my girls eyes. Thank you Beverly…
Investigating Truths…
Episode 8
Looking Up!
Believe it or not, this flower is actually a good three feet above my head! I would not have even noticed it, had I not paused for a moment to rest my aching back. I am not sure that I want to go as far as to say that I am glad I injured my back. But I can certainly appreciate the lessons gained from my recovery process. One of those lessons is that I need to slow down!
I learned to slow down both physically, as well as mentally. In the physical realm, too much of a good thing (walking) is never healthy without taking the time to make sure you are capable of pacing yourself. I am learning to slow my walking down, and also to take days off for a refuel. Selecting regular days to rest is something I have to force myself to do. Mentally, I think it is also very necessary to do the same thing…
Take a day off!?!
While realizing that it can be difficult, it’s so very necessary that we take a mental day off, once in a while! You know, shut the brain door… close the shutters to our internal house windows.
I hope you weren’t’ expecting me to expound on the mental day off, as there are too many self-help resources that have already saturated the market on this subject. Actually, I am not even going to spout anything useful in the physical activity department. I just like to “walk” you into an insight I’ve gained, rather than just throw it at you like a water balloon.
Beauty and goodness are all around us! Each and every day, the sun rises to reveal these things. It carries on toward darkness, til it’s replaced by the rising of the moon. Over and over, again and again, this happens. We’re given so many opportunities to see and experience all that God’s created just for our pleasure and enjoyment.
My insight, if you have not already figured it out, is this: Slow down, and take the time to LOOK UP!
Keepin it simple…
One would imagine that a writer would have a list longer than ones arm, readily available to regail you with insightful pearls of wisdom. Ya….No! Don’t get me wrong, I am a writer and I have read enough books to fill a small library. And trust me, I have many things I could pull from them to impress.
What I will do, is share my three favorite books with a quick why attatched. No fancy bells or whistles...
Hinds Feet on High Places by Hanna Hannard – It brought home to me who God was, to me, at a very delicate time in my life.
The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis – For me, this book was almost a preparatory step towards my salvation.
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman – This book not only opened my eyes in how to love my girls, it has shaped how I try to fulfill love in others, children and adult alike. For me, this book was a life changer!
Talk about the GOD…
Yup! I am just going to fling it out there! I used to fear being laughed at, judged, turned away from, and the like, if I had the balls to stand up for Jesus!
How did I overcome it, you ask? I got brave…
How did I get brave? I got serious about speaking the truth…
How did I get serious? I burned out…
I burned out in the church, I burned out as a mother, I burned out being a plaything to others…
Then I quit! I told God to screw off!
I ran into the wilderness, where no one knew His name so I need not speak of Him…
I found myself in a place where the only name that would come to my lips was His…
The enemy knew His name, just as I did…
When I shouted out of my God, the earth shook and the enemy fled…
I am a terrible judge of character in people and it has cost me almost all of ME…
I speak the name of God everywhere I go, because if you stay, then I feel safe in His name, His presence…
If I speak of God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit, you should only feel good after our encounter…
If not, then go…
I will still speak of Him for you…
I will stand in the gap…
for HIM!
Do You Remember…
Ahhhhh…… The life of the Homeschooler!
Sooooo, I homeschooled my children for a number of years! There, I said it! I get a mixture of reactions from folks, when I mention this fact. It ranges from an encouraging smile to a distrustful, and often judgemental frown. I am, however, very proud of what I accomplished with my kids! My past is filled with so many fun adventures. There are memories of camping for weeks at a time, trips to endless zooz and parks of this sort or that, and many different arts and educational groups. If nothing else, at least I know that my kids were never bored! As I write about my perspective on this subject, I also realize that my kids may not have entertained the same pleasant recollections as I did.
The other morning, while enjoying my morning coffee and music, I was pondering this different viewpoint. I can tell you for certain that I hated at least 3 different hairstyles my mom made me wear! I also have a plethora of stories recalling my perceived trauma at the clothes I was forced to wear, and to some of the most embarrassing moments I had to be a part of (western pictures with my parents) …it was aweful!
With fresh memories in my head from my own childhood, I perused the memory storybooks I keep of my homeschooling adventures. I was able to revisit some events that I realize my kids probably cringe at, each time they remembered. There were a good number of memories, however, that restore my faith in believing I did right by my girls. Here is one in particular that I thought you might find humorous…
It had been a pretty nice morning so far. With the classroom workbook session finished, I sat in my office with a cup of coffee, having sent the little ones outside to play in the yard. I finished the article I had been reading, and set it down next to my now empty coffee cup. It dawned on me that I had been reading for nearly 20 minutes without interruption…not normal!!! Just as I reached for the front door handle, my oldest was opening it and coming inside. The look on her face was that of guilt, fear, and anger all rolled into one!
Apparently, her sisters had hopped on their bicycles and gone for a bit of a ride. She wanted it to be very clear that she had tried valiantly to block their escape, but was overwhelmed by the treachery, and she had decided to come get me! With that information I grabbed my slippers…yes, I know, wrong shoe choice! Don’t blame me, there was no time…my little hooligans were on the loose…on wheels!!!
I headed down the block at a soft trot…you would think that I would be sprinting, as these were my tiny little vulnerable babies. Why did I not do said sprinting, you may be asking? First of all…SLIPPERS! Besides, I could already hear them singing from 3 blocks away! The hilarious reason I could hear them from such a distance, was due to the amphitheater style baseball field that rested just below our local elementary school! And NO, it was not recess time! The whole of my neighborhood had to know exactly whose little escaped convicts these two were! As I rounded the corner leading into the above-mentioned park area, they were belting out their own version of some childhood song. It was being broadcast loudly across the park by my little Tina Turners. The speed at which their little bikes were racing from the top of the hill all the way down to the bottom was impressive! So was the speed at which their little hind ends raced home to get there before I did!
In honesty, I think my oldest daughters’ lecture and judgement had a bigger impact on them than mine, lol! And lets face it people, my kids are just as wild as I am! Perhaps, more so…
Live Wire…
Daily writing prompt
Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.
I walk…
I try to get out on the trail nearly every day. I walk for a variety of reasons. Aside from the health benefits, it does really provide me with a great amount of joy for such a small effort. I can honestly say that I feel blessed each time I set out.
As I was walking down the path yesterday, I had the sweetest experience and decided to share it with you. I see people on my outings all the time, some days more than others. On this day, coming down the path towards me was a gentleman accompanied by his two young sons. When I say young, I mean they were tiny little guys. The smaller of the two was at the walking age of a tiny drunken sailor. The older boy was not much bigger.
The closer the family got, the more apparent it became that these little adorable bundles knew what a “MeeMaw” looked like. Me! Their smiles got bigger and bigger as I approached. Just as we passed each other, both boys simultaniously shot their arms up and waved at me. Their father graciously slowed, allowing the boys to greet me. I think I probably wore a smile for a good five minutes after we all went our seperate ways.
Sometimes, it really is the little things…
Journey With Me! 