The Teacup Bouquet

"What is your favorite flower?"  asked the young man to the young lady who was taking his heart, one moment, one hour, one day at a time. However, life had knocked her around quite a bit in the most recent years and choosing a favorite flower had certainly NOT been on her mind! But, somewhere inside, she knew and gave her answer...it was the rose.  But she did not know why. Was it because they burst fourth, soft and beautiful, on a bush filled with thorns?  Was it because their aroma could permeate the area around them, no matter the poverty and squaller that might be there?  Or was it because they still stretched their beautiful petals upward, even in drought and bright, hot sunshine?  Or was it just that she was captivated by their beauty, array of colors and various arrangements of petals that make the rose such a versatile plant to include in bouquets expressing one's love or condolence?  Or, had she read the legend of the rose in which a young man r...

Sometimes, moments are so precious, sweet, perfect, fun, fantastic, impressive, astonishing or awesome we feel like we'd like to stay in them forever. The other day I thought, " If I could have chosen a moment to stay in for the rest of this life, which one would it be?"                                            Perhaps it would have been the first time my mother held me securely in her arms, in her warm and gentle way, and I looked into her soft brown eyes for the very first time on my birth day, but then I would have missed ......when she let me scrape the bowl of her delicious lemon pie, the taste of strawberries right off the vine at Mr Kamper's , a "poor" old man Momma made pies for because no one else cared enough to make him one...

  If you have a daughter, or someday want children, you need to know something.  First of all, you are beautiful.  God made you precisely and intently and specifically.  Your daughter thinks you are beautiful.  She looks at you with admiration, with trust, with an innocent view.  She thinks you are the loveliest woman she knows.  Take caution with your words in front of her.  "I just need to lose a few pounds", "nothing looks good on me", "I can't go out without makeup on".  Common sayings among women. But your daughter is listening.  She is learning.  She is mimicking.  Ladies, please don't cause your daughter to think that you are not beautiful, radiant, and lovely.  Sadly, she, too, will soon begin to believe what you say about yourself just as much as you believe it.  Sadder still,  eventually she'll probably believe those things about herself.  Teach her self respect, dignity and self worth through your...

I've experienced living but not making memories. And I have experienced loosing memories I once had.  I have felt amazed, even astonished, when folks tell me that things happened that I participated in or of serious decisions I made,  all the while  appearing very cognitive, but having no memory of it when it comes up later in my life.  Thinking further on these situations, it becomes somewhat frightening and very mysterious. Sometimes I feel sorrowful when I don't have the fond precious memories that my family laughs about and enjoys. Sometimes I feel lonely and in my mind I ask, " How can this be?"  But until recently I had no answers for it. Thank God that he has helped me with this and given me some info from a capable neurologist that helps me understand. Now, I see there are so many possible answers to my question, "how can this be?". Here's some possibilities: We're not in the moment . Instead, our ...

As I was eating my Oikos Traditional Greek yogurt for a snack this afternoon, I wanted to know a little more about the nutritional benefits of regular and greek yogurt, so I found this article by Dr. Marybeth Feutz ,  on her site Agricultured, Food Questions Answered It turns out that both Greek and regular yogurts start out with the same ingredients – milk and bacterial cultures. In fact, both types of yogurt even use the same bacterial cultures ( Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus , if you were wondering). The bacteria ferment the lactose (milk sugar) in the milk and produce lactic acid. Different strains of bacteria have slightly different fermentation processes, and have slightly different fermentation products, but the end result is primarily lactic acid. So some strains of bacteria might produce a fermented yogurt that is more acidic, or more bitter, or more sour. After fermentation, the liquid whey is strained off the solid...

"Putting away Christmas"  is always a challenge for me.  I'm sad to return it all to it's storage where it will remain tucked away for the next 10 months.  My 35 or so nativities are lovely out on the shelves as they depict such varying views. Thought you might enjoy viewing my nativity collection. I have several new ones this year that I still need to add, so check back in a few days and hopefully I'll have added the new ones. Sometimes this slide show moves slower than it should.  Please be patient and it will continue...