Thrifty Thursday--Decorative Bottom Springform Pan

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She is like the merchant's ships, she bringeth her food (and other things!) from afar
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went for a drive in the country and somehow ended up at Opelika, Alabama. And since we were in town already, we decided to make a quick stop at Angel's Antiques Mall. (note to self: there is no "quick stop" at Angel's. It's too big and there's too much to see.)



I found this rusted up, tin, what I thought was a jello mold from the 50's or 60's, until I realized...

...that it's a springform pan. So now I don't know if it's an old pan, or just one that somebody didn't care for properly and allowed to rust. I bought it anyway--at $2.00, it still qualifies as "thrifty", although I'm not sure if it qualifies as "vintage".

I did some research on line but I'm still not sure. I found some "non spring form" pans with molded bottoms that were listed as jello mold and cake pans. Then I found one new springform pan with that came with one flat bottom and one decorative bottom, but it had a much more modern flair, more like a bundt cake. Nothing similar to this.

So what do you think? Vintage too, or just thrifty?

I'm linking this post to:

Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady

Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville

Until next time...

Making Prayer a Priority

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom...
• Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Last week I discussed a little bit about different tools and techniques we can use to be sure that we keep our prayer lives balanced so that it doesn't become so me-centered (my needs, my loved ones, my life). We can be schooled in everything from using a prayer journal to making a praise sandwich , but if we don't make prayer a priority, days and even weeks can go by without us sending a single "knee-mail" to the Lord.

So how do we learn to make the time to pray?

Well, for one thing, I think we need to be a little more realistic about it. We can't "make" time. God is the only one who can "make" time, and last I heard, He wasn't giving out any extra, not even for good behaviour! There's not one thing any of us can do to add even a single minute to our day, isn't that awful? No amount of good planning or multi-tasking or delegating can add one single second to our day.

So what's a virtuous woman to do?

She rises while it is yet night...

,,,her candle goeth not out by night

She looketh well to the ways of her household.

And lest you think I'm advocating burning the candle at both ends (I'm not), how about this one for a change "It is vain for you rise up early to sit up late...for so he gives his beloved sleep" (Psalms 127:2)

So, let's see--rise up early, stay up late; don't rise early or stay up late; sleep, don't sleep; make time or take time? It can be confusing can't it?

The truth is, we all have different lives. What works for me may not work for you.

When I was a young girl, learning to pray for the first time in my life, I prayed at bedtime. I turned off my light and knelt beside my bed and prayed for a little while. When I got a little older, I switched to mornings before school. That may not have worked if I'd shared a room, but by that time I did have a room of my own, so for me, it worked.

When I worked outside the home and had a little one, I prayed at night after my husband and son were already in bed.

I went through seasons when most of my private praying was done in my car--during my drive time to work in the mornings, and even sitting in my car during my lunch break.

We all go through busy, if not frenzied, periods in our lives, when we think to ourselves "Oh, if only I had more time..." and yes, we all know that we're all allotted the same number of minutes in day's time. What we really mean is "If only I had less to do to fill my time". Then we'd pray more. Or pray at all.

Right now, I'm a quiet season of my life. I'm not working outside the home. I don't have a little one anymore. We don't have family or friends nearby. I have a lot of time to myself, more time than I've had in years. And even so, I have to make a conscious effort to use that time wisely.

There are so many things, good things many of them, that can fill our days, but as virtuous women we must make prayer a priority.

Years ago, long before I was married myself, I heard a young bi-vocational preacher talking about drifting off to sleep at night after a shift at the plastics plant where he worked, with his kids sleeping in the next room, and hearing his wife praying in the living room.

That's the kind of wife and mother I want to be. I want my family to know the sound of my voice lifted in prayer.

I think about Susanna Wesley, mother of Charles and John Wesley, who gave birth to nineteen children, only 10 of which lived past infancy; who raised and educated her children almost singlehandedly in very trying and poverty-ridden circumstances; who nevertheless spent time each day in prayer, and whose now-famous "apron over the head" signal was sign to her children that mother needed time alone to pray and regroup.

Do you need apron time?

Until next time...

Giveaway Winner--Prayer Journal

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway for the prayer journal! And the winner is:

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

15

Timestamp: 2010-01-25 05:24:52 UTC

#15 is Katelyn of Alia's Fitness Journey

Congratulations Katelyn! She chose journal #2. I'll be sending her an email tonight to get her mailing address.

I appreciate everyone who entered--stay tuned, I may be having some other giveaways of interest soon!

Until next time...

Lord, Teach Us to Pray

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom...

And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray...(Luke 11:1a, KJV)

The first time I ever received any teaching about prayer was when I was eleven years old. I had gotten saved during a revival at the church where I attended Sunday School, and the pastor held a little class for all of us that had gotten saved during the revival. I think I was the only young person among several adults, including my mother. I don't remember a whole lot about what he told us, except that we should pray every day, starting with 15 minutes a day and gradually increasing the time.

The Prayer (or Praise) Sandwich

The next teaching that I remember was in Sunday School, where we learned to build a praise sandwich. We were studying the version of what's commonly known as the Lord's prayer from Matthew 6:9-13. The teacher brought a sandwich to class with meat, cheese, lettuce and tomato on toasted bread, cut in half and held together with toothpicks so that we could see the layers, and we were taught that to build a well-rounded prayer-life we should try to include the different types of things that Jesus illustrated when he told the disciples "pray like this" (my paraphrase!)

• Bread--Praise--"hallowed be thy name"
• Meat--Intercession for the needs of others and the world--"thy kingdom come, thy will be done"
• Cheese--Petition--our needs--"give us this day our daily bread"
• Lettuce--Repentance--"forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors"
• Tomato--Guidance--"and lead us not into temptation"
• Bread--Praise--"for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory"

I used the praise sandwich off and on for years, not necessarily every single time I prayed, but often enough that I used it to check myself to be sure that I wasn't falling into a pattern of just using prayer as a gripe session or "shopping list" of needs.

ACTS

Later I came across a slightly simpler technique, using the ACTS acronym as a reminder:

• A-Adoration (praises to the Lord)
• C-Confession (confessing and repenting of our sins)
• T-Thanksgiving (giving thanks for the Lord's blessings)
• S-Supplication (praying for the needs of ourselves and others)

This is another one that I've used off and on--again, just a tool to help maintain balance.

PART

Another acronym you can use is PART--as in, God is sovereign and will do His part, but I need to do my PART:

• P-Praise
• A-Admit (repentance)
• R-Request
• T-Thanks

Five Finger Prayer

This is one I've read about but never used myself, there are a couple of different versions of it, but the basics are to use your hand as a reminder:

• Your thumb is closest to you, so start by praying for those close to you--family and friends.
• Next is the index or pointer finger. Pray for those who teach—whether at home, school, church or other places
• Next up is your tallest finger. Pray for those in authority over you--government officials, supervisor at work, etc.
• The fourth finger is usually the weakest. Pray for the weak among us--the poor, the suffering, the troubled
• And last is the pinkie, the smallest of the fingers. Use it as a reminder of our smallness relations to God's greatness and glory and spend time praying for our own needs and giving the Lord praise.

This is not deep theological stuff, and isn't meant to be an all-inclusive list of prayer methods and techniques--but they are simple tools that you can use as you pray to kelp keep your prayer time balanced and God- and other-centered, rather that self-centered.

What tools and techniques do you use when you pray?

Until next time...

Tips for Using a Prayer Journal--and a Giveaway

• Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom...

(giveaway is now closed)

Last week I wrote about how I was working to establish new habits. Some of them, like leaving the television off during the daytime, and limiting my computer time, are new habits for me. Others, like spending more time in prayer and Bible study are more an effort to re-establish good habits. As a Christian, and definitely as a "strong and mighty woman of virtue and valour", prayer should always be a priority to me. Even though I now have more discretionary time on my hands than I've had in years, I'm ashamed to say that it hasn't been.

On one level, I can blame it on distractions. Those things I'm working to limit--tv and time on the computer--plus a small city full of restaurants and stores and attractions of all kinds that can definitely keep me busy with all kinds of interesting things.

Even the things that I do for my family--my virtuous things--my frugal shopping, my cooking, my decorating and crafting, my thrifting--and might I dare say my blogging--can take up my entire day and before I know it, half the night as well, and while I've been busy (somedays) or lazy (did I say that?) I haven't done the most important things, vital to the lifeblood of a godly woman. I may even spend a little token time supposedly praying, but often I find my mind wandering, and before I know it I'm off to something else and days have gone by without me really engaging the Lord in prayer.

This week I'm working on a teaching series on prayer, and I hope to share a good bit of that here, but I want to start off with a tip, a tool, and a technique that I utilize that really helps me maintain concentration, and that's using a prayer journal.

1. The most basic way to use a prayer journal is to do just what the name implies--write down your prayers to the Lord. At times I write them as though as I was writing a letter--"Dear Lord, today I really need your help, I'm struggling with x, y, z, please help me to do the right thing..."
2. Other times I list needs that I pray about--problems at work, a friend who's discouraged, or someone who's sick, etc. I use lists as a reminder to pray for the needs of myself and others, and also as a reminder of what I've prayed about. I often flip back through later and notice that many of the needs have been taken care of, and that in itself can be a good reminder to be thankful for answers that have come without me even realizing it.
3. I use my journal to take notes at church of sermons or Bible lessons that I hear, and also of thoughts that I have when I'm reading and studying on my own.
4. I down write my "to-do" or grocery lists. Pause. Yes, I do--in my prayer journal. By that I mean that when I'm praying or reading and a thought pops into my head "We need paper towels. I wonder if they're on sale anywhere this week? Do I have any coupons for paper towels? Where's m coupon binder? I think I'll make taco soup for dinner. Do we have any corn? Taco seasoning--I need to check to be sure we have enough taco seasoning before I drag out everything to start taco soup. I'm hungry, I think I'll make tuna salad for lunch. Do we have any tuna? What about pickle relish? I need to put the clothes in the dryer. And work on my coupon binder. Where is my coupon binder? I'm hungry, what time is it? " When those kinds of thoughts come in and threaten to distract and derail me, I flip my prayer journal open, (if it isn't open already) and I write it down--paper towels, corn, taco seasoning; dry clothes, organize coupons, etc. Then I can redirect my thoughts to where they need to be, knowing that when I'm done and ready to move on the next thing, I won't forget whatever it is that I need to do.

After using several different kinds and styles, I've figured out that my favorite prayer journals are:

• about 8 x 5--small enough to be easily portable, but big enough to be useful
• spiral bound--so I can utilize the whole page all the way to the margin, easily write on both sides of the pages, it will open flat, and I can fold it back without ruining the binding
• pretty--just because I like them
• ones with lined pages--to keep my scrawl halfway straight

I have a pretty pink journal that I'm using right now, but I'm always on the lookout for my next one. I currently have two waiting in the wings, and I'm giving one of them away to help you with your own fresh start toward establishing or re-establishing good habits.

Journal #1

Inside Journal #1

Journal # 1 has pink and green flowers against a pale yellow background with a green leather strip, and has a scripture quote, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" John 15:33 NKJV. The inside is edged with a pink & green plaid design, and has a scripture on one page and an excerpt from a devotional book on the other.

Journal #2

Inside Journal #2

Journal # 2 didn't photograph well for some reason--my lighting wasn't the best--but it's actually a pale green with cute picture on the front of woman enjoying a cup of coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate, your choice!) in a pretty courtyard in front of store, surrounded by flowers. It also has a scripture quote,"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" Psalm 37:4 NIV The inside has a scripture quote on each page.

To enter, just leave your name and email address in the giveaway form, along with a comment telling me which one you'd like to have if you win. This giveaway will be open until Sunday, January 24th at 6:00 p.m., and the winner will be chosen at random.

(Giveaway is now closed)

Until next time...

More "Found" Treasures--White Serving Bowls

• She is like the merchant's ships, she bringeth her food (and other things) from afar
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

( forgive the diet coke can in the corner. oops.)

Remember last week when I shared the pretty little Homer Laughlin plate I found among my dishes that I'd forgotten I had? Well, these are some serving dishes that I knew I had, but I think I'd forgotten how many of them I already have (and I still look at white serving bowls every time I see one.) Some of these I've had for a while, and my memory of where they came from is a bit fuzzy, so I hope I am telling the truth about where I got them.

This bowl belonged to my grandmother, my daddy's mother. When I showed everyone the Homer Laughlin serving bowl I bought recently, I mentioned that while we usually serve our plates straight from the stove, my grandmother always put everything in bowls and platters and put them on the table, even for an everyday meal. She had a variety of different sizes and shapes of bowls, all of them white or off-white. Some of them patterned, most of them plain, but always with a white or cream background. I'm not sure if it's one of her older ones or a newer purchase, there's no marking on the bottom, but it definitely has a history.

I think this one came from the Salvation Army thrift store in Colorado Springs. It's from J&G Meakin, there are several different patterns that go by the name "Lifestyle", all of which seem to have the speckled look with the brown rim. Some are plain, like this one, some sets had flowers on them as well. I can find lots of these on e-Bay, etc, but can't find anything that tells me when these patterns were made. I would guess 70's, if you know, be sure and leave a comment!



This one was bought at the same time as the one above, again we think at the Salvation Army thrift store in Colorado Springs when we lived there a few years ago. It has no marking, so I have no idea of the pattern, maker, or age, but...

...I noticed when I was taking pictures that it's the same pattern, although a different size as the one that came from my grandmother. Apparently not used as much, though!

And last but not least, another with no marking, but one of my favorites, this one came to me through a little church in southwest Louisiana. We were cleaning out a storage area and found a bunch of stuff left over from a rummage sale, so we pulled everything and out and let everyone just take what they wanted before the rest was hauled off to the dump, and I got this.

I think I see a definite pattern here, don't you?

This post is linked to:

Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville

Vintage Thingie Thursday at Colradolady

Three-or-More Tuesday at The Gypsy's Corner

Until next time...

Book Review--Chicken Soup for the Soul, Devotional Stories for Women

• Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness

I was recently given the opportunity to review a new devotional book for women, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Devotional Stories for Women: 101 Daily Devotions to Comfort, Encourage and Inspire Women, brought together by Susan Heim and Karen Talcott.

The forward to the book is a very touching testimony by Jennifer Sands, a 9/11 widow and cancer survivor.

Then the introduction quotes two of my favorite scriptures--John 16:33, where Jesus tell us "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world". I can't tell you how many times in years past I held on to that promise. And of course Proverbs 31--"Who can find a virtuous woman?" (They quote a version that says 'woman of noble character'.)

The main part of this book is 101 devotionals, each with a scripture, short story, and brief prayer. Each of these is written by real women of various ages, from all different walks of life, including two additional devotions from Jennifer Sands. None of them take more than a couple of minutes to read.

One of the things that I like about this devotional is the way it's arranged. There are sections grouped by theme--Faith, Motherhood, Life Lessons, Illness, God's Helpers, Parenting, Relationships, Loss, Service to Others, Marriage, and Self-Esteem. You can use this as a daily devotional, starting at the first one and reading straight through, or you can use it topically by going to the sections. I haven't used it every day, I tend to pick it up and read 5 or 6 at a time once or twice a week or so.

Another feature that I really like is section at the back where there is a brief "meet and greet" introduction of each of the contributors--it really drives home the fact that these are a diverse group of ladies, offering testimonials of encouragement from their real lives and from their hearts.

And last but not least, there's a page at the end that tells you where you can send your own story, which could possibly be included in a future "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series. Isn't that cool?

This is not heavy-duty Bible Study, or deep spiritual stuff, it's exactly what this kind of devotional should be--brief snippets of brightness to encourage us along the way in our walk with the Lord.

(Disclosure--I received a free copy of this book to read and review, but did not receive any payment or other compensation for doing so. The opinion stated is that of my own. If you decide you'd like to buy this book , if you click on the underlined link above or the Amazon widget on the right hand sidebar, you can order it from Amazon, and I'll eventually get a few pennies from the purchase. Someday, when I reach my associate pay-out threshold, in a galaxy far, far, away)

Until next time...

Fresh Start--Establishing New Habits

• Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom...

I've already shared a little about the "light bulb" moments that came while I was at home for the holidays, and that the first thing I did toward my fresh start was to spend a little chunk of time one day at the church praying. I know that I don't have to be inside a church to pray, but there is something special about spending time in the sanctuary for the sole purpose of prayer. The Lord graciously allowed me the chance for space and privacy to spend some quality time repenting, praising, and seeking direction.

One of the things that the Lord dealt with me about while I was at home was going on an extended fast. I'll share more about fasting later, both Biblically and from a personal perspective, but I knew that part of the fasting, in this instance, was not just food, but other things that I allow to distract me from the purpose that God has intended for me. I knew from the start how long I was supposed to fast, but I but I wasn't sure when I would start or what all it would involve, I just knew I needed to spend some time "set apart" for the Lord.

When we got back to Georgia after the holidays and back to normal everyday life, before I knew it I was slipping back into my old habits of distraction and time slipping away from me while I accomplished nothing.

I realized after a couple of days that I was hiding again--from the very changes that I knew I needed to make. While I knew they would be good for me, and in the long term I would be glad I had made them--in the short term, they were going to hurt. A Lot!

So after some thought and discussion with my husband about my plans, I gave myself a start date of Monday, the 11th to begin my fast and to start to really set things in order that were out of balance and out of focus.

This weekend, which was our first Sunday back at the church we attend when we're in Georgia, I discovered that they had a church-wide fast scheduled, starting--you guessed it--Monday, the 11th. Even in the little things, like scheduling "the hard stuff", He works things out so that I don't feel like I'm out there all on my own!

So what are the changes I'm making and new habits I'm working on?

• The television is staying off. All day. I have a bad habit of leaving the tv on all day "in the background", but I watch more of it than I admit, and it keeps me from getting done what needs to be done. When my husband get home from work, he turns it on, but until then, it stays off.
• I'm leaving the computer off until at least noon or later, and turning it off periodically the rest of the day. I'm limiting my time on social media--twitter and facebook, as well as blog reading.
• I'm spending more time in prayer. Not just the quick "bless me" or laundry list of needs type of prayer, but having the time--or taking the time, which is more truthful, to spend quality and quantity time with the Lord
• I'm beginning to get back to really studying the Bible. I wanted to do the "Bible in 90 days" challenge, but I felt like the timing was off for that, so I'm holding off on that till later, and using this time for detailed study.

I can't begin to tell you what a difference these few things are already making.

No more looking around and suddenly wondering where my day went, I look around and realize that I've done what I need to do for the day and I still have time left to work on my coupon binder, or read a book just for pleasure.

There's a pervading sense of peace around the apartment. At one point today I thought about turning on some music, but I realized that I actually liked the quiet--and it's much easier then to listen for that "still, small voice" that speaks us much more often than we realize.

This post is linked to:

Works for Me Wednesday, at We Are THAT Family

Until next time...

New Focus

• Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom...

When I first started A Virtuous Woman blog, my thought was to spend some time examining each of the verses in the Proverbs 31 Virtuous Woman passage, and see how it applies to our lives as women--or to mine personally as a woman, anyway.

Somewhere along the way I lost focus.

Couponing and deal shopping, thrifty finds, and dollar store decorating posts get a much larger response than posts about scripture or "spiritual" matters. But as I shared earlier in my post about my moments of epiphany and comparing myself negatively with others, God has been dealing with me about a lot of things, and regaining my focus is part of the assignment that I've received.

I'll still be including posts about my "Mission Possible" couponing and deal shopping, thrifting, and dollar store decorating. They're a part of who I am--for now anyway--and part of "looking well to the ways of her household".

But there'll be some new and different topics mixed in with the old and familiar, as well as an immediate shift emphasizing the spiritual side of what we do and who we are as chayil women--virtuous women--women of valour and strength.

Until next time...

Fresh Start

• Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness

Several bloggers have been working on a theme this week and continuing for the next two weeks about making a Fresh Start in our walk with Lord. Even more are participating in a "Read the Bible through in 90 days" challenge that started on the 1st. I've been a bit behind still on catching up with what's going on around the blogosphere, so I didn't get in on either of these on the ground floor, but I want to jump in now and share a bit more about the fresh start that I've made.

I mentioned in a previous post that I'd had a personal epiphany of sorts while I was at home.

I have a long and storied history of comparing myself to others and often coming out on the short end. I was trying to think of something "spiritual" to share about that, and what comes to mind is Numbers, chapter 13, where the children of Israel sent spies into the promised land. Caleb came back encouraged about the richness of the land, and was confident that with the Lord's help they were "well able" to take the land. The other men, though, saw only the strength of the Canaanites, who they called "giants"--and this part is very telling--"but we were as grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

In my comparison, other people are the giants, and I'm one of the grasshoppers. And what's worse, when I continue to think of myself as a grasshopper, guess what? Other people will soon begin to see me in that way, as well.

I've had relationships in the past where it was always about the other person, and never about me. I was as a grasshopper in their sight.

My moment of clarity came when I realized--with "sudden, intuitive perception"--that I've allowed this to affect not only the way I live, but who I am--who I allow myself to be--because I worry too much about how I appear "in their sight".

The first thing that had to happen for me, at least, was a chance to repent--for worrying more about the "praises of men" than "the praise of God". Because that's what it is, you know. The Lord graciously provided me the opportunity for an extended time of prayer in relative privacy when a friend and I went to the church one day to pray, just the two of us. I spent some time literally on the altar, and felt more spiritually refreshed afterward than I have in a long time.

The Lord bought this lesson home to me several times in the following week. I had a couple of good friends who shared with me their own experiences of "lopsided" relationships. I saw an example of it in someone else who is struggling with it. And I went to a Bible study at a friends house where we discussed some related issues from a different point of scripture.

I'm thankful that the Lord does teach us as children--He doesn't just tell us something once, but He repeats it over and over, patiently, so that we can "get it".

I'll be writing more on these things in the coming days and weeks, but if you'd like to see other's insight into making a fresh start with the Lord, see Kristi's Mck Linky at Run the Earth, Watch the Sky.

Until next time...

New Vintage "Find"

• She is like the merchant's ships, she bringeth her food (and other things) from afar
• She looketh well to the ways of her household

When I was home in Louisiana for the holidays, I was a little disappointed the the busy-ness and weather conspired to keep me from doing any thrifting. So imagine my delight when I made a vintage "find"--right in my own cabinet among my everyday dishes.

I had totally forgotten that I had this, it was tucked in among some small plates.

You can see it isn't in the greatest shape--lots of nicks underneath the rim...

...but it is a Homer Laughlin, and was manufactured in August of 1948, so I think the "wrinkles" are well deserved and easily forgiven. (I know how to "read" this particular mark, thanks to Suzanne from Coloradolady who told me what the numbers meant when I shared another Homer Laughlin find awhile back.)

I was trying to remember where this came from--I think my son brought it home from the little flea market where he used to work part time, hubby thinks it came from the Salvation Army in Colorado Springs, who knows?

Of course I immediately had to get my camera and I've couldn't wait to share!

This post is linked to:

Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady

Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville

Until next time...

My Epiphany

• Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies

Today, January 6th, is the Feast of Epiphany--the day we celebrate the revelation of the Christ child to the world; the day we commemorate the arrival of the Magi--the wise men--at the manger.

There is another, more general, definition of "epiphany", and it reads "a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience". Basically--what we call "a light bulb moment"

I experienced an epiphany of sorts while I was at home--several of them, in fact--moments of "sudden, intuitive perception" and "insight into...reality or essential meaning".

I've been struggling with several issues for months now--some physical, some spiritual, some emotional. Why does it take so long sometimes to realize/admit that it can sometimes all be related?

As much as I had been looking forward do going home for the holidays, for some reason everything seemed to come to a head the first week we were there. I don't want to go into the gory details, but suffice it to say that it was horrid. Nothing seemed to be going right. No matter how hard I tried and what I did or didn't do, it never seemed to be right. I found myself crying a couple of times--and wishing I had the time and the privacy to cry a couple of more times.

Part of the problem was, I wasn't right. I've been hiding from some things, instead of doing the hard work and addressing them--burying my head in the sand, thinking everything would just go away. Guess what? That doesn't really work!

And I'd like to say that I had one big moment of epiphany and then everything turned around. But it was more like several small moments of clarity, that combined, added up to the equivalent of one big light bulb moment.

At each instance, I found a moment of calm; of insight and clear thought; a still, small voice that spoke nuggets of truth into my spirit that were so profound--and absolutely nothing that I didn't already know before.

The Lord is gracious that way. He gently reminds of Truths, usually when we've tried so hard to make it on our own, and finally reach the rock bottom of our strength.

As a matter of fact, that's how He works. As long as we depend on ourselves, we're like the 90 pound weakling in those funny old advertisements. And the Lord is the big strong guy--only instead of kicking sand on us, He stops and picks us up and takes us where we need to go.

Remember?

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness."

That's part of 2 Corinthians 12:9, by the way.

Nothing I didn't already know. But knowing is not always the same as knowing that I know that I know.

You know?

I'll be sharing a little more about my light bulb moment--my epiphany--my "sudden, intuitive perception of" or "insight into the reality or essential meaning of something", "usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience". If it results in light bulb moment, I'd say not-so-commonplace.

Until next time...