kind of like babysitting. . .

Last month my friend, Lori, invited me over for coffee-she was getting ready to join her husband Zachary at a military base in Arizona for 6 weeks.

So, we talked about life while Lori prepared biscuits using her grandmother's sourdough starter and biscuit recipe. She shared memories of yearly trips to visit her grandparents in the Texas Panhandle-and memories of Grandma Jan's sourdough biscuits served with homemade raspberry jam (and I'm thinking, raspberries in Texas??)

Lori. . . You'll be gone from home for 6 weeks. . .what about Grandma Jan's sourdough starter? I inquired.

Then Lori asked if I might like to babysit her sourdough starter. . .this babysitting would involve using a cup of the starter weekly and then feeding it. . .And of course, I said yes--how could I refuse?
So, for the past 3 weeks, we've been doing creative things with Grandma Jan's biscuits. Amaleah and Julia helped me one afternoon, crowded around the kitchen counter, spooning, dipping, mixing, patting and rolling- Oh, my! . . .flour covered their little bare feet that day. We baked biscuits to send home for their dinner, and we remembered to pray for Miss Lori.

This week John is home on spring break- so, Tuesday afternoon I fixed sourdough biscuits, jam, tea and coffee-and we thought about our elderly neighbor, Dan. . .he lives alone and works hard everyday in his garden.
(sometimes Dan shows up at our door with part of the catch of the day- cleaned catfish!)

. . .so Tuesday we took Dan a plate of Grandma Jan's biscuits with jam. Thanks! I was just fixin to go inside for something to eat. . .

Hmmm. . .I'm wondering how I can be creative with sourdough biscuits next week?
So, Lori, everytime I feed your sourdough starter, I think about you and Zachary, and I thank the Lord in every remembrance of you.

a good obsession

During the past week I've been thinking. . .writing. . .talking a lot to women about Philippians 3:12-14; I think it's become an obsession. . .

"But one thing I do. . ."(vs 13)

So, the apostle Paul pursued one thing-to be like Christ, a pursuit that was his obsession. I'm commited aswell in that direction. . . .

Remember Ferdinand the bull whose purpose in life was to meet the matador at the bull fight in Madrid? Then Ferdinand smelled the flowers in the lovely ladies' hair and he sat down in the middle of the bull ring-he got distracted, imagine that!

so-smelling the flowers wasn't bad. . . however, Ferdinand's one thing was to meet the matador in the bull ring; sadly, I'm alot like Ferdinand, I'm drawn away by the smell of flowers. . . and other good endeavors; I stumble on my past and grow discouraged; I'm distracted from the one thing. . .

"I press on toward the goal . . ." (vs 12, 14)

I've been married to a competitive athlete for 37 years (it appears we've raised some of the same!) and I've witnessed that kind of pressing on-vigorous, aggressive, intense- I watch my four sons, clattering home from a morning of mountain biking-scratched, bruised, black eye, bloody, exhilarated to have accomplished the goal. . .and I think-obsession!

And I wonder if others observe that relentless pursuit of Christlikeness in me. . .

So, one thing I do. . .forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. . .

one more story for February. . .

February is clam chowder month at our house-it's an anniversary tradition with a story. . .

John and I lived in Portland, Oregon for about a year while he was going to school-that was 30 years ago-day trips to the Oregon coast were a delight, my favorite kind of beach- cool, damp, windy, cliffs, driftwood. . .

So, one Saturday we headed for the coast with sweet Rachel in her striped overalls. John suggested we dig some clams and I heartily agreed, thinking about homemade chowder. We dug and dug; it was fun and productive, however. . . the game warden approached us, peeked into our clam sack and handed us a $40 citation. . . a citation for harvesting too many clams without a fishing license, imagine that? $40 for too many clams- not exactly milk money on a student budget.

But the warden let us keep those clams, so I took them home and made clam chowder for dinner that night. I imagine it was tastey, but the most memorable ingredient was the sand- for I was a novice at cleaning clams. . .$40 gritty clam chowder!

Isn't it curious-the memories we record and celebrate. . .and laugh about? So in February, around our anniversary, John and I eat clam chowder, remembering that year after year our God continues to be faithful even when we are foolish. . .

(and these days I use canned clams)

thinking about phileo love. . .

Getting back to Titus 2:3-5. . .Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney is an excellent book; recently over coffee, Francey and I discussed chapter 2, The Delight of Loving My Husband.
So, wives are instructed to love their husbands. . .the Greek word for love in Titus 2:4 is phileo- a tender, affectionate kind of love, a love which emphasises enjoyment.
Francey and I discussed how we honor the gospel by cultivating this tender affection for our husbands- we concurred that it's often hard, that our sin errodes our best efforts. . .and that God is faithful to remind us, Keep your heart with all diligence (Prov 4:23)
So, what does phileo love look like in marriage? Francy had some great practical examples (and she's only been married 3 years!)

Then she asked me. . .

Hmmm. . .well, it's like this: when I push my cart down the baking aisle at the grocery store, I purpose to reach the top shelf and pluck off a can of Hershey's 100% cocoa-John's favorite for making hot chocolate-mud, we affectionately call his special concoction-a heaping tablespoon of cocoa, a little brown sugar, mixed with milk, very rich and chocolatey. (He would tell our toddlers that it made their eyes twinkle. . .) You see, John rarely reminds me that his 100% Hershey's is running low, and I, myself, would rarely buy it, unless planning to make chocolate stout cake or chocolate cream pie.

. . .this is just a very small thing, hardly noticeable-however I've discovered that the simplest demonstrations of phileo love in marriage are often the sweetest.

just to let you know. . .

A cold front blew into San Antonio Friday night and we awoke to quite a chill-a good February chill along with wind. So, we bicycled 4 miles downhill but against the wind, a nice route through downtown neighborhoods; my cycling gloves were good and warm, but Ugh. . .the wind resistance. . .I was ready for coffee and cherry strudel!

John locked our bicycles to a tree next to the Gunther House Restaurant-a lovely old stone place, the original home of the Gunther family, founders of the Pioneer Flour Mill-and we waited for our table, sitting on a wooden bench overlooking the river. I had a little knitting project in my Toto basket just incase we needed to wait-a pink project for sweet Julia.

So, we waited and I knitted and it grew colder. . .but sitting next to John on a chilly day is nice, akin to cuddling a furnace-it's been that way for 37 years. . .

Then we were seated. . . and I was surprised by my husband's breakfast choice-biscuits and gravy!(funny how you think you know a man's favorites)-fluffy buttermilk biscuits, filling the plate, covered with creamy sausage gravy and Applewood bacon on the side- he sipped hot chocolate from a glass mug and I. . .well, of course, coffee with my cherry strudel. . .I ate the whole thing, imagine that!

Next the challenge of a 4 mile ride home-cold, windy, and uphill all the way. . . but the return trip is part of the adventure, don't you think? The last half mile I could hear John calling to me, shift down, shift down!

So. . .here I have filled this post with trivia, the insignificant details of a pleasant anniversary outing- but life consists of a tapestry of trivial details-colors, heat, cold, tastes, textures, sounds.

-all good things gifted from the hand of our Creator God, who gives us all things richly to enjoy.

things we do together. . .

Almost a year ago my family gave me this lovely blue bicycle. The boys were working at a bike shop and it seemed like the perfect time to purchase one. . .if I really wanted one.

Hmmm, yes. . .a bicycle would be fun! Perhaps my response sounded tentative- John asked me privately, "So, do you really want a bicycle?" I thought hard about this, weighing the options. . . bicycle or KitchenAide mixer? bicycle or . . . .? And ultimately I concluded that indeed, a bicycle is a great choice, especially if I'm going to keep up with this man in the afternoon of our life together.

So, it's a beautiful bicycle-I wear a pink bicycle helmet and capris with a padded seat, Imagine that! My favorite place to ride with John is along the misson trail, bordering the river not far from home; it's an 8-10 mile ride, just about my limit. I can sense John's anticipation when I agree to his suggestion, "Want to go on a bike ride with me this afternoon?" And then I'm amused as he rides beside me and counts how many zealous cyclists speed past us-

So, recently John purchased an accessory for my bicycle, a Toto basket-while my husband bikes long and hard just to do it, he's learned that I prefer my bike route to have a destination. Now I can ride to the neighborhood bread shop and bring home pan dulce in my basket, and soon perhaps even to the knitting shop. . . .

Due to a variety of circumstances, my beautiful bicycle has been propped in the study for about a month, collecting cobwebs in the wheels. However, this is a good week to suggest a bike ride with John, for our anniversary. . .perhaps early Saturday morning we'll bike downtown to the Gunther House restaurant for anniversary breakfast. . .I know he'll order pecan pancakes, eggs and bacon; I'll enjoy coffee and tart cherry strudel and we'll remember 37 good years together.

no confidence. . .

The other day I had coffee with a friend, a woman about my age who I met at the local knitting shop. She asked me, "What keeps you busy? . . .what do you do?"

So, I told her about Titus 2:3-5; I explained that I mentor women, that I love what I do, and that in the afternoon of my life, I'm living my dream . . . she was curious and it was good, for conversation about what I do lead to talk of the gospel.

Philippians 3:3 rattles around in my mind today-a portion of the the passage to consider in Bible study this week: true believers are those who worship in the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.

Hmmm. . .put no confidence in the flesh, how personally relevent. My recovery from surgery has been a little slow, slower than I would like, and I cry, "Lord, I am a weak vessel, indeed!" So, this is good for me, the normally hearty woman that I am.

And sometimes when I think about the Titus 2 passage, I'm amazed by the purposeful work which God has planned for older women, good work which brings him glory. . . put no confidence in the flesh; I am weak, vulnerable, sinful and I will accomplish nothing but by the enabling will and grace of God.

I am so grateful for the reminder. . .