Potpourri: I Ran Out of Words, Holy Week, and Treasured Moments

I ran out of words this week, to say, to speak, but not to write.

We are wrapping up a brutally busy, gloriously wonderful Holy Week including, worship and work and friend and family time.

I am one who is often confused as an extrovert because of my love for people and my professions, but I’m much more of an introvert then most realize. Without sufficient alone time I become cranky and intolerable, and alone time this week has been zilch. (And yes, I’ve been cranky and intolerable.)

The children are on spring break from school so they’ve been hanging out with me most of the time.

I worked at the Sadie Rose House Monday. We have our biggest fundraiser of the year coming up, our annual 5K, and I’m immersed in the crazy that leads up to this wonderful event. P.S. There’s still time to register and you can do so here!

The children had piano lessons Monday evening, and my supper was a big flop! I grated potatoes and fried them, but they were way too starchy and turned into a big pile of ugly gray (but tasty) goo. No one else would try them.

It was a wonderful surprise to have my dad visit Monday night and Tuesday. I had extra family here that day to spend time with him. They consumed a triple batch of buttermilk pancakes, a crock pot of vegetable beef stew, almost a full pan of rolls, and a pan of peanut butter bars.

Wednesday, our women’s Bible study group prepared and served lunch for a community Lenten luncheon. I made vegetable barley soup for the soup and sandwich buffet.

Thursday I worked at the Sadie Rose House and Thursday evening we had our traditional foot-washing and communion service at church. During a time of silent confession I was repenting for my cranky intolerable attitude. I decided to refocus and fully engage in the meaningful experience of reenacting the Last Supper. I thought, “Wow, what a week it’s been!” And immediately it was as though Jesus reminded me, “Yeah, what a week it was!”

Leaving that beautiful Maundy Thursday service, I felt like I had run out of words. My verbal allotment was drained for the week, yet all I wanted to do was write. I thought of the quote by author Ernest Hemingway: “The writer must write what he has to say, not speak it.” But alas, I was too tired even to write.

Friday, two dear friends brought their children to the park where I served chili, rolls, chips, and popcorn cake. (Check out my popcorn cake recipe here.)

Other friends stopped by after the park, and the children spent the night at a friend’s house, so my husband and I went to dinner. We tried watching a movie, but I slept the whole way through.

I got up early this morning to write an article for our church newsletter. I wrote about the power of living hope, (1 Peter 1:3) then picked up the children and headed straight to church for an Easter egg hunt. We had a wonderful turn-out and a lovely time.

I’m selfishly hoping I don’t have to speak the rest of the day, but I’ll be writing in my head all evening. Surely a poem will form as I ruminate.

We still have Community sunrise service and breakfast, Easter service, and a meal with family tomorrow. In all this, I am reminded of how wonderfully blessed I am, not because of all I have; love, family, friends, work, food, for which I am truly grateful, but because of who loves me. He’s not only the reason for the Christmas season, but for the Easter season, dry seasons, rainy seasons, and all of life as well and He loves you, too.

Happy Resurrection Day to all.

Potpourri; factory seconds, Sears catalogs, and nostalgia

I don’t do many chips around here, but when I do, my favorites are these Factory Seconds. $1.79 a bag at our local discount grocery and bursting with character and flavor. 

As I munched on some today, I thought of how these potatoes, for whatever reasons, were not chosen for the first and finest batches, and yet I love them more than perfectly shaped and colored chips. 

They reminded me of life. Some of us get knocks and bruises. We come in all sizes and colors. The final outcome is not what fits into a perfect mold. But oh the character, the flavor, the uniqueness we posses at the end of the day. Don’t sell yourself short. Don’t let anyone tell you you’ve gone too far, messed up too badly, failed to miserably, to be made into something lovely and desirable. You are worth it, you are loved, and your experiences are what makes you who you are. 


I was talking with mother-in-law about these Sears “wish books” recently. Nostalgia almost swept me off my feet when she found these 1992-1993 Fall/Winter annual and 1993 Spring/Summer annual treasures in her basement. We didn’t order much from these because most everything was “too worldly,” but I would page through each one when they came and daydream about what I would get if it wasn’t worldly and we could afford it. (We mostly used them for our hineys to make us sit taller on the benches at the supper table.) Paging through them again brought back special memories of a child dreaming about something far beyond her reach, but I loved dreaming. 


We had a beautiful gloomy rainy day. At the very end the sun broke through for a glorious display. I was reminded of a hymn from my childhood, “Lo, Behold The Western Sky,” by Ruth R Martin and Carol Stroop, copyright 1985. 


I made four batches of fresh buttermilk biscuits and two gallons of my famous sausage gravy to feed the BBQ chicken crew at church in the morning. This is our first one of the season. We sampled the fare for dinner and it was satisfactory. šŸ™‚

Now downstairs for some much-needed family time. Have a great weekend, everyone. 

PotpourriĀ 

My life in glimpses. That’s how it seems these days. 

I love soap and lotion-making days at our house. The air smells fabulous and my hands feel so soft. No pictures because I’m too busy during the process, but today I made five gallons of laundry detergent, two recipes of dishwasher detergent, and two recipes of deodorant. 

I wish I had a picture of the soap bubbling over the edge of the pot… oops!

All that in between working on a “Christmas Around the World” program for our church and a Candlelight Remembrance Ceremony for the Sadie Rose Foundation. 

I am home with a little one today because the sitter wasn’t available. I ran errands to collect supplies for both of the services mentioned above and then drove to church and realized my keys were at home. I drove home and realized I was locked out of my house. No spare key. Husband had to backtrack thirty minutes to let me in the house. 

Our daughter had her dance recital last weekend. She was beautiful. At 5 years old, lives and breathes dance. 

Every now and then I try to “wipe the cute” off these sweet faces around here. Our little guy must have taken me literally. I had just cleaned his face from eating a sandwich when he came to me with peanut butter on his hand and said, “Mommy, cute, hand, wipe off.” 

I used my mad mud-bogging skills in a mini van last evening on the way to and from music practice. Shhhh… don’t tell the children they were safe puddles on a country dirt road, not really off-roading, but they were delighted to see how high the water splashed up on our van. 

I am finally singing again after recovering from a hemorrhagic nodule on my left vocal chord. There is still a certain pitch I’m having trouble with, but at least I can sing. It has been exactly one year since the hoarseness started and I am just really starting to sing again. 


I don’t really have many pictures to share. I get too caught up in the business of living and forget to stop and photograph the memories. Here is a picture of a poinsettia leaf that fell from our plant and then got rained on. The beauty was breathtaking when I saw it on our driveway the next morning. 

Other than that, I’m busy preparing our hearts and home for Christmas. What are your Christmas traditions? I’d love to hear from you near and far! 

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