Mundane Everyday Life

 

I looked beyond the back porch window sill with its collection of dead bugs and thin layer of dust. Clouds tinged in cotton-candy pink billowed above the tall trees to the south. Still, I went to the basement to begin my normal morning routine.

As I sat in my wood-paneled office underground and waited on gmail to cycle up, I couldn't quit thinking about the clouds. Emails and blogs and KFRM radio reports could wait for a few minutes.

So many times, we walk past the beauty in life. I don't even remember now why I went to the porch to begin with. It's not a mandatory stop on my day. Maybe I glimpsed the unusual clouds through the bathroom window and decided to get a closer look.

Our house is surrounded by big old trees, so I grabbed my camera and told Randy I was going to drive down the road to check out the sunrise.

Many times, I'm disappointed by the photos. I can't always get the camera's eye to duplicate the beauty and majesty of the Kansas sunrise or sunset. The evening before, Randy had called me as he was driving a tractor toward home. A storm was blowing through, and the sky was unusual. And, try as I might, I couldn't get the camera to capture the moment the same way as I was experiencing it in person.

But I'm persistent. (Some might say stubborn.) So the "failed" sunset photos didn't keep me from trying to capture the sunrise. See, there are sometimes fringe benefits to being persistent.

Taking photos helps me to "see" the beauty all around me. I have always loved words, but some wise person once said: "A picture is worth a thousand words." (While I'm not totally convinced, I do love photos to go along with words.)

However, it doesn't take a camera in hand to notice the little things. One recent morning, as light streamed through the bathroom windows, the lace edge of the curtains made a pattern on the wall. I watched our now "toddler-sized" kittens roughhouse in the back yard, and it made me smile. The cottonwood at the end of our driveway is dressed in its autumn best, sending me off and welcoming me home with leaves as red as the flag on the mailbox.

As we turn the calendar page from October to November, the sprint toward the holidays begins. We start the lists for Thanksgiving dinner. We look at calendars and circle a date when we can come together for family celebrations. We watch the sale ads for items that might make that perfect gift for Christmas, and we begin hiding the packages in our closets, hoping they'll be safe from curious eyes before the presents are wrapped in red and green and tied up with bows.

If I'm not careful, the everyday blessings all around me can be tossed aside as nonchalantly as a bag of dried up leaves which have lost the luster of just a few weeks before.

Beauty isn't found just in the spectacular. Neither are blessings. They just require me to open my eyes. And then count them, kind of life that old Sunday School song we used to sing in the basement of Byers United Methodist Church:

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,

And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. 

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Pears and apples are favorite fruits for the fall. Throw in some dried cranberries, feta cheese and bacon, and it's even better. The dressing is a blend of purchased poppy seed dressing and balsamic vinegar. Serve it with steak for a meal or without the meat for a Thanksgiving Day side dish. Enjoy!

 Autumn Chopped Salad with Marinated Steak

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats blog

6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
3 slices center-cut bacon, cooked crisp and chopped
1 pear, chopped, with skin on
1 apple, chopped, with skin on
1/4 cup peanuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup Poppy Seed Salad Dressing (more or less)
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (more or less)
Grilled seasoned steak (about 3 ounces per person)

Cook bacon until crisp (I used the microwave.) Cool and chop. Grill seasoned steak to desired doneness. Set aside to rest. 

Combine romaine lettuce, pear, apple, peanuts, dried cranberries, cooled bacon and feta cheese into a very large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine poppy seed dressing and balsamic vinegar to taste. Toss salad dressing with salad, coating well.

For main dish salad, put dressed, chopped salad onto serving plates. Top with sliced grilled steak. Serve immediately.

This generously serves 2 for a main dish salad. As a side, it serves a big crowd.

Notes:

• Even though I'm a vinegar lover, Randy is not. And we both preferred the dressing with only 1 tablespoon of the balsamic. 
• Next time I make it, I might try this homemade dressing, Orange Vinaigrette, which I've used on other main dish salads.
• I've used peanuts every time, but it would be great with walnuts or pecans, too.

When the Wind Blows

When a day is still, I don't notice flags. Do you?

But when a strong wind buffets a flag, it immediately draws your eyes to it. We watch its ripple and hear the snap of canvas as the wind tosses it to and fro.

Racers start their engines and put their foot on the gas when the flag man waves the green flag. At a race, do we pay attention to the checkered flag until it's waved wildly to signal the end of a race? We're probably not looking for the flag that's just sitting idly in the flag man's hands.

I guess it's human nature to float along when things are going well for us. Believe me, I much prefer calm seas in life. I am a list maker who likes things to go a certain way. My Type A personality is much happier when my life is ticking along in a predictable pattern.

However, I broke my toe in a farming accident last month. Believe you me, that wasn't on my to-do list. I had just recommitted to watching what I eat and trying to lose the pounds that have crept back on during the winter.

Even though I wasn't as careful with my eating as I should have been, I was still exercising six days a week. And suddenly, a doctor was telling me that it is going to take 6 weeks to heal my toe. Walking my 4 miles a day is not an option at the moment.

That is not in my plan, Lord! But, I look around me, and I realize that a broken toe is not that big a deal in the scheme of things in life. It is a minor inconvenience. Others have much bigger obstacles to navigate than a stupid broken toe.

I've been enjoying the song, "Blessings," by Laura Story. I've heard it on K-LOVE numerous times, but the words are really sinking home with me these days:

What if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if the trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Definitely something to think about, right?

I read a Guideposts devotional not long ago. It was based on Matthew 8: 23-27:

Jesus Calms the Storm

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!”

The devotional said:

The test of our Christian commitment is not our ability to lounge at the tiller of our lives while events are sailing along smoothly. Rather the test is our response when the tempests blow. Jesus' disciples had spent many hours in boats. When they recognized the dangers presented by the elements, they turned to Jesus, and He did not fail them.

The capacity for knowing God enlarges as we are brought by Him into circumstances which oblige us to exercise faith; so, when difficulties beset our path, let us thank God that He is taking trouble with us, and lean hard upon Him.

Are you experiencing calm seas right now? Or is life buffeting you with as much force as a stiff Kansas wind?

No matter your circumstances in life - trial or celebration - Christ can be your banner. God is with us and has the power to calm the storm. Pick up the banner of Christ! He will carry you through.

As you listen to Laura Story's song, scroll down and check out some fun ideas for Flag Day June 14 or for your 4th of July celebration! Enjoy!

***

June 14 is Flag Day. Try these fun recipes from Family Fun.

For a healthy finale to your Flag Day celebration, serve this red, white, and blue treat.

Star-Spangled Dessert
Recipe and photo
from Family Fun magazine

Ingredients

• Strawberries
• Whipped cream cheese

• Sugar (optional)
• Blueberries

Instructions

1. Clean and hull five strawberries, then add dollops of whipped cream cheese to the top of each one. Sprinkle sugar on the cream cheese (optional), then top each strawberry with a blueberry and arrange them as shown.

***

Patriotic Drink

Recipe and photo
from Family Fun (www.familyfun.go.com/recipes)

With a steady hand and some colorful drinks, you can create a tasty, multi-layered concoction. The secret is in selecting liquids with varying amounts of sugar, since those that contain more (such as soda) are denser than those with less (such as diet drinks). And that makes it possible to actually stack one on top of another (for a little while, anyway -- then they'll start to blend). Here's how to serve up a thirst quencher with two, three, or even more layers. This recipe is for a red, white, and blue version for your patriotic celebrations.

Ingredients

• Ice cubes
• Cranberry juice

• Wild Berry flavor Gatorade Fierce
• Diet 7-Up

Instructions

1. Fill a clear glass with ice cubes. Pour the drink with the most sugar (check the nutrition label) into the glass. For our red, white, and blue recipe, start with the cranberry juice.



2. Very slowly add a beverage that contains less sugar -- in this case, Wild Berry flavor Gatorade Fierce. Be careful to pour it onto an ice cube -- not directly into the other drink -- to keep them from mixing.



3. Use the same technique to add a layer of Diet 7-Up

There are lots of other fun patriotic recipes on the Family Fun website. Have fun searching through the ideas and pick one that will suit your family.

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Kim's County Line Photo

Or, if you're feeling ambitious, what's more all-American than a blueberry pie? Click here to see step-by-step photos, a recipe and instructions for creating your own pie.