Advent Tea Party!

I had some fantastic girl-time this past Saturday, with some of the sweetest girls in my corner of the world.


The theme: Salvation History via the ancient symbolism of the Jesse Tree – except, instead of a tree, we used a tea!

The Goodies

1. “Jesse Tea” – TEA - we had peppermint tea; peppermint/peach tea (YUM!!!); and hot chocolate for the non-tea drinkers, with a touch of peppermint — peppermint? it’s winter, the weather is CRAZY – so… health benefits! (we had some sugar, but mostly healthy items — yet to be aware of the time of the year and how things DO go around — and in thanksgiving that the 5 families in attendance have ZERO sick girls right now, let’s keep the health going). Plus it helped with breath   
2. “Adam’s Apple” (Genesis 3: 6) – APPLE with 1 gummy worm (the girls opted for quartered apples)
3. “Noah’s Ark” (Genesis 9: 12-17) – 3 GUMMY WORMS in rainbow
4. Abraham’s Stars (Genesis 15: 5) – CUT THE APPLE during the presentation to show the star
5. “Isaac’s Bundle of Sticks” (Genesis 22: 6) – 8 PRETZEL STICKS
6. “Jacob’s Ladder” (Genesis 28: 12) – Same pretzel sticks, built into a ladder
(isn’t it interesting how God can take our weaknesses and turn them into strengths? *HE* can work all things for good…. so we can re-use these same objects to show us something new and better)
7. “Joseph’s Coat of Many Colors” (Genesis 37: 3-4) – 4 GUMMY WORMS (2 folded in half for the “body”, with one on each side bent at 90 degrees bottom half as part of the body, top half as the arms extending out)
8. “The Burning Bush” (Exodus 3: 2-3) – BROCCOLI AND RANCH (3/4 cup of ranch is dyed with 1/2 tsp turmeric to show the “fire”)
9. “Moses’ Tablets of the Law” (Exodus 34: 1) – MILANOS (we did raspberry/chocolate – YUM – and least cost per ounce)
10. “The Root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11: 1 and 10) – CARROTS
11. “David’s Star Tea Sandwiches” (1 Samuel 17: 12-51) – STAR-SHAPED SANDWICHES – cut into triangles then top half turned to create 6-pointed star. 
12. “Bethlehem, House of Bread” (Matthew 2: 5-6) – DONUT HOLES (could have made scones or small biscuits – short on time and the donut holes were calling my name)
13. “John the Baptist’s Honey” (Luke 1: 41; Matthew 3: 3) – HONEY in tea (could have had honey on biscuits/scones if I’d made those)
14. “Angelic Messengers”  (recall various angelic messengers we know about in the Bible) – ANGEL-SHAPED SANDWICHES – cookie cutter
15. “Pure White Cakes for Our Blessed Mother” or “Flowers of Jesse” or both – TOMATO AND CELERY for flowers (thought about doing a white frosting made of cream cheese, powdered sugar, touch of milk, homemade vanilla – spread on graham crackers, but with the donut holes instead of bread, thought against it this time)

 Left-overs and bread trimmings? Went to the “boys” (my son; the father and brother of one of the girls at the tea party — who all went off for a few hours so we girls could just be girly — in our fancy hats!)

Hm. No picture of me. I had a santa hat because my two fancy hats were on loan. 

The Ladies

The Ladies again couldn’t decide which I liked best

Best Jacob’s Ladder constructed with pretzel sticks

“This sandwich is SO GOOOOOOD!!!!” (apparently so is the white-sprinkled chocolate donut hole  )

This young lady is so full of joy - she finds it everywhere - and spreads it everywhere!

AHA! She CAN be serious!

but apparently not for long  (she was tipped sideways to sneak into another picture for this one) LOVE her 3rd lip there

Enjoying the tea-party

So sweet!And such shining eyes

Trying to avoid her photo being taken.Gotcha anyway!

Thank you everyone for coming!

Have a wonderful remainder of Advent and a fantastic Christmas season!

God bless!

Advent Jesse Tea

 

I had some fantastic girl-time this past Saturday, with some of the sweetest girls in my corner of the world.

 

 

The theme: Salvation History via the ancient symbolism of the Jesse Tree - except, instead of a tree, we used a tea ;)

 

The Goodies

1. "Jesse Tea" - TEA - we had peppermint tea; peppermint/peach tea (YUM!!!); and hot chocolate for the non-tea drinkers, with a touch of peppermint --- peppermint? it's winter, the weather is CRAZY - so... health benefits! (we had some sugar, but mostly healthy items --- yet to be aware of the time of the year and how things DO go around --- and in thanksgiving that the 5 families in attendance have ZERO sick girls right now, let's keep the health going). Plus it helped with breath ;) 

2. "Adam's Apple" (Genesis 3: 6) – APPLE with 1 gummy worm (the girls opted for quartered apples)

3. "Noah's Ark" (Genesis 9: 12-17) – 3 GUMMY WORMS in rainbow

4. Abraham's Stars (Genesis 15: 5) – CUT THE APPLE during the presentation to show the star

5. "Isaac's Bundle of Sticks" (Genesis 22: 6) – 8 PRETZEL STICKS

6. "Jacob's Ladder" (Genesis 28: 12) – Same pretzel sticks, built into a ladder

(isn't it interesting how God can take our weaknesses and turn them into strengths? *HE* can work all things for good.... so we can re-use these same objects to show us something new and better)

7. "Joseph's Coat of Many Colors" (Genesis 37: 3-4) – 4 GUMMY WORMS (2 folded in half for the "body", with one on each side bent at 90 degrees bottom half as part of the body, top half as the arms extending out)

8. "The Burning Bush" (Exodus 3: 2-3) – BROCCOLI AND RANCH (3/4 cup of ranch is dyed with 1/2 tsp turmeric to show the "fire")

9. "Moses' Tablets of the Law" (Exodus 34: 1) - MILANOS (we did raspberry/chocolate - YUM - and least cost per ounce)

10. "The Root of Jesse" (Isaiah 11: 1 and 10) - CARROTS

11. "David's Star Tea Sandwiches" (1 Samuel 17: 12-51) – STAR-SHAPED SANDWICHES - cut into triangles then top half turned to create 6-pointed star. 

12. "Bethlehem, House of Bread" (Matthew 2: 5-6) – DONUT HOLES (could have made scones or small biscuits - short on time and the donut holes were calling my name)

13. "John the Baptist's Honey" (Luke 1: 41; Matthew 3: 3) – HONEY in tea (could have had honey on biscuits/scones if I'd made those)

14. "Angelic Messengers"  (recall various angelic messengers we know about in the Bible) – ANGEL-SHAPED SANDWICHES - cookie cutter

15. "Pure White Cakes for Our Blessed Mother" or "Flowers of Jesse" or both – TOMATO AND CELERY for flowers (thought about doing a white frosting made of cream cheese, powdered sugar, touch of milk, homemade vanilla - spread on graham crackers, but with the donut holes instead of bread, thought against it this time)

 

 Left-overs and bread trimmings? Went to the "boys" (my son; the father and brother of one of the girls at the tea party --- who all went off for a few hours so we girls could just be girly --- in our fancy hats!)

Hm. No picture of me. I had a santa hat because my two fancy hats were on loan. 

 

The Ladies

 

The Ladies again couldn't decide which I liked best :)

Best Jacob's Ladder constructed with pretzel sticks

 

"This sandwich is SO GOOOOOOD!!!!" (apparently so is the white-sprinkled chocolate donut hole ;) )

This young lady is so full of joy - she finds it everywhere - and spreads it everywhere!

AHA! She CAN be serious!

but apparently not for long ;) (she was tipped sideways to sneak into another picture for this one) LOVE her 3rd lip there ;)

 

Enjoying the tea-party

 

So sweet!And such shining eyes :)

 

Trying to avoid her photo being taken.Gotcha anyway!

 

Thank you everyone for coming!

 

Have a wonderful remainder of Advent and a fantastic Christmas season!

 

God bless!

 

Homemade LIQUID soap

 

There are so many sites out there in the internet-world describing how to make liquid soap - and most of them can be described in one word:
COMPLICATED.

 

Seriously? The same bar soap just liquified needs to be THAT hard?

 

I think not.

 

The problems with what is out there:

1) store-bought bar soaps (and many soaps bought online, but not all) have the glycerin removed during the soap-making process. Therefore glycerin needs to be added back in to the soap to help it "be" liquid.

2) Alcohol and other additives can be DRYING. These are not necessary - neither for preservation (most liquid soap keeps itself preserved, or one can use particular essential oils for preservation - vitamin E is great too) nor for any other reason (I had a second reason but have now forgotten it).

3) Starting with liquid soap kind of defeats the purpose. Seriously.

4) Dr. Bronner's Castille soap is great - but a little secret: castille soap is simply olive oil soap. Guess what!? You can make that at home.

5) The ones that do provide a recipe from scratch, want you to use a different form of lye - Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) instead of what is typically used in bar soaps: Potassium Hydroxide (KOH). I do NOT understand this. I have put out some requests and have heard no responses. If YOU know why, please respond, because I genuinely want to know the reason why a different form of lye would be needed for liquid soap.
Now. Why would you want to start with bar soap (that was liquid during the soapmaking process to begin with) and liquify it? Because not everyone can have lye around. It's dangerous stuff with little ones or if you don't have the greatest coordination. I think I'm pretty decent and I've had a couple of minor incidents with yellowed curling finger nails and one spot on my arm. All is well now, but it was pretty scary (and stinky). If you cannot have lye in your home, purchase a "full body bar soap" - this is MY terminology alone, not an official label. What you are looking for is a simple, all-natural soap containing ONLY the ingredients YOU want (you can add more if you want during the process, but make sure there is nothing in there you DON'T want) - and make sure the glycerin has not been removed (this is what I call "full body" - it's all the soap, nothing removed). Grate it up into a saucepan and add twice as much water as the amount of soap you have. Bring to a gentle simmer and stir almost constantly until the soap has melted - add any additional ingredients you want. Allow to cool - if it gets too thick, warm it back up and add water about 1/2 to a full cup at a time (you can gauge the amounts based on the thickness - very thick, add more water; getting close to what you want add less at a time), stirring and cooling until it gets to the thickness you like. After a time or two making it like this, you'll recognize the thickness it needs to be when "hot" to be the consistency you want when "cool". This is how I always used to make our soap.

 

 

So how do *I* make liquid soap now?

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="270"] Those of you who visit my home and recognize the pitcher: Rest assured I do watch it. Remember that my alternate dish soap is this SAME soap plus coconut oil soap. It's JUST soap ;)[/caption]

 

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="360"] I had 2 more of the "smaller" jars as well. From that one pitcher of soap!!![/caption]

Start with making olive oil soap, adding the highest amount of the required range of water. When any soap is made, a typical lye calculator will give a range of water amounts to use - use less if you want to set up faster; more if you want it to set up slower. Olive oil soap takes a while to set up anyway, so I typically use on the lower end if I am making bar soaps. For a recipe of 32 ounces of olive oil, I need 4.2 oz of Sodium Hydroxide (lye) and 8-12 ounces of water. I made a recipe last week with 15 ounces of water (I didn't want to over-do it because I did want the oil and lye to be close enough to saponify well. This all perfectly fit into my beautiful glass pitcher.

I used a stick blender to bring it to trace, but I used to wait and stir and wait and stir - sometimes up to a full day to get the olive oil soap to trace. I LOVE stick blenders ;)

Then I separated it into two large old spaghetti sauce jars, filling each about half. I filled the rest with water and stirred. Added essential oils (in this case I used lavender, tea tree oil and grapefruit essential oils as well as vitamin E - to personal scent-preference). Let it sit. Stirred the next morning - it was THICK. Poured some out into 2 other jars and filled up with water again. Within 12 hours: thick again.

 

Poured into 2 more of the smaller jars and some into our current soap dispenser, adding more water to bring it to consistency in the dispenser.

 

The stuff in the glass jars is still thick though very close to the consistency I want and I will thin it as we use it.

 

That is a LOT of soap - for almost NO work. Next time, I'll stick with 16 ounces and I'll probably fill up this same amount of jars with soap at the proper consistency.

 

 

I didn't use any of the complicated process (one site says you can't make liquid soap using cold-process soap-making - ummmm, this is my second time making liquid soap from scratch and the ONLY way I like to make soap is the cold-process version. I abhor heating it up and dealing with the curds - I do it only when absolutely necessary - and liquid soap-making from scratch works just fine in cold-process, thank you very much).

 

 

I don't do any of the other more complicated steps, because frankly - this method WORKS - we are getting ourselves clean - it is simply liquified versions of my bar soaps - so why would I go to more trouble for a liquid than I do for the bars?

 

Lazy Mom syndrome again ;)

 

Or maybe I just want to spend time with my son....

 

 

;)

 

 

Homemade Liquid Soap

There are so many sites out there in the internet-world describing how to make liquid soap – and most of them can be described in one word:
COMPLICATED.

Seriously? The same bar soap just liquified needs to be THAT hard?

I think not.

The problems with what is out there:
1) store-bought bar soaps (and many soaps bought online, but not all) have the glycerin removed during the soap-making process. Therefore glycerin needs to be added back in to the soap to help it “be” liquid.
2) Alcohol and other additives can be DRYING. These are not necessary – neither for preservation (most liquid soap keeps itself preserved, or one can use particular essential oils for preservation – vitamin E is great too) nor for any other reason (I had a second reason but have now forgotten it).
3) Starting with liquid soap kind of defeats the purpose. Seriously.
4) Dr. Bronner’s Castille soap is great – but a little secret: castille soap is simply olive oil soap. Guess what!? You can make that at home.
5) The ones that do provide a recipe from scratch, want you to use a different form of lye - Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) instead of what is typically used in bar soaps: Potassium Hydroxide (KOH). I do NOT understand this. I have put out some requests and have heard no responses. If YOU know why, please respond, because I genuinely want to know the reason why a different form of lye would be needed for liquid soap.
Now. Why would you want to start with bar soap (that was liquid during the soapmaking process to begin with) and liquify it? Because not everyone can have lye around. It’s dangerous stuff with little ones or if you don’t have the greatest coordination. I think I’m pretty decent and I’ve had a couple of minor incidents with yellowed curling finger nails and one spot on my arm. All is well now, but it was pretty scary (and stinky). If you cannot have lye in your home, purchase a “full body bar soap” – this is MY terminology alone, not an official label. What you are looking for is a simple, all-natural soap containing ONLY the ingredients YOU want (you can add more if you want during the process, but make sure there is nothing in there you DON’T want) – and make sure the glycerin has not been removed (this is what I call “full body” – it’s all the soap, nothing removed). Grate it up into a saucepan and add twice as much water as the amount of soap you have. Bring to a gentle simmer and stir almost constantly until the soap has melted – add any additional ingredients you want. Allow to cool – if it gets too thick, warm it back up and add water about 1/2 to a full cup at a time (you can gauge the amounts based on the thickness – very thick, add more water; getting close to what you want add less at a time), stirring and cooling until it gets to the thickness you like. After a time or two making it like this, you’ll recognize the thickness it needs to be when “hot” to be the consistency you want when “cool”. This is how I always used to make our soap.


So how do *I* make liquid soap now?

Those of you who visit my home and recognize the pitcher: Rest assured I do watch it. Remember that my alternate dish soap is this SAME soap plus coconut oil soap. It’s JUST soap 

I had 2 more of the “smaller” jars as well. From that one pitcher of soap!!!

Start with making olive oil soap, adding the highest amount of the required range of water. When any soap is made, a typical lye calculator will give a range of water amounts to use – use less if you want to set up faster; more if you want it to set up slower. Olive oil soap takes a while to set up anyway, so I typically use on the lower end if I am making bar soaps. For a recipe of 32 ounces of olive oil, I need 4.2 oz of Sodium Hydroxide (lye) and 8-12 ounces of water. I made a recipe last week with 15 ounces of water (I didn’t want to over-do it because I did want the oil and lye to be close enough to saponify well. This all perfectly fit into my beautiful glass pitcher.
I used a stick blender to bring it to trace, but I used to wait and stir and wait and stir – sometimes up to a full day to get the olive oil soap to trace. I LOVE stick blenders 
Then I separated it into two large old spaghetti sauce jars, filling each about half. I filled the rest with water and stirred. Added essential oils (in this case I used lavender, tea tree oil and grapefruit essential oils as well as vitamin E – to personal scent-preference). Let it sit. Stirred the next morning – it was THICK. Poured some out into 2 other jars and filled up with water again. Within 12 hours: thick again.

Poured into 2 more of the smaller jars and some into our current soap dispenser, adding more water to bring it to consistency in the dispenser.

The stuff in the glass jars is still thick though very close to the consistency I want and I will thin it as we use it.

That is a LOT of soap – for almost NO work. Next time, I’ll stick with 16 ounces and I’ll probably fill up this same amount of jars with soap at the proper consistency.


I didn’t use any of the complicated process (one site says you can’t make liquid soap using cold-process soap-making – ummmm, this is my second time making liquid soap from scratch and the ONLY way I like to make soap is the cold-process version. I abhor heating it up and dealing with the curds – I do it only when absolutely necessary – and liquid soap-making from scratch works just fine in cold-process, thank you very much).


I don’t do any of the other more complicated steps, because frankly – this method WORKS – we are getting ourselves clean – it is simply liquified versions of my bar soaps – so why would I go to more trouble for a liquid than I do for the bars?

Lazy Mom syndrome again 

Or maybe I just want to spend time with my son….

The Church - and Labels

I recently came across a blog post about the use of sexual labels and why the Church won’t use them. Simple terminology – and it has stuck with me. Almost haunting me.
Why I am Not a Heterosexual
I wonder how much I have been encouraging the use of such labels, leading to the wrong impressions, then to the wrong beliefs, in both myself and others.
In short, we are each made in the image and likeness of God – THAT is our identity. To identify our core selves as anything else diminishes our value in others’ eyes to the value of mere parts.
Parts that are not just physical.
No, we don’t have to like everything about a person, but we do need to see them as the complete person they are: only in this way, can we overlook those things that we don’t like and truly embrace those things we do connect with.
And it goes all directions:

• A person identifying as gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender – is asking everyone to identify that person for this attraction (it may or may not be a lifestyle for the particular person).
• A person identifying as heterosexual – is asking to be identified by that attraction.
• The person who identifies as LGBT – or heterosexual – or non-sexual — is looking to other people according to that attraction – according to the corresponding “parts” – in this case, usually physical; but their REAL needs are spiritual and emotional, which can only be fulfilled in a “whole” relationship.

Yet just because you are attracted to a particular gender,

does not mean you are attracted to ALL members of that gender.

Or that a deep meaningful (sexually chaste) relationship can’t be had with anyone of any gender.

Why are we defining everything by sex anyway?

Because sex is what brings about new life – it created each one of us – and will continue on the human race until the end of time. But we continue to miss the boat when we don’t see the WHOLE person, without the labels.

Now I understand how a husband and wife can live as brother and sister periodically or for long periods of time; how brothers and sisters can grow up together without these attractions to one another; how I can have such a spiritual connection with men who have (since our friendships started) become priests and not “want” them in “that way” that is natural between a man and a woman – they are truly brothers (and fathers) to me.
Because they love each other as WHOLE PERSONS – BODY AND SOUL – AS AN IMAGE OF GOD.
Not as mere parts.

Additional articles/links on the same topic:

• http://www.patheos.com/blogs/feastofeden/2012/11/catholic-man-with-homosexual-inclination-tells-why-gay-identity-philosophy-is-un-christian/
• http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/2013/05/no-longer-anonymous-why-i-decided-to-come-out-as-a-gay-priest.html
• http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/2542/homosexuality_identity_and_the_grace_of_chastity.aspx

The Church - and Labels

I recently came across a blog post about the use of sexual labels and why the Church won't use them. Simple terminology - and it has stuck with me. Almost haunting me.

Why I am Not a Heterosexual

I wonder how much I have been encouraging the use of such labels, leading to the wrong impressions, then to the wrong beliefs, in both myself and others.

In short, we are each made in the image and likeness of God - THAT is our identity. To identify our core selves as anything else diminishes our value in others' eyes to the value of mere parts.

Parts that are not just physical.

No, we don't have to like everything about a person, but we do need to see them as the complete person they are: only in this way, can we overlook those things that we don't like and truly embrace those things we do connect with.

And it goes all directions:

• A person identifying as gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender - is asking everyone to identify that person for this attraction (it may or may not be a lifestyle for the particular person).


• A person identifying as heterosexual - is asking to be identified by that attraction.


• The person who identifies as LGBT - or heterosexual - or non-sexual --- is looking to other people according to that attraction - according to the corresponding "parts" - in this case, usually physical; but their REAL needs are spiritual and emotional, which can only be fulfilled in a "whole" relationship.

Yet just because you are attracted to a particular gender,

does not mean you are attracted to ALL members of that gender.

Or that a deep meaningful (sexually chaste) relationship can't be had with anyone of any gender.

Why are we defining everything by sex anyway?

Because sex is what brings about new life - it created each one of us - and will continue on the human race until the end of time. But we continue to miss the boat when we don't see the WHOLE person, without the labels.

 

Now I understand how a husband and wife can live as brother and sister periodically or for long periods of time; how brothers and sisters can grow up together without these attractions to one another; how I can have such a spiritual connection with men who have (since our friendships started) become priests and not "want" them in "that way" that is natural between a man and a woman - they are truly brothers (and fathers) to me.

Because they love each other as WHOLE PERSONS - BODY AND SOUL - AS AN IMAGE OF GOD.

Not as mere parts.

 

Additional articles/links on the same topic:

• http://www.patheos.com/blogs/feastofeden/2012/11/catholic-man-with-homosexual-inclination-tells-why-gay-identity-philosophy-is-un-christian/


• http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/2013/05/no-longer-anonymous-why-i-decided-to-come-out-as-a-gay-priest.html


• http://www.catholicworldreport.com/Item/2542/homosexuality_identity_and_the_grace_of_chastity.aspx

Sidon Caesarea Philippi Tiberias Nain Sychar Bethany Ephraim Tyre Bethsaida Cana Caesarea Arimathea Jericho Jerusalem Capernaum Magdala Nazareth Emmaus Bethphage Bethlehem Mt. Carmel Mt. Tabor Mt. Gerizim Mt. Calvary Mt. of Beatitudes

Mt. Nebo Mt. of Olives Mts. of Judea Mts. of Galilee Desert of Judea Mts. of Lebanon Mts. of Samaria Mediterranean Sea Dead Sea Jordan River Sea of Galilee Galilee Samaria Judea Perea

Three Branches of the Church

The Church has three branches, all waiting for the moment of Parousia:

• Church Militant (us here on earth)
• Church Suffering (those souls in Purgatory)
• Church Triumphant (those souls who have already attained the Beatific Vision)

Each branch has particular roles and particular responsibilities.

A small group of girls discussed this very topic last month.

And this month (actually on November 1st and 2nd  ), the Church lives it out very consciously.

The funny thing is – we Catholics don’t fear cemeteries at night – we RELISH them!

Not much to see – it was DARK!!!

Candles were placed on the headstones or front of them; and each site was blessed with holy water. This work was done by the members of our parish – the Church Militant – the members of the Faithful here on earth. Following All Saints Mass (in thanksgiving for and honor of those who have attained the Beatific Vision and provided us examples here on earth), the cemetery can be visited in honor of All Souls (November 2nd – all those who have gone before us, including those we don’t know are in heaven yet or in purgatory (and we pray they are not elsewhere)).

Three Branches of Our Church

The Church has three branches, all waiting for the moment of Parousia:

 

• Church Militant (us here on earth)


• Church Suffering (those souls in Purgatory)


• Church Triumphant (those souls who have already attained the Beatific Vision)

Each branch has particular roles and particular responsibilities.

 

A small group of girls discussed this very topic last month.

 

And this month (actually on November 1st and 2nd ;) ), the Church lives it out very consciously.

 

The funny thing is - we Catholics don't fear cemeteries at night - we RELISH them!

 

Not much to see - it was DARK!!!

 

Candles were placed on the headstones or front of them; and each site was blessed with holy water. This work was done by the members of our parish - the Church Militant - the members of the Faithful here on earth. Following All Saints Mass (in thanksgiving for and honor of those who have attained the Beatific Vision and provided us examples here on earth), the cemetery can be visited in honor of All Souls (November 2nd - all those who have gone before us, including those we don't know are in heaven yet or in purgatory (and we pray they are not elsewhere)).

 

 



 



 



 



 



 



 

 

 

I Love You God

How often do I say the words “I love you” to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit – clearly – not just with my actions, but with my actual words? How often do I say the words “I love you” to (the very definition of perfection) God in the way I do to my beloved child, to my nieces, nephews and other beloved children in my life, as I do to most of those (imperfect) persons I love so dearly.

Jeremiah 31:3: 

With age-old love I have loved you;
          so I have kept my mercy toward you.

Why do the words “I love you” come so easily to my lips with people and not with the the Creator of those people, the One who is within all my loved ones? Is it really so much easier to say ‘I love you’ to those who touch my cheek, who play with my hair, who have arms to hug me, who smile their baby smiles, who go out of their way to make my bad day wonderful – and not so easy to say I love you to the one who provides these gifts, these graces, who holds me in His arms even as I fail Him again and again? Is it because I can’t always feel His arms? Should that matter? He is here, with me – why can I not turn to Him and say, “I love you Father.”
Yes the words “I love you” certainly come easier with fallen human persons – sometimes too easily. There are some loved ones to whom I can never say those words because it could be misconstrued in our society we live in. So very heart-wrenching to shake hands and look in the eyes and pray they know my purest love; the words are there and the tongue is bitten to hold them back. Forced holding back for imperfect but lovable humans – because the words come so easily.

So much difficulty saying in words what my imperfect actions attempt to say to the Perfect One. Why do the words not come so easily with God?

What blockage is in my branch of the Vine?

Psalm 18: 2-3:
I love you, LORD,
    my strength,
LORD,
   my rock,
     my fortress,
       my deliverer,
         My God,
           my rock of refuge,
             my shield,
               my saving horn,
                  my stronghold!
I love you, LORD!

I love you God

 

How often do I say the words "I love you" to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Spirit - clearly - not just with my actions, but with my actual words? How often do I say the words "I love you" to (the very definition of perfection) God in the way I do to my beloved child, to my nieces, nephews and other beloved children in my life, as I do to most of those (imperfect) persons I love so dearly.

 

Jeremiah 31:3: 

With age-old love I have loved you;

          so I have kept my mercy toward you.

 

Why do the words "I love you" come so easily to my lips with people and not with the the Creator of those people, the One who is within all my loved ones? Is it really so much easier to say 'I love you' to those who touch my cheek, who play with my hair, who have arms to hug me, who smile their baby smiles, who go out of their way to make my bad day wonderful - and not so easy to say I love you to the one who provides these gifts, these graces, who holds me in His arms even as I fail Him again and again? Is it because I can't always feel His arms? Should that matter? He is here, with me - why can I not turn to Him and say, "I love you Father."

Yes the words "I love you" certainly come easier with fallen human persons - sometimes too easily. There are some loved ones to whom I can never say those words because it could be misconstrued in our society we live in. So very heart-wrenching to shake hands and look in the eyes and pray they know my purest love; the words are there and the tongue is bitten to hold them back. Forced holding back for imperfect but lovable humans - because the words come so easily.

 

So much difficulty saying in words what my imperfect actions attempt to say to the Perfect One. Why do the words not come so easily with God?

 

What blockage is in my branch of the Vine?

 

Psalm 18: 2-3:

I love you, LORD,

    my strength,

LORD,

   my rock,

     my fortress,

       my deliverer,

         My God,

           my rock of refuge,

             my shield,

               my saving horn,

                  my stronghold!

I love you, LORD!

 

 

Long Hair - What to DO!?

The other evening, I had lovely young lady visiting who, of late, has developed a rather strong attraction to my hair – wrapping herself up in it, covering her face in it, hiding under it – being silly with my headcovering. She has been growing out her own hair long – she started long before she met me.

So the other evening, I am pretending to have an adult conversation with this young lady’s father and she is playing with my hair – twisting it into one rope, then multiple ropes, wrapping it around my face, around my head, looped with my glasses – I kept having this image of Princess Leia and Padme on a bad hair day (did either ever have one???). Lots of fun! I truly enjoyed having her play with my hair. As she played with my hair, I realized just how long it is – finally, I can call it “long” (I’ve been able to sit on it for several months now – but to SEE it stretched out so far from my body or to have it go around my head that many times – yeah, it’s long  )
My own son loved playing with my hair until somewhere around age 7 – at age 8, he maybe played with it a couple of times – and now, at 9, nothing. I am sad to consider those days might be over. He would take the ends of my braids and flip the ends of my hair around his finger; he would wrap up his hands and arms in my braid; he split the hanging part below the braid to make a “rainbow” as he called it. He always preferred it braided to hanging and rarely did anything involving my face (we have a largely unspoken rule that I do not like things in my face). He loved laying on the floor as a baby and toddler having the edges of my ankle-length skirts or my hair brushed over his face though!
I was thinking of all of this just now when I recalled a small number of ladies (with very short hair) tell me that they have short hair because you can’t do anything with long hair. For the record I never asked them or brought up that topic – this was very clearly a defense about something they didn’t feel right about – they felt the need to defend their decision to me when I wasn’t attacking or even cared!
One such lady stands out. We traveled to Italy together many years ago and shared lodging throughout the trip. She couldn’t STAND the fact that I would wake up 5 minutes before we are supposed to be out the door, with a 1 year old boy in tow, and I would still make it to breakfast on time. She was a single woman with no children – so she didn’t understand the amount of preparedness that went into assuring those few precious minutes of sleep. As the mother of a child who is still a morning sleeper and a night owl, I had already learned how to catch a few extra winks: bathe/shower in the evening, have the next day’s clothes ready and laid out for both of us; fresh diaper and travel toilet rim ready to go; all items needed for the next day in the backpack (snacks, water bottles, camera, diapers, wallet). Mission: sleep when I can; think as little as possible right after waking. Result: Get up, use toilet, have child use toilet while doing own hair, wash hands and face, do hair, get both of us dressed, gather up our things, load into car and meet everyone for breakfast. Come back up just to brush teeth. Good to go. Mission Accomplished.
Yes, waist-length hair, 1 year old boy – it can all be done in a 5 minute morning routine. (keeping in mind that breakfast and tooth-brushing is separate)

And how does this relate to hair? 
I didn’t have to wash it every morning to get it to stay in place – I wash my hair once or twice a week because it is actually healthier to get all the natural oils into it before washing it with harsh chemicals (I alternate between the least troublesome of the chemicals and natural methods)
I didn’t have to blow-dry it – it air-dries without doing too many strange things – probably because of the weight?
I didn’t have to curl it – the short sections wave themselves in a natural manner; the longer sections get braided, twisted, roped, tied, looped, banded, pony/pig-tailed – and a thousand varieties on each of those.
One morning, after this woman had been particularly cranky with me for sleeping through her hour-long process of getting herself ready, she told me that my simple braids are proof that I can do nothing with my hair – but look at all SHE can do with HER hair. I just looked at her and quietly said, “You wash it and curl it the same every morning. That is a lot of care, but that is not a lot that can be DONE. You do NOT need to defend yourself to me. It is YOUR hair and YOUR choice.” I walked out of the room.
But it was my catty side of the month – and I was still a bit immature at the time. That evening I did a different hairstyle (took me 90 seconds); in the following days I did my hair twice each day – in a completely different hairstyle. Each one took me less than two full minutes – so quick that the process was almost never seen.

What CAN’T I do with long hair? In my own hair, I can’t expect curling iron curls to stay for more than a few hours – but that is my hair short OR long (I have had hair as short as just under my ears before – in a boy-ish cut – so I do know what can/can’t be done with short/long hair).
I definitely can’t expect everyone to appreciate the fact that I choose the “traditional” feminine look because it fulfills the truest, deepest core of my nature.
I can’t stay in hiding – long hair stands out in the society in which I live.
I can’t think that the evil one will leave me alone – or that God will shield me from all attacks as my Faith in Him is tested.
But I don’t think that is what people think of when they say, “you can’t do anything with long hair”.

On a “do-nothing” day – or perhaps I had just gotten up and was working at home for the morning – since my headcovering isn’t on yet. Legoboy secretly took this photo on a spy mission of his.