My Life With Trent: January 2008

Monday, January 28, 2008

Valley of Vision and Goals for the Year

In considering what my goals should be for the upcoming year (yes, I know I'm late!) I am meditating on the following prayer that my friend Linda shared with us recently. It's from the wonderful book, Valley of Vision- A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions by Arthur Bennett.

New Year

O Lord,
Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed
in Thy presence, in Thy service, to Thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains,
sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from Thee,
but may rely on Thy Spirit
to supply every thought,
speak in every word,
direct every step,
prosper every work,
build up every mote of faith,
and give me a desire
to show forth Thy praise;
testify Thy love,
advance Thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year,
with Thee, O Father, as my harbour,
Thee, O Son, at my helm,
Thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
my lamp burning,
my ear open to Thy calls,
my heart full of love,
my soul free.
Give me Thy grace to sanctify me,
Thy comforts to cheer me,
Thy wisdom to teach me,
Thy right hand to guide me,
Thy counsel to instruct,
Thy law to judge,
Thy presence to stabilize.
May Thy fear be my awe,
Thy triumphs my joy.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Simple Sundays

My Simple Sunday pleasure this week took two weeks to arrange. Too busy of a schedule for both of us was driving us batty and we were longing for some intimate alone time- time to just be together without being with anyone else, no phone calls, nothing to do, just.... BE. So Friday night, we unplugged the phone, had a wonderful dinner of sandwiches, followed by coffee with Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch ice cream, going to bed late, sleeping in late, and then waking up to freshly fallen snow. We opened the curtains- our room has huge sliding glass doors that offer a great view- so peaceful all that fresh snow was, and my sweetie brought us croissants and coffee and we stayed in bed for two hours. We talked, we laughed, we RELAXED! It was heaven! I told a friend later and she thought it was the best idea she'd heard in years! They've been a little stressed and busy too, so I hope they just DO IT!
Visit SimpleSundays :o)

Friday, January 18, 2008

Ode to Wit

In the midst of a cleaning binge- which is what any sane woman should be doing January (what else is there to do, I ask you, besides daydream?!)(btw, don't answer that all you crafty women out there), I made a cup of tea while surveying the damage I had done (see the above photo- I ran out of 409), and is my custom, while the tea was steeping I read the little quip on the tab. Do any of you drink Good Earth Original Tea? You should, it's wonderful. Even more so if you steep a bag of Celestial Seasonings Chocolate Caramel Enchantment Chai along with it, add a tiny drizzle of honey and lots of soy milk.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, the tab and the wit. It said, "A witty saying proves nothing." Voltaire (1694-1778)

Now there's some wisdom for you, eh? I remember my husband commenting to someone once, "Being able to argue a point eloquently doesn't make you right, it just makes you eloquent." And here's a gem from my favorite book, Proverbs 17:27-28. "He that hath knowledge spareth his words; and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding."

I'm preaching to myself here. ;o)

Remember this old saying? "Little said is soonest mended". Hmm..... lots of good sayings out there, don't you think?

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

New Years Day and A New Tradition!

Snowshoeing and soaking in the hot springs. (notice all the steam in the center picture?) Oh, and let's not forget the tailgate dinner of chili. However, next year's dinner promises to be something special, so I'll be browsing those food blogs and cookbooks...