my wings are made of faith

60s vintage motorola console

a couple of weeks ago luke helped his dad clean out their basement ... and lookie what he brought home with him! pretty nifty, eh? this poor thing has taken a beating over the years by the looks of it. we'd love to restore it if at all possible. it definitely needs a good sand down and a fresh coat of paint and some rewiring.

 

there was even some literature AND an extra needle (in case) tucked away inside the console. i didn't find an exact date on it, but from my quick online research, i'm guessing it's from the early 60s. (uncle bob, you might know?) i love this schematics diagram! might be super helpful if we can find someone to rewire it.

and wouldn't ya know, we got some old records too! a little elvis, bing crosby ...

 

he also brought home some old baseball cards and an old coca-cola bottle.

fun stuff!

make room

i've been finding lately that a lot of my so-called leisurely activities or self-brought responsibilities, when all piled up were starting to stress me out. i sometimes psych myself into thinking that i can do it all—i become yes-woman. whether because i want to help, i feel guilty for not doing, no one else will do it if i don't, get paid to do it, etc, i've come to a point realizing that it's all too much—and i find that those activities don't do any of the above. motion sickness—that's what i like to call it. going so fast that it's hard to slow down and enjoy life. for some reason i think that tackling all the yes's i've committed to will give me a sense of accomplishment ... when all i'm left with is a tired body, lack of energy, and  no desire to pour into anyone else. counter productive, eh?

i've recently gone on a facebook diet, which was quite nice, actually. it's a time suck! i still check it and respond to others, but i've stopped posting updates for awhile. social media. it's time consuming. i can't bring myself to join twitter and while flickr sounds great, it makes my head spin thinking about having to update one more site.it's the simple things, like facebook, that i've put aside for awhile to prioritize and leave time for things that allow for rejoicing, enlarging , and calming the heart—like yoga, reading, cooking, painting, enjoying people ...

i really desire for 2010 to be different. i feel like i blinked and missed most of the year. i don't want to miss all the little things that God has brought into my life. there are too many things in this fallen world that make us sad ... we need to concentrate on the things that make our heart dance for joy. there are too many events, words, and personal battles that leave us with a bitter, stingy, broken heart ... what if we did more things that made our heart grow (forgiving, serving, loving without abandon, laughing more, giving ...) lastly, there is way too much stress everywhere. from work, people, emotional, etc. it's practically around every corner waiting to grab us by throat and choke us. we must find the calm, make time for the calm, and soak up every good minute of it. i know that i fail miserably sometimes when it comes to making the choices of activities that will lead to a rejoicing, enlarged and calming heart. it can be challenging to remember that we do have the choice. whether it's complaining or rejoicing, holding on to bitterness or enlarging my heart, or choosing to let stress get to me or taking a deep breath and finding the calm—i have the choice. 

happy friday to you. let's look for ways to apply this quote (all three things) to our day tomorrow.
xo

reflections

the most valuable thing the psalms do for me is to express that same delight in God which made david dance—cs lewis

this quote comes from a book by cs lewis that i'm about to read called reflections on the psalms. (thinking about his wonderful writings makes we want to watch the chronicles of narnia—don't you just love that series?) i always find lewis's books challenging to read, but they are very much a joy to get lost in. i learned something new tonight about him ... that he was once an atheist. shocker! knowing this makes me even more intrigued with his words and the story of his journey from a non-believer to a Christ follower.

psalm 95:1-7

¹O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
²Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
³For the LORD is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
⁴In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
⁵The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.
⁶Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
⁷For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand

thimerosal

• Thiomersal (C9H9HgNaO2S), or sodium ethylmercurithiosalicylate, commonly known in the United States as thimerosal, is an organomercury compound (approximately 49% mercury by weight) used as an antiseptic and antifungal agent.—wikipedia

• Thiomersal is very toxic by inhalation, ingestion, and in contact with skin (EC hazard symbol T+), with a danger of cumulative effects. When applied to human nerve cells it changes cell membrane permeability and induces programmed cell death.—wikipedia

i was saddened to hear on the radio this morning that the government is pushing for children(!) to get TWO doses of the vaccine! my mother-in-law just sent me an e-mail with some very displeasing news regarding the flu and H1NI vaccine. i pulled a few quotes from this site:

How dangerous is it? According to one report, “In 1977, a Russian study found that adults exposed to ethylmercury, the form of mercury in thimerosal, suffered brain damage years later. Studies on thimerosal poisoning also describe tubular necrosis and nervous system injury, including obtundation, coma and death.

Many doses of the swine flu vaccine will contain thimerosal, a mercury-containing organic compound that is 50 times more toxic than mercury itself. Mercury is a known neurotoxin and does not belong in our vaccines.

These swine-flu vaccines will be given under a health emergency (“Pandemic Alert”) scenario with apparently no FDA-regulation-compliant approval. See thenhf.com/newsflash_57.htm (d) Like all vaccines, the long-term mercury-poisoning and immune-system harms will not even be looked for. Most “trials” will only look for adverse effects for 21 days."

 ... a bottle of thimerosal is too dangerous to even open. One child was injected as an infant with a dose of mercury that would be unsafe for a 250-lb adult. A mother lamented, "It's a neurotoxin, it's one of the most poisonous on earth.

UNREAL! this is dangerous! and we wonder why there are so many illnesses these days, especially autism, MS, epilepsy ... our medicine is toxic, our food is toxic, our skincare products are toxic. people are constantly ingesting and topically applying toxic chemicals. 

we've all got to do our part in not spreading germs so that people do not have to get this vaccine. washing hands (alot)! eating healthy—fast food, soda and sugar weaken our immune system! get plenty of sleep and exercise. and please, for the love, keep anyone who is sick at home! :)

sorry, hot topic! wait, i'm not sorry for exposing truth. we've got to educate ourselves on what we are putting into our bodies—your long-term good health depends on it.

{ps} why didn't anyone point out i misspelled a word in my last post title ;)

wisdom

can you believe it's november? that it's dark out so early? doesn't it seem like yesterday when spring arrived? so crazy how time flies by so fast. most days it feels like i blink and the day is over! i thought i'd post proverbs 2 tonight ... because it's november 2. i've tried to get into a good habit and read a chapter of proverbs a day, leaving a chapter for every day of the month ... but it seems like i remember then forget, remember then forget. i think i should resolve to hold myself to this exercise in 2010.

The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security

    ¹My son, if you will receive my words
         And treasure my commandments within you,
    ²Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
         Incline your heart to understanding;
    ³For if you cry for discernment,
         Lift your voice for understanding;
    ⁴If you seek her as silver
         And search for her as for hidden treasures;
    ⁵Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
         And discover the knowledge of God.
    ⁶For the LORD gives wisdom;
         From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
    ⁷He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
         He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
    ⁸Guarding the paths of justice,
         And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
    ⁹Then you will discern righteousness and justice
         And equity and every good course.
    ¹⁰For wisdom will enter your heart
         And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
    ¹¹Discretion will guard you,
         Understanding will watch over you,
    ¹²To deliver you from the way of evil,
         From the man who speaks perverse things;
    ¹³From those who leave the paths of uprightness
         To walk in the ways of darkness;
    ¹⁴Who delight in doing evil
         And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
    ¹⁵Whose paths are crooked,
         And who are devious in their ways;
    ¹⁶To deliver you from the strange woman,
         From the adulteress who flatters with her words;
    ¹⁷That leaves the companion of her youth
         And forgets the covenant of her God;
    ¹⁸For her house sinks down to death
         And her tracks lead to the dead;
    ¹⁹None who go to her return again,
         Nor do they reach the paths of life.
    ²⁰So you will walk in the way of good men
         And keep to the paths of the righteous.
    ²¹For the upright will live in the land
         And the blameless will remain in it;
    ²²But the wicked will be cut off from the land
And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

i LOVE the wisdom solomon shares with us in this chapter. the words are perfect during this season of my life while i try to seek wisdom and understanding. i'm finding that the best prayer i can say right now is asking for wisdom, above all else ... asking for help in making the right decisions ... asking for His will not mine ... asking for understanding ...: discovering the knowledge of God, He preserves our way, He gives us wisdom, we're given discernment ... ultimately we're secure in Him.

hope you have a great tuesday!
xo

because it's stated clearly the rewards that become ours when we seek wisdom

granola goodnes

one of my most favorite snacks is granola. it's good on fruit, yogurt, ice cream and cottage cheese (according to my lovely neighbor).

my problem: it's way too expensive to buy organic, gluten-free granola at the store.

my solution: make it homemade. it's yummier, no preservatives, no hidden ingredients, less expensive, and makes the house smell amazing!

i found this recipe over at one of my favorite food blogs. i used it to get an idea of what the measurements were, but i didn't have everything she used, so i modified the recipe to work with what i had around here. you could easily do the same, but here's what i put in mine:
• dried dates • dried cranberries • dried blueberries • raisins • soy nuts • almonds • gluten-free rolled oats • butter • olive oil • pumpkin seeds • sunflower seeds • coconut 

this can easily be put together in 15 minutes and baked for about 35 minutes. super-easy, healthy + out-of-this-world tasty!

hope you've enjoyed the weekend! did you get an extra hour of sleep?

signs of fall

empty picnic benches ...

golden trees ...

 

fresh michigan cranberries ...

 

pretty shades of purple and green (who knew celery hearts could be so pretty?) ...

 

don't forget to set your clocks back tonight!