Author: tinamhunt

ESFP with a dash of ADD. Lover of the Word and words. The cup of my life is neither half empty or half full--it overflows! I'm blessed to be a blessing and I'm here to share the journey.

Day 15 Frankful

No. This doesn’t haven’t anything to do with hot dogs. Today I’m thankful for time with a friend. I went over to a friend’s house for lunch. On the way I stopped and picked up a Pumpkin Caramel Pecan latte for each of us. We savored our yummy beverages and visited for a while. When it was time for lunch she asked if I wanted to go out to eat since she didn’t have anything in the house that I could eat. (Smile.) So we went to a little Mom and Pop’s restaurant in the crossroad town near her. I ordered liver and onions and was so verrrrrry happy I did. Melt in your mouth tender with just the right amount of onions. So yummy.

Then we went back to her house and talked for a couple hours. It was so nice. She has surgery the week after Thanksgiving so it may be a few weeks until we get together again. In the meantime we’re looking for recipes for things to make for Christmas. We did that last year and it was fun to make and even more fun to give.

Day 14 Too Busy to Be Thankful

How about too tired? The day was full, demanding my attention and when I was completing a task, I was reading Stephen James’ “Placebo” and loving it. Then at 8:30 with my Nook in my hand, I fell asleep in the living room chair. Today was one of those days that served as a reminder to not allow the urgent to crowd out what’s truly important.

The good news is, while I may not have put fingers to keyboard to let y’all in on my thoughts, I was a really thankful camper. I had to get my 89yr old little lady up and to the doctor’s office by 9:40. On the surface, this appeared to be an impossibility, especially since she’s been sleeping soundly until ten or eleven each day. But I am thankful that she woke up and cooperated and we got the doctor’s office and were only ten minutes late. Then within an hour, we were home and she was sipping on tea. As if that wasn’t enough to be thankful for, she superceeded ever expectation I could ever have by staying sweet spirited throughout the trip and during the rest of my shift.

Thankful. Yep. That’s me.

Day 13 On My Honor, I Am Thankful

Today as I was thinking over my long list of things to be thankful for, I started thinking about the adults who gave of themselves to mold me into the person I have been and am becoming. Does that thought seem as odd to you as it does to me? I’m 55 and I am still becoming. Not too many years ago, I wouldn’t have understood that, but now it is something for which I am thankful. Perhaps I’ll write more about that another day.

As I sat here trying to decide whether to write about Sunday school teachers, youth pastors, or school teachers, I was flooded with my fond memories of my time in Girl Scouts: winter camping (minus the freezing latrine); learning to bake and sew; cookie and calendar sales; and sweet friendships. I met the most influential person in my life through Girl Scouts. Whether I realized it or not, I was given solid examples of strong women, women in leadership. These women filled in the gap for my mother when she functioning more as supportive wife than nurturing mother. (This was an awareness we both came to over one of those really deep conversations while playing Scrabble.)

I tried to be a Girl Scout leader when we lived in Wisconsin. I had to quit. It’s hard work and I wasn’t in a place with enough support to do an adequate job. My girls were very young and needed more of me and I was attempting to pastor a struggling congregation far away from family and friends. Realizing how much time, energy, planning, and creativity it took to be a G.S. leader grew my appreciation for the women who filled those roles a hundred-fold.

So to those women, thank you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. And even though I won’t eat even one, I will buy my share of cookies this year in honor of you and support of all those women out there now who give so much.

Day 12 Tenacious Life-shaping Thankfulnes

Day 12
I sat down to type this on my Nook Tablet, and I noticed that my phone was about to die so I had to stop and pull out my charger and attach it to the extension cord plugged into the power strip. As I walked back to the table I got a notification that one of my friends had just played in one of our Words With Friends games, which was followed by a notification that I just got a text from my daughter.

I sat back down at the table and smiled. While it may look like today’s thankatuity is for technology, which I am grateful for, sitting here I am awash in thanks that God wired us to be curious and creative and tenacious.

In a former job, I taught a class which had as its premise that there is genius in each of us. Now that’s not to say that we can expect to be budding Edisons or Einsteins, Jordans or Gretzkys, Jobs or Gates, but in your sphere of influence you are the expert on you. And God says he put you right where he wants you to make the difference and impact that only you can make.

So how will you change and shape your world for good and God?

Day 11: Gratuities

(You know how all the videos you want to connect to start with a 20 or 30 ad these days? Well, here’s your ad: don’t forget to tip your server. Both of my daughters have worked in the food industry. Younger daughter supports herself and her young son that way. She’s quite amazing at her job. In fact, when she was being interviewed for her current position the manager stated quite emphatically: Anyone who didn’t hire you is a fool. The problem is that people are tight, especially in this economy. But servers count on tips. Leaving a track is insulting and gives believers a black eye. Dine resposibly.)

Ok, here’s what I’m really wanting to say…I looked up the word gratuity and one of the definitions is to be given something without claim or demand. Sounds like grace to me. I am thankful for grace, mercy, and favor. There have been times in my life where I didn’t get what I deserved (mercy) and when by divine intervention I received undeserved consideration (favor). I would love to say that I have always been grateful for these things, but quite honestly, I missed some and refused others.

Isn’t that crazy? Yet we do it all the time. People have reached out with blessings and I felt like I didn’t deserve them, shouldn’t accept them, and walk away from them. Too often pride or shame or some goofy combination of the two keep us from accepting gifts and blessings. It makes even less sense when you understand that we have been blessed to be a blessing (Gen. 12:2).

Well, my purpose isn’t to preach…just to be thankful and invite you to keep your eyes open for the graces that come your way this week. Don’t be so focused on looking for the showers of blessings that you miss the mercy drops falling around you!

Day 9 Counting Blessings

I am thankful today that I am wired to see the positive, to find the blessing, to find the good in what others can only see as empty and bad.

Do you know that kind of person? They seem only able to see the negative, what’s missing and wrong. They’re the kind of people who always seem to be looking at the underneath side of things. I often wonder if they would know a blessing if it walke up and kissed them on the face. (At this point, all I can think of is Lucy of Peanuts: Eww, dog germs.)

Sigh. People like that drain me. Is that too honest? I think part of the reason that they do is that when I get around these Negative Neds and Nancys I fee responsible for trying to help them see the positive. I spend my time like some kind of NFL cheerleader on a mega dose of caffiene. It’s exhausting….and most often futile.

My life is F.U.L.L. of blessings. That awareness helped me when I was in jail. Even there I was able to see positive things. Granted, some days I had to look even harder, but I could always find something. The good thing is that I don’t need a whole lot. I’m very content with the mercy drops that fall around me, I don’t need the Showers of Blessing.

I guess that’s why Paul’s message to the Philippians has always resonated with me: Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. (Phil. 4:11) This truth became real and foundational when I began to grasp more fully, and allowed the truth to get ahold of me, that “The Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything that I need.” Don’t have it? Don’t need it.

I count myself blessed. I am content in the blessings.

Politically Naive and Prayerful

I’m not a highly political person. I tend to roll with the flow instead of swimming against the tide. I ride the wave, I don’t make them. I don’t share my opinions very often, because I’m not as savvy as those around me, and I’m not a big fan of conflict. But I do have a couple things I want to say now that this election is over.

First, I firmly believe that our system is horrendously flawed. The thing that grated on me the most as this election droned on was the endless impossible promises that were being made. No one can promise anything because as soon as they try to push for their platform and programs their efforts are thwarted by the other party who, responding like a spoiled three year old puts their own interests (read pride) ahead of their opponents. Civil servants. That’s what we need not self-centered, ego-driven, professional systematicians who completely lack civility and have no concept of what it means to be a servant.

And we are no better than they. I was scrolling through my tweets today and I began to unfollow people. I get it that someone might be disappointed that their candidate didn’t win, but to make statements like: freedom and democracy died yesterday does nothing but fuel the fires that are burning and destroying. Are we spoiled children who only know how to take our marbles and go home when we don’t get our way? Or are we adults who know how to work together for the common good? Why does it take tragedy and adversity to blur the political lines so we can work in unity? Why isn’t this modus operandi?

I finally came upon a few tweets that encouraged prayer for our nation, our leaders, and our president. As believers, shouldn’t that be what we are about? If there is one thing I heard, it is this: it is time to move forward. Moving forward doesn’t mean abandoning our values, but it does mean letting go of the thinking that we have to go back in time to something for things to be better. Let’s make things better now.

When I was a therapist working with children, I often used an illustration about making cookies. As anyone who knows me will attest to, I am not a cook, nor a baker. In my life I have burned more cookies than I can count. My cookies also tend to stick to the pan, resulting in more crumbs than cookies. I gave up crying about crumbly cookies long ago because I learned that cookie crumbs are valuable, too. Cookie crumbles go good on ice cream or in oatmeal. They are not something to be wasted, they are to be used and celebrated. Life offers us many opportunities to look for creative solutions and possibilities within situations. I can see oodles of applications of this to our situation today.

One of the things I have found to be critical in my life of faith and in my life as a responsible citizen, is personal accountability. This political climate and situation isn’t an ‘us vs. them’ problem. We all need to be accountable and responsible. We need to be sure that our horizontal relationship with God is right and then work for the same in our vertical relationships with one another. Freedom and democracy didn’t die, but I sure wish animosity would. I wish self-promotion would. Those are the things that are choking out what is good, and true, and Godly.

So how will we respond? Will we whine and put bumper stickers on our cars that inform others we didn’t vote for this leadership and we don’t intend to work with it either? If so, I’m pretty sure it will not be honoring to God or impactful on a world in desperate need of a Savior. Or will we choose to work towards unity? Will we speak up for those who have no voice? Will we endeavor in our words and our actions to do nothing that is not honoring to God? Will learn to agree to disagree without being disagreeable? Will we seek to move forward without beating others over the head with how things used to be and make something good and right out of what we have now?

The balloting may be over, but there are still plenty of choices to be made.

Day 8: Thankyouverymuch

Funny thing happened on the way to the blog post…I sat at my computer, hands on keyboard, fingers primed to type out my thoughts, and…I suddenly was overwhemed with gratitude. The very thought of pick one thing to be thankful for this morning seemed utterly absurd. There was litterally a flood of things that came to mind. So just awash in the awareness of how blessed my life is. And to top it off…I was awakened over an hour early by the dogs needing an emergency potty run. That might have set the course of my day into a downward spiral, but instead I have been most productive: in housework, administrative necessities, and writing. I’m really quite into it and don’t want to stop, but I have an appointment to get my teeth cleaned (another not favorite thing in my life, and yet I find myself grateful even for this).

Here are a pics that make me smile…just things that came to mind this morning…things I am thankful for:

<img src="Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App” alt=”Bible study” />

<img src="All in Bibs” alt=”” />

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<img src="Saying Goodbye” alt=”” />

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And with that, I’m off to the dentist and to get my replacement driver’s lisence. TTFN

Day 7: Thankitudes

Today would have been my father’s seventy-seventh birthday. He died in 1989 after a vicious battle with cancer. I miss him. He wasn’t an affectionate man. I often said that hugging him was like hugging a tree, but I still hugged him. He was critical and demanding, but I still find myself trying to please him.

For all the things that I might have considered lacking or negative about my dad and my relationship with him, there were some valuable gifts he passed onto me.

  • I learned how to be a compassionate manager of people who is able to get more work done, but not just quantitatively but qualitatively as well.
  • I observed and learned from him to not be afraid of a situation that others deem a loss. He was gifted at going into offices that were falling apart on many levels and helped to turn them around to award winning offices. He was able to see the possibilities and helped others to catch that vision and bring it into reality.
  • One of Dad’s mantras was: K.I.S.S.: keep it simple stupid. Good advice.
  • My dad was a company man: loyal and dedicated. I get that.
  • My dad loved to laugh. I can still see him throwing his head back and laughing from his toes.
  • My dad loved to get together with friends.
  • My dad loved good music and I saw him dance.

I could probably go on and on. He wasn’t a perfect man, but when he died his family was at his side. We shed a few tears, but we also laughed as remembered his life.  I will never forget the note that the hospice worker logged about those moments together as family: “family remembering and grieving well.” He wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Postscript: my deep appreciation for hospice came out of this experience. These are very good people. What they do and provide for families is something to be abundantly thankful for as well.

Today is my older grandson’s birthday. He turns 7 today. He lives with our former son-in-law. We don’t get to see him as much as the others, but we treasure him as much as we do the rest. Ever since our granddaughter was born, I have referred to these kiddos as the grandsweeties. The sweetness that these precious children have added to our lives is immeasurable.

So our granddaughter, P, will be 9 in a few weeks. And A turns 7 in January. I often said that if I had known how special grands were I would have had more children. Then I began to feel like the only way we would get more is through grafting. And I was right. Older daughter is engaged and with a new SIL we will graft little K into the fold. She will turn 7 in January, too. Younger daughter has recently started dating a man who has two little girls, so maybe we’ll be blessed with even a few more!

As precious as these wee ones are to me, they mean that much more to my husband. When it came time to plan his 50th birthday, I asked if he wanted a party. He said yes and smiled. He wanted and had his party at Chuck E. Cheese, or as we fondly call it: The house of Mouse. When the guy who signed us in asked whose birthday it was we all pointed at Pepa. The guy was a little surprised, but Pepa wore the birthday badge quite proudly.

Pepa must have a thing for mice because when it came time to plan our 30th anniversary, he informed me that our big day would be celebrated the following year with daughters and grandsweeties at the Big Mouse House in Orland. And we did.

So today, I am abundantly thankful for the sweetness our grandchildren have brought into our lives and for the joys that are to come!