THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for the view of Mt. Hood that we see every time we come off the freeway and head home. What's one thing that you're thankful for?

THE 6 Ws

There had been a fair amount of tension in the mix that morning, but sometimes I think it's important to smile for a camera when you don't feel like it. We took a quick family picture before people started showing up for Creeker Park Day on Sunday because we knew we'd have a fun time at the park and I'd rather document what would turn out to be a good day with posed smiles when I'm thinking about it, even though we're still a little grumpy, than have no proof of our time there at all because I forgot the camera by the time we all liked each other again.

MY REFUGE

Last month I was in a counseling appointment and shared that the following verse had stood out to me when I had recently come across it. 

2 Samuel 22:3a My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.

The previous month had been discouraging on all fronts and I was feeling stuck. I'd like to say that when I feel stuck I consistently make wise choices that get me moving forward on the right track, but the truth is that I often choose to avoid reality by wasting time on Facebook or losing myself in a stack of library books. There's obviously nothing wrong with interacting with friends online or enjoying a good book, but my motives and goals need to be appropriate.

As I read those familiar words, I started thinking about what a refuge is. It's a place of safety, right? Somewhere we will be protected from whatever hardship we're facing. But it's also a place we have to choose, a place we intentionally seek out. Refuges don't come to us, we go to them. 

The question I asked myself, even though I already knew the answer, was whether or not God is my refuge. I believe he is always a refuge, but whether or not he's my refuge is up to me. Sure, I'd say he's my refuge, but actions speak louder than words. Far too often he is not where I turn when life is overwhelming, confusing, or otherwise rotten. The truth is that Facebook and library books are my refuge. They are where I tend to automatically turn when I want protection from whatever junk life is throwing at me.

The problem is that those things, although not inherently bad, don't actually offer protection. All they provide is distraction. Unfortunately, life is still waiting for me when Facebook runs out of interesting posts and the last chapter of a book comes to an end. But I'm no more prepared to deal with it than I was before.

An actual refuge, on the other hand, offers a safe place to land when I need help, but the goal is to make forward progress when I leave. It's not a place to ignore my problems, but to either rest as I figure out how to address them or catch my breath while my problems pass over on their own. 

If I believe that God created this world, that he created me and knows exactly what I need, then he needs to be my refuge, the place of safety that I seek out. Whether I'm studying my Bible at the table to remind myself of his promises and to look for his guidance or praying for comfort through buckets of tears while I'm curled up in bed, he should be the first place I turn when I need help. 

I definitely think there are times we just need to hit pause and focus on something unrelated to the big struggles in our life for a time, but that's not what I'm talking about here. Taking a break to spend a little time on Facebook in the midst of a chaotic day is fine. Sitting on the lawn long enough to read a chapter of whatever book I'm working through before I dive back into whatever part of life is complicated is not a problem. That's just resting, and it's good. I'm talking about where we automatically turn in hard times, where we linger when we're in trouble. I know the difference between the two in my own life and I'm sure you do in yours.

Maybe you're not on Facebook and you hate reading, but we all have refuges that aren't ideal. Which activity, person, thing, or place do you run to first when life is hard? Why do you turn that direction? Is it helpful for getting your head and heart back in a healthy place? Does it provide a responsible way for you to deal with the problems you're facing? If not, then maybe you should acknowledge it as a distraction and quit pretending it's a refuge. That doesn't necessarily mean you avoid it completely, but it does mean that you're honest about why you're turning in that direction. For me, that means asking myself if I'm cracking open a book because I love reading and am intentionally making time to do something I enjoy, hopping online to check Facebook because I have some time to spare and want to satisfy my extrovert desire for interaction with other people, or if I'm doing either of those things because I'm stressed, grumpy, and avoiding people or situations that need my attention. 

It's been four weeks since my last appointment, the one where I'd shared this insight about how I have to choose my refuge and intentionally move toward it, and I'd love to say I've been spending lots of time in prayer and reading my Bible, that I'm rarely, if ever, turning to my primary distractions instead of to God as my refuge when I'm unhappy. But that would be a lie. It's been a rough stretch the last few months and what I know is best in my head is still working it's way down deep enough in my heart to cause a major change in my behavior. I'm a work in progress, that's for sure, but I'm still thankful for the reminder that I choose my refuge. I want to choose wisely. I want to choose God.

MENU MONDAY - 7/24/17

We made an unplanned batch of poppyseed & banana muffins last week and plan on throwing a bunch of roasted mushrooms with garlic, thyme, & balsamic vinegar in the mix this week, but probably for lunch.

COOKING IN ADVANCE (These are often spontaneous projects, so they'll include things we did at the last minute the previous week and/or plan on doing in the upcoming one.)
* freeze vegan cream of broccoli soup
* peanut butter
* seasoned mix of black & pinto beans (crockpot, freezer)

BREAKFAST
* maple pecan granola
* egg & veggie scramble
* doughnuts at church
* oatmeal with a rotation of the following toppings - brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, homemade peanut butter, maple almond butter, raisins, dried cranberries, fresh or frozen fruit, huh-koe-pee milk, and/or energy mix x4

DINNER
* leftovers (every Sunday so that we can have a day off from cooking)
* vegan cream of broccoli soup (double and freeze half) / creamy kale salad
* cold sesame noodles / firecracker cauliflower
* buffalo slaw / brown rice
* roasted veggie salad with avocado dressing / parmesan herb drop biscuits
* chicken veggie stir-fry / brown rice
* Dutch babies / smoothies

SNACKS & DESSERTS
* lemon cookies
* fruits and vegetables
* peanuts and dry roasted almonds
* popcorn with nutritional yeast, regular salt, or seasoned salt (kernels from the WinCo bulk department that get popped in my Lodge Dutch oven, but you can see my thoughts on both the wonderful Dutch oven and the fantastic West Bend Stir Crazy in this post.)

Notes: Any chicken breasts, 93/7 ground beef, applewood smoked ham, or pork tenderloins in our menus are from Zaycon Fresh. We've been making bulk purchases from them for few years and have been pleased with their products.

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GARLIC HARVEST

Tim and I have braided garlic the last two years, but this year I decided to ask Naomi and Tyler to help me. Naomi helped me trim roots while Tyler brushed off excess dirt.

Then they each started their braids. Naomi made her braid by herself with just a little verbal guidance when she got frustrated at one point. Tyler did most of the work on his, but I helped a little when he needed a hand.

Goofy kids with their completed braids.

And smiling kids. Even if one of those smiles is super posed and fake.

I think they did a great job!

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I'm thankful for kids building blanket forts together. What is something that you're thankful for?

A CAR SHOW & AN AMUSEMENT PARK

A couple Sundays ago we swung by the Show and Shine Car Show here in town on our way home from church. I don't have any pictures of the cool cars that were there and a communication breakdown with one of the little Ws meant we didn't get a family picture either, but I did get some of the tattoos that Naomi and Tyler got in the Kids' Corner. 

Naomi got a flower and her name written in Japanese ... by a Japanese woman named Naomi, which was cool.

Tyler requested Spiderman and got this. This was done freehand after looking at a picture online. I was impressed!

Last Thursday F.I.R.E. hosted an employee family barbecue at Oaks Park and we spent several hours there. Our family was split into ever-changing groupings and I didn't take many pictures, but here are a few. Tyler didn't want to do anything that spun fast, but he was excited about this mellow ride.

I got one picture of our family, but the backlight feature obviously failed to do its job and I forgot to take another picture in the shady picnic area later on. Oh well. At least there's proof we were all there at the same time.

I used to love rides that spun fast and flipped around, but about seven years ago I got sick on a spinning piece of playground at a park and haven't done anything like it since. However, this particular ride didn't seem too bad and I went on it by myself once while the other Ws were all doing other things. It was totally fine. It spun, but just a little, and I could look out and watch everyone walking around. Given that it was so mellow, I suggested that Tyler stretch his comfort zone and go on it. He went with Tim and loved it, then he and I went together. We snapped this picture while they were loading the ride.

My second time on the ride was totally different. It spun so much! I had to stare at my feet to keep from getting sick and I felt funky for a couple hours after the ride ended. Tyler's enthusiasm was awesome, but I confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt that my body can no longer handle any cool rides. Wowzers. We discovered that Naomi likes the intense rides, though, so she and Silas did a bunch together while Devon, who gets motion sickness, hung with the rest of us (and sometimes on his own) doing less adventurous ones.

Our family did the ferris wheel together, but otherwise we were spread out in all directions during free time. We gathered with the rest of the employees and their families for dinner, chatting, and a raffle (three kids won prizes), then we did a few more rides, roller skating (the other Ws), and visiting at the picnic site (me, because the rink strobe lights were killing my wimpy, still-recovering-from-a-ride self). Super fun afternoon and evening!