The Creation of Adam by Michaelangelo
Genesis 1: 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Genesis1:1 kept repeating itself over and over in my mind. I resisted. I thought I was called to write an Advent series, and none starts at the very beginning of time! But God led me here to this verse about the beginning of the world.
I hadn't intended to write Advent posts this year. I was going to participate in Advent privately by reading and studying but not create. Yet when I sat down tonight to begin a different post, the title presented itself and I felt my spirit hush and wait.
I'm not often quiet like this in the evening. My mind is full of what I've done that day, what I'm going to do tomorrow, what I hope to do before sleep overtakes me or worrying that it won't overtake me and I'll come to tomorrow weary and worn.
As I sat here this evening thinking of the new month about to come in, I let my mind wander over the month ahead and then the annual "GASP" occurred. "WHAT are we going to do about Christmas?!"
I know what I'm going to do about it. I'm going to enjoy it. I'm not going to focus on work. I've been focusing on work all year long and I've done about all I'm going to do outside of routine housework until the New Year is here. I'm dusting my hands of all the goals I didn't meet, the jobs not yet done or only partly done. Away! I want to make this an epic month of enjoying the season.
November 22, Friday evening: I've made an executive decision. I'll run this post through next Wednesday and then I'm shutting down for the holiday weekend. But I'll be back as usual by December 1 with my routine posts.
Meals today: I know we ate...Just can't remember what it was!
Soup and rice leftovers mixed up. This was delicious.
As of the time I'm working on this meal plan, I don't mind telling you that I haven't yet decided what is for tonight's supper, much less for meals all next week.
I think I've said I use my meal plan as a loose guide of what we'll eat. Even though we seldom eat all I'd planned to make in a week, I enjoy having a meal plan to guide me. It's a little road map based on our calendar for the week, what I know we need to use to prevent spoilage, and any leftovers we might have. It's also based on weather, cravings I might have or requests that John's made, what I've noted is expiring on the pantry shelves, or is an older dated item in the freezer.
I read a lovely phrase the other day, one I'd never heard. I wish I could recall whose blog I read it on but alas I cannot. It wasn't one of my usual reading places so I can't find it again. But she'd said, "It's half-past November..." For the whole of the past week, I've had that phrase in mind, "Half-past November..." Isn't that a lovely way of saying the month is fleeting?
November 16, Saturday: Yesterday afternoon, just as we were about to sit down to a very late lunch, Katie called to share her most epic haul at Target. Between sales, coupons, and Ibotta she got paid to take her purchases from the store. She earned $8. She purchased $232 worth of formula and products for her family.
Our conversation went on for a long while. It was such a lovely long talk, and she brought me to tears at one point with something she said. It's not often we get validation from our kids and frankly it's not something we expect to get. I think the majority of parents I know do their best to raise their kids right and hope they've served them well. But now and then a little confirmation warms the heart and soul.