There were lemons, so I made lemonade

Apparently, my efforts to seek out the sweet things in life midst the sour is working. That, and I have some very kind blogging friends who know a little encouragement goes a long way. Thank you to my Sleeping with Bread Blogging friend Pamela for giving me a lemons to lemonade award. (Insert blushing and grinning here!)

Pamela explains the award as: "An Award that is given to bloggers that show a positive attitude, gratitude,and a willingness to share their ideas, support and online friendship. In other words, people who make lemonade when they get lemons!"

Here are the rules for the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 7 blogs that show great Gratitude and/or Attitude.
3. Be sure to list and link your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know they have received this award by leaving a comment on their blog.

Life may give us all lemons, but I know these bloggers add so much sweetness and encouragement to my life. You should go and enjoy a cup of their tasty lemonade as soon as you can!

And the winners are.....

1. Pamela - I have to give a "Back at ya" Lemonade award. You deserve it! From poetry, to images, to your Sleeping with bread posts - you always stir up hope in my heart.

2. Mel - Yes you are another of my Sleeping with Bread buddies, yes you write beautiful posts, but your care for the fellow human beings in you life is such a brilliant light. Thank you for your thoughts and comments. You keep me going.

3. Mary Lue - We have things in common all over the place, except that we live on OPPOSITE sides of the country. Without you, I don't know if I would have ever known about Sleeping with Bread. What an adventure the baking has been already a few years now. On the other side of Easter, I look forward to your posts. I've missed you.

4. Dianne - We stumbled across each other through a few commonalities, but on learning about your love for Madeline L'Engle's writing, I knew you were an optimist. What great lemonade you make!

5. Terry - Your honesty and effort to faithfully keep making steps to grow in your life and faith is always an uplifting thing for me to read. You don't brush past the difficult stuff of life, but you make it easier to work through.

6. Ian - I'm so glad to see you posting on your blog again. You have this ability to take big ideas and thoughts and 'unpack' them for the reader. Not only are you smart, but you are sensitive to the readers need to come along with you on the idea - until they work it out in their way and time. You are frank, real and willing to work through the muck of life. Thanks for hanging in there with me. :)

7.Shannon - You take things from everyday life and create beauty out of them. That is lemonade if I ever tasted it. Thank you for inspiring me to find the beauty around me and to not dismiss the images I create. Thanks for seeing the lemonade in me.

Artwork by Shannon Newby See what I mean?

Sunny and rainy day friends

There are two kinds of friends in the world: Sunny day friends and rainy day friends. This is a statement that my Mom used to remind me of when I was in the midst of drama or conflict with one school friend of another. There are lots of people that we define as friends, but they are really acquaintances. Two men were out hunting in the northern U.S. Suddenly one yelled and the other looked up to see a grizzly charging them. The first started to frantically put on his tennis shoes and his friend anxiously asked, "What are you doing? Don't you know you can't outrun a grizzly bear?" "I don't have to outrun a grizzly. I just have to outrun you!" This story is funny, but it does help define the distinct difference between a rainy day friend and a sunny day friend. The sunny-day-friend is more concerned with watching out for their own health and wellness, than their friends' wellbeing. On the other hand, a rainy day friend is willing to take risks, work fo

FCE - Dog stroke in spine

Kahlúa is our 15 year old dog that we adopted from the Humane Society when she was four. She joined our family and has been with us for eleven years so far. This morning we found her laying on the carpet in the dining room and was unable to get up and go outside. After letting her rest for a few hours, I gave her some bread to eat and she got up. She was wobbly so I scooped her up and took her outside to go to the bathroom. She managed to remain standing for a few minutes, but was back down quickly. Her back legs did not want to support her even though she was trying to walk. By this point, she had begin to cry so I called the vet and they said to bring her in for an evaluation. My kids and I tearfully wrapped her up in a blanket and drove to the vet. It seemed as if we were sitting in the waiting room forever. The vet told me that her heart, eye function, and lungs were great - also taking into consideration her age of 15! The problem seemed to be FCE - firocartilanginous embolism: w

Gifts we have to give

So often people will think of the areas of life that they fall short or what may need some improvement. I think there is some wisdom in knowing where we need some work as humans, but I also feel it is equally important to learn, foster and use the gifts each one of us are instilled with. So here is the challenge or question that I'd like to present: "What gift(s) has God given to you that can be used in the care and ministry of loving others?" How have you seen that gift used in the past? How would you like to use it? If you dream big and I dream big together - how could God work in that big pool of gifts in the lives of others??? Let's share our gifts today and dream of what they can accomplish for God's purpose! 1 Peter 4:8-10 (New International Version) 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,

Uphill idealist

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