Third Pause

 Hello to the Pausers!  I feel like Easter is FAR away, do you?  I bought colored eggs for the grands because I think it's fun to hide them and find them, hide them and find them.  I've been doing this for a few years and quite honestly, my Easter bunny hiding game fails to impress.  You'd think I'd learn.  I like shiny eggs.

 It's my SPRING BREAK (woo hoo!) so I am feeling quite cook-ish (chili) and bake-ish (cinnamon rolls).

 I am thinking of my Easter bunny babies.  Our Jeff, our son-in-law Bry, and almost four years old, Aria.  She's FUN to shop for.  Dresses, headbands, and these lovely puppets.  Isn't this bunny darling?  

 I adore this red fox puppet.  Last weekend I opened the kitchen curtains and a big red fox made an impressive leap over the fence from our yard to my neighbor's yard!  Beautiful!

 Here's my PAUSE:
Jesus said love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  My handy pedometer keeps me strong so I can LOVE Him with my strength.

My prayer beads keep my mind on Him.  I carry them in my pocket and I say my breath prayers.

My heart loves.  I aim to love Him whole-heartedly and show Him that by loving others.
My soul rests in Him.  Any practical ideas to care for the soul? I've read a lot about this, but I always like your perspective.
I am off to an essential oils class.  FUN!
Happy Sunday, sweet visitor!
I'll be back soon to show you photos and tell you all about the fifties party at school.  It was VERY sweet!

Buzzing Along

 Lizzy and Sam like to dig!  On occasional sunny days, we have lovely hints of the gardening fun to come!

 On Sunday I worked on my ripples.  This is going to be my first adventure in yarn bombing.  I need to double it in size and then it's going to be a scarf for the pine tree trunk.

 The forsythia was simply sticks a week ago and now it's GORGEOUS!  

I've been swamped with busy moments and today is the party for the people at work who are turning 50 this year.  It's in my classroom after school.  We'll have homemade cakes and balloons, music from 1964 and hopefully the half-century milestone peeps will feel loved because THEY ARE loved.  Smile.
I hope things are simple and meaningful in your moments today.  
Thank you for popping your head in to say hello.  I appreciate it very much.

Bouncy Pause

 Even though there is snow on the ground from a quick spring snowfall, I am recognizing spring today, the full anticipation of Easter and how personal our Savior is.

 The fairies are planning their appearance.  Did you see Saving Mr. Banks?  I watched it last night and shed some delicious tears at the end.  Oh, Mary Poppins.  I love her so much.  Walt Disney loved her, too.  Have you flown a kite yet this March?  I want to!

 #Waterlogue (again!)

 Gnomes are about at our house!  Brad and April gave me this gnome bird feeder!

 My sweetie pie sister sent me a gnome windsock!  Funny!

 The forsythia that my neighbor dropped off last Sunday (it was just sticks then) has begun to show her spring spunk!

 Another gnome offering from my dear sissy.

 I bought this for the guest bathroom, but now that the guest is gone it is on the dining room table.

 All I can communicate today is spring buoyancy.  I'm rested and refreshed by a good night's sleep.  I am so thankful for a personal GOD who draws me inward, to meet Him in a holy way.  Abundance.  He gives that kind of life.  Thank you for pausing with me.

Words and Thoughts

 Here are the best words, the solid words, the eternal words.  Sometimes I use Bible Gateway on my iPhone or the Jesus Calling app, but my heavy black leather Bible feels best.  Yes, I doodle and annotate in a rather messy way.  I like looking back at all that!

 I'm a firm believer is placing fallen leaves in fat books.  I have a lot of leaves and even a dry tulip in my teacher edition of the text book at school, too.  

 That's all, just pen, colored pencil, stickers . . . and words.  Words are pretty much free and most of us have unlimited access to them.  I'm thankful for that.

Well, here's a little more thinking (smile) about how our brains are so functional, and I like to consider all the images that are stored in my brain.  Zillions of pictures framed and sorted.  They appear quickly in strings to match up with my thoughts and immediate experience.  He made me in His image and I can hardly conceive of who I am and how I am made, but the small amount I can wrap my mind around is miraculous and inspiring.  There are so many lights inside of me, tripping along, sparkling and sparking thoughts and feelings.  Each person I come upon today contains so much rich composition.  I think if I really considered this, I'd never give a thought to what I wear or how my hair looks, or how anyone else looks, for that matter.  I'd seek to find the chain of light inside of the good souls I come upon.  
Hmmmmmmmm.

His Light

 Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

 Into the Silent Land by Martin Laird is so thought provoking.  He points out that we are LIKE Mt. Zion, not like the weather around the mountain.  We tend to focus on the weather and allow it to define us, don't we?  I do.  I realized just yesterday that the reason I have always written in a journal is because I am attempting to "de-noise" my soul.  

 He lives in my heart, I trust in Him.  I meet Him in the room, the home, of my heart.

 And there, He and I commune.  We enjoy each other's company.  

 This home is a place of light in the stormy sea of "weather".

 This time period, these Lenten days, are comforting.  We anticipate Easter.  

"Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light."  Micah 7:8

If I Were in London

 Well, IF I had been able to go to London with Bill, I would have seen these things with my own eyes.  He's been sending me photos.  Good boy.  The house he is staying in was the home of a famous musician, but now is the home of relatives of the friend pictured below.

 I think it is very sweet of Bill to try to find what I'd like to look at.  He did!

 I thought he should go to a Cath Kidston store and buy me a little goodie, but I didn't ask because we travel very light and there is no room in the backpack for the teapot below.  Really, I do not need one more teapot.  Really.

At school, this is our last day of testing.  Whew!  The kids have worked hard and we've been trying to have a little fun, too.  When we are finished with the testing, we try to fit in games and diversions.  For the last few days, we've had a pet show.  They talk about their pet, show a picture, or draw their pet and then we vote on a winner.  The first day, Corn-uni won.  Yes, one boy who does not have a pet, drew a picture of a unicorn name Corn-uni and this imaginary pet won the vote!  Silly.  
We have a busy weekend ahead and it's still two more weeks before spring break.  
I'll be back Sunday for the second Pause in Lent.  Thank you for popping by!