thankful thursday - changing seasons

Yesterday (September 23rd) marked the arrival of fall. In many parts of the world leaves are changing color, there is a chill in the air and pumpkin-flavored/scented everything has arrived.

Alas, two of those three things are not true in the desert southwest. Trees are still green and will be until January when they turn brown and fall off. The only chill in the air is in over-air conditioned buildings. Outside, temperatures remain in the high nineties. Pumpkin lattes, pastries, candles and more are in plentiful supply, however.

Even though we in the desert southwest don't experience fall in the traditional sense, I am thankful for the changing seasons. It reminds me that God is a God of order, not chaos. One season follows the next in an orderly cyclical progression.

And I can still experience the wonder of fall color, albeit vicariously, when my friends post photos of trees with brilliant orange foliage. I just don't need a sweater to do it!

"For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven." 

Ecclesiastes 3:1

thankful thursday - palm trees and partly cloudy skies

Have you ever had a really busy month? The kind where one thing consumes almost all your time and energy? I think we all have those times. And this past month was one of mine.

I coordinated a women's retreat at our church. Lists and timelines were my new BFF's as they helped  me stay organized and on track. Things that could be done early were done early. But the week or two (or three!) before a big event is always hectic. Our head count shifted up and down several times. Food needed to be ordered. Additional name tags were made. Centerpieces needed to be put together. For every item I crossed off my list, two more replaced it. Or so it seemed.

While I was tired, I was not frazzled or ready to pull my hair out over the busyness. It is just the way it is with events. And I knew that God would use every bit of it - both in ways I would see and in things I would have no knowledge of.

The retreat was last weekend and was, at least by my reckoning, a success. The women (including me) were refreshed and renewed, the church body strengthened and God was glorified.

And this week I was oh so glad to have nothing pressing  to do. To have time to sit on my patio and enjoy the palm trees shaking in the breeze and the partly cloudy sky while I drank my coffee and thanked God for all He showed me during the process and at retreat. And for the time of rest.

Palm trees and partly cloudy skies.  It sounds like a country western song, doesn't it? Or it would if you added a pick-up truck and a dog...

thankful thursday - peeps

It all started innocently enough. Someone said, "We should bring our BB guns up here next time for some target practice!" and someone else jokingly added, "Yeah, we could shoot Peeps!" And the next thing we knew, an annual Peep shooting contest was born.

We held our 5th Annual Peep Shooting Contest last weekend (Labor Day weekend) in Payson, Arizona at the home of our friends. Another couple joined us and collectively, we are known as MR. KLUD.

The contest is always guys vs. gals. Scores were not as high this year for several reasons: 1) we changed from just hitting a Peep to the Peep having to fall off the board, 2) the deck was redone and we shot from farther away, and 3) we lowered the point values on some of the Peeps.

And for the third year, the guys won.

We always string a couple of Peeps and hang them in a tree - moving targets are harder to hit and worth waaaay more points! Though we are all competitive, it really is just a fun thing to do. 

Most of the Peeps disintegrate (we purposely let them dry out a bit!) or break into pieces. But occasionally you get a clean shot!

I am thankful that we have friends who enjoy doing silly things as much as we do. And who take time to help each other, not just win at all costs. And that Peeps are 75-90% off the day after Easter!

thankful thursday - coffee cups

Have you ever had a favorite coffee cup? The one you use every single day because it fits your hand just right... and it holds just the right amount of coffee... and it has a memory or story behind it?

I had such a coffee cup. In fact, I had two identical ones. I got them at Starbucks shortly after we arrived in Maryland for our year-long stay in 2010. The kitchen in our "fully furnished" apartment had coffee cups but they were small and uncomfortable in my hand. I was at Starbucks for a "virtual coffee date" with Claudia, my long-time friend ("old friend" just sounds wrong!) from Arizona, when I spotted the perfect coffee cups. They were tall so the coffee stayed hotter and had pretty blue, green and brown foliage on them. They reminded me of Claudia every time I used them.

After we returned home from Maryland in 2011, they continued to be my favorite, go-to coffee cups. Several years later one of them broke but it was okay because I still had one absolutely perfect coffee cup.

Until earlier this year when I broke the second perfect coffee cup.

I was sad and pretty sure that finding the perfect coffee cup only happens once in a very long while. I randomly used my other cups and they were okay. Just not perfect.

About a week after the demise of my favorite coffee cup, another long-time friend, Anne, gave me my birthday gift. It was a beautiful coffee cup... but could it replace my old favorite? Anne had no knowledge of my breaking the other cup, she just thought it was pretty and that I would like it. She found it at a cute gift store we went to together one time.

The second morning I used the cup I realized it could be my new favorite coffee cup! It's taller and narrower at the bottom than most cups, keeping my coffee the perfect temperature. I love hummingbirds so I loved the design from the very beginning. But the longer I looked at the cup, the more I realized the design was about energy, something Anne has a lot of! 

Several months have elapsed since I received the new coffee cup. It has, indeed, become my new favorite! That doesn't mean I loved the other one any less; it's just that they are different.

Kind of like friends.

And while I am thankful I have a new perfect coffee cup, I am more thankful for my friends, without whom the coffee cups would just be cups.