Stillness

I enjoy a busy life. Most nights I have some sort of get together or meeting to attend and I like it this way. I don't have to worry about feelings of loneliness creeping in if I'm surrounded by loved ones. Besides, I get my energy from spending time with friends and interacting with people. One of my many events this weekend was a women's retreat slumber party. I had the best time staying up late with some really incredible women. It wasn't just a night of fun and games and giggles but also a chance to reflect and talk about our need to rest in God. The women's director read Psalms 23 to us and emphasized that sometimes God has to MAKE us lie down so he can speak to our hearts and restore our souls.

"The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul..."

Well today with the best attitude possible I am being made to lie down and be still. Cold #1 of the 2010-2011 school year is upon me. I usually get pretty grumpy when I have a cold or some sort of sickness because it is such a waste of time. But today I am looking at this day a great opportunity. One to read, reflect, pray, be still and listen and be restored by a God who loves me a whole lot.

Chickpeas!!

I love snacky foods and I love all forms of beans so when I found a recipie for toasted chickpeas in a magazine of mine and I thought I might give it a try. Boy oh boy do I love them! I've made them twice now and I can't help but scarf them all up in a day or so.

15 oz can of chickpeas

1TB canola oil

Sprinkle with salt, pepper (I like them with a little kick so I sprinkle mine with ground red pepper too)

Roast 25 minutes at 400 degrees

yummo!

Blue for some yellow

Since moving into my house nearly two years ago, I have yet to decorate my bedroom. Every room in my little home has been loved upon and filled with interesting pieces of furniture and fantastic finds from thrift stores. Even my sad craft room has been adorned with fun curtains and eclectic wall decor. But as I sit on my plain bed surrounded by bare white walls and naked windows I wonder how I made it this long without bringing some life into my resting place. My excuse thus far has been that I haven't found the right bed spread to be my starting point. I have scoured numerous websites and every target known to man looking for something that said "ELYSE!" with no luck.
After reading a dear friend's blog about setting 4 simple goals to work towards, I set out to better myself and set some goals of my own. One of them being the task of decorating my bedroom. So newly inspired I returned to one of my favorite websites to browse their many goodies. I just love looking at all the home decor at Urbanoutfitters and this time was no exception. As I scroll down the page of new arrrivals I see a beautiful yellow chenille bedspread that just screams "ELYSE!" and I immediatly send myself and my mom and email of my amazing find. And then oh how the wheels in my brain started turning thinking of all sorts of ideas for my room.
However, a sad email from ol' mom this morning brought my spirits down quite a bit. She said after pulling up the site and not being able to see the glorious picture she noticed an "all out of stock" label off to the side. All out of stock?! All out of stock?! How can this be? I was already to buy it today and now I'm just blue as can be about my missed opportunity. How is it that I can frequent this site so often and miss this little beauty?
Now I must wait, very unpatiently for them to restock or find a bedspread elsewhere to get the ball rolling. Hopefully the wait is not too long :-(