Friday’s Tune: Terrify the Dark

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faith, Friday's Tune, music, Skillet

I finished last week feeling blind-sided and wounded. And unlike a 30 minute sitcom, or a one hour drama, there’s been no miraculous resolution. The music isn’t swelling as tears of laughter and joy run down our cheeks. Not yet.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t any music.

Last week, I debated over several “Friday tunes”. Today’s was a close second. I liked the concept long before the phone began to ring last week.

 

Skillet‘s song, Terrify the Dark,  begins with “No power on Earth, no power in Hell is gonna steal my peace”. But peace can be elusive when you feel threatened, overwhelmed, terrified. When suddenly you’re facing the unknown and you feel completely unprepared and oh so very small. Fear squeezes the breath from your lungs. It toys with your emotions. It wakes you up in the middle of the night and clomps around in army boots. Fear is greater when it seems darkest. So we have a choice: to cower in fear in a corner, or to expose it to light.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5

I always had a nightlight. I was an imaginative kid, and the craziest things used to terrify me. I was scared of raccoons. I was scared of demon-possessed cars that wanted to crash through our front window and drive up the stairs to kill me. I was banned from watching Dr. Who. For awhile, I even believed something lived in the cellar of our enclosed back porch. Our only bathroom was downstairs off the kitchen. So was the back porch. I would lie awake at night waiting for the furnace to run so the sound would cover my footsteps and I could pee undetected. I had terrible dreams too, and I would lie awake for hours waiting for the sun to rise. As soon as the room began to lighten, I felt safe and I would drop right off.

Your light will terrify the dark, I call upon the name
That tears another part
My doubt will answer to your scars, and fear will have no place
No hold upon my heart

I still have terrible dreams, but I can more easily dismiss them and go back to sleep. I don’t use a nightlight anymore. The fears, though, they can still steal my breath at times and wake me up at night. But when they do, I pray.  I can’t hasten a happy ending in our current circumstances, but I  choose not to let any power, including fear, steal my peace or hold my heart. Jesus said, “I am the Light of the World” (John 8:12). He will be my comforter and my defender. Not only will He expose the darkness that has no place in my life, He will terrify it. And that thought makes me smile!

Keep smiling & have a great weekend!

Terrify the Dark, John Cooper / Korey Cooper / Mia Fieldes / Seth Mosley © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics                         YouTube

 

 

 

 

Wilderness Wednesday: Preparation

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animals, faith, humour, nature, photography, snow, squirrels, storms, winter

The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Happy Wednesday!

Clover Blossom Milk Glass

Tags

family, tea, tea cups, teacup

This 1950’s Federal Glass Clover Blossom cup and saucer are part of a full set of dishes, that were a wedding gift to my in-laws over 55 years ago. It survived the long journey across the ocean when Hubby’s family immigrated to Canada in 1970.

Federal Glass was established in Columbus Ohio in 1900 by George and Robert J. Beatty.

Milk Glass resembles porcelain, and is a term used by glass-makers for opaque white glass. The opaque colour is usually made with tin oxide. Semi-opaque white glass was  made with ash from calcined bones (roasted in high heat). It has been called opal, opaline, or milk-and-water glass.

Milk glass was first made in 14th or 15th century Venice and became popular in the 17th to 18th centuries. During that period, it was often embellished with enamel paint.

The pink and silver pattern on these dishes is faded now, after serving many family meals and sharing many pots of tea.

At Christmas, tea is compulsory. Relatives are optional. ― Robert Godden

Happy Monday!

Friday’s Tune: Hold Me

Tags

faith, Friday's Tune, music

Have you ever had a moment when you realize everything is okay in your life? You take a deep breath and exhale slowly. You stand a little taller. A smile starts to form on your lips. And then something happens and you find yourself falling. Suddenly you find yourself afraid and confused, because wasn’t it only a moment ago that you were feeling happy and hopeful?

Ok, a little melodramatic, but it certainly describes how this week seemed to go. One minute I was focused and feeling good. Then a phone call brought me to my knees.  Literally, I have been on my knees interceding at the gates of Heaven over a situation.

It’s not an unfamiliar place.

There have been so many other situations. So many other days. Thankfully my God has interceded before. He didn’t leave me there. I’m choosing to believe He won’t leave me here this time either.

Well, sometimes my life just don’t make sense at all
When the mountains look so big,
And my faith just seems so small

I had a hard time choosing a Friday tune…because there are so many that speak to my soul. So I picked the first one that came to mind: Hold Me Jesus, by Rich Mullins. I think the cassette tape is worn so thin from being played non-stop as I traveled back and forth from home to school in my early college years.

I’m looking forward to tucking in at home with my family. Happy Weekend!

Lyrics           Video

Copyright: Rich Mullins, Hold Me Jesus © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol Christian Music Group

Photo: Hannah Wright on http://www.unsplash.com

 

 

CFFC: With a “K”

Tags

CFFC, nature, Photo Challenge, photography, River scenes, water

This is my post for Cee’s interesting challenge this week:  Cee Neuner’s Fun Foto Challenge: Anything with a “k” in it.

Monday was Family Day. It was clear and cold, but I had to make a quick stop at the park on the way out of town after visiting my family.

First I took photos of the FLOCK.

Then I took photos of the STACK.

As well as photos of the PARK.

Finally, I took photos of the WORKERS on the train TRACK.

Walk your own path and be yourself.
Joanne Nussbaum

Happy Wednesday!

What’s the Skinny…

Tags

#whatsinmycup, health, tea, what's in my cup

With that holiday between Christmas chocolate and Easter chocolate over, it’s time to refocus on those New Year’s resolutions. Plus sweatshirt season won’t last forever.

I love sweatshirt season. Am I wearing a bra? Who knows! Am I wearing what I wore to bed under it? Maybe.

So what if a cup of tea could melt your fat away, boost your energy, make you look like a supermodel? Oh, if it were only that easy, I could wear anything I wanted…without causing a traffic accident or traumatizing the neighbourhood children.

It’s been marketed by different names: flat belly tea, slim tea, skinny tea, fit tea. They can be sold in kits, with one of more teas to be taken daily over a period of time. The marketers are geniuses, using celebrities and skinny “bunnies” with great abs wearing postage stamp yoga wear to sell promises: lose weight, burn calories, boost metabolism, suppress appetite, increase energy, cleanse and detoxify…like most things, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is!

Most of these products allege that they can detoxify the body from toxins you accumulate through food, the environment, you name it! But our bodies were created with systems to deal with pollutants, and a healthy body simply doesn’t need more help.

The “quick-fix” mentality may also encourage bad eating habits, like fasting or shying away from nutrient-rich foods, which end up weakening the body.

While many of these teas contain natural ingredients, frequently there is not enough information to determine whether they are in fact effective. Others have been proven to make no difference. The tea component contains flavonoids, antioxidants, and some level of caffeine. All of these are conducive to weight loss, and may help reduce inflammation and digestive upsets, but let’s be honest, on their own, without proper diet and exercise (and sometimes even with), they aren’t miracle workers. Drinking any type of tea increases water intake, which flushes out excess salt and retained water, and fills you up so you snack less. It’s also a great option to high calorie beverages like soda or beer, but water is one of the best, easiest and least expensive ways to shed a few ounces. I like my water with tea leaves, please!

So if the promises aren’t true, why are they allowed to market this way? Skinny teas are considered dietary supplements and therefore are not subject to the same standards that require them to prove their claims. 

Now do you feel cheated, used, and abused? Me too. I’ve always been skeptical of the whole “slim tea” bandwagon, but once again, as with most things, if it sounds too good to be true, it may not be true.

Look, I can’t make everyone happy. I’m not bacon! Live in the moment – drink tea!

Happy Monday!

Friday’s Tune: Valentine Edition

Tags

Friday's Tune, humour, Valentine's Day

It’s Valentine’s Day. That holiday between Christmas chocolate and Easter chocolate. A day for lovers to espouse the traits that bind them together for eternity…yadda-yadda-yadda!

If you can’t tell, I’m not a fan. I could say it’s because we should show our love and appreciation to our sweethearts, family and friends every day of the week, not just once a year. But that wouldn’t be the whole truth. There’s a reason I wear black, and certainly I’ve had enough tragic childhood tales of unrequited love and crappy happenstances to make this a dark day on the calendar. I acknowledge that it’s been far worse for others.

I don’t deny the “lovers” their foolishness. They can spend their hard-earned money on rocks and red roses, and gush over each other like I will over my pizza tonight. I’m a hopeless romantic at heart (or just hopeless), but I prefer to poke fun. In fact, had I known this song existed, it would have been my theme song in high school:

J. Geils Band. Written by Peter Wolf / Seth Justman © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Go ahead and call me a curmudgeon, a wet blanket or a cranky old lady. I’ll just smile sweetly. I’m not heartless. In fact, I prayed for a lot of people today – people who have recently lost love and people who are longing for love – because I love them. Some of them love me back! Hubby even brought me flowers and O Henry (Oh Henry!). It must be love!

Happy Friday!

 

Wordless Wednesday: On the Road

Tags

city, photography, Wordless Wednesday

 

What’s in My Cup: Cranberry Dandelion Detox

Tags

#whatsinmycup, food, food photography, tea, what's in my cup

Red is a popular colour this month: scarlet heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, silky cherry lingerie, and velvety ruby-red roses. And for a tea lover, David’s Tea just introduced Cranberry Dandelion Tea. Cranberry shouldn’t be reserved only for Thanksgiving or Christmas, right?

Not only is it a rich claret colour, but it is a tart and spicy tea with a slight earthy, bitterness from dandelion root, a very subtle whisper of cinnamon. This caffeine-free, kosher tea has a rooibos base. It also contains hibiscus, rosehips, and oat straw.

There are some health benefits to cranberry, and to dandelion tea, but as with all things, should be taken in moderation. Cranberry may also interact with some medications.

Where rooibos tea keeps you hydrated, dandelion tea is a natural diuretic, which means it can help decrease water weight,and regulate blood sugar levels. Both dandelion tea and cranberry may help flush toxins and aid in preventing bacterial infections in the urinary tract. Compounds in  dandelion tea decrease inflammation and the diuretic effect increases the production of urine, and acidic compounds in cranberries fight off bad bacteria.  Too much cranberry, though, can increase the discomforting sense of urgency associated  with urinary tract infections. Other side effects for both dandelion tea and cranberry are mild stomach upset and diarrhea.

Dandelion tea has vitamins A, C and D, and high amounts of vitamin K, which is known to build bone strength. Dandelion root is also said to help cure hangovers. Cranberries are high in vitamins C and E, as well as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. In fact, they are rated just under blueberries.

I know no joy as great as a moment of rushing into a new love, no ecstasy like that of a new love. – Anais Nin

Happy Monday!

Friday’s Tune: Afterlife

Tags

faith, Friday's Tune, midlife crisis, switchfoot

I find it hard to be motivated in February. As I write, the temperature is starting to dip, the wind is picking up, and the driveway is covered in snow. I should have tackled it a hour ago, but I just wasn’t…motivated.

Eight years ago I was motivated. 40 was just around the corner. I started a blog on a whim, determined to push myself to try new things and find joy in the every day. I would laugh more and cry less. I had already wasted so much time believing the lie that I didn’t deserve to be HAPPY. It was time to change the narrative.

I’ve tasted fire I’m ready to come alive
I can’t just shut it up and fake that I’m alright
I’m ready now
I’m not waiting for the afterlife

And among the things I was motivated to do, was to run in Mud Hero – a 5K obstacle race in the mud! It required training, serious training to get this old girl in “good enough” shape to NOT DIE on the course. I inspired a friend to join me. I even inspired Big Guy to and his friend to come along, which was great  because I needed someone to know where they buried my body. So I terrorized the neighbourhood children by “jogging” and terrorized my family by exercising and weight lifting at home.

Obviously I survived the ordeal. I managed to turn the epic tale into a series: Mud Hero (Part I to IV, Mud Hero Finale, & why mud hero was a big deal to me). Every year since, I feel motivated to try again, but the feeling quickly passes.

Today’s tune was one of the songs that helped motivate me to stop waiting for excitement in life and to go for it!

It’s Friday – what are you waiting for? Stop reading this post, click “like”, tell me what you’re up to, and go do it!! Happy Weekend.

Lyrics                             Youtube

Afterlife, Jon Foreman / Tim Foreman  © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, The Bicycle Music Company