Yesterday I wasn’t feeling well.  It was a difficult day all around, and I had a scratchy throat and pounding headache.  John wasn’t going to be home until later, but I needed to make something for dinner.  I stroked my chin and pondered what I could make that would comfort my sagging spirits, and I thought of taco salad.  Now, I know this may not be listed amongst those dishes most commonly attributed the moniker of “comfort food,”  but for me it is indeed a comfort.  I curled up on the couch with my bowl of warm, fresh taco salad, and savored the combination of crunchy and soggy.  I remembered my mom making that meal on Friday nights.  I remembered pouring a glass of Pepsi and settling in on our brown reupholstered couch to watch Five Mile Creek or Condor Man or some other strange movie my family watched together that no one else has ever heard of.  And I felt comforted. 

That made me wonder, is it really the food itself that is soothing?  Is it really the filling, belly-warming effectof mashed potatoes, gravy and roast beef that qualifies as comforting?  Or is it the nostalgia associated with the food?  Is it that sense of home and childhood and mom touching your forehead when you’re sickand fattening you up at Sunday dinner?

What do you think?  What’s your favorite meal that makes you feel better after a horrible-no-good day?

We had a nice relaxing Fourth of July–I love long weekends, and the Fourth has always been one of my favorite holidays.  (I rank it 3rd after Christmas and Thanksgiving–4th if we can count my birthday as a national holiday as it should be.)  Tim and Sarah came up to visit with the kids which is always a good time. 

Now we’ve settled into some sort of summer blues around our house.  We’ve been very busy, but there isn’t much going on.  We have no time, but I’m not sure what we’ve been doing.  It’s time I posted something new, but what to say?  Uh, I scrubbed my kitchen floor with a toothbrush?  I plan on cleaning out my room and reorganizing everything this week?  Aaaand that’s our life.  BO-RING! We do have dinner plans with friends this Friday night to discuss our new ministry responsibilities–not exactly a social engagement, but I’ll take it.   I hope to make a trip up to Boston to visit Alia, Mark and Co. and also take a weekend to visit Tim and Sarah  before the summer is out.  I’d like to go to the shore SOMEtime this summer, and a trip to the Poconos would be nice even if it’s just a day hike, but I realize that none of these wishes will come true if we don’t make some PLANS!  Summer is quickly waning, and I feel as if I have nothing to show for it.  Not a tan or sunburn.  Not even a trace of sun freckles! Ack!

OK, I just couldn’t resist sharing this one.  It’s so appropriate for how I feel today.  I think I’m coming down with a little

trichotillomania

 

\trick-uh-till-uh-MAY-nee-uh\  

noun

 Meaning

    : an abnormal desire to pull out one’s hair

 

Example Sentence

     Connie’s trichotillomania left her with an unfortunate array of bald spots along the crown of her head.

 Did you know?

    The word “trichotillomania” derives from the Greek “trich-” (”hair”) and “tillein” (”to pull or pluck”), along with the suffix “-mania” (from “mainesthai,” meaning “to be mad”). People suffering from trichotillomania will routinely pluck hair from the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes or other parts of the body, usually impulsively but sometimes with careful deliberation (such as by using tweezers). Some researchers believe that it may be a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. The word for this condition first appeared in English around the dawn of the 20th century (it’s generally thought to have been first coined in French by a French dermatologist).

On today of all days, when I really feel like I could pull my hair out, I just needed a word that would make me smile. 

I hope you have something to smile about today!  Happy Tuesday.

Whew!  The week of VBS is over, and what a great but exhausting time it has been!  When I was growing up, Vacation Bible School was always a summer highlight for me, whether I was a student enrolled in it, a teenage helper, or a college student teaching over summer vacation.  But this was my first time really being involved in a VBS at Bensalem, and I’ve found a new appreciation for VBS ministry.  I cannot say enough good things about this week!  I think I heard (though I haven’t confirmed) that about 10 kids made the decision to trust Christ as their Savior, and we connected with several new bus kids.  I think the kids had fun, and they were excited to learn and participate.  So many people gave up their time and energy to teach, counsel, play games, serve snacks, etc. to these kids, and I was struck by the manpower it takes to make en event like this successful.  We have a lot of good folks who really have a love for young people, and I was really proud to be a part of it.  I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that we are T-I-R-E-D. 

My own class ranged from 12 to 20 girls each night, and they were so sweet and eager, which made it really fun for me.  I also had a really great teen helper, John’s cousin Sarah, who did such a great job helping me keep on top of the details.  I was really impressed by the way she was able to see what needed to be done and do it:  I rarely had to ask her to step in and help.  Thank you, Sarah!  I did finally manage to get some pictures, so I’ll post them soon!  Thanks for your prayers.

Ahh! Tonight. . . well, lest you think that I have the night off, tonight we have a youth activity.  The guys are playing basketball, and I’ll be joining the girls over at the Linnik’s for a pool party.  Yay!  I hope I don’t fall asleep in the pool and drown.  Tomorrow we have a Valiante family reunion where I expect to meet some of John’s family that possibly neither of us have ever met, and Sunday it’s back to our normal routine–I can see that afternoon nap on the horizon, and I’m very excited about it!      

It’s officially my first year teaching at Bensalem Baptist’s Vacation Bible School event.  I am teaching fifth and sixth grade girls, and last night was our first meeting.  I had eleven girls in my class, and I expect I will have several more this evening.  So far it has been a pretty exciting event.  The theme is “Dino Detectives: Digging for God’s Truth,” and I spent an exhausting weekend decorating my classroom, and helping to decorate the auditorium and gift shop for the week.  I brought my camera last night to take pictures, but I didn’t realize that it was without its battery pack until I got to church, so I’ll have to remember to take the pictures tonight. 

I’m praying that God will give me grace and wisdom as I teach and that he will use me to touch the lives of these young girls in my class.  It’s an amazing opportunity to share the love of Christ and possibly to see young lives place their trust in HIM this week!

I know it doesn’t go with the theme of VBS, but the song “Have You Heard?” by Zach Jones has been going through my head all last weekend and this week.  It’s a song that I first heard last summer when my adorable nieces and nephews sang it at Mom and Dad’s church.  I wish I had the recording that we took, but unfortunately somehow that file got corrupted.  Here are the words:

Have You Heard?

Have you heard about Jesus?
Do you know who He is?
He’s the very Son of God
He’s the King of Kings
Have you heard of the gospel?
Do you know what it is?
It tells us Jesus died for us
To save us from our sins

This is the best news that we could ever hear
More than amazing, it drives out every fear
By trusting in Jesus Christ
In His saving sacrifice
We can be made new
We can be made new

Have you heard of the promise
God has made to us all?
That if we turn from our sinful ways
And put our faith in His Son
He will freely forgive us
He will wash us clean
And when we stand before His throne
He will shout, “Welcome in!”

 

 

 

 

It’s such a simple message, but I am certain that I have girls in my class this week that have never heard that Jesus loves them, have never heard that he died for them and that he will FREELY FORGIVE them and make them new.  It truly is more than amazing, and I am honored that I get to have a part in sharing with them the good news!

If you’ve never heard the song and you’d like to hear a sample of it, you can visit this site. 

 

OK, so if you’re sick of my word of the day posts, raise your hand.  My apologies to those of you who did.  Some of you have asked where I get these words: I subscribe to an online dictionary to receive a daily word email.  Many of the words I receive are familiar and never make it to my blog, but I do like to draw attention to the fun words that are new to me.  At least I don’t post them every day!  I’m so fascinated by figures of speech that I just couldn’t resist posting this one.

litotes

\LYE-tuh-teez\   noun 

Meaning

     : understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary

 

Example Sentence

    Jamie blushingly acknowledged her victory by litotes, saying that her scores were “not bad” and that she was “not displeased” with her performance. 

Did you know?

     Even if you’ve never heard the word “litotes,” chances are you’ve encountered this figure of speech. If you’ve ever approved of a job well done by exclaiming “Not bad!” or told someone that you are “not unhappy” when you are ecstatic, you’ve even used it yourself. In fact, you might say that it would be “no mean feat” to avoid this common feature of our language! And litotes isn’t only common; it’s also “simple” — etymologically speaking, that is. “Litotes” evolved from a Greek word meaning “simple,” and perhaps ultimately from another Greek word meaning “linen cloth.”