Living At Wit's End

You probably know by now that we are a family of serious movie watchers.  I especially love Christmas movies, particularly old ones.  One of my absolute favorite holiday movies is "It Happened  on Fifth Avenue".  If you're unfamiliar with it I highly recommend getting a copy and watching it, you won't be sorry.  IMDB lists the synopsis as "A homeless New Yorker moves into a mansion and along the way he gathers friends to live in the house with him. Before he knows it, he is living with the actual home owners."  The movie has all the charm of an old holiday movie, wit, drama, romance and the elements of surprise and hope. One of my favorite quotes comes from this movie.  “For to be without  friends  is a serious form of poverty" -  Aloysius T .  McKeever , It Happened on Fifth Avenue (1947)".  While this quote has always spoken to me, it especially means a lot to me this year.  A childhood school mate lost his 12 year...

Sometimes I feel like God is on hiatus, taking a break, especially from all of my complaining and “HELP ME NOW” prayers.   Do you ever feel like that?   Do you wonder where He is and what He’s doing while you are barely hanging on, ready to drown, at any moment?   I do!   A lot lately!   I feel like Job and I are long lost relatives. Song lyrics describing how I feel have been spinning around in my head lately.   Like Steven Curtis Chapman’s Cinderella opening lyrics (emphasis mine), She spins and she sways To whatever song plays Without a care in the world And I'm sitting here wearing The weight of the world on my shoulders It's been a long day And there's still work to do She's pulling at me Saying "Dad, I need you There's a ball at the castle And I've been invited And I need to practice my dancing Oh, please, Daddy, please?" And, Jars of Clay Flood, Rain, rain on my face It hasn't stopped raining for days My world is a flood S...

Christmas is almost here, are you ready?  Not only am I not ready in the worldly sense (shopping, house clean, wrapping, food bought and prepared, favorite movies watched etc.), I am really not ready in the spiritual sense.  Almost every year I vow that this will be the year I really prepare during advent, for the coming of our savior.  Almost every year I start out with a bang and quickly go down hill.  This year I didn't even start with a pop, let alone a bang.  I am really not in the Christmas spirit and I'm feeling very uninspired. Of course I have guilt about my feelings for so many reasons, the biggest being that there are so many people in the world that are suffering, right now.  Me, I'm just cranky and uninspired.  I am truly blessed with a great family and wonderful friends.  I have a fairly, lovely, roof over my head, clothes to wear, and enough food for a three day Christmas feast.  So why do I feel so cranky and disconnect...

I found this wonderful prayer that I absolutely need to pray daily!  Maybe you need it to.  I started reading 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp awhile ago, this prayer reminds me that I truly need to get back to it, and back to my gratitude journal.   Gratitude for all of our blessings can change your attitude and perspective so much. Lord, thank you for this sink of dirty dishes; we have plenty of good food to eat. Thank you for this pile of dirty, stinky laundry; we have plenty of nice clothes to wear. And I would like to thank you, Lord, for those unmade beds; they were so warm and comfortable last night.   I know that many have no bed. My thanks to you, Lord, for this bathroom, complete with all the splattered mirrors, soggy, grimy towels and dirty lavatory; they are so convenient. Thank you for this finger-smudged refrigerator that needs cleaning.  It has served us faithfully for many years.   It is full of cold drinks and enough leftov...