I came across this pic in a photo journalist’s essay again today as I was going through files. It’s a shot of a young, shoeless, Indian boy, selling dried coconut at the train station. Looking into those big, brown eyes touched me deeply. Funny how quickly our self-centered perspective can be adjusted at a glance.
Monday’s looking pretty darn good around here.
A young boy in Madras, India.
As I’m organizing, it occurred to me how many folks don’t know what to do with their bags of open chips; tortilla, salt and vinegar, pita, cheese puffs, baked, fried, barbecue…and all the rest. I’ve seen lots of ‘chip-bag clips’ which I never use.
I find that the common, cheap, office supply labeled ‘rubber bands’ work for so many things in the cupboard (raisins, nuts, coffee beans…) and in the fridge (baby carrots, pre-bagged lettuces and veggies). I recently went through an entire bag and bought another annual supply for about $1.00.
Rubber Bands Keep Crisps Fresh
This sign says it all:
Hubby calls me a 'whirlwind'
My annual ‘household purge’ is in progress. If you follow my blog, you might recall that last year, about this time, I was ferreting out everything I could possibly find that needed to go bye-bye in every closet, garage cubby, and attic space.
I cut my trip short this year and bought myself an extra week or so before hubby gets home so that I can focus on finalizing my youngest’s school plan for the fall and streamline some more around the house again. Stuff breeds and clutter is as stressful as a traffic jam on I-80 in 100-degree heat. Think ‘BREAK WINDOWS-PULL-OUT-HAIR’ frustration!
Sooo…I’m feeling better already as I find my groove. This year I’m gonna sell more than books. I’m checking out some of those Ebay-sell services who do all the work and take a chunk of the profits. It’s better to pay someone to do what I won’t, rather than hang on to the stuff one more year while it ‘nags me’ every time I look at it. You might be more adept at online garage sales; if so, do it all and keep the profits, but I have too many projects going at any given time…
I’m sitting here inside my vehicle under a shade tree in our 90-something-degree day, eating the most fabulous soft-serve-frozen-yogurt. I cannot express it’s deliciousness adequately.
I never settle for one flavor – that would be SO boring. In this dish I am sampling coconut, chocolate milkshake, peach-mango, and fruit tart topped with some fresh blueberries and strawberries. I wish this dish would never end! Awwww…..truly the perfect bite. 
I stopped by this yogurt shop because it’s my friend’s favorite. I introduced her to it and now she’s hooked. Her and hubby have even indulged here without us! That’s commitment. Well she went way out of her way this week to pick me and the boys up at the airport. Our flight was delayed (my flights are rarely delayed; I couldn’t believe it was the night my friend would be waiting patiently 
)
She was on her way from the San Francisco Bay area after working all week with bronchitis (poor thing) and she happily sat at the gas station nearby, probably chatting on her cell phone, while she awaited my text.
To come home to such a happy heart, such a willing chauffeur, after being away for weeks and slightly travel-weary, was a rich blessing indeed. I knew she’d never take gas money, but she couldn’t possibly turn down some yummy fro-yo. So I thought I’d drop her a gift card in the mail to surprise her. She doesn’t know I blog so will she ever be surprised tomorrow when she checks the mail.
I LOVE SURPRISES, don’t you? I think it’s almost more fun to give them than to get them. I love plotting them and carrying them out…oh, for endless resources to keep the love flowing! Ha!
Since we’re on the topic, this verse came to mind. ”He who has a generous eye will be blessed…” (Proverbs 22:9)
If you’re always asking, “what’s in it for me?” you probably need an adjustment in your thinking. A poverty mindset is preoccupied with, “What can I take for free?” “Hoard it while no one’s looking…” “Take it before they can!” “Oh, it’s so fun to be spoiled…THEY can spoil me.” (I can’t qualify every word I say – we all like freebies and being spoiled and that’s okay, just check to make sure this person isn’t always dominating: ME! ME! ME!)
A generous eye is something we develop. Grow in. Mature in. Earmarks of generosity are simple. Some ways to be generous…
1. When you’re heading to a friend’s house for a play date with the kiddies, grab some stuff you have around the house to share (without being asked 
) A giant jar of applesauce, snack bars, string cheese sticks, bran muffins you just made, a watermelon, a bag of grapes, some juice boxes – you get the idea.
2. When you write a thank-you card and your heart is bursting with gratitude – tuck in a $5.00 bill for a latte, or a Jamba Juice gift card, or a $20.00 for frozen yogurt. That’ll get their attention.
3. A young stay-at-home mom is almost always on a tight budget. Write her a note of encouragment and bless her with enough cash to take the kids out for lunch one day – ANY day!
4. When there’s a workday you’re overseeing with lots of leftover, catered food…don’t take it. Hand it to a tired momma or a single dad or the single guys who share a house.
5. Make 2 of your favorite main dishes and surprise someone. Not for any particular reason; just to be a blessing. When gals have babies I don’t always have the flexibility to ‘get on the scheduled list’ of dinner deliveries due to my own busy schedule. Sometimes I make a meal spontaneously and take it to the family shortly before baby is born. Mommy is always so grateful to have a surprise dinner and I don’t have to worry about messing up the organized plan.
6. If your budget is squeaking it’s so tight, give a gift of time. Tell someone you’ve got 2 hours to clean, and ask for a list. Call someone and offer to pick up groceries for them. Offer to babysit for a date night for a couple you’ve been thinking of. Take 30 minutes to have coffee with a lonely person.
I’m sure you could add lots of ideas to these…open your hand and let go!
…about generosity. I remember distinctly when 3 women walked through my life and left an impact upon our family because of their generosity. Sandy comes to mind first as I ponder this topic. She and her family became very dear to us during our year in Australia.
Sandy could always be counted on to have a full fridge and time to make a cup of coffee for anyone who stopped by. That was the custom in Australia – people actually popped in, unannounced, for what they called a ‘cuppa’ – and people actually stopped and SAT STILL to drink the cup of coffee or tea they were served, and there were always some yummy – exceedingly yummy in fact – cookies or cake to munch along with the hot drinks.
Back in the mid 90s one was hard-pressed to find a paper to-go cup of coffee there in Aussie – it was porcelain or glass ‘eat-in’ with a saucer, not take-away. It was a culture of relationship during coffee breaks, not just an injection of caffeinated beverages on-the-run! Cafe’s were everywhere, but there was no place like Sandy’s kitchen.
My boys thrilled to be invited to eat anything, anytime, there. Not just for the food, either, but every dish was served with lots of love. Sandy taught me in a new way to trust God in sharing generously with others. She didn’t just bring a ‘dish to share’ in a quart bowl – she either brought several massive side dishes or even brought the whole meal, time and again.
She didn’t just buy a bag of chips and a box of cookies to contribute – she labored over homemade and high-quality main dishes, salads, hot vegetable recipes and luscious desserts that our family, to this day, remembers fondly – and still craves! ha.
I thought I was a generous person until I met this woman – and then I was levered to a much higher place in my understanding of generosity. You may be thinking, “well it must be nice to have so much money to spend on food; if I could afford to stock up like that, I could give more, too!”
But Sandy wasn’t wealthy, her priorities were wise. Her and her family lived by choice in a modest, older home in order to have more to give. They didn’t want to be house-poor and self-centered. They didn’t spend lots of money eating out.
Sandy was sharp but she didn’t dress extravagantly. However, she was extravagant in her hospitality and friendship. It’s easy to be stingy – rationalizing why NOT to bring more food, better food, to share with others, while we buy ourselves more stuff at Walmart and grab $4.00 latte’s. Life is expensive and grocery trips are painful to the wallet…my favorite loaf of bread cost over $5.00 last week, a box of cereal and bottle of salad dressing nearly as much. I’m staring at my grocery receipts from the past week and it’s ugly.
Let’s face it, there ain’t no free lunch. But life becomes an adventure when we sacrifice something for us, and give it away to someone else. Ponder for a moment those people in your life who always pick up the tab, bring you surprise goodies, treat your kids, feed everyone at their house, buy you unreasonable gifts.
Chances are they’re not rich, they’re simply generous. They probably look at their receipts and groan, too. They don’t have an ‘extra-money’ tree in the back yard, they’re just making choices to be generous.
We’re not all gourmet cooks or super-organized-catering-machines. We have seasons of plenty and seasons of want, but at any given moment, we have plenty of something to share extravagantly with someone who needs what we have.
God’s Word says that “with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you – and even more.” (Mark 4:24.) I’m sure that’s why those who give unreasonably always seem to be unreasonably blessed.
Back to work – I’ll have to tell you about the other generous ladies another time…
…and I sat at my computer and poured out my heart.
(7/13/10) I’m still trying to catch my breath after the wind got knocked out of me today when I discovered the shocking news that Gregg Harris, home school pioneer and father of 7, lost his dear wife, Sono, to cancer.
The Harris Family 2010
When diagnosed with stage IV cancer of the colon, which had spread to her liver and lungs, she found her human frame in a very fragile state. Only weeks later, the family faced her imminent departure from this earth.
Mere weeks.
Since about the time she must have been diagnosed, I’ve found myself in the midst of so much blessed activity; the arrival of my first grandchild, my son’s college graduation, another son’s high school graduation, birthdays, my folk’s fiftieth, a huge conference, several plane trips, a getaway with hubby, several sets of house guests and all the happy hoopla that each event entails. Planning, list-making and triple-checking, shopping, traveling; too many details to fit on this one page.
While I’ve been busy living in my frantic reality and planning parties, Sono Harris was suddenly and unexpectedly busy with planning her own passing.
It’s been hours and my jaw is still hanging open. On the verge of tears time and again today, my thoughts have been sober thoughts. Of course I know she is GREAT! No regrets, no more tears, no more worries, no more lists to make and check and gas to fill and food to buy. No more wrinkles, aches or pains. It’s those closest to her, left behind, who suffer the loss of their dearest friend, lover, mama and grandma.
The grand-canyon void left in human hearts by one so great leaving earth is quite incomprehensible and nearly unbearable.
A curious thing, actually, is that God took Sono Harris, a modern revolutionary, world-changer and woman of impact – on the anniversary of the same day another great revolutionary went on to his glory. John Adams, the second president of the United States of America, courageous Founding Father, revolutionary and bulldog, overshadowed in his day by more flamboyant personalities, but proven in the end as the engine and strategist who helped see the American revolution through to its victory, died on July 4th, 1826.
My dad always said, “birds of a feather flock together.”
Soar on, great ones. Until we meet again.
“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”?(2 Corinthians 5:3-8)
“…the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.’” (John 11:24-26)
Sono Sato Harris October 17, 1954 – July 4, 2010
Being busy and productive women who want to get it all done and look good too, we can often be faced with a challenge. Not-so-perky hair (too many natural oils have darkened and flattened your lovely mane!) and no time to wash, dry and style. I face this circumstance at pretty much every conference I’m speaking at, and from time-to-time at home.
I’ve decided to cut my losses and rough it. To wash, dry, and style my hair to its optimum form, you’re looking at a good solid hour to an hour and a half. Sometimes, that’s a chunk of time better spent reading the Word, sleeping in or loving on a baby.
Here’s what my mom taught me many years ago: sprinkle baby powder on the roots of my hair, here and there at various intervals, fluff the head of hair to work the powder in until it vanishes, style and go!
It works. Here I am in a hotel room at a recent conference, needing to be well-groomed, but knowing I didn’t want to spend my precious time beautifying. No one knows. Matter of fact, it’s a fact that ‘dirty hair often styles more easily than freshly-washed tresses.’
Shake it here, there and everywhere!
Muss all your hair up real good-then brush through and style.
Ladies, that’s good news for you and me. Bring on the baby powder!
…as you can see by all the pics of my little doll and the WIDE open spaces here and there on the blog. I make it my happy ambition to spend lots of focused time with my grown children and granddaughter whenever I have opportunity to do so. This brief summer break has been the time to seize my opportunity
Last night I decided to make my largest version of shepherd’s pie ever, since I happened to have all the ingredients and I knew that “If I Baked It, They Would Come!” Sure enough, just as everything was ready to eat, there was the knock at the door. I had to laugh as I looked through the peephole to see my youngest standing there. He was actually not expected to be home for dinner, but his appetite drove him to ride a friend’s bicycle to visit mama’s kitchen before he was off and running again.
I’ve promised you all the recipe for this delightful, easy, crowd-pleaser, so here goes…
SHEPHERD’S PIE TO FEED A CROWD
Ingredients
Comfort Food Mmm
…translates into
"Another photo, Nana?"
"I'll give her my thoughtful look."
"Enough already..."
"You've gotta be kidding me!"
"Just hold me, Nana!"
