Friday, October 31, 2008

Let's Pretend...

Let's pretend today that you're at my house, sitting at the table, chatting over some coffee.


And while we're at it, let's pretend that my whole house is actually clean, rather than just the illusion of the downstairs being clean because I have, in fact, just hauled everything upstairs, which means out of sight, out of mind...sorta.


And if you were here, and we were sharing our random thoughts, I would tell you this:
  • I'm feeling like a bit of a trick-or-treating-fall-party scrooge. Halloween is not my favorite holiday (big surprise.) I do not enjoy coming up with costumes, hauling kids around door to door, etc. I'd rather just go to Wal-Mart, buy them a big bag of candy and call it good.

  • I'm also not loving fall this year. I usually do...but this year, not so much. I want warmth back. I want long days of sunshine back. I want to not have to warm up my van in the mornings back. I want no coats, mittens, hats etc back.

  • Time seems to be going so fast...

  • If you were here, I probably wouldn't mention how blogger is doing weird things to the formatting today as I type this and I wonder what it's going to look like when I hit publish.

  • I would tell you though, that God's been speaking some clear truths into my heart lately. And by speaking I mean pounding it into my head through every angle imaginable. The theme seems to be: Overcoming my flesh with the power of the Holy Spirit. I can't overcome my flesh with my flesh, only with His Spirit. This literally involves pretty much every area of my life.

  • I also let my kids plow through their Halloween candy in a matter of days. I don't put it in a bowl and dish it out for months. Nope. They just eat and eat until it's gone, and then it's not sitting in the pantry calling my name all day every day for MONTHS! Plus, there is nowhere in this house that they can't sniff it out and find it anyways.

  • Are you wondering if this makes them sick? It doesn't. They've built up a high tolerance :) Stomachs of steel. I think they inherited it from me. They may not look like me on the outside...but on the inside...all me...

  • Someone gave Jake a kazoo...both Odie and myself are not very appreciative of that today.

Wow, I could go on and on...and now I've scared you all away from ever coming over for coffee. Dang it :)


Happy Friday from your scroogy halloween-trick-or-treating bloggy friend.

30 comments:

  1. I so wish I could come sit at your table and have coffee with you!! Pretty much everything you just 'said' is how I feel too. Even the whole illusion thing of having a clean house. The downstairs looks like I really have it all together! :-)

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  2. I would love to come over to your place and have coffee. Too bad you aren't in quick driving distance.

    There are days realllllllllly need to sit down with a close friend and just chat!

    I know just how you feel about being the scrooge of Halloween. My hubs just called and said that this year we really should give out candy so we don't get damage to our home or vehicles - with all of the construction we have been doing he thinks we could get targeted. Me. . . I just want to hide under a blanket!

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  3. Real life sista! Pour me another cup and tell me more :0)

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  4. Do people really put the candy up from the kids and dish it out over a long period of time? Huh? I don't either - and I would still come over for coffee, or no coffee, I would still come:)

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  5. I need to come over for coffee. Pick a day next week. I miss you! I don't ration out candy either. If it's gone they quit asking!

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  6. Amen sister. I am with you. I dislike Halloween too!! Today at work people are all about "Happy Halloween" i am like---seriously? nothing happy about it. it is an acky day i dont even think of it as a holiday...I agree I agree I agree, if i were at your house i would toast your coffee with my pepsi and have a piece of candy (oh, like they would miss it!!) :) oh, and i feel the same about kazoos they are pure unadulterated EVIL.

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  7. AND I DID THE SAME THING WITH MY HOUSE---SHOELED IT ALL INTO MY BEDROOM SO THE TRICK OR TREATERS WOULD NOT SEE MY MESSY PILES!!! we are definitely sisters at heart!!!!!

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  8. Fall is always my favorite, too. But like you, I find myself mourning the loss of heat and light this year. Don't know exactly why...

    Oh, and I LOVE coffee, any time, any place. Of course, I would TOTALLY judge you for your messy home...'cause my house is PERFECTLY clean. Oh yes it is. What? What's that? You say you have witnesses to the contrary? Uh... I think our connection is breaking up. I can't hear you anymore. Hello? Hello? *click*
    :-)

    Happy Gift-of-a-Day to you!
    -J

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  9. Beth: Figures...I'd have to blame it on a church ;) The kazoo has mysteriously disappeared...

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  10. Nah, I don't think you scared anyone away. ;) Sounds like a normal convo with my friends at my house.

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  11. Nope! You wouldn't scare me off... I too am feeling a bit scrooge-ish. I normally can't wait to decorate my house with all of my super cool fall decor (that I just HAD to have last year so that my house would be EXTRA cute this year!)... I haven't even pulled the boxes out of the attic. I have NO DESIRE WHAT SO EVER to decorate this year.... maybe I won't even decorate for Christmas! :)

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  12. I had my coffee this morning with a spoonful of cocoa mix and a squirt of peppermint syrup - yum!

    I have always loved fall more than any of the other seasons, even though being a midwesterner, it means that there will soon be months of blaaa and for me personally it means seasonal depression. But, I am especially loving fall this year.

    I hope Sarah doesn't mind my long comment, but I would like to share a bit of what is going on in my life and hope that it is an encouragement for you.

    I think it is because our church had Carol Kent speak at our women's conference. Mrs. Kent, with the Holy Spirit's divine assistance, helped me to see that my life could be soooooooo much worse than what I think it is. I am currently reading her book, "A New Kind of Normal". It has made me look outward at the hurting and pain in other people's lives and do what I can to help them where they are at rather than focusing on my pain.

    I start each morning by stretching out on my bed like Isaac on the alter asking God to use me as a sacrifice to him today. I ask him to make me mindful of all the things I have to be thankful for. Then at the end of each day, I name the things I am thankful for even if they are as simple as kisses from our new puppy and I fall asleep singing songs of praise.

    Due to circumstances in our lives I have a lot more free time lately, so I am also reading one of the selections for our church's women's bible study, Discerning the Voice of God by Priscilla Shirer. Just like with Stormie Omartain's books, I believe these women tend to have a bit more of a charasmatic spirituality than I do, but I am still enjoying and learning so much.

    These two books and the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit are drawing me into a more intimate relationship with the Lord than I've felt in a super long time.

    I will be praying for all of you that God will reach you where you are, comfort you and draw you near to Him. As Carol suggested, bundle all your "cares" up, tie a bow at the top and hang the bundle on the cross. Jesus cares for you and will take all of your burdens if you trust in Him.

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  13. I'm right there with you on all of this. Especialy Halloween. I am so not creative. Costumes make me weary. When I was a kid we had a homemade ghost and a homemade witch (things weren't so "evil" in the 60's!) and each year you just chose which one you wanted.

    Except I'm still not relating to the fall part. Our cool weather lasted maybe 48 hours.

    Stop by my blog and you'll get a cheerier perspective of Halloween today!

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  14. May you find beauty in the month of November - despite the lack of warmth...because I KNOW you will have a wonderful post about all that you are thankful for ... in fact, I would bet that there will be several!

    Happy Halloween!! :)

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  15. You didn't scare me away, girl! Unless you still had Mr. Mouse....now that would possibly keep me away. :)

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  16. Nope, not scared away here. I think to go to your house and have coffee, even if all the stuff wasn't hauled upstairs, would be a grand thing. ;o)

    *the verification word is "flavi", I love that word, even if it probably isn't one

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  17. kazoo. bad. bad. bad.
    i say that with much understanding.

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  18. our kazoo's also became victims of the trash can. at least the weather cooperated. halloween is MISERABLE when you have to trick-or-treat in the cold rain!

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  19. I would love to come to tiny town for coffee. :)

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  20. i would still come over for coffee. don't drink it but the conversation with another mom/preacher wife would be nice!

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  21. I think it's a great idea to have the kids plow through the candy. I rationalize it by thinking that they won't get used to have candy every day for the rest of their lives, but they'll simply gorge on it once a year.

    And I would love to have coffee with you. My random thoughts are like yours. Only sometimes weirder. :)

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  22. Will you be serving a piece of cake with that cup of coffee?

    Kazoos are BAD! They should be outlawed.

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  23. i'm just loving the fact that we both haul things upstairs so the house feels clean!

    sometimes the stuff that needs to go up just collects on the stairs though...waiting to be carried up...for days on end.

    i figure when my hubby gets tired of tripping over it he'll grab a handful!

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  24. We do the same thing, in fact we encourage them to eat all that candy. That way we aren't tempted. I love Halloween and fall. Sorry you are having the fall blues.

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  25. LOL! We let our four plow through the candy too! Glad I'm not the only one!

    BTW, you've been tagged to share 7 random things about yourself. Please see my blog http://everydaylily.blogspot.com for details (11-2-08 Tagged!) Thanks for sharing your life with us. This is one of my favorite blogs!

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  26. I'd love to come sit at your table and have coffee! We could talk about whatever and drink lots and lots of coffee!

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  27. Hi Sara! I'd like to ask you to share about your church's Bible Club some--how it works and what the set up is like. I know our children's education programs struggle and we could use some inspiration.

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  28. No fan of Halloween either and not for some super spiritual reason. It's just a big hassle!

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