In Loving Memory

This week, my family and I mourn the death of a very important woman in our lives. Please read my Yiayia's death notice below, to learn about the woman I was named after and the legacy she leaves behind:

GEORGELAS ANGELINA FLOOR GEORGELAS (Age 94) "Angie" Died peacefully at her home in McLean, Virginia on March 22, 2014. Born on February 29, 1920, in Garfield, Utah, Angelina was the fourth child born to her Greek American parents, Nick and Catherine Floor. The family later resided in Salt Lake City, Utah. Angelina survived seven siblings: Bill, George, Steve, Helen, Lola, Effie and Jim. 

In 1946, Angelina married decorated war veteran, John Georgelas (Colonel, US Army, deceased). During their sixty-one years of marriage, military assignments had them live in Greece, Spain and many places in the U.S., kindling a passion for travel well into the last years of their lives. Often joined by their extended family, their most frequented destinations were Greece, including Crete, the rest of Europe, and Las Vegas, Nevada, where she often celebrated her special birth date among loving family members and friends. In 

1964, Angelina and her husband began spending nights and weekends establishing a home building business which has turned into an award-winning company building fine custom homes, and developing residential and commercial land and building in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area as well as in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Guam and Russia. 

Angelina partnered with her husband and raised her family with an unwavering regard for excellence. Her acute attention to detail served her well as an executive secretary at the Pentagon, and her keen eye for style had her obtain a license in interior decorating. She will always be remembered by all who knew her as a woman of elegance and class, with a refined sense of perfection. 

Angelina is survived by her loving sons and their wives: Theodore (Rachel Sampson), Timothy (Martha Karas), and Anthony (Carol Crandall), and her daughter-in-law Vickie Jacobson, wife of her late son, Thomas. She is also survived by 17 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?n=angelina-f-georgelas&pid=170355112&eid=sp_shareobit#sthash.cG0dCpa7.dpuf

Broken

Have you ever fumbled a piece of china, trying hard to regain your grip on it, yet, in slow motion you watch it sail through the air and crash to the floor, splaying in a thousand pieces?

And the next days and maybe weeks, you find bits of the broken china beneath the cabinets, hidden in the rug, in the corner of the counter. Everywhere, broken pieces everywhere. You may have done the initial sweep up, gathered all the mess and tossed it. But, it might take a while to completely get rid of the broken pieces.

Broken.

Such a simple word, but one that implies long-term clean up. It's not so easy to fix something that's broken in a thousand pieces. We hear it often said: If it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? 

But if it's broke, good luck fixing it.

Have you ever been broken? Are you still? You might have had those dtr's (define the relationship) and cleaned up that initial mess, but maybe there are still broken pieces of resentment, guilt, hatred, tucked away in the corners of your heart? Maybe, you were so broken at one point, that you chose to stay that way. You'd hop from shattered mess to shattered mess, avoiding slipping between the shards and drowning completely, but maintaining balance and control in the midst of the brokenness?

I have been in both places. But, being the fixer that I am, I usually end up with the initial clean up behind me, and then dealing with the shards that poke at the most inopportune time. 

The thing is, I will find myself clinging to those leftover pieces and allowing them to become my focus. Even if I know what needs to be done, I can't pull my eyes away from the brokenness. But, if I do, if I cry out to the Lord, He will deliver me, right? He will lift my head and save me. Even though my troubles consume me, the Lord is close by...waiting for me to look up. 

It's just a matter of will. Mine, that is. 

Sometimes, I just want to wallow. I want to cry and pity myself, and avoid the hope that might linger on the horizon. Sometimes, I am so hurt, that I want to be picked up and coddled like a baby. Taken care of without having to do anything in return. And really, I can do that. But there is something I must do to allow for such comfort. I must turn away from the broken pieces and look toward my Comforter. It's more difficult than it seems, though. And sometimes, it is the last thing I want to do. 

How about you?

These words I should hide in my heart for the next  broken mess:

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
    he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

 The righteous person may have many troubles,
    but the Lord delivers him from them all;
 he protects all his bones,
    not one of them will be broken."

Psalm 34:17-20

OOPS!!

Sorry that I haven't kept up with my blog schedule this week. We've had family in town, and I haven't kept up with any other schedule either!! It's nice to step away from cyber life for a bit. Hoping to catch up next week!

Have a wonderful weekend!! 

Deconstructed Family Fun...wink, wink!

Yesterday, I planned a special surprise for my hubby...the reason I couldn't post my TGIF “family” fun idea. If you recall my post, My Little Dieties, you might get an idea what could've sparked this “family” fun tip. Well, like my grandfather suggested long ago (as stated in the post I mentioned above), it was about time we got a babysitter, as we do pretty often, but this time it wouldn't be for just a few hours.

Our TGIF was possible with the help of a very good friend and neighbor--whose two boys are best friends with mine, and her tween daughter is one of my daughter's favorite people...and her teenager rocks with caring for the dogs! Yes, this brave neighbor of mine doubled the kids in her house by adding my four! The kids' TGIF included entertainment and a sleepover...family fun...er...with another family.;) Hey, we all need close friends nearby to pour into our kids too, right? :)

Dinner in a basket

In the meantime, I picked my hubby up from his office at 6 sharp. We had “dinner” reservations after all.

Well...we had reservations (thanks to a gift certificate we won at a fundraiser). And I packed dinner with us. As well as an overnight bag.

A room with a view!

We didn't travel far, but we did pull into the downtown Marriott for a surprise retreat. All the fun we plan for the family most weekends call for a time to rejuvenate and hang out with my best friend sans children. I love my kids, but this winter has proven that even the most loving house can lose its luster with four kids, two dogs, snow piled up outside, and laundry piled up inside.

Perfect picnic

A get-away with a picnic dinner, swimming, and movie-watching in a cozy hotel room with just my husband, and a fun night of lazer tag, nail painting, pizza dinner with great friends for the kids, was the perfect thing for our family!

Every once in a while, we need to go our separate ways. The couple needs to re-connect without distraction or time restraints. And the kids need to leave the parents and know they are cared for beyond the walls of our house.

Breakfast for two was included!

And then, as we all come together again, we have a fresh focus for the family, and can embrace the fact that distance really does make the heart grow fonder!

This is me refreshed!

Do you ever plan spontaneous get-aways in the midst of this busy season? Who do you usually leave your kiddos with to have quality time with your spouse?

TGIF: Wait for it...

Thank GOODNESS it's Friday! And I have a fun "family" idea...well, a deconstructed one...curious? I'll have to wait and post it tomorrow! You'll see why!
Have a great day!

Enough is enough!

"For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them.” John 12:40

on freedigitalphotos.net by Dan

Yikes! How could God do this? Blind someone from His truth? Doesn't it say in the Bible that He doesn't want anyone to perish? And yet, this verse, and others similar to it, make me wonder in my faith.

It's been on my mind a lot lately. The more I hear perverted truth on secular t.v., so-called "Christian" evangelists, and in the mouths of many others, the more I chew on this concept. Why would God allow such a thing? And then I reflect.

Have you ever had a conversation with someone who "hates" your religion?
Have you ever witnessed complete blinding in someone who is led astray?

It's not pretty. I wonder how God takes such desecration of His Truth and Glory?

A while back, I had someone share their "heart" in this way. Mocking, ugly, scoffing, degrading my entire belief system. There comes a point where you realize that even the Truth you send out there (Scripture, Godly principles...whether it be on social media, on religious cards, in conversation) is not just being overlooked, but it is being attacked in the heart of the receiver.

Can God handle this type of disrespect?
Absolutely!
But for a God who doesn't want anyone to perish, is it beneficial to allow His Truth to be a stumbling block for the lost who might use it to grow deeper in their hate?
No.
Perhaps, just perhaps (and I am certainly no theologian), God's blinding is not a ruthless deed as a "dictator" of the universe, BUT a last resort to give the lost a life application of what it means to  really be void of Truth and Good. Perhaps, God chooses to blind those and harden their hearts, so that maybe they will become so desperate for His Peace in their desolation, that they might crawl through the darkness and cry out to their Maker at last?

You know, free-will...in it's most absolute application.

Yes, God knows who will sit with Him one day, so He really can do whatever He wants here on Earth with that knowledge. But in all His Sovereignty, He is also compassionate, loving, and jealous for us! And if it means tough love by hiding His truth and walking away to get a person to truly seek Him at last...then so be it.

And if He knows that person will never turn to Him, then why can't the God of the Universe say,
"No more!"? When it His very Heart that is being torn apart and spit upon by the words of the foolish?

At this point, I wonder, if in all His righteous anger He says, Enough is enough.