Seven Minutes #8

 Little Joys

Seven minutes of writing stream of conciousness begins now!

What are your little joys? If you think a bit about it. I'm sure there are many. Here are some of mine:

• Little Paco, my grand puppy. I call him a puppy even though he is full grown at four pounds. He was a rescue from a very bad situation. My son, the policeman, and a colleague each took one of two little dogs that had been treated badly. Paco takes a long time to warm up to one. He shakes badly when he meets someone new; but, once he relaxes, you know you've made a friend. He loves to come visit grammy. Sometimes, he comes and stays for a few days while my son is working or out of town. He's very attached to me. He's definitely a velcro dog—at least to me. How dare I close the bathroom door? Sleep without him, that's grounds for crying. It's such a pitiful cry, too. Paco is one of my little joys. 

• The ice and cold water machine at work. It makes that little pellet ice. Oh, I love having as much ice water as I desire available all the time. It's truly a luxury and a blessing.

• Fresh tomatoes are finally coming from our garden. It's been the best year for tomatoes and flowers that we've had in a long time. 

• Friends that I can call or text just because.

• Dove chocolates are rich and creamy.

• Listening to birds sing

• Cool breezes 

Time's up!

What are some of your little joys?

Enjoy your weekend!

Laura

Seven Minutes #7

 Trust

Seven minutes of writing stream of conciousness begins now!

    

    Trust. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is in the LORD." Jeremiah 17:7  I think, if I were to look up the Hebrew, that there might be a bit of a difference in those two parts of the sentence. But what matters to me is... 

Do I truly trust the Lord?

I mean really, do I?

If I truly trust the Lord, would I worry about so many things?

I've made great progress in this over the last few years. I've come to realize, through years of living with a faithful LORD and Savior, that He always takes care of me. Always. I don't really worry for me. Though retirement does seem a bit scary when faced without savings. But God. 

He took care of us through all of these years with low, slow, or no income. How can I think that he will not continue to care for me and for my husband? That's not even fair to Him. He has shown himself faithful to all generations, and He has shown himself faithful to care for my every need. 

When I am afraid, I will trust in Him.

He is worthy of praise, trust, hope, and calm faith.

Time's up!

I will trust in the Lord at all times.

Laura

Happy Birthday Mother in Heaven

Mother Judy
1940 - 2013

  I am going to be a great mother-in-law. How do I know? I learned from my own mother-in-love. She was always encouraging and never interfered. She asked me to call her mother years before her son proposed to me! She just loved and spoke me right into the family! I love her, and I miss her.

Judith Ann Benson Lane,
may her name be blessed forever!

Simple little reminders of Mother...
~ Sonic's Happy Hour diet cherry limeade
~ Poinsettias
~ Geraniums
~ Homemade potato salad
~ drawing kittens
~ coloring books and crayons
~ cats and kittens
~ cards and letters
~ McDonald's chicken nuggets
~ introducing her family to everyone
~ pewter cat statues
~ dangle earrings
~ venison
~ talking to strangers
~ praying for everyone
~ "Calm it, Lowell!"
~ "Well..." Long and drawn out
~ Christmas time
~ journaling
~ Beautiful Christian young lady
~ Special Christian young man
~ chili
~ chicken and dumplings
~ "I almost had a conniption!"
~ Baby's Boogie Box Band (Listen on Spotify!)
~ "super deluxe"
~ "diabetic snack"
~ "Lowell! Take a chill pill!"
~ "Oh yeah!"
~ the phone ringing during Michael's math lesson

Her last words to me...

"Laura Diane Lane, you will always and forever be my daughter-in-love." .

Seven Minutes #6

Evenings 

Seven minutes of writing stream of conciousness begins now!

 

   Evenings. When did they get so busy? When did they stop being a time to relax at the end of the day? Hmmm.... When did they? For me?

    I think it was probably high school. It began with my desire to go to college. I took classes that were hard for me to make my transcript look better. That was back when applying to college didn't mean you'd get in. My evenings were filled with homework. I distinctly remember one evening, standing out in the driveway, not doing my homework, and feeling guilty. I was just enjoying the a moment of rest, of peace. Hmmm... It wasn't always that way.

    When I was a kid, evenings meant playing outside until called for supper. After supper, I was back outside playing with the neighborhood kids until our moms called us in. Sometimes, we got to stay out after dark. Of course, we had to stay closer to home then. We'd play tag or hide and seek. 

    I remember watching the sun go down for the first time. I was at the end of the block looking over a huge field of sunflowers. (I was in Kansas, the sunflower state.) I was amazed at just how quickly the sun set in just minutes. I'd never seen the sun move before. Oh, yes, then there was the effort that we spent to see the first star. Star light star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight. Then the fireflies! Can't forget those. 

Stop!

Okay, I'm going to break my rule now. I took the photo above this past Friday evening. We stayed at a farm in Kansas. We went away from the hustle and bustle and hid ourselves away to rest, spend time together and seek God. We stayed outside until the sun set and beyond. We did so the following evening. It was so peaceful. The evenings lasted so long. Why? Because we were present. We were paying attention to everything around us. We were still. 

    

    Well, that's enough rule breaking! I think I'll write about the weekend again later. 

Have a present, focused, week,

Laura

Seven Minutes #5

CHRISTMAS CLUB

 

Seven minute of writing stream of conciousness begins now!

For all of my adult life, I have lived on a small budget—sometimes really small. During the early years, my husband and I made the mistake of using credit cards to our own detriment. We learned the very hard way about that. During and after the years of digging ourselves out of that pit, we paid cash for Christmas and other things as well.

When you live on a short shoestring budget like we have, you cannot wait until December to begin Christmas preparations. 

Gift making and collecting has started early for me for years. Sometimes even in January, I'll find something to add to my gift box. I thrift for gifts and for supplies to make gifts. Fortunately, my children have always been thankful for whatever gifts I could make or source for them. I always saved for at least one gift that I knew that they'd been wanting. Oh, I miss the days of little ones!

All this to say, it is immensely important for those with a slim budget to begin making, creating, planning, collecting, and saving early.

A couple of years ago, I began a Christmas club with a few friends. Once a month, they come to my house for an evening, and we each work on something that will bring us closer to our Christmas goals. Since I began working full-time in February, I've had to give that up. I've been exhausted when I get home. But. I am going to invite them to begin getting toether again this month for Christmas in July. They'll be getting a text from me soon!

And that's my seven minutes. Maybe you'd like to invite a few friends to join you in your making and prepping. I have 3 friends in my group with me. We've become even closer over the last couple of years. 

Be blessed ladies!

Laura

   

Happy Independence Day!

 Happy 4th of July 2026! Just a little reading from days gone by!

 Most of us have happy memories of July 4th; but, the significance of the birth of our country is often forgotten. Take a few moments this weekend to thank God for our country and all of its privileges and freedoms. 

Thank you God for unlimited blessings!

Laura

Independence Day, The Fourth of July, July 4th, Freedom! God Bless America!

Celebrating the 4th of July

Happy Independence Day and 4th of July!

Seven Minutes #4

 

Knitting

Seven minutes starts now!

Knitting. Hmmm... I first picked up needles, as I remember, in high school home ec. I knitted a little pair of baby booties by knitting rectangles and sewing up the toes. I didn't knit again until something very important happened. 

Fast forward to 24 years old. I had always told my husband that he would know I was pregnant when he found me knitting baby booties. I had fertility issues. It took a few years for baby booty time to come. When I finally found out I was expecting, I had to rush to Woolworths, buy yarn and needles, and rush home. Sure enough, I was knitting baby booties, with that old pattern when he came home. He didn't get it. I had to tell him. Wink.

I didn't knit much for years.

Fast forward several years to age 51. I sat in a chemo chair knitting hats for other patients. I had to go in for treatments every three weeks. Knitting helped me pass the time during and between treatments. They were brutal. Knitting hats gave me purpose. I tried to have at least one hat to donate each time I went for treatments. A nurse noticed and began talking to me about it. She later invited me to her knitting group. 

That group of ladies accepted me for me not for a chemo patient. They helped to rebuild community when most of my local friends had pulled back. People don't know how to talk to you when you have cancer. 

Knitting bridged the gap. Knitting for others gave me purpose. 

Jesus gave me hope and healing. 

Thank you God that I was knit together in my mother's womb!