Cee’s ‘Share Your World’ challenge is a great way for bloggers to get to know one another better. If you’d like to participate, you can get the details HERE.

Question # 1: List some of your favorite types of teas.

My very favorite tea of all is English Breakfast Tea. I also enjoy Irish Breakfast Tea, and Chamomile Tea. I especially like Chamomile if I’m super stressed because it is a very soothing, calming drink.

Question # 2: If you had to describe your day as a traffic sign, what would it be?

I’m assuming this question means what kind of traffic sign would best represent what my day is like. That being the case, I’d have to say a “Yield” sign. That’s mainly because I’ve had several very stressful, problem-filled days this past week, and I know from past experience — and am being reminded again today — that the best way to deal with those days is to “yield” to the Lord and His promises. His Word says that we should cast all of our care on Him because He “cares for us affectionately and cares about us watchfully.” (1 Peter 5:6-7.) He has promised to deliver us from every evil and to heal us of every ill. So my job is to believe those promises and speak them over my life, yielding up my problems to Him so that He can solve them — and yielding myself to Him, knowing I’m coming out in victory.

Question # 3: What are a couple things people could do for you on a really bad day that would really help? 

Well, no matter what’s causing the bad day, prayer from friends who believe strongly in the Lord and His Word will always help. And, of course, in the same way that a mother’s kiss and a few of her home-baked cookies will help us when we are children — so a friend’s warm hug and a sweet treat prepared or purchased “just for me” always seems to help as well.

I’m reminded as I’m writing this of the first Christmas I faced after my mother’s death. I was in my early 30’s, but I felt some of the “little girl” coming to the surface during that first year without her. We had always been very close, and I missed her horribly. (I still miss her very much even 30 years later.) I was not actively grieving because I knew she was with the Lord Jesus and rejoicing in His presence. So I rejoiced in that truth. But my life had a very empty and lonely place nevertheless.

One day, just a few days before Christmas, a really good friend of mine came to my door unannounced with a gift — a plate piled absolutely full of all kinds of homemade Christmas cookies and candies. I was so surprised and delighted I didn’t have words. The specialness of the gift was not in the treats themselves, but in the fact that it brought a particular kind of comfort and love to me at that crucial time.

You see, all of my life, my mother had made loads of Christmas goodies every single year, and my sister and I found that one of our favorite Christmas experiences was working with her in the kitchen at those times — and then indulging in all those goodies for the next couple of weeks. In my sadness, I had not tried to bake or plan special menus during the holidays that year. I missed our special Christmas indulgences, but trying to make them myself just wasn’t the same. I think it was the love my mother put into making all of those things that had been the real blessing after all.

But when my friend handed me that plate, I felt the power of that same love. She had put together that gift as a special act of love for me personally, and that gift did more than anything else the whole year to make me feel less bereft and less hurt. It was almost as if my mother had sent her to me with those particular treats.

So even though it may sound a little trite to some people, the truth is that yes, in the midst of a really bad day or bad experience, sometimes just a little homemade cookie or fudge can change the whole atmosphere and direction of that day. It’s all about letting people know they are loved.

Question # 4: Regardless of your physical fitness, coordination, or agility, if you could be an athlete, what would you do?

Well, I have to admit that I am not big on athletics. I’m a person who walks briskly to help myself stay fit, but I rarely engage in athletic games. I like word games. However, I do enjoy playing tennis occasionally, and I really enjoyed archery when I was involved in it during my school years. I also loved dancing, and took several dance classes in college. But to say that I’d devote myself to any one of those things with the commitment and rigor required to be considered an “athlete” in that field would be stretching it a good deal.  So — I guess I’d just have to say I’d prefer to be a Scrabble or Bananagrams champion.

~~~