When life gives you lemons...

Put on a sour face?

Nah, that wouldn't be good.  Besides, lemons are a basic necessity for some really tasty things: lemonade, lemon squares, anything seafood!, artichokes, pisco sours and, most important of all, making that dull bland water have a little bit of life to it!  So all that being said, why is it that lemons are the butt of all jokes?  Do poor little lemons really have to make life all that...sour?

So we got handed a whole bunch of lemons yesterday afternoon, and I suppose now is the time to decide what we do with them?  Suck on them, one at a time, and allow the sour bitter flavor to bring tears to our eyes?  Or, is it time to make a cookie crust and add some eggs, sugar, and a bit of vanilla to the juice of these glorious lemons...throw the ingredients together, bake 'em up for 20 minutes, and enjoy some delightful lemon bars for breakfast (after all, lemon is a fruit!), lunch, and dinner for a while?!

All that being said, my Dear Husband and I are here in a pickle.  Our dreams that we have created together for the last 4 months have fallen apart, and now we must pick up the pieces and start over again.  My Love might not be a Deputy Sheriff this year, but who knows what may become of him?  Perhaps he will become the next Michelangelo, painting amazing works of art (well, at the very least, putting on the most even coats of paint that one could ask for!).  Or is this a sign that my man is destined to be the strongest, whitest, tallest roofer this side of the country?  Maybe he will even become the next yoga superstar?! 

All of the sudden our world has opened up in front of us, and if we put our heads together (and look to Someone much more wise than we could ever be) perhaps we can create something so much greater than your average lemon bar...Lemon Souffle, here we come!

Another day, another year...

Did your 2011 start out exactly the way you wanted?  Did all of your resolutions kick in, ready to recharge and revamp your way of living?  How has your January 1st been thus far?




I absolutely love celebrating a New Year, and I think it has to do with the feeling of freshness.  The world is a blank canvas just waiting to be discovered (perhaps even with bright colors, though I do tend to stick with more earthy tones!).  My new year did not begin as planned, but sometimes I think that this is a blessing in disguise.

Resolution #1: Dive into my faith more than ever this year!

Reality #1: Sneak out of bedroom quietly to allow husband to sleep -- leave my Bible tucked away at my nightstand.

Solution #1?:  Find a devotional online and start January off right!  And boy do these things happen for a reason, because let me show you what I found there this morning:   

John 6:60 (NIV): On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching, who can accept it?"...From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
Jesus had finished explaining to many of his disciples some of the principles surrounding who He was. But what Jesus said was difficult for them to receive because what He said rubbed harshly against their flesh. What Jesus said did not settle with what they in their own human wisdom could reason out. "Many of his disciples," the scripture tells us, "turned back and no longer followed him." Their response was to say within themselves, "I just can´t understand that--I don´t even want to think about it." We like to feel secure in our beliefs and understandings about the way things are. When something or someone comes along that shakes those beliefs and causes us to question things of which we have felt secure in our understanding, our tendency is to resist. We become uncomfortable and insecure and find ourselves at the crossroads--wondering what is right and who is wrong. We have a choice: struggle through the questions, trusting God for the answers; or bow to the bliss of ignorance.

Well, anybody who knows me or anything that has happened to me in the last 18 months will understand why I loved this devotional.  I think that, specifically, I do not want to be afraid and run away from something that is beyond my understanding.  God is so much bigger than human reason or comfort, and I truly believe that Christianity is not about being comfortable...but being edgy, perhaps even dangerous!  And what that means in reality is hard to say, but I do not want to live in blissful ignorance any longer.

Of course there was another lesson in store for me, and this one always hits close to home:

Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." (Matthew 8:24-25)

Wait, this one will make more sense if I back up a bit.

Resolution #2: Do more yoga! (Original, I know, but the temptation to skip out on personal practice when you teach 30+ classes a month is overwhelming at times.)
Reality #2: Threw my back out during my last class of 2010...can barely move or walk, not to mention forward-bend, backward-bend, sideways-bend, or any kind of yoga bend for that matter.
Solution #2: Skip my yoga practice on the very first day of the New Year.

Now it doesn't seem to tie in with the verses in Matthew, but let me explain a bit.  The little devotional that went along with this particular passage was talking about lack of faith.  When things got a bit scary and tough, the disciples were afraid and overwhelmed...and Jesus called them out on it.  Difficulties in life are the things that temper us and make us stronger -- without pruning there would be no growth.  So though I may ask for a year filled with peace and prosperity, that would not condition my personal and spiritual growth.

Yes, when I finally get back in that room and complete my 26 asanas I'm sure it will be painful...and require every bit of patience, faith, concentration and determination that I've got.  But how much more rewarding to finish the class?!  How much more sympathy and compassion will I bring to my students due to the reality of my own frail body?   

The storms of life weather us into the people we need to become...may God Bless you with many storms this year! :-)