Dear Diary . . .

My perfect Valentine’s Day has downsized over the years. It had to do that, because I have been married to a frugal guy for almost 25 years and . . . when we marry someone, we inevitably change each other. That seems to be one of the reasons God instituted marriage in the first place–to smooth off the rough edges.

I started my Valentine’s Day at 2:45 AM. I had intentionally set my alarm, going to bed at 10 PM so that I could get up and watch “Woman of the Year” with Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy on Turner Classic Movies.

They did not disappoint me! I love that pair. Sad that their relationship never was based on the sound marriages they portrayed in their films, but their onscreen pairing certainly made a strong case for enduring marriage (and for forgiveness within marriage).

In “Woman of the Year,” Ms. Hepburn is portrayed as more the selfish, unreasonable partner who needs to change.

In “Adam’s Rib,” which I saw again earlier this week, Mr. Tracy is more the selfish partner who changes by the end of the film.

So they balance!

As do Noel and I. Two imperfect people, bonded by Christ’s love as well as romantic love.

After the movie was over, I crept back up to bed, only to find my husband already awake. He had fallen asleep in his recliner early last night while I was at Bible Study. He was slowly waking up for the day.

We lay there, talking for almost an hour before I drowsed back off to sleep and he got up.

What a precious time. I always think of the early morning quiet and darkness as velvety and intimate, not frightening like darkness can be at midnight when you are rushing a child to the emergency room or when you are lost on the road somewhere.

Such a good time to share your hearts in ways that belong just to the two of you, never to be shared on a blog.

This morning, when I finally got up, I scrambled us egg whites and served them with leftover blueberry scones I made for our meal at Bible study last night. It was a good enough treat. We don’t need heartshaped donuts!

Tomorrow night we will attend a Valentine’s party at the home of friends.

And, with that, I am content, having found a place to belong in a world that sometimes seems frighteningly random.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Virginia!

So much has changed since yesterday in the state of Virginia, but yet so much remains the same.

The gospel of Jesus Christ still remains the antidote for the sin problem of the entire human race. Our problem with anger, our problem with selfishness, our problem with sexual sin, our problem with wanting to make a name for ourselves independent of God, and independent of the design and plan He built into the human race.

When Jesus came, during the Roman Empire, He defined marriage as between one man and one woman for life. So many of us nowadays fall woefully short of His definition.

Jesus then went on to concentrate on bringing the gospel, His good news, to broken, sinful people.

He did not rage against the machine.

He didn’t preach against the polygamy that was occurring in every part of the Roman Empire except Israel at that time.

He didn’t preach against the marriages that were marriages in name only, to produce heirs, while the men involved in them carried on with dozens of other women, or men, or young children.

Jesus addressed sin as sin; He addressed sinners as sinners. Yet He did more. He loved sinners. Often they received His love. They were then loved back into wholeness by the very Son of God!

Jesus is still doing that only . . . He is using the hands and feet and hearts of people who are alive in Him on earth right now. His Holy Spirit empowers us to love sinners and to lead them to Christ, that the Holy Spirit may dwell in them, too, breaking the hold of sin over their lives, as He has broken the hold of sin over our lives.

John, the Apostle of love, writes often of how Jesus said that that would be the only way the world around us would know that God is real and that He is love–when they see our love for each other and for lost people around us.

That is God’s plan for redeeming a lost world. Us. So we had better take it seriously.

Remember, the only time anyone ever threw a sexual sinner on the floor in front of our Saviour, He told her He did not condemn her.

And to go and sin no more!

That is our message for a broken world, and our message for Virginia today.

Imago Dei

“Oh, yes. We take shortcuts in getting to know others and sum them up in ten words or less. And we do that to people made in God’s image. What smugness we exhibit.”

The above was an update I posted on Facebook several days ago.  I truly believe that.  Almost all of us have to work hard to realize that other humans are just as complex as we are.  

I see dismissive Facebook posts all of the time.  Posts that sum up an entire viewpoint in one dismissive sound byte.  

Even posts that sum up an entire group of people (all teenagers, dieters, drinkers, non-drinkers, etc.) in one dismissive sound byte.

Thing is, we all have a story.  And, most importantly of all, we are all God’s image bearers.  

Our church has often taught that principle.  No matter how fallen, each person bears somewhere in his soul the mark of his Creator.  Even the alcoholic, on his deathbed, lying with a swollen, distended abdomen amidst his own waste in his apartment (that image is courtesy of a friend who once watched her sister die that way) is an image-bearer of God’s holy image somewhere in his being.  

I know some churches teach that, since the Fall, we are created in the image of Adam, not in the image of God.  I don’t see that in Scripture anywhere and no one has been able to point me to anything confirming that view.

I think that view makes it easier for people to be dismissive of their fellow humans.  Like Pharisees, they can just cross the road when they see an alcoholic dying, saying, in exactly five words, “He brought it on himself,” then forgetting about this person who needs Jesus.

I pray in this New Year we may realize that others have stories and dreams and souls and that we may reach out to them.  I pray we may care that they might perish without our Saviour.  

2013 List of Countries Where Christians are Most Persecuted

2013 List of Countries Where Christians are Most Persecuted

This is the real McCoy, folks. Places where you can be beat up or killed for being a Christian. Not the faux persecution we speak about in the States when we actually mean that Phil Robertson makes a little less money due to his faith (or not, maybe he is making more money now–who knows?).

If we know this list, we can pray for our Christian brothers and sisters, worldwide, with wisdom.

Gotta Start the New Year With a Satire Post!

Gotta Start the New Year With a Satire Post!

Love this! Satirical interpretation of what J.D. Greear would do/say in various situations. He is the hipster author of “Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart,” a book that reminds us that getting saved does not involve pleading with God thousands of times to save us via the sinner’s prayer. Getting saved is a reality for God’s children because Christ has secured our salvation on the cross. Our salvation is solid and unshakable due to Him, not due to us!!!

Our Noisy Planet!

Our Noisy Planet!

There are over six billion of us on planet Earth right now and we are speeding toward seven billion. Two countries have more than a billion people, China and India. One of those two is growing faster than the other. Due to the forced birth control policies in China for the past generation, their population rate is growing more slowly than India’s.

That said, the planet has gotten noticeably more noisy in my lifetime. I have to be careful to not refer to some ideal Victorian past that never actually existed (at least outside of a handful of very rich families in Britain and the U.S.), but I think I can accurately say that, in my childhood, a neighborhood of houses like ours ($300,000 homes of around 2700 square feet) would not have dealt with noise complaints very often. Now our community newsletter is constantly reminding us to remember that we are not out on a farm somewhere out of everyone else’s notice . . .

Some of us have more sensitive constitutions by nature and can be easily derailed by someone else’s noise level. That doesn’t make that other person a villain, but it does make life interesting for us . . .

For example, I have long noted that I cannot handle the staccato barking of dogs in my neighborhood. And, thankfully, there have only been four times that that was an issue since we moved here 23 years ago. Three of them were at the same corner home, which probably has a built in dog house to attract dog owners as buyers!!!

There is currently a dog there that mostly howls, rather than barks, when sirens start or when he gets cold in the night (he is seemingly left outside 24/7, even in the coldest weather, and since I did ask our animal control people to investigate that and nothing changed over there, I have to assume that no animal cruelty laws are being broken). Thankfully, the howling doesn’t get under my skin the way the occasional barking does!!!

Some things about noises and noise levels are cultural.

Some are individual.

For example, I have long heard that the gentle rhythms of Baroque music are the rhythms that most mimic the human constitution. Since I love Baroque music, I am onboard with believing that. However, I realize that that is also an example of Western European thinking that may not be shared universally by all of the earth’s inhabitants.

The above musical selection is a folk rendition of a standard old hymn with words by John Bunyan.

What I like about it is the way it starts with the tradition of earlier music (including the music written during the Baroque era) and riffs a bit onward with it. The unexpected syncopation, especially that provided by the ancient instrument playing an alternate tune in the background, delights my senses. The drumline is just regular enough to not be frightening–walking along the ledge without falling over the edge. There are several times the drums thunder an alternate five or six beat rhythm, but they always resolve to the time signature of the piece, with a bit of syncopation thrown in for excitement.

To me, that is brilliant music–knowing the rules of good music composition and mostly honoring them. Breaking them here and there, but only temporarily. Keeping everyone, literally, on the same sheet of music, even as riffs occur on one instrument or another.

My taste in music may seem tame to some and wild to others, but that is where I am right now, as the unique individual God created me to be.

How does this relate to noise levels around us?

Well, for me, I can hear music composition rules in our movements, too. I never studied dance, but I am willing to believe that ballet dancers probably hear music composition rules and rhythms in almost everything.

In our home, for instance, my husband moves slowly in 4/4 time. I have been told that I used to do the same until I lost weight. Now I often don’t make noise at all as I move around. I sometimes even startle people that way.

Our son, on the other hand, is typical of many boys, especially special needs boys. He moves in 3/4 time, but with an erratic third beat. It never falls exactly where I expect to hear it. And it is often accompanied by a crash as he closes a door harder than I expected, or drops something, or opens a door too hard and hits the wall with it. We have built many doorstops into our life since he joined us in 1992, but have not been able to keep up with putting them everywhere they are needed.

And, see, that is something in which awareness goes a long way toward contentment. If I didn’t realize he moves differently because he is made differently, I would be constantly trying to change him into 4/4 time, which I expect would be impossible.

Instead, I have learned to enjoy the knowledge that he is here with us, crashes and all. If all else fails, I clip on the headset and turn on music like the video above!!!

In a world of so many people and so many noises, there is certainly a time that someone’s noise must be altered. There are noise ordinances for a reason, after all. There is a time to say something, to tell someone they must alter their noise level or face consequences.

May we be wise in discerning when those times occur and when other situations dictate that we should remain silent and try to accommodate others, even when their noise makes those of us with sensitive constitutions feel restless and nervous.

Written for a friend of mine, facing loud, constant, erratic bangs in Papua Indonesia on New Year’s Eve!

Even Cowgirls Get the Blues . . .

I reread my post from Christmas Eve today, with the intent not to delete it, but to seriously edit it.

I left it as it was.

It was a slice of family life, of exhausted family life on Christmas Eve. It presented us, warts and all.

In the midst of talking about an attitude of gratitude, I was griping about families taking us for granted by not exhibiting an attitude of gratitude.

See what I did there? Reciprocated the feeling. If they take me for granted, I get to complain about them . . .

And, in human nature, that happens. But it is also important to remember that, in Christ, we have overcome many things. Human nature can be one of them.

By His power, His resurrection power. Not by our own puny efforts.

So . . . while we all gripe sometimes, we also are in that “already, not yet” tension that is life in Christ on a fallen planet.

We have to self-talk and remind ourselves that everything that touches us comes through the hands of a loving God. Even feeling taken for granted by our families.

That doesn’t excuse lack of action on our part. If we don’t tell them that we feel taken for granted, they will never figure it out by themselves.

But it does mean we rejoice as we realize that we are in Christ and, in Him, we have all things.

I will leave my post up, as it is. It will encourage someone else who is struggling.

And, in the end, I got where I needed to get. Back to the feet of Christ our Lord!

Performance-based Parenting

I serve a perfect, all-knowing Saviour, but I am a work in progress and will be one until the day I depart this earth.

One thing I am struggling with right now is the idea that an attitude of gratitude is hard to teach to one’s offspring.  

I don’t necessarily think that is an issue restricted to special needs offspring.  I have seen enough examples of the “most entitled generation ever” to say that many of us have not been able to teach the concept of “attitude of gratitude.”  Or maybe not all of my generation even tried . . .  

I know that my special needs son needs to catch this as an attitude of the heart, not as an externally imposed rule from me.  I also know his college, which is a Christian school for special needs people, is aware of the need to convey this concept in a heart-to-heart way.  So we all keep plugging away at teaching it . . .

Where I think I have failed in the past is in not realizing that if I accept dismissive behavior directed toward me by my son, I am disobeying the part of God’s Word that says children need to be taught to respect their parents, and actually to treat every human being with dignity.  

It is subtle, this whole issue.  I certainly imposed consequences for blatantly disrespectful language or actions.  

What I didn’t see coming until it was in my rearview mirror was the tendency to hand me a “to do list” for which appreciation is never shown, but with a new list of demands being issued when the old list is finished.  

I spent my childhood trying to find one minute in which I felt I had completed enough actions to be considered a good daughter.  I now find myself spending my motherhood doing the same, in relation to my child.  I am measuring my parenting by whether I can ever get to the point where I have completed the “to do list” of things my kid wants done for him.  And the answer is . . . I cannot.  

There is so much wrong there, at so many levels.  Relationships should not be defined by what others do for us.  We all know that.  Or rather, the only relationship that should be defined by what others do for us is that of employer and employee.

But what makes me saddest is that I have not conveyed the idea of an attitude of gratitude.  I don’t often hear “thank you” when we cross one thing off the “to do list.”  Actually, I usually just hear that one thing being replaced by two more requirements.  And I know they are only requirements because I allow them to be.

I know that getting mad and pushing back will not solve this.  We cannot legislate an attitude of gratitude.  Sitting down like a mule and saying I won’t do anything more for my family won’t cut it either.  Nothing that is being asked of me is abnormal for family life.  It is just all being asked in a way that takes me totally for granted.  

I did just declare a moratorium for Christmas Eve and Christmas.  I will not acknowledge any requests till the 26th.  I am exhausted, ten days after my son arrived home from college.  We have been to two malls, the Navy Exchange twice, a thrift store, three special restaurants, the doctor, a beauty parlor (for haircut), and the grocery store that has six packs of Coke.  That is not factoring in all of the requests to jump up and find things for him at home or to do things for him that he has not yet mastered for himself (that is probably the special needs part–and, in all fairness, he is working on self-help skills and is making great progress).  

So, for those of you who have never lived with a special needs person, that may be an eye-opening rant, although I know we all have our own responsibilities in life and many, many of us live in a sacrificial way within our families.  

I just realize that it is a two-way street.  If we are nothing but sacrifice, then our children become nothing but takers.  

And, if my parenting is to be performance-based at all, I should at least take God’s view of my performance, which is that I should convey righteous standards to my child, not teach him to be a taker all life long.  

I take the point and . . . I run to my Saviour once again, to be found fully sufficient in Him and in His righteousness, while I walk this earth in fear and trembling, living and learning and growing and always knowing I fall short, but that in Him I have everything.     

When is the right time to get right with God?

I have been thinking this week about an attitude of gratitude and how a lack thereof seems to be the basis for every sin we can commit against God.  

Nothing we can do to offend Him seems to be independent of Him and of the grace He has so freely given us.  He encloses us from all sides, and so does His grace.  Even when we act out against Him, we have to go through layers of His grace to do so.   

Everything we do to sin against Him seems to reinforce the idea that we think we don’t need Him and His stinking grace.  That we can make it on our own.  

Ironically, the American pioneer spirit that morphed into the American entrepreneurial spirit often seems to credit man for his achievements on his own, not factoring in the God who gave him his abilities and his opportunities.  

Absolutely right, President Obama.  We didn’t build that on our own.  American ingenuity did not happen in a vacuum.  But it also wasn’t empowered by government or by a community of other people.  At its base, it was empowered by God.  Everything is.

Knowing that, what do we do to be in relationship with God?  We acknowledge our neediness in relation to His abundance.  We accept His gifts, freely given to us.  Most of all, we accept the gift of His Son whom He sent at Christmastime to pay the penalty for our sins.

Sadly, many people go through life with no understanding that they owe gratitude to God.  They think God will be lucky to get them as followers.  And they put off the time when they will become His followers.  They may intend to do that after they have pursued every dream they have, independently of Him.

Problem with that is, there is never a good time to suddenly switch to a planned attitude of gratitude.  There are so many reasons to justify remaining independent of God.  And, when we do, we may find a way of becoming bitter with God when He speaks into our lives.

Case in point, how many people live their lives independently of God, then consider following Him when they grow older and suddenly face cancer or heart disease?  Problem with that is that those conditions can produce immense fear and depression, merely by inhabiting the human body.  Family members may struggle with the same emotions, trying to care for us while we are ill.  If we have not previously begun a relationship with God, there is a very good chance that we won’t see anything in these situations to cultivate an attitude of gratitude in us now.  Quite the opposite, we might get downright angry with God for allowing heart disease or cancer, even in a person 60 or 70 years old who has previously had a healthy life with many travels and adventures.  

Statistics show that it is extremely rare for a person who has lived life independently of God to suddenly turn to Him in the 60’s or 70’s. There is a very good reason God told us to remember our Creator in the days of our youth.

I plead with everyone reading this to get right with God this Christmastime.  There will probably not be a time later on when you are more likely to do so.  

And . . . if we fail to plan for eternity, we default to having the same situation in eternity as we had in this life.  An eternity independent of God.  In a place called hell. 

“Holiday Inn” (I bought it without having seen it!!!)

Since I am stretching myself this Christmas and trying to see some holiday movies I haven’t seen before, I watched “Holiday Inn” today.  I believe I have seen parts of it before, but never the whole movie.  

What I took from it was that Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire finally learned that manipulating a woman to win her is not cool!  They fought over the same women all movie long.  If one wanted her, the other wanted her.  Usually it was Fred Astaire, scheming to take away Bing Crosby’s newest love.  But Bing did plenty of manipulation of his own, trying to keep Fred from taking away his girlfriends!!!  

When once Bing backed off and gave a woman the freedom to walk out of his life, he wound up winning back the woman he loved.  Tellingly, he was the first to the altar of the two (we presume, from the ending of the movie . . .). 

This movie reinforces the idea that love of a human being can easily become idolatry (of self or of that other person).  Even though the movie was not meant to teach Christian theology, it was made in a simpler time when such lessons often came just by being part of the society back then.  

People are not possessions.  Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire learn that in “Holiday Inn.”  Have we?  

We Interrupt this Program . . .

With our son home from his special needs college in Wisconsin, Noel and I have been talking more than usual about social relationships, noticing how they work and where they can break down . . .

One thing we spoke about in the car on the way to church yesterday was the art of inserting ourselves into a conversation, or even changing the topic.  Lots of people struggle in that area, not just people with special needs.

Facebook and other social media have underlined this issue.  

So let’s try to go through it and see whether there are any rules that can be applied to entering someone else’s conversation.  

I would say (with my only expertise 55 years of being alive as a student of human nature and relationships):  

1) If you start the conversation, whether in person or on Facebook, you own the topic.  You get to decide if someone can change the subject or not.  Some subject changes relate to a topic and further it.  And some are just off the wall.  Your choice which ones you wish to pursue!!!  

2) If you are trying to change the subject in someone else’s conversation and the person goes along with you, great!

3) If you are trying to change the subject in someone else’s conversation and the person changes the subject back or tells you that you are going off topic, you can’t claim persecution. You can, however, go start your conversation on your own Facebook page or with other people (if in a group).  No one is forcing you to remain part of the original discussion.  In fact, it is bad form to remain in that conversation if you are only going to be there to disparage it.  

4) As in all of life, we all have free speech (at least in this country) but we have to find our own audience for it.  It is really, really bad form to intrude on someone’s conversation, when a group has gathered, with the sole intent of changing the subject to your favorite political hot potato issue!  Really.  And don’t commandeer someone else’s Facebook page for political grandstanding either.  

So there are several rules we have noted.  What have you seen?  Feel free to share in the comments.

Letting Go of Grudges

This mama’s story is awesome. Learning to forgive in the face of a real and measurable hurt to her child. Forgiveness is hard, but it is a requirement.

Sowing Mercy

“When we forgive, we are released from the bondage of the grudge.” Dr. Stephen LeBar, Pastor of Jenison Bible Church.

Grudges, or the longterm withholding of forgiveness, occur when our sense of justice has been offended. I may feel that I have not received the respect I deserve, the fruits of my labor, or someone I love has been hurt. We have been wronged, and we simmer with resentment. Grudges can also harm our own health and affect the people around us. They cause trouble and defile those around us.

“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. ¹⁵ See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 12:14-15

When my oldest daughter was nearing kindergarten age, we noticed…

View original post 472 more words

“I Only Make Them Once a Year . . .”

At Weight Watchers this week, we were talking about those things we eat at Christmas because someone says, “I only make them once a year and I made them especially for you.”

It is hard enough to hear, “I only make them once a year.”  It is hard enough to hear, “I made them especially for you.”  

But combine those two and it is hard to refuse the treat (usually baked goods), no matter how hard you may have worked to budget Weight Watcher points for your day/week/month. 

I thought right after that, while looking at a poster of plump blueberries and ripe strawberries on the wall of the Weight Watchers meeting, how we always want to make intricate desserts for those we love. God makes these lovely berries, as the most intricate of desserts for us.  Since He makes them, we can’t improve on them as a dessert.  We can just serve them.  Even sprinkling sugar on them really does nothing for them when they are naturally ripened.  They are perfection, without needing man’s touch.

They are almost too simple for us to serve to our loved ones, because God did all the hard work involved in growing them. They are totally gifts of His grace and bounty.  And we, being by nature works-oriented, associate our own hard, intricate work with showing love for our family and friends. Thus . . . we bake and bake.

We bake and bake even when we know that delicious fruit, served plain, would be best for us and for our loved ones (I am not advocating always avoiding baked goods, as we have Weight Watchers weekly points for just such things–there is a balance to be found, after all!).

And God outdoes us every time.  It is a gift of His grace that He does that.  Just by making His lovely fruits to grow. 

Then I thought of the seasons in which blueberries and strawberries are harvested fresh.  I thought I heard God saying, “I only make them once a year and I made them especially for you!”

And, with a fresh understanding of His grace, love for God surged through me.  He really is the best Friend and Familymember of all.  

Merry Christmas! 

Great Wolf Lodge is a Great Place for Kids at Heart!

I have always had a lot of friends, but I have never been in the “cool clique.” Cliques seemed too restrictive to me–they usually end up telling you who your friends can be!

So, you will understand when I explain how I was when I found myself wandering around the Great Wolf Lodge waterpark Thursday night, after the children had almost all departed for their storyhour with Santa Claus at 8 PM. I was alone, with my husband and his colleague occupied elsewhere. I also had never been to the Great Wolf Lodge
before.

Since the various activities in the waterpark are not clearly marked, I didn’t know which of these deserted places were usually only for children unless someone told me. I wandered through every body of water I could see and tried several fun things to do.

My friends have all chuckled and said that was “so Mary” and how fun my view of life is.

I don’t know how to do life any other way! Try things out or I won’t know whether I like them.

Since I am not worried about being a member of the “cool group,” there was nothing to stop me!!! And I got exercise points as I wandered around, swimming and exploring!!!

Leaving Weight Watcher Points on the Table on Thanksgiving Day!

Yesterday my husband and I tried an experiment on Thanksgiving Day.  Since we are both in Weight Watchers, me as a lifetime member (for almost a year now) and him as a 20-pounds-lighter version of himself, we decided to try to do a Thanksgiving meal centered on low points fruits and veggies, with turkey available, but not the central actor in the drama!

Our son is away at college and Noel, my husband, just had eye surgery so we were home with just the two of us.  We agreed that this meal, minus dinner rolls and pie, was just what we wanted.

I began our day with a serving of real Irish oatmeal, cooked in 1% milk.

I then started cooking up a storm.  I began with a recipe a friend of mine, Ruth Brown Peters, had shared on our local Weight Watchers website.  There are several ways to do this, but the idea is to make a zero point dessert by cooking apples in the crockpot all day with water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.  I think I threw some ginger in there eventually, too.

Oooooo-la-la!  That dish tasted exquisite by the time it was done.  The cloves seemed to have absorbed into the apples so they tasted as though every slice had a clove inside! They tasted like a solid version of apple cider.  They tasted like a crustless apple pie. They were one of the best desserts I have ever had and . . . they were zero points.

As I cooked our boneless turkey with just olive oil and thyme, I put in sweet potatoes to roast, with the skins on (we eat them that way).

I cooked our fresh green beans in garlic and the minimal amount of olive oil necessary to stir fry them.

I steamed a cauliflower to mix into our mashed potatoes, which were red-skinned potatoes that I boiled, mostly with the jackets still on them.  After mashing and mixing the cauliflower and potatoes, I added thyme, some chives, 1% milk, and olive oil in place of butter. They were delicious this way.

I made a cornbread stuffing with real cornmeal–I didn’t have a few ingredients that my recipe required, so I improvised a bit this time.  I will try the allrecipes.com recipe again at a later date and do it right!!!  What I made was pretty good, though.  

I finished by mixing up a salad with nuts and light raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  I also made up a fruit salad of all of our leftover fresh fruit and a can of pineapple in its own juices.

I ended up spending 21 Weight Watcher points on my Thanksgiving meal, which was spread out over both the noon and the evening meal timeframes. Our oatmeal had been 7 points. I get 34 Weight Watcher points for my lifetime daily allowance, so I actually ate a packet of processed Slim Fast snack food we had lying around just so I could get three additional points. Even then, I left three points on the table for the day, as well as the four exercise points we picked up with our afternoon walk. It can be done. We actually aren’t supposed to leave Weight Watcher points on the table and I seldom do it, but we proved it can be done on Thanksgiving!!! Delicious!

P.S. At our Saturday weigh-in this week, I had lost two pounds and my husband had lost more than three. That is not something I seek, as a lifetime member, and, in fact, there has not been a week in the past year when I have lost two pounds. But that does make our point that Thanksgiving can be deliciously centered on fruits and veggies and people can lose weight as they feast on low calorie goodies. Just in case anyone wants to know!!! Easter, anyone?