Tag: community

Being Lifted Up

April 4, 2020

Being Lifted Up

See Lucas? See Louis? Yes. Louis is lifting Lucas up to get ice cream out of the freezer so they can use that milk on the counter because Lucas wanted to make cookies and cream milkshakes.

Sometimes you can’t reach what you want without being lifted up.

This made me think of how everyone where I live is helping each other. It’s like when a hurricane comes and everyone seems to band together and help each other. Those who cut trees up so people can get out of their driveways, those who give water or make lemonade for linemen, someone who shares their firepit or grilled food with the neighbors.

The same thing is happening now. Only instead of being shut down for a couple of days max, we are currently on the third week of shutdown. The end doesn’t seem to be in sight; especially for the young as my daughter’s senior friends are afraid they won’t get to walk for high school graduation.

Look for the helpers.

Look for the need and fill it.

This is how we pull together and make our world better.

This is how we will rise again stronger than before.

Help won’t be a pork barrel stimulus package passed because it included raises for those who passed it.

Help will be from the local community – friends, neighbors, family, churches, local businesses. We will stand up together and help each other as we haven’t before. I see it already in bits.

So instead of feeling helpless alone in your home wasting time worrying about what you can’t control (like the stimulus bill, a virus with long incubation, or the fact that your household just lost 3 of 4 jobs) do something!

  • Call your friends and give them an encouraging voice.
  • Call a church or community organization and offer to help in whatever capacity exists.
  • If you are one of the few with extra, support your local businesses right now by utilizing their services or buying gift certificates for later so they can pay their bills and open up when this is all over.
  • Brighten someone’s day (yes, especially if they live in your own home!).
  • Pray for wisdom in leadership.
  • Text and say “hi! hope you are having a lovely day!” just to do it… and expect a call or text conversation because they realize you care.

We can do these things to keep our sanity and help encourage others. Remember what a great man said after beating polio firsthand, living through the Spanish flu epidemic, and leading our country through the Great Depression… “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” (Franklin Roosevelt)

Instead of just looking for the helpers… BE a helper! BE an encourager!

Thank you for Reading!

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

Beach Time

September 16, 2019

Beach Time

I love the reset my body gets from the beach!  The salty air does wonders for my sinuses and makes me feel clean again. 

On the first of September, a beautiful Sunday afternoon, we took the whole family to the beach.  The clouds were amazing, we had a few passing over light rain showers – we love watching the cloud of “murkiness” slowly approach, hover, and pass us.  My littlest love is too tiny for rough waves just yet.  She’s good at crawling in the sand. 

Louis was monitoring the approaching storm from his phone.

I like to leave all technology somewhere else.  I know that means I seldom take pictures, but I’ve learned I’m more likely to enjoy the experience if I’m not tied to a phone, keys, or wallet. Usually, one of the girls now takes plenty of pictures!  Louis didn’t want to get wet at all this round so I did go out twice.  Thea doesn’t cling to me like Lucas used to so I haven’t attempted baby-surfing with her yet.  Lucas jumped on my back for two rides before he took off to dig a giant hole with the girls.

They got this hole so big Lucas could stand in it!

Kimberly and Jaquline were quite excited about it.  Like good little beach-goers, they demoed the elaborate sand castle creation Lucas and Kimberly had made back into the hole as we left.  Becky always reminds them to put everything back.  We usually clean up any trash lying about, but this time there was nothing to take back to the garbage bins. (Our beach is generally clean, which makes me feel good about our community!)

Waves, water, sand, and beautiful skies… perfect beach day!  I love the amazing tapestries painted in the beach landscapes, don’t you?

Type at you next time,

~Nancy Tart

Happiness Is…

When you close your eyes and see happiness, what do you see?

March 12, 2019

Happiness Is…

Each of us has a different view of happiness.  This is because we are all unique individuals with varying dreams, passions, interests, and desires!  Try this exercise:

Close your eyes.  Take a deep breath.  Think of the word, “happiness.”  What do you see?

For me, happiness is:

…Lucas racing his bike around the yard (he LOVES that bicycle)

…a clear bright blue Florida sky (hopefully with ocean sounds in my ears!)

…playing chef or chef’s assistant in the kitchen with family or friends with happy music playing (I LOVE the community feeling when there are two or more of us cooking together.)

…the sound of the waves, the feel of squishy sand, the salty sea smell (for perfection, add a surfboard.)

…the smell of sweet hay, the sound of farm animals, the sight of abundant fruit on trees and in a garden

…a bright, open, cheery home with a sanctuary for visiting relatives (Grandma suite, anyone?)

…every time I picture this perfection in my mind, I see my family.  Family, friends, community; living life together.  This is what I picture as happiness.

I often imagine heaven as a huge garden, overflowing with life, where all of us spend quality time with each other tending the animals and plants as we were designed to do (okay, I know that’s simple and I’m ignoring the obvious awesomeness of actually seeing Jesus in glory, but you know, I can dream.)  Happiness for me is being with my family.

A wise man said, “be sure if you join yourself to someone, they see happiness the same way you do.”

Another, “you can’t change someone, they are the only one who can choose to change themselves.”

Remember that you cannot be happy trying to force someone else into a mold you see.  Enjoy them as they are.  (We all have flaws, no one is perfect, and everyone is uniquely different!)  Don’t try to change others, just allow them to be who they are.  (A friend pointed out to me once that no one in the “Pooh-Bear” books “unfriend” Eeyore because he’s gloomy; they accept him as he is.)

When you close your eyes and see happiness, whom do you see with you?  Those are the ones you love.  That is what you treasure.  Cherish time with those who make you happy.

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Pondering in My Heart

My pregnancy brain thoughts about Mary in her culture and her time – and how it relates to us in our time.

December 24, 2018

Pondering in My Heart

It’s Christmas Eve.

Usually, at this time, my mind overflows with thoughts about Mary, Jesus’ mother.  I think about her boldness when she says “let it be to me as you have said.”  I think about how the Bible always adds this little line after something she hears or watches; “and Mary pondered this in her heart.”

I especially feel empathy over the Christmases when I’ve been pregnant.  (2009 and 2011 when my babies came a few days into the new year were very busy with my pondering… so much that I wrote a children’s story about Jesus’ birth one of those years!)  This year, my little blessing is due to show up in about eight or ten weeks.

I like to study the culture of the person I’m trying to study: the historical significance of their world, the turmoil they faced, the cultural norms that differ from what we have today.   These little details help me to step into their shoes and wiggle my toes around. I like to imagine what it would have been like to be Mary, likely between 12 and 14 years old, among her Jewish community controlled by an Empirical Roman government when highways were roamed by soldiers and bandits, family and community were everything (so doing something against the community would have been horrid), and the talk of sedition (rebellion) was strong and swiftly crushed.  I wonder about her life: her childhood, her struggles as a parent, wife, and community member.  I remember that when she said “let it be unto me…” she was just a normal girl allowing God to use her.

She was like any one of us.

She had to humble herself before God and she doubted; as she even said, “but how can this be…” questioning the miracle before agreeing to be part of it.

She must have been a logical thinker like me.  “…pondered this in her heart…” That is what I do all the time.  Whether or not I speak, write, or pray about it, I think about everything that God surprises me with in life.  I want to put the puzzle together, but realize that God knows far more than me so I relax and resign myself to just “pondering” (thinking) and praying about what I don’t understand.

I love how the Bible uses real, authentic people.  People just like you and me are scattered in every story.  Every one of them has doubts, challenges, questions, obstacles, and life choices just like us.  Every one of them must make their own decisions, just like us.

We like to think of them in their glory – after they’ve moved to where they are in victory.  We remember David killing Goliath, Samson destroying the false temple, Mary as Jesus’ mother at or after his birth, Peter evangelizing, Paul traveling all over the known world, etc.  But each of them started as a normal person who had to make his or her own active choice to give of themselves and allow God to take the lead.

During Christmastime when I’m constantly rereading the story of Jesus’ birth to my children, I’m reminded that I have to humble myself and allow God to continually take control in my life so I can be and do what God has planned for me.  I encourage you to give God control over every aspect of your life – He designed you, He knows you best!  He knows the desires of your heart and sometimes you may not even know them yourself!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you later…

~Nancy Tart

Dropping In

Lack of my technological connection device led to some deep thought… and a fun visit!

October 29, 2018

Dropping In

I think we’ve all become too preoccupied with technology in many ways.  It invades our lives and sometimes, rather than bringing us closer together (as it was originally meant to do) it appears to spread us farther apart.

Does anyone else remember being a kid and just dropping over to your friend’s house, knocking on the door and asking whatever adult came “may so-and-so come play?”  Today’s youth have their parents text or call said person.  (Or they call/text if they have a phone.)

We’ve lost the connectivity of just dropping in.

I ended up without my phone the other night (had given it to Becky because the house she was babysitting at didn’t have a land line) and wanted to go visit with a friend.

Heavens to Betsy!  I couldn’t text or call her!  (We don’t have a land line phone either – and it wouldn’t have helped me if we did as I saved her number in my phone!)

Could I just stop over?  Drop in?  Did people even do that?  Isn’t that considered rude?

While digesting these thoughts, I realized God was still nudging me to go visit (God had put her on my heart when I was on my way to work – and yes, with no phone) regardless of my lack of ability to warn her of our approach.  (Yes, we are like being descended upon by a flock of chattering geese; all six of us this time because Becky was babysitting and Louis was working.)

As I drove the few miles to her house, my mental debate continued:  I am the type of person who loves to visit with people – they can drop in any time I’m home as long as they don’t mind the almost constant state of dishevel in my home.  We live in it, and unless you catch it on Saturday in the first hour after deep cleaning or after 9pm on a regular night, my house will have sporadic hair on the floor from shedding people and pets, a few cups loitering on the table and counter, dishes in the sink, clean clothes either in a bucket or half-folded on the couch, books and art materials on the dining room table, and toys that aren’t always in the toy room.  But my family lives in my house.  So if you come unannounced, expect it to look lived-in.  If you show up on a planned visit, it will likely be “company clean” (aka, we just scurried around like frightened chipmunks to make it as presentable as possible considering the time of day).  I reasoned that I would just pop by before unloading everyone and if they were busy, if she was resting (she gets precious little sleep), or they weren’t up for company, we’d just deliver the job-related news and enjoy the drive back home.

She was excited we had come!  (Surprise!  I knew we were sisters!)  We unloaded and spent a few hours chatting, playing, and enjoying each others’ company.  We actually talked about this very thing.  She remembered people dropping by her parents’ home almost every day when she was growing up.  They would bring a pie or dish, join for lunch or supper, and enjoy a visit or the rest of the day together.

I dropped by on Grandma Jeanette at least once a week; I knew her schedule and knew she would enjoy the visit.

But with everyone else I’ve felt like everything has to be planned.  It feels impolite to just drop by and bring a gift or deliver some news in person rather than over the digital airwaves.

God knows our hearts.  He knew I would really go and knew my friend wanted some adult conversation (who am I kidding? so did I), it was part of His plan that we fellowship together and encourage each other.

We, as people, need that.

We, as Christians, need that.

We were not made to live in isolation.  Our overly busy world with unrealistic expectations tried to shove aside our human need for simple fellowship – time spent together without an agenda.  Just quality time invested in each other.  Dropping in and feeling comfortable in each others’ spaces.  This is when we do not judge each other by the state of one another’s home but choose to invest in the state of one another’s hearts.  Yes, most of my events with other people will still likely be planned, but I no longer feel restricted to just planned meetings!

I am so thankful for friends that are my sisters.  (Or sisters who are best friends!)  Those who I don’t feel obligated to race around and worry about what they will think of the shoes that didn’t make it to the shoe shelf or the train track loaded with every rolling vehicle we own running from the playroom down the hallway into the living room or the dishes that someone is currently washing.  I am thankful for the freedom to be me around them.  I love being real.  I love feeling accepted as me.  I enjoy learning from those around me.

Thank you, Jesus, for true friends!

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Family Fun Fest 2018

May 4, 2018

Family Fun Fest 2018!

We spent all day on April 28, 2018, a beautiful Saturday in Saint Augustine, at the Family Fun Fest.  This annual event at Francis Field supports the community work of Alpha Omega Maternity Home and their related outreaches.

Alpha Omega has been a vital community resource in Saint Augustine for a long time.  They are a wonderful organization to support – and we love the all-day fun!

received_1671393042916102.jpeg

I set up a vendor booth to sell my printed books, DVD books, audio CDs, some of the girls’ assorted crafts, and my mom and dad’s beautiful prints.  We had a spot for children to make free bookmarks with fun yarn tassels.  (This was on the bright teal table & was Kimberly and Jaquline’s idea. Lots of kids stopped to color!)

20180428_124728.jpg20180428_124813.jpg

Christina and Rebeccah volunteered all day!  Didn’t they look sharp in their aprons?

20180428_134037656783239.jpg20180428_111304.jpg

Kimberly, Jaquline, Jillian, and Anastasia were ambassadors for the face painting booth.  The artist did such an amazing job transforming their faces into bright works of art!

20180428_103157.jpg

20180428_102347.jpg

Lucas wanted to be a tiger, but after watching his sisters and cousin sit still, he decided running was the life for him and no face paint was needed. Notice the big blow-up fun things behind the sister-cousins?  Once those went up, Lucas didn’t want to sit still!

Kimberly’s face paint scared some little ones.  (It almost scared me when she closed her eyes and had snake eyes on her eyelids!)

20180428_144013.jpg

Lucas almost never stopped dancing.  But then, the DJ was great so there was fun non-stop music.

We bought wristbands for the kiddies and they became “pros” at the various obstacles by the end of the day. (The lady at the Boy Scout’s obstacle said Anastasia and Jillian kept challenging each other to “new heights” like “tightroping with eyes closed” or “doing ballet across the bar.”)

20180428_163131.jpg

This event started at 10am and ended at 8pm.  We were there setting up at 7:30am and left the field just before 9pm.  (I did have to wait on my volunteers to finish assisting with some break-downs and you know; we like to chat!)

Local performers from dance schools to martial arts schools to youth groups and bands filled up the stage.  (Christina’s vantage point for this was perfect: she saw every act and relayed amazing reviews to our booth later.)  There were plenty of games for little ones.  Rebeccah got to play with them for hours!

FB_IMG_1525058147052.jpg

Jillian and Anastasia were so excited to meet Princess Cinderella!  Lucas was beside himself – he came back repeating, “Mommy, Cinderella is here!”

20180428_143454.jpg

The team obstacle course was fun to watch!  We clapped and encouraged each one – Kimberly’s commentary should have been shared over a loudspeaker for everyone else to laugh at!  (She has some Aunt Katy & Aunt Becca MC skills in there.)

Lucas finally took a 30 minute nap under my table (the “campout zone”) about 5pm.  He came to get a banana, but didn’t quite finish it!

20180428_165338773745787.jpg

None of the little girls wanted a break – but they all fell asleep in the van on the way home!

Although it wasn’t a great “sale” day (we sold one book, one bracelet, and one set of clips), it was an amazing “fun” day and we’ll definitely be there again next year!

Come join us!  Follow Alpha Omega for updates and opportunities to volunteer at this event or at the campus.  Together, we can help our community grow stronger!  And, yes, have some amazing fun along the way!

20180428_1913231629479736.jpg

Oh yes, just this last picture of Anastasia snuggling with Grandma.  (No, she wans’t asleep, she was pretending so she could snuggle!)

Thanks for reading!

Type at you next time…

~Nancy Tart

Follow me!

Get my latest posts delivered to your email: