"When I survey
the wondrous cross on which the Prince of glory died. My richest gain I
count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God.
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
See, from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown!
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all."
Amen!
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Little Things Mean A Lot
......simple things that refresh my spirit
......simple things that refresh my spirit
My day started out calling two friends of my mother.
I had gotten to know them when I would visit Mom.
I call them now and then to visit...to keep in touch.
Through Mom they have become very special in my life.
The one saved the life of my mother a few years ago.
She lives next door to Mom's house.
She knew Mom's daily routine and Mom knew hers.
They kept an eye out for each other.
Each had keys to each other's homes, just in case. They were friends.
She is the one who called me when Mom became suddenly ill.
The other friend lives very near to my mom's house.
She is the one who opened her home to me every time I came to visit after we had to rent my mom's home. She, like the other friend is sweet and has a good sense of humor.
I can't tell you how many times she and I would stay up too late after I would spend all day and evening with Mom in the hospital or the home she lived in,
laughing with tears running down our cheeks.
She is the one who was with me when I received
the phone call that my mother had passed away unexpectedly in the early morning.
I have come to love these two women.
They are like aunts to me, family, and I miss them.
They both seemed to enjoy hearing from me as much as I enjoyed talking to them.
It was a refreshing time, a good way to start my day.
It seemed to be a blessing to them and it certainly was for me!
Though the calls were really small things, they were important.
I want to encourage you not to dismiss the small things.
It is easy to dismiss them as nothing or to get too busy to
take time to do just the little things.
Even if you only have a few minutes, call your mother, father, sister, brother, a friend or go visit.
It may only be a few minutes of your time but you have no idea how much it means to them.
This week has been full of these little blessings from our children.
As our oldest daughter and five of their eight children came today to get eggs. The shouts of, "Grandma!" and the hugs and kisses that followed as they came inside was such a blessing.
As were the adorable drooly baby-smiles, and the sweet hugs from our daughter.
I call them now and then to visit...to keep in touch.
Through Mom they have become very special in my life.
The one saved the life of my mother a few years ago.
She lives next door to Mom's house.
She knew Mom's daily routine and Mom knew hers.
They kept an eye out for each other.
Each had keys to each other's homes, just in case. They were friends.
She is the one who called me when Mom became suddenly ill.
The other friend lives very near to my mom's house.
She is the one who opened her home to me every time I came to visit after we had to rent my mom's home. She, like the other friend is sweet and has a good sense of humor.
I can't tell you how many times she and I would stay up too late after I would spend all day and evening with Mom in the hospital or the home she lived in,
laughing with tears running down our cheeks.
She is the one who was with me when I received
the phone call that my mother had passed away unexpectedly in the early morning.
I have come to love these two women.
They are like aunts to me, family, and I miss them.
They both seemed to enjoy hearing from me as much as I enjoyed talking to them.
It was a refreshing time, a good way to start my day.
It seemed to be a blessing to them and it certainly was for me!
Though the calls were really small things, they were important.
I want to encourage you not to dismiss the small things.
It is easy to dismiss them as nothing or to get too busy to
take time to do just the little things.
Even if you only have a few minutes, call your mother, father, sister, brother, a friend or go visit.
It may only be a few minutes of your time but you have no idea how much it means to them.
This week has been full of these little blessings from our children.
As our oldest daughter and five of their eight children came today to get eggs. The shouts of, "Grandma!" and the hugs and kisses that followed as they came inside was such a blessing.
As were the adorable drooly baby-smiles, and the sweet hugs from our daughter.
But, I just had to laugh when they left, big sister pulling them in a red wagon. The sight of the toddler
imitating the twins waving to me, calling my name, with a big grin on his face as he copied them which I am sure had more to do with his joy of accomplishment than his love for me as they continued,
all the way down the driveway,
was just too cute.
imitating the twins waving to me, calling my name, with a big grin on his face as he copied them which I am sure had more to do with his joy of accomplishment than his love for me as they continued,
all the way down the driveway,
was just too cute.
Our younger daughter and I have called back and forth a lot this week as well as sent and received emails because they are coming, from the other side of the state, to visit in a little over a week while hubby attends a school training and then joins us later. I am enchanted by their daughter's toddler squeals and the puppy-sounds in the background . I miss them so much. I am so glad she and I are in touch frequently. Oh, how I can't wait to see them soon and visit in person! With every small communication by phone
or just FB "likes" and Pinterest pins, my heart is warmed.
or just FB "likes" and Pinterest pins, my heart is warmed.
And our son's faithfulness to call one of us in the family every few days as he drives home from work
thrills me even if I am usually in a parking lot somewhere, pulled over to talk---unlike him I do not have a hands-free device! I love our discussions. I love the sound of his voice. I love that he likes to keep me up on what is new in their life and what new endeavors they are starting . I have always enjoyed our discussions of interesting or important things. The voices I hear as he gets home delight me....the voice of his wife, the shout-outs of their toddler son and babblings of their baby girl are so satisfying to hear. But I miss them. They live out-of-state.
These may seem like little things to you. These may seem like little things to our children.
Calling my mom's long time friends, who have become mine also, may seem like small things.
But it is far from small.
It doesn't take much to express love.
Do it often........
Kathi~
When to Shop for What and Where
...great times to spend less for what you need
...great times to spend less for what you need
On a January day, long ago, a friend told me that she was shopping for bed linens.
She told me that January was the month when stores had what they called,
"White Sales".
I did not know that.
I have since learned that there are other things that typically go on sale at specific times.
See my previous blog (Saturday, February 16, 2013, "Quick Tips.....post-holiday shopping deals")
for more information about what to look for at different times of the year for incredible savings.
After-holiday sales are great but
you have to go as soon after the holiday as you can to catch the really good deals;
something that can be difficult since the last thing most of us want to do right after a holiday
is go shopping. At least I don't like to do that.
Not all sales are after holidays.
Early, before holidays, can be a good time to find sales too.
I wonder if the stores do this to try to entice their customers into thinking about
and buying for the next calendar-event. But beware, this is not always true.
Some stores wait to greatly reduce prices immediately before holidays.
If you are a person who prefers to plan ahead this may not be for you.
I don't usually do that since I do not like to fight the crowds.
I prefer to shop peacefully.
Sometimes stores run out of merchandise long before the season for which you are buying even arrives.
I once tried to buy our oldest daughter, who was a little girl, a bathing suit in June.
Nothing was to be found except back-to-school clothes!
And who wants to fight the snow and cold to go bathing-suit shopping in February or
buy a winter coat in the heat of August?
Before my mom passed away I had a hard time finding gripper socks for her except at Christmastime.
I was told they were a seasonal item.
Do people not wear socks except at Christmas???
So, after Christmas I would buy a lot of them and mail them to her as needed.
Thankfully they carried some without Christmas designs on them!
And did you know that those little tanks of propane that are used for starting fires in grills and wood stoves are seasonal? I do not remember which season they were available but,
Not all sales are after holidays.
Early, before holidays, can be a good time to find sales too.
I wonder if the stores do this to try to entice their customers into thinking about
and buying for the next calendar-event. But beware, this is not always true.
Some stores wait to greatly reduce prices immediately before holidays.
If you are a person who prefers to plan ahead this may not be for you.
I don't usually do that since I do not like to fight the crowds.
I prefer to shop peacefully.
Sometimes stores run out of merchandise long before the season for which you are buying even arrives.
I once tried to buy our oldest daughter, who was a little girl, a bathing suit in June.
Nothing was to be found except back-to-school clothes!
And who wants to fight the snow and cold to go bathing-suit shopping in February or
buy a winter coat in the heat of August?
Before my mom passed away I had a hard time finding gripper socks for her except at Christmastime.
I was told they were a seasonal item.
Do people not wear socks except at Christmas???
So, after Christmas I would buy a lot of them and mail them to her as needed.
Thankfully they carried some without Christmas designs on them!
And did you know that those little tanks of propane that are used for starting fires in grills and wood stoves are seasonal? I do not remember which season they were available but,
when we used them years ago I had to plan to stock up in order to use them all year.
One of my favorite times of year to shop is right before school starts.
Not only will you find inexpensive summer items stores have reduced to get them off their shelves but of course school supplies. It goes without saying that you can use these items for home schooling but , since our kids all graduated from home school a long time ago, I buy office supplies, organizers, paper, pens, pencils---whatever I need---for the whole year when they are very inexpensive. You can also find many other items targeted for college students. Bedding, shower curtains, towels, rugs, crock pots, coffee makers, locker mirrors, mugs, water bottles, shelving, notebooks of all kinds and organizers, planners will be on sale. Just think, "dormitory" and anything that a college student might need is going to be cheaper.
Craft items meant for elementary school kids are all on sale too: glue, scissors, drawing pencils, construction and sketch paper, paints, erasers, chalk, tape, rulers, staples, coloring books,
lunch boxes, pencil boxes or bags.
Another item is pocket-sized and regular boxes of facial tissues. Fall clothing are often on sale then too.
"Back to School" sales are great places to find many things in several categories marked way down.
I buy all that I need for the office, home organization and
One of my favorite times of year to shop is right before school starts.
Not only will you find inexpensive summer items stores have reduced to get them off their shelves but of course school supplies. It goes without saying that you can use these items for home schooling but , since our kids all graduated from home school a long time ago, I buy office supplies, organizers, paper, pens, pencils---whatever I need---for the whole year when they are very inexpensive. You can also find many other items targeted for college students. Bedding, shower curtains, towels, rugs, crock pots, coffee makers, locker mirrors, mugs, water bottles, shelving, notebooks of all kinds and organizers, planners will be on sale. Just think, "dormitory" and anything that a college student might need is going to be cheaper.
Craft items meant for elementary school kids are all on sale too: glue, scissors, drawing pencils, construction and sketch paper, paints, erasers, chalk, tape, rulers, staples, coloring books,
lunch boxes, pencil boxes or bags.
Another item is pocket-sized and regular boxes of facial tissues. Fall clothing are often on sale then too.
"Back to School" sales are great places to find many things in several categories marked way down.
I buy all that I need for the office, home organization and
fun things to stick in stockings for the grandkids at Christmas time.
Holiday coupons at grocery stores are a great way to buy things you use, but also to give to the needy.
I watch for these things all year long and keep a bag of these items in my kitchen for food drives.
See my blog on this topic (Thusday, January 10, 2013, "Hospitality.....giving to the more needy")
for more ideas. Many of these coupons are free too!
There are times---twice yearly in some stores---when case lots of canned and other items
are offered at greatly reduced prices.
These are often just by the case, but sometimes they sell for the same price, or close to, it individually too.
I don't often use canned food, but I will buy "emergency" foods at these sales.
By "emergency" I do not mean survival stuff like if we have bad storms or something world-wide happens.
There are many opinions on those subjects and I prefer not to discuss them on my blog not wanting to influence anyone one way or the other.
There are lots of blogs and other info out there for that kind of thing if you are interested.
As in everything, do the best with what you've got---what you can afford, have room for, etc.
I am referring to emergencies when Uncle Harry and Aunt Gertrude show up unannounced at meal time when you have nothing to feed them. A hearty chili can be tossed together quickly from several cans of different kinds of beans and cut green beans, tomatoes and some spices. Canned salmon can make a delicious Ciopino (an Italian fish stew/soup) or chowder with some potatoes and spices. Three-Bean salads are quick. And a can of garbanzo beans can be pureed with spices and served with veggies or chips or in wraps as hummus, as can black beans. Lots of easy things. Or you may be in a rush, called to do something that takes you away from the home or tires you out so that you don't feel like whipping up dinner and don't have leftovers or anything thawed you could have put in a slow cooker.
And sometimes tossing a quick soup together sounds mighty good!
As in everything, do the best with what you've got---what you can afford, have room for, etc.
I am referring to emergencies when Uncle Harry and Aunt Gertrude show up unannounced at meal time when you have nothing to feed them. A hearty chili can be tossed together quickly from several cans of different kinds of beans and cut green beans, tomatoes and some spices. Canned salmon can make a delicious Ciopino (an Italian fish stew/soup) or chowder with some potatoes and spices. Three-Bean salads are quick. And a can of garbanzo beans can be pureed with spices and served with veggies or chips or in wraps as hummus, as can black beans. Lots of easy things. Or you may be in a rush, called to do something that takes you away from the home or tires you out so that you don't feel like whipping up dinner and don't have leftovers or anything thawed you could have put in a slow cooker.
And sometimes tossing a quick soup together sounds mighty good!
I do keep these things on hand just in case. The veggies are usually about half off their regular prices but check to make sure this is a savings for you. Fruit and paper products are also often included.
One such sale was held recently here but I passed it up because the prices were the same as what I could get the items for on regular sales held often throughout the year.
Make a mental or written note of what things cost so you make the right decision.
Also, I have steered clear from some Brand X items. I have almost choked on too many green bean stems and leaves to trust some of the store brands.
Be careful. Be wise.
Change-of-season sales are nice too. I have gotten plants, flower pots and house plants marked way down. I often buy viable but dying-fast plants for our house, nurse them back to health, and plant them in pots I've found on sale at the end of summer.
One such sale was held recently here but I passed it up because the prices were the same as what I could get the items for on regular sales held often throughout the year.
Make a mental or written note of what things cost so you make the right decision.
Also, I have steered clear from some Brand X items. I have almost choked on too many green bean stems and leaves to trust some of the store brands.
Be careful. Be wise.
Change-of-season sales are nice too. I have gotten plants, flower pots and house plants marked way down. I often buy viable but dying-fast plants for our house, nurse them back to health, and plant them in pots I've found on sale at the end of summer.
Before Thanksgiving I scope out some of my favorite stores for what they have on their shelves. I make a mental or written note of what I would like. Not only is Fall my favorite season but our home is Craftsman style which is known for its nature-based design and earth tones. I also love to buy guest towels that say, "Give Thanks" on them with a simple leaf motif to give as gifts which are appropriate to display all year round. I get things I need for the kitchen: serving pieces, mugs, glasses, towels, pot holders, candles, sometimes plates. I have a large set of small plates and serving pieces that are shaped like leaves that go with my off-white basic set of dishes.
Craft stores often sell their seasonal or holiday craft items at greatly-reduced prices too.
Good places to check.
I have found that second-hand stores offer change-of-season and post-holiday sales too. I like to search the book sections for discarded/unappreciated book gifts. It's funny, you can tell if someone gave away a good book without even having read it because of the tell-tale "crack" sound when you open it. And there is often a recently-dated inscription. I found a good book on fatherhood---two copies written the same Christmas to the same person. I had to laugh----he was either a bad father that needed help and everyone knew it, or a great dad that these relatives were honoring. Ha!
I will do a blog on rummage, yard and garage sales soon since that season is almost upon us.
I actually saw a sign for one this week while I was shopping.
The times when things go on sale is something you have to scope out for your own region.
Dates are usually dependent on seasonal weather and dates for when school gets out and starts in different areas. It's a good idea to put these on a list, or better yet, a calendar, so you know what's coming up and can plan for it.
To me, saving money is just part of the fun, responsibility and creativity in homemaking.
I get excited about the treasures I find, the needs I save money on, the unexpected new things I find.
A couple of days ago I went to a second-hand store before I went to any retail stores to see if they had anything on my list of mostly Craftsman decor for some re-do's on our home.
I found: three brand-new curved lampshades in the size I needed and had been looking for for ages not wanting to pay full-retail for them since the style I wanted was spendy. They still had store tags and packaging on them and cost 1/10th the price of what the retail store would have asked for each one. I also found blown-glass tumblers that match, and are a coordinating color ( I love to mix and match!) to those I bought years ago at that same store. The main things I had on my list were picture frames to redo two walls on which I display family photos and prints of favorite art. I bought seven for about the price of one and some still had store tags and original packaging on them. The woman's scarf I bought will be re-purposed as a table runner since it is Craftsman-like in design and too wide and the wrong color for my tastes in scarves.
I was thrilled! I spent no where near what I had planned to spend!
I can't wait to use them when I redecorate!
I will post pictures when and where I use them.
I hope you too enjoy great savings where you find them!
Happy hunting.....
Kathi~
Dates are usually dependent on seasonal weather and dates for when school gets out and starts in different areas. It's a good idea to put these on a list, or better yet, a calendar, so you know what's coming up and can plan for it.
To me, saving money is just part of the fun, responsibility and creativity in homemaking.
I get excited about the treasures I find, the needs I save money on, the unexpected new things I find.
A couple of days ago I went to a second-hand store before I went to any retail stores to see if they had anything on my list of mostly Craftsman decor for some re-do's on our home.
I found: three brand-new curved lampshades in the size I needed and had been looking for for ages not wanting to pay full-retail for them since the style I wanted was spendy. They still had store tags and packaging on them and cost 1/10th the price of what the retail store would have asked for each one. I also found blown-glass tumblers that match, and are a coordinating color ( I love to mix and match!) to those I bought years ago at that same store. The main things I had on my list were picture frames to redo two walls on which I display family photos and prints of favorite art. I bought seven for about the price of one and some still had store tags and original packaging on them. The woman's scarf I bought will be re-purposed as a table runner since it is Craftsman-like in design and too wide and the wrong color for my tastes in scarves.
I was thrilled! I spent no where near what I had planned to spend!
I can't wait to use them when I redecorate!
I will post pictures when and where I use them.
I hope you too enjoy great savings where you find them!
Happy hunting.....
Kathi~
I
Thursday, March 28, 2013
The Heart of a Happy Wife
....dreamy reminiscing
....dreamy reminiscing
Years ago my uncle and aunt gave me a book for Christmas. I was a teenager and frankly, receiving a book of prose, poems and excerpts from classic literature did not thrill me. I put away the black book with the gold lettering spelling out 1000 Beautiful Things
Years later I got the book out. I do not remember why.
Perhaps to look something up, maybe because of my love for books as decor I put it on a shelf----it's black cover with the gilt-gold leaves was pretty and went with my bedroom colors.
It doesn't really matter. At some point I picked it up to read.
I happened to come across a sweet poem. Mind you, I never liked poetry since being forced to recite a weird one in front of a snickering English class in high school.
But, this little-known poem in the book struck some part of me.
Maybe the part of me that remembered playing house as a little girl. Whether it was with my little friends, baby dolls lined up under our big elm tree in the summer or with my reluctant brother whom I bribed to play with me, I loved playing house. I remember telling Ken, my little brother, "I'll play fort with you if you play house with me."---never admitting I loved to set up forts, cowboys, animals and his train. He hated playing house, but when our friends couldn't play we entertained ourselves playing with each other.
Anyway, this poem struck a chord in my heart. A chord that made me long for the day I was no longer playing but keeping my own home with my own husband (not pretending with my captive brother whom I always made play one of my kids or my husband. He didn't like either role!).
Today, after being married for 41 years to the same man. Having three children, three in-law children and eleven grandchildren, I love to read or think about this poem because it expresses what is in my heart.
It reflects the joys I have felt over the years. It tells of the joy I still feel being a homemaker.
Perhaps to look something up, maybe because of my love for books as decor I put it on a shelf----it's black cover with the gilt-gold leaves was pretty and went with my bedroom colors.
It doesn't really matter. At some point I picked it up to read.
I happened to come across a sweet poem. Mind you, I never liked poetry since being forced to recite a weird one in front of a snickering English class in high school.
But, this little-known poem in the book struck some part of me.
Maybe the part of me that remembered playing house as a little girl. Whether it was with my little friends, baby dolls lined up under our big elm tree in the summer or with my reluctant brother whom I bribed to play with me, I loved playing house. I remember telling Ken, my little brother, "I'll play fort with you if you play house with me."---never admitting I loved to set up forts, cowboys, animals and his train. He hated playing house, but when our friends couldn't play we entertained ourselves playing with each other.
Anyway, this poem struck a chord in my heart. A chord that made me long for the day I was no longer playing but keeping my own home with my own husband (not pretending with my captive brother whom I always made play one of my kids or my husband. He didn't like either role!).
Today, after being married for 41 years to the same man. Having three children, three in-law children and eleven grandchildren, I love to read or think about this poem because it expresses what is in my heart.
It reflects the joys I have felt over the years. It tells of the joy I still feel being a homemaker.
This is an excerpt from
"The Elfin Wife"
written many years ago by Jake Falstaff
"The Elfin Wife"
written many years ago by Jake Falstaff
"Whether it is linens, clean smelling, piled,
Whether it is chairs or rugs or dresses,
She goes among them like a dreamy child,
Playing with the things she loves and possesses."
I also remember Maureen O'Hara's part in the movie "The Quiet Man" whose desire was to have "...her things about her." And I remember the character she played playing her spinet with great joy as she finally did have her mother and grandmothers' things about her.
I remember that dreamy joy and how beautiful it looked.
I never had a hope chest.
They weren't popular in my day.
But I did have a hope drawer in my bureau. In it I kept things my mother, grandmother and great grandmother gave me to save for the day I would, like them, have my own home and family.
But mostly I kept things in my heart.
I "named" the future children I dreamed of having. I "decorated" my future home.
I "planned" the wedding in which I hoped to be the bride.
I was a "dreamy" child who would look up at the moon and stars from my bedroom window and realize in wonder that my future husband was under the same moon and stars.
I wondered what he would look like, be like.....
I prayed for him.
I remember that dreamy joy and how beautiful it looked.
I never had a hope chest.
They weren't popular in my day.
But I did have a hope drawer in my bureau. In it I kept things my mother, grandmother and great grandmother gave me to save for the day I would, like them, have my own home and family.
But mostly I kept things in my heart.
I "named" the future children I dreamed of having. I "decorated" my future home.
I "planned" the wedding in which I hoped to be the bride.
I was a "dreamy" child who would look up at the moon and stars from my bedroom window and realize in wonder that my future husband was under the same moon and stars.
I wondered what he would look like, be like.....
I prayed for him.
And like, as they say, "Fairy tales, will come true, it can happen to you..." my dreams did come true.
Now, 41 years after that beautiful wedding, alone again with my husband in our home, I look back on all those dreams that the poem reminds me of and I marvel.
I am so blessed!
It is good during the sometimes mundane duties of being a homemaker to reflect on the more
romantic aspects of your high calling and remember your girlhood dreams.
Thank you Uncle Howard and Aunt Carol.
The book was a wonderful gift.
It is a little worn now, but somehow I think that would make you happy.
Now, 41 years after that beautiful wedding, alone again with my husband in our home, I look back on all those dreams that the poem reminds me of and I marvel.
I am so blessed!
It is good during the sometimes mundane duties of being a homemaker to reflect on the more
romantic aspects of your high calling and remember your girlhood dreams.
Thank you Uncle Howard and Aunt Carol.
The book was a wonderful gift.
It is a little worn now, but somehow I think that would make you happy.
Kathi~
Equal in Christ with Separate Roles
...don't be confused
This week, I planned to finish up the office organization so I can start on the sewing room
...don't be confused
This week, I planned to finish up the office organization so I can start on the sewing room
but there were more important needs this week.
My husband is at a stand-still with all his hard work in our basement
until I can organize some things there. And a few days later, because of a great and immediate need
on a project at a client's home, he asked me to
pick up a part for him in town.
So, my plans were set aside for the more important needs.
Am I disappointed?
until I can organize some things there. And a few days later, because of a great and immediate need
on a project at a client's home, he asked me to
pick up a part for him in town.
So, my plans were set aside for the more important needs.
Am I disappointed?
Oh, yes..
Do I see that the basement work and picking up the part as more necessary?
Oh, yes.
Does it matter that I agree with my husband's assessment of what is more important?
Oh, no.
The fact that I agree is not why I am doing what he graciously asked me to do.
I would do it even if I disagreed, as long as it is not going against God's Word.
Let me explain.
I see this as logical, the smart thing to do. Without my help organizing and without the part he needed, work on both our house and a client's home would be at a stand still.
But just because I know these things were the best things to do does not mean I would not rather be upstairs making a spare bedroom into a lovely sewing/project/guest room. I would rather be organizing antiques, hanging lace curtains, quilts, choosing which pictures to hang on the walls, making this the most feminine,
dripping-with-lace room ever!
But I am not going with this change of plans because it is the best thing to do either.
How selfish would it be to refuse. How foolish.
But is being foolish the reason I am not insisting on what I want to do because it is fun?
No.......I am doing it because my husband asked me to do this.
Even if I disagree, I need to do what he asks/needs.
This I believe. This I know.
How?
Do I see that the basement work and picking up the part as more necessary?
Oh, yes.
Does it matter that I agree with my husband's assessment of what is more important?
Oh, no.
The fact that I agree is not why I am doing what he graciously asked me to do.
I would do it even if I disagreed, as long as it is not going against God's Word.
Let me explain.
I see this as logical, the smart thing to do. Without my help organizing and without the part he needed, work on both our house and a client's home would be at a stand still.
But just because I know these things were the best things to do does not mean I would not rather be upstairs making a spare bedroom into a lovely sewing/project/guest room. I would rather be organizing antiques, hanging lace curtains, quilts, choosing which pictures to hang on the walls, making this the most feminine,
dripping-with-lace room ever!
But I am not going with this change of plans because it is the best thing to do either.
How selfish would it be to refuse. How foolish.
But is being foolish the reason I am not insisting on what I want to do because it is fun?
No.......I am doing it because my husband asked me to do this.
Even if I disagree, I need to do what he asks/needs.
This I believe. This I know.
How?
Because God said so in His Word.
My dad always used the phrase, "Because I said so." when we kids asked, "Why?"
And I used to tell our children that the only thing required of them is to obey us. It wasn't important why. Although I do not think there is anything wrong with explaining as long as the child knows that you are not seeking their approval.
My husband and I enjoy sharing our ideas with each other. And, it is fun MOST of the time---
we don't always agree, but we do seek to come up with ideas we both like
and which are doable!
But the final decisions lays with him.
Why?
Because God said so!
Why?
Everything is for our eternal good and His glory.
He designed marriage to be so.
Why?
It is not important why. Read the Word to find out.
It is His design and it is good.
I don't believe, as so many do, that marriage is about compromising.
How sad.
No, marriage is about each of us giving 100%---not 50%.
You see we are not giving the 100% to our spouse, though they certainly benefit from it, but
to God!
There would be a lot less strife in marriage if we stopped looking at each other to see if the other one is doing what he/she should.
We are responsible for our own hearts.
We are responsible to do what God has given us to do in our separate roles as men and women,
husbands and wives.
First we need to learn what roles He has given us.
Otherwise we just end up going in circles.
Don't trust your heart in this.
Why?
Because God in His Word has told us that our hearts are deceitful, desperately wicked, we are easily gone astray, lead astray...
Read the Word to see whether God thinks it's okay to trust our own hearts.
Go humbly before God in prayer and in reading of His Word.
Ask him to examine your hearts, whether there be any wrong thinking, unbiblical thinking.
You, as with all of us, have been infected by what the world thinks.
We have been sold, and have accepted willingly, a bill of goods that is false.
And believe me, we, our marriages, our families, our nations have paid for it!
That bill of goods says that because we have different roles we are not equal.
This is not true!
We are equal before Christ in redemption.
But we were created for different roles.
The "bill of goods" has elevated one role above that of the other when they were meant to be
a complement to each other.
I know, even in Christian circles this can be a hot topic.
But it is only so in so far as we have let worldly "wisdom" infect us and the church body.
The Bible, God, who inspired it, says that the man is the head and he will ultimately answer for his decisions. This is not a license for a tyrant but a role, a God-given role, for a husband. The man is the head and if he does not seek and listen to wise counsel, (which includes seeking it from his wife) is opening himself up to fail and to be thought a fool.
The wife is and was created to be his helper. She has influence on him---we only have to read about the Fall of Adam, the Fall of Man, to see that. But there are also many examples in scripture where a woman
kept her man from disaster by her wise counsel.
A former pastor of ours once taught that "husband" comes from a word meaning "house-band" and "wife" from a word meaning "weaver"........a husband provides for and protects his home as a band around it holding it together and the wife weaves inside the home keeping it together providing needs within the home. What a beautiful picture.
I rest in these God-given roles.
There is protection there, comfort, knowing God will lead me through my husband.
And it is said that a husband trusts a good wife who does him good and not evil.
A husband is instructed to love his wife as Christ loves the church which He is the head of, and gave Himself up for it. That's a lot of responsibility.
It deserves the respect, reverence that God requires of us. But mostly, it deserves the respect and reverence because it is man's God-given role.
For those of you wives whom this rubs the wrong way, and for you husbands who believe this gives you license to be a tyrant, I urge you to search this out, after humble prayer, with an open heart and mind, in the scriptures. Don't be like those who do not believe the truth but just what they like to believe.
Seek to see what God, who created you, says.
Ask Him for a heart to believe the truth.
We are equal in Christ, but we were created for different roles.
It is not that one is inferior to the other. It is what we were created to do and be.
Is a table inferior to a window? Silly question----they were created by man for different purposes.
The world has twisted this into an issue of equality.
Though I do not like this saying-du-jour, I find that it helpful here,
"Keep the main thing, the main thing."
The main thing is not equality, we have equality before Christ Jesus in redemption.
The truth is that we, man and woman, were created for different, glorious, most wonderful and fulfilling purposes.
God created Adam from the dust of the ground, and he was made first.
God said that it was not good that man should be alone.
My dad always used the phrase, "Because I said so." when we kids asked, "Why?"
And I used to tell our children that the only thing required of them is to obey us. It wasn't important why. Although I do not think there is anything wrong with explaining as long as the child knows that you are not seeking their approval.
My husband and I enjoy sharing our ideas with each other. And, it is fun MOST of the time---
we don't always agree, but we do seek to come up with ideas we both like
and which are doable!
But the final decisions lays with him.
Why?
Because God said so!
Why?
Everything is for our eternal good and His glory.
He designed marriage to be so.
Why?
It is not important why. Read the Word to find out.
It is His design and it is good.
I don't believe, as so many do, that marriage is about compromising.
How sad.
No, marriage is about each of us giving 100%---not 50%.
You see we are not giving the 100% to our spouse, though they certainly benefit from it, but
to God!
There would be a lot less strife in marriage if we stopped looking at each other to see if the other one is doing what he/she should.
We are responsible for our own hearts.
We are responsible to do what God has given us to do in our separate roles as men and women,
husbands and wives.
First we need to learn what roles He has given us.
Otherwise we just end up going in circles.
Don't trust your heart in this.
Why?
Because God in His Word has told us that our hearts are deceitful, desperately wicked, we are easily gone astray, lead astray...
Read the Word to see whether God thinks it's okay to trust our own hearts.
Go humbly before God in prayer and in reading of His Word.
Ask him to examine your hearts, whether there be any wrong thinking, unbiblical thinking.
You, as with all of us, have been infected by what the world thinks.
We have been sold, and have accepted willingly, a bill of goods that is false.
And believe me, we, our marriages, our families, our nations have paid for it!
That bill of goods says that because we have different roles we are not equal.
This is not true!
We are equal before Christ in redemption.
But we were created for different roles.
The "bill of goods" has elevated one role above that of the other when they were meant to be
a complement to each other.
I know, even in Christian circles this can be a hot topic.
But it is only so in so far as we have let worldly "wisdom" infect us and the church body.
The Bible, God, who inspired it, says that the man is the head and he will ultimately answer for his decisions. This is not a license for a tyrant but a role, a God-given role, for a husband. The man is the head and if he does not seek and listen to wise counsel, (which includes seeking it from his wife) is opening himself up to fail and to be thought a fool.
The wife is and was created to be his helper. She has influence on him---we only have to read about the Fall of Adam, the Fall of Man, to see that. But there are also many examples in scripture where a woman
kept her man from disaster by her wise counsel.
A former pastor of ours once taught that "husband" comes from a word meaning "house-band" and "wife" from a word meaning "weaver"........a husband provides for and protects his home as a band around it holding it together and the wife weaves inside the home keeping it together providing needs within the home. What a beautiful picture.
I rest in these God-given roles.
There is protection there, comfort, knowing God will lead me through my husband.
And it is said that a husband trusts a good wife who does him good and not evil.
A husband is instructed to love his wife as Christ loves the church which He is the head of, and gave Himself up for it. That's a lot of responsibility.
It deserves the respect, reverence that God requires of us. But mostly, it deserves the respect and reverence because it is man's God-given role.
For those of you wives whom this rubs the wrong way, and for you husbands who believe this gives you license to be a tyrant, I urge you to search this out, after humble prayer, with an open heart and mind, in the scriptures. Don't be like those who do not believe the truth but just what they like to believe.
Seek to see what God, who created you, says.
Ask Him for a heart to believe the truth.
We are equal in Christ, but we were created for different roles.
It is not that one is inferior to the other. It is what we were created to do and be.
Is a table inferior to a window? Silly question----they were created by man for different purposes.
The world has twisted this into an issue of equality.
Though I do not like this saying-du-jour, I find that it helpful here,
"Keep the main thing, the main thing."
The main thing is not equality, we have equality before Christ Jesus in redemption.
The truth is that we, man and woman, were created for different, glorious, most wonderful and fulfilling purposes.
God created Adam from the dust of the ground, and he was made first.
God said that it was not good that man should be alone.
But no helper suited to him was found. So God created Eve.
Eve was made out of, and for Adam.
Eve was made out of, and for Adam.
She was to be a helper who was to be suitable for him.
And he was to be her head.
And yet man is born of woman.
It is a perfect and most beautiful circle.
I was created in my mother's womb to be my husband's wife.
He was created and born to be my head.
How beautiful is this?
Untruths have sullied the beauty in creation on every level but none perhaps more than in marriage.
Seek joy again in this, your God-given role.
Learn to take joy in serving others.
Learn to take comfort in submission.
You will rise up in your heart against it----since the Fall of Man
our tendencies are going to be sinful but God is able to give us strength
and to enable us
to do what He has ordained for our own good.
True happiness is found only in Christ.
Marriage is an example of the relationship between Christ and His Church, His Body.
Be very careful that you do not, by your attitude and example mar that image.
Seek this kind of happiness and true joy will fill your hearts.
Look at the world.
How has disobedience to God's word, reveling in their own beliefs and pleasures worked out for them?
I pray that you might be liberated to be free in the truth and beauty of God's plan.
Kathi~
And he was to be her head.
And yet man is born of woman.
It is a perfect and most beautiful circle.
I was created in my mother's womb to be my husband's wife.
He was created and born to be my head.
How beautiful is this?
Untruths have sullied the beauty in creation on every level but none perhaps more than in marriage.
Seek joy again in this, your God-given role.
Learn to take joy in serving others.
Learn to take comfort in submission.
You will rise up in your heart against it----since the Fall of Man
our tendencies are going to be sinful but God is able to give us strength
and to enable us
to do what He has ordained for our own good.
True happiness is found only in Christ.
Marriage is an example of the relationship between Christ and His Church, His Body.
Be very careful that you do not, by your attitude and example mar that image.
Seek this kind of happiness and true joy will fill your hearts.
Look at the world.
How has disobedience to God's word, reveling in their own beliefs and pleasures worked out for them?
I pray that you might be liberated to be free in the truth and beauty of God's plan.
Kathi~
Wellness Wednesday
....well............
Today I had so much to do, so much planned. But the Lord had something different for me and I never had the time to write what I wanted to share.
It is late and I have no time now if I am going to play "catch-up" tomorrow and get enough sleep tonight.
You read last Wednesday of the beginning of our nutrition journey.
Now, while I have to delay what I had planned for lack of time I would like you to think about one thing this week.
What is real food?
Take a look at what you buy for your family to consume.
Read the label. Is everything listed there food?
If it is pre-prepared it probably isn't.
Look through your kitchen examining every food
This may be hard because we become so attached to certain ideas and favorite tastes.
Many people react strongly to the suggestion that they're not eating properly
Pray, calm yourself and honestly take a look at what you eat.
In this day and age there are so many good things we can buy and healthy ingredients we can substitute for bad ones. We should be left without excuse.
Then consider the time you are sick, or are sitting at medical and dental offices.
I do not believe that if you eat well you will never be ill.
But I do believe you will be healthier if you eat well than if you eat badly.
I will begin with specific suggestions and ideas next Wednesday but for now it is not healthy for me to stay up any later than I already have.
Soooo.......
Goodnight and good health.
Kathi~
....well............
Today I had so much to do, so much planned. But the Lord had something different for me and I never had the time to write what I wanted to share.
It is late and I have no time now if I am going to play "catch-up" tomorrow and get enough sleep tonight.
You read last Wednesday of the beginning of our nutrition journey.
Now, while I have to delay what I had planned for lack of time I would like you to think about one thing this week.
What is real food?
Take a look at what you buy for your family to consume.
Read the label. Is everything listed there food?
If it is pre-prepared it probably isn't.
Look through your kitchen examining every food
This may be hard because we become so attached to certain ideas and favorite tastes.
Many people react strongly to the suggestion that they're not eating properly
Pray, calm yourself and honestly take a look at what you eat.
In this day and age there are so many good things we can buy and healthy ingredients we can substitute for bad ones. We should be left without excuse.
Then consider the time you are sick, or are sitting at medical and dental offices.
I do not believe that if you eat well you will never be ill.
But I do believe you will be healthier if you eat well than if you eat badly.
I will begin with specific suggestions and ideas next Wednesday but for now it is not healthy for me to stay up any later than I already have.
Soooo.......
Goodnight and good health.
Kathi~
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
It's all a matter of your perspective
....The Blind Men and the Elephant
Earlier in the week I asked my husband where our old dog carrier was. Our youngest daughter and her toddler are visiting us soon and will need it because they are bringing their puppy.
He said it was at our older daughter's house.
They had borrowed it---I don't remember why.
I called it the grayish-beige carrier/kennel.
My husband said it was charcoal.
We wasted the next few minutes disagreeing with each other as to which color it was.
....The Blind Men and the Elephant
Earlier in the week I asked my husband where our old dog carrier was. Our youngest daughter and her toddler are visiting us soon and will need it because they are bringing their puppy.
He said it was at our older daughter's house.
They had borrowed it---I don't remember why.
I called it the grayish-beige carrier/kennel.
My husband said it was charcoal.
We wasted the next few minutes disagreeing with each other as to which color it was.
Each of us were positive we were right. Both of us held our ground stubbornly.
I argued that I was the one who would dust the top of it and open it when our Lab, Miranda, wanted out.
I argued that I was the one who would dust the top of it and open it when our Lab, Miranda, wanted out.
Since it sat in the foyer for a long time I asserted that certainly I knew what color it was.
My husband insisted that he should know what color it was because he was the one who took the bottom outside to clean out occasionally and who lifted the big thing into the back of our truck when we'd go on trips and take Miranda with us.
We finally gave up in frustration----each still KNOWING we were the ones who were right!
A few days later I was at our daughter and son-in-law's house while they were gone.
I was helping one of our granddaughters do dishes after we had all had lunch together.
I gazed absent-mindedly out the window above the sink and what did I see?
I saw our dog carrier/kennel sitting in their back yard.
And guess what color it was?
The top is grayish beige and the bottom is charcoal.
I began to laugh!
We were both right.
From the perspective of one who cleaned the top and opened the door,
and the other who lifted it up from the bottom
it made perfect sense.
I told my husband that night. He laughed.
I think we were glad we were both right.
I think...
Do you remember, perhaps from your school days, a poem about
six blind men who come together to decide what an elephant is like?
The men each "see" the animal from different perspectives coming to totally different conclusions
about what an elephant is like.
The poem ends this way:
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong.
Though each was partly in the right,
and all were in the wrong!
The Blind Men and the Elephant
by
John Godfrey Saxe
1816-1887
Though it was found that we were each partly in the right,
because of our differing perspectives.
Our arguing about it was wrong.
Pick your battles carefully.
Some things just aren't important.
Trivial details don't usually matter.
We are so easily caught up in side issues that waste our time.
My husband insisted that he should know what color it was because he was the one who took the bottom outside to clean out occasionally and who lifted the big thing into the back of our truck when we'd go on trips and take Miranda with us.
We finally gave up in frustration----each still KNOWING we were the ones who were right!
A few days later I was at our daughter and son-in-law's house while they were gone.
I was helping one of our granddaughters do dishes after we had all had lunch together.
I gazed absent-mindedly out the window above the sink and what did I see?
I saw our dog carrier/kennel sitting in their back yard.
And guess what color it was?
The top is grayish beige and the bottom is charcoal.
I began to laugh!
We were both right.
From the perspective of one who cleaned the top and opened the door,
and the other who lifted it up from the bottom
it made perfect sense.
I told my husband that night. He laughed.
I think we were glad we were both right.
I think...
Do you remember, perhaps from your school days, a poem about
six blind men who come together to decide what an elephant is like?
The men each "see" the animal from different perspectives coming to totally different conclusions
about what an elephant is like.
The poem ends this way:
And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
Exceeding stiff and strong.
Though each was partly in the right,
and all were in the wrong!
The Blind Men and the Elephant
by
John Godfrey Saxe
1816-1887
Though it was found that we were each partly in the right,
because of our differing perspectives.
Our arguing about it was wrong.
Pick your battles carefully.
Some things just aren't important.
Trivial details don't usually matter.
We are so easily caught up in side issues that waste our time.
We take our eyes off what is truly important.
And we enjoy being right.
Just a thought........
Kathi~
And we enjoy being right.
Just a thought........
Kathi~
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Quick Tip
...things to grow from what you usually throw away!
...things to grow from what you usually throw away!
Really, really inexpensive way to grow veggies...FROM LEFTOVERS!
I apologize for the poor quality of this picture. It is from my cell phone. I am still learning how to
post things on my blog. But, I think you'll get the idea.
Here's what you're looking at. The last of a head of romaine lettuce stem growing new lettuce.
I saw this idea on Pinterest using celery. I had no celery but I did have some just-used-up romaine.
I stuck the stem end down in a shallowly-filled, small cup of water and this is what it looks like (about 2" high) after just a few days----not even a week.
I had no idea this could be done. After I buy more celery I will try that too but meanwhile curiosity has gotten the best of me and I have turned what little amount of counter space I have in my tiny kitchen into a sort of greenhouse with various jars, cups, sitting on the counter in the sunshine. All the lettuce is doing great and sprouting. The broccoli stems (hoping for broccoli rabe---those dark green leaves that most people throw away) but that isn't looking too promising.
I do, however, have a green onion that is putting out a shoot.
The Pinterest pin said to plant them. Not wanting to go dig up soil outside in the cold
I opted to at least start them in water.
I'm excited about this! That may seem strange. But I have done stuff like this
ever since I was a little girl putting weed seeds in soil in cardboard jewelry boxes to see what would grow.
I also save seeds and have a cookie sheet full of pumpkin seeds air-drying in the kitchen and more jars with other winter squash seeds that I air-dried. I have done this for years. I plant them in our garden if we have one each year or just around the property in areas or planters where I want something that grows quickly and covers a lot of area to hide soil or weeds. They are beautiful all summer long and produce edible and decorative fruits for us to enjoy and give away. I come up with some odd varieties because the seeds that grew the original plant were probably a mix of different plant DNA to start with. What we don't care for our chickens trade with us for eggs!
This also works for flowers. The rock pathway to our front porch was once planted with mini-marigolds---the very tiny ones not the dwarf marigolds. After buying more the second year I noticed as I planted the plants that the beds had re-seeded themselves. So, now, I shake the dried plants in the fall wherever I want mini-marigolds and they always come up. I also save large and dwarf marigold seeds when I dead-head my planter flowers. I often just bury them in the planter but usually, not wanting to have them come up before next year I dry them and put them in envelopes to plant later.
I also have glossy house plants I have grown from citrus seed and the tall leafy avocado "trees".
Since we probably won't have a garden this year I will plan on potting sprouted used-up lettuce, celery and whatever else I can get to grow.
For FREE!
How good is that!
Have fun with this.
Kids would probably love this experiment.
Kathi~
Tasty Tuesday
...Albondigas Soup
This is Mexican Meatball Soup. We had it for dinner last night with small taco salads. Tonight we will finish the soup served in mugs alongside our chicken breast sub sandwiches.
Tonight will be the last in the string or thread of leftovers I last posted.
Almost all of the ingredients I used to make this soup were either leftovers from previous meals this week or from our garden and put up in our freezer.
This recipe lends itself to many options. Different recipes on line use either beef, pork or turkey to make the meatballs and different vegetables too.
Plenty of room for creativity here!
Here's what I did:
- Thawed: leftover tortilla stacks from earlier in the week, ground turkey, broccoli tomatoes, homemade salsa.
- Literally I dumped it all in my crockpot. I didn't need any extra seasoning because of the salsa and leftover Mexican tortilla stack (which had, salsa, cheese, black beans, onions, black olives, corn tortillas, and cilantro in it).
- When we had chicken the other night I put in four extra potatoes to bake and saved them for putting in the soup yesterday.
- I emptied the last of our carrots in the soup.
- I molded the thawed turkey burger into meatballs and because I was in a hurry last night I did not add anything else to the meatballs---just turkey, not even seasoning. I felt the other ingredients would be enough to flavor the soup.
- When they were cooked thoroughly I added them to the bubbling soup in the crockpot.
- I de-glazed the pan the meatballs were cooked in and added that liquid to the soup.
- I fried the last of the corn tortillas and filled them with our dinner salads, added a little of my homemade balsamic/olive oil dressing and a tiny bit of salsa and some chopped avocado.
I added a crumble of cheese and some tortilla chips on top of each soup bowl.
This is super easy---and of course you can make it from scratch but I think it is much more fun and economical to use leftovers---planned---to put in the soup.
Tonight we will have the last of the soup in mugs alongside chicken (leftover) and veggie subs.Very quick meal tonight which is good because I am leaving now for town!
Be creative and put whatever you like in your soup.
There are also many recipes online.
Enjoy!
Kathi~
Monday, March 25, 2013
A Gorgeous but Chilly Day!
Soup is bubbling in the crockpot. Bread is ready. Just have to make salads and dinner's ready to be served.
Taking joy in this day of normal things.
Got some things accomplished today.
And my
husband is home early.
We'll work together on the basement re-organization
for awhile after dinner.
Or maybe not......
We might just watch something we've recorded and go to bed early tonight.
I just love such days.
Doing fun or exciting things, having fancy meals are great
but there is something to be said for
enjoying simplicity every now and then too.
Hope your evening is as relaxing as mine is looking to be.
Kathi~
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Sunday Thoughts
.....a dear friend shared the verse below this morning.
God has shown me His mercies.
And my heart has cried out, that yes,
.....a dear friend shared the verse below this morning.
God has shown me His mercies.
And my heart has cried out, that yes,
"His mercies...are new
every
|morning..."
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23
~
every
|morning..."
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23
~
The File Cabinet
.....uncluttering, re-organizing your heart
.....uncluttering, re-organizing your heart
It feels really good to be coming to the end of going through our large file cabinet.
I have a burn pile of old papers we no longer need to keep.
I have organized other piles of papers that go in this or that folder.
Except for coming across papers and photos that hit my nostalgic button, which slows me down,
the project is coming along quite well.
Once boxes, baskets and smaller files are re-organized, doing the rest of the office will go more quickly and then I can start making myself a sewing and project room upstairs.
Most of what I have in the office to use is re-purposed,decorative and functional.
I find it difficult to work in chaos. I need to have things organized, neat, decorative and easily useful.
I like things to be easy to clean and keep in order.
I have eleven grandchildren most of whom are young children and babies.
I need to keep safety, enjoyment and easy clean-up in mind at all times.
It takes a lot of thought and planning (creativity) to do this,
especially doing the best with what you already have.
If you have money to spare this is so much easier---just buy what you need, pay someone else to do it, and then hire someone to keep it the way you like it.
But whereas it may be nice not to be bothered with it yourself,
where is the satisfaction of having done it yourself?
And what if you don't have that money to spare because you're staying home
with the kids and/or have hit hard times?
My father loved to improvise. He didn't need to financially. But he often chose to do things himself.
He often quoted, "Necessity is the mother of invention."
And he enjoyed it, whether it was truly necessary or not.
I inherited this attitude from him.
When something happens that is going to require major change, I usually first respond.....
well, truthfully,
not well.
But, given a few minutes part of me comes alive.
I immediately take pen and paper in hand to start brainstorming.
Sometimes it ends up being unnecessary and though I am relieved, part of me is disappointed.
This process drives my husband crazy, by the way!
I tend to freeze up when things are out-of-order.
I have to force myself to just start without thinking too much about where to start, what to do first.
I find it best to just dig in and the how-to's will flow....eventually.
I must force myself to move forward otherwise I will stand before the task, frozen,
then abandon it entirely.
Sometimes as I organize it seems I am making a big mess.
Things seem to just be pushed around from one pile to another.
And that is true and is very common.
But if I keep up on it I make progress and that encourages.
Whereas I do love organizing, I do not like cleaning.
I love things being clean. But that is different.
I guess you might call it a "necessary evil".
And maybe it is like hitting your head against a wall.
And, as they say, "...it feels so good when you stop."
When I get to the end of organizing, when I am through with cleaning, when the floors,
windows and furniture shine,
the eye catches the simple lines and neat surfaces of the room,
and when only I know that every drawer, closet and cabinet are nicely in order,
the feeling of accomplishment is great!
When things are neat, I tend to keep them that way.
God's world is orderly.
The Creator made everything in His fashion and everything was good.
There is beauty and purpose in all He created.
I believe we should take that example
into our homes as much as we are able.
Creation shows order, cleanliness (from rain, water, scavengers and carion-eating animals,
lightning, snow, freezing, thawing, waves.......),
function, provision, and we must not forget, creativity and beauty.
Not all the tasks that accomplish this in our homes are fun or easy.
We enjoy different things, we have different styles and family dynamics.
We don't always feel like doing things.
And, quite often, we do not have the time or energy to do them.
This is especially true of mothers of babies and other small children,
those with one child or those with many.
And it is very especially true of mothers who teach their own children at home.
If we can make the time to get back the order we once had,
with our minds and hearts turned toward the needs of our family
and being a good testimony to others,
then life will be not just easier, but more fun too!
Creating order should not be our priority
but a goal to make our biblical priorities easier.
Unclutter your mind, and your heart by making your life simpler.
Work to so order your life that you will have time for the really important things.
Keep your priorities in line. Read the Word to identify your priorities.
Learn what to let go of and what to keep.
Order should be the thing that makes your life easier, not an entity unto itself.
Do not make order an idol.
If your heart is not into homemaking but you earnestly wish it was,
ask the Lord to give you the heart
to make a home for your family that you will all enjoy, and that will be honoring to God
and conducive to the worship and enjoyment of God.
Find a mentor.
Go to your own mothers, grandmas, aunts and sisters, sisters-in-the-Lord, read books that are uplifting to you, go to the older woman
whose command it is to teach younger ones how to love their husbands and children.
Pray........
I see so many young women doing what is (and they know is) their duty.
And that is a good thing, but...
I see many also who do not have the heart for it.
I wonder why.
I have no answers.
This makes me sad.
Maybe it is our society.
Maybe it's the attitudes we have picked up over the years.
We must ask the Lord and ourselves if any unbiblical thinking has invaded our hearts,
minds, beliefs.
There is One who knows and will answer your prayers.
He is the One who knows your heart better than you do.
There exists One who will give you the desires of your heart
as they are in keeping with the desires of His heart and His will for you.
He will make His desires, your desires.
He will never contradict His Word.
Throw out any files in your heart that you do not need,
Throw out folders that do not match up with biblical truth.
Toss with abandon whatever hinders you, or your husband and your children
from keeping right, biblical priorities.
I dangle the design and subsequent re-purposing of our youngest daughter's old room
before myself like a carrot on a stick in front of a stubborn mule that will not move.
before myself like a carrot on a stick in front of a stubborn mule that will not move.
Most of what I have in the office to use is re-purposed,decorative and functional.
I find it difficult to work in chaos. I need to have things organized, neat, decorative and easily useful.
I like things to be easy to clean and keep in order.
I have eleven grandchildren most of whom are young children and babies.
I need to keep safety, enjoyment and easy clean-up in mind at all times.
It takes a lot of thought and planning (creativity) to do this,
especially doing the best with what you already have.
If you have money to spare this is so much easier---just buy what you need, pay someone else to do it, and then hire someone to keep it the way you like it.
But whereas it may be nice not to be bothered with it yourself,
where is the satisfaction of having done it yourself?
And what if you don't have that money to spare because you're staying home
with the kids and/or have hit hard times?
My father loved to improvise. He didn't need to financially. But he often chose to do things himself.
He often quoted, "Necessity is the mother of invention."
And he enjoyed it, whether it was truly necessary or not.
I inherited this attitude from him.
When something happens that is going to require major change, I usually first respond.....
well, truthfully,
not well.
But, given a few minutes part of me comes alive.
I immediately take pen and paper in hand to start brainstorming.
Sometimes it ends up being unnecessary and though I am relieved, part of me is disappointed.
This process drives my husband crazy, by the way!
I tend to freeze up when things are out-of-order.
I have to force myself to just start without thinking too much about where to start, what to do first.
I find it best to just dig in and the how-to's will flow....eventually.
I must force myself to move forward otherwise I will stand before the task, frozen,
then abandon it entirely.
Sometimes as I organize it seems I am making a big mess.
Things seem to just be pushed around from one pile to another.
And that is true and is very common.
But if I keep up on it I make progress and that encourages.
Whereas I do love organizing, I do not like cleaning.
I love things being clean. But that is different.
I guess you might call it a "necessary evil".
And maybe it is like hitting your head against a wall.
And, as they say, "...it feels so good when you stop."
When I get to the end of organizing, when I am through with cleaning, when the floors,
windows and furniture shine,
the eye catches the simple lines and neat surfaces of the room,
and when only I know that every drawer, closet and cabinet are nicely in order,
the feeling of accomplishment is great!
When things are neat, I tend to keep them that way.
God's world is orderly.
The Creator made everything in His fashion and everything was good.
There is beauty and purpose in all He created.
I believe we should take that example
into our homes as much as we are able.
Creation shows order, cleanliness (from rain, water, scavengers and carion-eating animals,
lightning, snow, freezing, thawing, waves.......),
function, provision, and we must not forget, creativity and beauty.
Not all the tasks that accomplish this in our homes are fun or easy.
We enjoy different things, we have different styles and family dynamics.
We don't always feel like doing things.
And, quite often, we do not have the time or energy to do them.
This is especially true of mothers of babies and other small children,
those with one child or those with many.
And it is very especially true of mothers who teach their own children at home.
If we can make the time to get back the order we once had,
with our minds and hearts turned toward the needs of our family
and being a good testimony to others,
then life will be not just easier, but more fun too!
Creating order should not be our priority
but a goal to make our biblical priorities easier.
Unclutter your mind, and your heart by making your life simpler.
Work to so order your life that you will have time for the really important things.
Keep your priorities in line. Read the Word to identify your priorities.
Learn what to let go of and what to keep.
Order should be the thing that makes your life easier, not an entity unto itself.
Do not make order an idol.
If your heart is not into homemaking but you earnestly wish it was,
ask the Lord to give you the heart
to make a home for your family that you will all enjoy, and that will be honoring to God
and conducive to the worship and enjoyment of God.
Find a mentor.
Go to your own mothers, grandmas, aunts and sisters, sisters-in-the-Lord, read books that are uplifting to you, go to the older woman
whose command it is to teach younger ones how to love their husbands and children.
Pray........
I see so many young women doing what is (and they know is) their duty.
And that is a good thing, but...
I see many also who do not have the heart for it.
I wonder why.
I have no answers.
This makes me sad.
Maybe it is our society.
Maybe it's the attitudes we have picked up over the years.
We must ask the Lord and ourselves if any unbiblical thinking has invaded our hearts,
minds, beliefs.
There is One who knows and will answer your prayers.
He is the One who knows your heart better than you do.
There exists One who will give you the desires of your heart
as they are in keeping with the desires of His heart and His will for you.
He will make His desires, your desires.
He will never contradict His Word.
Throw out any files in your heart that you do not need,
Throw out folders that do not match up with biblical truth.
Toss with abandon whatever hinders you, or your husband and your children
from keeping right, biblical priorities.
Do your duty, oh, yes, and wait expectantly for the joy to come.
I pray for joy for you all, whatever God has called you to do.
Everything works together for our eternal good and to bring glory to God
I hope you find this encouraging.
Kathi~
I pray for joy for you all, whatever God has called you to do.
Everything works together for our eternal good and to bring glory to God
I hope you find this encouraging.
Kathi~
Friday, March 22, 2013
New Leftover Thread
.....and a Couple of Quick Tips
In making out my shopping list for this week ---- seeing what we still have on hand to use up, considering what meat I have in our freezer and the weekly sales, I have decided it's time for a Mexican thread of meals.
I have been hungry for something spicy for weeks but didn't feel that would be good for me while I was sick.
I'm well now and have a large package of un-cooked, raw,corn tortillas in the refrigerator, the last of the tomatoes, a red onion and the last of the romaine lettuce that all need to be used. And I have cheese, avocados, poblano chiles, eggs, tomato paste, olives, rice and the meats for Mexican food already on hand, so, I should not need to buy much to make all these meals. I will only need chili powder and sour cream. We had beef corn tortilla tacos tonight, after which, while the ingredients were already out on the counter, I fried up more tortillas and made up a tortilla stack with the leftover spiced ground beef, black beans, chopped tomatoes and onions and some cottage cheese because I don't have sour cream yet. I will serve this the day after tomorrow. We will have shrimp salad tomorrow with some too-stale, hard artisan bread that I will steam soft, and then the tortilla stack. I will make our daughter's shredded chiles rellenos, which will make enough for us for two batches, for the freezer, and save the chicken for homemade chicken veggie subs early next week. We will enjoy breakfast for Sunday's midday meal and if we are hungry, a salad in the evening. All the leftovers from the Mexican food will go in the big crockpot with turkey meatballs for Albondigas (meatball) Soup on Monday.The leftover soup will be served in mugs on Tuesday as a side for the chicken subs filled with shredded chicken, Bubbies fermented pickles, cukes, tomato, onion, lettuce, sprouts and avocado served on buns I will make, Leftover soup will be nice for lunches for me since it is supposed to be cold again.
The Quick Tips
Sauces...
* dressing for Mexican salads and tortilla stack or any Mexican dish: mix equal parts sour cream and salsa and maybe a
little avocado mashed with chopped fresh cilantro.
*enchilada sauce---a friend showed me this years ago when I was failing at every attempt to get one that
tasted like Mexican restaurant sauce or the canned stuff. After you have cooked some meat in a pan, add a little water to deglaze the pan, add chili powder to taste, about a tablespoon or so of tomato paste added to cold water with corn meal in it. Stir this together and add to the pan. Whisk well and turn on the heat. Have a little water on hand so if the sauce thickens too much you can add a bit more water if and as needed. Whisk while on medium to high heat---depending on your range/stove top. Essentially my friend told me you are making gravy and adding Mexican flavors to it. When it is ready it will thicken and turn darker and shiny. If too thick add more water and whisk . If it is too thin add more corn starch to a little bit of cold water and add to pan and heat to bubbling again until it reaches the right thickness---that of gravy. It's super easy, inexpensive and very quick. If you are not planning to cook any type of meat just add a little olive oil--say a couple tablespoons---to the pan and mix with other ingredients.
Other spices such as garlic, cilantro, cumin can be added if you like.
Don't be afraid to experiment.
Enjoy your weekend!
Kathi~
.....and a Couple of Quick Tips
In making out my shopping list for this week ---- seeing what we still have on hand to use up, considering what meat I have in our freezer and the weekly sales, I have decided it's time for a Mexican thread of meals.
I have been hungry for something spicy for weeks but didn't feel that would be good for me while I was sick.
I'm well now and have a large package of un-cooked, raw,corn tortillas in the refrigerator, the last of the tomatoes, a red onion and the last of the romaine lettuce that all need to be used. And I have cheese, avocados, poblano chiles, eggs, tomato paste, olives, rice and the meats for Mexican food already on hand, so, I should not need to buy much to make all these meals. I will only need chili powder and sour cream. We had beef corn tortilla tacos tonight, after which, while the ingredients were already out on the counter, I fried up more tortillas and made up a tortilla stack with the leftover spiced ground beef, black beans, chopped tomatoes and onions and some cottage cheese because I don't have sour cream yet. I will serve this the day after tomorrow. We will have shrimp salad tomorrow with some too-stale, hard artisan bread that I will steam soft, and then the tortilla stack. I will make our daughter's shredded chiles rellenos, which will make enough for us for two batches, for the freezer, and save the chicken for homemade chicken veggie subs early next week. We will enjoy breakfast for Sunday's midday meal and if we are hungry, a salad in the evening. All the leftovers from the Mexican food will go in the big crockpot with turkey meatballs for Albondigas (meatball) Soup on Monday.The leftover soup will be served in mugs on Tuesday as a side for the chicken subs filled with shredded chicken, Bubbies fermented pickles, cukes, tomato, onion, lettuce, sprouts and avocado served on buns I will make, Leftover soup will be nice for lunches for me since it is supposed to be cold again.
The Quick Tips
Sauces...
* dressing for Mexican salads and tortilla stack or any Mexican dish: mix equal parts sour cream and salsa and maybe a
little avocado mashed with chopped fresh cilantro.
*enchilada sauce---a friend showed me this years ago when I was failing at every attempt to get one that
tasted like Mexican restaurant sauce or the canned stuff. After you have cooked some meat in a pan, add a little water to deglaze the pan, add chili powder to taste, about a tablespoon or so of tomato paste added to cold water with corn meal in it. Stir this together and add to the pan. Whisk well and turn on the heat. Have a little water on hand so if the sauce thickens too much you can add a bit more water if and as needed. Whisk while on medium to high heat---depending on your range/stove top. Essentially my friend told me you are making gravy and adding Mexican flavors to it. When it is ready it will thicken and turn darker and shiny. If too thick add more water and whisk . If it is too thin add more corn starch to a little bit of cold water and add to pan and heat to bubbling again until it reaches the right thickness---that of gravy. It's super easy, inexpensive and very quick. If you are not planning to cook any type of meat just add a little olive oil--say a couple tablespoons---to the pan and mix with other ingredients.
Other spices such as garlic, cilantro, cumin can be added if you like.
Don't be afraid to experiment.
Enjoy your weekend!
Kathi~
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The Mercies of the Lord
...after a very frustrating day
I am so tired and frustrated after staying up until almost dawn looking for two papers I had to have by this morning and, after only finding one, I have run out of places to look. I had a bad day on the phone, trying to get an entity in a different state to answer their phones or allow me to leave a voice mail, to correct a problem that was not my fault. I take a breath........after a very frustrating day
After having our cordless phone go dead, someone tells me this place does not answer or call back cell phones (huh?). After our LAN line phone should have charged, but didn't, I see that it is not only too late to call that office but also the other one here that I needed to call has also closed. All this because two government agencies goofed up, one here, one out of state. Those employees that I did reach were great and so helpful----it is the system I am up against! I take another deep breath, attempting to let out the tension.......
So, after I relax a little .....breathe.....pray......organize the bazillion notes on small pieces of paper so I can transfer them to a big note so I can understand them when I attempt this all over again tomorrow the phone rings. It is no one. Again. This has happened twice today.......another breath...........
I go back into the office to look in places this paper should not be but may have been mislaid. You know how when you can't find something you look everywhere. You look even in non-nonsensical places. You search even more than once---- or twice. I am feeling desperate by now and about in tears. I have been dealing with this for two days now and dreading tomorrow, the third day. "They" say "third time's the charm" but "they" also say, "Three strikes and you're out!" Hmmmm..........I won't go "there".....failure is not an option.
My cell phone rings. I know it is my husband by the ring. I am standing in the office holding up two wooden files filled with papers, some notebooks and folders hoping nothing will fall while I look through another stack of papers. I can't answer the phone. I finish just when the phone stops ringing. I call him back. He tells me he has had to run into town and has called to ask if there anything he can pick up for me at Costco since I never made it to town as planned today. What a dear man........I give him a small list. And I smile knowing that he will bring home more. Knowing that I will smile. Taking pleasure that this pleases him. Okay, I smiled..........
I go to the kitchen to do the morning dishes I didn't have time to do earlier because I had to sleep a little longer after being up all night, and because I was on the phone! I notice that the meat and black beans in my little crockpot are done and ready to fill the tacos for dinner tonight. I had forgotten to thaw my salsa, but my husband is picking that up along with some other groceries and a prescription.Clean kitchen, dinner almost ready, husband doing the shopping... I smile........
Now, I sit back for a moment at the keyboard to share this thought with you.....God is merciful.
He has calmed my heart and supplied my needs. And suddenly peace about this situation I have been dealing with floods my heart and soul. Again, I smile....
And as I type, as a little touch of beauty, He knows will delight me, He sends a chubby little robin to the hanging planter which is now swinging back and forth under the weight of this bird. I can see through the library window---oh, there are two, now four finches playing on our roof eaves and the robin has gone. Ah, the small joys......I watch them play...
"I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever:
with my mouth will I make known
thy faithfulness to all generations."
Now that verse, put to music, fills my brain and satisfies my heart.
I almost expect someone to come to our door with warm, just-fried corn tortillas, shredded lettuce and grated cheese. Oh, and of course, the paper I have searched for in vain, in his or her hands!
I smile and give a little laugh.........
Thank you, Lord.
Have a great evening, everyone!
Kathi~
with my mouth will I make known
thy faithfulness to all generations."
Now that verse, put to music, fills my brain and satisfies my heart.
I almost expect someone to come to our door with warm, just-fried corn tortillas, shredded lettuce and grated cheese. Oh, and of course, the paper I have searched for in vain, in his or her hands!
I smile and give a little laugh.........
Thank you, Lord.
Have a great evening, everyone!
Kathi~
Welcome to Our Office
.....headquarters of the home and business
Way back when I first started this blog I began going through different rooms in our house.
I got away from that and I'd like to go back.
We spent time on our porch, in the foyer and the kitchen.
Since I am working on organizing the office I thought I'd share that with you.
We go through the doors into the foyer with the grand stair case leading upstairs and passages on both sides to either the living room or the library. When we turn to the left of the stairs we see a brass sign that says, "Library" (a gift from our daughter that she found at a yard sale!). Next to that is a display of antique keys on the door framing. As we pass through the library to get to the office you will see books on shelves on all but one wall. Against that wall is my dad's piano. Scanning the room quickly as we walk through you will see many antiques, and what used to be another fireplace but is now being used as a book case for storing more books----it is unfinished. We will spend some time in my library sometime soon, but not now. We go through a large framed-in opening in the wall that will some day contain either portieres or French doors.
These rooms used to be a living and dining room before we remodeled this old Craftsman duplex. There were identical ones on the other side of the house which are now all an open living room. The floors are hard wood and there is lots of woodwork on the windows and doors that match them. This is the side of the house where the owners lived, a mirror-image of the other side (which they rented) except
for a larger kitchen, a full bathroom, and the later addition of a large picture window where a single one used to exist and a closet added onto the room.
This is our office.
It is now where we keep family files, things for the landscape business my husband owns, a phone, bookcases and a hutch for office supplies and where I hide many entertainment paraphernalia behind closed doors on the bottom.
There is a bulletin board on the wall, some files, a printer, my father's desk, my mother's office chair sitting atop a red, gold and green Oriental-type rug. The off-white walls will be painted a dark gold. The decorating theme is patriotic as can be seen in the decor on the walls and shelves. It is the warmest place in the house in the summer and the coldest spot in the winter. The huge picture window is hidden behind curtains and a long, tall hutch because the triple plane glass cracked as the house settled in the years after we moved it here---something we were told to expect but hoped to avoid. Since we are planning a big remodel in the next few years, done a little at a time, it hasn't been fixed yet. When it is, it will be made smaller and out of stained glass and this may morph again into a formal dining room, the ample closet being paneled, Craftsman-style, into a lighted china, silver and crystal area and the door removed.
There are shelves holding business files, manuals, proposals and the statements we send out. On another book case are old family-friendly movies in VHS that we loan out to friends all the time.
. Sitting at the desk I can see out the library window to the front yard and porch. There is a closet that houses games, puzzles, toy bins for the grandkids, extra folding chairs, tables and a vacuum cleaner. The office has another door-less opening that leads into the kitchen and dining room with a short hall with door leading to the bathroom, a utility closet and is a walkway into the kitchen/dining area.
"The room" as it was once called for lack of a clearly definitive use at one time, has had many names over the years we have lived here.
My vision for this room even before we moved it out here to the country was for it to be a schoolroom. I home schooled our children from 1982-2002 and I thought being off the library, and the kitchen and bathroom would be very handy. Oh, I spent hours joyfully decorating and organizing it similarly to the one we had in our previous home. There was a large black board, a huge bulletin board (both purchased for a few dollars at an after-fire school sale, bookcases, alphabet cards all along the walls, shelves, the usual school room art work, and construction paper caterpillars with the names of books read on each segment inching their ways around the schoolroom walls. We even got some lift-top desks after a school remodel. We had a wooden and iron college note-taking desk and a pre-schooler-sized antique wooden desk with an ink well in it. There were maps, science posters, globes of Earth and the Moon, lots of paper, sharpened pencils, scissors and glue, paints, markers and pens. It was perfect.
Well, it would have been except for one thing.
When our house was on the university campus where it was built over 100 years ago there was a pear tree in front of the picture window. Whenever we went there on campus to work on the house before it was moved we saw wasps all over that tree. The tree had to be removed and before it was destroyed, or maybe because of the cool Fall temperatures, the wasps must have moved inside the walls of this room. As the house was finished and after we moved in and the house began to warm up the wasps decided to come in where it was warmer. At first we'd notice one or two a week but later there would be 20 or more a day crawling from the closet and flying toward the window in front of the children's desks. We could hear them hit the glass and we'd run to swat them. After sunset they would gather on the chain of the antique light fixture and sleep in the warmth coming from it. When my husband would get home he would spray them with ether and we'd stomp them all. They were very slow wasps, not aggressive at all like yellow jackets or other wasp and hornet varieties, but this drill was getting old. So, the kids were moved to the kitchen table, the school room being used primarily for storage of the school supplies and textbooks. After a few years of not really using that room, the kids became more comfortable at the dining room table, or on cold winter days gathered around the wood stove studying, doing seat work or listening to me "lecture" them, read to them or having discussions on different topics.
I mourned the loss of that room as a school room. It was so cute!
The kids didn't really care. Eventually the wasps disappeared totally,
but the room was never to be a schoolroom again.
It became my husband's office. This didn't work out. Whereas my husband is not a messy man, he is decidedly not a paperwork kind of guy. He would prefer a smile, an agreement and a handshake to all the hoops that must be jumped through now if you own your own business. This would work for him because he is a man of great integrity. But............. Things piled up on the desk making it an eyesore. So, the huge desk, files, everything was exiled to a far, hidden corner of our unfinished basement where it still sits, unused, today. There is talk of de-cluttering and reorganizing the desk to be used once again. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over the same way and yet expecting different results?
I'm just sayin'.................
.....headquarters of the home and business
Way back when I first started this blog I began going through different rooms in our house.
I got away from that and I'd like to go back.
We spent time on our porch, in the foyer and the kitchen.
Since I am working on organizing the office I thought I'd share that with you.
We go through the doors into the foyer with the grand stair case leading upstairs and passages on both sides to either the living room or the library. When we turn to the left of the stairs we see a brass sign that says, "Library" (a gift from our daughter that she found at a yard sale!). Next to that is a display of antique keys on the door framing. As we pass through the library to get to the office you will see books on shelves on all but one wall. Against that wall is my dad's piano. Scanning the room quickly as we walk through you will see many antiques, and what used to be another fireplace but is now being used as a book case for storing more books----it is unfinished. We will spend some time in my library sometime soon, but not now. We go through a large framed-in opening in the wall that will some day contain either portieres or French doors.
These rooms used to be a living and dining room before we remodeled this old Craftsman duplex. There were identical ones on the other side of the house which are now all an open living room. The floors are hard wood and there is lots of woodwork on the windows and doors that match them. This is the side of the house where the owners lived, a mirror-image of the other side (which they rented) except
for a larger kitchen, a full bathroom, and the later addition of a large picture window where a single one used to exist and a closet added onto the room.
This is our office.
It is now where we keep family files, things for the landscape business my husband owns, a phone, bookcases and a hutch for office supplies and where I hide many entertainment paraphernalia behind closed doors on the bottom.
There is a bulletin board on the wall, some files, a printer, my father's desk, my mother's office chair sitting atop a red, gold and green Oriental-type rug. The off-white walls will be painted a dark gold. The decorating theme is patriotic as can be seen in the decor on the walls and shelves. It is the warmest place in the house in the summer and the coldest spot in the winter. The huge picture window is hidden behind curtains and a long, tall hutch because the triple plane glass cracked as the house settled in the years after we moved it here---something we were told to expect but hoped to avoid. Since we are planning a big remodel in the next few years, done a little at a time, it hasn't been fixed yet. When it is, it will be made smaller and out of stained glass and this may morph again into a formal dining room, the ample closet being paneled, Craftsman-style, into a lighted china, silver and crystal area and the door removed.
There are shelves holding business files, manuals, proposals and the statements we send out. On another book case are old family-friendly movies in VHS that we loan out to friends all the time.
. Sitting at the desk I can see out the library window to the front yard and porch. There is a closet that houses games, puzzles, toy bins for the grandkids, extra folding chairs, tables and a vacuum cleaner. The office has another door-less opening that leads into the kitchen and dining room with a short hall with door leading to the bathroom, a utility closet and is a walkway into the kitchen/dining area.
"The room" as it was once called for lack of a clearly definitive use at one time, has had many names over the years we have lived here.
My vision for this room even before we moved it out here to the country was for it to be a schoolroom. I home schooled our children from 1982-2002 and I thought being off the library, and the kitchen and bathroom would be very handy. Oh, I spent hours joyfully decorating and organizing it similarly to the one we had in our previous home. There was a large black board, a huge bulletin board (both purchased for a few dollars at an after-fire school sale, bookcases, alphabet cards all along the walls, shelves, the usual school room art work, and construction paper caterpillars with the names of books read on each segment inching their ways around the schoolroom walls. We even got some lift-top desks after a school remodel. We had a wooden and iron college note-taking desk and a pre-schooler-sized antique wooden desk with an ink well in it. There were maps, science posters, globes of Earth and the Moon, lots of paper, sharpened pencils, scissors and glue, paints, markers and pens. It was perfect.
Well, it would have been except for one thing.
When our house was on the university campus where it was built over 100 years ago there was a pear tree in front of the picture window. Whenever we went there on campus to work on the house before it was moved we saw wasps all over that tree. The tree had to be removed and before it was destroyed, or maybe because of the cool Fall temperatures, the wasps must have moved inside the walls of this room. As the house was finished and after we moved in and the house began to warm up the wasps decided to come in where it was warmer. At first we'd notice one or two a week but later there would be 20 or more a day crawling from the closet and flying toward the window in front of the children's desks. We could hear them hit the glass and we'd run to swat them. After sunset they would gather on the chain of the antique light fixture and sleep in the warmth coming from it. When my husband would get home he would spray them with ether and we'd stomp them all. They were very slow wasps, not aggressive at all like yellow jackets or other wasp and hornet varieties, but this drill was getting old. So, the kids were moved to the kitchen table, the school room being used primarily for storage of the school supplies and textbooks. After a few years of not really using that room, the kids became more comfortable at the dining room table, or on cold winter days gathered around the wood stove studying, doing seat work or listening to me "lecture" them, read to them or having discussions on different topics.
I mourned the loss of that room as a school room. It was so cute!
The kids didn't really care. Eventually the wasps disappeared totally,
but the room was never to be a schoolroom again.
It became my husband's office. This didn't work out. Whereas my husband is not a messy man, he is decidedly not a paperwork kind of guy. He would prefer a smile, an agreement and a handshake to all the hoops that must be jumped through now if you own your own business. This would work for him because he is a man of great integrity. But............. Things piled up on the desk making it an eyesore. So, the huge desk, files, everything was exiled to a far, hidden corner of our unfinished basement where it still sits, unused, today. There is talk of de-cluttering and reorganizing the desk to be used once again. Isn't the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over the same way and yet expecting different results?
I'm just sayin'.................
During a time when my mother and grandmother came for a visit, the room became a guest room. It remained a guest room for quite awhile and several guests occupied it as did I after major surgery 12 years ago. Shortly after that it was reborn as the office that it is today. After we got a computer it was put in here. I got a bookcase to store the business things and it has become more and more useful as an office. Here I write my blog, communicate with family and friends, do the business billing, proposals, handle correspondence for the business and manage the home. For years we just called it "The Room" because after it was no longer used as a schoolroom it had no identity or function.
But it is now comfortably "The Office"..............
I am the primary user of the room. It is my bridge, cockpit, driver's seat. I am the "gal Friday" as they used to say.......or the wizard behind the curtain! It is from here that the home runs. I am the source in the home. I make plans, take care of minor details, organize everything, plan our menus, keep track of what's going on, keep things running. I have always loved jobs, in the days before children when I worked outside the home, where I was that source. I love being the one everyone comes to for help, the one relied upon to keep things running smoothly, behind the scenes, not the boss/head, but having the glorious role of meeting others' needs, serving others, making an oasis, a refuge from the world, setting the mood or what I call
"the countenance" or flavor of the home.
Oh, how I love this.
We women at home are sources, facilitators within the families. Facil in French means "easy". So a facilitator makes everything easier, more comfortable, for others in the running of the household. We are trusted, relied upon, needed. There is creativity involved, a spirit of being that servant as our Lord was on Earth and as He commands in His Word. We need management skills, tact, knowledge in so many areas, strength, patience, respect and a huge amount of creativity especially as times get hard for whatever reason.
This room, as I look around it, has elements that are needed for my vocation, my high calling.
- Renewing my heart and spirit: my bible and prayer (which I can take with me anywhere I go), access to family, good friends, sisters in Christ, Christian women's blogs. Chatting with, emailing and FB "chats" with my family and friends, "skyping", and a box of kleen-ex for when I miss my family or when I pray.
- Organization: a desk, planners, lists, phones, computer, paper, pens, files, a place for toys, calendars, a clock, business shelves, bulletin boards, organizers.
- Creativity: my bible, a book of poems and prose, a hymnal, books filling the library, a comfy place to sit, a view to the outdoors, a computer to write or type out my lists, my menus, ideas, Pinterest, Christian women's sites/blogs, my blog, "chat" and "skype" with those who are far away, a nearby piano, music and art hanging on one wall almost floor to ceiling.
- Fun: a bookcase of movies, a closet-full of games, toys, puzzles, craft supplies, and lots of books.
- Entertaining: a calendar, a phone, computer, plates, punch bowls, pizza plates, pasta plates, disposable forks, knives and spoons, napkins, table cloths, large serving bowls
- Thankfulness: my bible, scripture cards on a bulletin board, patriotic decor, family pictures, a window, view of the foyer, library, the porch, dining room, living rooms and the things that occupy them. Being within ear shot of my husband arriving home so I can welcome him.There are many more things I could list given long enough to think about them.
But, the little basket on my desk reminds me that I have things I must accomplish today, yes, here at this desk in our office.
Pray for strength in the hard times, in the times you are exhausted (I stayed up until 5am looking for two pieces of paper I needed for today. I found one.)
God is near unto you. Stay near unto Him.
Guard your hearts, ladies.......you have been given the most wonderful job in the world.
Enjoy this day and your most high calling.
Kathi~
Quick Tip
Easy Mexican sauce:
Mix equal parts salsa (homemade or store-bought, canned or fresh)
and sour cream (I like brands that are just milk, cream and salt)
Sometimes I add a mashed avocado and/or some freshly chopped cilantro
Yummy, great on salads or for baked dishes. Wonderful dip also!
and sour cream (I like brands that are just milk, cream and salt)
Sometimes I add a mashed avocado and/or some freshly chopped cilantro
Yummy, great on salads or for baked dishes. Wonderful dip also!
I adapted this from a recipe that called for equal parts salsa, green chilies
and canned cream of chicken soup.
Cottage cheese works well with baked dishes as a substitute for the canned soup too,
but not for salads; unless you whirl it in a blender.
and canned cream of chicken soup.
Cottage cheese works well with baked dishes as a substitute for the canned soup too,
but not for salads; unless you whirl it in a blender.
I haven't had Mexican food since I became sick in late February. This week I'm planning to make several Mexican dishes for immediate eating, and for the freezer. Leftovers from each dish will go into the making of Albondigas (meatballs) soup for Monday.
Tomorrow night------beef (pasture-fed and finished on pasture) tacos!
Enjoy!
Ole`
Kathi~
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Happy First Day of Spring
........Do you like the color brown? How about gray?
Oh, look, the first sprouts of green!
........Do you like the color brown? How about gray?
Oh, look, the first sprouts of green!
Yesterday it snowed here.
And it was gorgeous!
Today we have gotten some sprinkly rain.
The sun is shining only occasionally on the very tops of our foothills and mountains
which are still covered with snow.
This is Springtime in the Rockies!
I am glad today is gloomy
for no other reason than I have soup planned for dinner tonight.
Our soup meals will turn into salad dinners as the weather gets warm.
We hope to get the usual spring rains soon
Our soup meals will turn into salad dinners as the weather gets warm.
We hope to get the usual spring rains soon
so our summer will be a green one and there won't be any,
or as many, forest fires.
Years ago we got thunder storms, brief and sudden wild storms
or as many, forest fires.
Years ago we got thunder storms, brief and sudden wild storms
that left everything so freshly green, golden with sunlight
and almost always leaving a rainbow or two for us to enjoy.
So far we have robins everywhere all fluffed out because it is cold.
Bunnies---okay, rabbits---adorable cottontails are hopping around our property probably looking for nests and greens to munch.
Yesterday's snow melt and the Sun revealed green grass sprouting up in our lawns and pastures.
Spiders, flies and wasps are coming alive inside our house---this I do not like.
So far we have robins everywhere all fluffed out because it is cold.
Bunnies---okay, rabbits---adorable cottontails are hopping around our property probably looking for nests and greens to munch.
Yesterday's snow melt and the Sun revealed green grass sprouting up in our lawns and pastures.
Spiders, flies and wasps are coming alive inside our house---this I do not like.
Everything is starting to come back to life----both the good things and those I consider bad,
which I am sure God created for a reason other than to annoy and scare me.
My mind wanders to how I want to plant our porch pots and planters, the new redwood planter my husband is planning to build, whether eventho' we're "not" growing a garden per se this year whether we should at least grow tomatoes, plant winter squash to cover certain areas of the yard, potatoes for the chickens, oh, and I MUST have pumpkins to bring in during Autumn. Oh, yes, and I saw on Pinterest how to grow perfect carrots in big porch pots and celery and lettuce from the stems I ordinarily chop up for the chickens. And.........
You see where this is going?
We do this every year that we do not grow a garden.
We usually end up with 12 to 25 tomato plants, lettuces, pumpkins, winter squash, zucchini and patty pan summer squash---oh, and sunflowers for the wild birds.
This is us NOT growing a garden!
Our friends laugh when we tell them, "No garden this season."
They know.
For us this is a ritual of Spring.
which I am sure God created for a reason other than to annoy and scare me.
My mind wanders to how I want to plant our porch pots and planters, the new redwood planter my husband is planning to build, whether eventho' we're "not" growing a garden per se this year whether we should at least grow tomatoes, plant winter squash to cover certain areas of the yard, potatoes for the chickens, oh, and I MUST have pumpkins to bring in during Autumn. Oh, yes, and I saw on Pinterest how to grow perfect carrots in big porch pots and celery and lettuce from the stems I ordinarily chop up for the chickens. And.........
You see where this is going?
We do this every year that we do not grow a garden.
We usually end up with 12 to 25 tomato plants, lettuces, pumpkins, winter squash, zucchini and patty pan summer squash---oh, and sunflowers for the wild birds.
This is us NOT growing a garden!
Our friends laugh when we tell them, "No garden this season."
They know.
For us this is a ritual of Spring.
It is as certain as the rains, the sun, the birds and flowers.Spring is full of promise.
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..."
Ecclesiastes 3:1
I love the expectation of it all.
I hope you do too!
Kathi~
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..."
Ecclesiastes 3:1
I love the expectation of it all.
I hope you do too!
Kathi~
Wellness Wednesday
..... a journey of baby steps
Conversation 1973:
"You want us to eat what?"
"I want us to switch to natural peanut butter and wheat bread."
"Well my mom always bought natural peanut butter but you want us to eat that weird brown bread?"
"Yes."
"Gross!"
And so began our journey into the world of good nutrition.
squash, onions, garlic, peas, green onions, pepper, sprouted tortillas,
tomatoes, fruit, broccoli, cucumber, organic green tea, romaine,
raw nuts and seeds, brown rice, whole oats
butter, yogurt, kefir, cheese, eggs
Conversation 1973:
"You want us to eat what?"
"I want us to switch to natural peanut butter and wheat bread."
"Well my mom always bought natural peanut butter but you want us to eat that weird brown bread?"
"Yes."
"Gross!"
And so began our journey into the world of good nutrition.
tomatoes, fruit, broccoli, cucumber, organic green tea, romaine,
raw nuts and seeds, brown rice, whole oats
butter, yogurt, kefir, cheese, eggs
In case you're wondering, the person who instigated this conversation was my husband who was in the USMC. I no longer remember why he requested this, he had also grown up with white bread, but unlike me, he had always used the fake peanut butter. He kept a jar of peanut butter, a jar of jam and a loaf of bread in the refrigerator on base so he could make PBJ's fresh, for himself every day for lunch.
I didn't eat the "weird" bread at first but got curious and tasted it one day. I liked it so I started eating it too. I wasn't a fan of PBJ's, never having been served them as a child, but I did like natural peanut butter, so, that change was easy.
We ate at that time what was considered a normal diet. A typical dinner was baked chicken (probably the kind with flavoring or salt added), a tin can of green beans, boxed re-hydrated potato flakes with margarine, biscuits made with a white flour baking mix topped with margarine and an iceberg, tomato and cucumber salad with my homemade wine vinegar and polyunsaturated vegetable oil salad dressing.
Dessert, if there was one, was usually from a box mix of some sort.
Dessert, if there was one, was usually from a box mix of some sort.
When we found out we were expecting our first child I began to read books on pregnancy, attended La Leche League meetings and we went together to childbirth classes. All of these promoted good nutrition. Honestly, I had never thought of food other than the taste and calories before.
During that time there was little interest in nutrition for the most part.
In spite of that, our healthy diet journey continued.
During that time there was little interest in nutrition for the most part.
In spite of that, our healthy diet journey continued.
The next changes in our diet were switching from white sugar to brown, from bleached white flour to unbleached (don't laugh, at least we were trying) and later, freshly ground whole wheat. After our baby was born I began training to teach natural childbirth. The Bradley Method was very big on nutrition so I learned a lot more at that time. I began to make whole wheat bread by hand and later with a Bosch mixer. We toyed with being what back then was called vegetarian (vegan, at that time, meant something totally different). We made a 7-grain cereal by cracking our own soy beans, wheat kernels, whole oats, rice, barley and I forget what else and cooking them for just a few minutes. This porridge was so heavy, crunchy and bitter and apparently indigestible since it gave us horrible stomach pains as did the Brewers' Yeast we sprinkled on everything. We were assured that our bodies would eventually get used to these foods. But, after two years, they did not, so we discontinued the more offensive foods---the heavy carbohydrate grains. We felt so much better and had greatly increased energy and no more pain.
The pendulum had swung a little too far.....we had gone overboard and suffered for it.
But such things happen on journeys.
The pendulum had swung a little too far.....we had gone overboard and suffered for it.
But such things happen on journeys.
We grew tomatoes outside the quadraplex we lived in sharing the fruits with our landlady.
When we moved here we planted our first garden. Later we raised chickens for eggs and once for meat.
We kept turkeys, pigs and bought a lamb and my husband hunted and fished.
Our freezers were filled --- one with meats, the other with vegetables and fruits. Once we got gardening down and the soil built up, our shelves were stocked with hundreds of home-canned, pickled and fermented vegetables and fruits. We stored about one hundred pounds of winter squash and pumpkins in baskets all over the house. About 200 lbs.of potatoes and 50 lbs.of red and yellow onions were stored in burlap sacks hanging in various places. Corn that was past its eating-prime dried on the cob by our wood stove to be ground into corn meal, the cobs used for kindling, while homemade fruit leather dehydrated into chewy deliciousness in our greenhouse bay window.We bought raw milk. I churned our own butter. I made yogurt with the milk by incubating it in a gallon glass jar in a goose-down sleeping bag in a warm closet overnight. We fondly, and often, recall one Thanksgiving, sitting, the three of us, at our big window in the candle-lit dining room watching the falling snow satisfied that everything we were eating we had hunted, raised and made ourselves. It was a wonderful feeling. During this time our health changed for the better.
When we moved here we planted our first garden. Later we raised chickens for eggs and once for meat.
We kept turkeys, pigs and bought a lamb and my husband hunted and fished.
Our freezers were filled --- one with meats, the other with vegetables and fruits. Once we got gardening down and the soil built up, our shelves were stocked with hundreds of home-canned, pickled and fermented vegetables and fruits. We stored about one hundred pounds of winter squash and pumpkins in baskets all over the house. About 200 lbs.of potatoes and 50 lbs.of red and yellow onions were stored in burlap sacks hanging in various places. Corn that was past its eating-prime dried on the cob by our wood stove to be ground into corn meal, the cobs used for kindling, while homemade fruit leather dehydrated into chewy deliciousness in our greenhouse bay window.We bought raw milk. I churned our own butter. I made yogurt with the milk by incubating it in a gallon glass jar in a goose-down sleeping bag in a warm closet overnight. We fondly, and often, recall one Thanksgiving, sitting, the three of us, at our big window in the candle-lit dining room watching the falling snow satisfied that everything we were eating we had hunted, raised and made ourselves. It was a wonderful feeling. During this time our health changed for the better.
That is how our journey started. Over the years I have witnessed many take the first baby steps on their journeys to good eating. We eat a good portion of our food raw, we buy organic and non-GMO food whenever we can grow, find or afford it. We eat things that support different systems of our bodies concentrating on weak areas. We still enjoy a good steak out or a fast food juicy hamburger occasionally and I only wish my husband enjoyed Asian food out as much as I do. We do eat graciously and thankfully at other homes even if the food is not what we'd normally eat.
But the majority of the time we eat in a very healthy way.
But the majority of the time we eat in a very healthy way.
We are probably still on that journey learning new things all the time. But there comes a time after this many years, when except for the supplement or health food du jour we have pretty much seen it all. We throw out what we feel is a food fad or information that will simply change again in a few years. Everyone is familiar with good nutrition even if they choose not to follow it. "New" things that are coming out we have seen before----things come and go but the basics of good nutrition stay pretty much the same.
I will strive to encourage you to think about what you eat, make wise choices.
You have been given a body to be a good steward of so I urge you to do the best with what you've got.
And I hope to help you save money as you go.
And I hope to help you save money as you go.
I will continue this subject every Wednesday. It will be more in depth as we go along. But first I wanted to give you an idea where I am coming from and where we've been.
I hope you decide to start out, or continue on your journey of good nutrition. Take it one step at a time.It's not that hard and the benefits outreach your own health and that of your family.
Kathi~
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Wellness Wednesdays
.....something new starting tomorrow
I know when I first started blogging in January I wrote that I would not badger anyone about good nutrition. I feel the same way now. However, I have become frustrated at times feeling as though I could not, should not talk about healthy foods. So, I have decided that on Wednesdays I will discuss certain topics regarding bettering our nutrition and hopefully, health. So, if any of you are not interested or are against eating this way then don't read my Wednesday blogs.
Simple.
I do not want to offend or judge anyone but I do want to give sound information. Being rather generic in my recipes---altho' you may have noticed that lately I have added certain health words to my blog----has not worked for me.
I am hoping this will work.
I must say that I know what it is like not to have enough money to buy foods you know are healthier for you. I hope things I have learned over the years will help you to afford those things you would like to eat that are healthier. We spent many years in poverty and even in the good years have struggled to a certain extent. We still cannot afford to buy everything as nutritious as we'd like it to be all of the time.
I understand.
I will share our story sometime with you so you will understand that I do sympathize.
.....something new starting tomorrow
I know when I first started blogging in January I wrote that I would not badger anyone about good nutrition. I feel the same way now. However, I have become frustrated at times feeling as though I could not, should not talk about healthy foods. So, I have decided that on Wednesdays I will discuss certain topics regarding bettering our nutrition and hopefully, health. So, if any of you are not interested or are against eating this way then don't read my Wednesday blogs.
Simple.
I do not want to offend or judge anyone but I do want to give sound information. Being rather generic in my recipes---altho' you may have noticed that lately I have added certain health words to my blog----has not worked for me.
I am hoping this will work.
I must say that I know what it is like not to have enough money to buy foods you know are healthier for you. I hope things I have learned over the years will help you to afford those things you would like to eat that are healthier. We spent many years in poverty and even in the good years have struggled to a certain extent. We still cannot afford to buy everything as nutritious as we'd like it to be all of the time.
I understand.
I will share our story sometime with you so you will understand that I do sympathize.
I have experienced hard times over the years.
I know what it's like to live hand-to-mouth, being in more of a survival mode.
I know the feelings, the fears, the needs, the humiliation...
I also have felt the gratitude toward those who help, to those whose hearts God,
I know what it's like to live hand-to-mouth, being in more of a survival mode.
I know the feelings, the fears, the needs, the humiliation...
I also have felt the gratitude toward those who help, to those whose hearts God,
Himself, has touched to help in times of need.
So, always following the theme of this blog "doing the best with what you've got",
I hope to help those of you who want to change or who need encouragement and ideas
to eat a healthier diet.
If you're not interested come on over anyway if you're curious.
Hope to "see" you here tomorrow for the start of the journey to better nutrition!
Kathi~
So, always following the theme of this blog "doing the best with what you've got",
I hope to help those of you who want to change or who need encouragement and ideas
to eat a healthier diet.
If you're not interested come on over anyway if you're curious.
Hope to "see" you here tomorrow for the start of the journey to better nutrition!
Kathi~
What a Beautiful Day
..... springtime in the Rockies
..... springtime in the Rockies
This morning: Our front steps
This morning: Icicles off our porch eaves, one of our mountain ranges in the background
Monday was on the cool side and very windy here.
The sun was out early in the morning but later just peeked out
occasionally through the dark clouds' gatherings.
The weather was in a teasing mood yesterday. The clouds spit baby flakes off and on, the wind howled making empty hanging pots spin and then suddenly be still.
Even the robins, which appeared early this year, hopped all over as if confused.
About dinner time we looked out the window
Monday was on the cool side and very windy here.
The sun was out early in the morning but later just peeked out
occasionally through the dark clouds' gatherings.
The weather was in a teasing mood yesterday. The clouds spit baby flakes off and on, the wind howled making empty hanging pots spin and then suddenly be still.
Even the robins, which appeared early this year, hopped all over as if confused.
About dinner time we looked out the window
to see thick, wet, snow flakes coming furiously horizontal...... wet and thick, sticking to everything!
Snow is part of Spring here.
I love the suddenness of weather changes in the Spring.
It is as if the earth is laboring to change from winter to spring.
About bedtime we had about 3 inches from what we could tell, the snow having drifted in the winds.
This morning dawned brightly sunny which made the snow glisten.
I awoke to the sound of birds outside our bedroom window which always delights me
but drives our two cats crazy with a re-awakened lust for avian flesh!
Later finches greeted me from the brambles that are our porch vines.
Their coloring was soft against the stark woody vines, the white snow glistening in the sunshine and the blue skies. It was gorgeous!
Later finches greeted me from the brambles that are our porch vines.
Their coloring was soft against the stark woody vines, the white snow glistening in the sunshine and the blue skies. It was gorgeous!
As the sun warmed up the snow it began to melt, slowly at first, forming icicles on the roof eaves.
The snow on the ground began to melt into puddles.
There were drifts up to our front door that spilled in a bit when the front door was opened.
My husband scooped a pathway out to the vehicles.
I almost hated to see the snow touched. It is so beautifully pristine even with deer tracks across it.
There is a delightfully fresh scent after snow has fallen that I love.
The snow on the ground began to melt into puddles.
There were drifts up to our front door that spilled in a bit when the front door was opened.
My husband scooped a pathway out to the vehicles.
I almost hated to see the snow touched. It is so beautifully pristine even with deer tracks across it.
There is a delightfully fresh scent after snow has fallen that I love.
Tomorrow is officially the first day of Spring. Here, that doesn't mean a lot.
Getting snow on that season's first day is fairly common.
I dislike weather that is stagnant---gray skies, brown hills and mountains.
Weather, especially stormy weather, amazes me.
A friend once told me to consider the power of God during the storms, especially during wintertime.
This has helped me as I asked God to show me the beauty of cold, harsh winters.
He has graciously revealed the beauty of flocks of geese and ducks, the sound of snow falling, the howling of the winds, the crackle of a fire, the sound of ice cracking and the rush of water that often follows, deer walking in snow .... there is dramatic beauty in the winter.
Getting snow on that season's first day is fairly common.
I dislike weather that is stagnant---gray skies, brown hills and mountains.
Weather, especially stormy weather, amazes me.
A friend once told me to consider the power of God during the storms, especially during wintertime.
This has helped me as I asked God to show me the beauty of cold, harsh winters.
He has graciously revealed the beauty of flocks of geese and ducks, the sound of snow falling, the howling of the winds, the crackle of a fire, the sound of ice cracking and the rush of water that often follows, deer walking in snow .... there is dramatic beauty in the winter.
Thankfully I now see stark beauty in cold nights.
But I find I must be out in it to truly experience it's beauty.
But I find I must be out in it to truly experience it's beauty.
Winter and early Spring have a certain scent, a sound and sights peculiar to those times of year.
This is the first year in over 30 that I have actually been a little sorry that Winter seems to be disappearing. Every season has things I love during them and things that I don't care for---but every God-sent season has its own signature on the earth. Perhaps you, like me, need to search out the beauties of each season.
Just as we cry out for the cold season to end and be replaced by Spring, we will in due time as it gets hot cry out for cooler weather, complain about the bugs, we will tire of watering our lawns and picking flowers. Our gardens will become toilsome as we reap and put food by, and we will be counting the days until Christmas. There is always something to complain about as they say.
It is human nature.......
Life is so much more enjoyable when we accept what comes without complaining. In a bible study years ago at our home a young college student said that he thought we had to stand on our heads to see things as God does. And he was right in a way. His ways are not our ways.
He never promised us perfection here on Earth.
The interruptions in what we expect out of life frazzle us: the snow when the calendar says, "Spring" .... baby-cries when the clock says, "Sleep" .... late-night talks with a needy loved one, when our brains say, "Go to bed" .... the stranger God has brought across your path when your mind is saying, "Rush, rush!" .... the potty-training toddler whose needs are urgent, when you lament, "I've been in this line for 15 minutes." Spilled milk, children, laundry, cleaning, cooking, shopping, the needs of your husband.....and on and on .... this is the stuff life is made of.
It is not always at our convenience or in our well-thought-out plans that our lives occur.
Just as we cry out for the cold season to end and be replaced by Spring, we will in due time as it gets hot cry out for cooler weather, complain about the bugs, we will tire of watering our lawns and picking flowers. Our gardens will become toilsome as we reap and put food by, and we will be counting the days until Christmas. There is always something to complain about as they say.
It is human nature.......
Life is so much more enjoyable when we accept what comes without complaining. In a bible study years ago at our home a young college student said that he thought we had to stand on our heads to see things as God does. And he was right in a way. His ways are not our ways.
He never promised us perfection here on Earth.
The interruptions in what we expect out of life frazzle us: the snow when the calendar says, "Spring" .... baby-cries when the clock says, "Sleep" .... late-night talks with a needy loved one, when our brains say, "Go to bed" .... the stranger God has brought across your path when your mind is saying, "Rush, rush!" .... the potty-training toddler whose needs are urgent, when you lament, "I've been in this line for 15 minutes." Spilled milk, children, laundry, cleaning, cooking, shopping, the needs of your husband.....and on and on .... this is the stuff life is made of.
It is not always at our convenience or in our well-thought-out plans that our lives occur.
I believe we need to embrace those interruptions as from the Lord.
(I am not referring to suffering here or major catastrophes and trials which are a whole other topic). But the simple, daily, not-so-bad-as-we-think interruptions. Look on these as ways that God is teaching us to accept life in stride, in reality, in patience with correct priorities. Be thankful we have sweet babies to keep us up at night, children whose messes we clean up, husbands who can't find things or who make messes, be grateful for the friends God has given you and who trust you to give an ear when they need to talk or cry and who are "there" for you too. Be thankful for the oft-frustrating sharing of the gospel with someone when God opens that blessed door.
It is hard sometimes, but much of what bothers is is because of the way we look at things.
Yeah, I'm anxious for spring, flowers, leafy trees, butterflies and sunshiny warmth.
But this sudden, return of winter-like weather was beautiful.
It was a gift not only for the earth here but for us. Can we marvel at the goodness and power of God even if it's not what we want?
Oh, we'd be so much happier if we would.
We should make an effort to truly feel
"This is the day which the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24
Enjoy your day and evening no matter where you are and what it is like.
Kathi~
Oh, we'd be so much happier if we would.
We should make an effort to truly feel
"This is the day which the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24
Enjoy your day and evening no matter where you are and what it is like.
Kathi~
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