Help!

"Help"! That's the desperate e-mail exclamation she sent to me, this mother of eight—half way around the world—with children ranging from 3-12 years of age.

Her church family was condemning, her house was a mess, her husband was not pleased.

I wanted to be there, to comfort and bless, but here I am in another hemisphere, only the world-wide web and a keyboard connecting the two of us.

But I know there are many, many others, on every continent, who feel very much the same way.

First, we must realize that we don't have to be "capable"—no Super Mom's allowed!

Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29, NIV)

This club is not for the faint-of-heart—merely for those who understand that their only hope is in trusting God, like King David and all those uncelebrated sojourners found in the Faith hall of fame; the ones who pleased God and walked with Him in obedience by faith alone.

Next, call out to Him with all of your heart, tell Him everything, have a good cry—but don't remain there! We must repent (if necessary), then put on the garments of praise and simply make a new beginning. Let God's peace come.

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Encourage yourself in the Lord—remember, He dwells with the lowly in heart, with those who are at their end. The Apostle Paul describes Him as the "God of all comfort". Imagine snuggling close to Him, like a chick nestled under the wing of its mother (Psalm 91). Even when he disciplines us—it is with love and not with condemnation.

You know, it only takes one touch of the Master—just a little glimpse of His face—and then everything falls into its proper perspective...

...then come to the realization that you have a wonderful job—an offering of very great importance to God.

You are the keeper of your home and its spirit. You are an artist with a broad canvas.

With His guidance what will you create? Will it be defeat and chaos—will you succumb to the lies of the adversary? Or will you rise up in the strength of the Lord and do battle?

Pray—that your arms will be strengthened. That your mind will be clear. That you will be lead by the Holy Spirit of God.

4Show me your ways, O LORD,

teach me your paths;

5guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long. (Psalm 25:4-5)

Believe—with David, "By my God, I can leap over a wall, I can run through a troop, I can bend a bow of bronze".

Make a start—by curtailing church and even homeschooling and begin focusing in on the biggest problems, one at a time.

Pitch—everything that clutters up your life; TV, computer time, telephone conversations, paper trash, things you are saving "for tomorrow", clothes that are "just slightly damaged" yet can't be repaired. Pair everything down to the essentials, then breathe a great sigh of relief!

Set short term goals that can be met and then get on a schedule—wake up even if you don't feel like it. Exercise too! Get disciplined. Pay attention to your appearance and dress appropriately. Remember how you used to prepare to meet your husband before you married him? Allow God to bring the results—keep your eyes on Him!

Don't let yourself hide from your duties by surfing the Internet and longing for someone else's life. Look closely at just where you live—really take it in and be like Pooh and "Think, think, think".

Get a vision for your home. Don't make it look like anyone else's home—rather, make it an expression of you, the way God created you, with the things you have in your hand (no comparing with others allowed).

Make a place for everything, and then put everything in its place—return each item after you use it.

Rearrange the furniture so that things look organized and comfortable to you and flow together better for the living you and your family do there.

Think of your husband as your "client". You are not just acting as a maid, but as a window dresser—creating artistic displays of love and solace in every room.

Wash the fingerprints from the walls and the windows. Scrub the floors, polish the furniture. Get serious about your cleaning and invest in some good tools (they don't have to be expensive--no gadgets!).

When your house is all shipshape, just sit and admire it—encourage your children to appreciate it along with you. Teach them how wonderful and peaceful it is to have order (remind them how frustrating it is to take an hour just to find a hair brush each morning, or a pencil, a book, or forks and spoons enough for dinner—tidiness is good for the mind and soul).

Let your feminine creativity flow in the kitchen—garnish your husband's dish and arrange it so it says with every bite, "I love you" (do you feel lacking in creativity?—tap into God's—He will show you. It's amazing how many women who are not creative at home have loads of it when working to impress an employer outside the home—remember that this is the most important job you will ever do!).

And make those kids behave—quit falling for that perverted thing we women sometimes call "love".  Refusing to give children secure boundaries because we are afraid they might feel hurt or rejected for a brief second is not the God kind of love—it is a selfish counterfeit. Tell them when they will rise, what they will wear, and what they will eat and do, and let them know that disobedience has consequences. Be impenetrable when it comes to things that count, but never, never sweat the small stuff—if the milk spills, smile and wipe it up—no need to take it out on a dear little one! Allow them room to be creative, but always keep in mind that even the mighty ocean has boundaries!

Show them what a real woman looks like by working beside them—working faster, better and harder than any female in any other profession in the whole world! If you have invested your sweat and blood into your home, you will live with great satisfaction! (and those extra pounds may just start sliding off...)

Then, after you are experiencing a bit of peace, slowly add some homeschooling time, and gradually even some time for church, but be willing to back off if things get out of order again.

Be diligent, thankful and cheerful, and you will have much less to bicker about, and soon everyone will rise up and call you blessed!

God boring?

I once read about an atheist apologist who didn't want to go to heaven. He didn't want to go there because he considered that praising God for eternity would be the most boring thing he could possibly think to do.

God boring?

Morning has broken.

I don't know what dark cavern he had been living in, but it occurred to me that he must have missed out on ever watching the sky in the still of the morning as the sun quietly arose, or as it dramatically set in the cool of the evening.

Somehow he had never experienced the breathtaking wonder of a thunderstorm, or listened to the surf when the sea was churning and the breaking waves struck the rocks upon the shore.

He must have never watched a newborn baby sleep or enjoyed the sweet scent of a fragrant flower in bloom. Perhaps he hadn't enjoyed the taste of a deliciously ripe orange so full of juice that it dripped down his chin.

He never considered the complexity involved in photosynthesis, the process by which all of life on earth is sustained (follow this link for a YouTube video that will impress you with God as the master-builder). He must have missed the memo that, with all of our "vast" scientific knowledge, we have barely begun to decipher just one level of DNA coding.

And what about the far-flung universe? Those lovely lights in the night sky aren't just stars, they are galaxies--an estimated 100,000,000,000 galaxies each containing 100,000,000,000 stars!

The wondrous Andromeda Galaxy

It occurs to me that God is anything but boring! I consider Him to be the most vibrant, creative, loving, interesting Person I could ever conceive of knowing! I don't think I'll ever run out of reasons to praise Him, not for an eternity!

He failed to grasp the basic truth that everything we enjoy, every mercy that covers us, every drop of rain or ray of sunshine, comes from God. We are not apart from God, but we are a part of Him--Acts 17:8, "In Him we live, and move, and have our being". This atheist did not realize that God causes the rain to fall on the just and unjust alike (Matthew 5:45)--He is not a respecter of persons--it is because of His mercy that we are not consumed.

22 It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed,
because His compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22-23)

I am sad to report that this dear man is no longer among us--he has already met his eternal "reward". I hope that he repented and accepted the free gift of God through his son, Jesus, before he passed (even the thief on the cross was forgiven by Jesus).

And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, To day shall you be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)

If not, he will definitely not be forced to praise God, but he will also have to miss out on all of His benefits--without any comfort, no enjoyment, no communication, cut off from everyone and everything,...forever.

11 And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: 12 And he said to him, Friend, how came you in here not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:11-14)


Why not try believing?

Interesting days in the life

Laundry--we do lots of it!


This last year I was blessed with a pair of those high-efficiency washer and dryer units. We had been using the basic front-loading Frigidaire, marketed under several other brand names, for more than a decade, but I felt that perhaps we should upgrade to a bigger drum, higher capacity model (but they are so very expensive).


So much for "efficiency"--though the machines work beautifully and wash and dry remarkably well, the new models have so many plastic parts that it has been down numerous times--all within the first year alone! Still I am very thankful and grateful to have them.


Take this last week. We had about five loads waiting when we realized the washer was flashing an error code. I just happened to know what this error code meant--the pump had debris wedged in it. And, the washing machine was locked up tight, so we couldn't retrieve the clothing it contained. Everything had to remain in the tub until the repair man came (fortunately, because it contained whites there was enough bleach in the cycle to keep the bacteria down).


After calling the repairman, (the one we pay for every month with an additional fee added to our utility bill--this is such a nifty program--I wish everyone could enjoy it as we do!), I was cheerfully informed by the lady on the other end of the phone that the repairman wouldn't come until Tuesday, and I was calling on Friday!


This would not be a problem for the "average"-sized family--with maybe four loads to do for the whole week, but there are still 11 of us at home! This means 3-4 loads each and every day!


Well, I was trusting God--He could handle this, and we would be just fine--buy paper towels, wear our clothing longer, reuse the bath towels, etc.


Then Tuesday came. We had stowed the frightening mound of wash in the garage (it was so cold that it crinkled when we moved it), but we were ready to tackle it all and get it done, even if it took us all day.

Find the baby.

However, after cleaning out the pump, the plastic cap would not reseal. Water, water everywhere, and not a washed piece of clothing to be found! We were told that it could take up to ten more days before the special order part would finally arrive...


...we were still not discouraged. My dear husband told us we could load it all up and take it to the laundromat. So we did.


Ten washing machines, eight dryers, four hours, and more than $30 later, we had nine baskets full of clean (sort of) laundry that we brought home to be sorted, folded and put away (we actually only own three laundry baskets, so we gathered up the huge cardboard apple boxes they use to load up our click-and-pull orders at Sam's Club in order to have enough containers--the kids use these in the basement as huge, stacking blocks to play with).


That was two days ago. This morning the door bell rang and my 12yo daughter excitedly brought me the box with the needed part--it had only taken two days! Praise His wonderful name!


Then, when I called for the repairman to come back out and install the pump, I was not only informed that he would be coming the next day, but that we would not have to pay for next month's premium ($33) to make up for the extra cost of using the laundromat--Hallelujah!


This was not a major catastrophe--just a little annoyance. It is important to live a joyful, thankful life so that the "little foxes" don't destroy the vines and interrupt God's loving flow each and everyday. His blessing and provision shows His great interest in the mundane and insignificant issues of our daily lives--I'm sure you can all concur!

Lighten your load

Commit your works to the LORD,

And your thoughts will be established.

Proverbs 16:3

We are a planning, plotting, goal-reaching people. We are taught to strategize and have all of our ducks in a row.

With all of the danger and uncertainty in the world, people are looking for more ways to feel secure; with seminars on how we can make our money work better for us, how to stay out of debt and how to nail-down every aspect of our fiscal existence.

But we just don’t see it—at least not yet. God is not impressed with all of our vain efforts. Of course, Biblical principles will never steer us wrong—but if we miss the God that speaks these principles, we will still miss the greatest blessing of relationship with Him!

Life is not easy—no matter how one tries to make it seem so. I know some people who live what I call “prophylactic” lifestyles. They don’t just live—they are making sure that they have accounted for every contingency. They exist according to a plethora of checklists for everything from leaving the house to preventive medical tests and exams. Many are even religious for the same reasons; they want to be sure they go to heaven, but their god is not the God of the Bible; but the god of "necessity" or even "convenience". He is a small, weak and deaf deity, unable or incapable of bringing them through tragedy and heartache. Their goal in life is not to glorify the true God and enjoy Him forever; their goal is to keep themselves “safe” from trouble.

I don’t know if you’re like me, but I have observed that those who love God don’t usually live “safe” existences. I am reminded here of all the saints in the Word who followed God not by "sight" but by "faith" alone. King David certainly loved God—he was declared to be a man after God’s own heart! And yet, he went through so many trying circumstances—fleeing from King Saul after he was anointed, even living among the Philistines for a time, posing as a madman.

Even Moses was not without trials because he chose to walk with God. The prophets of God had to hide and run as a lifestyle. Jesus didn’t even have a place to lay His head. The Apostle Paul told his son in the faith, Timothy, the following:

10 But you have fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long-suffering, charity, patience, 11 Persecutions, afflictions, which came to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me. 12 Yes, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:10-12)

Richard Wurmbrand, the gentleman who founded the ministry, Voice of the Martyrs, was not concerned about his own safety. He purposely spoke the truth during a time when to do so meant sure imprisonment and most probably death. He suffered near starvation, tuberculosis, and torture to serve God behind the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. He risked his life not only once, but even after he was released from prison, he boldly spoke out and was again mistreated for declaring and living his faith in Christ.

Today, many are heeding other voices--not discerning spiritually but carnally (human reasoning), as Paul in 1 Timothy 4 warns:

1Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. 4For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: 5For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:1-4)

Brother Wurmbrand wasn’t worried about retirement, or what sorts of diseases he would get by eating prison food. He was trusting it all into God’s capable hands and infinite wisdom, realizing that this life was a fleeting, passing thing.

After his release from prison, he lived quite a long and productive life, even without checklists and precautions.

We should not (and can not) plan for every contingency. Safety should not be our preoccupation. Obedience should be our focus with our gaze on Christ!

Obedience--not sacrifice!

Instead of looking to experts, we should be training our spirits to tune in to the voice of the Holy Spirit--following His lead.

As I have said previously, we did not decide to homeschool or have a large family because we were trying to be “correct” or “religious”—no, we were confident that trusting God was far better than trusting in our own understanding. We believed then and still do today, that His thoughts and ways were so far above ours, His ways are beyond finding out—so we decided just to trust Him to direct our paths.

God knows that, in our heart-of-hearts, our motivation was to know Him, to trust Him, and to obey Him, no matter how it seems to others and no matter what the cost. And so, even if some days it looks as though the Philistines are winning, we are sure that those things we have entrusted to Him, He is able to keep for us and for His everlasting glory.

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day. (2 Timothy 1:12)

We put all of our time, money and energy into raising this family of ours by His leading. We don’t have any retirement, but we are undaunted—our God is not limited by our circumstances, and we are not to be a picture of worldly perfection, but heavenly blessings.

In the words of Betsy ten Boom, “The safest place to be is in the center of God’s will,” (after suffering the privations of a death camp in WWII, her sister Corrie went on to travel the world and lived into her 90’s).

“Lord, if You say it, I will do it. Even if no one understands it; even if I am misunderstood. Even if it looks foolish. My love for You supersedes even my need for human companionship. You are my Treasure, my Great Reward in this life. If it pleases You, it pleases me.”

Decorating for the large family mother

I hope I did not give the impression in my post, entitled, Be who you are--that one style was either inferior or superior to another, and certainly mothers with many children of different ages have many factors to consider, as my dear friend Kim at Starry Sky Ranch has pointed out.


There is a more important question; as Believers in Christ, having our lives hidden with Him in God, and as strangers in this world, should we even be concerned with "style" at all? As usual (thank God) there is a higher way to look at this issue.


We were created by the Artist of all artists. His composition is the entire Universe and beyond the horizon of our understanding. This morning, as I marveled at the sunrise--His brush moved in bold colors and broad strokes across the canvas of the sky just behind my house. And it all seemed to be--just for me.


When I read the Word I find that He is a God of beauty, and a God of order. Beauty...Order.

A.W. Tozer on Creation

God dwells in His creation and is everywhere indivisibly present in all His works. He is transcendent above all His works even while He is immanent within them.

When I had a household full of little children and had almost nothing in my hand, I learned that order came first. Having things clean, even if they are old and worn, is so very important to one's sense of well-being.

I remember how over-joyed we were to live in our first "house" (we had been renting apartments before this). It was so spacious--with our own yard. It was just cheap enough for us to afford the rent every month--and this meant that inside it was not "new" looking. Whoever had rented before did not have a handle on cleaning. The stove was 20 or so years old and had grease and grime caked in every nook and cranny. The cupboard fronts were a definite "soil brown" around the handles.

But I had learned from all of the run-down places we had lived before just how a little cleaning and order could transform even the worst of hovels--much how Christ takes and transforms the worst of sinners!

Not having the extra money for expensive cleaners, I used what I had. I did have some baking soda and some dish soap, along with a rag and an old toothbrush. So I mixed the baking soda and the dish soap together into a paste and tackled all of that greasy grime. The toothbrush helped me to get into even the small cracks.

Before long, that whole kitchen was above respectable--with a large bay window looking out to the backyard--I dare say it was pretty, at least to me. It was not the latest and greatest--it was old and out-of-date, but it was blessed. My dear children and I spent so many hours in that room--with meals and homeschooling--it became a very special place to all of us indeed.

I remember watching a documentary about a mother living in a hut in Haiti whose husband had either died or abandoned the family. Even without a pan to cook her food in, the camera showed her carrying her baby about on her hip as she swept her dirt floor with a home-made broom--everything she owned was neat as a pin--I would have felt very comfortable visiting with her there. Being poor, or at least feeling poor, is not an excuse. We must overcome the evil of this world with good--especially when dealing with the filth that has been unleashed because of the fall of man.


Bathrooms are also extremely important. If the toilet looks dirty and smells, it makes the whole house seem out of order. Where there is hard water, it sometimes takes some Lime-Away to cut through the deposits at first, but afterwards just a little maintaining can do the trick. The whole porcelain unit needs to be scrubbed and disinfected--including the surrounds at the bottom. I try and use bleach on these areas on a regular basis to keep odious bacteria to a minimum.

I developed the habit early-on of maintaining the bathroom every time I used it--I often only had a few minutes between my other responsibilities to my family, so I used what was in the room instead of hunting all around for cleaning supplies. I got so good that I could clean a whole mirror spotlessly with just a little water on some toilet paper. I used some toothpaste on toilet paper to scrub the ring around the tub, and even gave the toilet and surround a quick wipe (sometimes I used a little mouthwash for its disinfecting properties).


I have also learned over the years to get rid of the "eye-sores"; those things that make your eyes ache every time you see them. Among this list are piles of worn shoes, stacks of mail and other business, drawers with clothing sticking out of them, toys that are out-of-control, rows and rows of partly-used bottles of shampoo and other solutions, beds that are never made.


For one thing, we don't use dressers for the most part--we hang up everything except for small items and underwear. This has done wonders for our clothing--it keeps them from being shoved behind and under so that we never see them, it keeps them nearly wrinkle-free and always presentable, it lends us more space in the bedrooms, and it keeps things looking neat and tidy. Today you can find many closet organizers--some are available at quite reasonable prices--the main thing is to be creative.


My grandmother had the most fascinating house, especially for a child. I used to spend hours and hours just looking through her things (she used to call this "prowling"). She had lived through the Great Depression and so was prone to collect and keep things around, especially crafting supplies and antiques. Even though it was great fun to me, it was a horror to look at day after day. It was also a major operation to prepare for guests, and the weight of it all caused a lot of frustration and anxiety.

When we refuse to throw things out (or give them away to someone who could use them) we are actually wasting more time, energy and money than we are saving. Unless the things we save are actually useful to us, (or are a family heirloom), if we hold on to them indefinitely they are more prone to ruin (dust, moths, water damage, etc.), and we may not even be able to find them at the time we need them most--so we will have to go out and buy new anyway! There are exceptions to this; seasonal clothing, seasonal decorations, children's clothing and the like. I use the "six-month rule" for pretty much everything else; if I haven't required an item in the last six months, I probably don't need it.


A lot of our effort in saving things actually is rooted in a lack of trust that God will take care of us, even if the future should turn bleak. Along with being frugal, we must learn to aways trust in His provision. Giving to others, however, ensures that we have treasure stored up in Heaven, where nothing can touch it. Also, if we plant seeds and help meet the needs of others, God tells us we will reap a harvest that will bless us in our times of need.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Keeping inventory of what one has and using it up, buying only what one needs, and keeping from impulse buying of products we don't honestly need will keep us from warehousing a lot of half-empty containers all over the house. If the shampoo is mostly gone, adding a little water to it and shaking it will ensure that it is completely used--then the bottle is tossed--hurray!


And sentimentality needs to be kept in check--we can't keep every little scribble our small children make; by now I could have filled a couple of garages with all of the incredible things my children have created! Except for a few fine examples for our memoirs, we need to remember that the greatest things, the things we can all cherish for the rest of our lives, are the acts of kindness and love we give to one another, and let God keep these for us. Often, at the end of life, these are the things that matter most--not even jewelry or family heirlooms survive such things as flood, fire, or war. Keeping this perspective will free us from a lot of the weight that sentimental clutter piles on us.


Along with order and cleanliness, there must be beauty and comfort. No matter what my means, I must attempt to create an environment where people can feast their eyes and rest their bones.

The venerable attitude of the Proverbs 31 woman applies here. She is described as being at the business of beauty and comfort for her household. She was "gathering goods from afar". There is a reason that women like to shop--it is a part of our gifts and talents as females. Of course, this is often perverted by our own sinful tendencies and can become a monster that can ruin us. But, in the right place and time, our skills at spying out deals can greatly benefit our families and friends.


With God's blessing, even $5 worth of goods bought at garage sales can give us all sorts of amazingly creative possibilities. Old curtain valances can cover worn table-tops. Sheets can become curtains. Washing old pillows and sewing covers for them from cast-off clothes is another way to spruce things up (even if we don't have a sewing machine--hand-sewing is not only cheap, but therapeutic, especially while sitting watching a movie with the family). I received as a Christmas gift this year--a fantastic reading/sewing LED lamp--that I can hang around my neck for just such a time as this!


I love buying stoneware--a piece here and there--and putting them all together, lots of times sticking to a certain color-scheme, such as blue or gold--everyone seems to have a set that has pieces broken, so I can usually buy them up for a song.


Even if you don't feel naturally "creative"--God is, and He will help and guide you. I once had a friend who had grown up in the streets of LA--definitely not from a nurturing, Christian environment. But she became a devoted Christian, with a family. I was so very blessed when I entered her home--so lovely in every way, with wall-paper accents, her furniture all in order and well-maintained, cute aprons hanging merrily on the side of her kitchen (this was a rented house--her husband was in the Army). When I complimented her, she was quick to tell me that she had no idea how to keep home--but she had relied on the Holy Spirit to guide her.


My favorite homes I have visited were first neat and clean, then filled with the personalities of those who lived there.

A pastor and his wife once had us over to eat. This couple and their five children had returned from the mission field not too many years before, owning only the clothes on their backs. The wife had scoured yard sales and purchased wicker furniture, repainted it, and recovered the cushions to match. the coffee and end tables had a rectangular piece of hunter green contact paper placed in the centers to cover the scratches and then were embellished with flowers, etc. We ate at a long table covered with a pretty flat sheet that had been saved for special occasions. All of the rooms were neat and clean. More than this, the children obviously loved the parents, and vice-versa, which made for a delightfully peaceful environment.


Last year, when we thought we were to move closer to my husband's work, we visited many houses. The most charming was a home that was full of creativity--there may have been even a few mid-century-modern pieces there, but it was obvious that the mother who lived there was not driven by self-importance; she had filled each room with the beauty that was from her heart. It was an older house, but so much care had been taken--that it was more impressive than even new construction. Everything said to us "come and sit a spell!"


On the contrary, we also visited a vacant home that was full of pretension--the entrance boasted a vaulted ceiling and real wood flooring--making it seem cold, with every sound reverberating throughout the building--and that's what it was, a building and not a home. But that was not all. The master bedroom measured approximately 20 feet by 30 feet, and at one end was the most ostentatious bathroom I have ever seen. It was divided from the rest of the room by a 3-quarter height wall of late 1940's glass blocks, and behind these was a tub the size of a small swimming pool, and a shower that was bigger than some kitchens I've cooked in, with spraying nozzles mounted in every direction! It made us wonder if the house had been built for a family of penguins! It had a definite "style", one that had since been abandoned for the next series of new ideas, so that it just seemed plainly repulsive to us.


Bringing the outdoors inside is a wonderful way to reflect on God's beauty. Using real or silk plants and flowers is a good way to begin. This Thanksgiving our son, Ryan, walked to the nature preserve by our house and put together a huge show of fall grasses, etc., arranged neatly in an old flower vase and placed it in the dinning room. At the close of this last summer, he also gathered Russian sage and made one wreath for the dining room, then made another with sage combined with peppermint and lemon balm from our own garden for my office. The girls also have lemon balm and peppermint hanging in small bouquets on their walls, and a bird's nest filled with "eggs" (small, smooth stones) that was found abandoned in our yard on their desk.


Having children around, especially small children, does limit some of the types of furnishings, colors, etc. that can be utilized. For one thing, we do not have white carpeting or white couches! Our coffee and end-tables corners are all rounded--no sharp edges for small ones to fall against!


We have purposely chosen fabrics and coverings for our furniture that are well-suited to a lot of traffic. Leather is always well-wearing, if we are careful not to allow sharp objects around it. Dark, repeated patterns seem to keep wear and dirt from showing up, making things look newer much longer. Putting covers on arm rests will help them to last longer. An industrial-type carpet with area rugs is a way to have longer-lasting carpeting.


So many of the items I see every day were not bought at all; many were found, given to us, or were created from what we have had on hand. And, of course, we have also needed to buy the best of what is available, within our budget--often not our hearts' desire, but we have learned to be content and thankful, which makes everything we own (stewards over)--covered with the beauty of godliness!

Menu download

I thought you might enjoy seeing what I have been doing with the menu--no I don't always make one, sometimes life is just too unpredictable. But it is nice when I can make one for us all--sometimes I do it before I shop, sometimes after. Adaptable--that's the ticket!

The children were not eating their oatmeal in the morning--I have to say I didn't blame them. It was not being prepared currectly--not enough liquid so it turned into a solid mass. So along with adding more liquid, I have taken inspiration from the Quaker Oats site and added all sorts of nifty toppings--the pan was scraped clean this morning! Sam's Club has huge bags of frozen fruit that cut down on the price.

I don't make a separate plan for every day of the month, just a one-week plan that is repeated for four weeks.

Here's the link for the menu plan in Word format.

Happy New Year!

God's done it again--He's given us a new year to look forward to! Along with this new beginning--His precious promises belong to those who put their trust in Him.

This last year has not been without its trials, but God has been exposing and doing His wonderful work--there are still areas where this old gal needs some repenting and replenishing, how about you?

Along these lines, I love to take this special time to clean out and refresh my "systems" while God is helping me with the internals.

So here's a little something that helped get me going, I hope it will help inspire you as well:

ORGANIZE

Open your eyes to new faith-filled possibilities.

Recognize your need for order--God is the Lord of order!

Go for it! Get enthused and walk in the joy of the Lord!

Ask God for guidance through the power of His Holy Spirit--this is not just "housework"--this is a major part of your service to Him!

Now is the time to reclaim your home from frustration, chaos and fear!

It may take some work--but don't give up! Even if you are poor or on bed rest--ask God for creative ways to positively impact your home environment and encourage your loved ones.

Zero in on problem areas and think about centralizing things like shoes, baking supplies, toys, school supplies, paperwork, etc. 

Expect the best--keep positive--and expect your family to be part of keeping things in order--don't forget to delegate and inspect!     

Let all things be done decently and in order. 

1 Corinthians 14:40