I’m reading Pilgrim’s Progress again, and each time through I see some other aspect of Bunyan’s spiritual insight. Faithful is telling Christian about his journey and his encounter with a character aptly named Shame. He is trying to convince Faithful that it is just not cool to be religious.
“Why he objected against religion itself; he said it was a pitiful, low, sneaking business for a man to mind religion; he said that a tender conscience was an unmanly thing, and that for a man to watch over his words and ways, so as to tie up himself from that hectoring liberty that the brave spirits of the times accustom themselves unto, would make him the ridicule of the times. He objected also that but few of the mighty, rich, or wise were ever of my opinion; nor any of them neither before they were persuaded to be fools and to be of a voluntary fondness* to venture the loss of all, for nobody else knows what. He moreover objected the base and low estate and condition of those that were chiefly the pilgrims, also their ignorance of the times in which they lived and want of understanding in all natural science. Yea, he did hold me to it at that rate, also, about a great many more things than here I relate; as, that is was a shame to sit whining and mourning under a sermon and a shame to come sighing and groaning home, that it was a shame to ask my neighbour forgiveness for petty faults, or to make restitution where I had taken from any.”
*want of sense or judgement
1. Remember Spring is coming. It always does. God keeps His promises. Believe Him and think springful thoughts.
2. God is patient. He does things slowly. Winter (usually) comes on slowly and it (usually) leaves slowly. Be patient like He is.
3. Be busy! This is why so many magazines feature cleaning, organizing, and purging tips. You can’t work in your garden, so clean out the linen closet or re-paint your laundry room. I’m painting mine blue.
4. Try some new recipes. Experiment with some new ingredients, and go for the colorful.
5. Put a bright spring runner (or tablecloth) on the table. Stick some tulips in a bright red pitcher. Don’t be afraid to use fake ones.
6. Have some friends over for lunch. Light a fire.
7. Pick up some daffodils at the grocery store. Get the ones with the tightest buds and you can watch them open. But don’t put them in the same vase as the tulips….it will kill the tulips. Unless they are fake tulips.
8. Take a nice hot soak and throw in some lavender epsom salts. Or just soak your feet. That works too. And while they are soaking, read through that stack of Christmas newsletters.
9. Find a new ironing board cover at one of the January white sales.Then you can iron those shirts or toss them in the Goodwill pile. You choose.
10. Bundle up and go for a walk with a friend. On icy walks. Wear boots. And scarves. And mittens. Stay warm.
Now I want to hear your ideas!
Just had to share a little incident with you all. An uplifting vignette from my week.
The other afternoon, I was feeling a bit smug and pleased with myself for having gotten a roast in the oven . . . a level of thinking ahead on the dinner plan that does not always happen. (When it does, I like to celebrate with a little quiet smugness.) Anyhow, dinnertime rolled around, the table was set, drinks were poured, and I pulled the roast out of the oven. Imagine the severe blow that my smugness received, when it turned out that the roast was not cooked through. (Long story, and you don’t want to hear about it, but it all came down to the fact that I didn’t have a pan with a lid and my little improvised solution threw off the cooking time.)
So. There we were. We had to resort to a quick fix of some sort, and there weren’t really any options floating around in the cupboards. But, happily, the kids had all gotten their report cards from school that day, and a fun little perk is that they get gift certificates to Arby’s based on how many “A”s they get. We had a few of those to cash in, so we decided to do that for dinner.
Off we all toddled to Arby’s. On the way there, my mother-in-law called and I was chatting with her on the phone as we walked in. Ben took the kids up to the counter to order, and I stood back a little to finish my conversation. Continue reading ‘And that’s why they call me Grace.’
We lost the use of our kitchen sink on New Year’s Eve. At first it was just slow draining, then it worked a bit. Then, right after the shrimp scampi pan was washed out in the disposal side, it gave up. Apparently there was a lot of foolishness in the plumbing below the house, and the serious plumbers felt that it needed to be re-done.
Well, let me tell you: take a moment, and go bless your kitchen sink. After four days without one, I am ready to write sonnets for it. Four days of dirty dishes in the dishwasher, crumbs on the counter requiring a trip off to the bathroom (!) to fix. We bought paper goods. I still didn’t know what to do with leftover cereal. The toilet? I just went with a garbage bag. I couldn’t bring myself to wash dishes in the bathtub – yucky on so many levels. So we just held on. Our poor sink was shrouded in a garbage bag. It smelled!
So today was a bit of a reunion day really. Our sink is a homely little aluminum thing, but how I love it! It has water! And when I get peanut butter on my knuckles (truthfully that had more to do with trying to make a PBJ with a plastic spoon than anything else), I just step right over to it and it helps me out. I don’t need to take a jog down to the bathroom before starting the jam half. Yes, I love my sink. I love it so much that I busted into my gift stash and gave it a new dishcloth today, just to celebrate. Oh – and that bowl of mashed peas and rice – well, a few days ago, what would I have done with it? Besides this, of course…
A while ago my sister-in-law asked me about a story she remembered Bessie telling about a dress. I had no recollection of the story, but I asked Jim (my father-in-law) about it later, and he filled me in. So here you go, Monica!
Back when Bessie was attending Prairie Bible Institute with her friend Dottie (she graduated in 1942), they both were in need of new dresses, and neither had the means to buy one. So they decided they should pray for new dresses. Dottie prayed for a beautiful dress, and Bessie prayed for a simple dress. Though I do not know the details of how their prayers were answered, I know that each received what she had prayed for: Dottie got a gorgeous new dress, and Bessie got a plain dress. Dottie’s exhortation to Bessie was something like, “See, Bessie, you need to ask God for big things, not just little things! You need more faith!” And so Dottie was right. Bessie, like many of us, felt reluctant to ask for anything extravagant…just the bare minimum. But Dottie had a faith big enough to enjoy God’s bountiful blessings.
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