Saturday, February 27, 2010

Spring




They're here!!! I knew it would be soon with this fantastic weather we've been having and so I've been checking. Today, a beautiful crocus unfolded in the sunshine!!

"For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singin has come." ~ Song of Solomon 2:11-12


- Posted by Becky using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, February 26, 2010

Change

Just fiddling with my blog look & layout tonight if anyone happens to stop by & wonders why it looks different. I've had it the same for 3 1/2 years. Time for a change.

Unfortunately, I've got NO photo/image editing software these days. Photoshop died along with my laptop & this one has me trying to use the frustratingly limited options in 'Paint'. *grumble*

I'll get it worked out soon!

:)

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Grumpy

I'm grumpy today. I'm trying my best to 'shake it off' but its still lingering. I guess I just got up on the wrong side of the bed today. Coffee hasn't cured it. Breakfast didn't help. A long hot shower was nice but here I sit, grumpy.

I haven't got anything to complain or grumble about. Its a beautiful sunny crisp morning. My son is napping. My dishes are already done. So why the scowl on my face? I don't even know if I want to be fully ungrumped. It feels good sitting here feeling grumpy. Isn't that a foolish thing? To ENJOY being grumpy? DO you ever feel like that?

There is so much joy to be had and I know it would feel BETTER to be joyful than content in my grumpiness so I'm going to find some. I'm paging thru the Psalms & Proverbs, trying to lighten my heart & soul.

I read "Make a JOYFUL shout to the Lord" in Psalm 100:1.

"my heart is GLAD, and my glory rejoices" in Psalm 16:9

"This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be GLAD in it." Psalm 118:24

"May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be GLAD in the Lord." Psalm 105:34

"A merry heart makes a CHEERFUL countenance." Prov 15:13

Friday, February 19, 2010

What Can I Do Lord?


I love being a 'stay at home mom'. There is fun & joy & creativity & laughter in so many minutes of the day!
But in the quiet moments where I have a few minutes to be alone with my thoughts, I feel lost. Like I want to be doing something, something good, something helpful, something for others, something for God!

In between the giggles & the diaper changes, the laundry & the dishes, the bookkeeping and the meal cooking, I'm amazed that there is some time left for me to even wonder this. But here I sit, my Bible open before me, time on my hand and wondering where I can fit in this world to do something good with the few minutes I have.

Oh sure, there is always another load of laundry I could do, invoices to be entered or just extra time for quiet meditation, but I think I'm longing for a new purpose.

Sometimes I think it could just be loneliness in these quiet moments. Husband is at work, baby is sleeping & friends are unavailable. Yes, I definitely get lonely but I don't think having a coffee visit with a friend would fill this need. (although I'd certainly take those opportunities as well)

I have a need to be creative, a need to be useful. I'm sure we all do. But there's more to it. How can I be creatively useful to God? How can I help others in need from here at my kitchen table?

Here I am, Lord! Use me!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Rock

"When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I am." ~Psalm 61:2

This is one of my favourite verses. I blogged with this verse & photo when I first started blogging. You can re-read that entry here.

My heart is feeling a little overwhelmed & heavy today. All is well in our world but there is so much going on in the world that the sadness feels like it is bogging me down today and so I am pouring through the book of Psalms trying to find my favourite uplifting verses.

I like thinking of God as our Solid Rock & uplifter! It has been a few years since I've been rock climbing or mountain climbing but the analogies are still fresh in my mind when I read these verses just as if I was clinging to the edge of the cliff at that moment!

I know life lately has felt like we were just clinging to the edge, unsure of whether we should go up or down, waiting on God's direction, and really wanting to just let go and praying He'll catch us before we hit 'rock bottom'.

Other times it feels like we really are at the bottom & its a mess down there. Gooey sinful, sorrowful mess and we feel trapped, reaching up, wanting to see the sun again. Luckily we have help from The Son.

"For in the time of trouble... He shall set me high upon a rock, and now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me." ~Psalm 27:5-6

"He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps." ~Psalm 40:2

Despite our small faith, God is faithful!

What's your favourite ROCK verse?

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Clean Up


"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." ~ Psalm 51:10


Housework! It never really ends does it! You sweep, you vacuum, you wash floors, you wash dishes, wash the laundry, dry the laundry, fold the laundry, put away the laundry. And then, lo & behold, you have to do it all over again. I'm not complaining, just stating a fact. There is always housework to do!


Today I decided to wash my floors. Usually I use a microfibre mop head that I can throw in the wash when I'm done. But I wanted to mop quietly (no rinsing & repeating in the sink) so I decided to use a few of my disposable wet Swiffer cloths. Quick & convenient and throw them away when I'm done.


However... I HATE the smell of these! They are scented with Febreeze. Oh how I hate the smell of anything Febreezey. I have the exhaust fan running as I type this trying to suck the stink out of the house.


I have a bad 'Febreeze Memory' you see. Once, years ago, I had a rented suite in this gorgeous heritage house. Well, with old houses (and new) you can't always prevent a few critters from getting in. We knew there were mice rumored to be in the house but we tried to make sure there was nothing in their capabilities to get into. Alas, we still found them turning up. But one day, we smelled something awful... something DEAD and it was coming from the icky old stove. Nasty... I cook food on that thing.


We had to take it apart and could tell that they had spent some time hanging out in the insulation in the back. Yuck... but where was the smell coming from? Took the back cover off and found not one, but two dead stinky mice behind the electrical bits. Guess they got zapped when nibbling an electrical wire or something. GROSS!!


So, we cleaned it up the best we could, bought some Febreeze and sprayed the entire house. And then left all the windows open & went out so it could 'de-stink' while we were gone. But Febreeze mixed with dead mouse smell will forever be impressed on my memory banks and every time I think of or smell Febreeze I think of dead mouse smell. No, I won't be using those Febreeze smelling Swiffer mops any time soon. They do the job of course, but the smell & the memories it brings up is not pleasant.


All this to say that cleaning with Febreeze can compare to the necessary cleaning of our souls & hearts. Our hearts & souls can easily get blackened with sin & complacencies of every day lives & our habits. As with household chores, often it can be a lot easier to make the mess & ignore it than roll up your sleeves and clean it up. Likewise with sin.


Sometimes there is an easy pleasant way to clean things up & get back on track with God. A prayer to ask for forgiveness, a new outlook, a conviction to renew your 'steadfast spirit'. But other times its not that easy or pleasant. Perhaps in the process of cleaning up your heart you might happen to dredge up painful memories, or you have your sin piling up like laundry in front of you, unveiling the 'stink' that is truly is. It may be hard to let go, unpleasant to admit. And we may wish that we could just do it simply, a quick prayer & voila, I'm all cleaned up. But it really isn't that simple sometimes. You might have to push through the painful memories, the present 'stink' of your sin in order to be truly clean.


Laundry doesn't fold itself. Floors don't shine without a little help. Don't think you need to do it on your own either. There is good news! God will help you. If you want to change, renew, be cleaned, He is there to wash you off & put you back on your feet, if only you'll ask Him & be willing to let Him, even when its tough.

"Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow." ~Psalm 51:7

Friday, February 05, 2010

Well Done, Good & Faithful Servant

"Well done, good & faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." ~Matthew 25:23


Reading the book of Matthew this week. I like to read a gospel, or all the gospels from time to time, mostly just to refresh myself. But this particular passage stood out to me. Sort of convicting like.

You see, I have a lot of passions, things I get excited about & want to talk about to anyone who will hear, even strangers. Ask me about my son, cloth diapering, breastfeeding, outdoor photography, Africa, Italy, hiking, etc etc and I can probably passionately talk your ear off on all of those subjects. But ask me about Jesus, ask me what the gospel is, ask me to talk to people I barely know about salvation and I'll probably be standing there speechless, unsure of what to say or where to begin... cricket noises echoing in the silence.

I'm definitely falling short of the 'good & faithful servant'. I'm not multiplying the return of the free gift the Lord has given to me. I'm shy to talk about it and probably quiet when asked about it.

I often get questioned, even mocked, for things like cloth diapering and yet I stand my ground & hold my head high knowing that I'm doing what's better for my son, better for our wallets and better for the environment. And I have several good pieces of information to the doubters of why they too should use cloth diapers.

Where is my courage, my defense, my quick answers for things of the Lord?

Yes, I'm indeed feeling conviction after reading this & am trying to remind myself how much MORE important it is to share the message of salvation than ALL other things I might be passionate about. Time to rekindle that passion for Jesus so I too can one day hear "Well done, good & faithful servant."