It Just Stinks

Oh!  The crazy battle against the stink bugs.  It is the perfect time of year to have the windows open, but I just hate the battle with these stink bugs which have an uncanny way of finding all the openings in my screens.  They seem unusually plentiful this September.  Fall is on the way and hopefully will remove these nuisances from the area.  I am reminded every time I pass a trash can of just how many I have had to kill in the past few days (There is a reason that they are called stink bugs).

It is hard to believe that October is just around the corner.  I am working on an Autumn bulletin board for church today and hoping that the laminator works quickly.  It also seems like a good day to mow before some predicted rain this weekend.

Harmony

There is nothing like tight harmony. 

I love the sound of a good quartet or trio ...

I love the harmony of great, old hymns ...

I love the workings of an intricate sonata or concerto. 

I am thankful that God's Word works in harmony with itself.  Of course, that only makes sense, but sometimes it is just so clear.  Sunday morning, I taught about the 10 plagues in Sunday School and how God showed His power - teaching His children that they could trust Him.  The morning message from Mark 11 was simply "... have faith in God."  Hubby spoke Sunday night from Habakuk and Romans 1, "the just shall live by faith."  And then last night a message from Psalm 77 reminding us to rest in the character of God when things just don't make sense.  I also was in Habakkuk for my own Bible reading on Wednesday which reinforced all of the lessons.  Hmmm?  Perhaps I am supposed to be practicing more faith in my life? 

Industry

Proverbs 31:18

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good:

her candle goeth not out by night.

The virtuous woman is industrious.

Whatever she puts her hand to is good.

She knows she has done her best,

used the best materials,

created something worthy to be sold.

She has worked hard.

She works into the night if she needs to.

She is prepared at night to meet the needs of her family.

What are you putting your hand to today?

Will you give it your all?

Are you just "limping" through the day?

Practice industriousness!

Back to Routine?

I think I mentioned that I had guests over the weekend.  Spent yesterday cleaning.  Today, finished listing more toys on ebay.  Hope to be back with some Proverbs 31 tomorrow!  Don't think I will be back to actual routine until after the county fair (September 27-October 7). 

Clearing Out

Well, I mentioned last week that I was fall cleaning.  I still need to shampoo the rugs, but other than that, the work is done.  I also mentioned that we were priveleged to be involved in packing a moving truck last week which always inspires us to pare down on our belongings.  So, this week has been filled with PLAY!  We spent much of the week building and photographing "vintage" legos for sale on EBAY.  We were saving so many toys for the "what if," but, no longer.  They must leave.  We are hoping to sell enough to make our first large order to Amazon for gluten free grains :)

I am also looking to sell a wedding dress.  Do any of my readers have a good source?  Any ideas?  I have our local Bible college to try and a consignment shop in town, but perhaps you know of another idea. 

Not In My Hands

Proverbs 21:1 

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,

as the rivers of water:

he turneth it whithersoever he will.

On this Thankful Thursday I am thankful that God can direct the heart of anyone to do His will and to meet the needs of His children. 

On Tuesday, hubby had to stay home sick.  Usually he would have just worked through the cold, but with company coming this weekend and 11 days of tract distribution at the fair starting next week, we thought it best to try to just stop the respiratory problems early.  It is a tough decision though when you are paid hourly and have no sick days :)  Hubby returned to work on Wednesday and the boss told him that he planned to pay Chris for a full day on Tuesday.  Praise the Lord. 

Are you practicing thankfulness today?

Balancing Strength

Proverbs 31:17

She girdeth her loins with strength,

and strengtheneth her arms.

This noble woman reminds me again to just do right.

I imagine that her regular activity was so intense that her arms and legs

were strengthened daily without walks, crunches, lunges, and bicep curls.

I, on the other hand, have so many modern conveniences and must make an

effort to stay strong through regular exercise.

Why exercise?  Why be strong?

When I am healthy, I am more useful to my family and the body of Christ.

When I am healthy, my medical bills are lower.

When I am strong, there is less work that I have to pass to hubby

after he has worked a long day in the shop.

When I am strong, I am a better helpmeet to hubby and his projects.

As an added thought:

The strong, virtuous woman must take care to continue to be a lady.

This lady is not seeking to "best" the men around her or to be involved in "hard" labor

 when there are plenty of men around.

This lady is not trying to prove herself or to belittle men.

She is merely prepared to work wherever she finds herself.

Troublesome Tongue

Proverbs 17:27-28

 He that hath knowledge spareth his words:

and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.

Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace,

is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips

is esteemed a man of understanding.

... or as my 4th grade teacher would say,

"it is better to shut your mouth and let people think you are dumb,

than to open it and remove all doubt."

Fall Garden

We heard yesterday that hubby's brother in Alaska had already seen snow! 

I, on the other hand, am enjoying the bright green of my first fall garden. 

I am hoping for vegetables, but if the frost comes first ...

... the healthy plants sure have cheered me this September!

The taller of the climbing plants are green beans, the other peas.

It is a grey, rainy day today - good for the garden.

And it is cleaning day ...

so TTFN (Ta, Ta For Now)

Autumn in the Air

Did I mention that this week has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL?!?!

I love the feeling of fall in the air. 

The fall cleaning has been much more pleasant and satisfying with the windows

wide open and the smell of fresh air throughout the house.

This afternoon - the house smells of fresh bread -

so nice to bake in the middle of the day -

and looking forward to a slice of bread with my baked potato soup.

Tomorrow will be busy.

We are headed about 1 hour north to help a church pass out tracts

at their town's APPLE FESTIVAL!

Also looking forward to taking in the arts, crafts, and of course some apples!

Too Many To Count

It has been a very good week in many ways.  There are always so many things to be thankful for ... especially if I will just open my eyes to look for them.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful ... a/c is off, windows and blinds open ALL day, 65* in the trailer in the morning, long walks any time of the day.  I am greatly enjoying the autumn-like temps while they are here. 

Because the weather has been so beautiful, the fall cleaning is going so much faster ... clean walls, clean baseboards, clean window treatments ... and the smell of the outside on the inside.  I still have the "catch-all rooms" to clean up ... but so far things are going well.  If the weather holds, hopefully we will rent a steam-cleaner and get the carpets done again soon.

Besides the relief from the heat, God provided other ways of relieving stress in my life this week which is a real blessing.  There were many things to learn through the stress, but relief is also sweet.

I am thankful for the opportunity to "purge" of things again.  God has sold some of our "extra" baggage this week through eBay and in the process of cleaning there is more to sell in the coming weeks!  As we watched our neighbors go through the stressful process of a move, we reaffirmed that we want to move one day with the same size truck that we came to NC with.  That is not an easy proposition, but the physical and emotional weight that is lifted by living simply is priceless.

Virtuous, wise, and hardworking

Proverbs 31:6

She considereth a field, and buyeth it:

with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

Whenever I read verse six's description of this virtuous woman,

I am reminded that I need to have wisdom and common sense in my day to day life.

Her husband appears to trust her to take care of weighty business matters for the family.

This woman thinks before acting - she "considers."

She knows that the land will be profitable for her family, she counts the cost.

Then she not only buys the land ... she uses it!

I often think that I need something and then it soon sits gathering dust.

Not this woman ... she sets to work making her purchase a blessing.

She is not afraid of the work that it will take to provide produce for her family.

Common sense ...

Thoughtfulness in purchases ...

Hard working ...

of value to my family ...

More goals from the virtuous woman to strive for.

This week I am working on fall cleaning.

Tedious, but well worth it when it is finished.

He is Near

Psalm 75:1 

Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks,

unto thee do we give thanks:

for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare.

"thy name is near"

God is with us.

His name is declared in creation.

His name is declared in the happenings around is.

Just another of the many reasons to give thanks.

Support

I spent much time cooking over the weekend.  Had a going away "crunch and munch" at church.  Meatballs, Knox blox (called "giggle jiggles" in my recipe book), lemon bars, veggies and dip.  In the process, I also had to bake some gluten free/dairy free bread so that I could have some bread crumbs for the meatballs.  Hubby didn't mind because that meant that we could have cinnamon toast for breakfast and toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch - such simple pleasures.  He also was glad I was making knox blox (to avoid red dye 40 and extra sugar) - because there was extra pomegranate/blueberry juice when I was finished.

We are not the only gluten free family and church and what a blessing that is at a church fellowship.  It is nice to be able to support each other and to have some extra choices among all of the typical American fare.  It is a little tougher to take the challenge to gluten and dairy free for their son - but worth it to help each other and encourage my little friend.

Green

I just finished mowing the lawn ... AGAIN!  It seems a little bit absurd to be mowing the grass every 6-7 days at the beginning of September ... but we are.  It is growing thick and strong like the spring grass - it was so thick after only 7 days that it took much longer than usual to mow.  I would like to complain, but the gardener in me is liking the looks of my second garden popping up strong and growing each day. 

The Dirty Work

I was reminded this week to be thankful for those that do the "dirty work."  On Monday, I discovered that I had a clogged pipe in the kitchen (who ever heard of running a sink pipe parallel to the floor?).  Hubby was home, so he graciously cleaned it out.  That was beyond NASTY!  It made me thankful for hubby and for all of the plumbers in the world who deal with that kind of thing daily. 

Then this morning, I went to take the trash to the roadside and discovered that the can and the trash bags were COVERED with maggots - GROSS!  I did my best to hose everything off before the trash men came, but they just kept coming from inside the bags.  Imagine facing that numerous times throughout the morning and week? 

I am thankful for these workers who do their job in order to make my life a whole lot easier.

Proverbs 31:15

She riseth also while it is yet night,

and giveth meat to her household,

and a portion to her maidens.

Oh, is this ever one of the hardest traits of the virtuous woman for me to practice - the flesh is so strong.  She rises early in the morning!  Yes, I need sleep in order to do the tasks set before me each day, but do I need as much as I claim, or do I just veer toward fleshly laziness?  It is easy to be slow to arise when there is "no place that I have to be."  I would gladly rise daily at 7 or 8 am, but that does not meet the needs of my household.  Why?  Hubby is walking out the door at 7:15.  Shouldn't he have breakfast prepared for him?  Shouldn't I pack his lunch?  Should he have to wander around in the dark? 

I have spurts of success in this arena.  When I am leaning on God and seeking His help to rise early, I see many benefits. 

• I have quiet time with God before the distractions of the day. 
• I start my day on the right foot.
• I can start a load of laundry and check something off my list right away.
• Hubby can have a hot breakfast (or a cold one) prepared for him.
• Hubby's lunch is well planned and in his box when he is ready to go.
• There is time to talk with hubby before he leaves for the day.
• More work is accomplished while hubby is gone (because an object in motion tends to stay in motion) allowing for more hubby/wifey time at night.