A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

 

... And a thousand thanks.

Thanks to God for sending rain.

Thanks to those who have been praying.

No guarantees that it will permanently clear the air,

But the relief is great today.

I Have An Addiction

 I am going through withdrawals

and they are not easy to deal with.

I am addicted to my almost daily walks

and to fresh air.

The past week and counting have shown me just how addicted I am.

As the air quality has been in the "hazardous" zone, we have stayed in.

It appears that the levels are coming down.

Today we are at the "unhealthy" level.

We are still praying for a good soaking rain or a favorable wind.

It will probably take a while to clear the valley,

also known as "The Valley of Death" because it traps air and allergens.

I have missed my nearly daily walks outside

and walking dates with my hubby.

An addiction to walking is not bad.

In fact, it is what has kept us sane many times in the past year.

Hubby is using a respirator to survive his days at work.

He mentioned possibly getting me one so that we can walk outside again.

We'll see!

Now, if only I could get addicted to broccoli!

WAITING, PATIENCE, BLESSINGS

 It is certainly rare that I write on a Saturday.

Then again, it has been an odd Saturday,

or perhaps an odd week.

On Labor Day evening, the smoke started drifting into our little town.

We have been inside most of the week because the air quality is so poor.

Our yard is full of ashes.

The siding on the house is filthy.

In fact, we tried to carry on with our Burgerville Friday night tradition last night

and they had closed due to the poor conditions (especially for the worker at the pick up window).

Today, we just planned to stay in for the day.

Usually, our Saturdays start with a "wog."

I am not a fast jogger and my jog actually looks like a fast walk,

so I call it a "wog."

We actually interval run together.

We will run for 3 minutes, walk for 2 minutes for 7 cycles - 35 minutes.

When we complete that, we will find a coffee or juice treat in town.

Then we finish our steps for the entire day (13,000) and head home.

Then we have brunch around 11,

clean up,

and then enjoy our Bible study for the day.

We started this schedule about 2 months ago and have really enjoyed it.

I only cook 2 times on Saturday and we enjoy something snacky in between meals or a special treat after dinner.

Today, we were not going to be able to interval run outside.

So we woke up and did a walking video inside.

A good 70 minutes of walking.

While we didn't get all of our steps for the day, it was a good start.

We carried on with our brunch tradition and enjoyed cinnamon raisin french toast.

Then we cleaned up and did our Bible study.

Then it was time for another 30-minute indoor walking video,

followed by a family movie.

How about another 30-minute indoor walk

followed by dinner?

We had a BBQ Salmon BLT salad.

Delicious.

And now we are blogging "together."

Later tonight, we will have a little strawberry shortcake as our treat.

All that to get to my point about waiting.

Right now we are doing a lot of waiting.

Waiting for an evacuation order?

Waiting for rain.

Waiting for the smoke to clear.

Waiting to walk outside again.

Life is full of waiting.

Last week, I thought about this verse because of some different struggles in our life.

Psalm 145:15

The eyes of all wait upon thee;

and thou givest them their meat in due season.

The true Christian life is one of dependence,

is one of patience and waiting, 

is one of trust.

I personally hate waiting.

I hate being patient.

But I have to remind my flesh that God's timing is perfect and His plans and blessings are worth the wait!

I don't necessarily know what "smoke" is hemming you in.

I don't know what you are waiting on.

But I do know that you are waiting.

Everyone is or should be waiting for God's next step in his/her life.

Just remember that it will be worth the wait.

He is waiting to give the blessing "in due season."

Looking for the Little Things

"He enjoys much who is thankful for little."

-Thomas Secker-

We should be thankful for the little things every day,

but some times those little things really become big things.

In Western Oregon, the weather is VERY moderate.

Air Conditioning, while nice, is not really a necessity like it is in some areas.

Because of the poor air quality the past few days, we have had to close the house up completely,

and we have become more thankful for the airconditioning in our little rental home.

It is just another "little" thing that God saw in advance 

and prepared for us and our comfort.

Today, I am thankful for our airconditioning.

Not Later, How About Now?

Two weeks ago, I wrote about some jobs that I have been putting off,

those undesirable jobs that are not weekly, but do need done more than yearly
or more than just when packing to move.😀
Did you check any of the undesirable jobs off of your to-do list?

Funny thing is ... after I mentioned some of those jobs,
I was actually forced to address some of those dreaded jobs.

The day I wrote that blog, hubby came home sick.
So when he recovered, ALL the bedding got washed-
duvet cover, pillows ...
and since he was also in the living room ...
throw pillows and covers and blankets in there as well.

I really liked the not so gentle prod to get moving
and downloaded a phone app that gives me a good list of those infrequent jobs divided by week.
The first week was fairly easy - entryway, dining room, and hallway.
It did include the cobwebs outside the door that needed to be removed.

Last week, the focus was on the kitchen,
so the cupboards got washed,
the dreaded refrigerator cleaned,
and the stove cleaned.

Because of the holiday on Monday,
I haven't started this week's focus rooms,
but it will be the guest room and the 3 bathrooms.
Since I just scoured the bathroom floors,
this shouldn't be too bad.

And once again, I am forced to address some other undesirable jobs.
This actually does have to be put off for at least a day or two.
The Eastern Oregon fires are creating a great mess in our little valley.
The air is thick with ash and there is a silvery dust EVERYWHERE outside.
So the newly formed cobwebs are emphasized and the whole house exterior will need to be washed down.
The sidewalk will need to be washed.
So while it won't be addressed until the air clears,
there is no choice but to get out there and get it done.
Oh, and I guess the car will need a good cleaning as well.

Always

"It is ALWAYS safe to trust the Lord

in times of famine and feasting,

blessing and bondage."

I recently started reading through Genesis again in preparation for my new Sunday School class.

The editors of this Bible had written this quote in the introduction.

They linked it to the generations in Genesis.

Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

They all went through hard times.

They all saw good times and bad.

Sometimes they met the times before them in faith.

Other times they met with self-sufficiency or doubt and fear.

Typically at the end of the trial, they had learned that reliance on God is really the best and only option.

We live in troublous times, don't we?

There is so much around us that in the flesh I want to take care of on my own.

But the right answer is always to trust God,

to be in His Word,

to be following that Word.

Even yesterday on our long walk,

we were mentioning all that God had done for us in the last year.

As we walked by apartment after apartment that was full or that wasn't open as hubby searched,

we recognized that God was in control to put us in a HOUSE that was right for us.
God knew that the apartment fitness center that we were ready to use would be closed for Covid.

He gave us a garage for plenty of workout space!

He knew better than we did the parts of town that were less than desirable because of drug activity.

He put us in a perfect location for work and shopping and walking.

As I mentioned, my flesh wants to take control,

to put everything in its place,

to know the next steps months ahead of time,

but where would the trust be in that?

Perhaps some of our struggles right now

as individuals, as families, as churches, as a nation

are a little reminder to us to just trust and obey.

Just do right.

As Elizabeth Eliot would say,

"Just do the next right thing."

Happy Labor Day!

 To each laborer who is contributing to the wellbeing of our country,

I wish you a very Happy Labor Day!

The laborer in our home had the day off

and we enjoyed a time of "rest."

Well, maybe it wasn't too restful.

We did get some extra rest (of about 2 hours) this morning.

We started with a couples workout or two - 

one for him and one for me.

We enjoyed brunch.

A fried potato and sausage hash, over-easy eggs, and some avocado.

After our Bible study,

we hit the road for a walk - one that lasted about 3 hours.

Our devices told us that we walked for about 140 minutes.

We did stop for a cold drink,

and did wander around a cool Hobby Lobby for a bit.

Then we picnicked for supper.

We grilled some burgers and shared a personal watermelon to celebrate the day and the unofficial end of summer.

We finished all that by about 5:00 and now the restful night begins.

I am enjoying blogging beside hubby tonight.

If you haven't checked out his blog,

check the sidebar for a link.

The Comfort of a Schedule

 Are you a regimented person?
Love it?
Hate it?

I suppose we are all wired differently in this area.

Hubby and I are definitely creatures of habit.
It has come to our attention as we interact with others
that our schedule is not only a framework for us,
but a framework for them as they relate with us.

"Let's get together ... just not Monday or Friday, right?"
"Did you make it on your run yesterday?"
"How was Burgerville last night?  You went, right?"
"You didn't walk yesterday, you run on Saturday mornings"

My mom knows what days I am cleaning and shopping.
The church people know when we interval run mostly because they see me huffing and puffing down the street.
By now many have figured out that USUALLY on Friday night we will be headed to Burgerville
(we will make an exception this week so that we can grill our own burgers on Labor Day).

There is comfort in the structure.
There is an ease of scheduling because I know that everything has a time.
It is fairly easy to make plans because I know when hubby has to study and what nights are free.
I know when I can work on "wife" projects after dinner and when we will have moments as a couple.

1 Corinthians 14:40
Let all things be done decently and in order.

Maybe our schedule is ordered to a fault,

but I do hope you have some type of a frame to hang your days on ...
Not a plan that pushes out spontaneity or ministry opportunities,

but a plan that gives you comfort knowing that you have a plan to accomplish the tasks before you
and maybe a plan that helps other people hold you accountable.

Change of Plans

 So I posted last week's menu plan ...
and it flew out the window.

The men at work decided to share and share some more
and hubby came home sick on Wednesday morning.
So for about 4 days,
it was more nothing or very simple meals that would settle well.
Jello - mashed potatoes and gravy - simple sandwiches - eggs - toast

So this week's menu has quite a few repeats from last week
(though they are not really repeated).

And hubby did bounce back rather quickly.
He was back to work on Friday 
and though we skipped our Saturday interval run, he did join me for a long walk around town.

Sunday
Eggs, Toast, Avocado, Breakfast Sausage
One-Pot Tuscan Chicken Skillet (a McCormick seasoning packet)
Grilled Cheese

Monday
Eggs, Toast, Avocado, Breakfast Sausage
Leftover Tuscan Chicken with a side salad
Southwest Sweet Potato Hash

Tuesday
Yogurt Parfaits
Chef Salad
Crunchy Thai Peanut Quinoa

Wednesday
Smoothie
Leftover Crunchy Thai Peanut Quinoa
Almond flour Pancakes and Fruit

Thursday
Yogurt Parfait
Veggie Egg Salad
Kung Pao Chickpeas

Friday
Quiche
Chicken Burritos
Sweet and Sour Shrimp Rice Bowl

Saturday
BLTs
Panera Salads

Not Now, Maybe Later

I have quite a few of those jobs.

"MAYBE LATER" jobs!

You probably do to.

I accomplished two of those jobs last week.

The first was the linoleum in the kitchen and bathrooms.
While they do get cleaned weekly,
I realized that I had not really scrubbed / scoured them since we moved in.
It is one of those jobs that doesn't yield a dramatic result,
but it needed to be done.
So out came the vinegar and the baking soda.
Out came the rubbing alcohol to shine it all up.
Was it a huge transformation?
No!
But it needed to be done.

The second was the shower curtain liner.
It was brand new when we moved in and then was scrubbed in February,
but it needed to be done again.
Not my favorite job.
Again, only semi-satisfying results.
But it needed to be done.

I have a few more "maybe later" jobs hanging out.

The entry way that gets covered with spider webs and bugs.
Discouraging because within 2 days it will need doing again.
But it needs to be done.

Curtains need to be washed and pressed again.

Pillows need to be washed and dried.

The refrigerator is in need of a good cleaning.

So what are you putting off?

Why not check one of those items off this week?

And as a little side note:
If you are one of my nieces and nephews reading the blog,
why not grab one of those undesirable jobs this week.
I know you can do it.