A Thankful Heart

Hello friends,

I just wanted to share a few thoughts.

- This morning as I was kneeling on the floor taking washing out of my machine and putting in a second load, amazed that two people can still produce so much laundry, I offered up a silent prayer - "Thank you Lord for this washing machine". Then the thought, 'what about running water came into my mind', and I paused and said "Yes, and for running water, I am grateful". 

Later after cooking breakfast and returning to my room to have my quiet time with the Lord, those thoughts of water and gratitude returned to me. I offered up prayer for those in our world who may not have water close at hand let alone a washing machine. But even more urgent, that they would know the Lord, the Living Water, who would be their peace, joy and strength through life.

J. R Miller wrote:

Christian thanks giving is the life of Christ in the heart -

transforming the disposition and the whole character. Thanksgiving

must be wrought into the life as a habit  - before it can become a fixed

and permanent quality. An occasional burst of praise, in the midst

of years of complaining, is not what is required. Songs on rare

sunshiny days; and no songs when skies are cloudy - will not make a

life of gratitude. The heart must learn to sing always ...

Thanksgiving has attained it's rightful place in us, only when it is

part of all our days and dominates all our experiences.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Dear Lord, may a grateful heart lead me closer to your heart .

May I cherish every simple thing as a gift,

and every challenge an opportunity to grow.

I pray.

Clean before Winter

Hi everyone,
as I write this post I'm sore and tired (from cleaning). I've been putting off and off some much needed deep cleaning in my kitchen. What I wanted to do today was something fun, like make soap !!!, but procrastinating is not going to get us a clean kitchen.

I've also  just started monthly food shopping, to help stretch the grocery budget, and its taking quite a lot of discipline on my part. We do top up with fresh fruit and vegetables, that we don't grow ourselves - but even with these top ups I still need to be careful and watch how much we're spending. The good thing is I find it helps me to be more creative and frugal with what we have. To think of alternatives to use instead of just rushing down to the supermarket every time, as invariably I see things on 'special' and think 'I'll get that too"....hmm

"She looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness". Proverbs 31:27

Anyway, back to what I originally wanted to say...
The job I'd been putting off forever was 'cleaning the ceiling in the kitchen, the light fittings, the light shades, the top of the cupboards etc etc.
As we don't have nets over any of our windows, and we don't have air conditioning..sigh, we have to open the windows in summer. Opening windows invites flies. Flies like to leave a memory of where they have lingered..yes, enough said. So today I decided I was not going to look at it any longer, and so I fetched the ladder from under the house and set to with a bucket of hot soapy water to scrub my ceiling. This has to be my least favorite job (next to cleaning the oven), but it had to be done.

I also cleaned the expelier in the kitchen, which gets very dusty and grimy...tick, another awful job complete. I scrubbed down wooden nick knack shelves that sit up high, and are terrible for gathering dust and grime . Then I did a big vacuum, as bits of dust had been flicked all around.

Some days it does seem overwhelming, especially at the end of summer, when the garden needs a lot of work too, so I just have to try and keep on top of everything, and not let it get on top of me.
Making a plan is always a good idea for me and writing a list of what's most urgent.

When the messy job was finally complete, I took another shower :) and felt very happy about all I managed to get done. Knowing I no longer have to look at jobs to be tackled in the kitchen, makes me feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. So if your like me, I say:

Proverbs 6:4  "Don't put it off; do it now! Don't rest until you do".

afterward the jobs complete you can have a little rest !

I hope this encourages someone else who may have been procrastinating.

Blessings ~ Linda :)