Got 90 seconds?

In the hustle bustle of this season,

I just thought there might be somebody else out there who, 

like me, 

needs to to be still

for a moment

and seek the Savior's face.

Not just His hand.

Blessings on your day!

Love,

Taking A Breath

Good morning, dear friends. 

 I've been perusing some of your blog posts and 

enjoying the eye candy of your  lovely tablescapes 

both for Thanksgiving and your amazing Christmas decorations.

But me?

I'm with Jane at Blondie's Journals, 

I need to take a breath and let "normal" reign in my home

for a few days 

before I start the Christmas decorating blitz.

But that's just me.

Except Marty's idea for a front door decoration

is now ensconced in my brain

and I can't wait to copy it!

The fact that she got some of the pieces from 

Dollar Tree is encouraging to me

because that's what my budget calls for this year.

I'll post my take on it later.

These are some items on my agenda for today:

1. Help Mom in California get a replacement for her stolen Social Security card.  She left her purse in a cart at Target yesterday.  Bless my little Bro, who lives close to her, for canceling her credit cards checking accounts, and is taking her to the DMV for a new driver's license!
2. Return several pairs of shoes to Zappo's.  Oh, how I wanted those RED satin flats and animal print flats to fit my bunion-infested footies!  Not a chance, fancy pants.
3. Meet the DH at the bank to settle some business there at 12:30.
4. Get the porkchops out for supper.  Even though I'd planned to make this last Wednesday night, it didn't happen.  I'd spent the entire day prepping for Thanksgiving and was too tired to cook.  Hurray for the teriyaki place near our home!
5. I get to have my hair cut by the talented woman who's been my hairdresser for five years.  It's the one luxury I just haven't been able to give up in our season of season of financial concerns.
6. Wash, fold, and put away several loads of laundry.

Rain-washed Zen garden on my front porch

What are you up to today?  

Diving into decorating your home?

Puttin' up the tree?

Running errands?

Taking a breath?

For me, part of taking a breath from holiday prep is 

calling to mind the precious moments that happened in our family over Thanksgiving.  

Storing them in my heart like the treasures they are.   

I'm asking God to guide me through my list with a 

thoughtful, thankful, gentle, and quiet attitude.

But Mary treasured up all these things 

and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:19

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment...

Instead, it should be that of your inner self,

 the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, 

which is of great worth in God's sight.

1 Peter 3:3-4

Welcome To Making Friends Monday Blog Hop 11/29 hosted by Living on Love and Cents,  The Thrifty Things,  Reviewed By Mom , and  Coupons are Great.
The rules are super simple but VERY important! 

1. Follow the Making Friends Monday  Hosts (Listed as # 1-4) They WILL follow you Back! You MUST LEAVE A COMMENT so we can follow you back!

2. Grab our Making Friends Monday button and include it in a post on your blog.

3. Link up to THAT post.

4. Start hopping and remember following back is appreciated!

Help spread the word and get more followers:
-Put the same linky list code on your blog and you'll have the exact same list!
- Your blog visitors can add their blog to your list and it will show up on all lists!
**Don't forget to follow the rules so you have a chance to be the "Spotlight Blog of the Week"!

If you have any giveaways ending THIS WEEK go link up HERE. Take a minute to enter some too!

  It will be fun getting acquainted with this crowd!
Don't forget that you are wonderful!

Love, Karen

Today

As you may have noticed, I'm reading Toward Jerusalem, by Amy Carmicheal.  It is a book of devotional poetry.  There are no Bible verses cited in it,

but God

reminds me of verses that I can apply to Amy's poems.

Here is the poem I read this morning:

TODAY

O God, renew us in Thy love today;

For our tomorrow we have not a care;

Who blessed our yesterday

Will meet us there.

But our today is all athirst for Thee.

Come in the stillness, O Thou heavenly Dew;

Come Thou to us-to me-

Revive, renew.

These are the questions that came to mind as I read and reread the poem:

How will God renew me in His love today?  I plan to shop for shoes and be home in time to have my washing machine repaired.  Give me eyes to see Your renewal of me in mundane activities, Lord.

Do I truly not have a care for tomorrow?  No, I worry a lot about the future.  Please help me receive Your loving comfort in this area today, Lord.

Is recalling God's past blessings my go-to strategy, no matter what my circumstances are?  Not always.  See #2.
 

Is my today "...all athirst for" Him?  Frankly, no.  See #2.

Have I allowed the heavenly Dew to fall on me in the stillness of our quiet time so I can pray the last 3 lines and truly mean them?  By His grace, yes, I have.

And grace is what I put my hope in.

(Word Nerd alert:  Sorry about ending that last sentence with a preposition.)

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken.  My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge.  Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge."  Psalm 62:5-8

"Rejoice in the Lord always...Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [Karen's] heart and [her] mind in Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:4, 6-7

I pray that you and I will be revived and renewed in God's love today.

Grace to you!

Love, Karen

Now if I could make peace with dusting...

In the mid-90's, before HGTV and reruns of Grey's Anatomy, when I was still a stay-at-home Wife/Mom, I made peace with the laundry.  It wasn't my idea, it was God's.  

One day I sat on the couch folding socks, tee shirts, and underwear.  Placing them just so.  In neat little piles.  For each member of the family.  As I did every week.  I was happy to serve them.  I believed it was a priviledge to be a SAHW/M.  Mostly.

But Doubt and Resentment began whispering from the shadows of Mostly.  They were familiar companions, having taken up residence in my heart Before Children.  Often their relatives, Fear and Loneliness, would join my pity party.  Boy howdy, that crowd sure knew how to scratch my itch.  They even brought the Kleenex. 

Once again I'd forgotten to bring my concerns to God.

But His Son, Jesus, Who made Himself a servant,
just 'cuz He loved me,
(and you,)
lifted me out of the slimy pit,
gave me a firm place to stand,
and put a hymn of praise in my mouth.

I called to mind the precious people who wore those warm-from-the-dryer clothes, wondering how their day was going. 

News Flash:  It's not always about me. 

I thought about:

how hard my husband always worked to support us.

how happy I was to be married to him.

the pressures my kids were facing in middle school and high school. 

the temptations which assaulted them all.

the pride that burned in my heart as each of their dear faces came to mind. 

the love and laughter we shared...and the tears.

how my heart sang to the melody of their voices. 

the satisfaction I felt, body and soul, after dining with them each evening.

how I loved baking fresh, warm cookies for them. 

And pretty soon, don't ya know*, I was prayin' for each one of 'em while foldin' their clothes.  Layin' my laundry list on the altar of praise and thanksgiving.  Emptyin' the pocketful of treasures I'd found on my faith walk with Abba [Daddy].  

And those treasures gleamed like the sun, dispelling the shadows of Mostly. 

By the time I finished, my soul was still.  The pity party had been cancelled due to sunshine.  I knew the job of folding laundry as a SAHW/M was important to my Abba.  After all, it gave me the opportunity to talk quietly with Him.  And those prayers for my loved ones were a sweet, sweet sound in His ear.  

I'd been weaned from spiritual milk that day.  I was stepping heavenward to a more mature relationship with Jesus.

With maturity comes responsibility.

"[Karen,] Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, Who made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant..."

Philippians 2:5,7

"He lifted me [Karen] out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." 

Psalm 40:2-3

"For you [Karen] did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.  And by Him we cry, 'Abba, Father'."

Romans 8:15

"...I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother...Oh, [Karen], put your hope in the LORD both now and forevermore." 

Psalm 131:2-3

Grace and peace to you, dear one.

Love, Karen

*P.S. Ja, okay, now.  I promise.  No more talkin' Minnesotan in the middle of a post.  Maybe. 

Dealing with those WH questions

As I mentioned here, sometimes WH questions rattle around in my head heart:

Why don't I . . . ?
Why can't I . . . ?
When will I . . . ?
Why did I  . . . ?
Why should I . . . ?

WH questions are those which begin with, you guessed it, WH words:
who, what, when, where, why are among them.  Oh, and they throw in how
just to mess with you. 
(Insert sarcastic smiley icon here.  Or not.  Smiley icons are overrated.)

By the way, check here for more info about WH questions.
But I digress.

I get in trouble with those pesky WH ?? when they go off in my heart like WMD's and become complaints.  Or worse, become a mantra for how bad my life is, like yesterday.  But, as I said, grace swooped down and saved me.

Today another WH ? occurred to me:

WHat if God wants to deal with my heart attitude toward those questions?

Maybe He wants my heart to be still long enough to consider His WH ??. 

Him:  WHy don't you come to Me with your concerns, Karen?

me:  Uhhhh...[I cast around for an excuse. . .]

 and before I'm even finished thinking of one,

He brings this to mind:

Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Him:  WHen am I available to you?

me:  Your Word, the Bible, says You are always with me, "...to the very end of the age."  [Matthew 28:20]

Him:  WHat keeps you from living like you really believe that? 

me:  Uhhhh...I forget to, Lord.  

Once again inadequacy takes its familiar place in my heart.

But God

graciously, tenderly, cups my face in His hands,
the ones that made heaven and earth
and me
[and you]

and He reminds me:

"By day the LORD directs His love, at night His song is with me--

a prayer to the God of my life."  Psalm 42:8


He directs His love.  His song accompanies me. 
Day and night.
Always.

Even when I forget.
Just because I am His and He is mine.


Grace be to you, friend.
Love, Karen