Finding joy in the everyday

The buffet with some my birthday cards Housekeeping and home life are in a state of decline. Comfort and engagement at home have diminished to the point that even simple cleanliness and decent meals - let alone any deeper satisfaction - are no longer taken for granted in many homes.  Homes today are often seem to operate on an ad hoc basis. . . .  I couldn't agree more with Cheryl Mendelson, home has started to loose its appeal and it has become more like a bus interchange than a place where a person stops and recharges. It is now a location where family members wave at each other as they rush through on their way to all the many activities that modern families seem to be involved in.   I have friends that not only work all day, but are often out most evenings - to restaurants, to sports events, to the cinema, visiting friends and I wonder when they are ever home. Whilst I do work during the day I rarely go out in the evenings (especially doing the week...

Charles James Lewis Art Friday: Sunlight I love homes that are flooded with light, especially in winter. Sunlight really does make me feel happy and so pleased that I am alive. This isn't surprising as sunlight is like a medicine the boost the spirit on a sad day, it is a  powerful healer, tonic, germ killer, remedial agent, and relaxer. Have you ever sat quietly in a sunny spot in your home and go from feeling frustrated and irritable to feeling happier and more joyful? I have.  Your husband and your children will also enjoy these sunny spots and get the same pleasure as you or I. As homemakers , we should always be looking for way to make our homes as healthy as possible, not just physically but mentally and a sunny room does wonders to the mind.  Sunny rooms encourage laughter and smiling, one can't remain glum for very long in a sunny  room .  All these paintings have a lovely homely feel about them, rooms that I would love to wander into...

Quick update on my activities What a busy week thus far - busy nice, not busy bad!!   Even after a hectic day where I may feel weary by the time I crawl into bed, I still feel so blessed that the Lord has provided me with a suitable job, a loving family, a cosy house and cute cats. I have no complains and very content with my lot in life.  Why would I complain, many people are far worse off than I am. I have many reasons to say "thankyou Lord" over and over again.  My quilting classes have come to an end and I feel as if I have learnt enough of the basics to go off and make my first quilt (this one will be a gift). This is the start to that new quilt and I am using a block known as a "Disappearing nine patch" and its fun to make.  Looks far much more complicated than it really is. Its my sort of quilting block!! I had a birthday last week (yes a year older but I am not sure if I am any wiser). I went to the Craft and Quilting Fair in the morning...

Book review: Birth Cry  - A personal story of life of Hannah D. Mitchell, nurse midwife  Author: Shirley Roland Ferguson Birth Cry documents the journey of an ordinary woman (born in 1907) from a very poor, hard working Christian farming family from Missouri who works her way through school all the way to University to become a nurse midwife (long before women were encouraged to attend university).  Hannah, through her entire life, followed the Lord. Her faith was always strong and it never left her. Whilst she had ideas of what she wanted to do - such as marriage, God often changed her plans and took her to places she least expected. She never married  and suffered heartbreak over a broken engagement but she accepted what God asked of her and continued to follow Him through her entire life. She is a great example of how we need to behave - we may want to do one thing, but God has other ideas that are quite different to what we had dreamt. Don't fi...

If I gathered a group of Christian women together I would find that they all very different; they would look different, do the same tasks differently, bring up their children differently, even talking differently  and there is nothing wrong with that at all.  Some may be great list makers, others wing it Some may be very organised, whilst others live in a happy muddle Some may love to cook, others may be great at sewing Some may be very feminine in their dress, others practical Some many be very creative, others not as much Some may work outside the home, others may have a home based business Some may be mothers, other have not been blessed with children Some may be very quiet, others a little more boisterous Some have been born rich, others poor Some are very busy, others have lots of spare time Some have lots of energy, others may not Some have chosen to home school, others have not Some cover their heads, others don't Som...

Art Friday: Renato Muccillo I LOVE these landscape scenes and I really hope you do. For some reason I find them very peaceful and calming, what a talented artist.   ****

I am forever thankful for theses who taught me read.  For those who had the patiences to persevere as I was a difficult student who found reading hard work and therefore didn't enjoy it until I was around 11.  Thank you to my mother and my teachers. I cannot imagine a life without books or the inability to read well.  I have travelled the world (and beyond) through books, I have weeped, laughed, smiled, giggled and fallen in love through books. I have read books I couldn't put down  and stayed up late to finish and I have read books that were a struggle to finish, a little like climbing a mountain. And occasionally I come across a book I can not finish, but that rarely happens.  Books are part of my life and I couldn't imagine ever been separated from them! Who do you have to thank?  Reading is dreaming with open eyes.  ****

Surely I am coming quickly. (Revelations 22:20) In a German prison camp in World War II, undiscovered by the guards, some Americans built a homemade radio. One day news came that the German high command had surrendered, ending the war. Because of a communications breakdown, however, the guards did not yet know this. As word spread among the prisoners, a loud celebration broke out. For 3 days, they sang, waved at guards, and shared jokes over meals. On the fourth day, they awoke to find that all the Germans had fled. Their waiting had come to an end. A number of Bible stories center on waiting: Abraham waiting for a child (Gen. 12–21). The Israelites waiting for deliverance from Egypt. Prophets waiting for the fulfillment of their own predictions. The disciples waiting for Jesus to act like the powerful Messiah they anticipated. Jesus’ final words at the end of Revelation are “I am coming quickly,” followed by an urgent, echoing prayer, “Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (22:2...

The heaviness of grief presses down with a terrible weight. I have lost all my family members - first my parents, then Paul, Russell, James and Mark (brothers). As the oldest sibling, why am I the one remaining? Why has the Lord allowed me to live, the old maid, with no husband or children? I face a future dependent on others; even my personal hygiene will be left to a caregiver. I am being stripped of pride, vanity and independence. Far from home, friends and church, my nightmare will come true. I will soon fade into obscurity, a statistics of a life lived.  My sadness I reminiscent of how I felt when I was forced to retire because of my health.  From the book  "Birthcry" by Shirley Roland Ferguson  Hannah Mitchell (1907 - 2000) was a remarkable woman and I will tell you more about her in another blog - but I felt that this quote sums up the aged of today. We are now living longer than ever before, however our quality of life in the twilight years ...

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ...

Art Friday: Sally Storch Pasadena, Californian based painter, born 1952 When I look at these paintings I wonder about the woman in each painting - where is she going, what is she thinking, who is she waiting for, is she happy or sad, why is she alone in her thoughts, has her life been hard?  I think they are lovely paintings without being overly romantic.  If they look familiar, think Edward Hopper who paints very similar canvas's (perhaps with a stronger line), capturing lonely or solitary moments in time.  ****