Housecleaning Thoughts...

 Keeping house is a daily task.  I have always tried to keep my house reasonably nice, do some cooking and keep the laundry on track even when I was single.  Getting married, however, it's a whole new ballgame!  😁  Throw in a remodel of the very rooms you are trying to live in, organization and sorting through all of my possessions, etc and you've got a huge task!  And, to top it all off, I have held down a job this entire time I've been married.  And, we've taken several trips and had several bonfires at our country place.  I could go on, but I will spare you.  

About two years ago, I began to develop a system whereby I could keep house and continue my job as my husband wanted me to keep working.  On a normal week now, I am gone up to 40 hours.  

I have made lists, a graph and weekly cleanings list, etc.  I have been tweeking it over time into something somewhat workable.  

Basically, I try to to the laundry beginning on Monday evening.  My goal is to do one load each day until Thursday which is my day off.  Then, I try and finish it up.  This works pretty well.  Rob is good to hlep me fold it, he's especially good at folding fitted sheets!

Monday evenings he is usually gone to Men's Group at church, so I usually try to get a lot done while he's gone such as clean both bathrooms, vacuum the carpet and generally clean up the kitchen.  If I have time, I also clean the kitchen floor.  I try also to take a little time to practice the piano, play with the kittens and cats and now in the summer, maybe work in the garden a bit.  It's a busy evening, but so helpful.  

On Tuesday, I'm usually home by noon and I do another load of laundry, and work on my cleaning check list for the week or we use this time for shopping/errands.  Sometimes, I also use Tuesday afternoon for doctor appointments and coffee/lunch with my niece or friend, Debby.

Wednesday, another load of laundry, tidy up the kitchen, practice piano, etc.

Thursday is my marathon day!  I finish the laundry, spend time in my office doing various things, practice the piano, and try to clean one room of the house such as our bedroom.  I also thoroughly clean the kitchen and rotate extra projects such as cleaning out the refrigerator, oven, etc.   This is working pretty well, but I do have to keep on moving.  

If I am successful at all of this, by Friday evening and the weekend, we can have some time to do fun things and then Sunday we are fairly lazy!  Which is what Sunday is meant to be, a day of rest.

How do you organize your cleaning and homemaking?  I would love to hear some of your suggestions.  

On Being a Wise Woman...

 "A wise woman builds her home,

    but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands."  

                                           Proverbs 14:1, NLT

I'm pondering what it means for a woman to be wise as opposed to foolish.  In the modern world we live in, how can I be wise?  How can I fulfill God's plan for me as a woman, in my marriage, in my workplace, in my home, in my family relationships, friendships, when doing commerce, and so many other areas?

First of all, I become wise only as I learn and know what Jesus Christ, my  Savior has put forth in His Word for how a woman should become and behave.  

In this little piece, I want to explore how a woman can be wise in the area of her home.  How can I build up my home and not tear it down?

I believe that a woman is subject to her husband, as he is the head of the home.  This doesn't mean that he is to lord over or abuse his wife, but lovingly lead.  This won't be too difficult for a wise woman to follow.  Assuming he is striving to be that kind of husband, how can I build?

Tend to the home---I mean clean it, organize it, decorate it, keep the laundry caught up, cook food in it; in short, make it a place where your husband can be at home, relax, and find peace with you.  I'm learning and have along ways to go that balance is needed.  Perfection is not my friend, but neither is letting the home become a place that is dirty and uninviting either.  I'm concerned by a modern view that messy, dirty homes are okay.  No, they are not.  Somewhere in the middle is best.  

Create an atmosphere in the home that is welcoming.  Create an atmosphere in the home that is comfortable.  Create an atmosphere of love and acceptance.  

Center all of your life in the home.  

At this time, it is needed, by my husbands request, that I continue to work some.  I am gone from home each week around 35 -38 hours to my job.  Honestly, it's more than I want to be gone, but I am trying my best to make it all work.  But, most of my free time, is spent at home, cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, organizing, helping in the garden, working in the yard, etc.  By centering my life around the home, I am denying many other things in my life.  Yes, there is a balance.  I do take some time to be with my women friends and have a lunch or coffee now and then.  I believe this is part of life balance.  Through these relationships, I can grow and also be an encouragement to them.   

How do you build up your home?  What are ways we can foolishly tear it down?

 A Tale of Liberty---

A Tale of Liberty vs. Tyranny. (Based on real events at the McCollum Homestead)

A beautiful black Mama Cat Angel, gave birth to nine little kittens in the summer of 2020. Her people, Rob and Sharmen, were concerned as many of their beloved cats had disappeared presumably because they had been the victims of a predator or had run away. At approximately the one week mark, they moved the igloo and the remaining eight kittens (the runt was lovingly cared for in the house for a few days but passed away anyway), into Rob’s shop where they would be safe and Mama could go in and out to care for them. As they grew, they were finally allowed to run loose in there and Rob fixed a box for their food and litter pans that was only accessible to them. Rob and Sharmen started taking them outside for short periods so they could play and enjoy being outside. But, they were always gathered up and taken back into safety. But the day came when one of them did not want to be put away in the safe place. He wanted to stay outside in freedom. The shop opening was also blocked as one or two kittens had figured out the way out as well. In the shop they were safe, fed and loved but they were not free. Rob and Sharmen agreed. It was time to let them decide when the left their safe place. The hole to the outside was opened. In no time, they began their migration to the big outdoors. The igloo was placed where they could easily be safe, warm and dry. Food and water was and is placed on the front porch regularly. They are loved, cared for and free! They are a joy to watch as they romp in the grass, learn to climb trees and wait for us to give them food. Some are more friendly than others and will purr as we hold them and love them. They are happy. Their mama is near, as welll as Big Brother, TJ, and their people are attentive. Are they perfectly safe? No. They could run away, run into the road and be hit, or be taken by a predator. As long as they continue to be smart, stay near the house, and stay out of the road, they are fine! We are so pleased that none of the remaining six have been taken from us. But it would have been tyrannical to keep them locked up, safe, but in captivity. Unable to enjoy the big world outside.

Outside, they are learning to hunt mice, take care of themselves and truly enjoy the cat life they were made for. They have people to love them and really have it made.

Liberty is not always safe. It is scary. We cannot guarantee they will always be safe. They have to fend for their own safety but they are free and happy. The same is true for people. The same is true for school children being kept home so they are “safe.” Maybe they are “safe”, but they are dying inside, alone, away from their teachers, friends and social life. Away from the joy of living and being a young person.

Will you stand for the animated contest of Liberty? It is what we were made for!

The Boisterous Sea of Liberty

It's been many years since Thomas Jefferson said "The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave."  Those words, so true then, are STILL true today in 2018.  Liberty is always a struggle.  Always a fight.  Men's hearts are prone to excess be it freedom with no conscience or tyranny like hell.  Finding the place in the middle where liberty breathes free is always a struggle.
One one hand, we now have actual generations who know virtually nothing of the Constitutional Republic that is our nation nor the Judeo-Christian principles upon which she was founded.  The very foundations we were built on, which have brought us so much prosperity and blessing, now has become almost an albatross around our necks.   We are SO free, SO safe, SO blessed, that we no longer need to struggle as our forefathers did.  We have our basic needs met.  We have our jobs, comfortable homes and blessing beyond measure.  Most of us will live our entire lives and never see the torment that for many is a regular fact of their lives in so many places around the world.
Hungry?  We run through a drive through.  Instant food is ours.  Need fuel for our cars?  We pull into QT and fill up.  Tired of our wardrobe?  We just run to the nearest store and buy something new.  We don't have to struggle much anymore.  We take all of this for granted.  We take for granted that we will go to sleep tonight and be safe in our homes.  We go to church with no fear that anyone will arrest us.  This "struggleless" life has made us soft.  All the while we are enjoying the things we have and our relative ease, there lurks within our great nation a cancer.  The cancer of liberalism, the cancer of selfish greed, the cancer of lawlessness.  It comes packaged in neat little boxes.  They are called "fairness."  "Cheap Labor."  "Compassion."  But, what they really are underneath the packaging is tyranny.  The idea that the government can take from one and give to the other without asking is evil.  This breeds unnatural dependency on government.  The idea that we should have no borders and all should be free to roam across our borders at their will and take from our government in the form of welfare benefits with no just cause, is pure nonsense.  The idea that public schools should not teach of our great founding and Constitutional Republic is sheer foolishness.  How can future generations protect our culture and values if they know nothing of it?
For those of us who love our Constitutional Republic and the principles upon which it was founded, we are ever fighting.  There are so many fronts to fight on!  Those who would destroy our way of life from within never rest!  They are always planning their next destructive action.  This plays out in city council meetings, in state houses, in much of the mainstream media, and worst of all in our public schools and universities.  There is always something to tear down in their way of thinking.  Traditional values, such as the God given natural instinct of the love of a man for a woman in the bonds of marriage where children can thrive and grow, the idea of men and women being biologically and emotionally different and complimentary to each other is challenged constantly with the LGBTQXYA agenda.  The idea that we should be a nation of laws and mutual respect with religious liberty, is being torn down as I write with relentless lawsuits DEMANDING that bakers and wedding venues provide services for Gay and Lesbian "weddings" against their deeply held religious beliefs is breathtaking.  Never mind that our Constitution and Bill of Rights, specifically the first amendment provides protection for religious expression.  The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
How much longer can this go on?  Sometimes we fight and the boisterous sea subsides a little.  Other times, the boisterous sea nearly overwhelms us.  As long as we live and breathe on this earth, it WILL be a battle. Evil never sleeps.  It is always seeking whom it may devour.  Will we awaken from our ease and join the fray?  Will we speak truth as our Founders did without fear of retribution?  Will WE pledge our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor for this sea of liberty? 

Reaching for the New Self

^"... if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:  that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,  and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,  and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

Yes, we are saved BY faith, THROUGH the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, but there are some things WE must do in order to fully participate in this sanctifying process of becoming like Christ.  Just as a little child must move his own legs in order to walk, so we must do our part.  First of all, we must PUT OFF the old life.   For some, it will seem more minimal.  For others, it will be more life altering.  Perhaps a new set of friends is needed.  There may be places the new believer can no longer go to as he seeks the new life in Christ.  Maybe, he will even need to seek a new job.  Whatever is needed in order to fully embrace the life of a new creation.  
Secondly, he will need to be renewed in his mind.  Romans 12 says it so well in verse 2: "...let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity."  This will involve Bible study and meditation, fellowship with other believers, good music and spiritual books, as well as good Bible teaching.  It will take time to develop a renewed mind.  But, it's worth it!
Finally, we must put on the new person!!  This will need to be a daily task.  The new person is one who is putting on the new life in Christ.  This must be relentless.  Life can be hard and frustrating.  The temptation to live in old ways and thought patterns must be continually resisted.  
Romans 13:12 "The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."
Let's put on our new clothing!  The clothing of the righteousness of Christ.  Let's spend that time with him renewing our minds, and never go back to that old life.  We were made for Christ and the more harmony we have with Him, the happier we are!
 

Why didn't somebody do something?

Recently, I was asked to give a Pro-Life talk for the adult Sunday School class at the church I grew up in. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about a subject that is of much interest to me. I wanted to share a few things with some additional thoughts and hope it is inspiring and helpful. Everything has to start with God. Always. No other place to start. Why does life matter?

In Gen. 1:26-27 we find that God created man in His own image. In Gen. 2:7 we find that God breathed into man His own breath. In Gen. 1:28 we find God telling Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply. Life matters because God is the Author of Life. Life matters because we are made in His image for His glory. When a life is taken in this manner, we have deprived an eternal soul of the opportunity to glorify God. Psalms 86:12b "..I will glorify Your name forever."

In Deuteronomy 30:15-19 we find Moses exhorting the children of Israel as they prepared to finally enter the Promised Land saying "..I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I commend you today...then you shall live and multiply and the Lord your God will bless you in the land..." There can certainly be an application for us today. If we choose life, if we choose God's ways, if we do what He has commanded, we can know joy and blessing.

Abortion has been such a scourge on our beloved nation. 60 million and counting have been taken from the womb. It seems that judgement has fallen upon us for this. But, there is forgiveness! Freedom from this guilt is possible in Christ and all who have been involved in this decision can find grace and peace.

When Sarah Huckabee Sanders was a young girl, her parents, Mike and Janet Huckabee took her to the Holocaust museum in D.C. Mike wondered if she understood what she had seen. She had seen photos of untold horror. Children in the ghetto left to the streets, getting food that was tossed to them, lying over the grates to find some heat, and much more. Sarah could not believe that this could happen. All doubts were removed as to whether or not she understood when he saw what she wrote in the guest book that day. Sarah wrote "Why didn't somebody do something?" That is the question. Have we said anything? Have we done anything to promote a culture of life? Have we given to a mother in need who has chosen life? Have we supported a crisis pregnancy center? Have we told anyone why life matters? Have we decided, personally, that it DOES matter?

Sharmen's Hymn Rant, Pt. 1

There's very little light...spot lights are positioned just right to point toward the stage.  All around the large "sanctuary" it's dark.  All eyes forward.  Several people are on the platform area.  Two or three of them have pained looks on their faces as they strum, pick and play various types of guitars.  One of the guitars is a screaming electric, reminiscent of Eddie van Halen.  Another individual is encased in a plexiglass "cage" as he plays the trap set.  The trap set is so loud that the "cage" is necessary so that something is heard besides the driving beat of the drums.  Several other people are in front of the "band"  singing to the top of their lungs. Sometimes their eyes are closed as in a trance or moment of deep concentration.   Most of those doing the singing and playing are dressed in tight jeans, casual clothes and perhaps even a tshirt or two.  Some of the songs they are singing are vague, almost like love songs.  Others seem more religious.  So, where is this event taking place?  A local bar? A club scene? No, this is the local "worship center."  This is the new face of "worship." 
It's a "come as you are," "anything goes" sort of atmosphere. 

Long gone is the piano, the organ and the choir.  Long gone are the people dressed in their best, ready to worship the Holy God of heaven who is so holy that no human can even look upon Him.  (One has to wonder if the God of heaven is even in the hearts and minds of these people at all.)  Long gone is the hush of reverence.  Now it's loud, raucous and hip.  People are encouraged to bring their Starbucks cups into the sanctuary, and jive with the music.  After all, they want to leave Sunday "worship" feeling GOOD.



But, there is the matter of the older folks.  Yes, those pesky grey heads.  Always fussing about something.   But, scripture teaches us to revere them.  To show them great respect.  To listen to their wisdom.   Some of them find the new ways of doing things to be difficult to swallow.  Too often it appears that The "new and improved" methods are more important than senior citizens and those who may have built the church literally with their own hands or with their money and great commitment to the congregation. They grew up singing hymns and gospel songs of the past.  They remember the days of the hymnal, the organ, the piano and the choir.   These songs speak to them! I find it very very sad when these people are marginalized and no longer matter. Many of the men especially, are veterans. They put their lives on the line for freedom during the Korean War, the Vietnam war, etc for our freedom and that of others. They worked hard to provide for their families, perhaps in work places that were not very enjoyable and now in their old age, would so like to come to church on Sunday and be comforted with hymns from their earlier life. Does that mean all new music is banned? Certainly not. All music was new once. But, honestly tell me. Is it really right to throw all or most of it out? Is it really okay with you to make older folks feel uncomfortable every single Sunday so that the younger folks can be hip? Is it okay to tell a senior citizen in so many words that the younger folks are more important? Really, does it? 

Recently, I received a text message from an individual that was just down right sad. This person said to me, "My church threw away all the song books. Where is a church that sings Easter songs that I have learned since I was young?" If that doesn't pull at your heart strings, please examine your heart, just saying. I received another message from this same individual on another day, "Are you playing music anywhere Sunday morning? My _____and I want to go where there is traditional music on this Sunday." WOW. I know this person to be a stellar Christian. This person would have been the rock solid, pillar of any church they would have attended through the years, contributing to the congregation in many ways.  How sad it is that on Easter weekend, they would even NEED to try and find a church where they could hear some traditional Easter music. I beg of you. Do not forget the "old" songs. Many newer ones can never compare in content and singability. Even if you don't find anything beautiful or meaningful in such glorious songs as "He Arose", or "He Lives" or "Because He Lives," doesn't mean that others don't. Sometimes particular songs from one's youth have certain meaning and have helped carry them through difficult trials in life. Sometimes, they just want to come into church and sing these precious hymns with others. Please think about them, too.

Perhaps more churches could do what Nall Ave. Baptist is doing. Most Sundays, they have two services. The 8:15 service is mostly hymns and gospel songs taken out of their hymnal. Folks can either view the words on the screen or use a hymnal. I have been playing piano at this church service since last summer. So many people have come up to me and thanked me for playing. They love their hymns!!! I wish I had written down all the positive remarks. They are treasures in my heart. The second services is mostly contemporary with a band. At least at this church, you have a clear choice. It's really not that hard. It's called respect. It's called love.