Sane, Simple, Sacred

Too Early to Despair

This is what I'm reading this 90 degree afternoon...

It's at least the third E. Peters book in this series I've read this spring/summer. I delight in this period of history (1100s) and find Brother Cadfael a most interesting character.

...and out in the yard...

the last thing I need

the

last

thing

need

one

earthly

thing

(rlg, 6-24-2021)

Life with Father

septuagenarian

life

shared

with

nonagenarian

has

its

moments

One Day / One Moment

Living one day at a time

Enjoying one moment at a time...

Here's To...

here's to

used

but

useful

old

not

over

dated

and

delightful

(rlg, 3-6-2021)

One by One by Five

It was an apple dumplings

sort of day, so I got out

my Better Homes

and Gardens Cookbook.

An hour or so later, the finished product was baked and ready to be served at noon with a piece of ham as an accompaniment.

Try to Make It Last

Just about my

favorite thank you card

ever!

(From one of our granddaughters)

Below, the present she made me.

A Quiet Life

quiet

peaceable

life

godly

and

dignified

please

and

thank you

(rlg, 1-21-2021)

No Shortcuts

He walked with me yesterday.

"Do you take the shortcut?"

he asked referring to the driveway

that veers to the right.

"Not anymore,"

I responded.

"Determined

Zealous

Industrious

and

Resilient"

were the words of the feminine genius exemplified

in the life of

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

and noted by Father Wade Menezes

in a recent homily.

I'm no longer interested

in shortcuts.

Unabashedly Aged

unabashedly

aged

i am

which

comes

with

some pros

a few cons

and

fewer excuses

(rlg, 1-3-2021)

2021

A look and re-look at this post inspired these words...

natural

unpretentious

pared down

clutterless

strong

curated

basic

timeless

honest

unabashedly aged

Later, I realized my extreme fascination with this place was because it was almost everything I long to be personally. I'm paying attention to this as I prepare to enter 2021.

The Day Before

Christmas cards blend BEAUtifully

with Christmas birthday cards

the day before Christmas and my birthday.

Today (Christmas Eve)

I baked my cake for tomorrow...

Baked Oatmeal.

I even took a hasty selfie

and include it without apology--

a record of the last day of being

71.

I'm almost finished with my Read-thru-the-Bible plan for 2020.

I've been reading out of the Amplified Bible.

Usually, the Song of Solomon is NOT my favorite book of the Bible.

But this morning, I read 7:1 as though it were a promise to me--

that my "person" would be noticed this year even as my outer beauty fades!

(I know that the bracketed parts are not actual text.)

I read on and stopped and smiled at the 10th verse.

{She proudly said} I am my beloved's,

and his desire is toward me!

I have much room to grow in the realization

of my Bridegroom's love in my 72nd year.

I believe it will be so.

Counting Hallelujahs

It was either sort the stack of miscellany or count the Hallelujahs.

I counted Hallelujahs. I got 168, adding all of them

in each of the four parts...

94 Going On 95

My father entered his 95th year

on the morning of his 94th birthday.

We're thankful for the blessing of having him in our home the past

four years since my mother died.

I opened the blinds for light for the poinsettia, one of his gifts.

I was happy for an "excuse"

to open the blinds and

get some light into his room!

Happy birthday to

an inspiring father.

"We simplify, not just to be less busy, even though we may be right to pursue that. Rather, we simplify to remove distractions from our pursuit of Christ. We prune activities from our lives, not only to get organized, but also that our devotion to Christ and service for His kingdom will be more fruitful. We simplify, not merely to save time, but to eliminate hindrances to the time we devote to knowing Christ. All the reasons we simplify should eventually lead us to Jesus Christ!" (Donald S. Whitney)

Dedicated to my sister-in-law, Beth--a TRUE home manager....

"I work for a King. He has put me in charge of his home. When He comes to see how I have managed His possessions and His children, I do not want to be found wanting. I want to do my best. Everything I have is on loan from Him. I have room and board and a job to do, but it is all for Him. Therefore I want to dress my best and do my best in all my work. I also want to be creative, for this is a sincere attempt to glorify Him and His beautiful creation. How I manage my home is a form of worship to Him." --Lydia Sherman

"A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry,
and see a fine picture every day of his life,
in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Contentment makes poor men rich.

-Benjamin Franklin

"What I am gradually discovering is that in the writing I come in touch with the Spirit of God." ~ Nouwen

~~"Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting."~~Edmund Burke

C.S. Lewis: "To trust Him means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in trusting a person if you wouldn't take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him."

"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is my symphony." William Henry Channing

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Apostle Paul: "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14)

"It's a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand. It stops us from taking anything for granted. It has also taught me alot about living in the immediate moment. I am somehow managing to live one day, one hour at a time." Madeleine L'Engle

FIVE CERTAINTIES
WITH WHICH TO
START YOUR DAY

God holds you. Each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 NLT
God sustains you. THE LORD is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. Psalm 23:1 AMP
God covers you. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings shall you trust. Psalm 91:4 AMP
God pours His love upon you. Through each day the Lord pours his unfailing love upon me. Psalm 42:8 NLT
God will not fail you. The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! Lamentations 3:22 NLT

THE BLOGGER'S PRAYER Lord, help me to learn to spell without spellcheck, manage to visit all that visit me, and post regularly - all in 5 minutes a day, so that I can clean house and take care of my family. Help me to not look at every occurrence in my life as a blog post, and to quit taking pictures of weird things to share as well. Please Lord, help me to stop talking about my blog friends as though they are next door neighbors or someone I have known all of my life. And help me, dear Lord, to think of something witty and wise to post tomorrow.
Love, The Dust Bunny Hostage