buying and selling

This past week, I collected 20 tins scattered around our bedroom and posted them for sale.  (It's been awhile since I have posted and sold anything on one of the Facebook sale groups I am part of.)  We also listed the rusty farm implement parts shown below.  They, too, sold.  We'd used them as a border for a flower bed, but were ready for a different look.  The buyer will paint and sell them as sunflowers and make a tidy profit, I'm sure!

Meanwhile, we did a bit of BUYING, too.  Here is my husband at work on the piece we found for a very reasonable price.  At first, I was going to redo it to sell.  But then I got thinking that it would make a great television stand replacing a low buffet we had been using for this purpose.  Soon I will post the finished project...

What IS It About Books?

My husband is fashioning a WONDERFUL bookshelf!

I dream; he creates.

And this one is absolutely charming.

The legs are a very classy addition, in my opinion.

Its size makes it very versatile and extremely tempting to keep for myself.

Of my several acknowledged vices,

books are one of them!  

However, realistically speaking,

one house can only have so many bookshelves.

I finished a wonderful book:  Dorothy Day:  The World Will Be Saved By Beauty.

The author, her granddaughter, describes Dorothy's only daughter's house

in this passage that I could identify with only too well...

What IS it about books?

Ready and Waiting

 It started as an old blue shelf relegated to a place in the shed

where it housed garden tools and other miscellaneous items.

While looking for something the right size to hold my father's

small television in the dining area of our kitchen,

we remembered it.

My husband fashioned legs to make it stand a little taller.

 Then he painted it white to match the trim in the room.

And here it stands...

ready and waiting.

Completely "reborn" for a specific purpose and time--

to provide a place for the small television

so Dad can watch a favorite show in the morning as he eats his breakfast.

The other shelves will be used to house the games 

we frequently play at the table

and music books I use at the keyboard 

that fits snugly beside the shelf unit.

Sometimes I feel a bit like the shelf--

Reborn for a specific purpose and time.

Ready and waiting.

♪ Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after thy will,
while I am waiting, yielded and still. ♪

Who Makes It Happen

I saw the dilapidated gun cabinet for sale on a local facebook buy/sell site.  Almost immediately I "saw" a possibility.  I posted the process of its transformation on my Thrifty Style blog.  In the process of composing that post, I realized it was not what I saw, but who made it happen that was important.

Immediately, I saw another Life Lesson!  Maybe you can see it, too...

God began doing a good work in you, and I am ·sure [confident; persuaded] he will continue it until it is ·finished [completed; perfected] ·when Jesus Christ comes again [on the day of Christ Jesus; the final day of judgment and reward].   Philippians 1:6 

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, 

so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.  Ephesians 2:10

It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. 
What's important is that God makes the seed grow.  I Corinthians 3:7

It wasn't about what I saw, but who made it happen.
It's NOT about what I see, but WHO makes it happen!

Yes and No

I pass this sign frequently these days.

Every time I read it, I think to myself, "Yes and no."

I know what it's saying.  I even want to LIKE what it says!

But then I remember, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  

(Jesus in Matthew 5:48)

Maybe the sign should read, "Progress TOWARD Perfection"?
***
On a lighter note, note the Progress toward Perfection 
on this little stand we found while garage-saling last Saturday...

  

My husband works wonders!
See more "wonders" HERE.

Relinquishments

With palms up, Lord, we relinquish our need to be right, in control and "together". 

Meet us in the messes.  (Scotty Smith, twitter)

I saved this quote.  It applies to SO many messes I find myself in!

Relinquishment seems to be the "key" to resolution.

Some things are easier to relinquish than others, don't you think?

 For instance, this sectional couch which I purchased--a serendipitous find for $20

a year or so ago....

Yesterday, I "relinquished" it for $100.

After rearranging our living room, 

I'm rather enjoying the couch-less feel.

However, not ALL relinquishing is as easy...

Jesus once said,  And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters 

or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, 

will receive a hundred times as much in return 

and will inherit eternal life.  (Matthew 19:29)

I still have a lot to relinquish...

starting perhaps with the need to always be right, in control and together.

Health - Beauty - Freedom

While visiting my parents a couple of weeks ago,

I noticed this piece of furniture lying upside down on the curb.

I stopped the car and hastily loaded it into the back seat.

 My husband and I worked together to repair, paint and wax it.

Then we found suitable knobs.

Since our house is already full, I decided to list it on a facebook garage sale site.

I was actually a bit sad when it sold quickly 

and left its temporary place in our living room.

Its renovation illustrated this tweet I came across recently:

 "As things are brought back under Christ's rule and authority, 
they are restored to health, beauty, and freedom."  (Tim Keller, twitter)

As I contemplate my 65th birthday coming up next month,

I'm thankful for the truth of this statement and challenged

to KEEP things...under His rule and authority 

and experience the health, beauty and freedom that comes from Him.

Patina

“Love is not a vat that you fall into randomly. Love is saying I see everything about you, 

good and bad and I am still committed to you.”  (Tim Keller)

 I posted this quote on my facebook page the other day.  It generated many comments!  In fact, as I added a comment of my own, I realized I had a seed thought for a blog post!  So (as I frequently do), I put a few notes down, and instead of "publishing", I simply saved them for future development.

And the future is NOW!  It was the word "patina" in my comment that triggered my thinking:  

 I see so many "looking for love" or "giving up on love"....THIS quote - referring to Keller's -  really summarizes the love that has kept our marriage together these 42 years (or is it 43?)....And the funny part is, I'm not sure I had ANY idea what love was at the beginning. Every year it develops another layer - "patina" they call it in the vintage/antique furniture world.

We have two old wardrobes in our home.  It is the patina that makes them so attractive to me. Included in the definition of patina is a surface appearance of something grown beautiful especially with age or use...an aura derived from association, habit or established character.  

And how that describes our marriage!  Imperfect, but grown beautiful with age....association, habit and character!  I'm so glad I didn't give up.  I don't always FEEL "love"; but I frequently and regularly choose "commitment".

And by the way, I checked with my husband who is better at remembering dates and numbers and stuff...and it's been 42 years--going on 43. 

Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (From I Corinthians 13)

Study

I am busily engaged in the study of the Bible.

 I believe it is God’s word because it finds me where I am. ~Abraham Lincoln

No one ever graduates from Bible study until he meets the author face to face. ~Unknown

We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, 

not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. 

Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. 

Our problem is that we are lazy. ~R.C. Sproul

He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price give me the Book of God! I have it: here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri. Here then I am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone; only God is here. In his presence I open, I read his book; for this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a doubt concerning the meaning of what I read? Does any thing appear dark or intricate? I lift up my heart to the Father of Lights. “Lord, is it not thy word, If any man lack wisdom, let him ask it of God? Thou givest liberally and upbraidest not. Thou hast said, if any be willing to do thy will, he shall know. I am willing to do. Let me know thy will.” I then search after and consider parallel passages of Scripture, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. I meditate thereon, with all the attention and earnestness of which my mind is capable. If any doubt still remain, I consult those who are experienced in the things of God: And then, the writings whereby being dead, they yet speak. And what I thus learn, that I teach. ~John Wesley, Preface to Sermons on Several Occasions, 1746. 

All the desks pictured above are among several others that my husband refinished.
They have been or will be sold or given away.

Can you tell I can't pass up a well-made desk offered at a reasonable price?

We actually have five others in our home and one in my husband's office.

While growing up in a pastor's home,
we called my father's office "the study"--not an office.
Desks have always meant "STUDY" to me.

And I love to study.  Especially God's Word.

Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.  
2 Timothy 2:15, Amplified Bible

One of the desks in our house

Waiting in the Wings

 As of Tuesday morning, this table is "waiting in the wings".

I just checked to make sure I was using the phrase correctly.  I was.

It means being ready to take over a role or position when you have the chance to do so.

 The phrase is related to the fact that stage actors wait in the wings at the side of the stage

 until it's time for them to play their part in the drama.

 I found this table/work bench at a garage sale last Saturday.  

It was delivered to our house Tuesday, and I can't wait to figure out how to 

*repair and refinish it!

If not actively on stage, Christians are supposed to be in the wings. Always ready!

Peter, writing in I Peter 3:15-16 says:  "...worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always BE READY to explain it.  But do this in a gentle and respectful way:  Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ."

By worshiping Jesus as Lord of my life, I am waiting in the wings--waiting for a chance

to explain my Christian hope!  Being in the wings isn't always glamorous.

But being ready and prepared to fulfill my role is the least I can do since I belong to Jesus!


*It will be my Wonder-Working Husband who will be doing the repairing and refinishing,
 by the way...

My Love Language

Valentine's Day came and went.  The day before, my husband and I each enjoyed a piece of our favorite pie from The Diner - chocolate/peanut butter pie with whipped cream topping.  We called it "our Valentine celebration".  On the day itself, we both had responsibilities and chores to complete.  I was happy he agreed to pancakes and sausage for our mid-afternoon dinner.  When I went to make the pancakes however, there were bugs in the pancake mix!  Gross!  Soooooooo we went to Pizza Hut and followed that up with a few leisure hours at Barnes and Noble!  Spontaneous and unexciting by some standards, and nothing so out of the ordinary...but so "us".

I admit it.  As some people posted their glamorous gifts and exotic plans for celebrating the day, I wondered what was wrong with me.  Why do I rebel - yes, that's the word - "rebel" against the commercialization of something so basic and wonderful as love?

Recently one of my daughters mentioned her "love language".  She suggested I take a 30 question quiz on the internet to determine mine.  I struggled through the first 10 questions.  It was difficult for me to select my preferred method of receiving love in the options of at least six of them.  Neither of the two appealed to me.  I gave up.  (Maybe there IS something wrong with me.)

Today, my husband sprayed the green paint/primer on the second of two benches he created out an old wooden crib we found discarded curbside.  As I went out to photograph it, I realized I KNOW what my Love Language is!  Apparently my husband knows, too.

Now if I only knew what to call it....

Finished

 After a week of many concentrated hours

and much "elbow grease"

 my husband pronounced this table "finished".

 Per my request, he didn't remove the distressed parts of the wood.

 That is my favorite part of the table top!

 Well, the distress part AND the drop leaves...

I don't  need another table in the house, 

but I'm kind of desperate to find a place for THIS one.

It has really grown on me.

It reminds me that

God has invested a lot in me, too.

Hours AND "elbow grease"!

The cross!
The "distress marks" on my life remind me of a Charles Spurgeon statement:
 “The Lord's mercy often rides to the door of our heart upon the black horse of affliction.”

And one day - maybe soon - He will pronounce me

"FINISHED".

"Dear friends, now we are the children of God.  We have not yet been shown

what we will be in the future.  But we know that when Christ comes again,

we will be like him.  We will see him just as he is.

He is pure, and everyone who has this hope in him

keeps themselves pure like Christ" (I John 3:2-3)

It Never Fails

It NEVER fails!

A fly begins to bother me.

Gets really persistent.

I get up to fetch the orange fly swatter from the other room.

I return and wait for it to pester me some more.

It's almost as if its orange color is a silent warning, 

discouraging the fly's presence.   

It is strangely absent.

I return to what I was doing.
Apparently, that's what it is waiting for.

It appears again, and I stealthily reach for the orange swatter

only to have it dart off again to wait until I'm re-engaged in my task yet again!

I never DID get that pest yesterday!

Sometimes I wish I had an orange swatter to place at my side

when Satan comes to discourage or distress me;

when I am tempted to loaf, to gossip, to make a selfish choice.

Then I realized that I have something BETTER!

Spiritual weapons for a spiritual pest!

(Spiritual warfare, actually, as Ephesians 6 describes it.)

Christ's righteousness, faith, the Word, prayer, the gospel of peace. 

Truth!

The Presence and power of  God Himself--

His own Holy Spirit.

Spiritual weapons.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith...

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,

 after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you 

and  make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 

I Peter 5:7-10 

By the way, that's my "new" vintage sectional couch in the picture above.  The one I bought at a garage sale for $20!  I wrote about it HERE.  It sat in our garage while I tried to think of a way to fit it into our living room.  I gave up and listed it for sale on a facebook garage sale.  When the buyer was slow arriving to pick it up, I just HAD to bring it in to see if there was ANY way to make it work. 

There was.  

The would-have-been buyer was understanding.  

And I am thrilled.

...sitting in the garage

Lessons from Footstools

 But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne.  

And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool.

  And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King.

 Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black.

Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.  

(Matthew 5:34-37)

   This is what the LORD says:

   “Heaven is my throne,
      and the earth is my footstool.
   Could you build me a temple as good as that?
      Could you build me such a resting place?
My hands have made both heaven and earth;
      they and everything in them are mine.

      I, the LORD, have spoken!

   “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts,
      who tremble at my word. 

(Isaiah 66:1-2)

In a nutshell, I understand this poetic language to convey a message like this:  "I rule in heaven; and earth serves as a place to rest my feet  ".  His throne and footstool  refer to the vastness of God's power and regal control.  Thrones and footstools exist to accommodate Him!  Not the other way around.

He rules the heavens; he rules the earth.  In light of this truth in picture language, Jesus instructed us NOT to usurp or tamper with God's authority by swearing by heaven or by earth -- as though we had any business calling them to witness our words.  And in Isaiah, God said He would bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at His word.  Who live to accommodate Him--to serve Him with humble and contrite hearts.   

I have enough footstools in my house.  I've found them at thrift stores and garage sales.  They aren't "pretty", but they are comfortable and provide a place for my feet to rest.    And now they also remind me of the Sovereign Control of God over all circumstances in heaven and on earth and my desire to reverently serve Him.

from Basic to Beautiful

 The cover of the September issue of one of my favorite magazines

looks like this (above).

My husband is an expert in turning things from basic to beautiful.

This week he removed this old chalkboard from its "plain Jane" frame

and put it into a fancier one--in LESS than an hour, I might add.

In just a little over an hour, he sanded the top of the small table, painted the legs black,

and applied wax to the surfaces.  We found the table curbside, beside a trash can. 

Thankfully, we arrived at just the right time to rescue it, a child's chair, 

a wonderful coffee table, and a child's stroller!

THIS project will take a little longer!  It is an old Singer sewing machine cabinet 

we "redeemed" for $5.  If the machine can't be repaired for a reasonable price,

I think the cabinet would make a wonderful desk for my laptop.

I can't help but think how God rescued me!  Took me from the basic, throw-away condition I was in before I was "found" by Him and made me NEW and BEAUTIFUL!  So young was I when He did it, that I don't have a good "before and after" picture in my mind.  But every now and then, I get a peek into my old, sinful nature and realize how bad it is...how disgusting and dark my life would be if He hadn't stepped in and performed the MIRACLE of grace.  Turns out HE'S the EXPERT in this and is still in the business of turning basic sinners into beautiful saints!

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious (and young?) to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak (and young?), we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.  (Romans 5:6-8)

12.  Thankful for my washer and dryer.  Convenient & dependable.