Ding Ding Ding Ding

 At the first ding on my phone I thought perhaps it was my son leaving ... I usually get a notification of that.  I just haven't turned it off; ok, I haven't looked to figure out how.  Anyway, it isn't him.  It is the lawnmower of the landscaper running back and forth in the community part - and every time he passes our patio, my phone has dinged.  Why?  We had cameras put up a month or more ago. I originally bought the cameras because I wanted to capture the quail hatching in my flower pot.  Silly me.  They didn't get put up until 1) too late to send back; 2) my son-in-law got here to do it.  I didn't buy the subscription and the trial has run out so am not sure what I will be seeing, but for today, it was the lawnmower.  In our area, in fact, behind Ms. Diane's house - which is still on the market and to my knowledge, no one has been over to look at it - a neighbor found a homeless man sleeping on her back patio!  So we have decided to start putting our outside lights on in the back and side.  The front has a light that comes on whenever anyone comes in.  And I should be able to get on camera as well... but... again, I don't have the subscription so don't know.  Anyway - this gave me something to start off with, right?

I have a board meeting today.  Had a prep for another upcoming board meeting yesterday.  I wish I knew what the company is going to do with their 'reorganization'.  Sue doesn't think it will affect me, and it may not.  But I would be happy to relinquish the boards.  But then, what else would I have to gripe about?  Or do? LOL  Maybe I'm just 'afraid' they will give me tasks to do that 'get me out' and want to leave?  Or not. LOL Am I dreaming too much?  I have told Sue I'd love for them to offer me a severance package - I'd take it!!  But I've only been there 9 years in September so do not expect one to be much.  But then, it isn't so bad working.  I just shake my head anymore.  Of my siblings, I am the only one who works.  And I guess that isn't a bad thing, right?  It means I am healthy and alert enough to work, right?

I actually cooked a good dinner last night - herbed baked chicken, beets, green beans - and for an ending, yogurt with pumpkin seeds in it.  Filled me up!  Not sure what I'll fix tonight. I'm trying to use up 'stuff' I've had in the freezer for awhile.   I got a new cookbook yesterday and I need to go out to the mailbox and get it.  But I got another new one the other day.  It's the Taste of Home 'Cooking School' and it has lots of recipes in it.  I love the Taste of Home cookbooks for they are all simple recipes (at least in the books I have) and easy to put together.  I've used several of them over the years.  Always yummy. And even I can make them! LOL Just happened to remember when one of my granddaughters, before she was married, told me about fixing orange chicken for her fiancé.  I thought to myself then, "wow, she made orange chicken!' and it was something I hadn't dared to even try!  Now I try a lot of things!

Can you tell I'm grasping at things to share this morning?  I didn't get a good night of sleep.  But by 8:15p I couldn't keep my eyes open as I read so was in bed by 8:30p - which is nothing unusual.  But, I was wide awake before midnight and struggled to fall back to sleep.  Then it was one something, then dozed off and on, finally getting up about 3:50a, I think it was. Tried to sleep in here, but finally gave up. Not sure what was going on last night, but it may be a 'long' day today, needing to stay awake!

My bible reading today was finishing up Ephesians.  I am reading through the New Testament again during the week and will get to start on one of my favorite NT books - Philippians - tomorrow.  Now I read because I love to read the Word of God, but I do have some that are favorites.  James is another one.  John is another.  Well, I guess Matthew is too. Then there is.... LOL  Yeah, I love reading the New Testament because each book teaches me something I have forgotten, or a new thought will be revealed to me.  I've read these books over and over for the past 43 years or so.... you'd think I'd know them by heart.  But God likes to reveal a little bit to me at a time.  He knows my little pea-brain just can't absorb it all at once.  Ephesians is about putting on the armor of God.  It's also about how a man should treat his wife. And the wife the husband.  But Philippians, it's the book of JOY.  Why is that?  It's unique in that when Paul wanted us to have joy, he was sitting in a prison.  Could you write a book about joy if you were sitting in a prison?  Not so sure I could!

We Christians are engaged in a spiritual battle against two opposing kingdoms.  We must put on the full armor of God as it says in Ephesians 6.  We get six things to equip our self with.  

1) the belt of truth.  Victory in spiritual warfare starts with truth.  

2) The breastplate of righteousness.  This piece guarded the heart.  Righteousness protects the spiritual life of the Christian.  Our righteousness doesn't come from ourselves, but from Jesus.

3) Shoes for your feet - which is the gospel of peace.  Roman soldiers had heavy armored sandals that gave him traction and security in battle.  So our peace with God through Jesus gives us security in the face of Satan's accusations.

4) The shield of faith.  The soldier's shield was leather-covered and was often soaked in water to extinguish the flaming arrows of the enemy. (no guns then, remember?)  Faith in God's promises deflects and extinguishes the lies of Satan.

5) The helmet of salvation.  The helmet the soldiers wore was armored to protect the brain.  The primary battlefield for a Christian is his mind, assurance of salvation defeats the doubts and accusations that Satan throws at us.

6) The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  This is our only offensive weapon, if you notice.  The sword.  And for us Christians, the sword is the Word of God.

Gratefully, our spiritual armor is to be used in a war that has already been won.  Jesus won the battle for us when He went to Calvary and died on the cross.  It is said of Napoleon Bonaparte that as he attempted to conquer all the nations of the known world, he spread out a map on a table and pointed to s specific place, and then said to his lieutenants, "if it weren't for that red spot, I could conquer the world".  The spot he referred to was the British Isles, the nation that met Napoleon at Waterloo in Belgium - and who defeated him with a group of nations.  

Think of it this way..... can you not just see Satan telling his minions that he could conquer the world, if it wasn't for 'that one red spot'..... and that is the hilltop of Calvary where Jesus' blood was shed.  But that red spot is what makes all the difference in our spiritual battle.  We don't have to fear the devil and what havoc he can throw at us.  We need enter only the spiritual battle that we have been called, and know that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us enough to die for us.

You can read all about the armor of God for you in Ephesians 6.  You can read about being more than a conqueror in Romans 8:37.  Yeah, I borrowed information from Dr. David Jeremiah in my study bible.  Sometimes it helps it sink in when we type it out, write it out, and believe it.

Wishing you a day full of joy and happiness.  Let's all pause and choose to look at life more differently than others.  Tough times come and go.... but our joy in the Lord lasts forever.

Blessings!

What day is this?

 That was my thought when I woke up this morning.  It ended up being a quiet evening after dinner.  I tried to read and couldn't keep my eyes open, so was in bed by 8:15PM.  Even on a Friday night.  I fell asleep within minutes of laying my head down.  Hubby stayed up but I have no idea how long; I slept deep until about 11:37 (I looked at the clock) and had to get up for 'the walk'.  Returning to bed, it took a few minutes to fall back to sleep (praying time), but I finally did.  At 5AM my watch started buzzing about something.  I turned it off. I laid there and tried to figure out what day it was.  Was it a workday and I need to get up and get moving... what day is it?  I was still somewhat puzzled over the day and got up, and soon realized it was Saturday and I didn't HAVE to get up... except I love my time alone in my room with God.  He always starts my day off right.  I think hubby got up about 20-30 minutes later and brought my coffee.  (Yes, I made 'real' coffee and he remembered.)  It's actually pretty good this morning.

So here it is, Saturday, and I'm sitting in my room enjoying my coffee (which is nearly all gone from the cup), and the quiet that pervades the room.  I love the silence (well, minus the 'road traffic'), but I do enjoy soft music sometimes too.  In fact, I have some instrumental music on a CD player I have in here.... need to get a new one; this CD player tends to skip on occasion.  Must be at least 10 years old.  Oh well.  It still plays.  Perhaps I should learn how to download songs on my phone.... except I don't want to run the battery down playing them.  Oh yeah, I think I have iheart. I have heard of spotify, but don't use it.  I'm really never where I need to 'play' music...    Saturday.... and today I have my 'Needles of Hope' to attend in a few hours.  Will need to stop after this and get dressed and put makeup on.  Yeah, I don't want to scare the other women and go without it.  It's a time to just hang out with other women and chat and crochet.  

A story I read in my book this morning is one I have heard before.  It's interesting how the story gets told a bit differently every time I hear it.  But its message is the same.  Don't wait for that 'special event' or that 'special day' to use or wear or do the things you long to do.  I know, a message I should take to heart more.  Here is a short paragraph of the story without their comments.....

"My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue-wrapped package.  "This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite; silk, handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached. "Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is the occasion."  He took the slip from me and put it on the bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion.  Every day you're alive is a special occasion."

I know I have touched on this subject a few times before over the years.  I am a 'packrat' at heart, thanks to my mother who always saved everything, and probably her mother before her.  I try not to hang on to things and I try to give away things frequently.  But I still have way too much 'stuff'.  And that's all it is.  'Stuff'.  It's material things, and when I die, someone else is going to have to deal with my 'stuff' - and what will they do with it?  Oh some pieces they will keep, I'm sure.  But the majority of this 'stuff' I have managed to hang on to will be thrown away, given away, sold, or just left behind.  I do not plan to 'take it with me'.  And, as I have mentioned before, I certainly do not want my children to have to deal with any of my stuff (which is why I hope I'm not the first to go.... I need the opportunity to get rid of it).  Hubby is more than willing to get rid of 'stuff' - as long as it is MY stuff.  Which is why I hang on to even MORE stuff.  Granted, I have 'stuff' in drawers I have never used, never plan to, have no idea when it could be used... and yet... there it sits in the drawer.  And I have mentioned often that I want to go through drawers and closets... it's just hard to do when hubby is underfoot watching what I do.  Heaven help me if he sees me get rid of anything he remembers giving me!!  LOL  But it is all just stuff.

But, back to the story.  How many times do we hold on to things that have a special memory, a special value to us, and then never use them.  It's like putting them in a glass case for all to see... and it is never valued enough to use.  When I read this story years ago, I started digging out my fine china (which is valuable, by the way; it belonged to hubby's parents) and used it for every day.  So what if it gets chipped or broken.  It's just a dish.  It has no value to any of my children and none have expressed an interest in wanting it.  No one needs these dishes of fine china.  So I use them when we have company and I use them occasionally for just hubby and I.  I've learned to let go of material things.  Yes, there are still some things I hold dear, but only because I want someone to say, "I remember that and I'd like to have it when you are finished with it."  I would probably (if not using it on a regular basis), just tell them to take it!  I have way more dishes than I need, glasses I never use (we are still using juice glasses we got 40+ years ago!!) and I still get more if I want them... cause I love pretty things.  I love pretty dishes; I love pretty glasses to drink out of.... and don't get me started on my teacups and teapots!  Of course there is also my books..... some day I hope to put them in author order.... hubby just will not let me touch any of the books to put in any order... "IT IS MY OFFICE!!"  Not worth the fight. He doesn't get it - we have 2 of several books because we forget we have them - or can't find them on the bookshelves... so order another because one of us wants to read it.  But he won't let me touch them while he is home.  Can I send him away for a few days?  But then, I'd want to play and not work. Oh well.

I'm going to challenge you today to sit back and think about the things you have.  What are things that you hold on to for 'that rainy day'?  What dishes are packed away because you have no place to display them - and they aren't getting used because they are not every day dishes, but special dishes?  What dishtowels are too pretty to use?  What items have someone given to you as gifts or as a memory of someone else that you hang on to because you want the memory - and yet it is never being used.  Don't you think that the person who gave it to you - gave it to you to use?  To enjoy?  

Use that special cologne that was given to you!  (providing it smells good on you, that is)  Wear that special shirt that holds a memory for you.  Read that book that brought you so much joy the first time you read it.  Determine within yourself to SHARE the memory of what it is you are holding on to (we all have dustcatchers, don't we?!) and then enjoy it.  If it breaks, hang on to that memory.  It's ok.  Nothing is built to last longer than it's lifetime.  Not even us.

Death comes upon us many times unexpectedly.  Do you have things hidden that you really don't want others to see (I do, sigh), and need to let go of?  Sometimes (I) we need to get over someone looking over our shoulder, or thinking we just don't have time to do that - and just do it.  Right?  Today may not be the day to start, but start planning even 15 minutes a day to start going through those things, those papers, you know you need to throw away... or pack away and label.... or pass on to a loved one.  Sometimes it is hard to decide whom to give to, isn't it?  I have that problem as well.  None of my family ever express they 'want' something I have.... I think they are afraid they will just end up with it!  LOL.

And with that.... I think I am going to close this off.   Got to get my makeup and clothes on before I head out the door... it wouldn't be pretty otherwise.  Maybe, just maybe, when I get back, I will 'do' something.  will see.

Blessings!