The Light Shows the Spots I Miss

~Chandelier in sun room~

"Firelight will not let you read fine stories, but it's warm and you won't see the dust." Irish proverb

~COUNTRY LIVING is one of my favorite magazines and I have read it for years. In one Letters to The Editor section a reader asked about the subjects of a recently published article. The pictures in the article about the family and their old home and decorating style were of lovely rooms brimming and overflowing with antiques, collectibles and displays of great number. The question was one I thought of when I first viewed the pictures, " how does she keep all that dusted?" The owner sent along the reply " I don't, I just keep the lights dim and use candle light at night." ~Very practical hint and when I have not attended to my dusting duty ( Hubby will say I never dust) I am inclined to keep the lights low and use candle light myself. It also is much kinder to my aging face , graying hair, and his shiny head I might add. But have you ever noticed how a bright sunshiny day not only brightens EVERYTHING, but shows the dirt, blemishes and imperfections the shade and dim light will hide? ~Of course being me, there are all kinds of analogies that spring to mind...one might say I am just a bit more enlightened!"There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." Edith Wharton My many south facing windows are always revealing the dust , nagging me to get busy with the furniture polish AFTER I clean the windows. Then I think about the dust and spots in my own life revealed by THE light. "A sensible man will remember that the eyes may be confused in two ways- by a change from the light to darkness or from darkness to light; and he will recognize that the same thing happens to the soul." Plato

~Blue bottles in the sun room~

~We all really know there is light and darkness, good and evil.We know too that we can choose how to live and that our choices and words spring from that which is in our hearts. We know we do not have to be afraid of the dark, but even if we are afraid, we can choose not to be overwhelmed by the darkness, by evil."Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you." Maori proverb "The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will brightness of the moon shine upon you, for the Lord will be your everlasting light and God will be your glory.' Isaiah 60:19 and "In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness , but the darkness has not understood it." John 1:4-5 "Oh Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness to light." Ps. 18:28

Geraniums For The Porch

This geranium is a few years old and I have 3 or 4 more that are as old or older than it. The geraniums are wintered over in our sun room and get as big as bushes and threaten to take over the sun room unless I prune them severely. The geraniums like our sun room so much they bloom frequently throughout the fall, winter and early spring. "Geraniums are one of the most reliable plants in the home garden." U of R.I. Green Share Fact Sheet Today was rainy and our false spring weather has given way to the true winter it is and indoor endeavors were the order of the day. I needed to top dress my many years old African Violets. They are blooming, or budding again,but their woody stems are wobbling and threaten to leave their pots in search of better soil. So I gave them a generous top dressing of African Violet potting soil. Since I had all the messy planting necessities spread out on the table I decided to propagate new geranium plants. It is very, very easy and can save a fair bit of money for your late spring and summer porch flower plantings.The slips are potted and I will place them in the sun room until late spring when all danger of frost has passed. "Additional plants can be started from stem cuttings, or 'slips'. Remove cuttings, 3 to 4 inches in length,from the tip of the stems. Shorter cuttings can be taken if necessary. Strip off the lower leaves to facilitate sticking the cuttings in root medium....place cuttings 1 inch deep in planting medium ( perlite or perlite / sand, perlite / soil mix) and water thoroughly. Place container in a north or east window until rooted. Rooting occurs best with soil temps. of 72 to 75 degrees F. This generally takes 3 to 4 weeks. Water sparingly during this rooting period---the trick to successful rooting is to keep the cuttings fairly dry." Univ. of R.I. Fact Sheet I went ahead and planted my geraniums directly into the pots I will add to my flower baskets for our front porch, and if I am pleased with the plants they too will winter in our sun room with their parent plants.A plant family reunion!

Here is a picture of my porch in late spring with some of my old geraniums gracing the steps to the front door. "Every flower must grow through dirt." AU

Blessings: blooms inside while threat of snow reigns outside, faithful plants, geraniums and African Violets

To Live Content....

~"To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy , not respective, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to the stars and birds, to babes and sages with open heart; to bear on cheerfully, do all bravely, awaiting occasions, worry never;..." William Henry Channing

~ The last post is a thinking, or writing out loud...in print. Very publicly too. I do trust in God to work all things out to His glory, and in my life,as I think back on the years I know He has. ~The relative who lost his job is not afraid because his faith AND life experience have proven God is faithful. We have a young woman who meets with us in our home fellowship who is employed by a large company currently in the midst of major downsizing. Every week she still has her job, she thanks God and then trusts he will care for her if she discovers she has lost it. ~Mary from Annie's Goat Hill has a wonderful post discussing just where I was going with last nights' post but I got too wordy to go on writing. Please check out her blog today. Anyway, my daughter and I were talking about how these times are definitely giving us all a nudge ( or maybe a BIG push) in the direction of taking stock of what is important and just what we really need, or do NOT need in our lives. ~For me and many others, the important things cannot be measured by the size of our bank account, or what the world calls 'success'. How I deal with the not so nice things life sends my way, or God allows , is really one of the measures , or tests of life. Am I still trusting when things go bad? ~As Mary and my daughter have said, this is kind of ( understatement?) an exciting time for us. A time for re-thinking our priorities and goals and vision for our families and communities. Also, this is a time to come together with those we love and those who are like minded to support and encourage others to live simply and with great contentment.

~ Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said " I will never leave you or forsake you." So that we confidently say " The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid, what shall man do to me?" ....and "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today , yes and forever." Hebrews 13: 5,6,8

He Sees Each Sparrow Fall

~During these last few tumultuous years in our family, when we were concerned, nay, terrified our son might be lost in battle in Iraq, or his daughters lost to the court system in California..a system which seems not to care about children but more about earning income from court systems and officials who do NOT seem the least concerned about the real safety and well-being of very young and vulnerable children, well, a lot of kind and well meaning people would quote to us the verse"are not two sparrows sold for a cent ? And yet not one falls to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31 ~I will tell you, these verses were of NO comfort to me because being the pessimistic and negative person I am ,I would immediately remind myself that hey, the sparrows still fall! There is NOTHING in those verses that tell me the sparrow was saved or preserved...no, the sparrows fell, and stayed down, and probably died. That is what happens to sparrows that fall to the ground. There is almost always a predator to snatch the poor bird up and devour it. So here I was , already worried about 4 very young and vulnerable little girls the court system and even some so-called 'child advocates' would give wholeheartedly to a mother who has given herself up to the very worst things you could imagine ( yes, the worst!Believe me, there is legal documentation to prove this!) in spite of a father who has given up everything in an attempt to save his daughters ( that would be our oldest son who is legally provably moral, kind and honorable). Where exactly is the comfort in that verse? And because I am an avid bird watcher who spends too much money keeping our bird feeders full , that verse comes to mind almost every day. And when Miss Marple, our cat, will leave the small feathered corpses of the birds she has caught..why, I think, HAH! Another fallen sparrow, dead. Just......dead. And Who saw the poor bird fall? ~Does this sound like a positive or uplifting post? Does this seem right? Do not get me wrong. I know God is in control and He is the One who truly loves us, but I felt that maybe we did not really matter so much in the grand scheme of things. After all, many thousands of little ones are killed legally in this world before they are able to be born. Many others are killed soon after, and many others live lives that make me think it better for them they never were conceived. In fact, I think our country cares more for animals than human babies and children. Our little sparrows are falling in amazing numbers, aren't they? So what exactly is the comfort I am to derive from these verses? ~Well, there have been many things our family has learned from these trials, but those verses have bothered me. I finally found a book by John Stout, ' THE BIRDS, OUR TEACHERS' and he says ..."Jesus did not mean that God's children are guaranteed protection against all accidents. True, he said that not one sparrow can fall to the ground without our Father's knowledge ( Matthew 10:29). But sparrows do fall to the ground, for example when chicks fall out of the nest, as Jesus knew perfectly well. Human beings also fall and injure themselves. And sometimes aeroplanes crash. What Jesus promised is not that the law of gravity will be suspended for our benefit, but rather that nothing can harm us without our heavenly Father's knowledge and permission." So, this really did give me comfort. God has allowed into my life, my son's life, my granddaughters' lives, these bad things..NOT caused, but allowed, and He really is in control.He does see and attend to the details of our lives as he sees fit. How this will all work out is still a mystery. But God has protected these little girls and our son. You would be amazed at what they have come through and been protected from. Thus far.Evil is still fighting , and causing much trouble and distress, but this reminds us that we must be constantly on guard and in prayer. ~So for whatever reason, He has allowed the current situation in our lives, our country, and world wide. What I need to be asking myself is how am I to live in the midst of trials, how will I praise Him and allow Him to use me?How can I, or you, be an encouragement to others in this time of distress?

~Woodpecker hole in snag on Cedar pond~

~With all these thoughts still mulling around, and then to find out precious family has found out they have lost their job, and read Miss Linda's post concerning her work situation, I realize there are many , many reasons and excuses to wallow in fear and doubt and be anxious. However, our relative was calm and remarked that he was not worried. God has always taken care of them and He will continue to care for them. Miss Linda is faithfully trusting God in all things. There are many other inspirational people whose blogs I have been reading who have gone through and ARE going through some pretty awful trying times, and yet they remain steadfast in their faith in God and His wisdom . Thank-you all so very much for posting your thoughts throughout. ~"Be anxious for nothing , but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving , let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6,7

Spot on Blogging Buddies

~Yup, these are my faithful blogging buddies, Misty ( white) Willow, ( middle ) and Beatrix. Every time I sit in our study at the computer, at least three of our dogs are keeping me company. They like to make sure I am aware they are here by snoring, snuffling my hands for petting, and quite frequently emitting gaseous smells that Labrador retrievers are notorious for. Sometimes I need to open the study door for fresh air which causes great excitement...all the Labs are up and ready for a ...walk ?..snack ? Nope, just airing out the study. ~I recently viewed a blog that totally explained an affliction I know I suffer from. MLS ! Yes, I suffer from Multiple Lab Syndrome. And it is actually a very entertaining and pleasant affliction, except for the ever present yellow fur on everything.

~"Properly trained, a man can be a dog's best friend." Corey Ford~

Blessings: dogs and the privilege of keeping them ( or being kept by them)

Spot of Contentment

~Today was one of those Sundays I long for when life gets too hectic, and the problems of this world seem too much to bear. A quiet respite, and not a bad way to spend most days.... ~It rained outside and inside I had a fire in the wood stove and was settled on the sofa, working on a rug I am almost finished with while listening to an audio book. I looked into our picture window where darkness had settled outside, and the window appeared to be a mirror reflecting what was going on inside our home. I could see myself happily working on the rug while my Hubby was busy in the kitchen making us dinner. He LOVES to cook, so I know he was happy too. As I gazed at the reflection of this moment in our lives I realized how content I am with the life God has chosen to bless us with. I love my husband. I love the home he has built for me and I love the quiet times we are able to spend together. I quickly put the rug aside and grabbed my camera to take a picture of this moment in time.And now I share it with you. ~Here my Hubby is sharing a treat with his buddy Hawk. "Content: Rest and quietness of the mind under existing circumstances; present satisfaction; contentment." Funk & Wagnalls ~Hubby made this delicious dinner. Braised halibut steaks, fresh steamed asparagus with butter and Parmesan cheese, his own rice dish with vegetables, and Green Onion and Fontina Arancini, or rice balls with cheese in the middle, YUM! The recipe for these is in the 2/2009 issue of Sunset Magazine. "But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content." I Timothy 6: 6-8 Blessings: rainy afternoons when we can stay home, Hubby cooking, contentment in the midst of trials

Abundance

~Abundance, " a plentiful or overflowing supply; a large or sufficient quantity or number; great plenty" Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary ~"Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. "Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen that you may live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you,..." Isaiah 55:1-3 Blessings: abundance in family, harvest, livestock and friends, and God's abundance of mercy