garden glimpses (via Mowser)

Friday, February 17

booked for the day

Wowza! Where'd this week go? I can't believe I last posted on Monday and it's Friday already.

Sooo, let me tell you about my day yesterday. The homeschoolers from our area had a wonderful opportunity to travel a bit north to spend a day downhill skiing or snowboarding for a greatly reduced price which included the lift ticket, rentals, a lesson, and lunch. My husband agreed to take our four kids and off they went at 7 AM on a perfect day of winter weather for such an activity.

I closed the door and smiled.

The whole house was mine for about the next TEN HOURS!

Do you know how rare that is?!

After having my own dance party and jumping on all the beds, I needed to settle down to the tasks on hand. First I cleaned up the kitchen a bit doing up the dishes and wiping down the countertops. Then I worked on some personal monthly financial bookwork that my husband requested before he left which I had planned on doing on the weekend but since he was kind enough to take the kids for the day, I sat down and balanced numbers paying bills.

Finally, on to the primary area of the house that regularly shouts at me for cleaning......my bedroom. Does anyone else have the problem of YOUR bedroom being the collect all for everything? I mean everything. I will often start to clean it, but it always takes so long to put things back where they belong in other places in the house which leads me to start cleaning those places that I never get very far on that task. However, this time I had time to invest in some deep cleaning.

So I started in the corner next to our bed where we have a rocking chair and a bookshelf. I took all the books out of the bookshelf and put them on my bed. I took all the books off our bed's headboard and put them on the bed. I put all the books I had stacked on the floor in that area and put them on the bed. Let's just say that our king-sized bed was covered with BOOKS!

I dusted and vacuumed and washed the window and its screen and put the bookshelf back in place.

And then the daunting task began. Reshelving all those books.

Do you know how hard that is for a book lover? I think I probably opened every book I handled just to peek inside at the words as I found a special place on the shelf for it. Some books got moved to one of the other bookshelves. Some books will find themselves on an office shelf. A few books are tucked under the bed because I don't know what to do with them as I can no longer agree on all of their philosophy. Do I toss them? Burn them? Plus I found Atlas Shrugged for my husband to read since he saw the movie. And one book will go to the thrift store. Yup, ONE BOOK out of that big bed covering mountain of books.

There's no doubt. I am a hopeless book-a-holic. I love the feel and smell of the pages of books. Librarians will continue to be our favorite people as they regularly loan books from other libraries to us because we don't have them on our shelves.

ALL that to say....not much else got done yesterday because the reshelving project took me all afternoon which was worth every minute as that corner is now clean reducing my stress level as I walk into my bedroom.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

So how would YOU spend ten hours to yourself?

Blessings,
Tammy ~@~

Monday, February 13

Simple Woman's Daybook for February 13

For today February 13

Outside my window.....the skies are mostly sunny and it was below zero when I woke up.

I am thinking.....about how quickly this short month is going by with so many activities filling the pages.

I am thankful.....for the Lord's provision for our family. He's never a moment too late!

I am wearing.....my bathrobe and fuzzy socks as it feels too chilly in the house to get dressed yet.

I am hearing.....the furnace running since the woodburner can't quite warm the whole house when it's this cold outside.

I am wondering.....how this political primary system ever got started. Seems totally unfair to the later primary states as candidates drop out because of early results. Guess this is a homeschool research project just waiting to happen.

I am creating.....valentines for a group of volunteers.

I am going.....to make an appointment for a daughter's ear piercing as she turns thirteen next week.

I am reading.....Humility and Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray.

I am praying.....for a group of girls who really need to know the Lord.

I am remembering.....how cold winters typically are and this rare cold morning reminds me of how much I'm not missing that weather this winter. Thankfully it is suppose to get up into the 30's today and the rest of the week.

I am hoping.....that the winter hibernation mode my body has been in for the past several weeks will begin reversing soon.

On my mind.....is a brave son.

From the learning rooms.....we're keeping up pretty well these days.

Noticing that.....the daylight hours are beginning to stretch a bit.

I am looking forward to.....a possible brief time away in warmer weather.

Pondering these words....."Oh, you who love the Lord Jesus, take time daily in the inner chamber with Him to drink in a fresh supply of His heavenly love. It will make you strong in faith, and your joy will be full. Love, joy, faith—these will fill your life each day through the grace of the Lord Jesus. " ~ Andrew Murray

From the kitchen.....will be some simmering bowls of chili in the days ahead.

Around the house....are little piles of fabric as I work on cutting quilt blocks.

One of my favorite things.....is the cozy warmth of our woodburner on cold winter days.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include mid-week Bible study, sewing together quilt blocks, filling out college paperwork, a ski day for the kids, and enjoying Valentine's Day.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you....

A peek at the valentines I attempted to make over the weekend. What they may lack in creativity will hopefully be made up by the fact they come from my heart of thankfulness.

Thank you for stopping and visiting my daybook on this day. If you'd like to visit others who are participating in the February daybook or write a journal yourself, please stop over at Peggy's at Simple Woman's Daybook

Blessings,

Tammy ~@~

Saturday, February 11

prayer conduct

Here's my thought for the day:

"If your crowd knows you as a man or woman of prayer, they have a right to expect from you a nobler type of conduct than from others." ~ Oswald Chambers

Lately it seems that God is placing a LOT on my path about prayer. In my main morning devotional the topic for February is Intercession and at the same time I've picked up a couple of books stacked next to my bedside about prayer that have been begging for me to open once again to read some more.

There is so much that could be said about prayer at the moment, yet my quiet time for the day is ending as the weekend calls my name. Instead I'll leave you with the quote above and say that if you persevere as a person of prayer your relationship with God and others does change as well as your conduct because the intimacy of prayer changes your heart. May that news warm your heart on a cold winter day!

Blessings,
Tammy ~@~

Thursday, February 9

you're invited

Here's my thought of the day:

"It is faith in the power of Jesus' name and in our right to use it that will give us the courage to follow where God invites us." ~ Andrew Murray

Where is God inviting YOU to go today? Have courage! He'll be right there with you as you take steps of faith that
s-t-r-e-t-c-h who He has created you to be.

Blessings,

Tammy ~@~

Tuesday, February 7

the hugeness of ordinary

From my devotional:

"The man who missed his opportunity and met the doom of the faithless servant was not the man with five talents, or the man with two, but the man who had only one. The people who are in danger of missing life's great meaning are the people of ordinary capacity and opportunity, and who say to themselves, 'There is so little I can do that I will not try to do anything.' One of the finest windows in Europe was made from the remnants an apprentice boy collected from the cuttings of this master's great work. The sweepings of the British mint are worth millions. The little pivots on which the works of your watch turn are so important that they are actually made of jewels. And so God places solemn value and responsibility on the humble workers, the people who try to hide behind their insignificance the trifling opportunities and the single talents. Our littleness will not excuse us in the reckoning day." ~ A. B. Simpson

He's referencing the parable of the talents found in Matthew chapter 15 as well as this verse - "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much..." (Luke 16:10)

You may feel ordinary. You may feel little. You may feel insignificant.

But I'm here to tell you that you aren't any of those things. You are indeed hand crafted by a loving God who considers you a treasure.

Step out in faith using every little simple opportunity to serve Him because no act is insignificant when your heart is focused on loving God.

Blessings,

Tammy ~@~

Saturday, February 4

inclusive love

Here's my thought of the day:

"Love makes people do strange things. A couple in love will go to great lengths to demonstrate their exclusive devotion. Likewise, a mother loves a child like no other person on earth. Yet the love between Christ and the believer is not just between the two of them. It is the strangest love of all, for it does not thrive on being exclusive. In fact, it is the only love relationship that grows by being inclusive of others. We must love others with Christian love in order to show our devotion to Christ. We show Christ extreme love if we are willing to love those who have not loved us back. Who is God asking you to love today for his sake?"

~ From Extreme Devotion by The Voice of the Martyrs

God's love truly is unlike any description or experience of love found on this earth. Share some today!

Blessings,
Tammy ~@~

Friday, February 3

perching on hope

"Hope" is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune—without the words

And never stops at all.

~Emily Dickinson

May HOPE be something that always sings in your soul!

Blessings,
Tammy ~@~

garden glimpses

Friday, February 17

booked for the day

Monday, February 13

Simple Woman's Daybook for February 13

Saturday, February 11

prayer conduct

Thursday, February 9

you're invited

Tuesday, February 7

the hugeness of ordinary

Saturday, February 4

inclusive love

Friday, February 3

perching on hope

About Me

gardening goals

Garden Life

Followers

a contributor to

The Homeschool Lounge

Blog Archive

Sitemeter