Friday Fun

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" ...Matthew 6:26


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Of course, Nicole Curtis created another makes-me-wild-with-envy kitchen last night on Rehab Addict. Oh, those marble countertops! Be still my tired-of-my-brown-whatever ones.

And oh, the temptation to, while considering the cost of installing marble at Hobbit Cottage, to do what this woman did, using only marble contact paper:

(Love this!)

But no, I'm not brave enough to try. And besides, Tom majorly cringed at the whole idea.

So we wait until we can make up our minds to take the plunge and install the real thing. Someday. Maybe.


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Some of you may remember my post about how it grieves me for days when I read that elderly couples died of heat stroke in their homes because they refused to buy an air-conditioner due to the cost of running one. 

It's a huge tragedy, I believe, whenever we can't trust God for enough money to keep us alive.

Well, lately He's reminded me of all those stories, especially when I hesitate to turn up our thermostat on these cold, cold days (it's -3 degrees F. outside right now. Sigh.). Too many times I've 'come to myself' (like the prodigal son, maybe?) while buried beneath two blankets on the couch and wearing two sweaters, looking around me at the housework left undone because it's too cold to get up blanket-less to do it.

I've wondered (a few times, old penny-pinching habits dying hard), what am I doing? "Turn up the heat, even to 68 if you want," God usually reminds me. "The same way that I provide money to run the air-conditioner, I'll provide for the heater. It's not a needless expense and you are worth being comfortably warm."

Someday, some year, He won't need to remind me that there's being a good steward, yes, but there's also being a penny-pincher-gone-too-far-over-into-fear-of-lack-and-lack-of-true-trust-and-believing-one-is-worthy.

Alas.

Anyway.  It works for candles, too, I'm finding:

See, for some weeks now--just before Tom arrived home from work--I would light three votives in long-stemmed glasses in our new fireplace. They'd cast a cozy glow while we watched tv together into the night and made the fireplace feel even more remarkable. (I think I will always need a fireplace, even a 'fake' one. It seems part of who I am.)

Well, now that Tom's away on business, God's been nudging me to believe this: "You are worth burning candles. Even alone."

And penny-pinching me is thinking, yes, I am. I would tell that to any of you and so honestly, I need to truly believe those words, myself, especially when I'm thinking they originally came from God, the one who 'owns cattle on a thousand hills', knows us better than we know ourselves, and has promised to provide for our needs.

And I'm thinking I need candles glowing in a fireplace.  :)


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Taken yesterday, part of my backyard, my 'hood, my frozen world...

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"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."  ...Philippians 4:19

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Yesterday I watched Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. I don't even, generally, like this type of film, but oh my goodness. What a wonderful movie! Tons of humor, lots of sentimentality--my favorite combo.

Highly recommended. (I may even watch it again tomorrow.)

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Free Kindle books:


On Which Side of the Road Do The Flowers Grow?

The Discovery

The Candle Star


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Check out this weekend's freebie from SavingStar...