The Good News, The So-So News

"Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save."   --- Isaiah 46:4

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Darn! I'm kinda stuck at feeling 90% of my former self and the missing 10 % is the inspiration part. It feels gone. Mostly.

Keep praying, ok?

Anyway! Some good news. Remember our cute little garage?

(Such an old photo, probably from 2013. It looks much more tired now.)

Well, each time Tom went anywhere, I'd open the garage door for him lest he harm his foot/back/body (which has happened) and you know? Lately I'd push that door up and I mean it, it got heavier each time! Old age and rust, both me and the door.  ツ

Tom could see my struggles so he began researching places which would come replace it with an electric one and guess what? Our retired neighbor, Sue's fiance, used to do that for a living. Wow.

And today it's nearly finished. Bill just needs to program the remote and stuff like that.

Whew. Watching the new door open all by itself will feel like a true miracle. You can imagine my already-gratitude.

This season in Tom's and my life? Preparing now for our later years. Thinking of ways to make tasks simpler. It's nearly become a part-time job (it seems), takes much head space, and I wonder, "Why aren't other people talking about this? Are our friends not there yet? Have they already done all this? Do they just not wish to speak of this out of embarrassment or believing it's not important?"

But whatever, making my life easier is, like, my mission. Recognizing when Grace has gone from some areas, matters. In fact, an idea from this week?

To rip out my Herb and Etc. Garden. Well, all but the peonies and daylilies.

It's a cinch to water (just stand over the railing), but even that became too much during my boy-was-she-sick summer. Plus? I didn't even use the herbs, scallions, oregano, etc. and I stopped caring about the cherry tomato plant. I got visions of a simple, carefree flower bed, like you'd see at an old lady's house and got excited.

More seasons ending. Watching myself turn into a different version of me.  It's happening.

And it requires a happy acceptance, a gratitude for great seasons I experienced and a belief that good seasons still wait ahead. They'll just be different ones. 

And with Jesus alongside me, everything will, eventually, be ok.

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The so-few books I read this summer and during September (this illustrates how bleh I felt. I normally aim for 8 books each month!) :

Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick

Mystery at Shadow Pond by Mary C. Jane

Yours, Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick

Death and Peaches by Nova Walsh

The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes

The Cider Shop Rules by Julie Anne Lindsey

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I found this fascinating, but very sad. Oh Honey, get yourself and your husband off that boat! You had lovely seasons on it, but it's become too much and it's time to move on while you still can.

How Retiring to a Tiny House Changed her Life for the Better.

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Happy Autumn!

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

No, Your Message Is Not Too Small

“I wanna be remembered for courage for my faith. That would be the most important thing." --- Charlie Kirk

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I like how Glenn Beck said Charlie Kirk had finished his assignment, otherwise no one could have taken him out.

And if you consider how Charlie lived his life, that's easy to comprehend.

Oh, how simple to give up in the middle when it's hard! My entire summer was one huge temptation to quit. To imagine never healing. To think if it's not the end, the last of the productive, happy times are over, anyway.

Yes, the battle got that rough.

But Jesus and I fought some days just to keep the candle of hope inside me from flickering out.

And (switching topics a bit) although I'm most likely not gluten intolerant (long story), I've decided to remain as gluten free as possible, skipping even the GF processed foods, except on rare occasions. 

When you discover what helps you feel better, you do it, especially if it keeps you here longer and more mentally willing to complete your own assignment from God.

When you feel lousy, you don't really care how others feel. And that's tragic. We have so little time here to do God's will.

So now I'm researching some new symptoms which have popped up and guess what? I can't eat white things. You know:

Rice

Flour

Milk

Sugar

Potatoes

Pasta

Fortunately, I'd already stopped eating most.

But here's a point I want to make today:

Some doctors in videos will say, "You can't drink juice or soda, but you can drink lots of water!"

Ack! Ack! That's when I'm tempted to throw the tissue box at the big tv. To me, it shows a lack of doing one's homework if you can't offer anything better than that.

In fact, I've read tons of comments where people say, "Great. Just choose the most bland, tasteless foods and I'll get it right, I guess."

Yet how vital these troubled, violent days to spread hope! To do our part whenever we can. To step beyond easy. To not fear doing the harder thing, to sacrifice, so to spread any message God is calling us to share these turbulent years.

Another definition of courage? Obeying with excellence whatever God asks us to do. Whatever He asks-- it matters. It's all huge in His eyes.

And we can do that with determination. He's equipped us. Each of us.

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satan wants us to feel our calling is so tiny, that no one will miss it if we stay silent. What a lie! All God's plans matter and determine how this world spins.

That list, above, of foods I must avoid? Good substitutions can be found for each.

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Just drink water? Ha! So far I'm really enjoying this:

I've got a lime variety on order, as well.

Oh, and I'm still drinking my homemade cocoa daily. I use an envelope of Stevia and no sugar.

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So I'm determined that Tom and I still order out on our Saturdates (and some Fridaydates, as well), and oh! How encouraging to find healthy-enough meals out there.

Like, Applebees has a grilled chicken breast served with 2 sides. I chose garlic green beans and coleslaw (which I could tell was healthy because it was nothing like the glorious KFC kind).  シ

I also really enjoyed a Wendy's Jr. cheeseburger (I removed the bread) and a grilled chicken cobb salad. In fact, this could be my new 'hamburger basket' which you may recall from the post, Today I Wished I Was Eighty Years Old.

Oh, and Denny's has a vegetable omelet and salad which I've not ordered yet.

There's more! But you must search for it--and not quit! How crazy to research restaurant food, but these days? Understandable.

Of course, if we can find 'mom and pop shops' which sell these same things, we'll give them a try.

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Stay far, far away from that wimpy, give-up spirit, ok?

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Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

 *** "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15

Where She Decluttered 2,700 Items--But It Wasn't Enough

"To everything there is a season, a time and a purpose under Heaven." --- Ecclesiastes 3:1

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(Note: You may have to be of a certain age to connect with this post.)

On lots of dark summer nights while I was sick, I'd think, "Must declutter. Must. Declutter." So many weeks were passing!

Six years ago God asked me to fling away 10 items per week, you know, so Naomi wouldn't be overwhelmed with my stuff should I die. Then I almost fainted when I felt He wanted me to give away 350 books. Wasn't that, like, half my collection?!

Yet when God asks us to do something, always, He sends along Grace to help, making the task easier. 

I'm still shocked I've released 553 books. With no tears, even.

Anyway, nearly the moment I got well, I bagged up stuff to carry down to the Salvation Army drop-off one block away.

But one item I thought Naomi might wish to sell on Ebay. It was a 55 year-old set of Old Maid cards I'd bought in memory of the ones my sister, brother and I used to play with. When they'd arrived 20 years ago, the beautiful graphics zoomed me back to my 10-year-old self.

(I had the original plastic case and all the cards, including the instructions one.)

After handing them to her (with the story), Naomi kept asking, "Are you sure you want me to sell them? Are you sure?" She could tell they held meaning for me, but you know? 

It's time to dig deeper into my sentimental stuff. To release more each year what survived the culling from previous years.

I kept assuring her I was ready. And I didn't want any of the money. Almost immediately the cards sold for $38 at Ebay. Probably I'd paid $8.

The next week? God gave me the grace to release my jadeite collection. When I told Naomi she could sell that, she really began asking, "Are you sure? Are you sure?" For half her life I'd collected that stuff.

                    (Enlarge this for a small peek at the jadeite on the top left.)

Again I (truthfully) told her I felt ready to release it all. There was a time for jadeite, now the time is over. Besides, I can no longer safely climb up there and bring it all down to wash it. Don't want to.

And so it goes.

Only some of you will understand my great peace about this. Especially after having been sick 3 months, I feel such joy that I'm able to declutter like crazy, to catch up on all the weeks I missed.

Remember my post about Cleaning Up After The Party? That made such an impression upon me. Oh, to respect the seasons of our lives, the accumulating ones and the letting-go ones. 

Go doing that and suddenly Life feels smoother, simpler, and easier to understand.

May I be led by the Holy Spirit rather than sentiment.

Oh, and color me grateful that I've kept a simple running tally of the number of items I've discarded. Most days? I look around and the house seems exactly the same--so I remind myself of the numbers, instead.

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An interesting video about the artist, Edward Hopper.

Oooo... a very cool small house community.

Wow, Tom and I so enjoyed this man's memories of his childhood home. (What a trial he must have been to his mother!)  シ

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Oh! And just a reminder. I would never bail out of this blog, disappear forever, without first telling you. Too many bloggers have done that without realizing what a lack of respect (and love) for their readers it shows. 

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. 

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 "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15