This May Not Be Biblical, But I'm Glad I Did It Anyway

"An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar."   --- from Proverbs 31

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Two years after moving to the farm, Tom was downsized from his job. An unforgettable day, that one.

Another memorable thing? Soon after, something startled me. Tom continued to mow the lawn, but I did everything else. 

Everything. Else.  And somehow that glaring discrepancy had never appeared so obvious in all our decades together. (He'd not even mowed the lawn till we moved to the farm. But remember, he'd had polio, though always I'd tried not to baby him for that reason.)

Yet it was more. Namely, for the first time I realized that if (heaven forbid) something ever happened to me, Tom would be sunk. Marooned. I'd taken all those 'wives should do everything for their husbands' Bible verses far too literally.

I'd created, not a monster, but a Helpless Husband.  Uh-oh.

So since Tom now had all sorts of free time, I began teaching him--maybe not how to run a house--but to keep it (and Life) from collapsing. Believe it or not, yes, this included how to boil water (he didn't know to place a lid over the pan).

I taught him to cook simple meals. Which pans and dishes to use. How to load the dishwasher. How to feed the cats, sweep the floor, clean out the refrigerator and --

You know, just enough to where, if on his own, he'd be ok. Not live in squalor or defeat. And when the training was over, I felt more relaxed and better about the future.

Well, (not for the first time) this training came in handy last weekend.

Turns out my recent no-pain-yet-annoying-health-issue was due to a fibroid. Took me ages to pinpoint that, but when I did, thankfully, Dr. Berg showed me what to do. Ten days later, it was 'sloughed away'. (I'm skipping a zillion details, but I refuse to have As I See It Now become an old lady's illness ramblings.)

Anyway, I became a bit anemic, so I needed Tom's help and now I could relax while he cooked me some grass-fed ground beef, and fed the cats, and filled the dishwasher, etc.

The lessons in all this? Many, really, but Life does become easier when we daily seek wisdom and balance. Go living with those and our days will make more sense and even become easier. 

No really, they will.

"Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold."   Proverbs 3:13

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Some links for different interests:

A chocolate cake with only 2 ingredients

Chimney Rock 6 months after Hurricane Helene

Everything you're eating is toxic

Vintage Maximalist Grandma Decor

The Simple Joys of an Ordinary Life

A cottage decorated in a simple vintage style

Upcycled containers in every room

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"The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding."   --- Proverbs 4:7

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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

April This and That

1.) Weeks ago I began what I call Slow Motion Spring Cleaning. What's that? That's where I, each day, spend just 5 minutes on a simple cleaning task like wiping down a couple kitchen cupboards, or cleaning a storm door or using mineral oil on a hutch, etc. You know, tasks I do perhaps 2 or 3 times yearly.

Nearly 3 weeks later, oh my! I've accomplished much well before (a tiring) gardening season arrives. But it feels as though I cheated, for I expended so little energy.

A new habit for the rest of my life, this Slow Motion Spring Cleaning. Highly recommended.

2.) And oh! Darling Desi recommended a couple magazines I'd never heard of and although I stopped reading magazines years ago, these tempt me:

Daphne's Diary

Bella Grace: Book of Lists

Now, these are a bit pricey, but I've got some Christmas and birthday gift card money left, so we shall see.  シ

3.) And for a smile--

4.) Movies I can recommend:

The Maiden Heist  The rest of this movie was good, but the ending! Loved, loved it. I'd actually considered a similar ending, but thought Hollywood was too clueless to go there. Got me a tad teary-eyed, even.

Hoovey  

Buckley's Chance

The Christmas Letter  Lots of good Life lessons in this one.

Unstoppable  

Nefarious  Took me some weeks to prepare ahead mentally for this one (after watching the trailer), but since watching, I find myself viewing peoples' behavior differently and praying for them rather than shaking my head in disbelief.

All of My Heart  You can find this fun movie at Youtube.

5.) This just may help you sleep better at night!

6.) Books I finished reading in March:

Tending to Grace by Kimberly Newton Fusco

The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary

Murder at the Bee Farm by Sue Hollowell

The Feather Chase by Shannon L. Brown

Emily's Runaway Imagination by Beverly Cleary

Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther

Buried Secrets of the Copper Locket by D. L. Bush

A Murder Moist Foul by Summer Prescott

7.) Tom and I watched this estate sale video rather for old times' sake and I think it forever cured us of even dreaming of returning to those days. 

In fact I told Tom, "I know in Heaven peace, joy and forgiveness will be swirling around everywhere, yet if I left that much junk for Naomi to sort through? There is no way I'd have 100 percent peace. No way, not after God specifically asked me to declutter for Naomi's sake."

Oh dear.

8.) The Sassiest and Funniest Test Answers  (Oh my, the way children think!)

9.) For ages I've carried a black book bag instead of a purse and inside of it? There's a black wallet and a black checkbook holder/change purse and other black things. Go looking for anything and it's like my arm is circling around in a dark cave, unable to find the specific thing I need.

So this week, after our tax appointment in town (where I couldn't decipher between my checkbook and wallet and felt like the world was tapping its foot and waiting on me), I came home and ordered a light pink wallet. Whew, it'll make my life easier.

(And as always,what took me so long?)

10.) And may we always remember this:

Happy Springtime! I'm so anticipating seeing green outside my windows again. (These final days of all grey do make me a bit bonkers, I confess. Uh oh.)

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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

Money Adventures. Mine, Anyway.

"One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered."   --- Proverbs 11:24, 25

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Sometimes women tell me, " My husband and I can't afford to tithe."

To which I reply, "Oh wow, really? With Tom and me, we can't afford not to tithe."

Or it's like when--after a Youtube comment mentioning tithing--someone wrote, "Tithing? That's from those stupid prosperity gospel teachings. It's Old Testament, not New."

Good gracious.

All I know? For our 46 years together, Tom and I have always tithed. Always. Even during the lean years, even when wrong financial decisions cost us deeply, we tithed our ten percent.

And always, God provided for us, as well as, helped us make wiser decisions next time and even (I believe) made some of our stuff last longer than normal.

Some Christians toss away those 'bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse' verses and perhaps I can understand not taking them seriously in an obscure-ish book called Malachi. 

But. How do you toss away these verses from Proverbs, the much-read, respected, and wisdom-filled book?

"Honor the Lord with your wealth,
    with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
    and your vats will brim over with new wine."

---Proverbs 3:9, 10

Wow. Honor God, give your first fruits, then your barns will be filled to overflowing? Sounds like a terrific promise to me!

And what's ramping up our reaping since 2022? Two things. I arranged for our tithe to be automatically given via my credit card. Too often months would pass since giving(!), then I'd have to go back, do some complicated math problems, then mail it in.

I'm thinking, God wanted more excellence in that area, as opposed to sloppy, I'll-get-to-it-when-I-can-ness. Yeah, most likely.

And the second thing? After viewing those long lines of hungry people on TV in 2020, we began giving to a local (dependable) charity that feeds folks in our community. A specific, hefty-to-me monthly sum that I felt God nudging me to give.

And that's when crazy and wild things began happening. It's as though God secretly poured money into our checking account, like, five extra paychecks(!) 

And ever since, when things 'round Hobbit Cottage break or unplanned bills arrive, it's only a blip. Not even worth an eye roll. I just pull out a check and hand it to whatever guy in work boots happens to be standing in our kitchen (or wherever), then move on. 

You know, in assurance that God will keep providing for us as long as we keep giving to Him, first.

Year after year after blessed year.

It's wild how God can multiply what we give Him! But yes, we must first, with faith, give Him something to work with.

Obedience. It matters now and in our far-flung heavenly future. Truly putting God first changes everything.

"Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered."   --- Provers 21:13

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Dave Ramsey's Life Advice. This was cool.

I shared this years ago, but will again since it's still my favorite high school reunion video on Youtube. Helps that it's local to me, but even if you live whole states away, you may enjoy it, especially if you're of a certain age.  シ

When God is About to Give You Something Big. Encouraging, indeed.

Oh, and did I already share this fun movie with Jewel?

I had a lovely birthday! A big thanks to those of you who helped me stretch it over four or five days.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it."   --- Malachi 3:10

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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