Saturday, July 26, 2014

The Potential Danger of a Spare Room

Alert! The two names I chose out of Tom's cowboy hat as winners of the Amazon gift cards will be announced at the end of this post.  :)

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"For He knows how weak we are. He remembers we are only dust"  ... Psalm 103:14

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Yesterday I drove to a church rummage sale and came home with these roosters, above, which I think are the perfect finishing touch to my kitchen:



And after two whole years I finally found a place for my old sugar sign:


Yes, it sat against our refrigerator for two years because the creative corner of my brain must have crashed around age 52. It's been pokey-slow ever since and that's what brings me to my title.

After returning from another church rummage sale this morning, I lugged a like-new quilt and two throw pillows into Tom's room to store until I get around to cutting up that quilt so to recover the pillows for my guest room/bedroom upstairs. Oh, the convenience!

That's when I looked at the rest of his bed and saw the largish box of vitamins I'd ordered but hadn't unpacked and the empty box my red Fiestaware cups arrived in, the 20 rolls of bathroom tissue which need to be carried to the basement, a wooden star I need to spray paint and hang on the patio wall, two empty hanging baskets, a quart of white paint and the stack of Tom's catalogs that usually go beside his recliner but which, since he's away, look better not there.

All in only 4 short weeks.

And I thought, "Oh my goodness. This is why God didn't let us buy a house with a spare room!" Procrastinator Me would have turned it into one of those horrifying rooms like on Hoarders, you know, with piles of I'll-get-to-it-later bags and boxes six-feet high and leaning.

Whew. Once again God knew me (us, really) better than we know ourselves. He didn't keep something out of our reach nor was it 'just one of those things' having to do with money or time or whatever. He just did the wise thing, for we already have a cluttered basement with bad secrets and we certainly don't need an above-ground room to nag and shame us, also. Uh, no.

If we truly want God's will (not ours) and if something is a long time coming or just never comes--most likely--God's got an extremely good reason. And may I remember that often He's gotta be honest with my weaknesses because I'm refusing to be. But the times when I am honest, I usually understand God's reasoning much more clearly, mystery solved.

Lesson learned. Again. And again. And again.


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"My times are in your hands..."   ...Psalm 31:15





Another sweet treasure from today's rummage sale. Probably from the 1960's (50's?), complete with very old alphabetical dividers and new index cards (old recipes would have been nice, but hey. I'm thrilled with the metal box).



And, below, Daniel just being cute.



(Speaking of which, this kitten video was hilarious!)

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And now ... drum roll please........... The two winners of a $25 Amazon.com gift card are ................  Cheryl Dawn and Dolores Lynn!  Congratulations, ladies! If you'll send me your email address at GladOne4@yahoo.com I'll have a gift card sent to each of you.

And truly, I had so much fun with this drawing that I'll definitely be doing others in the future. A special thanks to each of you who entered and for adding your kind comments!!

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2 comments:

  1. I can identify with the 'spare rooom' syndrome. Mine is combination guest quarters/sewing/craft room and storage for my flea market booth. And I'm continually unstacking the bed and walls and putting things away (the closet is the auxiliary pantry in our house). Take my advice: do not buy a shed for storage. lol Only half serious. I use about 1/3 of the shed my husband bought me to store outdoor things and Christmas stuff and the kids often use the rest to store things though at present it's just mine.
    I think it all looks lovely in the kitchen. I love the vintage canisters with the sugar sign and the recipe box!

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  2. Anonymous3:48 PM

    I remember years ago a comment Joyce Meyer said. Something to the effect that if you came here with a sink full of dirty dishes and cannot find the time to keep your present house clean...why would God ever grant you a bigger house? if you cannot take care of the smaller home He already gave you He knows you won't be able to keep up with a bigger one. That made perfected sense to me when I heard it! :-) And from that I know a smaller home is the right one for me! Even a garden can get away from you. Plant more than you can use or can and use up or give away and it is over doing it. The time and money spent on it could be better used elsewhere. Ask me how I know. :) Congratulations by the way, on 10 years!!!! Wow! Double WOW! It has been a good ride for me reading your many thought provoking posts. I am always relieved when I know you will still be writing too!! Sarah

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Thanks for your comments-- I love to read what you are thinking! If you are unable to comment, please contact me at gladone4@protonmail.com. Oh, and please be kind. Thank-you.