"You have turned my mourning into dancing for me;
You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy" ... Psalm 30:11
You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy" ... Psalm 30:11
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Yard sales. How I love thee.
This old print, above, sat on the ground and I walked past it, but Tom spied it and alerted me. Just $3! Now, it did have lots of scratches, but yesterday with my craft paints, I dabbed at them and now--unless you stand there and search (as Tom did)--the scratches faded away.
And so it goes, my goal to make our old-but-made-new house look just plain old again, old item by old item.
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Another find? This 1936 book by Marjorie Hillis, the only vintage one amongst 50+ modern paperback romances, the kind I never read. (The lesson? Never assume anything. Walk over to that bunch of looks-all-wrong books anyway, for hey, you never know.)
A quirky, delightful book, indeed.
Her main point? If you live alone and begin to feel sorry for yourself--you're sunk. Self-pity ruins what might have been an adventurous life.
If you have a problem with self-pity (even if you live with others), this book will snap you right out of it. Guaranteed. (If only she'd added the wonder of living in God's daily presence, it would've been perfect. heh. This isn't a Christian book, in case you wondered.) :)
Anyway, to close this post, I'll add some of the many common sense lines from this fun book:
" For the basis of successful living alone is determination to make it successful ... You have got to decide what kind of a life you want and then make it for yourself."
"It's a good idea, first of all, to get over the notion (if you have it) that your particular situation is a little bit worse than anyone else's."
"...an extra-special dinner charmingly served on a night when you're tired and all alone; bath salts in your tub and toilet water afterward; a new and spicy book when you're spending an evening in bed; a trim little cotton frock that flatters you on an odd morning when you decide to be violently domestic. The notion that it "doesn't matter because nobody sees you," with the dull meals and dispirited clothes that follow in its wake, has done more damage than all the floods of springtime."
Read more about this book here.
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“When we pity ourselves all we see is ourselves. When we have problems, all we see are our problems and that's all what we love talking about. We don't see the good things in our lives.”
― Ann Marie Aguilar
"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." ...James 1:2
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What an interesting book. I love reading about your house. Although mine isn't old fashioned, I do have a lot of "me" in my decorating. I have doilies, and bowls of yarn and a Hoosier cabinet full of things that make me happy but don't fit the current decorating trends. Our daughter decorates beautifully but thinks I have lots of "stuff". I do, but it makes me happy to see it. Especially pictures of our family. Love the verse in James. It puts things into perspective don't you think?
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Betsy
Debra, I so appreciate this post. Self pity can be deadly to us. I'll confess, over the past few months, I've had some moments where I was tempted to go there, but I sure don't want to camp out in self pity because nothing good comes from it. Thanks for reminding us of James 1:2--it's a keeper!
ReplyDeleteBetsy---aww, your house sounds so sweet. The way we decorate should reflect who we are and what we like--it sounds as if you are decorating quite well! :)
ReplyDeletePam--I'm so glad this was timely! It's wild how self-pity can creep in so quietly, isn't it? God often convicts me like crazy whenever I let self-pity just walk right in the door. :) (Still thinking of you and praying as you're having your treatments!)
Thanks, Ladies! Blessings, Debra
I'm currently reading that book in ebook form and it's lots of fun. I would love to come across an old copy like that!
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