What Is Alive For You?

"... I came that they may have Life and have it abundantly... Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits"   --- John 10:10, Psalm 103:2

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Guess who sat outside yesterday in 42 (F.) sunny degrees while clearing her tiniest flower beds? And who even relaxed on the porch on a 30 degree morning in 4 layers of tops because the sun poured down upon her (and she's a tad impatient for Spring)?

In February! In Buffalo!

Oh, and for the record, consistently each winter (for warmth) I wear a t-shirt and 2 thin long-sleeved tops, lest I feel like and resemble him:

How wonderful to discover what works for you, right?

Anyway, in the over 1000 books I've purchased in my lifetime, this one rests in the Top Five Most Inspiring Category:

Shockingly, I'd not reread this book in probably 4 years.

And you know? I'd wandered a tad from her 'Farmgirl is a condition of the heart' mantra. Though okay, these past crazy-since-2020 years found me still doing the cooking, cleaning, gardening, imagining, fixing, etc., yet not always with a joyful, I-can-do-this farmgirl spirit.

No, too often this nearly 65 year old lady leaned toward a 'I've paid my dues and deserve a rest in my autumn years' mantra, instead.

And there is that! It's a thing. Often necessary. I get that.

Yet I also get that balance is a thing and checking-out too early from certain tasks (and attitudes) can lead to boredom and twiddling one's thumbs.

Oh, how balance can keep us going! Healthy. Active. Happy.

I'm loving this return to MaryJane's playful-but-hard(and smart)-working world. I even ordered 3 of her 2023 magazines and am catching up on what I missed.

So what does this post have to do with any of my readers? This--

Is a helpful something from your past calling to you? 

Something you've forgotten or assumed dead, but in reality, is very much still alive?

Daily habits of excellence?

Lessons or strength in-progress, but unrealized and left back there?

Usually 'leave the past behind' is the right advice. Yes. Even the Bible says so.

But sometimes? We leave a thing too early, unformed, unfinished, before it became a connected, important part of who we were created to be.

Those are the things which Grace will help us rescue before they fade away into clouds of forgetfulness which cause the Future Us to journey-on with a limp without them.

" ... That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."   --- 2 Timothy 3:17

Something else from our past that may need tending to? An apology God wishes us to make, one we've put off for ages, or a releasing of offenses when others wronged us.

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MaryJane's Ideabook can be found here and here. Tons of inspiration for crafting, gardening, cooking, farming, celebrating, etc. and what I love best are MaryJane's stories from her earlier life. 

Back issues of MaryJane's Farm Magazines can be found here and at Amazon, too.

I also enjoy Mary Jane's Outpost book about all things one can do in the great outdoors. Such gorgeous photography and ideas!

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Oh the winter coziness!

Love what she did to her kitchen, especially the way she didn't let the whole project paralyze her with perfection-minded nonsense.

I found this woman and her tiny house so interesting. I could've listened to her all day.

Remember when I shared the video with the Alaskan town where everyone lived in one building? Here's a different video with even more information about the town and its people.

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Books I finished reading in January--

Intra Muros by Rebecca Ruter Springer

A Peach of a Murder by Livia J. Washburn

Pax Vobiscum by Henry Drummond

A Book to Kill For by Harper Lin

Gabriella by Nancy Hartwell

The Dragon's Secret by August Huiell Seaman

Shoestring Theater by Nancy Hartwell

The Crimson Patch by August Huiell Seaman

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Notes:

We may set a warm record tie for this February day today--hooray! We're due for 46 degrees, but I'm believing for the 48 we need for a tie.  ツ

My new chandelier? Wow. I leave it on constantly when I'm up here in my office/guest room (feels like such an extravagance to do so!) because it makes my heart so happy.

I need light! Tom, though, is one of those guys who'd leave the curtains constantly closed if he could. I tease him about being the epitome of what God meant when He said, "Men love darkness rather than light."  heh.  ツ

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We need each other.

The friends.

The writers.

The encouragers.

The truth tellers.

The teachers.

The family.

The dreamers.

The doers.

The storytellers.

The passionate lovers of God.

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Are we daily living in the overflow?

These days may we stay focused on the good things of God rather than the evil of darkness. May we remember God has an answer for everything we question.

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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