It's Time To Stop Speaking ---

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, 

And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words."   ---Proverbs 18:21

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First, I'll complete my title: 

It's time to stop speaking those things we'd hate to watch happen.

Okay, moving on.  ツ

This past year I've listened to respected, helpful Christians online and although I admire, even like them, oh dear! Their language. Yikes.

And Honey, I don't mean they swear. No, it's that they (often) use words like these:

"People today never face consequences, so they'll keep becoming worse."

"Our immoral leaders won't change. They'll never face charges."

"Prices will keep rising. Grocery shelves will become emptier."

"I'm afraid the middle class will disappear into poverty."

"I've warned you for years: things are gonna get worse."

Man, often have I quipped, "Well yeah, if you want to be a Christian who writes God out of everything! Sheesh."

Gracious. Talk about misplaced faith. Are we believing for more of what God can do or what satan has already done?

What happened to 'we walk by faith and not by sight'? Or, 'Be it unto you even as you have believed'?

What happened to stepping out of our prayer closet, believing God will answer us, then matching-up our words (and lives) accordingly, perhaps like this? --

"I'm believing consequences will arrive soon for those who mistreat others."

"A day is coming, I believe, when God will hold corrupt leaders accountable. He will deal with them as He deems best."

"I'm praying our economy will right itself soon and in the meantime, that God will provide for His kids as the Bible promises."

"We've not yet experienced the last great movement of God upon our planet. Just imagine the wonder yet to come when millions accept Christ and begin acting godly!"

(Some folks believe these verses from Joel 2 fully happened already, but I'm with the crowd that says, no, not yet. But soon! In fact, I'm following reports online of awesome revival already happening.) --

 "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit. “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

And hey, what happened to humbling ourselves and admitting we might be wrong about where we are in God's timeline? That we might not be on the cusp of seven years of tribulation? (I'm old enough to remember that back in the 1970's we were all certain Jesus would come bursting through the church door any minute.)

But I digress.....

Anyway, today may we sincerely ask ourselves, "Is my faith based upon God's best or on the devil's worst? Are my daily-around-friends speech patterns wildly different than my prayers?"

From out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks and I'll tell you... I long for my heart to be so full of God's promises that it splashes out hope and blessings upon everyone I contact.

Why? The eternal outcome, the ramifications of speaking opposite, pessimistic words to a confused, suicidal world is far too tragic to imagine. 

Oh, the responsibility of it all!

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."   --- Hebrews 11:1

Please note in no way am I saying ignore the bad happenings! But rather, face them, pray against them, then believe your prayers/hope-filled warnings/God-led-actions will change things.

Evil lasts only for a season. God, His word, His love and joy last forever.

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It's been awhile since I recommended Glamour Days at Youtube. She makes old black and white film come alive! Here's a new favorite (those beach pajamas are positively elegant! I'd be all for folks Today wearing pajamas in public if they looked like those. heh.)  ツ

"But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”   --- Matthew 19:26

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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

September This And That Part Deux

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1.) Oh, the glass pumpkins, right? They're from Pottery Barn, HomeGoods, and T.J. Maxx.

2.) Ever wondered why I don't swear or even pass along memes with dicey language? Here's why:

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths ... Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place ... But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation...From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so...  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak."  ---Ephesians 4:29, Ephesians 5:4, James 5:12, James 3:10, Matthew 12:36

There's more, but frankly, those are enough of a warning for me. Yikes!

3.) The Quaint Housewife's main meal dishes remind me of those from the old classic book, How I Feed My Family On $16 A Week (color me grateful I didn't procrastinate buying this book! They're all over $20 now). 

An example is this video, How To Eat For $10 A Week. I highly recommend videos like these for families needing ways to stretch their food dollars. 

In all ways may we view these inflationary days as a creative challenge rather than a frightening, paralyzing time.

4.) Now, it's a rare morning that I watch our local news (long story), but I actually miss our news team; their personalities and sense of fun.

But hooray! I found a solution via Youtube and it's cool that I can share these folks with you. (I actually wrote about Kevin O'Neil 11 years ago. Here.)

So if you find yourself in need of a chuckle (and if you're curious about on-the-street Buffalo folks), here you go:

What's the Deal With Resolutions?

Kevin Kidnaps Kate Part 2

Kate And Kevin Investigate Delaware Road

Fall Is Here!

5.) Appreciated hearing this doctor speak about our immune system. (He doesn't go down bunny trails, so I especially loved that!)  ツ

This video by a Christian nutritionist was helpful, also.

Oh and after doing various research I've put together this list of what many doctors say we should keep at home whether we've had 'the jab' or not. These can keep us out of the hospital if used early (and yes, yes, consult your own doctor! But I'm sharing these because of something tragic which happened last week to someone I know.) --

Vitamins D3, Zinc, C, B

Saline

Peroxide

Tonic syrup

A nebulizer

Ivervectim

Potassium

Probiotics

Tylenol

And I found this somewhere and placed it in an email draft:

This was shared on a Covid survivor group...have heard many of these before but it seems helpful:

HOW TO FIGHT COVID AT HOME

No one ever talks about how to fight Covid at home. I came down with Covid in November. I went to the hospital, running a fever of 103, a rapid heart beat, and other common symptoms that come with Covid. While I was there they treated me for the high fever, dehydration and pneumonia.

The doctor sent me home to fight Covid with two prescriptions - Azithromycin 250mg & Dexamethason 6mg. When the nurse came in to discharge me, I asked her, "What can I do to help fight this at home?" She said, “Sleep on your stomach at all times with Covid. If you can’t sleep on your stomach because of heath issues sleep on your side. Do not lay on your back no matter what because it smashes your lungs and that will allow fluid to set in.

Set your clock every two hours while sleeping on your stomach, then get out of bed and walk for 15-30 min, no matter how tired or weak that you are. Also move your arms around frequently, it helps to open your lungs. Breathe in thru your nose, and out thru your mouth. This will help build up your lungs, plus help get rid of the Pneumonia or other fluid you may have.

When sitting in a recliner, sit up straight - do not lay back in the recliner, again this will smash your lungs. While watching TV - get up and walk during every commercial.

Eat at least 1 - 2 eggs a day, plus bananas, avocado and asparagus.These are good for Potassium. Drink Pedialyte, Gatorade Zero, Powerade Zero & Water with Electrolytes to prevent you from becoming dehydrated. Do not drink anything cold - have it at room temperature or warm it up. Water with lemon, and little honey, peppermint tea, apple cider are good suggestions for getting in fluids. No milk products, or pork. Vitamin’s D3, C, B, Zinc, Probiotic One-Day are good ideas. Tylenol for fever. Mucinex, or Mucinex DM for drainage, plus helps the cough. Pepcid helps for cramps in your legs. One baby aspirin everyday can help prevent getting a blood clot, which can occur from low activity. "

Drink a smoothie of blueberries, strawberries, bananas, honey, tea and a spoon or two of peanut butter.

We always hear of how Covid takes lives, but there isn't a lot of information out there regarding how to fight Covid. I hope this helps you or someone you know, just as it has helped me.

6.) Has anyone else watched the (non-current) tv series, Grimm? What a unique crime show! Tom and I have enjoyed the first 8 episodes, the creativity and comradarie between the main characters.

If you're more in the mood to watch a movie as opposed to a series, the first two episodes of Grimm might qualify. You could view those together and 'get the idea', for a similar pattern follows, at least through the ones we've seen. Again, enjoyable, at least to us. So far.  ツ

(We're watching via Prime.)

7.) And just one last time I'll mention this: If you were signed up to receive my blog's email notifications before this past August, you'll need to sign up again. I had to switch to a different company (no choice, Blogger's fault. heh).

8.) And hey, after all that 'medical stuff' (shall we say) above, you may want to keep this link  somewhere safe in case I get booted from here(!) It'll lead you to another of my blogs which I'll 'escape to' if I must.

Let's face facts: Today's world ain't what it used to be. If we're wise, we'll always have a Plan B.

9.) Sometimes while zipping around my blog I'll find a portion which acts like confirmation of what God's been telling me again --

From July of 2006--

How good Life feels when I can walk around my house barefooted on oak floors, contented, enjoying the moment, gazing out windows or reading a book upon the front porch--and meditating upon just how good God is, making memories out of the simplest, wispiest things around and basking in God-breathed peace at His custom-designed pace.

How much better to live close to God's peaceful heart.His "peace be still", joy unspeakable and full of glory and "be of good cheer". How good to be led by His voice instead of being driven by jammed-up, crowded thoughts inside my head:

"... hurry and get the laundry done..."
"... you still haven't written those emails..."
"... if only you had more money, more time and more will power..."
"... if only people would act the way you want them to..."
"... so much is going wrong right now... I can't take this stress..."
"... hurry and exercise so you can get to work..."
"... hurry before the store closes... hurry, hurry, hurry..."

How good to understand that 'relax' is so not a synonym for 'be lazy.' But rather, that it's a healthy heart condition and a product of the deepest trust.

How much better to be led by peace, by wisdom, by the voice of One who knows much better than I do what is up the road and what needs to be done at this moment (or left alone) so that I'll be in just the right place down that road, at just the right time, led by just the right hand of just the right Person--

--and enjoying the whole, long trip walking beside Him, leaning close, listening, laughing.

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

Why I (Mostly) Refuse to Hate Housework

"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy..."   Psalm 16:11

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Now, do I anticipate making lunch (our main meal) six days a week? Is carrying a laundry basket of smelly clothes down to the basement washing machine fun for me? Or vacuuming?

Uhm, no. Not exactly.

But here's the thing: I refuse to allow myself to hate any household chore. Well, except for maybe cleaning the bathtub.  ツ

Why? Because let's say I do 2 hours of cooking/cleaning 6 days per week starting at age 20 and ending at age 75.(Has anyone else ever thought that living 75 years upon Earth is plenty? Hmm?) 

Well folks, that's a total of 34,320 hours of home care! (Seriously, I double-checked.)

Wow, 34,320 hours of this life God gave, even planned, detailed. And then for me to spend that huge portion of my allotted days hating what I'm doing, complaining about it aloud and within my heart? 

No, that's simply too tragic even to imagine. What a huge waste.

So I choose not to hate housework. Instead, like a researcher, I'll seek ways to make the hours more pleasant. I'll--

play music while I work.

watch videos or read books which inspire me to enjoy homekeeping.

learn to follow Grace, her timing, her wise hints.

teach myself to anticipatate daily rituals.

find ways to work smarter, not harder.

I'll refrain from a complaining heart--or anything--which distracts from walking within a know-He's-there presence of God. Oh, to enjoy God even while mopping, dusting or sweeping!

When I reach Heaven and see things wildly clear, may I not suddenly gasp, "Oh no! While on Earth I could've lived with thousands of more hours of joy and flung that joy around to others in need! But instead, I complained my days away."

Oh dear. May that never, ever be.

And in case anyone is thinking they cannot do this, yes! You can through our God who makes a way when there appears to be none--

"Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full."   John 16:24

Part of our problem is we've been brainwashed into thinking housework is a waste of our lives. God doesn't believe that, though. It's important to Him that we care 'as unto Him' for the people and things He's given us.

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Tom and I were surprised by a good movie we found this weekend: I'll Follow You Down. We super enjoyed it as we do many with a hint of sci- fi--

but here's a spoiler warning alert: 

... if suicide is a sad-for-days trigger for you, you may want to skip this one. Yet saying that, there is a happy ending which okay! Might be another spoiler, but you know? The vast majority of movies I recommend have happy endings since I'm just not into sad ones like some folks are. So there you go.  ツ  (We watched via Prime.)

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Oh and to my fellow preppers: you know there's such a thing as canned potatoes, right? I didn't discover this until 5 years ago and occasionally I find others who still don't know. 

Incredibly handy in a pinch and terrific for your prepper shelves.

Oh! And here's another young woman who enjoys sharing her quick/easy/cheap meal recipes with us.

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And as I shared at Facebook:

If we'll guard against becoming overwhelmed by all the evil these days, we'll discover many opportunities to spread good!

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