When God Says Keep a Stiff Upper Lip

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Man. Sometimes it's hard to be a good sport.

Tom bought a new car, deciding to finance it rather than wait for funds due him October 26th. Our financial adviser (with whom I often disagree) said Tom would be crazy to do it any other way.

Well. When Tom drove to our bank for a cashier's check, he discovered we have less money than we thought. At home, I went over the checkbook, found a couple of my mistakes, but still am unconvinced that the bank hasn't made their share.

So basically, we are back to living like much of our country--paycheck to paycheck. Back to where we lived for decades. #@$!#$ It positively rattled me to put some of our emergency fund into our checking account. But at least we do have savings this time.

Tom promises he'll sell some of his musical stuff and at year's end, there'll be an extra check from his job.

Oh, it's hard not to fume. And I confess, I've done some major fuming (no 'A' for me on this test), not to mention a little crying when I, this dark morning, whispered good-bye to our car which served us faithfully 14 years and could've gone another 200,000 miles (according to certain sources).

Believe it or not, I had to remind (and convince) myself that our car won't feel hurt, abandoned, when Tom trades it in today. (Too many Disney cartoons?)

So no more redecorating purchases for awhile. No more books from online. No more thoughts of buying another house. Although... there's this one (in a good neighborhood) which is such a low price, that we'd have leftover money to both repair the house and our bank account--

But Tom insists it has no curb appeal. (I'd like to know what you think. Well, truthfully, if you agree with me that it's fine and just needs a little love. heh.) 

All I know is most rooms need only cosmetic attention, like this dining room whose large window looks out to the backyard:

Love that! And can't you just imagine that room after I'd get a hold of it, perhaps making it a bit like this?--

Okay. Enough whining.

There are people starving out there and at war or facing hurricanes and our country's a divided mess and my problems are ridiculously small in comparison. I know, I know.

But I just thought I'd share what's going on 'round here in case you are experiencing something similar.

I get it.
I understand.
I am empathizing with you.

And I'm so incredibly thankful that God gets it, understands and empathizes with each of us. 

May we all allow Him to keep us hopeful, cheerful, contented and imaginative-with-what-we-already-have in the tighten-our-belts days ahead.

He's so great at that, actually. But only if we've learned how to receive the comfort we seek, rather than race around chasing it over in Futility Land.

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


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"Be strong and courageous. ... Do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”   Joshua 1:9

"Don’t let a bad break cause you to settle where you are. Move forward and God will pay you back. Move forward and you’ll come into a new beginning. Nothing that has happened to you is a surprise to God."   ...  Joel Osteen


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Oh, and for my friends who enjoy those odd, quirky documentaries on Netflix (you know who you are), here's another one:

The 100 Years Show

It's relatively short and quite interesting. Lots of awesome photos of her as a young woman, also. Oh, and I prefer her more complicated art pieces over the simpler ones. But then, what do I really know about 'modern art'?


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Free Kindle Books:


Anne of Green Gables: The Complete Collection

Tom Sawyer:  The Complete Collection

Still Kicking

My Redecorating Saga Continues

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”  Luke 12:15

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So today we return to Debra's mean-ol'-Tom-won't-get-her-a-new-house-so-she's-spending-money-on-this-old-thing saga.

:)

Did you notice the new sconces in the above photo? The good news is that, to me, they look just right when not switched on. The bad news is that each shines their light a tad differently. One has a soft white light (nice), the other shows 5 little golden light balls (not so nice).

Of course, these types of problems majorly bug us perfectionists.

So, back I went to Ebay, asking other sellers if the light they're offering is soft or if it's tiny-ball-like and am waiting for an answer. If I do find another just-right light, I'll move the not-right light, perhaps beside the front door.

Oh, and speaking of that... 

The black frames and postcard idea is on hold. As often happens in a small house, when I added something new (the sconces), the whole room got thrown off-kilter, like lop-sided Clutter City. (A major reason I'd like to move. We can, from yard sales, no longer bring home anything larger than a tomato. Well, it feels that way.)

So anyway, 'the twins', couldn't stay beside Tom's table any longer (notice the now-empty space)--

 --so they got moved beside the door--

And you know? The green wall behind them makes them look even more terrific, reminding me that, yes. Change can be good for us all.

Oh, and something else. It only took me 5 years to realize that room for coat hooks does exist in our ridiculously-tiny back porch area--

Tom and I both agreed that they look like they've always been there. Like they belong.

(It's important to have fun when you decorate. Others can tell if you did--or did not.)

Do I still long for a coat closet? Yes, I do. But in the meantime, I'll choose to be content with the three sets of coat hooks I've bought for Hobbit Cottage.

Contentment can be chosen, you know.

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Another cool thing about the sconces? In an emergency, end-of-the-world scenario, they'll still light our rooms.  :)


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"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment..."   ... 1 Timothy 6:6

There's a balance in contentment. An acceptance of the way things are--and--an anticipation of new places where God will take you.

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Free Kindle Books:


Edith Wharton: The Complete Collection

The Color of Heaven

Anna's Courage


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The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their troubles. -William Penn


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Why We Must Heal

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants."   ... Psalm 116:15


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So after probably 80 hours of watching Hoarders, ol' Debra looks rather like this--

---and she's thinking about this:

Death and life go together. You can't (on this planet, anyway) have one without the other.

But try telling some of those hoarders, that! Oh dear. I mean, I understand becoming horribly crushed when someone you loved suffered a violent death or even, an early one. Yes, that would be dreadful and could require much help from relatives, friends, therapists and especially God, Himself.

Yet to ruin the remainder of your life with debilitating grief because your parent or spouse died after age 70 or 80? For me, wow. I don't get it.

We live. We die. That's how it works. And what matters most here, is how we live and for Whom we live. It matters that we allow God to heal our hurts so we can move on and, in joy, complete our specially-designed, God-given mission in helping others. So we can enter Heaven having finished what He meant us to do.

Ok, yes. This is a huge subject to tackle in a blog post--so I won't. Tackle it, that is.

Instead, I'll just send you to this post---

The Necessity of Your Own Life

---one of the most important in this blog, one I share every few years in case my new readers missed it.

I mean, hey. What if I began seeing dear readers of mine on upcoming episodes of Hoarders partly because I chickened out of broaching this vital, heavy subject? 

Now, that would be hard to get over. Heaven forbid.

   


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"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'"   ... Mark 12:30

(The death of others isn't as shocking and debilitating when, all along, we've loved God and relied upon Him more than anyone else.)

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."   ...  Philippians 1:21


"Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody of East Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now; I shall have gone up higher, that is all, out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal- a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint; a body fashioned like unto His glorious body."

    Author: D.L. Moody

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Free Kindle Book:


Crashing Into Love


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