Renew My Home: My Favorite Things

Monday, February 17, 2014

My Favorite Things

Someone I'm close to can get out of sorts when she reads my blog,
because she thinks I am effortlessly cheerful and full of joy.
Um, nope.
The winter has been long.
My days have sometimes been lonely.
The baby sleeps in our bed, and he gets me up at least twice every night.
The errands and chores and quiet times
that slowly became achievable as the kids grew,
have now become difficult again.

I don't always see the gifts in ordinary days.

Today we are in the midst of another winter storm.
Since this is the Year of the Broken Snow-Blowers,
(yes, we have two, and they are both broken)
I'm going to get to shovel about six inches of snow.
I'm finding it difficult to feel happy about this.

Here are a few gifts I've been given this week.
I have learned to seek out and reach for all the things within my grasp that increase joy.
No one else can do this for me.
I think of joy as a cistern that is always full,
but I have to grab the dipper and ladle out what I need.
This requires a spirit that is calm enough to receive,
and eyes wide open to see the beauty each day brings.
This week, I noticed:

~ Sunlight pouring into our living room.
(Oh, and a toddler playing with a vintage toy makes the room even more fetching).

~ Hearty breakfasts can make me pretty happy.
(I usually make Oatmeal Crepes for Malachi, but lately I've been eating eggs over-easy on oatmeal toast.
So yummy that I often have seconds. I also squeeze a grapefruit and a clementine, and share that with the baby. Sometimes he gulps it all down and I don't get any).

~ My church is a wonderful place to be.
Yep, it's always good to have a favorite day of the week (Mine is Sunday). That way you have something to look forward to every single week.

~ Old hymns are a continual comfort and delight.
Which one is my favorite? I don't know, but "Come Thou Fount" is near the top of the list.

If I picked worship songs, the list would include one newish song and five hymns.
Since both radio and church leave me thirsty for more hymns, I have faves at home and in the car.

~ I can give a present for no reason at all.

So if no one is showing up at your doorstep with a lovely surprise, be the one to give the gift.
It can be so small, just a card or a single flower.
It's crazy how giving a gift makes you feel even better than getting one.

~ It lifts my heart to hear an old friend on the radio.
Michele's encouraging voice, reminding me of God's promises, fills my heart with hope. The words (often straight from Scripture) are perfect for my day and my situation. If you live in or near the Twin Cities, she's on Praise FM 95.3.

It's easy to forget that our days are laced with joys unspeakable and full of glory. (....and for those who know that song, you're now humming it, yay!)

What is one thing you do that makes your joy increase?
I'd love to know.

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2 comments:

ruthFebruary 19, 2014 at 3:20 PM
I like hymns, too, and Fernando Ortega on Pandora. I like sunshine and blue skies, but when it is dreary and cold, I like to plug in my little space heater that looks [a bit] like a wood stove and curl up with a book near the cheesy fake flames. I love to go for walks, and I just found a nearby mega church with an indoor playground that has a walking path around it... an added benefit is that my Bible study meets in that church, and there is usually somebody from Bible study who is also staying to walk. I love hot chocolate, and I've found that any hot chocolate mix (my homemade, or store-bought in a pinch) tastes fantastic if you add a couple of tablespoons of real unwhipped whipping cream. I love if I ever get a long, chatty email from someone. I love talking to my sister on the phone, and I have learned so much from the wise woman she has become. I've benefited so much when she calms me down and gently talks me out of a selfish mindset. I love when Jesus surprises me with an unusual beauty in His creation; that is one of the very best things of all.
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Hush

"Can we say 'Hush' to ourselves? Can we command our thoughts? I believe we can. God has given us the power to close the shutter of our minds upon hurtful, weakening thoughts. He has provided all manner of shutters. A book that swings us off ourselves and into another world is a very good shutter; a song set to music; beauty; the dear love of those who love us. Above all, there is this: look at Calvary. Look steadfastly. Take time to look and all within you will be hushed, for power streams forth from Calvary. We need never know defeat." (Amy Carmichael)

A Prayer (Not by Joel Osteen)

"Take from me, Oh Lord, that self-pity which love of myself so readily produces, and from the frustration of not succeeding in the world as I would naturally desire, for these have no regard for your glory. Rather, create in me a sorrow that is conformable to Your own. Let my pains rather express the happy condition of my conversion and salvation. Let me no longer wish for health or life, but to spend it and end it for You, with You, and in You. I pray neither for health nor sickness, life nor death. Rather I pray that you will dispose of my health, my sickness, my life, and my death, as for Your glory, for my salvation, for the usefulness to Your church and Your saints, among whom I hope to be numbered. You alone know what is expedient for me. You are the Sovereign Master. Do whatever pleases You. Give me or take away from me. Conform my will to Yours, and grant that with a humble and perfect submission, and in holy confidence, I may dispose myself utterly to You. May I receive the orders of Your everlasting provident care. May I equally adore whatever proceeds from You."
-Blaise Pascal

Solitude

by Henri Nouwen

We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with him and him alone.
Our primary task in solitude, therefore, is not to pay attention to the many faces which assail us, but to keep the eyes of our mind and heart on him who is our divine savior.
Only in the context of grace can we face our sin;
only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds;
only with a single-minded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature.
As we come to realize that it is not we who live, but Christ who lives in us, that he is our true self, we can slowly let our compulsions melt away and begin to experience the freedom of the children of God.

A Meditation

by Henri Nouwen

To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept. Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even dare to be silent with you.