Another Sunday Afternoon

 Good day, readers! Today is another exciting chapter in the blog series entitled … Sunday Afternoon. :)

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Food for thought:

The most fervent desires we bring to God in prayer ought to be desires having to do with His glory, His purposes, and His will. Too often, the only question on our minds is whether God is working things out the way we wish. Rarely do we concern ourselves with the more important question: whether what is happening redounds to the praise of God’s glory. Properly understood, prayer is about God, not about us.”

Gary Henry, Diligently Seeking God

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Meal planning. My cooking day is Monday, and I tend to drive my long-suffering Mom crazy by my tendency to make meals by the seat of my pants unless I take the time to plan ahead! ;) { This } is a really yummy recipe ‘specially during the fall and winter -- think I'm making it tomorrow.

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Listening to: 

Christy episodes

The Prince Caspian soundtrack

And, in order to redeem myself for that totally un-educational listening list ;) …

Brahms' Intermezzo No. 1 in E Flat Major from Op. 117. Played it in high school for competition and currently brought it out again. Love this piece.

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Reading: 

The Hobbit

Jeremiah (the prophet, that is!)

Diligently Seeking God – marvelous daily reading, highly recommended.

We Were There at the Normandy Invasion – my current read-aloud! This is such a fun book.

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Drinking: Republic of Tea Pumpkin Spice tea. YUM.

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Writing for: 

ze blog

ze journal

ze quote book.

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I hope your Sunday afternoon is equally peaceful. :) Have an edifying day!

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... Sunday afternoon ...

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New apron!

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"The February sunshine ... tints the buds and swells the leaves within ..."

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... but it doesn't stop the snow! :)

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Whatever your hand finds to do ...

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When I started my current job nearly a year and a half ago, I was nervous. Slightly. Or rather more than slightly, if you were to ask my Mom. ;o) I had just finished a 6 week front-office training course a couple of months before, and as yet had no practical experience. Exciting … and scary!! In order to keep my mind and focus in the right places, I felt like it would be really helpful to have some reminders that I could keep in front of me and read on the fly while working. So, the morning of my first day I armed myself with my Bible, quote book, and a bunch of index cards!

The passages I wrote on the cards were some of my personal favorites regarding work, mindset, and Who it is I really serve in the day-to-day work place. I’m sharing them here in hopes that this might be a helpful idea to you also, whatever your work situation might be, or if you are just feeling the need for some motivating reminders to have on hand during the day. I place my index cards in front of my computer at work where I can generally glance through them easily, as I have opportunity.

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“15% of success could be attributed to training and education, while 85% was attributed to attitude, perseverance, diligence, and vision.”

Dave Ramsey

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“Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself.”

Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones

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Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Phillipians 4:4-7

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Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

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The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

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Rejoice always;

Pray without ceasing;

In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6-7

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Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

Colossians 3:23-24

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What verses/favorite quotes come to your mind for something like this? I’d love for you to share!

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No matter what.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change 

And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

Though its waters roar and foam,

Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.

 

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My life I give to You, oh Lord,

Use me I pray.

May I glorify Your precious name

In all I do and say:

Let me trust You in the valley dark,

As well as in the light,

Knowing You will always lead me,

Your will is always right.

I know God makes no mistakes,

He leads in every path I take

along the way that's leading me to home;

Though at times my heart would break,

There's a purpose in every change He makes --

That others would see my life and know 

That God makes no mistakes.

~ Kim Moore

Disturb Us, Lord

Picture Credit: Wikipedia. Elizabeth I and the Spanish Armada.

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Do you know the history of Sir Francis Drake? He is most well known as a daring English privateer and for helping to lead English fleets to victory against the great Spanish Armada in 1588. I recently came across this inspiring jewel which he wrote in 1577, and had to share it – really, really good thoughts. 

(Oh, and by the way, I began blogging here one year ago today! Thank you for reading! :o)

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Disturb us, Lord, when we are

Too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas

Where storms will show Your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push into the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

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Christmas Past ...

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If you haven't noticed it yet, I should tell you that today is exactly one month since Christmas. Because of this I decided it would be the perfect day on which to post the last aforementioned Christmas-y blog, with some of my favorite crafty/gifty ideas of this year.

I intentionally planned to wait on this post till the one month mark, I really did.

Really.

Okay, so I didn't. I actually had a case of intensive blogger procrastination. But then, it enables you get a last taste of Christmas one month after, so how nice is that?

;o)

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This was what we used as a tree skirt this year:

So cheery, yes? It's a red and white duvet cover we were thinking of turning into nightgowns, but in the meantime it was great for short-term use under the tree. ;) Our tree sits up off the ground on a stand about 6" high, so we generally need something largish to cover up the stand ... and I think this idea turned out pretty cute.

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My sister tried out popcorn-and-cranberry strings to liven up the usual popcorn ones. Definitely doing this next year -- they were so cheerful and old-fashioned looking.

She also made this fun decoration:

 

The picture actually doesn't do it justice ... I had a hard time taking a good one because of the weird angle of the cabinet! (Always blame bad photos on the surroundings. It always sounds plausible. ;o) A swag of cedar, popcorn-and-cranberry string, and a ribbon. (She is so crafty, you guys.)

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And I made a 'Merry Christmas' banner!

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Homemade Christmas gifts:

This dishcloth pattern at Homespun Living:Waffle-Knit Dishcloth

You can see pictures of mine {here}.

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Variations on this scrubbie pattern: Knitted Kitchen Scrubbie

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Also {this} pattern, which I am also using for the scarf shown in the linked post, but crocheted in white and hung on ribbon as a snowflake ornament (sorry, I just discovered that I forgot to take pictures of these before they were given! I'm bummed.)

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And I'll leave you with a picture that made me laugh -- Uncle B's cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve, which, from lack of room because of the amount of food we were blessed with for Christmas dinner, found the top of the kitchen dishes cabinet the only remaining place of rest available!

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