Tuesday, September 15, 2009

I wish I were perfect....

...but I'm not. I was reminded of my imperfection this morning as I walked down the stairs and was greeted by this mess:


Hmmm. . . I had planned on spending my day off today cleaning so the house wouldn't fall down as I work for the next 9 days straight. I started to walk around the house, making a mental list of to-do's . . . and a thought struck me. . . this is the inside of my cup.

Let me explain. . . Since I was little. . .I knew it was "important" that the house was always clean. I want to feel like someone could stop by any time and I wouldn't be embarrassed by our mess. In Mathew 23:25, Jesus says "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something."

So as I walked around our house this morning. . . I thought . . this is the inside of my cup. I can pick up the rooms, clean the floors, dust the furniture, do the dishes, wash the kitchen floor and two bathrooms . . . and I will still be a mess inside of my cup. It's not often that I am listening well enough that I hear the Lord call me out on my own junk. . but this morning. . . I was humbly reminded that I spend way too much time and energy making the outside of me sparkle. It's the inside that needs a good cleaning.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

a great Saturday


Today was great. I was exhausted so we decided to scrap our plan full of painting and going to the gym after I got home from work this afternoon. . . and we reeeeelaxed. Like I said. Great. I took a quick nap on the couch and then decided to cook. . . because I like cooking. I made an apple pie, Joe my father-in-law's chili, and cinnamon rolls from scratch like my Grandma used to. It was great to have time to cook. Like I said. . I like it. Then. . . we had a surprise and our friends Dan, Jamie, and Caden came to visit. GREAT. We like them. Now we are going to watch Braveheart. . . and pretend I don't have to work tomorrow. Hope you all are having a good weekend too!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Jonathan is FAMOUS

f

time capsule


The night we got the keys to our house, Jonathan and I started opening drawers and closets as we were figuring out our plan of attack and found this.........



It is the Wichita Eagle from November 13, 1960. The house was built in 1925. . . so we are not sure the significance of the paper. . . but thought it was cool so we framed it to hang in the living room. It has titles such as Dixie Governor Told To Obey Court Order and Nixon to Keep hand on Reins and Advanced New "Discover" Shot into Orbit. Like I said. . . cool stuff. I was going to cut a page out of it for a mixed media painting I was working on (I'll show you that later. . not sure if it is finished or not) but Jonathan was outraged....... he was probably right. So I didn't. It's inside the frame. . all preserved.

fall



I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. I love the warm afternoons and cold nights. I love back to school. . . even though I don't go to school anymore. I love sleeping with the windows open. I love the leaves. . . the are so beautiful. . . so imperfectly perfect. I love knowing the holidays are coming. I love starting to drink hot cocoa and making my father-in-laws chili for Jonathan. I hate ragweed. . but mostly I love fall. And I especially love that fall is here. Above is a picture of a tree just down the street from our house. It's the only one that has turned yet. . . I hope the ones in our yard are this pretty soon!