Tag Archives: Kitchen

What Is My Worth?

Our Kitchen Counter

Image by Josh Michtom via Flickr

The morning is quiet.

Time to think…before the day begins

I prepare breakfast.

Pour coffee

Wipe down counters

Notice the fur bunnies that need to be swept

See the explosion in the microwave, that needs to be cleaned

Remember an activity the kids want to attend

Remind children of school work that needs completed

There is laundry to wash before a trip

The big and little things that make up the life of a mom

My life

Sometimes the day to day is overwhelming….other days I am bored.

I look in the mirror.

I wonder what my life is worth?

On days when I don’t feel like what I do is exciting, or interesting…

When I feel trapped in the mundane

I am reminded of what I am truly worth to the One that loves me beyond measure.

It is WHO I know that gives me value.

It is WHAT I know about Him that brings me worth.

It is WHERE I go that fills me.

It is WHEN I go that humbles me.

It is WHY I go

To live……

 

New International Version (©1984) Luke 12:24
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

New International Version (©1984) Hebrews 11:26
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. I Peter 3: 3-4 NIV

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Love Is A Sacrifice

As good as heart can wish

Image by harold.lloyd via Flickr

Love is a sacrifice… I wrote this note in my Bible, in the margin of the page,  next to the story of  The Good Samaritan. (Luke 10:25-) A story that Jesus gave as an example of love. A man hurt, beaten and bleeding, on the side of the road. Ignored by some. Cared for by a stranger. The stranger showed compassion and mercy to this man that he did not know.

As I looked to this story, I pondered the words of the Lord. He ends His parable referring to the actions of the good Samaritan, “Go and do likewise.”

Go and do likewise. Jesus’ words echo in my heart.

How many times am I like the priest or the Levite in the story? The first people to encounter the wounded stranger. The priest crossed to the other side of the road, as did the Levite. Was the sight of the man too much? Were they too busy? Did they owe this stranger their time? Could they be bothered with the ache of another?

I’ve known this story since childhood…but, today I looked at it with new eyes.  A story with a lesson. Relevant to today.

“He bandaged his wounds.”

“He took care of him.”

To the inn keeper he said, “Look after him, I will reimburse you.”

This man was not too busy to slow down.  He knelt to help another…with no expectation of reward or reimbursement. We do not know (Jesus never says)  if the hurt man ever thanked the Samaritan that had helped him.

Love calls for sacrifice.

A sacrifice of time. A sacrifice of energy. A sacrifice of what I might want, for the benefit of another. Selfishness can’t survive in the presence of love.

Real love for others, always requires a sacrifice of self.
“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 12:31

” Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Luke 6:31

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Ephesians 4:2

“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19


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It’s Behind The Refrigerator!

RSPCA cat & mouse

Image by Jo and Paul's pics via Flickr

The saga continues…

I came out to the kitchen this morning, flipped on the lights and turned the coffee pot on. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the “dark shadow” zip behind the refrigerator. As I came around the corner of the cabinets I saw Nikki sitting there like a statue. Her eyes glued to the small area around the fridge. She heard it too. She wanted it. She licked her chops.

I hear it moving around behind the refrigerator. It has to come out eventually. Nikki will be waiting. Hopefully. I hope she doesn’t give up when we let the dog out (in 10 min.) to use the bathroom. Lonnie is always so energetic in the morning, he might distract Nikki from her job.

Have I mentioned that I hate mice? Seriously.

What if that varmint had run across my foot when I opened the refrigerator door this morning? I would have had a screaming heart attack. The family would have shot out of bed sure that the world was coming to an end….and for me if would have. I would have been laying dead as a doornail on the kitchen floor.

Nikki repositioned…the mouse is now behind the freezer. (We have separate standing refrigerator/freezer) I can hear the little sucker. I think he is watching me type through the vent in the bottom of the freezer, under the door. I thought I heard a snicker.

He’s probably scared. Poor little field mouse can’t find his way out of this crazy house, big cat waiting on him to make the wrong move, owner of house threatening him bodily harm and laughing manically. Whatever. This war is still on…’cause I’m still thinking about how much mouse poop is probably behind my fridge. Stupid, mouse.

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Precious Memories…And Sugar Cookies

Floral sugar cookies.

Image via Wikipedia

The young girl got off the school bus in front of the big farm house. She walked up the driveway, hearing the crunch of gravel beneath her shoes. She turned at the sidewalk that led to the tiny side porch. The door opened…..

The elderly lady stood at the door, smiling. As the little girl got closer she could smell cookies. Sugar cookies. The older woman knew that the little girl loved her home made sugar cookies, warm out of the oven. She ushered the little girl inside to have a seat at her worn Formica kitchen table. The kitchen was warm and cozy. The woman quiet and kind. The girl happily munched on cookies while telling the woman of her school day. The older lady nodded and smiled. The girl asked about the horses, that she could see from the kitchen windows. The grandmotherly woman told stories about her Petunia and Judd and their antics. Sometimes the girl ran through the backyard and over to the fence near the big, red barn. She liked looking at Petunia and Judd up close.

After the sugary snack, there was much to explore…and the woman always let the little girl explore. There was a parakeet to say hello to, in the living room. There were three steps to “no where” in the living room, near the back porch door. The girl imagined it was a secret hideout, instead of what used to probably be a back stair case to the upstairs that had long been covered up. Then there was the organ in the parlor. It looked pretty sitting in there. Formal and quiet. The kind woman even let the young girl explore her bedroom and tiny bathroom, with all the colors from decades past. The bedroom was small, but warm with braided rugs on the floor.

The little girl enjoyed her visits. Time passed, the girl got older, and her visits were more sporadic. In 1982 the older woman became ill. She went to the hospital. The little girl was now a teen. She saw her friend in the hospital bed. Someone had tied a bright pink ribbon in the elderly woman’s snow white hair. A splash of color in an otherwise sterile room.

The little girl, was me. My friend was Mrs. Saylor. She was like a surrogate grandmother to me. To this very day when I make a trip back to the place of my youth, I cannot pass by her house without remembering her. She might be gone for many years now, but she lives in my memories….and in my heart.

Don’t ever think that you can’t make a difference in a child’s life. I know you can…just like Mrs. Saylor.  All it takes is a cup of kindness, a heaping spoonful of time, a dash of a listening ear, and some really good sugar cookies to munch on.

 

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Life Is Beautiful

There's nothing like a beautiful sunrise to st...

I’m beginning a new, week long series at my blog. One I hope you will enjoy reading.

My blog entry from yesterday was very true. Life IS unfair. There are difficult times that we all go through in this journey, called life.

BUT……this series will be different. This series will be about the beauty found in everyday life. The special moments– that transcend the hard times. My hope is that  we can all take a moment to appreciate the things in each of our lives, that make life beautiful.

Beginning this series will force me to take the time to observe and appreciate the beauty in the every day. I will be more aware of the little things (or not so little things) that cause me to smile. I’m excited about it. I’m ready. Life really is beautiful…and I want to share it with you.

 

The sun was just creeping up over the horizon as I walked into the kitchen this morning. The blue, early morning  light made the kitchen glow. It is a beautiful, quiet time.  Soon the sky was filled with pinks, purples, blues, and reds. The sun never lets me down, as it shares it’s painted colors, boldly splashed across a dark blue sky. At my house the sun comes up over the vast expanse of  a farm field that is busily “sleeping” this winter. I like looking at the space that surrounds me. It makes me happy that I escaped the close quarters of city life.  Even though the fields are brown right now, I know that there will be life in those rows of dirt in a few short months. It reminds me that life goes on.

The field across the road from me, and directly in my view from the kitchen window…are my neighbor’s llamas. Life is new in that field. I see the small, baby llama with it’s mama. He (or she) looks like a brown cotton ball with teeny stick-like legs.  There is something that mesmerizes me about the llamas. I could sit and just watch them all day. It is my little section of the animal kingdom to quietly observe. I hope my neighbors decide to keep llamas forever. I’d be so sad if they left.

I would love it, if my readers would take a moment to write down something that makes life beautiful for them…the comment doesn’t have to be long….or it can be. It is up to you.  Help me to see life’s beauty through your eyes.

 

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