It's been a little slow at our place, but we will get it done!
Blessings to all of you!
Posted by Sylvia
This morning I wanted to present to you a poem that has meant a lot to me over the years. I first heard it on the radio read by Elizabeth Elliot. It is not known who wrote it, but was obviously someone who had struggled with some overwhelming tasks. It seems to have been written by someone who knew what it was like to be tempted to despair. We can be tempted to despair or give up. I’ve been tempted to do that, even with the ministry that God has laid in my hands… with my marriage, my home…
Have you ever felt like what God was asking you was just too much? Be careful; there is very often a difference between what God asks of us and what we impose on ourselves out of pride or envy of someone else’s home, job or family. Be sure that what you are attempting to do for the glory of God is truly godly and that you have those all-important priorities in order. Then, when things get really tough, do the next thing.
Do The Next Thing
Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, do the next thing.
Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe beneath His wing,
Leave all results, do the next thing
Looking for Jesus, ever serener,
Working or suffering, be thy demeanor;
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing.
Then, as He beckons thee, do the next thing.
-Anonymous
Putting one foot in front of the other is sometimes more than we think we can do. We all know though, that it is often just the thing we have to do. Perseverance and determination are usually the marks of age and wisdom. My recommendation though is that you cultivate them both now. Both are traits that God approves of, and if you ask Him, He will give you what you need to develop them in your life no matter how young and inexperienced you may be.
We sometimes trick ourselves into thinking that God will just do it all FOR us. He will not. He will lift us up and care for us, encourage us, give us everything we need and send us on our way to do the things He has given us to do. Sometimes He will carry us through difficult places. But He won’t do our work for us. And often, if we do not take up the challenge to do what He send us to do, He will chose someone else to do it.
Be determined to accomplish what God has set before you today.
Here’s determination for you…..
“Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”
2 Corinthians, 11:24-25
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We’re going to be working in another bedroom today. If you don’t have another bedroom to clean, just choose another room and get busy!
Many of us have a child’s room or children’s room to clean. And many of us have a real task before us what with all the toys, crayons, books and kid stuff that needs organizing.
Basically, you will follow the same method for cleaning a child’s room that you followed in the Master Bedroom. You may however find that you need extra storage for your child’s things.
Good ideas for storage:
* Closet Systems
* Rubbermaid style containers that are clear
* Stackable containers
* Shelves
* Cubby-hole style shelves
First - Take down curtains and wash them if you are able. If you cannot wash them, hang them outside to air. Be sure not to hang them in full sun if you think they may fade.
Second - Strip the bed linens and put them in to wash or in the laundry room.
Hang the bed spread or comforter out to air.
Third - Hang up and put away all clothes or laundry. This would be a good time to go through a child’s clothing and sort it. Give away, store or sell clothing that does not fit.
If you just don’t have any way to store those clothes, you really should get rid of some of them!
Fourth - Get yourself three baskets, boxes or bags. Label these containers:
Throw Away
Give Away
Put Away
Walk around your room and put everything that you don’t want in the room in one of these boxes. Consider putting up 3/4 of your child’s toys. Every few months, trade out the 1/4 you left out for a new batch of toys and store the rest.
Fifth - Pull everything out of the closet. Oh my, yes, the closet AGAIN! laugh.gif Now go through it quickly and put each item in one of your four boxes. Hang up clothes and sort them into the boxes quickly. Don’t take too much time with this. If your child has not worn the item in 1 year, toss it or give it away.
If an item you pull out of your closet does not belong in the closet, if the closet is not where you really should store it, then move it to its rightful place. If you don’t have anywhere else for this item, then its rightful place is the closet. Only you know.
Dust, sweep and clean the inside of the closet. Rehang the clothes. Arrange the contents of the closet that are going back in it, correctly and neatly.
Sixth - Clean out from under the bed. Pull it all out, divide the under-bed contents into your four boxes. Sweep and mop under the bed when everything is moved out from under it.
Seventh - Dust the ceilings, tops of windows and door frames, and walls. If you walls are dirty and you want to wash them, go for it! Use a mild detergent or soap and warm water if you have painted walls. If you have wallpaper, you will want to use a barely damp sponge and a drying towel. Work from the top of the wall down to the floor. If you have carpet, cover it!
Now to the Nitty Gritty Cleaning of the Room:
* Wash the windows. Use my homemade window cleaner or what ever you have on hand. Use newspaper to dry them for a streak free shine!
* Clean up the window frames now and dry them well.
* Clean the baseboards with a soapy solution of mild dish soap and warm water or your natural cleaner
* Dust all furniture. Use lemon oil or orange oil on all wood. Use a mild soap and warm water on other furniture according to what its made of. Wash doilies and table covers.
* If you haven’t yet cleaned the nicnacs and needful items that go in your room go do that now. When they are cleaned, replace them where they go in the room.
Press and rehang curtains.
Enlist a child to organize and sort items to be stored in storage containers.
Sweep, vacuum and mop the floor depending on what you need to do. If your floors are hard, use which ever chemicals you have success with. I use a wood soap on my hardwood and then a wood shiner product made by Glade. Sometimes I even use orange oil on the floors and rub them to a deep shine. You must rub the wood very vigorously so that it won’t be slick!
Dress the bed. Its getting to be cooler here in the US so dress your bed in sheets and two quilts OR with one quilt and one blanket.
Replace rugs.
Give a child or two a good talking to about the rules of the house for keeping the room clean. Consider putting an every day rule for a 10 minutes straightening session first thing in the morning and another first thing before bed.
Blessings to all of you!
Posted by Sylvia
This morning I wanted to present to you a poem that has meant a lot to me over the years. I first heard it on the radio read by Elizabeth Elliot. It is not known who wrote it, but was obviously someone who had struggled with some overwhelming tasks. It seems to have been written by someone who knew what it was like to be tempted to despair. We can be tempted to despair or give up. I’ve been tempted to do that, even with the ministry that God has laid in my hands… with my marriage, my home…
Have you ever felt like what God was asking you was just too much? Be careful; there is very often a difference between what God asks of us and what we impose on ourselves out of pride or envy of someone else’s home, job or family. Be sure that what you are attempting to do for the glory of God is truly godly and that you have those all-important priorities in order. Then, when things get really tough, do the next thing.
Do The Next Thing
Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by moment, let down from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, and guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrows, child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus, do the next thing.
Do it immediately, do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe beneath His wing,
Leave all results, do the next thing
Looking for Jesus, ever serener,
Working or suffering, be thy demeanor;
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing.
Then, as He beckons thee, do the next thing.
-Anonymous
Putting one foot in front of the other is sometimes more than we think we can do. We all know though, that it is often just the thing we have to do. Perseverance and determination are usually the marks of age and wisdom. My recommendation though is that you cultivate them both now. Both are traits that God approves of, and if you ask Him, He will give you what you need to develop them in your life no matter how young and inexperienced you may be.
We sometimes trick ourselves into thinking that God will just do it all FOR us. He will not. He will lift us up and care for us, encourage us, give us everything we need and send us on our way to do the things He has given us to do. Sometimes He will carry us through difficult places. But He won’t do our work for us. And often, if we do not take up the challenge to do what He send us to do, He will chose someone else to do it.
Be determined to accomplish what God has set before you today.
Here’s determination for you…..
“Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”
2 Corinthians, 11:24-25
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We’re going to be working in another bedroom today. If you don’t have another bedroom to clean, just choose another room and get busy!
Many of us have a child’s room or children’s room to clean. And many of us have a real task before us what with all the toys, crayons, books and kid stuff that needs organizing.
Basically, you will follow the same method for cleaning a child’s room that you followed in the Master Bedroom. You may however find that you need extra storage for your child’s things.
Good ideas for storage:
* Closet Systems
* Rubbermaid style containers that are clear
* Stackable containers
* Shelves
* Cubby-hole style shelves
First - Take down curtains and wash them if you are able. If you cannot wash them, hang them outside to air. Be sure not to hang them in full sun if you think they may fade.
Second - Strip the bed linens and put them in to wash or in the laundry room.
Hang the bed spread or comforter out to air.
Third - Hang up and put away all clothes or laundry. This would be a good time to go through a child’s clothing and sort it. Give away, store or sell clothing that does not fit.
If you just don’t have any way to store those clothes, you really should get rid of some of them!
Fourth - Get yourself three baskets, boxes or bags. Label these containers:
Throw Away
Give Away
Put Away
Walk around your room and put everything that you don’t want in the room in one of these boxes. Consider putting up 3/4 of your child’s toys. Every few months, trade out the 1/4 you left out for a new batch of toys and store the rest.
Fifth - Pull everything out of the closet. Oh my, yes, the closet AGAIN! laugh.gif Now go through it quickly and put each item in one of your four boxes. Hang up clothes and sort them into the boxes quickly. Don’t take too much time with this. If your child has not worn the item in 1 year, toss it or give it away.
If an item you pull out of your closet does not belong in the closet, if the closet is not where you really should store it, then move it to its rightful place. If you don’t have anywhere else for this item, then its rightful place is the closet. Only you know.
Dust, sweep and clean the inside of the closet. Rehang the clothes. Arrange the contents of the closet that are going back in it, correctly and neatly.
Sixth - Clean out from under the bed. Pull it all out, divide the under-bed contents into your four boxes. Sweep and mop under the bed when everything is moved out from under it.
Seventh - Dust the ceilings, tops of windows and door frames, and walls. If you walls are dirty and you want to wash them, go for it! Use a mild detergent or soap and warm water if you have painted walls. If you have wallpaper, you will want to use a barely damp sponge and a drying towel. Work from the top of the wall down to the floor. If you have carpet, cover it!
Now to the Nitty Gritty Cleaning of the Room:
* Wash the windows. Use my homemade window cleaner or what ever you have on hand. Use newspaper to dry them for a streak free shine!
* Clean up the window frames now and dry them well.
* Clean the baseboards with a soapy solution of mild dish soap and warm water or your natural cleaner
* Dust all furniture. Use lemon oil or orange oil on all wood. Use a mild soap and warm water on other furniture according to what its made of. Wash doilies and table covers.
* If you haven’t yet cleaned the nicnacs and needful items that go in your room go do that now. When they are cleaned, replace them where they go in the room.
Press and rehang curtains.
Enlist a child to organize and sort items to be stored in storage containers.
Sweep, vacuum and mop the floor depending on what you need to do. If your floors are hard, use which ever chemicals you have success with. I use a wood soap on my hardwood and then a wood shiner product made by Glade. Sometimes I even use orange oil on the floors and rub them to a deep shine. You must rub the wood very vigorously so that it won’t be slick!
Dress the bed. Its getting to be cooler here in the US so dress your bed in sheets and two quilts OR with one quilt and one blanket.
Replace rugs.
Give a child or two a good talking to about the rules of the house for keeping the room clean. Consider putting an every day rule for a 10 minutes straightening session first thing in the morning and another first thing before bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment