Thoughts from reading Jonah...

I am reading through the Bible in my One-Year Devotional Bible and have just finished the book of Jonah. Something stood out to me that I don't remember noticing before -- I noticed the things that God is said to have "prepared" in His dealings with Jonah.

* He "prepared a great fish" (Jonah 1:17)

* He "prepared a gourd" (Jonah 4:6)

* He "prepared a worm" (Jonah 4:7)

* He "prepared a vehement east wind" (Jonah 4:8)

It occurs to me that God is every bit as thoughtful and purposeful in His dealings with all of His people. Everything that enters our lives is for a specific purpose, to grow us in some way and, ultimately, to bring glory to God.

I was reminded of something that William MacDonald wrote: "Everything that God allows to come into our lives is purposeful. We should not detest it or despise it. Neither should we shrink from it or give up under it. Rather we should be concerned that God's purpose is achieved through the discipline, and thus we reap the maximum profit from it. God's ultimate purpose in the disciplines of life is that we become partakers of His holiness."

Living Room Challenge Update

Here's a quick update on the great Living Room Challenge. I dare say Carrie is making greater strides in her living room than I am in mine, but I have accomplished some of what I planned.

* I thoroughly dusted and decluttered three shelves of books plus the top of the bookcase. It does look much, much better.

* I decluttered a pretty basket which I use for storage of note cards, addresses, etc. and it also looks so much nicer and neater.

Hopefully I can accomplish more (if not all) of the challenge today and tomorrow. We will be away for Friday evening and most of Saturday, so I can't expect to get anything done at home in that time frame.

Living Room Challenge

I've decided to join in on the Living Room Challenge that Carrie is doing over at Life on a Back Road. My living room looks sort of OK on the surface, but the storage areas are in serious need of decluttering, so I'm going to focus on those for my own challenge. Carrie listed the areas she'll be working on and about how long she thinks each project would take, so I'm going to do the same.

* Straighten, dust, and declutter 6 shelves of books (1 hour)

* Declutter 3 storage shelves in bookcase cupboard (45 minutes)

* Reorganize cross-stitch books and materials (30 minutes)

* Declutter a storage basket (15 minutes)

* Declutter a storage chest (45 minutes)

Anybody care to join in on this living room challenge with us? I'll keep you posted as to how I do with this.

Sew Crafty Friday for August 22

Here's just a quick post to show what little bit of craftiness I've been up to this week. On Saturday, I needed a quick hostess gift to take to a friend. I wanted it to be a nice gift, but a consumable one. I came up with the idea of packaging my homemade laundry soap as a gift. I put enough for 6 loads of laundry in a quart size zipping bag. Then I placed it in a brown paper lunch bag and -- using red thread -- sewed the folded-down top of the bag in place, attaching a label with the instructions/ingredients in the process. I was really pleased with the way it came out. I was striving for a sort of old-fashioned general store look, but one could change the look of the packaging entirely by making a prettier or more whimsical label and changing the thread color.
By the way, if you are interested in reading about how I did this, along with the formula for the soap, check my Christmas blog -- the link is in the sidebar. I just did a post about this.

I made this pretty summer tag to give to my friend along with the laundry soap. I'm quite pleased with the way it came out.

In other crafting, my blueberry potholder is nearly finished. Just a tiny bit of green back-stitching left to do.

How about you? If you have managed to accomplish or even start any crafting this week, then head on over to Waiting for Him and share your projects. Shereen and others will be eager to see what you have to share.

Happy Crafting!

Show & Tell Friday for August 22

Just a quick post to show some of my ocean themed items. A friend told me she puts seashore-themed items all around her house in August. What a wonderful idea! I own quite a few items like this because we have made many trips to the ocean, especially Maine and Prince Edward Island. And one of my daughters chose "seaside romance" as her theme for decorating at her wedding, so we have quite a few items left from that as well. I decided to borrow my friend's idea for August, but I chose to take my items from all around the house and assemble them on one shelf of the hutch in the dining area.

The first photo shows most of the items I've placed on this shelf. The following photos will show more in detail.

This shows the center of the shelf. A gorgeous hand-painted sand dollar which we bought in Pensacola, Florida takes center stage. We've had it 15 years or so, and it was looking a bit tired. I took a chance and wiped it gently with a Mr. Clean magic eraser. It worked really well for the texture of the sand dollar. In front of the sand dollar are a few pieces of (purchased) sea glass. My daughter has picked up many, many pieces of sea glass over the years, but I did buy these for crafting.


We made the shell-trimmed candles for the wedding, just hot-gluing assorted shells to inexpensive pillar candles. My daughter had seen some very expensive votive candle holders similar to the gold-trimmed one here, so we made our own, frosting regular votive holders and adding the gold mesh ribbon and seashore charms. There's a starfish on the lower left and a shell on the right toward the middle. The sand dollars in the front were picked up in Maine.

Here's the other end of the shelf. Another shell-trimmed pillar, another pretty card, a small assortment of pretty shells, and a sand dollar painted by one of my daughters many, many years ago following a trip to PEI.

So that is my show & tell for today. To see what others have shared for Show & Tell Friday, head on over to There is No Place Like Home

and check out the links. Happy Show & Tell Friday, everyone!

Menu Plan Monday for August 18

A hot sunny day here in northern New England. (See the post below to see what the weather was like Saturday! You'll see why here in New England we say, "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute." I do have a couple of repeat menus that didn't get used last week. Here's my menu plan:

MONDAY: Mushroom Oven Omelet, Home Fries, Fruit Salad

TUESDAY: Mini Meat Loaves, Potato Salad, Green Beans

WEDNESDAY: Calzone, Pasta Salad

THURSDAY: Pork Chop Supper (in crock pot with potatoes, carrots, barbecue sauce), Cucumber Salad

FRIDAY: Chicken Caesar Salad, Italian Sweet Bread

SATURDAY: Spinach Quiche, Corn on the Cob, Carrot Salad

SUNDAY: Italian Sausage & Vegetables, Italian Sweet Bread

If you would like to see menus which others have shared, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the links. Usually close to 200 people -- sometimes many more! -- share links to their weekly menus. You'll find some great ideas and often recipes too.

Lessons from the storm...

 For Building Our Homes Together today,  I thought I would share a post I wrote just about three years ago, in August.  An unexpected storm taught me (and my husband) some important lessons about getting through the storms of life.  The "life storm" we were in the midst of then is still swirling about us in some ways.  It has taken some twists and turns, some ups and downs, and more storms have come and gone, but the precious lessons remain.  Maybe these thoughts will be an encouragement to someone else today.


Lessons from the storm...

Saturday afternoon we headed out for what promised to be a wonderfully relaxing time at the lakeside home of friends. I was to bring my stitchery, and my friend planned to do some sketching as we relaxed on the beach. They live about 20 minutes from us, and the sun was shining brightly before we left home. About halfway there, we saw a few sprinkles on the windshield, and it was in fact raining when we reached our destination. But we enjoyed a nice chat on the porch anyway, and, when the shower seemed to be over, we ventured out for a walk.

Toward the end of our walk it began to rain again, so we put up the umbrellas we'd brought and headed back to our friends' place. Just as we reached their porch, the hail began. Now, we've seen hail in conjunction with summer thunderstorms before, but this was an amazing amount of hail! The hailstorm lasted 15 to 20 minutes and was accompanied by a very strong smell of sulphur. While it hailed, the noise on the metal porch roof was deafening. Conversation literally could not be carried on -- in fact, we had to plug our ears because the sound was so loud. The hail covered the ground, looking incongruously like snow. When the hail ended, the rain, thunder and lightning all continued for quite some time.

After enjoying a delightful early supper, we decided to go out for another walk, since things had cleared off. What a difference! The sky was bright blue, with fluffy white clouds, and the lake was serene and calm. People were swimming and boating once again. It was an amazing transformation.

Now for the really good part of the story. You see, although the afternoon didn't go according to the plans we had made, it did go according to God's plan. And, amazingly, He used that storm to reinforce some important lessons and to encourage me. I hope these thoughts may encourage someone else today, too. Here are some of my thoughts:

1) God's awesome power was seen so clearly in that unusual storm. It reminded me of something I had just read in Elizabeth George's book Finding God's Path Through Your Trials. She wrote that an important step for staying in our trials is to remember God's power: "When your trial gets harder and the steps grow steeper, you struggle. Remind yourself, 'Is anything too hard for the LORD?' (Genesis 18:14) and remember the answer: 'Ah Lord GOD! behold, Thou hast made the heaven and the earth by Thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for Thee.' (Jeremiah 32:17)"

Interestingly, before I read those words this week, I had already been working at memorizing Jeremiah 32:17. God used that hailstorm to remind me of His limitless power and might.

2) When I mentioned to our pastor about the deafening sound of the hail on the metal roof, and how we couldn't hear one another, he remarked that sometimes the storms in our lives become so loud that we have to listen extra carefully for the still, small voice of God. How true! In the storms of life, I have found it so important to take extra time with the Lord and to pray for sensitivity to His leading.

3) The contrast between the raging storm and the serene calm of a few hours later was so vivid. It was such an encouragement to me as I thought about the storms of life and how there will eventually be a calm. No matter how the storm rages, the Lord will bring us safely through to the other side. The verses that came to mind immediately were these:

"Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and He bringeth them out of their distresses.
"He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
"Then are they glad because they are quiet; so He bringeth them into their desired haven.
"Oh, that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!"  (Psalm 107:28-31)

Truly, there are precious lessons to be learned in the storms of life.