Morning Reflections - dealing with some bad news

Outside my Window - the sun is shining and it's already 20 degrees at 8:30am. Looks like she's gonna be a warm one today!

I am Thinking - about my best childhood friend and maid of honor AC that just informed me that she has breast cancer at the age of 26. My heart is breaking for her. She is so vibrant and strong. On the upside....she often shaves her head for the fun of it so losing her hair won't be a problem! There is always an upside - we just sometimes have a hard time seeing it.

I am Thankful for - a faithful God who gently guides His children through the good times and the bad times. He is my Rock.  I am nothing without Him.

From the Kitchen - NOTHING! I have the house to myself for the first time in 3 weeks so I think I will grab a book and enjoy the sun in my backyard.

I am Creating - a few projects all at once. Lamps, a wreath and a cute little side table that I picked up for $8. It's been hard to get things done with another woman in the house to talk to all day!

I am Reading - The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent....but I've only read the first few pages so I don't have much to say on it.  I am also reading a commentary on 1 Peter....still.  It's slow going but I enjoy having something that makes my brain work a little.

I am Hoping - that all the times I was able to share with AC about Jesus in our younger years would have planted the seeds of hope and strength that she needs to draw on now. I am sad that I've been bad at keeping in touch the last few years.

I am Hearing - precious silence of an empty house.

Plans for the Week - it's gonna get crazy around here. We're helping our friends move and I have to create some order in the house before my parents and grandparents arrive on Thursday. I also have a never ending list of baking to do.  It's unreal how much food two men can consume when it's there for the taking!

A Picture or Two:  ... or three....of my friend AC and I. 

AC is on the left, I'm on the right. Vising our friend LB at UVIC.

Always quirky. We love going spelunking in our home town Grand Forks, BC

My bridesmaids - we've been friends since the age of 8. AC is on the left and my maid of honour.

Organizing the Linen Closet

Oi Vay, things have been pretty crazy around here lately. As I mentioned a while ago, we have another couple living with us this month. It is really nice to have another wife around to share the cooking and cleaning duties. I might actually miss them when they're gone!

To make them feel more at home (instead of nomads?...gypsies?) I thought I would organize some of our spaces to make things easier to find.  There's nothing like having to ransack someone elses closets/cupboards when they're not home and you need something. Yikes.

The biggest problem was my linen closet. Sheets and towels and tools and electronics...oh my.  How are they supposed to find a towel when they want to shower?!

I love the idea of beautiful baskets to hold my sheet sets and towels but lets be honest - I am FAR too cheap for that.

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Instead I used things that almost every woman has a stash of:

GIFT BAGS

Yep, gift bags.  I grabbed some bigger ugly ones I would never give to anyone (that I know ..tee hee) and added some fun little labels tied on with twine!  They're the perfect fit for a sheet set and pillow cases.

Now I don't have to worry about our master sheet sets winding up on our guests bed .....eek! Call me strange but that wierds me out a bit.

The towels got rolled up neatly and fit perfectly on the shelf below the sheets. The face clothes live in the basket in the middle along with a yummy smelling vanilla sachet to keep things fresh!

I couldn't manage to get a full length picture of the whole closet but the bottom shelves contain our electronics.  I labeled a ziploc bag each for camera accessories, cell phone accessories and various chargers and batteries.  I also have two other labelled gift bags for tableclothes and napkin storage!  Works like a charm!

How do you keep your linen closet organized?

I'm partying at A Bowl Full of Lemons and At the Picket Fence

Gentle and quiet? Who me?

In my daily devotions, I've been studying the book of 1 Peter - which lately has included slogging through Tyndale New Testament Commentary by Wayne Grudem.  While some of it is just a load of "Greek"...haaaa pun intended....there are some really great insights as well.

This morning I got to study 1 Peter 3  - aptly titled Wives and Husbands.  How fitting that I am a wife! With a husband! I tell ya, this passage has ruffled more than a few feathers in its day but it's one that I cherish and I was so excited to see what Mr. Grudem had uncovered.

Let's revisit the first few verses of 1Peter 3:

Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior or their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, 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. 1 Peter 3: 1-4

I don't want to hit on the submissive bomb too much.....maybe that's for another post.  Mr. Grudem had some great things to say about that too.   But anyway.....

What I want to touch on is the last two verses regarding the beauty of a woman.  It's often hard to just be a woman in today's society.  Media and Hollywood constantly impress on us the "ideal" image. As wives we feel "judged" by our ability to keep house, raise children (for those who are blessed in that way) or be that perfect loving wife. Perfect. Ick.

Unfortunately when we internalize these ideals, we often project them on to the people we love the most - our spouse, our children, our family. It's really hard to be perfect when the rest of the crew isn't keeping up, eh?

Some people say that the Bible doesn't translate into today's age....but I disagree! I think these verses hit the nail on the head. 

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment" - I don't believe that Peter is suggesting that we dress like slobs, wear our hair in a way OTHER than braids or go without jewelry. He is saying that our value and worth are not from outward adornment.  We've all met a woman that is beautiful to look at but has an ugly character, right?

"Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit..."(vs 4)

According to the Tyndale New Testament Commentary, the adjective "gentle" (praus in Greek) is defined as:

- not insistant on one's own rights
- not pushy
-not selfishly assertive
-not demanding one's own way

(I don't actually need to say anything about that list, do I?.....Didn't think so )

Mr. Grudem goes on to say, " Such a spirit is the result of a quiet and continual trust in God to supply one's needs."

That's all it is ladies.  When we are looking to someone (or something) other than God to meet our needs.....they won't! They can't!  Our poor husbands are not able to meet our EVERY NEED ladies. They're human and sinners saved by grace.  But if we choose, every day, to cast our cares on our Creator and let Him fill us up (like only He can) then our hubbies are free to be who God made them to be.

I betcha if we stop putting so much pressure on our husbands to be who "we" want them to be, they'd be more inclined to try.   Get it?

And I betcha when God fills in all the gaps, you'll find your husband meets more of your needs than you realized :)

I'm pretty bad at this....for the record. "Quite" and "gentle" are hardly in my vocabulary. But I've seen the changes in MY life, when I stopped looking to my husband and I started looking to God. And it's funny, I'm starting to see the changes in my hubby too. God works in wonderful, sneaky ways. Who knew?!

Courtney over at Women Living Well wrote two great posts about dealing with p*rnography in marriage and cited a number of really great resources. Maybe one day soon I'll share our story about how God is making a dirty, jaded mess into something beautiful ....I know He is....I can feel it.



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Beautiful on the inside :)

Edit: I'm linkin this post up to Courtney's Women Living Well Wednesday