So sweet

I was thinking today of how great it felt to just trust God - it really is sweet. It reminded me of the words of this hymn.

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
Just to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”*

To me right now, it's sweet to know "Thus says the Lord," not merely because of promises, but because His commands are good. If we know what God has said, is there really anything in life that we cannot face? Sometimes the commands are hard, but coming from a loving Father, they are for our good.

Psalm 119:35 says, "Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it." I don't always feel this way, but today I do. I'll enjoy this sweet delight while it lasts, and pray that it will become more and more frequent every day until I see His face.

*Every version of the words I found online had the last line this way. I remember it as "Thus saith the Lord!" As it really doesn't change the meaning, I'm going to stick with the more common rendition, although I do think my memory is correct on this one.

In which I make a confession

The was a time when I thought that growing up to be like my parents was something to be avoided. Today I come to confess that I want to become more like my mother.

My mother is a good example to me of discipline. I always thought that she must like walking every morning because she did it so faithfully. My ideal was shattered when she told me that she actually did not particularly want to do it. It was discipline.

The house was clean, which also took discipline (and child labor). The laundry always got done. There were always clean dishes. Dinner always arrived on the table. Labor of love? Sure. Fulfilling responsibilities? Sure. But I would say that loving and being responsible require discipline.

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. I don't think those three things are unrelated.

To be disciplined in taking care of my apartment and my dog may seem small, but there is certainly a greater principle at stake. Did not Jesus tell a story of a man who went on a journey and left his servants in charge of his property? What did the man say to the servants who executed their duties faithfully?

"His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'"

God may give me the task today to keep my kitchen clean. If I can be faithful in the small things, what greater tasks will He give me? But if I can't even manage to do that, can I expect to be given stewardship over anything more?

It's time to embrace the spirit of discipline which God has given to me. I may have to learn it one step at a time, but I'd like to hear "Well done." I think I'll go wash that cookie sheet...

Adding Color, Part 3

This is the last in the series of little improvements to my apartment. I purchased this small coat rack some time ago but just didn't put it up. The classic Eeyore and Tigger have also been around for some time and I decided that they would go well on the shelf to make it look less barren.


This is one of my favorite recent acquisitions. It arrived on Monday and was put up tonight. It pulls the various colors in the room together nicely and puts something I like on what was a plain wall. It hangs above the couch.

Adding Color, Part 2

Today's project after work was to obtain and arrange artificial flowers for the patio and bathroom. I happened to decide to do this when the craft store was having a 50-60% off sale on artificial flowers. I could not have chosen better timing!

I found some arranged pansies on sale for under $4 each and thought they'd go well on the ledge (for those unfamiliar with the apartment, the ledge of the patio is just a couple of inches above the driveway). I got two each of purple and yellow/purple flowers.


I had two pots with dirt in them just sitting on the patio growing nothing but cobwebs, so I found some flowers to put in each of them. Lucy helped me, as you can see.



I arranged the chairs I had with the tables I purchased yesterday and together with the flowers I think the patio now looks much, much better than it did before!


The flowers in the bathroom are in a pot that came in a lotion/body wash/body spray set. I had been using that pot in the bathroom to hold the toothpaste, but I think it looks better as a flower pot/vase.

Adding Color

I saw something online the other day that I really liked - they were small round soaps that just look cool sitting by the bathroom sink. I was going to purchase some, as they were rather inexpensive, but decided to see if Etsy.com had anything that I liked. For those of you unfamiliar with Etsy.com, it's a website where people sell craft supplies, vintage items and handmade or homemade items. I did a search for soap, hoping to find some small, decorative yet usable soap for a good price. I ended up with something I like better than my original idea - samplers. For $25 (shipping included) I ended up with all of this:

One sampler pack of twelve soaps that came with a bonus soap and another sampler pack of 16 soaps and 3 bonus soaps and 1 bonus lip balm. In all of this there were only two bars of soap of the same scent (one of the bonus soaps was a duplicate, but no complaints, it's a nice scent). Each bar is "guest" size, which means hotel soap size or a little bit bigger. I think I got a pretty good deal and will have a lot of variety, and unlike something more decorative, I won't feel bad in the least about using them. They are all colorful, so putting a few out on a soap dish will still add a fun touch to the bathroom. I can't wait to wash my hands, although I'll have a hard time deciding which one to use first!

I have also decided that I want to start using my patio area when the weather finally warms up, so I was looking for an economical way to furnish it. I was looking at cheap bistro and patio sets but couldn't find anything I liked well enough at a price I was willing to pay. I did, however, find these today at Home Goods (one of those places where if you really like something you'd better buy it because that may be the only one they ever have in stock):

I really like them. The surface is intentionally cracked tile, and the price was right. Now all I need to do is upgrade the chairs I have out there. I'd like a rocking chair but haven't found any really economical ones yet, so the cloth camping chairs I already have are just going to have to do for now.