WFMW - Cleaning My Lampshades

Hello, and welcome to my blog! This is my first Works For Me Wednesday and I hope that this little (and I do mean little) tip will be helpful to you. For more great tips check out Rocks In My Dryer ,hosted by Shannon. Now here it is...my tip.


The humble lint remover....I've used it for years to get pet hair off of my black pants (what is it about pet hair and black pants?). Then one day it occured to me I could use it to clean my lampshades. This is probably not a revelation to most of you out there but I was thrilled when I figured it out! I also found that I could use it on my bedspread/comforter, my drapes, upholstery, etc, etc. I admit that it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that a lint remover can be useful on many surfaces but let's just say it took a little longer for the light to dawn on me.

I should mention that the kind of lint remover I use for these little tasks is the "reverse tape" kind made by the 3M Company.

It works for me and I hope it works for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

To Coffee or Not To Coffee

My husband had his gall bladder removed as a New Year's Eve present this last year. In fact the hospital is still sending us little notes on a monthly basis congratulating us on visiting them and requesting donations...HA!

Anyway, as a result of that we discovered he had elevated cholesterol levels and needed to make some changes in his diet. I now buy egg substitute and oatmeal in bulk from Costco, soy milk, and heart-healthy margarine. (The kids and I maintain a full on cholesterol diet.) He also decided that he needed to give up coffee and tried to convince me to do it too. We did it for awhile earlier in the year, then we were back on, recently we were back off and now we're back on again. During the first time we were back on we tried to drink only decaf. Now we are back on half caf/half decaf organic coffee. And if we go to Starbuck's or any other coffee outlet it's full on caf with the heart attack.

Our problem when we were off coffee or only drinking decaf was that we were seeking caffeine from other sources which were loaded with sugar and carbination. We decided that that was worse than the coffee and also a lot more expensive since we couldn't brew it at home. I also discovered that with the current formula of half calf/half decaf that I actually feel better. Okay, yes I know caffeine is a drug and it's little wonder I feel better on it but I do know people who simply cannot handle the stuff. I, on the other hand, do better when I have a little (notice I said little) caffeine in the morning. I usually don't have anymore for the rest of the day.

So what does this all mean? I don't know. Maybe just that it's all about moderation. When we over do anything whether it's coffee or chocolate or whatever it's going to have adverse effects. Also that there can't be a one-size fits all approach to diet. Some people can tolerate things that others can't.

The only thing that you can't overdo is time with God and worshipping Him.

The Calendar Conspiracy

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that more and more day planners and desk calendars are starting the week on Monday? If you don't believe me take a moment next time you are at an office supply store or Barnes and Nobles and start checking out the calendars. They nearly all start the week on Monday. For centuries the week has started on Sunday and now all these calendar makers have decided it should start on Monday. What I want to know is why?

I know that there is a vast portion of the working public that view Monday as the beginning of the week. It is the first day back work and school, but it is NOT the first day of the week. The Lord asks us as believer's in Him to give of our first fruits. The first fruits of the week is Sunday. Jesus rose on the first day...hello Sunday! I would like to announce to the world that the first day of the week is SUNDAY!

So why can't I find a desk calendar that begins the week on Sunday? I keep looking for a Mary Engelbreit desk calendar...she hopefully will still start the week on Sunday.

Potpourri

Okay...this is our dog Chewy...and I can't figure out how to get the photo the right way so please forgive me for making you crane your neck at a weird angle. But you know it's kind of appropriate, she is the kind of dog who would make you do that anyway. She ate our weather station yesterday (so far no signs of mercury poisoning) and a giant sponge, she isn't scared of anything except the vacuum cleaner and she would happily eat the cat's food and then chase her all over the house if we let her. She's a nut but we love her. (By the way, she dragged that log she's tied to all over the beach. So much for keeping her in one place!)

I would like to publicly thank my friend Frances over at Woman of Faith for spurring me to keep on blogging. I did not realize how much I enjoy it until I hadn't done it for awhile. I love reading blogs as much as writing them. Barring any unforseen trials....I hope to keep up with my blogging from now on. And maybe even learn how to blog through a trial.

This particular entry is going to be short because I'm stealing time away from my time with God (okay now I feel guilty), and I still need to get the kids up, figure out what we're doing for school today, and figure out how to be at a piano lesson and a hair appointment at the same time. (I am NOT missing my hair appointment!)

Lastly, you have to check out this new blog Because I Said So... . I was laughing out loud with her latest enstallment! God bless this woman who can see the funny side to the little trials of everyday life and then share it with the rest of us.

Obedience

Hello everyone....thank you for patiently waiting for me to blog again. I recently had a friend e-mail me and ask if I was ever going to blog again. "Yes," I said, "I want to blog, I desire to blog, I just lack the time." In part that was true. With our little school at home starting again, keeping up with the house and various church commitments I have been hard pressed to find time to write a grocery list much less a blog. But the other part is this....

I have recently gone through a trial for which the Lord, in His graciousness, forwarned me was coming. In my May 12th devotional the Lord gave me this scripture, Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. - I Peter 4:12. I'm not going to get into all the details of what happened or why but I am going to tell you what I learned.

1 - Obey the Lord and do it promptly. The Lord gave me clear direction on what I needed to do. However, it was a hard thing to do and I dragged my feet on it causing much more grief than was necessary.

2 - Our calling is not always easy and not always acceptable to all around us. I am by nature a person who wants to make everyone happy. However, the Lord hasn't called me to make everyone happy. He called me to be a wife, a mother and a teacher to my own children. Earlier in the Spring God emphasized to me the passage in Titus 2:3-5, ...the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things - that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed. I am glad that I am taking that passage seriously and I know that in time it will produce fruit.

3 - ...to obey is better than sacrifice (I Samuel 15:22). In our culture today we sometimes honor and revere those who sacrifice everything for their "passion". My question is what are you sacrificing? Is your "passion" really that important? Also is your "passion" what God has called you to right now, at this season in your life? God did not call me at this time to sacrifice my family, He called me to be obedient to Him and listen to the admonishment for young women given in Titus.

So, you are asking, what does all this have to do with blogging? Well, just this...I'm a finicky writer. When I'm going through something hard I don't like to write it down. And when I'm going through something hard, frankly, it's all I can think about. Hence that makes it hard to write. (It's probably a good thing I don't write for a living.)

The good thing is that there is now some space between the trial and the present time. I've had some time to reflect and put things into perspective. Now it's time to get down to the business of living out the calling the Lord has given me.