Laurie's Everyday Notions

As I deep cleaned my kitchen this morning I was a bit taken back by where my thoughts wandered to. You see, typically while I'm deep cleaning I make a mental list of all failures of my home. The section of my yellow kitchen ceiling that is not yellow but white as it was patched up 7 years ago when the bathroom above the kitchen "sprung a leak". The tile that has a long crack. The veneer on the cupboard door which keeps falling off in chunks. And then there's this ancient stove.  My harvest gold stove is almost as old as I am. My husband keeps reviving it and I'm not sure if that is a good thing. Two years ago the heating element went out on the oven and I learned to make bread on an outdoor fire pit  (I have to admit that that was a fun learning experiment!). Last year the knobs started crumbling one by one. I was finally down to two knobs which I glued together when we were able to locate replacement knobs online. Shortly after we got the knobs replaced fo...

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us,  so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind  toward each other that Christ Jesus had,   that with one mind and one voice you may glorify  the God and Father  of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another,  then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.   For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises  made to the patriarchs might be confirmed   and, moreover, that the Gentiles  might glorify God  for his mercy.  Romans 15:4-9 Encouragement. I'm not sure about you but it's something that I need regularly.  A pat on the back to say "job well done". A hug to show that someone acknowledges a moment of hear...

If you live in Minnesota you know that the sub-zero temperatures are the "hot topic". Heck, if you live anywhere in the U.S., we're all talking about the cold. On Friday the Governor of Minnesota declared a Monday (today) as a state-wide snow day, or rather a cold day, for MN public schools determining that the subzero forecast would be too dangerous for children to leave their homes.  A picture that my boy shot from the INSIDE of my warm house! As many prepared for this frigid day, I gave it little thought. I have a warm home and work comes to me. As long as my furnace continues working, I'm all good. However I have thought of others. Yesterday we passed the "town vet" as we headed home from the The Farm (my parents) and I thought of how this cold affects him and his job. If he's on call today he may be in this cold taking care of sick animals. As I did my chicken chores this morning I counted my blessings that my hens are just across the backy...

One word. One word that would encompass my goals for 2014. I pondered this for a bit. Prayed for God to guide me to the one word that would motivate me, move me to more for this New Year.  In 2012 my one word was LESS and in 2013 RELATIONSHIP . Fearless was the first word that I thought of. And then came words like brave, faith, surrender, and even "be still" (but that's two words now isn't it?). I want a year of following God's will in every aspect of my life. Yes, fearless sums it up as I fearlessly surrender to a God in whom I can trust. A year in which my faith is strengthened through surrendering EVERYTHING to Him. A faith which would transform my life to live brave, to live fearlessly for Him.