Blessing The Weekend

Some years ago I took a course, Hibernate, with the lovely Heather Bruggeman of North Ridge Farm. If you're not familiar with Heather's blog then I invite you to skip this post for now, pour yourself a cup of something warm and settle in for awhile and peruse her offerings. I've learned so much from Heather over the years, and I hope to be just like her when I grow up!  Over the course of several years I took a number of Heather's classes, and I am now of a member of her online community Hearth and Home! I always learn so much in the time spent gleaning from her wisdom and expertise. I can't praise her classes enough! They are all just so good and I highly recommend joining this lovely community as membership is currently open!

In the last session of Hibernate, Heather spoke about Blessing The Weekend, a ritual that came about during the years when she was homeschooling her daughter.. Like many homeschooling families, Friday's were a half day, and once they finished with their lessons, they would spend a few hours tidying the home, maybe making up a quick pan of brownies, or.a pot of soup and a few other quick, easy meals. The objective here being to cut down on time spent in the kitchen. She emphasized that she likes to cook, but she also like not having too, as well, and that by  the taking the time to do a little prepping on Friday afternoons, you can easily have one or two meals and snacks ready to carry you through until Monday. Fast food, but at significantly less cost and better for you!

Another thing she did are what I like to refer to as "cozy chores". Changing the sheets on the bed, dusting off furniture, making up a lovely bouquet of flowers for the table. Anything that freshens the space and make things warm and inviting, "cozying up", as I like to say. None of this takes very long at all, especially if you enlist help. But even it its just you, typically within an hour or two you've set the stage o spend intentional time with your family and just be together.

Reading Heather's words reminded me of the Jewish practice of Shabbat, or what I refer to as sabbath. In Jewish homes Shabbat (pronounced SHAH-BAHT or some communities, SHAH-BIS, is a weekly twenty five hour observance that begins just before sundown each Friday and through the completion of nightfall on Saturday. It is a day of physical and spiritual delights highlighting key concept of the Jewish faith. Preparations begin as early as mid-week. As no work is to be done during this time, meals must be prepared ahead of time (similar to what Heather shared), and the observance begins with the a candle lighting ceremony which I think is just lovely and have long intended to incorporate into my own sabbath observance. Jewish tradition mandates three specific shabbat meals, and in addition to special foods, the family spends time singing, studying and celebrating together.

Now I know at this point some of you may be thinking, "Well, this all sounds lovely, but our kids are involved in soccer on the weekend, there's yard work to do, and preparations to be made for church on Sunday.", and let me assure you, I hear you loud and clear! In her book Rhythms of Rest, Shelly Miller shared this thought; "The sabbath isn't about resting perfectly, it's about resting in the one who is perfect." The important thing is not how much time you are able to devote to rest and being together, but that you are intentional about setting aside some time every weekend, to make space to be together. If you still don't see how that might be possible, let me offer a few suggestions.

❊ Begin planning  mid-week for the upcoming weekend. Think through what activities you already have scheduled and then determine how much time you have to devote to rest and relaxation. Mark that time slot off in your calendar so that as you receive invitations you'll already have it reserved. And don't be discouraged if at first you find you can only squeeze in a couple of hours. It also might even take a little encouragement to get other members of the family on board with the idea, but once you begin my guess is you'll enjoy it so much, everyone will want more and before you know you'll be willing to sacrifice more to have this time together.

❊ When doing your weekly meal planning, take this time into consideration. If you don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, then take a cue from Heather an make up a bit pot of soup or stew that can be enjoyed all weekend. If your budget affords, plan a special meal out, or if the weather is nice, go on a picnic. Maybe you want to bake something together, so take time to do a quick inventory and make sure you have all of the ingredients. Nothing spoils time together like someone having to rush off to the store for eggs or sugar.

❊ Think of other things that will encourage spending time together. Go through the board games in your closet and set out a few favorites. Maybe a deck of cards? Plan a trip to the library together to pick up a few books or maybe a dvd the whole family can watch. But aside from television and maybe a movie, I would recommend you try to limit screen time.This is a time for intentionally being together. You could go on a hike, visit a museum, work on a puzzle. The possibilities are endless, so be creative.

❊ And finally, set the stage. It's hard to be together and not be distracted if the family room is overrun with toys, there's a stack of dirty dishes in the kitchen, the floors need sweeping, you get the picture. It doesn't have to be perfect, but if you take the time to tidy things up it makes for a much more inviting and relaxing atmosphere. I like to change the sheets on our bed on Fridays so that after a day of fun everyone has a clean, comfy bed to crawl in to. Another element that is a must in our home is candlelight. And though I don't follow the the ceremony associated with Shabbat.(though I'd like to), it's such an important piece that it's really become the cue. Any time my family comes in to finds candles lit, twinkle lights glowing, and soft music playing (usually some light jazz), I can almost watch the stress from the day wash from their faces, and they are instantly engaged and ready. Setting aside time for rest and for intentionally being together is just the anecdote you and your family need for recovering from the madness and business of the world.

To help you brainstorm through your own sabbath weekend, or weekend hours, with your family, I've created a little printable, of course, **wink**. And again, don't be discouraged if at first you can't find much time to carve out, or if it takes you a few tries before you find your rhythm and figure to what works best. I've allowed space for you to muddle through those thoughts until it becomes a natural and regular part of your routine.  Just click on the link below to download your free copy!

BLESSING THE WEEKEND

A Family Sabbath Worksheet

In closing I want to leave you with this lovely passage from one of my favorite children's books, All of a Kind Family.

"At home, the kitchen was warm with the smell of fresh baked white bread. The room sparkled with cleanliness. The table, which wore only an oilcloth covering all through the week, now had a snowy white tablecloth. On it stood the brass candlesticks, gleaming brightly from the polishing that Ella and Sarah had given them the ay before. They were just in time to see Mama saying the prayer over the candles.

The children stood around the table watching her. A lovely feeling of peace and contentment seemed to flow out from Mama to them. First she put a napkin on her head, then placing four white candles in the brass candlesticks, she lit them. She extended her arms to form a circle. One the lighted candles the encircling gesture was repeated. After that Mama covered her eyes with her hands softly murmuring a prayer in Hebrew.

This was Sabbath ushered in."

- Sydney Taylor

To learn more about Shabbat prayers, visit this page.

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Make This Home A Peaceful Place

 

Bless this house,

O Lord, we pray.
Let your joy

shine here today.
Fill each corner
with Your grace.
Make this home
a peaceful place.
Let laughter ring
throughout the halls.
Bring harmony
to these four walls.
May all who enter
Be at rest as 

Your love touches,
every guest.

- NANCY LYNCH WEISS

Poetry, especially sweet verses like this one which beckon to the peace and harmony that we desire within the walls of our homes, speaks to me on such a deep level. I'll be sharing more poems like these from a fairly vast collection I've curated over the years in the coming months. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

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A Longing For The Comforts Of Home

"One of the most fundamental of human longings is the longing for home. We long for a place that feels like the right place, where we belong,  where we ourselves are longed for and welcomed.  And for all its spiritual and psychological dimensions, this longing is physical and material as well.  We want there to be a place where waiting for us is a room, a bed, a chair, a meal - the things that meet the basic needs of embodied things like ourselves.  We want “the comforts of home”, not just somewhere away from home - a fancy hotel, say - but at home, where, we sense, they are supposed to be.” 

- MARGARET KIM PETERSON

Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life

Now that the holidays are over, I am slowly immersing myself in all things homekeeping, especially vintage housekeeping, which still resonates so deeply with me. I can't get enough of images like these, the sweet scenes of home and a wife and mother tending to the needs of her family. 

Growing up, I was blessed to have a mother in the home. My mother didn't go to work until I was in high school  and it was a great comfort to me. Regardless of what may have been happening in my life, knowing my mother was home and available to me at any moment grounded me, I suppose you could say. I liked knowing she was there and would be there to greet me any time I returned. Though our relationship wasn't perfect, her choice to be a stay-at-home mom is a gift I will always treasure, and it greatly influenced my life as a young girl.

Something I enjoy is perusing the plethora of vintage housekeeping books that are available on the Internet Archives. While nothing replaces holding a book in your hand, since there is no way I could or should own every book that catches my eye, the archives serves as a useful tool.

A few favorites I've come across are the Mrs. Beeton's Books. Her first book, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, published in 1836, was an instant success. There are actually what look to be a number of updated and revised versions at the archives, including;

- The Best of Mrs. Beeton's Household Tips

- The Best of Mrs. Beeton's Easy Everyday Cooking

- The Best of Mrs. Beeton's Cakes and Baking

- The Best of Mrs. Beeton's - Easy Entertaining

- Breakfast With Mrs. Beeton

- A Picnic With Mrs. Beeton

and this one looks interesting,

- The Best of Mrs. Beeton's Christmas

I just love perusing these old texts, which are often filled with practical, as well as a lot of out-dated but still fun ideas. If you enjoy vintage housekeeping, too, I encourage you to spend some time searching them out on the archives.  I often do an initial search on Pinterest, which usually provides me with a number of images of covers and titles and then seek them out on the archives. I find them quite fun, like stepping back to a time when life seemed simpler.

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Welcome To My Home!- The Family Room & Dining Area

Good afternoon, my friends!  As promised, and now that I am **just** about done with my deep autumn cleaning, today I thought I would take you on a little tour of our family room and dining area, and we will begin with the first thing you see when you walk inside the door.  Since our house is relatively small, I have done my best to make this small space welcoming. This wall is the dividing wall between the kitchen/dining area  and the family room. The first thing you may notice is the small bookcase which holds a few antique books (I am always on the look for old books with red and green covers), and the bottom shelf holds part of my collection of Gooseberry Patch cookbooks. The chalk board is a treasure I picked up last year at a yard sale.  I typically write something seasonal on it, but that is one thing I haven't got around to yet.  And then the black divider is a piece we found at the dump.  It was a very ugly brown, but I knew the minute I saw it exactly what I would do with it!  There are few things a little black paint and some distressing can't fix for me.  The little pine tree and white pumpkin are sitting on a small black stool which I had to cut out to size my images right. And speaking of the pine tree, something you should know it that our decorating theme is mostly salt box houses and pine trees, kind of a cabiny feel, and so we keep a number of lit trees up year round, and when Christmas rolls around we decorate them, so yes, I suppose we are "those people" who keep their tree up year round, but they are really only Christmas trees once a year, at least, that's the way we see it.

And now if you will turn to the right you will in fact, see the first of those trees I mentioned.  The door you see is technically the front door, but we don't use it as we prefer the side door off of the covered porch, so this door stays locked year round. It made for the perfect spot to put our Christmas tree the first year we were here and, well, then we just never took it down. The old ladder is one we picked up at a yard sale. I have fun decorating it with seasonal decorations, and then to the right of that you can just see the entertainment center and bookshelves. My husband built these pieces for me several years ago and I still love them! The white rug you see is something I am hoping to replace. There was a propane stove on the wall where the entertainment center is now and we didn't care for it so we took it out. It sat on a tile foundation, and when we took the stove out, the tile came with it. We did have some matching carpet remnants, so we put that down first, but it sinks in just a little in that area, so I ended up covering it up with this rug.  I don't mind needing a rug, I would just prefer something that isn't quite as contrasting, but for now, it works.

This is the view of the family room as you come into the house, looking down the hall where the bathroom and two bedrooms are. We got this furniture set at ReStore, which benefits Habitat for Humanity. The cushions were blue and burgundy, kind of a southwestern pattern, but we had them professionally recovered in buffalo check. They have held up so well over the years and I still love them! The recliner is new to us, we picked it up from Facebook Marketplace. The book shelf by the recliner houses all my devotional and daily reading books, found at a yard sale a few years ago for $3.

To the right of the recliner is one of the few walls in our home that didn't get painted. We left the hallway cream to keep it from being too dark, but this wall is technically part of the family room. The shelves you see were there when we bought the house and match perfectly with our furniture. Most of the items on these shelves stay the same year round and I just add seasonal touches.  The antique sewing machine belonged to my husband's mother and is a treasured piece. My husband's father worked for Singer for many years, so it's a little nod to our family history. And then, as you can see, we have two small trees in this corner, as well.

This is the view of the entertainment center and bookshelves from the other end of the room. You can just see a little bit of my pot bellied stove, which belonged to my mother. It's probably my favorite piece. I like to keep a candle lit inside of it, especially in autumn and winter to give the appearance of a glowing warm fire.

And then, if you turn to the right we will move into the dining area. This is a better view of the dividing wall which I extended a little with the black room divider. Also just on the other side of the chair you can see our antique radio. We love adding unique piece to our decor, and this was our anniversary present to each other last year. We keep a blue tooth speaker on top and often listen to oldies from the 40's, 50's and 60's.

On the left side of the dining room we have this hutch.  My husband built this piece, as well which we originally used as a pantry in a house where we had very little cabinet space.  Now it holds all of my dishes, everyday and seasonal.  The red dishes you see on the table are ones I use in September each year. I still have some seasonal touches to add to this tablescape. The fan is sitting on top of a little heater. I got it at a yard sale last year and painted it, and then to the right of that is a little chest I also got at a yard sale for all of $20.00. It holds my table linens and a some seasonal decorations. My original plan was to strip it and paint it black, and I may still do that, but in some of the places where it is scratched you can see that the original wood color looks like it might be pretty, so I may just leave it natural. That is a project I hope to have completed by the end of the year. Also, you can just see to the left of the black cabinet the antique telephone. This was our anniversary present to each other this year, albeit a bit early, but we couldn't let this one pass us up. We just hung it earlier this week and I just love it!

Here is a better view of the white hutch and the little heater. The other side of the dining room opens up into the kitchen, which I posted about here, if you missed it. 

At the far end of the dining room there is a door that leads out to the back yard and a window. I just finished the second panel of these curtains and got them hung this week. They are double sided, a pretty rusty red pattern on one side and black and tan check on the other (see below), but when the sun shines through they look rust.  The old churn was a gift from a very dear friend of mine, and another piece I treasure, and once again, another tree! I warned you we had several! The little black bin holds potatoes on top, onions in the middle, and part of our vast array of coffee cups in the bottom. We have a problem when it comes to coffee cups, I've added two more in the past two weeks!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of our family room and dining area.  I completed all the deep cleaning I wanted to do in the house this past week, but I still have my office/craft room and the cellar to do.  They are both rooms that are not accessible from the main part of the house, and my office/craft room is not air conditioned, so it will be a project for a cooler day!  The only room I haven't shown is the bathroom, so I'll try to get that posted next week. I won't be posting the bedrooms as ours is still a work in progress, and I won't post my daughter's bedroom to respect her privacy.

Until then . . .

❊

A Simple Life

"It is not bad thing to celebrate a simple life."

- J. R. R. TOLKIEN

I hope your week is off to a great start! I'm still deep in seasonal cleaning this week, which makes finding time to post a bit challenging. But my husband is going out of town next week and I am hoping to have everything done and then be able to take a week to relax, and that prospect is motivating! I'll be back to chat with you regularly very soon, so stay tuned!

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Cleaning and Cross Stitching - An Update

Good evening, my friends! Whew, has this week been a busy one! On Monday I deep cleaned the dining room (pics coming soon), and yesterday we were away from the house all day in meetings and running errands. Today I began in the family room, which I honestly thought I would be able to finish in one day. But on top of the fact that I got a late start, I forgot how tedious it can be to take everything down off of two shelving units, dust them and everything on them, and then put it all back.  That combined with the fact that I rearranged some things to make the entryway to look a little more welcoming, and before I knew it, it was 2:00 and time to think about dinner. 

The rest of the week is going to be busy as well. My plan is to finish up the family room tomorrow and then on Friday I'm going to give the bathroom a quick cleaning, but aside from that I hope to take most of Friday as my Sabbath, which I typically take on Satruday. But this week our church is having an event  that I am volunteering for and is pretty much all day, then church on Sunday and afterwards we're having lunch with friends.  But next week my plan is to only be away from home for one day, which like this week will be onTuesday. It will be a full day, but my goal is try to get as much done while I am in town as I can so that I can be home the rest of the week.  Next week I'll tackle deep cleaning the bathroom and our bedroom, and then if things go well  I might even get to my office/craft room and get it cleaned out and organized. That room will be quite the undertaking as it is currently a huge mess!  After that all that will be left is to clean the patio and then all the deep cleaning for the season will be done.

In the evenings I've been doing quite a bit of cross stitching. It's my favorite hobby and one I've been out for more than thirty years now. I do through periods where I cross stitch almost every night and then for some reason at times, I'll realize it's been awhile since I've picked it up. But it brings me a lot of joy and I've had a number of projects that I've wanted to finish for a bit now and so I've slowly chipping away at them. The picture at the top are two small projects I finished this week. I really like them! With that, I need to begin thinking towards Christmas and decide on any gifts I want to cross stitch this year and start on them soon.

And speaking of, I think I'm going to put on an old movie tonight and start something new! I'll try to hop back on here on Friday with some pictures of our dining room and family room, so stay tuned!

Until then!

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Welcome To Our Home - The Kitchen

If you recall in my post earlier this week I menitioned that I was beginning my Autumn / Winter Deep Clean this week, and true to my word, I began today. You may also recall that my original plan was to tackle the kitchen and dining area first, but I felt that since the kitchen is often the room that requires the most work, that I might be being optimistic.

I was correct. :)

Not only did I not get to the dining room, but I didn't even finish  the kitchen. I did get a lot done, however, so I thought I would share what I accomplshed and what still needs to be completed. 

The first thing that I did was to clean out the refrigerator.  This is actually a task that I complete every week, as the kitchen is the room that I focus on Monday's. There tends to always be a lot of food and leftoevers that accumulate from the week before and in particular over the weekend, so on Monday's I like to clean it our and start fresh.. But today I did a little more thourough cleaning. I went through all the bottles of condiments and other things and threw out anything that was expired, and gave the inside a good cleaning. I also had it on my list to clean the freezer, but I didn't get to that, so I'm bumping that to another day.  I also cleaned the top and the outside of the refrigerator.

Next I took everything out of the cabinet you see above and to the left of the refrigerator, wiped it out and organized and replaced everthing. I took the items off the top of the small counter you see to the left, gave it a good scrubbing, dusted all the items and replaced them. Still on my list is to take everything out of the drawers,wipe them out and then organize and straighten the contents. 

Next up is the stove top/oven and microwave. I lifted the top of the stove up and scrubbed the inside around the burners, took the drip pans off and cleaned them, cleaned the top of the stove and then replaced everything.  I had planned to clean the inside of the oven. I did not that too long ago, but to make it easier to keep it clean I was going to do it again, but I ran out of time. Then tonight I was making a batch of chocolate chip cookies and when I reached for the pan I burned my finger and dropped it inside the oven. The broken cookies fell all over the heating element in the bottom and caught on fire. It ended up making a HUGE mess! Needless to say, I'm actually thankful now that I didn't get around to cleaning it. It will be a much bigger job now, but at least I don't have to do it twice! I also cleaned the inside and outside of the microwave, and took out the glass tray and washed it.  

As with the other cabinets, I took everything out of all the upper cabinets around the stove, wiped them out and organized and replaced the contents. I also removed all the items from the countertops, scrubbed them down, dusted things off and replaced it. Tomorrow I'll be tackling the lower cabinets. 

I gave the sink a good cleaning, and then swept and mopped the floor and called it a day.  Along with the other things I mentioned, I still need to clean the toaster oven which you can just see to the left of the sink, all the lower cabinets and drawers still need to be wiped out and straightened, and the pantry (the white doors to the right of the refrigerator in the first small picture above) needs to be organized, so there is still a lot to do. I got started a little later than I had planned today, as well. My husband and I got into an interesting conversation over breakfast and lingered a little longer than usual, which I don't regret at all.  

In case you're wondering about the Christmas Tree Farm sign hanging above the sink, we keep that up all year round. It's not so much a Christmas decoration, and more because we like a wintry/cabin feel in our home, and decorate with a lot pine trees, saltbox houses and stars, which may sound like an odd combination, but we like it. Our color scheme throughout the house is deep green, rusty red and black. I made the valance above the kitchen window and I'm currently working on curtains for the dining room window. 

So anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this little tour of my kitchen. I've been meaning to share pictures of our home for some time now, and I figured since I'm deep cleaning now would be a good time, since it's looking its best!

We are bracing for Tropical Storm Debby which is scheduled to hit our area some time tomorrow. They are calling for 4-6 inches of rain and high winds (30-40 mph) between now and late Friday, early Saturday, and some areas could see as high as 8" inches.  Thankfully we are situated at a higher elevation, so flooding shouldn't be much of a problem for us here at home, but it could present some problems with traveling. All  the rain combined with high winds will  likely mean downed trees in the area and power outages. We're prepared in the event it happens, but if you don't hear from me for a few days, that is likely the reason!

Until then!

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My Portable Office:What's In My Cart And How I Use It

If you happen to be a person who enjoys posts about planning and organization and learning about systems that other people use, then this post if for you! And if not, feel free to pass this one by and hopefully in the coming days I'll post something that will interest you. This post will be image heavy and perhaps over-explained, but since I am a person who enjoys these types of posts when I come across them, I thought today I would share!  The picture above is my rolling cart. I bought it a few years ago from Amazon, though it doesn't appear that this particular model is available anymore, which is frustrating because I was considering purchasing a second one for all of my Bible study supplies, so I guess for now, I'll stick with my current system (I'll discuss that in an upcoming post!).

I think the best way to explain what is on this cart and how I use it would be to simply start at the beginning with the top shelf and then work my way through until we reach the bottom, and so with that, let's begin.

SHELF #1 - TOP SHELF

This is a picture looking straight on at the contents on the top shelf.  

In the very front is where I keep my Ipad.

Behind that I have a small hanging file folder basket where I keep my seasonal, monthly and weekly files, although I just realized my Autumn file, (I've already switched from summer), which would normally be in the very front, appears to not be in here, so I'll have to look for that tomorrow. Never the less, for now the first file you see is August, and behind that there are files for Weeks 1-5, and since we are in Week 1 it is currently in the front. Typically this time of year I would still be in summer, but I've been a little lax with my filing system this year, and I never finished it out. That is why I've already switched over to autumn but I am still working my August files. Behind Week 1 there are files for Sunday-Saturday, and these files get rotated daily bringing the current day to the front. At the end of the week, I will bring the Sunday folder back to the front and then rotate the weekly folders to Week 2 and place Week 1 in the back. I will do this all through August, and then at the end of the month the file for September will come to the front and the August file will be moved to another hanging file folder basket I have that houses all of the out of season files until the following year. Hopefully that makes sense. :)

I don't use these files as heavily as I once did when we were homeschooling, but enough that I appreciate having the system in place. I've used this system for years, it's familiar and it works.  I use the daily files most of all, it's where I keep things like receipts from any shopping I've done that day, mail that I want to keep, notes about upcoming appointments or fun events I want to attend, among other things. I work my files every Sunday afternoon, and as I go through my daily files for the week everything that has accumulated in them gets filed to a more specific place, and then I start the week fresh with empty files.

The picture to the left is a top view of the same shelf.

Behind my hanging files is my planner which I use daily, and it deserves a post of it's own, so I'll be sharing more about it soon.  And then behind that is my clipboard filled with notebook paper (college ruled!), because I am a writer and I write down everything! After that  I have some clear pocket sleeves, which is a new system I'm trying out. I have seven of them, and they each hold a print out of my daily routine. I also have this in my planner, but I found that dry erase markers were not working as well as I would prefer on the cover sheets, and these pockets are designed to be used with dry erase markers. I tried it for the first time last week and so far I'm liking it. And then behind that I have an accordian folder where I keep important papers and files. I don't have nearly as many files as I once did and most of them fit easily here. I do have a small plastic filing box in my office where I keep my archived files, but most anything I need access to is in this accordian file.  Then on the side you can just see a couple of pairs of scissors, and there are a few pens in a little pen cup, as well as a whole punch, a couple of rulers, just a few basic office supplies at the ready. I also have another small accordian file on the side next to the hanging files, and another small spiral notebook with some 3x5 cards inside of it. My plan is to use this to keep track of all of my passwords. I currently have them in a note on my phone, but I decided that probably isn't the safest solution, so I plan to take some time to write them all down and keep them in this little notebook.  The small accordian file I've had for a couple of years now but still haven't found a use for. I've considered tossing it a couple of times, but I really like it and I think eventually an idea will come to me and I can put it to use.

SHELF #2 - MIDDLE SHELF

The second shelf is where I keep most of my notebooks. I have a notebook for blogging, which you can see more clearly in the first picture at the top, a notebook for a book that I am and have been writing for a couple of years now, my recipe/meal planning notebook, and a notebook for our house/homestead, which I haven't used as much as I thought I would and I may end up repurposing, but the other three I use regularly. I have two other notebooks that I use for Bible study. One notebook is dedicated to the my study of the spiritual practices, and another houses my individual studies of each book of the Bible as well as other studies I've done in the past. I would like all of them to fit on this shelf but they don't. I currently use a morning basket system for the Bible study supplies, and I suppose for the time being I'll just continue on with that. 

In the back you can see a black and white striped magazine holder and that holds a good portion of my scrapbooking paper, although I don't scrapbook, at least not in the traditional sense, anyway. But, I do like to keep little journals that I make out of cheap composition notebooks. I used to make and use these all of the time and I've kind of fallen out of habit with that practice. But I'm in a stressful season of life right now with a lot of unknowns and struggling to find the balance, so I think I might try to resurrect that idea, and . . . that will have to go on the cart somewhere as well, so I'll have to figure that out. Anyway, I use scrapbooking paper to cover the front of these composition books and to decorate the insides at times as well, and since red and green are my favorite colors . . . . as you can see, most of my scrapbooking paper are Christmas designs, but the biggest percentage of these patterns, the florals and plaids, work for me year round.

On this shelf I also have three journals. The two black ones are my dump journals and typically I carry one of these with me wherever I go. The world is filled with inspiration, and so often when I am out I'll see a quote, or hear a song, or find a neat recipe in a magazine. Just the other day I came across some sauces that Ranch is making, they have  Garlic Ranch, and a Hot Honey and Jalapeno flavor, but I don't see those two on Amazon. Anyway, I want to look up recipes for ways to use them and maybe try a few, so into the notebook it went. Sometimes I will take a picture on my phone, as well, which I did with the sauces because sometimes a visual helps. But if it's just a quote or an idea that comes to me that I don't want to forget, I try to immediately get it out of my head and into the notebook. Then on Sunday afternoons I go back through my notes from the week and move things to another location, like my commonplace notebook, or if it's an idea for a topic I want to discuss here, I'll make a note in my blogging notebook. As I move each item I draw a line through it in my notebook so I'll know it's been processed. And as for the Snoopy journal, I  recieved it as a gift and I've had it for several years now but so far Ihaven't written a thing in it! But, I loved the gift and the giver so it's not going anywhere. If it's Snoopy, it's a keeper!

And finally . . .

SHELF #3 - BOTTOM SHELF

This shelf is where I keep additional office supplies, envelopes, post it notes, 3x5 cards, a larger three whole punch, a stapler, glue sticks, tape and my small collection of washi tape which I use to decorate my journals, as well. 

I also have two bags of pens and pencils that usually lay right on top of everything else. I have a small bag that I was keeping in my planner, but it got so full that it wasn't allowing the cover to close and that was driving me crazy. So I need to sit down and purge it so that it will be functional again. The larger bag is where I keep my surplus, and if you are or ever have been a homeschooling family, then you understand what I mean by a surplus of pens. I could probably never purchase another pen or pencil again and still never use all that we have. But alas, I have my favorites and they do run of out of ink, so it seems I am will always be adding to the collection!

The black bag is the one that I like to keep in my planner and the plaid one, which is actually much bigger though it doesn't apper to be in the picture, is my surplus. 

And there you have the contents of my portable office/rolling cart. I really love this system, and even more so that it's portable. I love the flexibility of keeping it near me whether  I want to spread out no the couch and work, or sit at the dining room table. Once we get my office/craft room finished, then I will probably move it there, but I haven't decided yet. I do have a desk out there, so I may just keep a few supplies there and leave this as it is, I'm just really not sure, but thankfully those are all decisions for another day.

Tomorrow begins my seasonal deep clean. I've decided to stretch it out over several days/weeks, and I'm beginning tomorrow with the kitchen and dining room, or it may end up just being the kitchen because things tend to always take longer than you originally planned. The pantry needs to be cleaned an organized, I'm taking everything out of the cabinets and giving it all a good wipe down, so the dining room may get bumped to another day. The plan is to do the family room on Friday, but since I think that may be an easier job, I may try to lump the dining room/family room together. And then next week is the bathroom, our bedroom the porch and my office.  My plan is to l take you along, share some pictures of our home and how I have things set up and the way things function, so if you liked this post and you're interested in more like it, then follow along! Summer is winding down and it's time to prepare for the 'ber months, my favorite time of the year!

Until then!

"The greatest wealth is to live content with little."

- PLATO

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A Life With Time To Live

 I want days without a schedule

to keep. Hours left open

for unplanned adventures.

Moments of true stillness.

I want a life outside of our busy 

schedule . . . a life with time to live.

- BROOKE HAMPTOM

Headed to the lake today. See you soon!

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A Rule of Life - Abiding

“A good rule can set us free to be our true and best selves. It is a working document, a kind of spiritual budget, not carved in stone but subject to regular review and revision. 

It should support us, but never constrict us.”

- MARGARET GUENTHER

Today I am sharing a post I originally wrote back in 2022, in which I discussed my personal Rule of Life. This is something that I began around that time, but since January I've fallen out of routine.  Recently, however, I've had a desire to revisit the spiritual practices and to be more intentional about structuring my life around them. And with that,  over the next few weeks I'll share the practices that I observe, and just a note, I have NEVER practice all of them at the same time! What you'll read will seem like a lot because it is a lot. The reason for this is because I am a person who thrives on variety, so I like to have a lot of choices. I might also suffer from a hefty case of FOMO when it comes to anything spiritual in nature, I want to try all-the-things, and being familiar with a number of disciplines and a variety of ways in which to observe them solves that. I get to experience a little bit of everything and decide what works and what doesn't, which I will elaborate more on in this post, so lets get too it.

To begin with, it helps you have an understanding of whatl a Rule of Life is. The following is paraphrased from the Rule of Life Workbook.

"A rule of life is a schedule and set of practices and relational rhythms that help us create space in our lives to be with Jesus, become like Jesus, and do what Jesus did—to live “the abundant life” that Jesus spoke of in John 10:10. It is important to note that it is a "rule" (singular), not "rules" (plural), and therefore it is not a list of requirements or regulations for one to follow, but rather a standard by which one may choose to live. A rule of life aligns us with the kingdom, and with our deepest passions and priorities. It’s been said that we achieve inner peace when our schedule is aligned with our values. A rule of life is simply a tool to that end. Rather than a rigid, legalistic to-do list, it’s a life-giving structure for freedom, growth, and joy. The word "rule" is actually derived from the Latin word regula, meaning "trellis". So in the same way that a vine needs a trellis, we need a rule as a support structure to organize our life around “abiding in the vine,” (John 15:1-8) as Jesus imagined."

There is no right or wrong way to develop a rule. There are best practices, but as we are each created uniquely with different temperaments and gifts, there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach.  It can be as simple or as elaborate you as you want.  The best advice I can give is to consider your temperament, giftedness, season of life, level of spiritual growth, and above all, to start small. Even as I share my personal rule, there are some aspects of it that I have not fully integrated yet. Some things are easier, and some take more effort, as it will be for all of us, and that's ok. It is also ever changing, and it will grow and change with you. You may find that while something sounds good on paper, that it isn't flowing as you thought it would. In that case, it might be wise to stick with it for awhile and see if it becomes easier. If you were to develop your own rule, you will most likely find that over time you will want to make adjustments.  But there may also be times when a certain component just isn't working and you need to ditch it all together and try something new. If any part of your rule ever begins to feel forced and is becomes something that you do rather than flowing from who you are, that's a sure sign that you need to rethink it. Yes, some things are going to be harder than others and take more effort, but at some point as you grow, it should flow, and the "effort" should become less.

So let's begin to break this down, and again (I feel like a broken record), this is my personal rule based upon my interests and preferences. I hope you enjoy reading through it and perhaps are inspired by it, but please note if you were to just take this and try to copy and paste it into your life, it probably won't work out as well for you. :)

The first spiritual practice we are going to discuss is ABIDING

Webster's 1828 Dictionary define's the word abide this way;

1. To rest, or dwell. (Genesis 29:19)

2. To tarry or stay for a short time. (Genesis 24:55)

3. To continue permanently or in the same state; to be firm and immovable. (Psalms 119:90)

4. To remain, to continue.  (Acts 27:31. Ecclesiastes 8:15)

The word "abide" is found 76 times throughout the Bible, the most familiar of which is John 15:4, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me."

So what exactly does it mean to abide? Let's take a look at what Dallas Willard has to say on the subject.

“The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds... This is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in thus practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him. In the early time of our 'practicing' we may well be challenged by our burdensome habits of dwelling on things less than God. But these are habits—not the law of gravity—and can be broken. A new, grace-filled habit will replace the former ones as we take intentional steps toward keeping God before us. Soon our minds will return to God as the needle of a compass constantly returns to the north. If God is the great longing of our souls, He will become the pole star of our inward beings.”

— DALLAS WILLARD 

This quote inspires me every time I read it! To think of my mind constantly and naturally returning to center, God, and for my heart to so long for Him that He becomes my pole star. This is one of the reasons why I have issues with the idea of a "quiet time"/"slot and a spot". For me, spending time with/abiding with Jesus is less about a small percentage of my day that I set aside for Him, and more about a lifestyle lived continuously in His presence. I'm sure you're thinking, "But no one thinks about Jesus 24/7." and I get that. But it's not enough, for me at least, to wake up and crack open my bible, say a prayer and then go on with my day often in complete forgetfulness of everything I just read, which was often the case when I operated on the daily quiet time model.

So as I was considering what I want "abiding" to look like in my life, I decided that what would help me would be to have constant reminders in place, both on a daily, weekly and even quarterly and annual basis. Here are some of my ideas, and again, there is no way I can do all of this all the time. That would set me up for failure from the get-go.

Abiding Daily 

- I abide daily by setting aside time for Silence and Solitude.

I set aside 10-15 minutes of my morning, usually first thing, to sitting in silence and making myself open to hear from God. I begin with a few minutes of breath prayer, YH - breathe In,  WH - breathe out, and then move into silence. Some days I hear from Him and it is obvious, others I may not think I received anything. But it very often in those cases that later in the day or the week something will come up in a conversation and I realize that very thing came to mind during my time of silence. The Holy Spirit was preparing me. 

To learn more about breath prayer, here are a few links;

- Is The Name of God The Sound of Our Breathing?

- Breathing Yah Weh - Richard Rohr

- Simply To Speak Your Name In Praise

- I read Psalm 91 and Psalm 16 every-single-day. These two Psalms are what I refer to as "My Life Psalms" given to me by the Holy Spirit on two different occasions in my life that was undeniable. I'm working on memorizing both of them, but that has never been my strong suit. Not an excuse, and I am training!

- I spend time in the word, usually through an online sermon or if I'm in a hurry, from The Bible App, every day.

- I read my affirmation cards, daily. This is a practice that I developed after listening to the series, Winning the War In Your Mind by Craig Groeschel. 

- I observe the Daily Office. This alone needs to be a separate post, but for now I'll just provide you with a few links to give you a general idea. It's basically set times (I have alarms set on my phone) that I set aside each day to pray. I love this, but if I'm being honest, it's an area I'm struggling in. It's not so much the habit, but with the prayer itself. I have times set aside for more specific prayer so I'd like for these prayers to be simpler, the same, perhaps? There purpose serves more as being that compass that always returns me to center than for the prayer itself. That being said, I find the prayers designated for these times (which can be found across the internet and in The Book of Common Prayer), to be beautiful.

- Discovering The Daily Office

- A Beginner's Guide To The Daily Office

Abiding Weekly

- I abide weekly by observing the Eucharist (Lord's Supper) and the Stations of the Cross, on Friday afternoon. This is a practice that I've fallen out of step with but still very much desire to continue.  I've made it a goal to return to it during Advent and as such I'll write a more detailed post around that time. However, if you're interested now, I'll provide a few links.

- The Eucharist: Do This In Remembrance of Me

- Holy Communion

- The Stations of the Cross

- I observe a Sabbath day of rest every Saturday and partially on Sunday.

- I attend church every Sunday. 

- I do a Weekly Examen.

Since I'm really just trying to highlight things today, once again I'll go into this in more detail in a separate post.  But for now you can learn more about the Weekly Examen, here.

Abiding Quarterly or Seasonally

There are several ways that I abide quarterly, or more appropriately, seasonally. 

- I set aside the day of the Equinox (Spring / Autumn), and the Solstice (Winter / Summer) as special, with traditions and rituals that bless and celebrate each one. In the past I have kept monthly Phenology wheels, but it's been a few years since I have kept one. I'm thinking of starting up again in September.

- I observe The Ember Days.

I've written on this before, but I will elaborate on it more in an upcoming post in early September. For now, if you want to know more, the link above will get you started.

- I set aside one weekend per quarter for a retreat at home.

This is another practice that could use some dedication to seeing it through. Though I have done this periodically, I tend to be more devoted to it during autumn and winter. Perhaps its because I observe it around the time of the changing of the seasons, and since the autumn equinox and winter solstice are my favorites. I have more traditions and things that I enjoy doing during these times.  This indicates that I need to look at establishing traditions for spring and summer. 

Abiding Annually

- The primary way that I abide continuously throughout the year is by the observance of The Year of the Lord, or The Liturgical Year, which begins at Advent and ends in Ordinary Time. I have this listed as annual because it follows a full yearly rotation, but the various feast days fill my life weekly.

- I set aside a special night every year, usually in the week between Christmas and the New Year for "Tabula Rasa: A Clean Slate", which is something I learned about from Sarah Ban Breathnach in her book, Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. It's a special time when I reflect on the year that has passed and the one to come. I set or review my goals, which is now my rule. I print out my calendars for the upcoming year and organize my planner, making note of birthdays, anniversaries, etc. It's one of my favorite observances and I look forward to it every year. Traditionally I will make a circle of twelve candles, one for each month in the year, with a larger candle in the middle to represent the coming year. At the end of the observance I light each one, slowly, and pray over each of the coming months and finally over the year as a whole. This is also when I proclaim my "word of the year", which I alway know ahead of time, but from this day and going forward I begin intentionally living into it. My word for 2022, is Yearn.

- I set aside a night or a weekend each year to get alone by myself.

Of all the elements of my rule, this is the one that I have yet to execute, but this year I'm going to sincerely try to make it happen, maybe late summer/early autumn? I'll have to think on this a little more, I might even just go away for the day but be back in time to sleep at home. Call me crazy, but I don't like paying for hotels, all that $$$, just to sleep! I'd rather camp, but I'm also not going camping by myself! So as you can see, this one is going to require a little thought. 

Things I'd Like To Add

Yearly Examen

Learn more about Centering Prayer and Welcoming Prayer and incorporate it.

Another thing I want to study and perhaps work into my calendar are the Jewish Holy Days.

Abiding is actually one of the easiest elements of the rule for me. I thrive on worship and love learning more and more about the Bible and becoming more like Christ, so this element flows pretty naturally for me. Other than tweaking a few things here and there and incorporating and in some cases reincorporating some of the practices into my routine, I feel confident in this area more than some of others, which I'll be sharing more about in the days to come. At some point I'll break each practice down even further and discuss specific resources that I use, so if you're interested I hope you'll continue to show up here and join me!

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Summer Bingo Challenge - Visit A Small Town

VISIT A SMALL TOWN

Yesterday I marked the first square off of my Summer Bingo Challenge, Visit A Small Town.

My husband had arranged to pick up an item he purchased on FB Marketplace around 3:00 p.m. in Roanoke, so we decided to make a day of it and take the long road through Rocky Mount, Virginia.

Rocky Mount is just a little over an hour's drive from our front door, so it was the perfect day trip. I chose Rocky Mount because a few weeks back they had a festival, Vintage Market Roots that was co-hosted by a couple of vintage/antique shops there. But alas, it fell on my daughter's birthday weekend, and as that was not something she would have enjoyed, I made a note of the two shops that were hosting and decided to visit them another time. The description on the flyer sounded like they would have things much to my liking, but alas, I was a bit underwhelmed. There were definitely a few pieces that I liked, but it was a pricey and the biggest turn off was that the owner of one of the shops was, well, a bit smug, so that was a real put-off for me. But, aside from my disappointment with the shops themselves, I found the town completely delightful!

The picture at the top is of this post is Trinity Episcopal Church. I am not sure what it is that draws me to Episcopal Church buildings, but I can typically spot them from a mile away. They seem to often have similar architecture and brightly colored doors. I just love them!

This building was another favorite, and yes, It did actually used to be a Coca Cola Bottling Plant, but more recently housed a cafe which appears to have been closed for some time now. It's hard for me to imagine why something else hasn't taken up residence because it is just such a cute building! But I'm glad to see that in spite of it appearing to have sat empty for some time now, they've done a good job with the upkeep of the property.  It makes me sad when so many of these beautiful buildings just rot away.

A few things that I learned about Rocky Mount.

It is located in Franklin County, which is considered The Moonshine Capital of the World. There is apparently a Moonshine Musuem, though we didn't visit, but I liked this little town so much I'm already considering a second visit in autumn, so maybe then.

They are big on music and local bands, which I LOVE! Rocky Mount is considered the gateway to The Crooked Road which is a 333-mile-long driving trail that connects 10 major venues and over 50 affiliate venues that preserve and promote traditional Appalachian old time and bluegrass music. Being reminded of this today is inspiring me to plan for a few more summer road trips and visiting some of the venues that are featured on their website.

They have an event every weekend in June, River of Lights, which I so wish I had found out about sooner. You tube down a section of a river with lights strung overhead in the trees, which to me, sounds simply enchanting! Definitely putting this on the list for next summer.

We had such a wonderful time in Rocky Mount, and like I said, I'm already planning to go back in autumn. Just the drive there will be breathtaking that time of year! One of the things I love best about living in Virginia is that within a few hours drive in almost any direction you arrive at another small quaint town just full of wonderful things to discover. I'm glad that while what initially brought me to Rocky Mount turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, the town itself offered more than enough to make up for it. If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend spending at least a couple of hours exploring Rocky Mount! 

So what about you, what are some things on your summer bucket list, have you been inspired by my summer bingo challenge, and if so, what things have you marked off so far?

Whether you've made your own list or you're trying to get that first bingo, I'd love to hear about your plans and adventures, so be sure to share in the comments!

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