Home Sanctuary

Turn in April's points today!

Get your calculators ready!  If you've been participating in the Small Things, today is the day to turn in your points for a chance to win this month's prizes! 

If you did as few as 5 activities, you are eligible for the Random Drawing and you don't even have to add up your points.  Springtime is a busy time for all of us and it's really OK if you only popped in every now and then to do a Small Thing.  Remember, we're all about having fun and kicking mediocrity's butt while we're at it. So don't be shy about a low score or a handful of Small Things!  We're creating new habits and mindsets a little at a time.

Our Random Prize winner will receive a signed copy of Rise and Shine, by Liz Curtis Higgs.  This devotional is funny, touching and easy to read in small snippets.

And for those Company Girls who worked on getting as many points as possible, the Most Points prize is a $25.00 gift certificate to Mardel.  Now, who can't use some new books, CD's or Christian gifts?  Spend it as frivolously as you wish....you earned it! 

Today's Small Thing has TWO STEPS. 

1. EMAIL your point total to me, and/or tell me you want to be entered in the Random Drawing
2. Leave a comment, telling which was your favorite Small Thing this month (The comments will help our shy lurkers get off the fence and jump in for real next month!)

POINTS toward April's Tally: 40 for doing both things - easy!

Tomorrow I will announce the winners and let you know what May's prizes will be!

What kind of world do you want?

John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting asks the question "What kind of world do you want?" in his song, "World."

What kind of world do you want
Think anything
Let’s start at the start
Build a masterpiece
Be careful what you wish for
History starts now

I don't know if imagining a better world will make it change, but it's probably a good place to start.  I can't control what happens in Africa or the Middle East, but I CAN look a little closer to home and start imagining how I want MY world to be.

My world here at home.

I imagine a place of peace and order.  A place where each person belongs.  A place where we have good food to eat and it's filled with beauty.  I imagine kind words being spoken and of course, everyone picks up after themselves.

Maybe it's a little bit of fantasyland, but it goes back to having a vision of what I want my home to be.  I want this place to be a refuge.  Refuge and shelter, with love and warmth and acceptance.

We started this month with Zech. 4:10 "do not despise the day of small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin."  I've made a lot of small beginnings toward making that vision a reality.  Some of them have been successful, others.....not so much.  A whole bunch of my small beginnings have just stayed small beginnings because I never get around to finishing them.

Today's Small Thing is to finish one thing that you've started.  It might be folding a load of undies, planting some seeds from the packets you bought weeks ago, or cutting in around the baseboards with paint in the rooms you started painting before Christmas.  Put some legs on your vision today and make it happen!  Take a small beginning and give it a fitting end!

Then pat yourself on the back for a job well DONE!

POINTS: 40 for finishing ONE small beginning....you're one step closer to the kind of world you want.

What are you finishing today?

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P.S. Don't forget....tomorrow we'll report April's points for the random drawing and the Most Points Winner!!

Now, that's just cold.

Foraging for a package of corn in my freezer is a dangerous mission.  I know it's in there somewhere....behind the freezer-burned family pack of chicken thighs (on sale for 99 cents a pound in 2006), butcher-wrapped packages of venison (a friend went deer hunting and gave us some), and an old carton of ice cream (with a yummy layer of ice crystals over the 1/2 scoop left in the bottom.)

Recently, my husband found a package of sliced ham from 2001 as he was making room for a bunch of South Beach Diet Frozen Entrees (2 for 5.00 at Albertsons).  He gave me the look which said, "please tell me you've cleaned out the freezer since 2001," and although I know I have....the evidence he brandished in that moment caused me to doubt myself.  When WAS the last time??  Ack!

Today's Small Thing is to free up some space in your freezer by tossing some of that petrified stuff that you know needs to go.  For me, it will mean getting rid of some old chicken and some ham scraps from Christmas.  I'd like to get rid of the duck meat in there (which I know we'll never eat) but my husband worked hard to hunt it, clean it and freeze it so I'll let it stay this time.  The rotisserie chicken carcass from last week's soup can wave good-bye.

POINTS: 30 for doing a quick freezer clear-out of the old, unusable stuff

BONUS POINTS: 20 for wiping out a shelf or two

What's the oldest or grossest thing you're tossing today?

Happy to Consolidate

I was in my laundry room yesterday and reached for the liquid detergent.  There were two containers, side by side.  I picked the left one and it was almost empty.  I looked at the one on the right and realized it was half full.   

Then I noticed the same situation with the fabric softener.  Two containers, half full.  Hmmm. Is this a pattern?

I started perusing the house.  Two shampoo bottles, half full.  Two body wash bottles, 3 nail polish remover bottles, 2 bags of chocolate chips, 3 half-packages of spaghetti noodles, 2 bags of rice, 3 jelly jars, 3 peanut butter jars, 2 coffee cans, 2 dish detergent bottles, 2 boxes of pantiliners....oh, my.  All opened. All partially full.  Why, yes. I do believe this is a pattern.

Apparently, in the excitement of having something new, I hurry to open things before I've even used up the old stuff.  Just what does that say about my life, if having a new jar of peanut butter gives me such a thrill?  Its like the old one just doesn't do it for me anymore and I need the rush of popping a new safety-seal to make me complete.  It's sad, I tell you.

Today's Small Thing is to consolidate things around your house.  In the fight against clutter, this is an easy way to eliminate extra containers and create more space.  You might be surprised how many things can be combined into one unit, so you have less stuff to deal with.

POINTS: 10 for each thing you consolidate

No limit....scary.

What kinds of things are you consolidating today?

Reunited at last

Back when I used to write thoughtful, insightful posts, I once was lost in thought about socks.  The missing ones.  You might have read it already, but if not, here is my discourse on the single souls who slink around my house.

Sometimes I've found that a sock pair has been living just one drawer apart for years.  The tragedy!  One up and one down....separated by one thin slice of wood.  The aching loneliness they must have felt, to be so close...and yet so far.

Today's Small Thing is to hit the Sock Single's Scene and find mates for those swingers.  You may not be entirely successful in reuniting all the couples who have split up, but it's worth a dig through the sock drawers to see if reconciliation is possible. 

POINTS:  30 for doing some match-making at your house. 

Do you have any "lucky" socks?  Any with a story to tell?  Let us know!

Stick a fork in me, I'm done

I feel a little cooked.  I've been working on back-to-back projects, each of which have taken longer than they should.  My little "Lagniappe" the other day turned out to be several hours of "lil' somethings" added to a charming baby's mural.  Two bunnies, two piglets, a rooster and some flowers. It did turn out cute, but I was a bit grumbly by the end.  Next time I'll charge for the little Lagniappes and I bet I'll feel a whole lot happier.

Oh, well...moving on.

There's something that's been bugging me about my kitchen.  It's not the worn linoleum floor or the tiny passageway which makes it impossible to get through if the refrigerator door is open.  It's not even the low-hanging cabinet above the stove that makes you have to duck your head to see into the eating area.  Or the faucet with the backward Hot and Cold.

It's the fact that every time I open my silverware drawer, I am confronted by crumbs that have fallen into the silverware tray.  It just makes it look...dirty. Ugh.

I've found that an easy time to wipe out the drawer and tray is just before I unload clean silverware into it from the dishwasher.  It's usually almost empty at that point.  It literally takes one or two minutes to do a quick swabbing and wow!  It looks incredibly clean and organized!

Today's Small Thing is to wipe out your silverware tray and/or drawer.  You may not have the crumb problem I have, but a quick swipe with a damp cloth will really bring it up to Sanctuary Code.

(I just made that Code up..."it's not really a rule, it's more like a guideline" to quote a phrase!)

POINTS: 20 for wiping out the silverware drawer

"OPPORTUNITY TO LEAP AHEAD OF YOUR COMPETITION" POINTS: 10 points for each additional kitchen drawer you wipe out, up to 8 more (you can enlist help from your troops)

Max points: 100

Trash Bag Redux

De-cluttering is an ongoing, never-ending process.  You can't just do it once and think you're through.  Oh, no!  It takes vigilance and determination to keep all that "crapola" from overtaking your life.  It feels so good to do a quick collection of junk that I can actually think more clearly when I'm done. 

Here's a revisit to a Small Thing back in January...."Say Bye-Bye-Bye to Some of Yo Stuff!"

Take one kitchen-sized trash bag and fill it with stuff you know you should throw away: newspapers, old magazines, clothes beyond repair, dead flowers in vases, cans and debris from a weekend of football watching.  Plastic containers with no lids, phone books from 2002, shoes with no mates, broken toys you know you'll never fix but you hang on to anyway, things from your junk drawer, under beds, inside closets and under sinks....

Don't deliberate:  if it's a questionable item, don't throw it!  You are only tossing the obvious trash and unusable items, so it's easy to say "Bye-Bye-Bye!"  Bag it up and move it out, baby!

POINTS: 20 for filling one (13 gal) kitchen bag
BONUS POINTS: 20 more for filling two bags

Then let me know: what's the oddest, oldest or best thing you let go of today?

Lagniappe

My husband, Tom, opened the package of hockey software he'd ordered online from a Louisiana company.  He tore past the bubble-pack and eagerly inspected his new acquisition.

"Hey, what's this?" he looked puzzled as he took a small packet of Cajun Seasoning from the box.  Attached was a note, which read,

"Lagniappe" is a Louisiana French word which means  "a little something extra." 
Enjoy this lagniappe...on us!

Lagniappe, pronounced, "lan-yap" is a term all Louisianans know.  I asked my friend Bridgette, a true Steel-Magnolia-Louisiana-born-n-bred-Southern woman about it.  "Oh, yes," she said in her charming drawl. "It's just a lil' somethin'.  Like a lil' gift that's not expected."  (I LOVE how she talks!)

That company didn't have to put a spice packet into a sports order. 

But they did...and we remember it.

I've often thought about "lagniappe" in every day life.  It's wonderful to be the recipient of something "extra" that you didn't expect.  Just yesterday at Sonic, we got TWO extra peppermints!  Now, WHY did I feel excited about two silly peppermints?

Because I didn't expect it.

Today's Small Thing is to give someone else a lil' Lagniappe.  Maybe it's an extra cookie in the lunch box, or a note that says you love them.  Or how about a fancy garnish on the dinner plate?  Hmmm.  A back rub or foot rub.  A stick of gum in a letter.  An extra kiss good-bye.  Or a lil' somethin else your man didn't see coming his way.  You choose what to do!

It's fun and it's easy because it's so small. 

Just our kind of thing.

Ooooh!  50 Major points for some Cajun Lagniappe!

Feel free to share your "little something extra" with us! It's more fun that way.

Project: Fun

Do you have a busy weekend ahead?  Ever since our hockey season ended, it seems like we have our weekends back. It feels like we can think a little straighter about the projects around the house that we've been putting off for months.

Hmmm.

Finish painting the exterior of the house.
Paint trim
Power-wash the breezeway
Clean the carpet
Finish mulching the flower beds
Fill pot holes with gravel (again)
Move my "office" back to the loft area
Clean out storage area
Make a trip to the dump
Organize paint/work supplies

We could fill up every minute with a necessary project. 

Life isn't just about projects, but working on them can be part of  what makes relationships better and stronger.  My husband and I have very different ideas about priority lists and how to accomplish them, but working it out is part of glue that keeps things running.  It isn't always "fun" or pleasant. 

Sometimes it's just work.  Unless you can plan some fun into it.

Today's Small Thing is to plan a little bit of fun into your weekend projects or activities.  For example, if you know you'll be working on housework all day Saturday, why not order pizza in the middle of the day so you don't have to stop down to make lunches?  Or if you'll be running to sports events, bring a game along so you can play while you're waiting.  Or plan an indoor picnic to take a break from the yardwork. 

The point is, scheduling something fun into your busyness can create an atmosphere of cooperation and cheerfulness that is usually absent when you say the word, "chores."  It doesn't have to be big, you know...something "small" is how we do things around here!

POINTS: 40 for planning a small fun thing into your weekend.

Road Trip

I knew this day would come sometime.

My first day not to get a Small Things Post out first thing in the morning.  I hope you'll forgive me!

I went out to the west Texas town of Big Spring to work on a really exciting project with Life Church on Wednesday.  They have just purchased the old (abandoned) high school and are renovating it into their church campus.  It was incredible to see the huge vision Clint and Kami Collins have for their community, and to be a part of creating their story with graphic design, color, writing and concepting.  What a cool, cool project to work on!!

The day got long and by 9 pm we sat down to eat at the only restaurant open in town, the local truck stop.  Mmmmmm.  Actually, it wasn't bad.  With a 4 hour drive back to Dallas, we opted to crash at Clint and Kami's house for the night and attack it with a little sleep under out belt, rather than set off as tired as we were.  Glad I had a toothbrush in my purse.

We made it home and now that I've had an hour nap and some more coffee, I think I can crank out a little work this afternoon.

Since it's so late in the day, I may have missed some of you girls who check in early.  Hopefully you'll pop in before you crawl in bed because this Small Thing can be done just before your head hits the pillow.

Today's Small Thing is to say a prayer for your home.  You can use any words you want, but here's a small prayer I wrote out and framed several years ago when the Lord started speaking to me about creating a home sanctuary:

Lord, make our home a Sanctuary

Grant us Peace

May we always honor You, treat each other with kindness, and do what is right.

Help us establish Order

May we live within our means, use our time wisely, and keep Your priorities.

Let it be filled with Beauty

May we enjoy the blessings of this life, reflect Your glory, and share what we have with others.

Amen.

Sometimes I get so busy doing stuff that I simply forget to pray over this place. 

It's such a small thing.  But it's everything.

POINTS: 30 for whispering a prayer tonight