Home Sanctuary

Baby, It's Still Cold Outside

I came down with Spring Fever the day after Valentine's Day.  I've been suffering with deep aches to get outside and dig in my flower bed.  My head has been stuffed with fresh decorating ideas and my appetite for freezing weather has disappeared.  I tell ya, I've had a bad case.

So it really hurts to get another shot of cold (thanks a lot, Canadian Jet Stream) when it's already March.  I'm so ready to be done with Winter, and on to Spring.  It doesn't help that our coat and sweater situation is a storage disaster.

Oh, we have plenty of hooks to hang things on.  But somehow by this time of year, the hooks are so buried under the pile of fleece and insulation, stuff just sorta slides right off and onto the floor.  People don't care.  They just shrug and walk away.  They're tired of messing with the layers of jackets and have better things to do. 

So as a final salute to winter, (OK, semi-final for your Northerners and Canadians), let's straighten up the coat/hat/scarf/mitten/sweater situation we are all facing right about now.  I could take some of those things and hang them neatly in another (not as convenient) place.  I could move the sweaters to individuals' rooms to make room for the heavier coats.  I could put the hats and scarves into one tidy place.

And I could do it all in about 10 minutes.  Truly.

POINTS: 30 for resigning yourself to a few more weeks of winter by straightening up the coats and sweaters.  Then put your feet up.  You've got to take it easy when you're recuperating from Spring Fever.  Don't overdo.

How about you?  How fast can you tidy up your coat area?

For our Down Under Company Girls in the Southern Hemisphere, ya'll can straighten up your flip-flops, beach towels and Summer stuff....I don't want to leave you out!

P.S.  Yesterday's response to "This. Is. It." really reminded me that we need to pray for one another and lift each other up.  Several of you mentioned fear in parenting and I thought I'd post a link to Fearless Parenting to encourage you today.

This. Is. It.

Hang on to your hair-nets, church ladies, because Kirk Franklin is in the house today.  If this song doesn't make your support hose roll down around your ankles, then you're gonna have to get up out of your pew and do some kickin.

This Declaration goes along with our verse for the month of March.

Nothing robs us of Sanctuary like fear does.  In fact, because the whole basis for creating a home sanctuary is Peace, fear is like a cancer that eats away at the core and destroys it from the inside.

I know all about fear.  When I was little, I was afraid of the dark.  I was afraid of things under the bed, the boogie-man, the anti-Christ, the end times, Satan and persecution.  Later, I was afraid I would never get married, and never have children (due to the imminent end of the world, of course).  Then when I did get married and had children, I thought they would be taken from me in some horrible way.  Not to mention fear of failure, fear of success, fear of ruining my kids, fear of Y2K (remember that?), fear of financial ruin, fear of disappointment, fear of being out of the job market, fear of ......well, you get the picture.

But this verse reminds me that God has not given me the spirit of fear.  You see, many of my fears stem from what I choose to focus on.  It's funny how when I focus on a great big God, my fears seem to disappear.  Because He is bigger than anything I will ever face.  He will always be with me.  Just like He is with you.  Faith dispels fear.

Oh, and look at this!  It says that He gives us the spirit of power!  POWAH!  When I am facing something that seems bigger than what I can handle, I need to remember that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is AT WORK IN ME!  The same God who made the universe is the One who empowers me to live and breathe and do His will.  He even gives me the power to love my husband and children when I really don't feel like it.  Amazing!

Which brings me to my next point...the spirit of love.  Maybe you are afraid to love fully, completely and with abandon.  There is a lot of risk involved in that kind of love.  Husbands and children can disappoint you.   Friends can let you down.  We want to retreat into our shells and stay protected from the hurts that go along with loving.  But when we walk in the spirit of love, we are able to accept, forgive and love in a way that is beyond our own understanding. 

I'm so glad God threw "Sound Mind" in there because that's a promise I'm standing on.  Ya'll know how I struggle to string two coherent thoughts together.  Not only that, but my mind is where battles take place.  Skirmishes between thoughts of fear and failure versus faith and victory happen there every day.  When I stop and remember that God has given me a sound mind, the ability to have self-control and the victory over Satan's attacks, the battles come to an end.

What are you afraid of?  Are you afraid that if you stay home to be with your children that you'll never get another good job?  Or maybe you're afraid that if you take a job you really need, your children will be ruined.  Maybe you've been disappointed by your husband and are afraid to trust him again.  Maybe you feel that God has let you down and you are afraid that He won't take care of you.

Today, I want you to NAME YOUR FEAR.  Tell your fear, This. Is. It.  You can't mess with my mind anymore.  I'm not afraid anymore.  I'm going to believe in a Mighty God.  I'm going to trust in a Faithful Friend.  I'm going to stand up and walk in the spirit of power, and love and sound mind! 

Like the song says, This is your day, baby!

POINTS: 40 Print out this month's verse using this download, Download 2_tim1.pdf and put it where you can see it.  Plaster it all over the place if you want to.  Remind yourself what the Word says and then walk in it, one day at a time.

Tell us if you dare...what you're NOT going to be afraid of anymore! 

March Prizes

This month, our prizes will be:

For Most Points:  A 12 x 18 print of 2 Tim. 1:7.

It's our verse to think about this month.  Ever since I started meditating on this particular scripture, I've been excited on the inside!  Imagine...living a life with no fear!   I've found that the more I listen to what God's word says, the less I fear what's going on around me.  The more I recognize the spirit of power, and love and sound mind (some translations say self-control, and I like that, too!) the more free I become.  I think whoever wins this print is going to love having it permanently where they can see it and believe it.

For the Random Drawing, I've got two great books by Anita Renfro.  SIGNED!

Anita is a very funny lady with a great message.  She's famous for this song and is now a contributer to Good Morning America.  If the books are dog-eared when you get them, it's because I snuck a "read" before the end of this month.  I'll try not to spill coffee on them.

So enjoy the friendly competition!  It's going to be a fun month!

And The Winners Are!

Ladies, we have couple of Wonder Women in our midst!  I'm not sure if they wear "satin tights" but we could easily say about them, "Get us out from undah, Wondah Woman!"   

Our Most Points winner (and first Wonder Woman) is Melissa H of Seven Matters.  She came in with a whopping 880 points for the month, participating every day except one.  The mom of 5 little ones, Melissa picked up some of those extra points for the extra potties and people at her house.  This was her first full month to participate, and she really jumped in with both feet!  Way to go, Melissa!  She will be receiving the Ps. 84:5 print.

Our Random drawing winner (and other Wonder Woman) is Devildogwife!  Coincidentally, she had the second highest score with 850.  (My son did the drawing for me, so there was no funny business.) Devildogwife is a Marine wife with a blog that shares about her life, her hero husband and their family.  She will receive the two books by Lisa Whelchel.  Awesome!! 

To all of you who participated even just a few times, I want to commend you for getting involved and being willing to take small those steps toward home sanctuary.  The best prize is what is happening in your homes each day.

I will announce March's prizes tomorrow, so be sure to check in to see what's in store!

And since, underneath it all, we all wish we could wear red boots, satin tights and a gold boostie-yay (that's "bustier" in French) AND LOOK GOOD IN THAT GET-UP, let's do a Wonder Woman Small Thing today!  We're going to fight grime in the kitchen underworld.

Next to the toilet and door handles, the kitchen sink is the germiest place in your house.  A friend of mine recently brought this to my attention and ever since she pointed it out I've been grossed out at the thought of washing dishes in my germy sinks.  Ignorance was indeed bliss.  Now I'm depressed.

Give your sinks a good, quick scrubbing with an abrasive cleanser and then rinse and wipe down.  I've got to tell you, it feels good to see your sinks brought to justice, all clean and pretty!  Put out some fresh dish cloths and you WILL feel like Wonder Woman!

POINTS: 30 for defeating grime in the kitchen sinks

BONUS POINTS: 10 for wearing a bracelet today, just 'cause it goes with the Wonder Woman outfit and it's feels girly.  Wow, Rachel Anne, you give out some really easy points! 

I know.  That's how I roll.

And hey, just for fun, visit my friend Ann Kroeker and check out her Fun Monday!

40 pts. max today

PS Here's a new Tally Sheet for March Download TallyMarch.doc