Home Sanctuary

Turn in September Points!

Not only are the weeks flying by, but the MONTHS are flying by as well. With school getting underway, and all that entails, September has been a blur. Whoosh!

Here are the prizes we've been playing for as we've collected points for doing the daily Small Things:



The wonderful people over at simplify101 are sponsoring this month's prize for us:

The September Most Points Winner will receive FREE PARTICIPATION in an incredible workshop titled, Quick + Simple Clutter Control. Here is the course description:

Quick + Simple Clutter Control  This simplify 101 online workshop teaches you how to clear surface clutter and gives you do-able strategies to keep clutter at bay! Get inspired. Stay motivated. Make clutter a thing of your past! Throughout this 2 lesson / 3 week workshop you’ll have direct access to your instructor, professional organizer Aby Garvey, via the workshop’s private forum. With the private online community and photo gallery, you’ll get the ideas and support you need to start—and finish—your clutter control projects. The workshop begins October 19, 2010.  Click here to view the workshop syllabus.

 I think this will be a great way to head into the holidays - I mean, direct access to Aby Garvey???? Come on! This is a prize DEFINITELY worth competing for. Thank you, simplify101 for such a generous prize.

Now, our Random Prize winner will receive a special gift...but for reasons that I will explain on Monday, I cannot reveal it. Let's just say it would spill some beans for other people involved. But it's a good prize...so don't hesitate to enter for the drawing!

If you have never participated in the points and drawings, it is very simple and unscientific...just like me. It's Today's Small Thing.

1. Email your point total number to me at [email protected].  Just sharpen your pencil and add up what you've done this month! There's a tally sheet to help...the old fashioned kind.  Download Tally1009 Please be sure that you only give yourself points for the tasks you completed on the days they were assigned. No cheating and "catching up" all at once on the last day! That would defeat the whole purpose of daily Small Things, right??

If you simply want to be entered into the Random Drawing, let me know in an email as well.

2. Leave a comment, letting us know which Small Thing you enjoyed/needed the most this month.  This is a fun way to nudge the fence-sitters to go ahead and jump in next month. See?  It's fun!!

You even get points for doing today's Small Thing.

POINTS: 40 for the two steps: sending your email, and leaving a comment...good toward September's total. If you've already won previously, you won't be eligible to win again, sorry.

Good luck, girls!

Song of the Day: The Best is Yet to Come, Michael Buble

Fresh Water

Two summers ago, we worked on a project out in west Texas. (I returned this year to complete the Children's Church). Our theme for the church interior was all about water. We created an atmosphere that speaks of refreshing, living water in a dry and dusty place, through graphics, paint colors and even carpet choices.  It was so exciting to see it all come together!

I began researching references to water in the Bible at the beginning of the project.  My eyes immediately went to Revelation 22:1-5, which is a description of a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God.  It courses down the center of the main street and on each side of the river grows a tree of life, bearing fresh crops each month.  The verse says that the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  What a sumptuous description!  It was the spring board for our theme.

We began collecting photos of water.  Trees.  Leaves.  Streams.  Rivers.  Waves. Ripples. I tell you, if you start looking at pictures of water you start getting very thirsty.  I drank more water during those weeks than I had in my whole life.  I just couldn't get enough.

It's like the more I saw it, the more I wanted it.

That's the mood we wanted to create for this church.  Jesus explained something about living water to a lady at a well who was living a pretty rough life.  "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water," He said as He motioned to the well.  "But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether.  It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."

He was telling her that the only thing that can quench our spiritual thirst is found in Him.  And the more you see of Him, the more you want of Him.  Jesus used water as the perfect illustration for a spiritual truth.  Just like our bodies can't live without water to drink, our spirits within us can't live without "drinking deeply" of Jesus.

Today's Small Thing is all about water.  Think about the water you drink.  We don't buy bottled water very often, because we have filtered water in our fridge.  I can't remember the last time I changed the filter, but I'm sure it's been too long.  Before we got this fridge, we used a Brita jug with filter cartridges.  I changed those pretty often, but probably not as often as I should have.  You really can tell a difference in the taste of cleaner water.

Do anything with water today.  Drink your recommended 8 glasses.  Or change your water filter.  Or clean out your water container.  Or rinse your water glasses with vinegar so they sparkle.  Play in water if you want.  Meditate on water.  Take a long bath and soak in bubbly water. Find verses that talk about water!  If you look at your day, you'll probably know which activity will work for you.  Most importantly, have fun with it.

 

POINTS: 40 for doing something with water

BONUS: 20 for getting someone else to join in some water activity with you

What are you doing with water today?

Song of the Day: Washed by the Water, Needtobreathe....I can't find it for my playlist, so here is a link to the youtube video.

Jug Care

Rooh, our Company Girl over at Running out of Hands, is doing a 5k Run for the Cure this weekend.  What an awesome cause! The fight against breast cancer has hit especially close to home with me, as one of my best friends, Bridgette, and my sister-in-law Shawn, have both been battling breast cancer this year.  I hope you'll stop over and help Rooh by sponsoring her - there is an easy donation link on her blog - because every little bit helps. Why not take that $5.00 latte money and put it to good use? You can always take a nap if you're caffeine deprived - the nap's on me ;)

And that reminds me of this Small Thing from last year, which was one of my FAVORITE posts...so let's do it again.

Jugs.

Everyone's got them.

Highly prized for their usefulness and beauty, jugs come in all sizes, shapes and colors. Some are round and smooth, while others are sleek and contoured.  Many are carried by attractive jug holders that are made especially for them.  The holders are particularly handy when the jugs get too heavy to lug around.

Sometimes, jugs are purely functional.  They do their job dispensing their contents, and do what they've gotta do without much care for how they look as they carry out their duties.

But all jugs, even the utilitarian ones, are decorative in nature.  People with especially nice jugs often display them publicly, while others only take them out for special occasions.  The best ones are handled with care, and only by those who have permission of the jug owner.

Jug experts tell us that we should inspect our jugs monthly for unusual changes, like cracks, bumps or lumps that shouldn't be there.  Here is a diagram that shows how to do a jug inspection:

 

The Wedge, Circular, and Vertical methods

You can read more information here.

 

Today's Small Thing is to do a Jug Self Exam.  You can take your jugs into the shower to examine them, or you can do a jug exam while laying on your back.  It is important to learn what is "normal" for your jugs, so that you can recognize any changes immediately.

 

 

POINTS: 50 knockers today! Here's your chance to really rack up the points!

 

Song of the Day: Little Brown Jug, Glenn Miller

Close the Door on Germs

Besides the potties in your house, do you know where most of the other germs lurk?  Nope, not the dog bowls or the refrigerator.

Clue:  It's in the picture above, and it's not the darling little boy.

I'll bet you already guessed it.

Yep, the door knobs.

Ya'll are so smart.

In this part of the world it's almost cold and flu season.  A wipe of the doorknobs (or at least a spray of Lysol) is probably a real good idea to help keep everyone healthy from the get-go.  I usually don't think of doing this task until AFTER someone gets sick....and kick myself for it. This time, I want to be ahead of the game....plus door knobs that aren't sticky just feel nice.

So whip out your cleaning spray (anti-bacterial, if you have it) and hit those germy knobs!  I think I can get all mine done in under 10 minutes.  Wanna race??

POINTS: 30 for cleaning AND/OR dousing your doorknobs with a germ-killing spray.

Song of the Day: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Avalon

Emptiness

Emptiness.

The hollow, aching void that penetrates my soul with palpable nothingness. It beckons me into its abyss of vacuity, and seduces me with its barren allure of desolation.

Is it strange that I enjoy it so much?

Maybe it's my "dark side," but I find emptiness quite mesmerizing.

Empty dishwashers.

Empty clothes hampers.

Empty dryers.

Empty trash cans.

Empty recycling bins.

Empty eyes. JK.

Empty sinks.

Empty purses (not wallets!)

Empty coat pockets.

Empty desktops. And desk tops.

Empty baskets.

It really makes my heart full when I see any of these things, bereft of stuff.

Today's Small Thing takes "emptiness" to a whole new level of beautiful barrenness. Unload, dismantle, pour our, unpack or otherwise emptify any recepticle to return it to its vacuous state of purity.

Empty.

POINTS: 20 per thing that gets emptied....up to 7 things. 140 points max!

What will you empty today? Did I miss anything on my list?

Song of the Day: Empty Me, Jeremy Camp

Company Girl Coffee 9.24

I know I say this almost every Friday, but WHERE does the week go?? My goodness, I can't believe it's time for our virtual Coffee time again!

I'm in the middle of finishing up a wayfinding project (that's a fancy way of saying "signs") for a ministry campus. All the artwork is being printed and laminated here in our studio, and we are assembling the posts and hardware in a mad dash to the finish line. Phew! I will be happy to see all those signs delivered to their destination....and can't wait to see how they look when they've been placed!

I hope you girls have had a great week. I really feel bad when I can't get around to visit everyone...for all my good intentions, it seems like each day has been packed from morning until night, and I'm not able to sit down at my leisure to leave comments.  Please know that I love you - and love seeing your names and blogs and comments here each week. You are prayed over and appreciated...you are such sweet Company Girls!

Link up for a pretend Coffee Klatch, or Tea Party (not affiliated with any political group, btw) if you prefer a more delicate brew. Just enter your blog post URL into the space below and then enjoy the company!  We are keeping up with several non-blogging CG's through the comment section and we ALWAYS love that kind of participation, too, so hop in!

Hey, Nice Pad

Today's Small Thing takes a tiny, but mighty, stab at chaos. 

I find that chaos breeds more chaos.  When things get beyond my control, they REALLY get beyond my control - and I'm not just being redundant.  There are many mornings I wake up and just don't even know where to start.  And then begins a spiral of defeat: because my kitchen is messy I can't do the laundry.  Because the laundry is piled in every room, I can't clean.  And since I can't clean, I can't do anything fun.  And since I can't do anything fun, I'm depressed. Oh yeah, it's a regular breeding ground for malcontent.

Do ya know what I mean??

Check out this tutorial on how to make these.

So here's where you'll start today:  Simply straighten and organize your kitchen linens.  That's the fancy name for dishtowels, wash rags and hot pads.  (You could throw place mats and table cloths into that category, too, if you're so inclined.)  I have mine in a couple of drawers and they tend to get jumbled up throughout the week.  My pot holders have some pizza cheese on them and need to be washed. I'll bet I could throw a couple of those worthless pads away.  Why do I hang on to them??  I'm out of clean dishtowels and dish cloths so I'll wash them and fold them neatly away.

I may not get LOADS of laundry done today, but that's ok.  I only have to work on my kitchen linens to feel I've accomplished something important.  This task may just lead to other things (because of the Chaos Corollary:organization breeds more organization) but I won't worry about that because I've defeated chaos in ONE WHOLE AREA OF MY LIFE!  Who cares if it's just a tiny one?

POINTS: 40 for working on your kitchen towels and pot holders today.  Just straighten them up, if that's all they need. Open and close your drawers as many times as you like to gaze at the beauty of organization!

BONUS: 20 As long as you're at it, why not straighten your stored tablecloths and place mats, too?  

That's a lotta points for something so teensy!

Song of the Day: Shoo-Fly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy, Dinah Shore - makes me want to wear a flouncy apron!

Trash Talkin'

Every now and then, I just HAVE to talk trash.

Garbage. Yeah, I said it.  

Stinkin Garbage.

I said that while making intimidating signs with my hands, like these scary rappers:

I could make rumbling with trash a "Small Thing" every single week, and there'd still be trash left over.

Oh, you wanna take this outside?  Do ya?  Huh?  Do ya?

Yeah, I BET you do.  C'mon MAKE ME!

If my son were reading this he'd tell me to never blog in trash talk again. He's quite clear in letting me know I am an embarrassment to his teenage sense of "cool."

Today's Small Thing is to do some Trash Talking with me.  Whoop up on all those little wastebaskets in bathrooms and bedrooms that mostly contain old kleenexes and receipts, and don't get emptied regularly.  It's time for a smack down.  They've been riding low under the radar of the trash police, but get ready to smoke 'em out and gather up the trash for a trip to the pen.

EACH

POINTS: 10 per trash can emptied, no limit!  Last time we did this, I think I counted 11 wastebaskets in my house.  Baby, that's a lotta trash to crunk.

Song of the Day: Lose My Soul, Toby Mac

A Sanctuary Mindset

Are you having a hard time reconciling the idea of "housework" with "sanctuary?" I mean, a peaceful, calm environment hardly coincides with the reality of the clash of wills over chores and the resentment over household maintenance responsibilities. I feel ya.

You see, I think I made a big mistake early on as an adult, by thinking that "home time" was "down time." Leisure time. I really felt like I deserved to put my feet up after working, and relax to my heart's content.  That worked pretty well until kids came along and I was home full time.  I quickly realized that there wouldn't be much relaxing going on...but by then my habits were hard to break.  Especially the mental habit that resented the "chores."

While I still struggle with organization, it has helped me to look at the "sanctuaries" in the Bible to gain some perspective and a proper mindset.

1. The garden of Eden - the world's first sanctuary.  Adam and Eve had a gorgeous place to live, beautifully decorated and filled with fabulous foods.  But they were given the task of managing their home and ruling over the beasts that lived there.  Sound familiar?? Yeah, I thought of the beasts that live in my home, too.

2. The Tabernacle - the tent in the wilderness.  It was made with what they had: woven cloth and donated gold, and was moveable.  It was simple, but it worked.  However, it required regular maintenance and a schedule. I guess God didn't see fit to clean it all by Hisself.

3. The Temple - the permanent home made by Solomon.  It was made with the best materials and carefully built by skilled craftsmen. What a wonder it must have been! Every intricate detail was carefully carved, woven, created and placed.  This home required even more tender care by teams of people who looked after it.

All three of these sanctuaries have something in common: God's presence resided there. And that's really the basis for my own home sanctuary.  I want His presence to permeate our lives by being glorified in the daily life that goes on within these walls.  How about you? Is that your desire, too?

And there is something else.  Regular maintenance and teamwork were a part of making these sanctuaries holy places.  No one person did all the work, but everyone had a part.

These places were beautiful, peaceful places where relationships could flourish.  They were places of mercy and grace.  They were the center of the people's lives and were a refuge from the outside world.

Oh, there are literally hundreds more observations to be made, but for your sakes I will stop here.

But do you see why there is a tug on our hearts to capture the feeling of "sanctuary" in our homes? We were made for this.  God designed us to want this kind of life.

Well, you might be looking around at the nightmare at your house and wonder if you can ever get there from here.

Yes, you can.

Today's Small Thing is to read Genesis 1-3 and make at least 3 observations about that first sanctuary. You can do this in about 15 minutes, tops.  Then apply what you've read to the sanctuary you want to create at home.

**Note: You might not wanna apply the "nekked" part, at least while the kids are around.

POINTS 40 for reading Genesis 1-3 and thinking about God's design for your own sanctuary.

Song of the Day: Wow, Thomas Newman

Glovebox

Ford Fusion's glove compartment

These days, fast food places usually don't give you ketchup unless you ask for it. I don't know how many times we've driven a half mile down the road and realized that there's no ketchup for the fries.

Aw, MAN! NO! NOOOO!!!! C'MON, really??

It's enough to ruin a perfectly good day.

Not long ago, my son and I were ketchup-deprived once again, so I suggested looking in the glovebox for a packet. He rummaged through the receipts, the insurance cards, the pens, the napkins, the papers, the sweetNlow packages and the hand-sanitizers and finally came up with a crusty looking packet with a faded McDonald's logo. He looked at it warily.

"I don't know about this, it looks a little sketchy," Grayson said doubtfully. "What's the expiration date on this thing?"

"I dunno," I said. "I don't think they put expiration dates on stuff like that."

He examined the ketchup, using all the skills of a CSI detective. "Old logo, outdated font..........AHA!" he exulted, then paused. "Wait. 1987?? That's what it says - 1987."

Well, OBVIOUSLY, that packet had not been there since 1987 because that would be like, 23 years ago, but it gave me a moment of pause. Maybe it had? No, the Explorer is a mere 15 years old so the numbers didn't add up.

But it HAD been awhile since I'd cleaned out the glove compartment, so as soon as we got home I did a thorough purging of that handy receptacle.

1987. Ha.

Today's Small Thing is to take a couple of minutes to tidy up your glovebox.  Make sure your proof of insurance card (and title) is up to date and you are stocked with the types of things we always need on the road: wipes, hand sanitizers, napkins. Old ketchup packets should probably be tossed, but if you're like me, you go through them fast enough to have fresh ones on hand. Here's a handy list.

POINTS: 40 for making sure your glove compartment is tidy.

BONUS POINTS: 20 for sharing - what's the oldest, oddest, most useful, grossest, or most important item in your glovebox? What would you never travel without??

Song of the Day: Route 66, Nat King Cole