My free day this week stretched into two of them. The weather on Tuesday was sunny and warm, perfect for me to finish painting the trim around the edge of my porch. Now it is all shiny and white, and should withstand the winter a little better. I also bought a bunch of groceries for various holiday parties coming up--mostly to make desserts. People complain less about those and they are usually much easier to transport.
Grace and I made these pumpkin cookies Wednesday. Isaac helped with the eating. They are from this recipe. I've also made them with cream cheese icing but realized I needed the cream cheese I bought for them for a different recipe. The glaze was easy and quite yummy too.
After looking at the forecast for Wednesday, and for next Tuesday, I decided Wednesday was also the best time to try to tackle the trim around the top of the house and some of those windows up there, at least that part I can reach from the porch roof. Both kids were in school that day. While it was easier than I expected to do the prep work for the porch trim with Grace around last week, this job was different. I got it scraped and primed before the temperature started dropping. I will go back and paint another day, if I get another warm sunny one, but at least the wood should also be more protected now.
I'm also working on some presents for Christmas, so it has seemed like I've jammed a lot in this week. One area that is not in hyperdrive right now is my Bible study time. About two or three weeks ago I found a John Ortberg book called The Me I Want to Be. I started reading it and then got bombarded with a sermon and a Sunday School lesson, all telling me the same thing. A friend sent me an email, saying she was studying Zechariah 4:4-6. I looked it up—Zechariah isn’t one I read much—and it concluded with “So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” It was a quiet bombardment, not one of those out-of -the blue jolts God gives me sometimes, but it was a message none the less. All of these stressed the importance of letting God do the work of transformation in my life, rather than to set up rules or idols for myself to follow to try to do that work on my own. The same grace that saves also transforms. So I didn't go find a Bible study book to follow when the last one ended. I didn’t join another class. I read a Psalm a day. I also write a bit each day using a Journible. My Journible is for the book of John, so I rewrite a few verses each day. With this first chapter, I even ended up reading the whole first chapter aloud to Isaac and then started the rewriting. I plan to do that as I start each chapter. It gives me an overview and is great for Isaac too. But mostly, I am just taking in God's Word.
Some fun stuff from the past week:
I vacuumed one couch (because she smashed dead cicadas all over it) and then she asked to vaccum. She did most of the living room, half of the stairs and then the other couch. I think I'll ask her next week if she wants to vacuum again. :)
After looking at the forecast for Wednesday, and for next Tuesday, I decided Wednesday was also the best time to try to tackle the trim around the top of the house and some of those windows up there, at least that part I can reach from the porch roof. Both kids were in school that day. While it was easier than I expected to do the prep work for the porch trim with Grace around last week, this job was different. I got it scraped and primed before the temperature started dropping. I will go back and paint another day, if I get another warm sunny one, but at least the wood should also be more protected now.
I'm also working on some presents for Christmas, so it has seemed like I've jammed a lot in this week. One area that is not in hyperdrive right now is my Bible study time. About two or three weeks ago I found a John Ortberg book called The Me I Want to Be. I started reading it and then got bombarded with a sermon and a Sunday School lesson, all telling me the same thing. A friend sent me an email, saying she was studying Zechariah 4:4-6. I looked it up—Zechariah isn’t one I read much—and it concluded with “So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” It was a quiet bombardment, not one of those out-of -the blue jolts God gives me sometimes, but it was a message none the less. All of these stressed the importance of letting God do the work of transformation in my life, rather than to set up rules or idols for myself to follow to try to do that work on my own. The same grace that saves also transforms. So I didn't go find a Bible study book to follow when the last one ended. I didn’t join another class. I read a Psalm a day. I also write a bit each day using a Journible. My Journible is for the book of John, so I rewrite a few verses each day. With this first chapter, I even ended up reading the whole first chapter aloud to Isaac and then started the rewriting. I plan to do that as I start each chapter. It gives me an overview and is great for Isaac too. But mostly, I am just taking in God's Word.
Some fun stuff from the past week:
A surprise trophy for running the most Jogathon laps in the whole school.
Trophy from his coach for a great season.
Fun times at the Duck Pond.
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