Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Days of Beauty: Caring for the Beauty We Have

After focusing on God and the beauty that comes from being beautiful within, a natural next thought to me is to care for the beauty He has already given me. Health, home, family.

Today, I will be focusing on tidying my home. We'll be away all morning for CC, so I know my time will be more limited - but I know that I can start at my front door and just walk through my whole house and put things away where they go. Now, getting them to stay there is another matter entirely!

The beauty that surrounds me will be even more beautiful when there aren't shoes and books lying around! It's just like how we care for our yards and even our hearts - weeding out things that don't belong to make room for the beauty we want to be surrounded with.

Isaiah 61:3, "...to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor."

Here are a few glimpses of our day -

We spent all morning and a bit of the early afternoon at CC today, and after Quiet Time - I did start at the front door and work all through the entry way and living room plus some of the dining room and kitchen tidying. I got lots of laundry put away and things taken care of!

For those of you who guessed that I am working on slip covers - you were right! Here is a little bit bigger of a peek. I don't want to show the whole thing until I'm done. I've gotten the larger couch finished!

After dinner, I worked on a few cloth napkins for a friend. Then, I ripped out (more) piping from the three throw pillows left for the couches. I made all the new piping and got the fabric cut out so I can hopefully get those finished very soon!

It's late now and I'm realizing I did not have my time in the Word today though I did read the entry in Jesus Calling. It is easy to feel defeated over that and I will try again tomorrow to begin the day right.

I did complete my chores for today and am pleased with the beauty added to my home just from tidying and putting things away.

How was your day?

5 comments:

Jenny Lynn said...

My day was joyous. I like that scripture. I love that I am a work in progress, and that I have such a loving God to show me the way. It is easy to be hard on ourselves about our short comings.

LynnMarie said...

I joined you today in Making our Haven a Home and I like what you are doing at your home. Your family must feel blessed by all you do.

angie said...

I increased the beauty in my home, focusing on the senses of sight and smell. I added some fall decor to the mantle, hung a Phillies sign on the front door to please my son, and made applesauce in the crock pot to nourish all.
And the sun is finally showing its lovely face. When the light/Light is shining in the windows of our homes, what a difference it/He makes!

Lauren (in Savannah) said...

Some days I feel like when I am running in different directions my house gets way out of control. Today I "Granny sat" and then we home schooled, ran a few errands and came home perplexed at what to do first. I decided to pretend we were having unexpected company and I tried to rush and do whatever I could as if company was popping in. Sounds silly but it helps!
I find that as far as quiet time goes....I tend to have breath prayers throughout the day. I do need to carve out some time for quality prayer but I also like to pray for whatever and whomever... when they come to mind.

Riverswamp said...

Those napkins are absolutely lovely!