Frugal Friday: Fresh
Saturday: Overtired this morning. I was up later than I'd meant to be. Just as I readied for bed last night, Sam called. He was a little worried over the wind and rain in his area of the state, was home alone and then the power went out. Naturally he called the one other person he knew to be alone. I checked weather station and the full brunt of the hurricane over Jacksonville was hitting, with bands that reached well above Sam's area. We talked over three hours. Sleep eluded me after that and I read in bed. When John called this morning, he was disgustingly cheerful. I made sure to get both a shower and a cup of coffee before he got in.
I made buckwheat pancakes and sausage for breakast. Kept lunch a simple sandwich meal today and we had more sandwiches for supper. Bulk of our day was spent snoozing, out and out napping and lolling about.
The Proverbial Woman: Diligent in Prayer
Proverbs 31:13 She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight.
This verse is represented by the Hebrew letter dalet (dah-let), which is portrayed by the symbol of a closed tent door. As a door, it suggests a choice to open ourselves spiritually to hope or to be closed off.
The words in this verse which begin with the letter dalet is darash, "she looks". Darash means to seek, to look for, to request, to resort to, to frequent a place, to inquire, to ask, to consult God in prayer and worship, to practice and study, to seek with diligence.
The talit or prayer shawl is considered a prayer 'tent' or closet and because this letter dalet is pictorially a 'closed tent door', I would hazard that this Proverbial Woman goes before God in prayer and worship and meditation. She would have done so with a prayer shawl draped over her head and shoulders, pulled closed in front of her face so that she would be enveloped in a private 'tent' of her own in which to commune with God. I think this prayer shawl also symbolizes the need for a one on one, personal relationship with God. I love how the definition of darash includes the words 'to seek with diligence'. To do something with diligence speaks volumes. If you are diligent you aren't showing up occasionally or by accident. You are putting forth real effort and sacrificing time that you might spend elsewhere. You are giving up something in order to purse God. I love that!
Anabelle pointed out in one of her posts that the Proverbial Woman was a creative woman. In Jewish culture, creativity is seen as the ultimate reflection of a heart's desire to be more like God, who Himself is the Creator. I think this seems to be true in this verse. Wool and flax most likely would have been used in embroidery work. Could she have asked God to provide the material to work with? Why not? Haven't I expressed a physical need for material at times when I'm in prayer? I can't name the number of times I've had them turn up in wonderful ways, too!
The Proverbial Woman: Lovingkindness
Proverbs 31:12 She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.
This verse is represented by the letter gimel (geeh-mel). The gimel is represented in pictorial form by the camel. The camel represents a moving from one place to another and being transported rather than walking under one's own power. The letter itself is said to represent the freedom of choice to run after the Torah and practice the art of lovingkindness.
Gimel is the first letter of the first word "Gamal", a verb, found in this verse and translated in English as "she does". Gamal's meaning is 'to deal bountifully with, to wean, to ripen , recompense".
The verse says "she does him good and not evil all the days of her life..." The definitions of the word gamal say a great deal to me about what she does. In her desire to minister to her husband's needs she does so 'bountifully', meaning that she holds nothing back. Her pursuit of goodness is such that she withholds nothing of her affections and love and gentleness from her husband. This wife will never treat a stranger more kindly than she does her husband! The Proverbial Woman has learned well and shows her husband just how much she values him.
In My Home This Week: Fresh Winds
In my home this week:
We will be getting new flooring Monday. I mopped the kitchen Friday and ran the vacuum over the carpet one more time, then again. Why? Not sentimentality but just wanting to continue to be a good steward of what has been a blessing. Yes it is worn a bit and dinged up, too but there are no places worn through to the sub flooring as I had in one home. There are no hard beaten paths that look like they were glued in place as there were in another house. And come Monday and Tuesday, my house will take on a fresh new appearance.
Currently the house literally echoes about us. It certainly feels like a fresh slate. I should have emptied out rooms long before now and started over, one piece at a time! Bess and I talked over the living room on Thursday evening and I made three decisions lickity split. The little ottoman that rocks is out of here. Josh spent the whole evening pushing it over and then back up again. I realled that Daniel was forever flipping the little swivel rocker that is it's mate up in the air and very nearly crashed it upon Hailey one morning. I think the chair will move to the bedroom but I'll have to find a replacement chair. I simply can't have the nerves jumping every time grandchildren play with those two pieces.
Weekend Reading
You might think of late the only reading I get around to is what's on my Microsoft Edge home page from MSN and you'd be just about right. I'm ready for the weekend though and thought I'd share what little I've saved this week between writing jags and packing up moving jags. Next week I have a few posts pre-scheduled and I expect to be back at work the week after. No holiday. Just flooring, groceries and moving things back and forth and suffering aching muscles!
I thought this story about a 1934 Plymouth Coupe was pretty cool. I love old cars! There was something very majestic and elegant about some of them and something dead solid about all of them.
This slide show about unconventional guard animals is a fun one. Don't think I'd feel inclined to visit the zoo featured though.
Frugal Friday: Upside Right
Saturday: Made a roasted chicken for dinner. I kept the seasoning on it simple and cooked it in a slow oven. The warmth very appreciated this morning as it was quite cool.
We took morning coffee on the front porch. The air was crisp, the breeze slightly chilly. I wore a sweatshirt and jeans. Maddie seemed right at home in her fur coat. The sun shone brightly and the sky was clear and blue. It was absolutely lovely.
I mixed leftover baked sweet potatoes with the leftover roasted butternut squash and made a Sunday Sweet Potato/Squash casserole to have with our roast chicken dinner. It was delicious!
We had enough leftovers for a second meal from the casserole and chicken.
Ran a very full load of dishes. Shorter wash and air dried.
Sunday: I made French Toast this morning. I just thawed and reheated. With an egg and sausage each it was an ample breakfast.
Took water and a granola bar with me for after church since we planned to go by Lowes. It's always Lowes or Home Depot for us these days. We've decided that either one is the new Walmart in our lives.
Picked up paint for the bathroom wall and cabinets, the right paint for the last dining room chair, a tub of sample paint for the soon to be record cabinet, hooks to hang my mixer attachments and something else...All necessary to tend to jobs here.
John stopped at the supermarket to get a paper. There were none. Instead he came out of the store with dinner in the bag. Unexpected but his treat. Sweet!
After dinner John painted the bathroom wall and then worked on my shed door. The handle broke and it couldn't be locked but he took care of it.
Light supper after our late late dinner.
Iced Tea Chat: Life in the Fruit Basket
I contemplated earlier the fact that with the books packed up the bulk of my home was packed away. 16 boxes...I had no idea I still had so many books! However, as I put them back on the shelves I shall do my utmost to cull still more. I know full well I am holding on to some that I've neither read nor enjoyed reading. I've held on to them because they are sets that I'd purchased long ago. Books I thought I ought to read. Books I thought I ought to have for the children to read. Books I've never read...I think it's time to let them go.
Yes, I did say it seems like I'd packed up nearly everything in packing the books but I know too well that I'd be overwhelmed if it came to emptying every single closet, drawer, cabinet, shed. Yep. I know because when we moved in here 20 years ago that's what we had to do and I've often wanted to move again to just about anywhere but here but in the end, I am glad I haven't had to pack up house and home to do it! John used to say that we'd just move and carry along our undies and a few clothes and start again and these days I'm certainly sort of inclined to think I'd just as soon myself! Not that we are currently in any danger of moving, of course. We purposely bought the house we did because we knew it would be suitable for older age and for two. There may well come a day when we need to move into town where there's less lawn and less need of upkeep, but for now that is far in the future.
I've been enjoying the work done on the Proverbs 31 Woman series I've taken up. It's been fascinating to see a deeper spiritual life in this woman. It's also been tough at times. I wrote four posts over the last weekend but when it came to the fifth I very nearly quit. I questioned who I was to think I could teach a single thing, much less something of this depth. I worried. I felt anxious. I went back and rewrote the previous four posts. I came very near deleting them all. Then I had a revelation about the troublesome post and it was like watching puzzle pieces fall into place. I wrote post number six the next morning in ten minutes time. I will keep going now I've started but they may be staggered as I catch up with myself. I know I'll be without Internet at least once next week and we've had unexpected family come in this week.
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