My peaceful porch

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One of these days, I would like to build (or have someone build) a bench attached to the freshly-painted railing (I would finally be motivated to do it!) on my front porch. I envision putting a couple of all-weather cushions on it and sitting out there sipping a beverage or reading a novel and watching the boys play in the front yard. In the meantime, I have a couple of patio chairs that will suffice.

I do not have a stellar history as a green thumb, but I have gotten better in recent years. I guess my mom’s love of plants is finally rubbing off on me! I have a few hanging baskets and some shelf plants that sit on the porch railing, along with a few potted plants on the ground. I also had two windchimes, one of which was my brother’s that he had at his old duplex. After he died, I inherited it, and it made me happy to listen to it tinkling with lovely music.

Unfortunately, the strings that held it together succumbed to the elements, and it fell down. Thankfully, the chimes didn’t break, but I needed to re-string the whole thing, and in order to do that, some of the holes needed to be re-drilled.

I set it aside for a couple of months – until I had time to work on it – and finally I made time this weekend. I sat at the kitchen table with the hand drill and box of assorted bits and went to work. (Yeah, yeah – not the ideal work station, but I managed.) I restrung the chimes with microfilament line (ie, fishing line) and drilled out the clogged string. Ta-da! It isn’t like-new, if you look really closely, but who is going to climb up on a step stool to examine my handiwork? 😉

I hadn’t realized just how much I’ve missed hearing the chime until a breeze started blowing as I hung it back into place. Hearing the sweet music brought a smile to my face. I think Nathan would be proud of me for fixing it … and using power tools, to boot! In the words of Tim the Tool Man, “Arr, arr, arr!” 🙂

Guilty consciences (Prayer Devotional for the week of October 7, 2012)

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Have you ever conveniently ignored a rule or set of instructions? Maybe you parked in a no-parking zone and justified it because you would “only be a sec” and come right back. Maybe you dropped the ball on a task at work for which you were responsible. Maybe your parents grounded you, and you went behind their backs, thinking that you wouldn’t get caught.

And perhaps, you got away with it. It could be that your transgression went completely undetected – no blame, no fuss, no problem … or, is it?

In Hebrews 10, the early church is reminded to press on in their faith, despite push-back from unbelievers. I find it interesting that although much of the chapter does talk about perseverance and standing strong in the face of opposition, a big chunk of the passage deals with sin and guilt. What do guilt and faith have to do with each other?

The author tells us in verse 22 that we need to draw close to God with open hearts, but in order to be sincere, our guilty consciences need to be cleared. How can we become all that God has planned for us if we are clinging to sin? We have to let God wash our hearts clean so that we can become more intimate with him. I love the way The Message paraphrase describes this process as becoming “presentable inside and out.”

The purpose of Jesus’ sacrifice was not to condemn us; we did a knock-out job of that already by our sin. Instead, his gift to us is a thorough heart-scrubbing that will wash our guilty consciences clean. Only after we’ve owned up to our failings and accepted his forgiveness can we enjoy the guilt-free life that he wants us to have.

Moms Everyday segment on KWTX

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What fun! A month or so ago, I got a direct message on Twitter from a local news anchor asking if I’d be interested in doing an interview for an afternoon program called Moms Everyday. The program is designed to give practical tips and ideas to parents (especially moms, but there’s a section for dads, too).

Moms Everyday: Coin Vase

I hope you enjoy the clip (I tried embedding the video directly, but it didn’t work, and I’m too tired to mess with it :p ). The boys are excited about counting the money, but we’re still adding to the stash. (Come to think of it, I haven’t emptied my wallet today, so I need to go do that.) We’ll wait another month or so and take it to the bank around Thanksgiving. Everyone will discuss & vote on which charity/organization to donate the funds to.

I’ll let you know what the results are! 🙂