1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard
my cry
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and
mire; he set my fee on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our
God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does
not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The
things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell
of them, they would be too many to declare.
6 Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but my ears you
have pierced; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
7 Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about
me in the scroll.
8 I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my
heart.”
Often when we're starting out, we dream of doing earth-changing things and
the thought of tackling them intimidates us. That is yet another reason to
start small. Don't try to help everyone, just try to help someone!
Do that, and
in time you may find yourself living what Francis of Assisi described when he
said,
'Start doing what is necessary; then do what is possible; and suddenly,
you are doing the impossible.' Even if you never get to do big things, you can
find great fulfilment in doing right things. No act of kindness is too small to
be worth doing.
John Maxwell writes:
'Little did I realise when I started with a desire to
add significance to others, that it would add significance to me! Now I
understand. We should not receive anything without giving, and we cannot give
anything without receiving.'
The truth is, your dream isn't worthy of your life
if it doesn't bless others. President Woodrow Wilson stated:
'You are not here
merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more
amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You
are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the
errand.'
There's an old Middle Eastern blessing that says, 'When you were born, you
cried and the world rejoiced. May you live your life so that when you die, the
world will cry and you will rejoice.'
This encouraged me to share more with you...
One of the things I have used over the past few years is the
Fly lady website. (Finally Loving Yourself)
At first I tried to do everything she said but I found I
came across aspects of it that were not for me.
It is American based so things
were done a little different because of the different cultures and seasons.
However Marla (the lady behind Flying) taught me ideas and ways to ‘gain
control’ so to speak.
She talks about routines and I started with what she does
and tried to do the same. I soon found it wasn’t working so I adapted it to
suit me.
It was funny as I thought I had to do it her way but realised in time
I was actually fighting over it and so relaxed and used the tool for me rather
than being used by the tool!
And this is actually one of the things she talks about;
feeling we had to measure up to some expectation when really anything done in
the home is a blessing.
I start my day with a cuppa that Harry brings me and do my bible reading and write in my diary. Then its time to get up and start my my morning routine.
It’s divided into four parts just as Fly lady does but I
have reduced/combined mine.
1.
Getting started
a.
Get out of bed and make it.
b.
Shower and get dressed, fixing face, hair and
shoes.
c.
Swish and swipe. (wipe the bathroom basin and
sink, and swish the toilet bowl)
2.
Moving on
a.
Start a load of washing.
b.
Get something out for tea.
c.
Check the calendar for appointments.
3.
Breakfast
a.
Eat some breakfast
b.
Fill my water bottle
c.
Take my tablets
4.
Finishing off
a.
Dishes (either unpack or finish packing and
start the dishwasher)
b.
Hotspots* (this is a Fly lady expression and
explained below)
c.
Animals ( feed, check for clean water and let
out)
For me I have worked the routine out to be four lots of
three things which made it
easier to remember them, but now they have become so
routine I almost do them automatically. I find that sticking to these gets me
ready for the day.
When I do them in order I know that when I leave the house
not only am I ready,
but I am leaving the house in order and a place that is a welcome
to come home to.
*Hotspots are explained by Marla the Fly lady as a place
where clutter or mess build and soon become an untidy mess. It’s the sort of
place, where if it is kept tidy or clear, it will look good. But as soon as
something is placed there, that shouldn’t be, it seems to attract more and so
soon becomes an out of controlled mess. She suggests you keep working on these places
keeping them clear. If it is cleared daily it won’t combust into a “burning
mess”.
I find that the bench in the kitchen, the dining table and
coffee table are all areas where this can happen so I try to keep them clear
and tidy.
All scripture is from (New International Version 1984)
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