What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Some Things Are Simply Irresistible - Revisited and Updated

4/12/2018:  Spring is in the air!  Time to start hanging out those stale linens and freshen up the house...open the windows and let the fresh air inside!! At least that is how I was feeling a couple of years ago about this time....read on:


Original Post 4-11-2016

I honestly don't know why I am so entranced with the thoughts of having clean sheets hanging on the clothesline to dry....

But here they are...

And then there is the marvelous sensation of the smell and feel of those sun-kissed, air-dried sheets when you take them off of the clothesline and fold them and put them in the basket...I literally stood there breathing in the joy of it and almost passed out from breathing so deeply and for so long...It was simply irresistible.

 Apparently the scent of clean linen is such a wonderful fragrance that many air freshener manufacturers have tried to duplicate it in a spray or other types of deodorizers for the home.

 The canned artificial fragrances don't even come close in my opinion. There is nothing like the real thing.
I absolutely LOVE the delicate blue rose print on this old fashioned vintage cotton sheet. Actually...a friend of mine just gave me this sheet...she had purchased it at a church yard sale and decided she didn't need it after all, and I told her that if she truly did not want it I would LOVE to have it.

Why?  I'm not sure. It's a full size sheet and I don't even have a full-size bed!  Mine are all queen size!

UPDATE 2018:  I do have a full size bed now, and I am using this sheet on that bed! We got this antique bed from my mother-in-law's house when she went to the nursing home. It originally belonged to my husband's paternal grandparents, so it is pretty old and special...and this sheet fits perfectly!!











But something about this lovely little blue-flowered sheet was irresistible! It stirred up a nostalgic reaction in me that I cannot even begin to identify...and when she so sweetly gave it to me I almost broke out in tears.  (I must need a vacation or a shrink...not sure which...or both! Ha Ha!)




It's kind of like the GRACE of God...a gift that is simply irresistible...

Ephesians Chapter Two verses 1-10 describes this irresistible grace to us...I will just hit the highlights here:

1> "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins...
4>"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5>even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ 
(by grace you have been saved),
8>For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; 
it the the GIFT of GOD,
9>NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast."


God's Grace: It is an irresistible gift from God to us...that we have never fully understood how or why He would give it to us when we didn't even deserve it..but yet it is something that we needed so desperately and it would be foolish for us to resist His marvelous gift of grace.

And then...listen to THIS...WE actually become that sweet fragrance of Christ to God and the world...

2 Corinthians 2:14-16 says this:

"Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the FRAGRANCE of HIS knowledge in every place.
For we are to God the FRAGRANCE of Christ 
among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.
To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, 
and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. 
And who is sufficient for these things?"

I'm not totally sure how I got from hanging sheets on the line to the gift of the Grace of God and becoming the Sweet Fragrance of Christ to the world...but perhaps that is why I couldn't resist that beautiful little blue flowered sheet.  It inspired a simply irresistible story that needed to be told.

Have a blessed day my friends...and perhaps today would be a good day to hang out some sheets on the line...and breathe in the real sweet fragrance...not something artificial from a can...and become a sweet fragrance of Christ (and again, not something canned and artificial)...to someone else along the way!


By the way: This isn't the first time I've talked about hanging clothes/sheets on the line here...check out these other posts written in the past few years: "What's My Line?", and "Fresh Southern-Country Living Scents and Scenes" ...and it also isn't the first time I've talked about being the Sweet Fragrance of Christ (click on links for these posts).  Some things really are "simply irresistible".



13 comments:

  1. Thank you Shortybear! I am happy that you enjoyed this breath of fresh air with me today! Blessings, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love that sheet too! In fact, I have a couple of pillowcases and a sheet that looks just like it! They came from Mom and Dad's--and I just had to have them! sniff, sniff!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe that is why I was drawn to this sheet. I knew there was something special about it. Sniff sniff!!

      Delete
  3. Ahhhhh, how well I remember! Absolutely loved the wonderful smell of fresh lined dried sheets as a child. It just smelled of home. Thank you for the wonderful reminder, Pam, that the lovely fragrance and Presence of Christ indeed is our HOME!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amen! Thank you for remembering and appreciating this wonderful memory with me...and also for acknowledging the lovely fragrance of Christ in our lives...something to savor, for certain!

      Delete
  4. Pam, I'm glad that you can enjoy sheets dried outside--with my allergies I'd be simply miserable. However, I am with you regarding God's grace. His grace is beyond measure and is hard to fathom. Enjoying the sweet fragrance of Christ is amazing!

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh Kim, I am sorry that you are unable to enjoy the wonderful fragrance of air-dried sheets...But the most important thing in life is being able enjoy the marvelous gift of God's amazing grace...and breathing in the fragrance of His love and Presence in our lives. Such a precious gift indeed.

      Delete
  5. I open windows to air out the house at least 3 times a week, sometimes more even in the most frigid weather.
    Before I had a dryer I hung out everything all year long. Not fun bringing in frozen clothing or chapping hands placing wet things outside.
    When I lived in Utah, the low humidity meant jeans would dry in half an hour on the line! I love the smell of fresh laundry too.
    I know how you got to the grace of God. At least I think I do.
    I have always thought that the world is utilitarian and that one proof of a loving Creator is the fact that we can feel love, enjoy scents, scenery and touch. These are gifts and gifts that no one else can give! Even animals close their little eyes and sniff the wind with peace and joy.
    Lovely post as always my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love that description of God's grace in our world...a very interesting concept and I totally understand and "get it". I love the word picture of the "animals close their little eyes and sniff the wind with peace and joy!" Yes, they do!!! I'll be paying closer attention to them now... Thank you!

      Delete
  6. Pam, thank you for sharing this post again. God's grace is so marvelous and wonderful! Where would we be without it?

    Your sheets are cool. There's something about vintage bedding and clothing that trigger memories.

    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you, Kim, for returning to this post again, with something new and "fresh" to say! Yes, where WOULD we be without God's marvelous grace? And also yes, there IS something about vintage bedding, etc. that brings back happy memories. At least it certainly did for me. Thank you for popping in.

      Delete
  7. Interesting thoughts about our being a fragrance of Christ. When I go through times of being down emotionally, I tend to forget that He loves me and what He did on my behalf.Thank you for the message.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh yes, Cecelia, I believe when we are "down", He is all the more "up" for us...lifting us and carrying us on His shoulder when we are too weary to walk on our own. We are a very sweet fragrance to Him, and He loves us even when we feel like our fragrance can't be very pleasant.

      Delete

Thank you for visiting here today. I would love for you to sign my guestbook and let me know you stopped by. I always enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement! May you be blessed as you go on your way. Please come back and visit again soon.