Work With What You Have...

You may be asking yourself, "What is THAT?"

Well, it's called, when you need a centerpiece for the table, "work with what you have".  We had some guests for dinner the other evening, and I needed a centerpiece. I do not like to use artificial arrangements unless I am desperate...and since moving to the forest I have been determined not to be that desperate and to make do with whatever the Lord provides.  This may not be that artistically and aesthetically perfect....but it made me happy because the Lord provided...Look closer, you will see a magnolia blossom not quite opened, and on either side of that are two magnolia seeds, from blossoms already past their prime.  The beautiful green, waxy magnolia leaves are freshly opened after the old leaves dropped away leaving these new ones...a part of the beauty of a magnolia tree as it renews itself each year.

 That little wisp of purple on the underside is a lonely wisteria blossom that just happened to be blooming when I was out foraging for things to add to this lovely bouquet.

This is how the arrangement looked the next day, after the magnolia blossom fully opened. It didn't stay pretty for long as it dropped its feathery covering of the seed and then the petals began to turn brown. However, I wish you could have smelled its delightful lemony fragrance as if an extravagant perfume bottle had been opened and spilled out.  This lovely flower arrangement served its purpose for the time it was needed, and I give thanks to the Lord for providing such beauty for us to enjoy.

Something to think about:

II Corinthians 2:14-16

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?"

Some questions to ponder:

What are some examples of ways that you have had to "work with what you have"?

What kind of fragrance am I? Are you?

How can we use what we have to be a blessing to someone today?

Click HERE for another similar post

And here is another...

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".

Take Time to "Smell the Roses"...or Apple Blossoms In This Case...

The other day I posted a couple of pictures on my Facebook page of some apple blossoms on our little Golden Dorset Apple Tree!

  I was amazed to see it blooming in October!

Someone asked me if the apple blossoms smelled good...and I had to admit that I was so busy taking their pictures that I never stopped to smell them. 

So I went back outside to smell the apple blossoms, and discovered this little dragonfly had already beat me to the punch!  Of course, he's probably doing more than just smelling...I expect he's enjoying a sip of apple nectar at the same time!

I thought to myself...Life is passing by so quickly...here it is almost the end of another year... Fall is upon us already, when most things are dying and preparing to go into hibernation for the winter...but this little apple tree thinks it's spring time and decided to bloom one more time...to give us another chance to embrace the beauty and smell the lovely fragrance of spring...

I wonder...could this be a foretaste of something really wonderful about to happen?

New life springing forth when we thought all was lost?

I don't know...but this little apple tree and sweet dragonfly give me hope

for tomorrow...the promise of spring even in the midst of autumn...

Perhaps there is someone else out there who needs a fresh breath of spring in the autumn of life...new hope for tomorrow...

Psalm 16:8-11

8. "I have set the Lord always before me;

Because He is at my right hand

I shall not be moved.

9.  Therefore my heart is glad,

and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will rest in hope.

10.  For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

11.  You will show me the path of life;

In Your Presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

Romans 15:13

"Now may the God of hope 

fill you with all joy and peace

in believing,

that you may abound in hope by the power of 

the Holy Spirit."

Amen.

Now...take some time to go smell the roses...or apple blossoms...or whatever sweet fragrance the Lord places in your pathway...and 

rest in Hope!!

Sweet Fragrance, or Putrid Stench?

"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me."  Psalm 25:1-2

I was just reading some heart-rending revelations from one of my dearest facebook friends, and it has left me feeling a bit perplexed.  This precious friend has endured some of the most severe trials a human being can ever experience on this earth, and yet she lives to give praise and glory to God and to encourage others in their walk of faith.  How does she do it? What has made the difference in her life so that she can be such a sweet fragrance to God and to her fellow man?

Who among us has not had sorrows and tribulations and pain in this life?  The truth is, whether or not we have yet gone through disturbing trials, sickness, disappointments or pain, sooner or later we will.  No one escapes this life without some measure of difficulty. 

I don't mean to be a pessimist or prophet of doom, but just a realist.  No one escapes this life without first dying.  Whether or not that death is peaceful or painful, we really can't predict or plan.  It is all in God's hands.

So, how do we deal with this fact?  How do we handle the trials and heartaches that come our way?  We have two choices as far as I can see...

1. We can choose to go through our tribulations kicking and screaming, cussing and fighting.
2. Or, we can choose to go through our tribulations blessing and forgiving, trusting and praying.

Perhaps we have to experience the kicking and screaming method of coping before we are able to reach the ability to bless and forgive, trust God and pray for our enemies.  For some, the very thought of forgiving and praying for our enemies is anathema...God forbid! How could we?

I can hear some of you saying,  "Are you crazy?  You obviously haven't been through what I've been through or you could never suggest such a thing..."

No, I probably haven't suffered as much as many...I have led a very blessed life...and yet...there have been things that could have very easily destroyed my life, my faith, and my hope.  There have been things that most of you don't know about (and I hope you never do) that I have had to walk through...and I had (and still have in some cases) lots of questions, doubts, and fears...I've asked God, WHY? many times.

"For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." 2Corinthians 2:15



As I see it...we have a choice...we can be a sweet savour, or the fragrance of Christ to God and to His kingdom here on earth...or we can become a putrid stench in God's nostrils (and the world's). Which attitude leads to abundant life...both for myself and for those around me?

This is what I come back to after all the disappointments and heartaches and sorrows are sorted and categorized and pored over...

"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.  O my God, I trust in You; Let me not be ashamed; Let not my enemies triumph over me.  Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause." (Psalm 25:1-3) (This is what God's Word says...so it is ok to feel this way I guess)

This is what I pray...Psalm 25:4-5  ~

• Show me Your ways, O Lord
• Teach me Your paths.
• Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For YOU are the God of my salvation;
• On You I wait all the day.

Lord, Help me be that sweet fragrance of Christ, both to YOU and to my fellow sojourner on this earth. Help me to not become a putrid stench in your nostrils...keep me sweet, even in the face of my enemies.  I will trust in You...and I believe You will not fail me.  Thank you. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.