The Mountain Laurel are blooming in my yard, lovely purple blossoms with the scent of grape koolaide- and the Purple Martin are returning to Texas.
Maybe some of those sweet birds will nest at our place this spring. John lowered the house, cleaned out all the trashy sparrow nests, sprayed it with a double coat of white paint and added some perches. So-we've extended the invitation. . .

House projects elude John and me these days; I think we can handle bird house renovation.

I use to read through Proverbs every month with my children, and in the margins of my tattered Bible their names are penned beside favorite verses.
A few months ago I decided to fit Proverbs into my daily Bible reading plan- a worthy pursuit for me.
It is better to live in a corner of a housetop then in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. (Prov 21:9)
It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman. (Prov 21:19)
So-it's preferable for a husband to live out in a desert or on the corner of a roof than inside his house with a quarrelsome wife. . .two verses give the same warning in the same chapter, imagine that?
Quarrelsome: inclined to quarrel, disagree; beligerant
Does quarrelsome define me? Am I ever quarrelsome? Sadly, sometimes I am. . .
And even this morning I remembered that a fretful heart and mind lead to quarreling.
hmm, I need a diet of Proverbs in the morning.

thinking about a good book. . .

So-for 2012 I have a nice stack of new books. . .
Last week I spent a day at the city court waiting to be called for a jury panel. I brought along a book to pass the time, hoping that a fellow juror might say, "hmm, looks interesting-tell me about that book!"
But nobody asked. . .finally in the afternoon, still waiting, I noticed a woman sitting near me and inquired, "Excuse me, I've heard about that book you're reading- tell me it!"
We began a conversation-but shortly she was called for a jury panel. Oh well. . .

Forever, by Paul David Tripp, was the book I stuck in my bag that day -a really good book.
We know that God set eternity in human hearts. . . how, then, does the promise of eternity impact my daily living? What difference does forever make in our relationships, our parenting, our jobs? How does a forever perspective affect hope and faith and suffering and our view of God? Because if we were created for forever, then forever should impact today; really, it should. . .
And I'm challenged to make that happen- connect eternity with today. How do I weigh my experiences? This is a real question for me. . . if I only weigh my experiences on the scale of this present moment, I end up questioning the goodness and faithfulness of God. I'd say that Forever is a personal book with practical application. The last chapter is titled The Joy of Forever, Right Here, Right Now.
A worthy pursuit, indeed.

a spankin clean wallet

Last Friday John was searching for his wallet.
"Well, I put a load of jeans in the washer about half an hour ago," I said.
I heard him walk out to the garage. . .then back inside.
"I guess we haven't changed in 40 years, you or me," he said, spreading out the soggy contents.
I admit-I've washed his wallet plenty of times.
And I'm glad he's still laughing about it. . .after 40 years.

I stepped off the train in Fort Worth and spotted this little lady trotting down the platform -train travel is one of the pleasures of this season of my life.
There's something old world about the train. . .spacious seats, rumbling monotony, the observation car, scenery flying past, the other passengers traveling slowly- like me, and the conductor, McGregor. . .McGregor, Texas! he calls. Some day I might eat in the dining car just to experience a meal served on little tables covered with white cloths, and the train speeds on. . .
Noah and Jamey invited me to spend the week. We laughed and talked a lot and every night I bathed the girls.
People: I met neighbors, heard about their lives. I met young moms at the park, over lunch, at library story hour; I got a little jolt, remembering what it's like to parent 2 under 2 years.
Pastries: Jamey and I laugh that if she ever opens a bakery, I'll work for her! So we baked, gave away, stored. . .banana bread, muffins with lemon glaze, blueberry scones.
One thin slice of a morning the girls slept- and over coffee and pastry we discussed life, how self talk affects our responses, our life perspective, our emotions.
"If I'm not talking truth to my heart, I have to change the talk- and move on." she said.

hmmm, a good week, all the way around. . .

leftovers

So-we're in a new year and it's time to wrap up these posts on thinking biblically about respect. . . always there are leftover thoughts that don't quite fit.

Last fall I brainstormed this topic with my daughter and she shared that one day a woman asked her, "Who do you call when your husband drives you crazy?"

"Who? well, I don't call anybody. . ." (and I was really really glad that she didn't say, I call my mother!)

I'm very aware of my potential to influence younger women. . .and the influence can go either way-I can encourage a woman to obey God's command to respect her husband or I can be a stumbling block, either a huge boulder or a tiny pebble.
When I visit one of my girls, I notice that the dairy products are all arranged on the middle shelf of the refrigerator, ". . .so that my husband can easily find them", she tells me.
Great, but at my house-for 40 years, my husband has never mentioned how he would like me to arrange the refrigerator (he's happy when the refrigerator has food!)
Our homes are different that way-but do you notice how I could make a comment about her husband's preference that might plant a question or disrespectful thought?
If you're an older woman like me, take care not to "go fishing"-don't solicit information from a younger woman that might lead to a disrespectful thought, comment, or attitude.

A few weeks ago I sat across the desk from a financial counselor at my bank. He mentioned that statistically wives out live their husbands. And I thought about the woman described in Proverbs 31, "She does her husband good and not harm all the days of her life."
I've been married 40 years to a good man; we don't know the future, however, if I out live him. . . then I want to model that woman in Proverbs 31:12 who respected her husband and his reputation, doing him good. . . all the days of her life.

raw material

Sometimes the raw material just sits at my house, month after month, waiting for diligent hands to create. . . but other times the raw material is so lovely, it sits there and I simply enjoy the view, thinking about the potential-

So- here I have some stripes, some grey and blue, a hint of orange and the softest wool yarn, called Thyme. Some may call it "work in progress" but really, there's no progress- yet.

But soon I'll begin creating. . . for a little boy to be born this spring in Ohio.