a few Proverbs. . .

Rachel and little Ivan came for a Texas visit; one day I hung Ivan's diapers out to dry,  fitting wooden clothes pins on cloth corners, one by one. I remembered the comfortable rhythm- and dimmer is the memory of the last dry diaper pinned on my sweet baby while outside rain dripped, dripped down. . .

A few weeks ago I shared some thoughts from Proverbs for a friend's baby shower; I chose favorite verses- the faded, underlined, smudged ones, verses marked and dated in my tattered Bible.
A Proverb a day, is what I decided, and since I had some requests for for the notes. . .

Monday: Get wisdom
Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the market the market she raises her voice- Pro 1:2
Buy truth and do not sell it, buy wisdom and instruction and understanding- Pro 23:23
(wisdom is not hidden or private nor exclusive; every woman must get wisdom, not just young women, older ones too, and not just one time. . .)

Tuesday: Pursue kindness
What is desirable in a man is his kindness- Pro 19:22
Do not let kindness and truth leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart- Pro 3:3
(Ahh. . .to make kindness part of the fabric of my life; Lord, help me to be a kind woman today!)

Wednesday: Watch my words
When words are many sin is not absent but he who holds his tongue is wise- Pro 10:19
Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted as cursing- Pro 27:14
(when we multiply words, we risk sinning. . .and yes, a loud voice can be rude, like cursing!)

Thursday: Abandon quarrels
Keeping away from strife is an honor to a man but any fool will quarrel- Pro 20:3
The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so abandon the quarrel before it breaks out- Pro 17:14
(wonderful word picture. . .pay attention to the beginning)

Friday: Work and eat
He who tills his land will have plenty of  food but he who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty- Pro 28:19
. . .the precious possession of a man is diligence-Pro 12:27

Saturday: Self control protects
Like a city broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit- Pro 25:28
(the medieval city without a protecting wall was vulnerable to the enemy's attacks. . .and so am I.)

Sunday: Fear God
In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and her children will have a refuge- Pro14:26

(it's nice when cousins hug. . .)

memories in little bags

I finished Ivan's quilt--finally. . .and very soon he'll pick it up in person.
A few weeks ago Julia came for a visit. I was in the midst of cleaning out the project room closet.
 "I think this is your junk room!" she said.
"Well, it's a room full of junk from my closet; really there's fun stuff in here." I encouraged.

One box held fabric remnants from 10 baby quilts sewn for 10 grandchildren;  Julia discovered a nice scrap of the pink rose flannel that I used for her quilt-7 years ago.
We didn't find any pieces from Josu's quilt. . . his is the lost quilt- lost somewhere between Spain-California-Mexico City (but shhh, I have a plan!).
We had fun among the junk that day; Julia helped me stuff the remnants from each quilt in little zip lock bags and then she labeled each one-she wrote Julia on the bag with pink rose flannel.

It was like putting memories in little bags, and best of all I got to share the stories with Julia.
I told her, "Now I have to get busy making 2 more quilts, one for little Titus and one for baby on the way.
A grandmother can't just sit around remembering. . .

like roses and lilies

Here in south Texas, gardening is best in early spring-

 Larkspur, white-blue-purple, reseeded in my front yard, filling the vegetable bed-lovely.
John and I worked a little in the garden on Friday; the mailman passed by with our delivery-
 "So, you got him working out here today?" he teased.
My husband doesn't love gardening but he loves me. . .he weeded and reset the little stone path outside our front door (more like building then gardening) and it's lovely.

Then Saturday morning I met my friend at a favorite place where they serve okay coffee and a perfect bran muffin;  all morning  we sat at a small round table in a sunny window. . .
"Close community among believers is the roses and lilies of the Christian life." writes Bonhoeffer.
hmmm, I'm thinking about roses and lilies that way. . .lovely.

"The Christian needs another Christian to speak God's word to him.

 He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged. . .and weak." 

(Life Together, Bonhoeffer)