April 26, 2012

Thankful Thursday



Giving the Lord praise for:

~His comfort, as I still mourn losing Mama

~His mercy

~His provision

~my dad, who is a master at fixing cars

~The Book of Hosea
  
And I will have mercy on No Mercy,
and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’;
and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’” - Hosea 2:23



~my dear husband, who loves me unconditionally

~spring rains

~a friend's successful surgery

~winning (in the same week!) a book from Persis and a CD from Jessalyn

~a new bookclub

~books that make me think

~music that makes me smile

~movies that open my eyes and  touch my heart

~wise words from a dear friend 

(Banner HT: Hollie)

April 17, 2012

Yet I Sin

Eternal Father,
Thou art good beyond all thought,
But I am vile, wretched, miserable, blind;
My lips are ready to confess,
but my heart is slow to feel,
and my ways reluctant to amend.
I bring my soul to thee;
break it, wound it, bend it, mould it.
Unmask to me sin's deformity,
that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it.
My faculties have been a weapon of revolt against thee;
as a rebel I have misused my strength,
and served the foul adversary of thy kingdom.
Give me grace to bewail my insensate folly,
Grant me to know that the way of transgressors is hard,
that evil paths are wretched paths,
that to depart from thee is to lose all good.
I have seen the purity and beauty of thy perfect law,
the happiness of those in whose heart it reigns,
the calm dignity of the walk to which it calls,
yet I daily violate and contemn its precepts.
Thy loving Spirit strives within me,
brings me Scripture warnings,
speaks in startling providences,
allures by secret whispers,
yet I choose devices and desires to my own hurt,
impiously resent, grieve,
and provoke him to abandon me.
All these sins I mourn, lament, and for them cry pardon.
Work in me more profound and abiding repentance;
Give me the fullness of a godly grief that trembles and fears,
yet ever trusts and loves,
which is ever powerful, and ever confident;
Grant that through the tears of repentance I may see more clearly
the brightness and glories of the saving cross.

~Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, pg. 70

April 2, 2012

How to Fold A Fitted Sheet

Stepping away from the usual fare of this blog in an effort to help my friend Becky learn to fold a fitted sheet.

1.  Turn the sheet inside out.
2.  Holding it lengthwise, put your hands into the "pockets" (corners)
3.  Bring the pockets together, so that the seam points touch and "flip" one side onto the other (at this point, you'll have the sheet on one hand & it will no longer be inside out)
4.  Pick up the bottom pockets with your free hand, and tuck them together.
5.  Holding the sheet lengthwise again (you should have 2 pockets in your hands, and the flat edge of the sheet along the bottom), fold those two pockets together.  This leaves you with only 1 rounded corner.
6.  Lay the sheet on a flat surface and pull the long side with the rounded corner toward the other side.  Repeat with the short side with the rounded corner, until you have four straight sides.  Then fold as you would a flat sheet.

Becky wanted me to post a video, but my technology savvy only goes so far.  However, I did find this video of a MAN folding a fitted sheet, almost exactly as I do it (although I find it easier to stand instead of using a flat surface, until Step # 6)  Hopefully this will help!