Silver Threads Among the Gold...

 These wintry days have been just perfect

for getting some inside projects completed...

Such as organizing my sewing and craft room!

Unfortunately,

while bustling around...

I knocked over my supply of 

embroidery floss...

Yikes!!!

As you can see,

over the years I have 

"inherited" many colors!

So...
I decided that it was time
to organize all this floss
in a different way...
one more easily accessible!

Using some clothespins,

index cards,

and shoe totes purchased 

at the dollar store...

I organized and labeled

the floss by color.

 As you can see,

I still have some more to finish.

I simply wrapped each color

around a separate clothespin...

If I had the dmc color #

I taped it to the bottom of the pin.

Then grouped the clothespins

by color...

clipping them to labeled index cards.

The pins and cards stand up

and fit perfectly in the shoe totes

and are oh, so easy to locate now!

Now when I embroider,

I can clip the color right to the cloth...

Or, if I'm using more than one color,

clip them to a labeled index card.

While sorting through these

I came across this silver and gold

thread that I had used many years

ago in a project...

and was reminded of a song that

my grandpa used to sing to nana... 

"Darling I am growing old,

Silver threads among the gold,

Shine upon my brow today,

Life is fading fast away."

"But, my darling, you will be,

Always young and fair to me,

Yes, my darling, you will be,

Always young and fair to me."

"Love can never more grow old,

Locks may lose their brown and gold;

Cheeks may fade and hollow grow,

But the hearts that love will know...
(Rexford:1873)

 I can still hear him singing this to her...

May we always remember that 
true love
never grows old...
And that the Love of Jesus
is always and forever
"young and fair..."  

 "I have loved thee with an everlasting love..."
Jeremiah 31:3 

Whiter Than Snow...

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;

I want Thee forever to live in my soul;

Break down every idol, cast out every foe—

Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 

 

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow,

Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain,

Apply Thine own blood and extract every stain;

To get this blest cleansing, I all things forego—

Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

 

Lord Jesus, look down from 

Thy throne in the skies,

And help me to make a complete sacrifice;

I give up myself, and whatever I know—

Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

 

Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,

I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet,

By faith for my cleansing, I see thy blood flow—

Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, Thou seest I patiently wait;

Come now and within me a new heart create;

To those who have sought Thee 

Thou never said’st “No”—

Now wash me, and I shall be 

whiter than snow.

(James L. Nicholson, 1872)

The Best I Could Do...

Happy Valentine's Day, dear friends!

I awoke this snowy morning

to a beautiful bouquet of flowers

from my sweetheart...

I'm not quite sure just how he managed this...

For, like many of you,

we have been "shut down"

for the past week...

Two snowstorms...

Two separate power outages...

Two cars in the "shop"...

All of us here at home

battling with "flu-like" symptoms...

And a generator that wouldn't work...

Today we dug out from under

another snowstorm...

The big concern...

Getting the wet heavy snow

off the roof.

We spent the afternoon

at my parents...

Shoveling, sanding,

checking drains,

the standard "snow" stuff.

Afterwards,

we went in for a cup of tea

and some cookies...

I told my mom about

my beautiful bouquet...

"Wait til you see what I got!"

she said with a huge smile.

She grinned as she held it 

behind her back...

Then she showed us...

Evelyn,

Happy Valentines Day!

This is the best I could do.

Love you,

Warren

You see, my 90 year old dad

always makes mom a special card

on his computer...

and buys her some little treat

that he knows she will like...

But, because of the power outages,

and all the snow...

He just wasn't able to

accomplish his usual "surprise"...

If you didn't know better, though,

you would have thought 

that mom held a sack of gold

in her hand...

Because...

"the best he could do"

was to love her 

all these 70+ years...

It just doesn't get much

better than this...

After all,

Isn't that exactly what our Lord

commands of us?

"A new commandment I give unto you, 

That ye love one another; 

as I have loved you, 

that ye also love one another..."

John 13:34

A Celebration of Life...

Balloons hanging from the signpost...

And a few more on the kitchen door...

Birthday traditions.

Friday evening,

we celebrated a life...

My mom...

born in 1929...

the daughter of a farmer...

She married her high school 

sweetheart...

That's me in between my two big sisters!

 Raised 10 children...

I miss you every day, big brother...

One, of whom

was called home

in November...
 

All but my nephew, Brian, were here for this photo...

A legacy of grandchildren

and great-grandchildren...

91 years...
so much to celebrate!

As we sat around the dinner table...
telling stories...
reminiscing...

It occurred to me
that our birthday celebrations
are just another gentle reminder
of the "life" we should be celebrating
every day...

"Jesus said to her, 
“I am the resurrection and the life. 
Whoever believes in me, though he die, 
yet shall he live, and everyone who lives 
and believes in me shall never die..."
John 11:25

And the gifts we gift...
But a small representation
of the amazing "gift" 
given by our Lord... 

"But the gift of God is eternal life 
in Christ Jesus our Lord..."
Romans 6:23

 

Happy Birthday, mama...

We love you so!

From One Extreme To Another...

From warm, sunny beach days...

To cold, snowy winter days...

From palm trees swaying

 in the balmy breeze...

To white washed evergreens 

whispering in the woods...

I picked my son up at the jetport

the day before our most recent "snow"...

 He was "forced" to stay down south

one more day because of inclement weather

on the coast...

On our trek home, Josh remarked...

"Wow! From one extreme to another!"

Got me thinkin'...

How often do we find ourselves going

"from one extreme to another?"

Happy...

Because something pleases us...

Then, sad...

Because someone has disappointed us.

Encouraged...

Because we've accomplished something...

Then, downhearted...

Because we failed.

How comforting to know 

that our Lord is not a God of extremes...

He is unchanging...immutable...

He is unchanging in His essence...

He is unchanging in His attributes...

He is unchanging in His plans...

He is unchanging in His promises...

He is unchanging in His love.

What an "extreme" blessing

to know that God changes not...

 

As we approached the harbor

Josh let out a sigh and said...

"Well, I had a great time,

but it sure feels good to be home..."

Then he chuckled as we talked of the coming snow...

"You know the slogan, Mom...

Maine, the way life should be!"

"For I am the Lord, I change not..."

Malachi 3:6

Unraveled..

The blessing of homemade cotton dishcloths...

 I make these by the hundreds...

Simple, quick projects to take along

with me during appointments...

A gift to pass along to someone else

whenever I send homemade goodies

or my "ladies" farm fresh eggs...

Yet, sometimes cotton yarn can be expensive

and in short supply here on the coast...

 

 So I have found another means 

to keep the blessing going...

and I thought I'd share it with my dear friends...

I keep my eyes open for 100 % cotton sweaters

at thrift stores and yard sales...

and I unravel them.

It is amazing...

the amount of yarn you can get

from one sweater...

not to mention the gorgeous colors.

For me,

this unraveling is such a joy...

for I know in the end it will bring a blessing...

But how often do we feel joy

when life seems to "unravel?"

Unexpected set-backs, unexplained illness,

financial difficulties, bruised relationships,

the list seems to go on and on...

And yet,

our Lord has told us to 

"count it all joy..." (James 1:2)

All Joy...

And so I continue to look for the blessings

in the unraveling  of life...

and give thanks for it all...

and remember the sweet words of my nana...

"Hem your blessings with thankfulness 

so they don't unravel..."

 Thankfulness...such a wise lady...

And now I will head out in the swirling snow

and give thanks for the pile of firewood

that gives us such warmth..

May your day be filled with joy today

dear friends...

 
"In every thing give thanks:

 for this is the will of God 

in Christ Jesus concerning you..."

I Thessalonians 5:18