Friday Refreshment

Refreshment comes in many forms.  Here are some recent things that have refreshed my life! I pray it will inspire you to refresh your life as well!

This has been a super-busy summer including lots of travel and time  away from home. However, on a recent and treasured day at home, I had the opportunity to really dig in and freshen things up around our house.  Oh my, it felt as good as getting the suitcases completely unpacked after vacation!

I find that when life gets busy, there are things that get done hastily, causing disorganization or carelessness to step in.  Here are a few areas that I took care of that might inspire you to freshen things up a bit on this Friday!

The deep freezer.  In the rush of busy days, it’s easy to pull things or add things to the freezer, disturbing any previous order!  I took the time to:

• Wipe down the freezer door and handle.
• Purge the freezer of expired items.
• Put things back in the bins where they belong.
• Wipe down the shelves.

The refrigerator Freezer.  I save little bits of this and that in the narrow drawers of my freezer.  They can get forgotten, taking up precious space, so I really cleaned out this area!

• Researched each item to see if it was still fresh/needed.
• Wiped down each drawer. 
• Put like items together.
• Straightened up each drawer.

My closet. Since summer has been in full swing for a couple of months, I took a look at the items I hadn’t worn yet and decided whether or not I needed to keep them.  

• I filled bags with pants, blouses and dresses I knew I wouldn’t wear again or very often.
• I looked at all the shoes and made another bag for them.
• I straightened the hangers and dusted the shoe shelves. 
• I piled the bags into my car to have them ready to deliver to a local consignment shop.
• The next time I went into town, the bags were dropped off.  I find the quicker I can get them out of the house, the better!

The pantry. This is  a space that can really get cluttered and messy from rushed meal prep!  Since I use this space so much, it feels so good to make it pretty, accessible and organized!

• Checked fresh produce for freshness and removed anything that was past its prime.
• Straightened up the items in each basket or lazy Susan.
• Swept the floor and shook out the rug.
• Sprayed a little room freshener in there. 

My marriage. We just celebrated 38 years of marriage.  That doesn’t mean it gets easier, perhaps it’s the opposite.  It’s easy to just get into auto-mode, each day being the same and falling into a rut of “sameness.”  I find that doing the Revive Our Hearts 31-Day Encouragement Challenge from time to time helps me to think correctly about my husband and our relationship. This updated challenge in the last month has been convicting, helpful, and truly refreshing.  

My life. Proverbs 17:22 reminds us that laughter is good medicine.  Let me end by telling you a recent funny event. This week my husband preached at Inter-City Baptist Church in Detroit for their Bible Conference that they hold each Tuesday night during the summer months.  

After the service was over, we were invited by a staff member to join him and a group from the church at Culver’s for a bite to eat.  The instructions given to us were to

Turn right out of the church onto a one-way road, go up two intersections and make the U-Turn to go back to the restaurant. 

We did as told.

As soon as our car made its U-Turn, we saw blue lights in our rear view mirror faster than a spark comes to a match that has been struck.

My husband rolled down his window, waiting for the officer to approach the car.  As he strode up to the window, my husband, the ever friendly southern man, said, “Hey Buddy.”  (!)

The police asked if we were really from Tennessee or was this a rental car?  I’m pretty sure the southern greeting my husband just gave was a clear indication of our southern roots!

The officer scolded him for making the U-Turn, explaining that the only place to make that turn was the next intersection.  He told us that the sign was clear. My husband him that he had not seen that sign, and that he had just preached at the church across the street and was headed to Culver’s to meet some of the church folk. for ice cream. The officer tapped the the door and said, “Okay, you have a nice evening.” 

Whew!

When we walked into the doors of Culver’s, our friends hugged us and laughed with relief that we hadn’t gotten a ticket.  Getting pulled over wasn’t on our agenda for this trip, but it sure made for a funny conclusion to a great church service! That laughter refreshed my spirit!

Refreshment comes in many forms.  Which do you need?

Do you have some spaces calling for some freshening up with a quick purge and straightening? 

Does you marriage need a little (or a lot) of encouragement? Go here for the Encouragement Challenge.

Do you need a good laugh?  I would recommend them through re-runs of Andy Griffith, rather than blue lights in your rear view mirror! 

 I hope you’ll Refresh yourself this weekend!