I downloaded a free book onto my Kindle yesterday.  It has grabbed me right from the start.  It’s entitled, “What’s It Like To Be Married To Me?” by Linda Dillow.  In the book, she asks hard questions to wives.  She’s trying to get us to understand what kind of wife we are to our husband.

I’m reading this book, not because my marriage is in trouble or there’s a crisis.  I’m reading this book because it’s my goal to frequently read books, articles and blogs that will encourage me in my role as a wife.  It keeps me on my toes.  It reminds me of where our love started and where I want it to end up.

This is the question I want to ask you today:  Where do you want your marriage to end up?  Think about what you want your marriage to look like in 5, 10 or 20 years.  Do you want to be close, communicative with one another, sharing wonderful times as a couple that parallels to no other human relationship?  Then how will you get there?  What are you actively doing today to make that happen?  It won’t become a reality without effort!  Consider today what you could do to take a step forward in your marriage relationship – a step towards a deeper love and intimacy.

Consider..

Today is Day 12 in the 30 Day House Cleaning Challenge.  We’re to clean out the closets.  It’s gonna be a busy day!  I think I’ll pick one.

This is embarrassing!   But here are the pictures of my good accomplishments of my house cleaning challenge today.  Look if you dare!

The challenge was to clean the bathroom.  My main focus was on the linen closet because the bathroom itself just needed to be surfaced cleaned.  I couldn’t believe what a mess this had turned into!

I got rid of LOTS of old towels and other linens that had seen better days.  Then I organized things into places and spaces that makes it much easier for me to get to them.  I dust mopped the closet floor as well.  Here’s the full shot…

Gasp!

Now it looks like this:

I placed the folded sheets inside their pillowcase.  They’re much easier to store that way!

I may just go stand in there and stare!  It feels so good to know it’s straightened up and only holds the things that I really use!

The drawers got cleaned out too…

Light bulbs dusted, sink and mirror cleaned.

Dusted table, shook rug and cleaned bathtub.

I’m thrilled at the progress my house is making!  Did you do today’s challenge?

See you tomorrow for Freshen Up Friday!

When I was a little girl, my grandparents lived near a “corner store.”  It was a small grocery store at the end of the street that sold all the essentials – milk, bread, eggs, canned goods, etc. But the best thing to me was the PENNY CANDY!  My grandfather would give me and my sisters a dime each and send us to the corner store to get a “sack-full” of candy.  We would come back with a little brown sack teeming with Mary Jane’s, licorice, bubble gum, Slow Pokes, Smarties and other sweet treasures!  That brown sack was so appreciated!  We enjoyed each treat, savoring them as long as possible!

Recently I was reading the familiar story of Joseph in Genesis 43.  In this chapter, his brothers are headed back to their father with food provisions, made possible by Joseph’s generosity.  Then the brothers discover that the money they had paid for the food was found tucked into each of their sacks!  They were alarmed and afraid that they would be in trouble with Joseph. Would he accuse them of stealing the food?  When they told Joseph about it upon their return to Egypt, he said, 

I have been out of town the last couple days, but I worked ahead over the weekend on the duties of Days 8 and 9.  Then when I got home this afternoon, I set the clock for 30 minutes and got to work on Deep cleaning the Living room.

I also got rid of one coat and a bunch of magazines!  Today’s challenge is done!

Did you do today’s Living Room challenge?

Feeling refreshed,

Every child at some time or other begins to think about what they’d like to be when they grow up.  My dream was a nurse.  I cannot say I ever imagined my life as a pastor’s wife.  I didn’t go out looking for a preacher boy to marry – that was all God’s doings.  It’s was God’s plan for me to then become a pastor’s wife, and I am so thankful. 

I walked into my role having no idea what to expect, except from the role models I had seen growing up.  In the more than 30 years in this position, I can honestly say it’s produced more blessings than I ever imagined!  It has also produced more sorrows than I knew would be a part of ministry.  It was simply because I didn’t understand.  If you don’t live in a parsonage, perhaps you don’t understand either.  Can I share a blog post with you that may enlighten you to what it looks like from inside my windows?  A woman from our church posted this on my Facebook wall recently.  It’s written by a pastor’s wife, and it is a great picture of my world.  I love it if you’d go here and read her insight into 20 Things Every Pastor’s Wife Wants You To Know About Her.  It is very well written, and it very well describes my life and heart. 

Will you come back and share on thing that was an eye-opener for you?

P.S. WooHoo! I see that the number of people “following” my blog has increased in the last couple of days! That encourages my heart. When I sit here at the computer each day and type what the Lord puts on my heart, then hit “Publish,” I never know who may read – or truth be known, if anyone will even care to read what I’ve written. So it’s encouraging to see growth in those that stop in each day. I appreciate each one of you!