31 Days::Day 5 - On having a reputation for good works...

Today I sit in my comfy blue lounge chair in an air-conditioned home {it's still in the 90's down here y'all} with my husband and daughter and access to the internet and a cell phone and music and books ... and I still wage war with loneliness.

One day I'm full of confidence and tell my friend Robbi I'm going to write a it's-never-too-late book ... and today I consider change and the loss of dreams and I fight back tears of feeling too old and that it is too late and who cares what I write anyway.  

Oh, the irony of it all.

Day 5 - I Timothy 5 {... and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work. ~ vs 10}, washed, ironed and rehung doorway drapes that were looking a bit ragged and definitely not presentable, just one load of laundry.  

31 Days::Day 4 - To learn and live...

I'm loving the pace and peace of this just one thing focus - and wondering why I hadn't returned to it sooner. Must be my rebellious default mode that always takes me down the path of most resistance. I need to replace that stubborn, time and energy-wasting live and learn with the more humble and mature learn and live.   

Today I practice an old habit of just doing one thing in each room I enter. Except for Emily's room, that means doing just one little thing in every room in the house at one time or another throughout the day. How easy is that?

Day 4 - I Timothy 4 {For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. ~ vs 4-5}, hung Emily's lovely Gator wreath over the coat closet door, completed a series of just one thing tasks as I walked throughout the house today. 

31 Days::Day 3 - The mystery of godliness...

Filling out a patient questionnaire for his annual doctor's visit recently, Louis and I both had to laugh at one of the symptoms he was to check if it applied to him. Somewhere between headaches and shortness of breath was feel terrible. I'm not sure how a doctor would evaluate and treat that particular symptom, but haven't we all had days when we can't put our finger on exactly why we don't feel well - we just feel terrible.

Yesterday morning my friends Joyce and Patti and Patti's son Joshua came over with a basket of fresh-baked scones and love and laughter and I'm so grateful. It was the perfect prescription for my just feel terrible days. 

Day 3 - I Timothy 3 {Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. ~ v.16}, dusted the living area, dining room and master bedroom - because sometimes a simple chore is all that's needed to bring something lovely into the home. 

31 Days::Day 2 - Peaceful, quiet, godly and dignified...

It's full days like today that I'm grateful to have chosen just one thing for these 31 Days - that I might, indeed, lead a peaceful and quiet life - without obligation for words on days like these. 

Day 2 - I Timothy 2 {First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. ~ v.1-2}, replaced the clutter on the kitchen counter with Autumn decorations {poco a poco}, swept and mopped floors.

31 Days::Day 1 - Just one thing...

...I do not consider that I have made it my own.
But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead.
~ Philippians 3.13 ESV

A few years ago I wrote about a particularly demanding and stressful season when I lived by Elizabeth Elliot's mantra to just do the next thing, but that there were days when just do ONE thing was more appropriate.

It's a way of thinking and doing and being that I need to restore - when the "straining forward" sometimes feels overwhelming, and I spin my wheels unable to accomplish everything, so I  don't finish anything. 

For 31 Days in October, it's my goal to do just one thing each day in 3 categories - one chapter of Scripture, one something nice and lovely for our home, and one simple chore. 

Day 1 - I Timothy 1 {The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. ~ v.15}, created an Autumn ambiance with Heather's recipe, 4 loads of laundry - washed, folded, and put away.