None of self, and All of Thee

Those are the words to the last verse of the song we sang on Sunday in preparation for the Communion. 

In singing them, I reflected on the whole meaning of the LORD’s Supper.   

I think of it as believers, being welcomed to a feast where the food nourishes us, heals us, restores us, and makes us partners in mutual love, in giving and receiving of self-sacrifice and servanthood.   

Tip Talk: Save Money by Making Your own Laundry Detergent

Even our 10 year old son can make Home Made Laundry Soap with a bit of assistance!

It saves SO much money, this batch cost us 71 cents and filled up 3 regular-sized

liquid Laundry bottles (at 64 loads each).

Follow these easy instructions:

Ingredients:

Fels Naptha soap:  1/3 of a bar

2 Cups of water, boiling

1/2 cup Washing Soda

1/2 cup borax

6 cups water

1 tsp essential oil

 

Instructions:

Begin by putting a big pot with 2 cups of water in it on the stove

to heat to boiling while grating soap (saves time).

Grate Fels Naptha soap: 1/3 of a bar

(I buy my Bars at True Value Hardware Store.

I usually buy 3 at a time and they last me for about 4 to 5 months of Laundering).

We use the Metal Shredder/Grater that one would use to shred cabbage.

Just be sure to wash it well for next use (if using for food prep).

Pour the shredded soap into the water pot.

Boil the shredded soap until it is completely dissolved. 

 Stir frequently to speed up the dissolving process.

You will need "Washing Soda", and 20 Mule Team Borax.

I purchased the Washing Soda at True Value

The Mule Team Borax is readily available at Walmart.

1/2 cup of Washing Soda

Mix well, then add 1/2 cup of Borax

See how easy it is?

Now add the water...

6 more cups

Keep stirring

The solution will get bubbly and smell really clean!

Now add  - more water... 2 cups

next add 1 tsp. Essential oil- any fragrance you like

This is optional, but I love to add essential oil to the mixture.

I like "Orange oil" best, but this day we were out, so

we added Linen Essential oil (Purchased from the candle department at Walmart)

That's it... Now remove from stove and let it "gel" (harden) a bit for 24 hours

before you pour it into used empty Laundry container bottles.

We made this batch in our Cabin in Arkansas.

We generally made some about every 2 months,

and did so on the weekend when we had more time to spend working on it.

I Smile and Thank God the Father every time I

wash a load, knowing that it costs me less than 2 cents per load.

And I love the way the clothes and towels smell!

An Audience of ONE

"Let us strive to make each moment beautiful."

Saint Francis DeSales

      I am beginning a Bible Study for the High School Girls' Sunday School Class at our local church.  The theme is:  "Living A Life."  

 As I dig deeply into my soul with Bible in hand, I too often feel like a hypocrite.   This morning, while studying the lesson on being more concerned with what GOD thinks about oneself than what others think, I was pierced to the heart.  In reflecting inwardly, I see that I clearly care too much what other people think of me... my cooking, my housekeeping skills, my comments in Sunday School, and the list goes on.  I have measured myself against society's standards, and they seem impossible.   Consequently, I feel miserable about myself, and that shows in my tone of voice, my choices, and many other ways. 

     As I meditated on the meaning of all of this, I thought of my life in the past year...  no area was left unscrutinized:  Health, Beauty, Career, Physical Fitness, Possessions, Relationships...  all areas were found lacking when held up to the world's standards.  On the treadmill of perfectionism, I was left winded, and Joyless at the end of 2014.  How sad, because I KNOW there is MORE to life than this.

Thomas Kincade, Artist

     In 2015, I am going to live my life for an Audience of ONE.  In doing so for these first 15 days of January, something remarkable has happened in my life.  Suddenly, the things I desperately sought after do not matter at all anymore, and unexpected things that truly matter to me bring DELIGHT to my soul!   Joy has been dropped into my lap at just the right time!  My new "Agenda" has left me little time for worrying.  

Photo by Maranda Hawthorne
Friend and Fellow Nurse

  

     How about you?   May I challenge you to take a moment sometime today to stop and thank GOD for His presence in your life?  This simple act of remembering who my Audience is has led me to the most delightful adventures in the past two weeks.   I pray that I will keep this focus on the things that Matter Most for the whole year.  I want to be a "GOD-Pleaser" and not a "people-pleaser." 

"Our aim is to please HIM always in everything we do, whether we are here in this body, or away from this body and with HIM in Heaven." ---- II Corinthians 5:0 (TLB)