Wiggling and Reading and Labeling Pillowcases without Partners

I had thought I'd read the Bible again in a year.
Changed plans, as I remember when I did it two years it ago it was sooooo good but I had to go at a Kentucky Derby pace (about 4 chapter a day) and it was hard to do any deep study.

So I decided to make a list of 26 topics to study study for two weeks each this year. Some topics came easily off the tip of my pen. They are the ones that I didn't sense conviction about. That's right...the ones that did NOT make me wiggle. Or ones that actually reinforced my temptation to self-righteousness. You know the ones--the areas that come easily to you most of the time. But when I came up short by about eight topics, I asked for input from the family.

Trust me, if you don't want to wiggle, don't ask your husband, kids, or best friends what topics they think you should take a hard look at. But I did, and I wiggled, and I wrote them down. Actually, I had to scratch out a couple of original "easies" to make room for the newbies. Ouch.


So here's the plan now, after having sought the Lord on what to start the year with:

1) Read 1 Corinthians 13 every day, first thing, this year.
2) Study what He says about marriage, bibical womanhood, and sacrifice.
3) Don't stray far from studying forgiveness, anger, gentleness, and gratitude.
4) Revisit passages frequently on my identity in Christ.
5) Apply hospitality principles. Don't wait. Initiate.

So far it it's been quite a discipline to get my Bible open to these passages every day. And this is only January third! Don't get me wrong, it's not the time with God I dread, not at all. But boy, I started with 1 Corinthians 13 and realize just how UNloving I can be so often. As a performance evaluation, this chapter was not encouraging. As a description of God, it is thorough and comforting. I'm so glad I'm secure in my identity as a child of God or else I wouldn't have gone through with the reading on Day 2.

To accompany my Bible reading, I picked up a book yesterday I've read before, Biblical Womanhood in the Home, edited by Nancy Leigh deMoss. Little did I realize how I must have skimmed the chapter on the foolish woman the first time; either that or I was a wiser woman a couple years back. This time I was underlining and copying whole paragraphs into my journal.
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Then I got busy doing things I'd asked my husband to list as important. "Tell me seven things you'd call priorities," I asked him, "so I can try to knock them out before Monday." (I'm having abdominal surgery.)

So he did, and I took care of organizing the linen closet. I was so tickled with how it turned out. When he walked in the door last night, he said "The house looks great!" and I said, "Thanks, but you should see the linen closet." Okay, just how many times in a man's career does he get to come home and hear that? I should've called WJZ TV and nominated myself for a Gold 13. "Oh", did I just fish for a compliment?" I asked "Sorry. Old habits die hard."

I'm sure Paul was busting at the seams to see my linen closet. (When it looks good, I call it my linen closet. The rest of the time, it's "the linen closet.") :) "It's got labels and everything, honey!" I told him as he went up to change clothes.

His interest was piqued. I have to applaud the man for even caring about the state of the linen closet, but considering he had taken everything out of it on New Year's Day just trying to find a new toothbrush, filling three laundry baskets in the process, it's no wonder he put it on The New Year's Projects List.

He came back down after changing clothes and said, "looks good, labeled and everything. "

"Did you read ALL my labels?" I asked. I was a bit too enthusiastic. It's just a linen closet, for crying out loud.

"No, I didn't."

"Well, there's even a label for the mismatched pillowcases. I called it "PILLOWCASES WITHOUT PARTNERS." He rolled his eyes and smiled. Then he sat down and enjoyed every bite of his favorite dinner: meatloaf.

Tonight he wants to take me out to La Tolteca. I don't want to say no, but I want to enjoy this last evening with Sarah before she goes to New Hampshire for a week. I'm already missing her and she hasn't even left. But I will go out if he still wants to.

As for the hospitality, that was easy. I had my dear friend Renee' over to celebrate her birthday. A very good day, but now it's time to tackle the next project on this famous priority list: the master bedroom.

Honestly, it deserves to be categorized by the compass: South corner clutter; East Corner sock basket: North Corner bookcase; West Corner homeless photos (ie photos that need to be put in albums). The closet is a room unto its own. When I finish it, it'll be renamed my closet.