Category Archives: Memes

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. Celebrating my husband’s birthday Saturday.

2. The veritable feast we had for dinner for his birthday. In our house the birthday honoree gets to choose what to do for dinner, whether a favorite home-made meal or a restaurant outing. My husband said he wanted to grill some steak, chicken, and shrimp. I felt a little bad that he was cooking his own dinner, but that is what he wanted to do — and it was wonderful! I made scalloped potatoes, salad, and Boston Cream pie; Mittu made corn on the cob and deviled eggs. We enjoyed the leftovers for days as well.

3. And then Mittu made dinner Sunday after church — chili, cornbread, and I think Mexican corn or some kind of corn salad. Jeremy made “blondies.” It was good, and it was so nice not to have to get dinner together on Sunday.

4. New buds on my hydrangea bush and new little leaves on my rose bushes! It is so nice to see first signs of spring! I was going to take a picture — but it’s gray and drizzly out today.

5. Lunch with my good friend Carol on Tuesday (hmmm — this FFF has even more than the usual references to food…) Even though I enjoyed going to a local restaurant that we don’t get to very often, I enjoyed the fellowship much more.

And then after we parted ways, I wandered around a few stores. I don’t usually like “recreational shopping” — normally I want to just find what I need and then get back home. But every now and then I like to visit a few stores and see what’s new. I spent less than an hour at it, but it was very relaxing. The only things I bought were some dish towels on sale, two for $3:

I very rarely see anything kitcheny in pink these days, so I was happy to find these!

It’s been an extremely busy week, but a good one! Hope yours was as well.

Flashback Friday: Driving

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Mocha With Linda has begun a new weekly meme called Flashback Friday. She’ll post a question every Thursday, and then Friday we can link our answers up on her site. Sounds like fun!

The flashback question this week is:

How and when did you learn to drive? Do you have any particular memories associated with getting your driver license? How old were you when you got your first car and what was it? Who paid for it?

In my very first driving experience as a teen-ager, my dad asked me to move the car from where we had washed it to where we usually parked it. He got in the car with me but gave me no instructions at all. I knew enough to turn the ignition and put the car in reverse, but I backed out a little too fast, and he started to shout, “Hit the brake, Hit the brake!” I said, “Where’s the brake?”….and backed over the mailbox. My dad had a fairly short fuse, but thankfully he started laughing instead of getting angry, probably realizing that just because I had been riding in a car for 15 years didn’t mean I had picked up on how to drive it.

I took Driver’s Ed. in my local high school, but the next summer we moved from our little tiny town to the whopping metropolis of Houston. I could drive in my neighborhood, but the freeways scared me. I’d take the feeder next to 45 all the way from my house to church — about a 30-minute drive. Once I tried the freeways, though, I loved them: I loved going faster and having no traffic lights.

I have never actually had my own car in my own name, which is fine with me. We had some little tannish thing that I learned on — I’m sorry, I don’t know the makes and models of many vehicles. Then in Houston we had some kind of big monstrosity that was the family car, but I could use it for most anything. It could look a little purplish in certain lighting, but I thought it was a faded black. I was horrified later on to hear my mom call it “Ol’ Purple,” to think I had been driving an actual purple car.

Do you have any interesting early driving experiences to share?

Random Dozen Meme

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Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday. You can answer the questions on your blog and link up to Linda’s plus find more participants there.

1. How old is the oldest pair of shoes in your closet?

One pair of tennis shoes is at least 12 years old because I had them when we moved here, and I had them a long while before that. They may be even 20 or more years old. I don’t wear them often.

2. Did you buy Girl Scout cookies this year? If so, what variety?

Yes! I forget their names, but the ones with peanut butter inside and chocolate outside, the peanut butter ones, and the thin mints (I’m not a mint fan, but others in the family like them.)

3. Do you know how to ballroom dance? If not, would you like to?

No. I like to watch the flowy, elegant ballroom variety (waltz, foxtrot), but I am beyond learning it. I have balance problems, and I would only want to dance with my husband, so I don’t know if we could be taught without dancing with other people. 🙂

4. Were you a responsible child/teenager?

Yes. As the oldest of six and designated baby-sitter, I kind of had to be.

5. How many of this year’s Oscar-nominated movies did you see?

I have no idea beyond a couple which ones were nominated, and I have not seen those.

6. If you’re going to have a medical procedure done, such as having blood drawn, is it easier for you to watch someone else having the procedure done or have it done yourself?

I don’t think I could watch medical procedures being done on anyone. I can’t watch blood being drawn on myself, either, but it doesn’t bother me if I don’t look at it.

7. What is your favorite day of the week and why?

Oh, I don’t know. I like them all. Maybe Saturday because I don’t usually have to set the alarm clock then.

8. Do you miss anyone right now?

My mom.

9. Do hospitals make you queasy?

I don’t know if queasy is the right word. Nervous, unsettled, uncomfortable…all of those.

10. At which store would you like to max-out your credit card. Not that you ever would, you responsible person, you.

A hard choice! Probably first choice would be a  furniture store if I could find living room furniture I liked, but if not that then Hobby Lobby.

11. Are you true to the brand names of products/items?

For some items, yes, for others it doesn’t matter. I did a whole post on this topic once.

12. Which is more difficult: looking into someone’s eyes when you are telling someone how you feel, or looking into someone’s eyes when he/she is telling you how he/she feels?

Probably the former. Actually, it’s usually hard for me to tell someone how I feel in person even without looking in their eyes. With my dad it usually wasn’t accepted or understood and usually made things worse, so I rarely did…and old habits die hard, I guess. But a lot depends on what exactly the situation and feelings are.

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. A bonus! My husband received a bonus from his job and distributed a portion to all the family.

2. An excuse! I received notice this week that I am excused from jury duty! I thought for sure I’d have to get something signed from the doctor, but they didn’t ask for that. I am relieved!

3. My mother’s ring. I told about more about this here, but I found out my sister had sent my mom’s “mother’s ring” in a previous package, which I thought I had lost because I hadn’t seen it in the package, and I was looking everywhere the package had been to see if maybe it had dropped behind or under something. Then I found out my husband had taken it out to surprise me with it later and had it in his closet. I felt much like the woman who found her lost coin!

4. Seeing Jesse coach and referee. Every year our school has an elementary basketball tournament: they take the kids who want to play, divide them up into teams, and have volunteers from the JV and Varsity basketball teams coach them. Jesse volunteered, thinking he’d be helping a Varsity guy — but he was given his own team, I think mainly because of a lack of volunteers. Plus he refereed another game. It’s always neat to see your teen-ager begin to take responsibilities and leadership roles and handle them well. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed that he seems to work well with younger kids, and I wonder if the Lord might have something along those lines in his future.

5. Jeremy cooking dinner. I’ve mentioned this before — my oldest has taken an interest in cooking and occasionally will make lunch or dinner, and it’s always nice. But this week I have a lot on the schedule, especially in the next few days. I have the ladies’ newsletter due this week and wanted to get it done early. That didn’t happen, but I was able to get a great lot of it done while Jeremy made dinner last night — and he even unloaded and partially reloaded the dishwasher. So not only was it just nice to have a night almost off in the kitchen, but it was an immense help this particular time. Oh, he made jambalaya, by the way. It was good! I hadn’t had that in years.

Bonus:

Mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Just the right amount of chocolate to satisfy a little craving or to finish off dinner.

And I don’t feel I can close this post without saying this…I mentioned yesterday how neat it is when the Lord sends just the reminder or instruction or rebuke or encouragement I need, and that happened in a special way yesterday and today. I do usually get something out of every encounter with the Bible, but there are times when it is just so incredibly apt for the very particular circumstances of the day, which is even more mind-boggling considering that I am reading a devotional book or e-mail devotional that was written or compiled years ago or following a Bible reading schedule. Somehow the Lord coordinates all of that to get the right message to the right person at the right time. Amazing!

I’ll be around to visit hopefully later on today. Happy Friday!

Random Dozen Meme

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Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday. You can answer the questions on your blog and link up to Linda’s plus find more participants there.

1. Do you prefer even or odd numbers? Any particular reason?

I guess it depends on what it is relating to. Numbers just for numbers’ sake — no, I don’t think there is a preference.

2. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being “not at all” and 10 being Carly Simon-worthy, how vain are you?

(What’s with asking us about our faults each week?!) I think we all have some degree of vanity in us. And I think I’ll just leave that at that. 🙂 Edited: OK, I had to come back to this one. Argh — I am too analytical for these kinds of questions! I think overall I have a healthy sense that any strength or ability I have, anything I can accomplish, is from the Lord and His grace and strength.  But I will admit there a couple of areas where I struggle with this and have to give myself a talking to and get things back in perspective. And it’s silly because those areas are some where other people are way better than me. But that’s the nature of the flesh. So I think real vanity, really thinking that in any way or any part of me is better than anyone else — I’d have to say maybe a 3. But in occasional temptations it can go higher. And I do struggle with where the line between being pleased and proud. (Told you I am too analytical….)

3. Among these Irish stereotypes, with which do you identify most closely? Talkative, Proud, Inquisitive, Love to party, Hot-tempered.

What about open and friendly? That’s how I usually think of Irish people. I can be open and friendly, but it’s not my natural bent. I can be talkative, but I’m more inclined to be quiet. If inquisitive means curious, yes, I am that. I don’t love to party. Hot-tempered — I am afraid I do have my moments, but it’s more of a simmering beneath the surface than an explosion. But I don’t think I’d call that a primary characteristic.

4. How lucky do you consider yourself?

I don’t believe in luck: I believe in Providence and prayer.

5. What is the subject of your favorite post that you’ve written?

I have a few of my favorite posts in my sidebar, but the subject would be something the Lord has taught me or done in my life.

6. Describe March weather where you live in three words.

Changeable. Cold. Wet.

7. How apt are you at detecting blarney when you hear it? (Smooth talk, flattery).

I can detect flattery pretty well, but I used to be prone to smooth-talking sakes pitches. I’m more wary now.

8. How “green” are you, environmentally speaking?

I think there is a lot about “the movement” that is hype, which tends to make me discount a lot of it, but I could probably work on it more.

9. What is your favorite song this week?

I don’t know is I would say it is a favorite, but the one that has come to mind most often is “Going Home” which I posed a video of here earlier this week.

10. You are walking along and see a coin on the ground. What denomination does it have to be before you will stop to pick it up?

I am more concerned with how dirty it is that how much it is. Probably a quarter, though I don’t think I am likely to pick up coins anywhere but my own house unless I just dropped them myself.

11. Complete the sentence: “Every time I look outside my window ….”

I long for spring.

12. What was the #1 song on the day you were born? See this site to find out.

“Tammy” by Debby Reynolds.

Friday’s Fave Five

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. A dinner date with hubby at Cracker Barrel. I think I may have mentioned a time or two that it is at least one of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite restaurant. Saturday night found us with no kids at home, so Jim asked me if I’d like to go eat there. And what makes that even more special is that he is not crazy about Cracker Barrel, but he knows how much I like it. Unfortunately, I think his negative opinion is even more firmly cemented now, as a number of things went wrong….it was almost comic afterward in retrospect though not so much at the time.

2. Coca-Cola cake — a new addition to the desserts at Cracker Barrel. So. Very. Good. I ordered it to go and split it over a couple of days. My mouth was happy for a long time. 😀

3. Celebrating my daughter-in-law’s birthday. They took a quick trip to see her mom on her actual birthday, but we had our family celebration when they got back. Even though I made a mistake on the cake, it still tasted good, and they all tell me that’s what counts. 🙂 It was fun to shop for things I thought she might like — and fun to buy feminine wrapping paper (which is rare for a mom of all boys. 🙂 )

4. Going to a concert to see the King’s Singers!!!!!! One of my all-time favorite groups! I thought about writing a separate post about it but just haven’t had time to — I still might. If you’re not familiar with them, they are a mostly a capella group of 6 men that began as students at King’s College Cambridge in the 1960s. They decided to continue on even after graduation and after a member had to leave: now they audition and bring in new members as the older ones retire. They sing a wide variety of music from hymns, folk songs from various countries, classical music, and pop songs. Not only do they have some of the most gorgeous voices God ever gave anybody, but they entertain — on some of the lighter songs they “act” out the parts or do hand motions that really fit the piece they’re singing and crack up the audience. Here are a couple of samples of their work:

One funny one — the end is the best!

And a serious one:

Sorry the video quality isn’t better!

Here’s one more that is clearer, and this group except one is the current group that we saw:

5. The Olympic ice-dancing free dances of American team Meryl Davis and Charlie White and Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won silver and gold, respectively. I was rooting for Meryl and Charlie, of course! 🙂 But they all did beautifully, and I think it is neat that they are all friends and train together as well.

And that is it for a great week! Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

Wednesday Random Dozen

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Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday. You can answer the questions on your blog and link up to Linda’s plus find more participants there.

1. Have you ever fired a gun or shot a bow and arrow?

Bow and arrow: no, except maybe my kids’ Nerf bow when they were younger. Gun: I can remember my dad taking us out to shoot tin cans once when I was a kid, but only that one time.

2. Do you know where your childhood best friends are?

Sadly, no. I think one is still in the town I grew up in. Last time we were there — about 21 years ago — I looked up her parents’ number and called, but missed her and never got back to her because we were at a family reunion.

3. Do you usually arrive early, late, or on time?

Yes. 🙂 It varies. I like to arrive a bit on the early side, but it doesn’t always work out that way.

4. Are you more of a New York or California type?

I’m not sure what is meant by such “types.” I think of Californians as barefoot free spirits and New Yorkers as rude and busy — but I am sure those broad stereotypes are no more true than the ones people had of Texas when they learned that’s where I was from and asked me where my accent was. I sometimes thought of saying, “Back on the ranch with my ten-gallon hat and tumbleweed.” 🙂

5. Do you have a special ring tone?

No, just a regular phone ring.

6. What is your favorite type of chip?

Used to be Ruffles Sour Cream and Cheddar, but lately I’ve been gravitating to Lays’ Sour Cream and Onion. Surprising because I am not all that fond of sour cream.

7. Best comedy you’ve ever seen is ….

I loved Boy Meets World in its early days. We stopped watching it when the kids in it got to middle school and constantly thought about kissing — didn’t want my guys to think that was the primary concern of kids that age! But we picked it up again in its later years.

8. Have you ever cut your own hair? To quote Dr. Phil, “How’d that work for ya?”

Yes, I have, and surprisingly it looked okay. Not so well that I wanted to keep doing it, but passable.

9. If you were going to have an extreme makeover, would you rather it be about your house or your personal self?

That would be a hard choice. If it was all expenses paid and they wouldn’t do anything without my preferences in mind, probably the house. But there are certain things I’d love to have a personal consultation about.

10. Are you allergic to anything?

Penicillin and sulfa drugs. Some artificial scents give me a headache, but I don’t know if that is properly an allergy.

11. Why is it so hard to change?

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians 5:17). But “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16) and “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Romans 8:13).

12. One last question dedicated to February love: CS Lewis said, “To love is to be vulnerable.” Please share one example of that assertion or share any thought you’d like to about this topic.

I think that is true, because if you let someone know you love them, they might reject your love and therefore hurt you. Even if they accept it and love you in return, there will be times you’re not 100% in sync, and disagreement with the one you love most is more hurtful than disagreement with anyone else. The primary example of vulnerability in love is the Lord Jesus Christ, who was vulnerable to the point of death for people who did not understand and for some who rejected that gift. Yet His sacrifice made it possible for those who do believe and accept His love to enter into a loving relationship with Him.

Friday’s Fave Five and Jury Duty

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Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

Here are my faves for the week:

1. Dinner at Outback! We don’t go there often, and we don’t usually go to restaurants around Valentine’s Day because they’re so busy. But when Jim offered to take the family to Outback the night before Valentine’s Day, well, I wasn’t going to turn him down! It did take a long time to get seated — they told us 45 minutes, but it ended up being almost two hours — but once we got to eat, everything was wonderful.

2. Valentine’s Day! It’s probably my favorite holiday, maybe vying with Christmas. We don’t usually do gifts, but we did exchange cards, I made my little chocolate heart cupcakes, and hubby surprised me with some Lindt truffles!

I pretty much only use tablecloths on holidays, maybe sometimes on special occasions, and I cannot find a pink tablecloth that isn’t peachy-looking, but I did spread this square pink one over the oval ivory one to make it more Valentiney:

I only had 6 pink napkins and we had 7 people, so I used both pink and ivory and alternated them. I liked the effect.

3. Snow Friday night! Nice and fluffy! And most of the snow melting Saturday afternoon! Yes, those are both favorites! I like it when it’s around long enough to play in a little, and then melts away.

4. A snowy Valentine message from Jesse, my youngest:

5. Cleaning out my desk and discovering a $25 award certificate to Amazon.com that I had forgotten about! I ordered three books totaling a little over $30, qualified for free shipping, and with my certificate only paid something like $5.87. One of the books is Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter, various thoughts and essays compiled by Nancy Guthrie in the same style as Come, Though Long Expected Jesus which I read and enjoyed before Christmas. I’m looking forward to using it to prepare my heart for Easter.

BONUS:

The Olympics! I mentioned that yesterday so I won’t elaborate.

I also mentioned yesterday that an unfavorite part of the week was receiving a summons for jury duty, and a few people wanted to know why I felt that way. Well, for one thing, there are other things I would rather do with my time, and I admit that is selfish. But I am also the most indecisive person I know. It takes me a long time to come to most decisions. I can see both sides of an issue or the pros and cons of each side of an decision and have a hard time unless it is just really clear-cut. The thought of having to evaluate a situation that is going to impact someone’s life unnerves me. Of course, for one-day duty it’s not likely there will be any major cases.

I’m surprised some of you have never been called! I wish they could rework it so that only people who wanted to could sign up to serve…but then they probably wouldn’t have enough people.

I’m feeling a little loopy this morning. I woke up at 3 a.m. to take Jason and Mittu to the airport for an early flight to see Mittu’s mom. It’s really strange being out and about so early! I’m not sleepy yet, but I feel just a little “off.” I think I foresee another nap in my future. 🙂

Wednesday’s Random Dozen

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Linda at 2nd cup of coffee created and hosts the Random Dozen meme every Wednesday. You can answer the questions on your blog and link up to Linda’s plus find more participants there.

1. If you could compete in one Olympic event (not necessarily winter sports) what would it be?

Figure skating. It looks so graceful.

2. Do remember a specific Olympic moment from the past?

Oh, plenty. Just a few: Mary Lou Retton’s perfect 10s in gymnastics. Torvill and Dean’s Bolero. The Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding fiasco. Kerri Strug’s injured vault. Michael Phelp’s swimming events in the last summer Olympics.

3. Have you ever known anyone who competed in the Olympics?

No.

4. If everyday activities were Olympic-worthy, which activity would you have a gold medal in?

I dunno. Eating? Sleeping? Reading?

5. Do you know anything about your ethnic heritage?

Like many Americans, it’s a mix. I know German and Black Dutch are in there, I think some Irish, and purportedly a little Cherokee.

6. Do you enjoy sleeping late?

Yes! “Late” these days, though, is 7 or 8. I don’t like feeling like I lost a big chunk of the day if I sleep any later than that.

7. Have you ever performed CPR on anyone? Do you know how?

No and no. I should probably learn that.

8. Name one country you’d like to visit and explain why.

Theoretically, because my dislike for travel overrides my desire to see them, Ireland or Scotland. Love the accents and the music.

9. Have you ever fixed up a couple romantically?

Only once, and that cured me. My sophomore year in college the guy I was dating and I set up his roommate and mine. They seemed perfect for each other. He really liked her, but she did not like him in that way, and it turned out very awkward for all of us over several weeks.

10. What is the last book you read?

Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser. Excellent.

11. Do you enjoy sleeping late? NO, YOU write the question! How’s that for random??

Do you ever add something on to a to-do list AFTER you’ve completed it just for the satisfaction of crossing it off? I have, occasionally. 🙂  I frequently make lists for myself but in the course of doing those things see other things that need to be done, or do something I forgot to list.

12. What is your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant?

It’s hard to name just one favorite restaurant, but I do usually have a favorite dish at each one. At Outback, it’s the Drover’s Platter which has both chicken and ribs, and I have enough left over for lunch the next day. At Fatz, babyback ribs. At Red Lobster, popcorn shrimp. At Cracker Barrel, usually their chicken and dumplings, though I also like their meatloaf and sugar-cured ham. At one local Mexican food place, Chicken chimichangas.

And now I am hungry….

Happy Wednesday!

The Week In Words

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http://breathoflifeministries.blogspot.com/2010/01/announcing-week-in-words.html Melissa at Breath of Life hosts a weekly carnival called The Week In Words,which involves sharing some words from your reading. Melissa explains,

“Playing along is simple, just write a post of the quote(s) that spoke to you during the week (attributed, of course) and link back here [at Melissa‘s]. They can be from any written source, i.e. magazine, newspaper, blog, book. The only requirement is that they be words you read.”

One quote that really stood out to me from a book I am reading is one I want to save for when I discuss that book after I finish reading it. But there were two that really spoke to me this week from the devotional book Our Daily Walk by F. B. Meyer.

From the reading for Feb. 9:

Let us claim the promise–“They that wait on the Lord shall change their strength.” Too often in the past we have depended on the stimulus of services, sermons, conventions which have made the embers glow again on the heart’s altar. We have gone back to our homes, to our daily calling, with a new zeal and impulse that has lasted for weeks or months. Then we have found ourselves flagging again; we have run and got weary; we have walked and become faint.

To all such comes the word; if you would once more mount up and run and walk, you must change your strength. Time tells on us! Moods influence us! Circumstances impede us! Satan blows cold blasts on our heart-fires and cools them! Sins pile up their debris between us and God! From all these let us turn once more to Jesus and wait on Him. “My soul, wait thou only upon the Lord, for my expectation is from Him.” Look not back, but forward! Not down, but up! Not in, but out! Never to your own heart, but keep looking to Jesus, made near and living by the grace of the Holy Spirit. So shall you change your strength, as you wait upon the Lord.

PRAYER
Thou knowest, Lord, how often I am sorely let and hindered in running the race which is set before me. May Thy bountiful grace and mercy come to my help, that I may finish my course with joy, and receive the crown of life. AMEN.

And from Feb. 10:

“Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.”– Jn 2:5, 6, 7.

DO NOT forget the necessity of obeying the inner voice of Christ, which may be recognised by these three signs–it never asks questions, but is decisive and imperative; it is not unreasonable nor impossible; it calls for an obedience which costs us some sacrifice of our own way and will. “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it!”

Do as you are told. It was a severe test to obedient faith to fill up those big jars, which stood in the vestibule of the house. Each would contain about twenty gallons, and as they were probably nearly empty, it would be a long and tedious business to fill them, especially at a time when guests required other attention… “They filled them up to the brim!”

In your obedience, always give Christ brimful measure. It may be a very small thing He asks you to dot–to teach a class of children, to pay a visit to some sick man or woman, to write a letter, to speak a word of comfort, to hold out the helping hand, to give the glass of cold water, but see to it that your response is hearty and brimful! The jar is your opportunity! A very common and ordinary one! An act that may seem needless or inconvenient; but out of it may come the greatest achievement of your life! When the Lord calls you into co-partnership, be sure not to say: “‘Please do not ask me!” Nay, serve Him to the brim! He never asks you to do one small act for Him, without being prepared to add His Almighty grace to your weakness, thereby perfecting the act. It is an amazing thing that He should want our help. Let us give Him to the brim, and, as we do so, we shall see a wonderful and beautiful thing, which is “hidden from wise and prudent, but revealed to babes”. “The servants who drew the water knew.” Many of us realise that this miracle is constantly taking place. We fill our waterpots to the brim with water; but at the end of days of careful preparation we sadly review the result, and say to ourselves: “After all, it is very poor stuff, only water at the best!” But as we pour it out in service to others, we know that the Master has been collaborating with us, and has turned the water into wine! There are secrets between the Lord and those who obey Him! It is blessed when we are workers together with Christ. He knows, and you know. A smile passes between you and Him, and it is enough! The best wine is always kept in reserve!

PRAYER

Enable me to do not only what I like to do, but what I ought. Cause me to be faithful in a little, and in common tasks to learn Thy deep lessons of obedience, patience, and conscientiousness. AMEN.