The Simple Woman's Daybook

On Saturdays I reflect on simple thoughts and simple pleasures. My leads are somewhat similar to others in The Simple Woman's Daybook group, yet a bit different as well.

Outside my window...
A praying mantis on the window screen.

Some Pictures to Share...
I went out to get a picture of him.
















It's near dusk and I couldn't get very close to him over the bushes, but when I looked down, I saw his friend. I DID get a good picture of him or maybe her.

Noticing the sound of... 
The quietening of the birds as darkness falls.

Thinking...
That grandchildren need their grandparents and vicy versy. They're good for one another. If you have yours nearby, there are blessings all the way around--grandchildren, parents, grandparents. All can benefit.

Thankful...
That my mother's colonoscopy showed no cancer. Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights. James 1:17

From the sewing room...
My latest Little Dress for Africa. #13

Learning...
To make bias tape from fat quarters for the Little Dresses to give more variety of fabric and colors. Then I can add pockets to match the binding, which I did for this one.

This coming week I'm looking forward to...
Our Daughters of Grace meeting on Monday when we'll be making Little Dresses for Africa at our sewing bee.

From the garden...  
Not much happening right now except for continued deadheading, but I do need to pull some wild morning glory vines from the azaleas. The chrysanthemums by the mailbox are about 3 feet in diameter, so they should provide lots and lots of blooms when they burst forth!

Around the house...
One thing leads to another as My Beloved continues the work on the upstairs bathroom. We're putting a new mirror and light fixture up, which means the wire needs raised a little higher. Seems that when the house was built an electrical box wasn't put in for the light. The wire was just sticking out of the wall. So...My Beloved had to attend to that and patch the wall.

From the kitchen...
Not much yummy happening there either this week with the start of our homeschool class at church and my attention given to the Little Dresses.

A thought from my Quiet Time...
I think the disciple Thomas is singled out a bit unfairly for doubting that Jesus had risen from the tomb. Not that he didn't doubt. He did. But so did the other disciples, even when Jesus appeared to them.

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, "Peace to you!"  But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."  And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.~ Luke 24: 36-40

Jesus knew they needed to see that he was real, to see his hands and his side. So why is Thomas chided for voicing what Jesus knew they all needed? Jesus didn't chide him. He showed Thomas what he had shown the others.

Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe." Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you."  Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe."  Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"

Neither does Jesus chide us when we doubt. He knows we need to see that he is real. But he does something more. He points us to a blessed higher ground.

"Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." ~ John 20:29

Currently reading...
50 Days of Heaven: Reflections That Bring Eternity to Light by Randy Alcorn. These are meditations from his larger work, Heaven. Will share some of it with you today and along the way.

Our longing for Heaven is a longing for God--a longing that involves not only our inner selves but our bodies as well. Being with God is the heart and soul of Heaven. Every other heavenly pleasure will derive from and be secondary to his holy presence. God's greatest gift to us is, and always will be, himself. His presence brings satisfaction. His absence brings thirst and longing.