Handmaidens -All Around Home

October, 2000

All Around Home

Topics

Just A Thought
By Staff Writer Sharon Barrett
Ever feel like you on an iceberg with no direction except from the wind which seems to be blowing in all directions at the same time? There is a cure for this feeling of isolation, desperation, and desire to have fulfillment in your life. The guidance is all in the Scriptures: how to live each day with out worries, how to be a better person, a good friend, and much more! As a wise man once said, "What fools are these men who do not read the Word and put it to work for them."

Cover Page
Christian
Comedy
Education
Essays, Etc.
Health
Home
Letters
Marriage
Parenting
Poetry/Art
Stewardship
Sites to See
Work
Extra

So You're Not Wonder Woman?

I've been especially pressured of late concerning my inability to get things done. I know better than to do this to myself, but I find I attempt to do everything and expect perfection at each task. This invariably leads to umpteen half done projects which only add to my self recrimination. Oh, foolish one am I! But the Lord gently leads me back to reality time and again, and sets my feet on the firmer ground of common sense and honest self evaluation.

Share the Load
Not all the duties I assume are rightfully mine alone, and the same is true of almost every woman who shares a home with husband, children or other folks. Unless physically or mentally unable, everyone living in the household should share in its operation. The easiest way to bring this about is simply talk to your family and ask that you all cooperate with household chores. Make sure you don't assume an accusing attitude or turn the discussion into a conflict, but merely ask for help. Besides, if you work together, you can have a special time to visit with one another and share some special time.

Don't Demand Perfection
Once you all sit down together and decide what duties each should assume or help you with, let them do their thing. I once made the mistake of refolding laundry after my Honey had done it. He didn't offer to do it again until I finally told him how much I missed him doing it and promised that I would be very happy with any way he liked to fold. Now he does nearly all the laundry and it's a huge blessing to me.

Even with his help, I have much work to do, but I need not do it all at once, nor need I seek unrealistic perfection from myself in each task. I find that when I look at the whole picture, it isn't all that vital to clean a house every day... once a week is plenty! Or you can spread it over several days... vacuum on Mondays, sweep, mop and dust on Tuesdays, change beds on Wednesdays, etc.

Schedule and Prioritize
It's easy for me to get so caught up in one task, I overlook more important things, or to get sidetracked into doing a project I cannot or should not complete right then. Here's a perfect example: Some time back while I was emptying my shopping bags and putting the canned goods away, I decided to reorganize the cabinets which, of course, led to the fact that they all needed a good wash job... three hours later, I had gleaming, well organized cabinets.... but no preparations had been made for dinner and all my newly purchased frozen food lay in a defrosted heap atop the washing machine!

Now, I do have and use a Planner, and cleaning the cabinets had been scheduled for the following month (I usually only do it four times a year) but on a whim, I had jumped into this chore without thought. So, rather do as I have done, I suggest you list household and other duties, prioritize and plan them so that all get done when most needed and without taking away from more important obligations.

Seeking First
What are we seeking? Time? Rest? Recreation? I dare say that in our quest to reduce the load of household tasks, mankind has developed one technology after another, yet it seems to me our grandmothers had more time with their families and their God than we who live in a world of automatic dishwashers, garbage disposals, washers, dryers, blenders, bread machines and all the rest.

Although I can't pretend to explain how that can be, I do know this: People find the time and energy to do what is truly important to them. Think about how you are spending your time and energy, then read that last sentence again.

Which is more important to you, playing a game with your children or having a sparkling clean kitchen? Sharing a romantic evening with your mate or watching your favorite TV show? Spending an hour in Bible reading, prayer and worship or doing the ironing, or the dusting, or any other housework?

Seek the Lord and His kingdom first and the rest will fall into place. Jesus isn't overly concerned if there is dust on the coffee table, but He greatly desires an intimate relationship with you and He cares deeply that you nourish your spirit with His Word. He is also far more concerned about your relationships with your husband and children than how well your laundry is folded.

The Lord is willing and able to help you get all your "work" done... just ask Him and follow His lead.

Oddball Facts
Submitted by Scott Tousignaut

The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the direction of the bubbles.

Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.
The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as substitute for blood plasma.

American car horns beep in the key of F.

No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven times.

Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

One in every four Americans has appeared on television.

You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are 50 years of age or older.

The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.

A Boeing 747's wingspan is longer than the Wright Brothers' first flight.

Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

The 57 on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.

The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.

Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

The first owner of the Marlboro company died of lung cancer.

Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.

Betsy Ross is the only real person to ever have been the head on a Pez dispenser.

Marilyn Monroe had six toes.

All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn't like being seen wearing them in public.

Walt Disney was afraid of mice.

The sound of E.T. walking was made by [a Foley artist] squishing her hands in jelly.

What's in Your Sponge?
Submitted by Sandy Uhler

There are 5 sponges laying on your kitchen counter top. Each member of your family has been cleaning up different areas of your home, but all the sponges look the same. You are curious as to what was cleaned in your home, but you can't tell by looking...they all look the same....so what do you do?

You squeeze each sponge to see what comes out. As you squeeze the first sponge, you see that cola comes out, and so you decide that someone cleaned the kitchen with that one. Upon squeezing the second sponge, you find tub and tile cleaner - that one was used to clean the bathroom.

Next, in the third sponge, you find motor oil -- hubby was cleaning the garage!

In the fourth sponge, baby powder puffs out when it is squeezed -- yep, the baby's nursery was done with that one!

And finally, in the last one, is floor wax -- that was the one you used on the hall floor!

As you lay the last one down, you look again at their similarity - and they all look the same until they're squeezed.

Christians are the same way. As life squeezes us, different things come out - anger from one, a need for revenge from another, tears from one, remorse from yet another - also greed, untruth, lust - and finally, from one saint, pours forth the love of Christ.

Just like the sponge, we can only squeeze out what is put in - stay in the Word daily, and be in continuous prayer, so that when life puts the squeeze on you (and it WILL), Jesus, and Jesus ALONE will shine forth from you!

Have a blessed, squeaky clean day!

Graphics, Design & Hosting by Web4Christ Ministries