The Good Portion

Well, two posts ago I shared some pictures from the ongoing project of turning our 1905-built house into the charmer which, by virtue of its age, it has every right to be. (Don't we all?) We left off with me systematically tearing out sections of filthy old carpet and revealing a very old, very ugly, non-hardwood wood floor. This project was designated as mine , first because it's a dirty job and Paul has asthma, secondly because I hate to pile Paul with projects on his days off, (He has a very demanding job.) and thirdly because it's right up my alley; I wanted to do it. And so, Memorial weekend happened, and happened to be the first three consecutive days off I've had in recent memory. Also, Paul would be working most of the weekend. The planets had lined up. Saturday evening. First two rows. Not quite clear from this picture is how crooked the floor is along the length of those floor boards. In case you can't tell, I'll admit it right up front:...

I was thinking yesterday about the love of God, and how I really have to believe in His love before I can ever trust Him and repent of my hatred and rebellion against Him. I was thinking how true it is that fear has never led me to repent, only reflecting on God's kindness toward me has. And I thought how the world sits already under condemnation, yet it is through the love of God embodied in Christ that God has chosen to call mankind to repentance. And this morning I found these words of Brennan Manning in my inbox: “The saved sinner is prostrate in adoration, lost in wonder and praise.  He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven.  It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness.  Thus the sequence of forgiveness and then repentance, rather than repentance and then forgiveness is crucial for understanding the gospel of grace” Which brought me back to yesterday eve...

What I'm doing when I'm not blogging . Well, friends, only six weeks left until I complete the job that has been depleting my creative juices.  My work on the Grand Jury has sapped my free time and most of those particular mental and emotional resources from which my writing would normally be drawn. So much of my life is consumed just now by things I'm not allowed to talk about. And all the rest I'm just too tired to think about, let alone write about. And so, I've taken on other projects. As I've likely mentioned before, we've been puppy-sitting our grand-chihuahua (and grand-tabby cat) for the last few months while my daughter teaches English in the Republic of Georgia . We were filled to the brim with pets before, and now our house runneth over....and so does Lil' Chompy, all over the carpet.  We've intended to replace the decades old rental house carpet ever since we bought this place four years ago. We just kept waiting for the Sack-O-Cash...