A little note from Luther

Alright, so this was supposed to be a post for Friday, but there is nothing like a coming-on stomach bug to mess up the schedule!

"[In Phil. 2:1-4] we see clearly that the Apostle has prescribed this rule for the life of Christians, namely, that we should devote all our works to the welfare of others, since each has such abundant riches in his faith that all his other works and his whole life are a surplus with which he can by voluntary benevolence serve and do good to his neighbor." Luther, The Freedom of a Christian (or On Christian Liberty)

I love this quote so much that I try to read it every few months. It's such a great thought: we have such a bounty of riches in our faith, that all our life and works are extra, that we can give to other people!

Of course, it's a great thought that's hard to remember...that's why I have to come back to it so often. :) 

Washing Dishes for God

"At base, hospitality is about providing a space for God's Spirit to move. Setting a table, cooking a meal, washing dishes is the ministry of facilitation: providing a context in which people feel loved and welcome and where God's Spirit can be at work in their lives. Hospitality is a very ordinary business, but in its ordinariness is its real worth." -- Simon Holt, quoted in Tim Chester's A Meal with Jesus

(Silly Blogger isn't letting me upload a picture right now. Too sad!)

Thoughts on Hospitality

"The context of hospitality is to be love--fervent love. The word for fervent does not refer to a fever pitch of emotional enthusiasm but rather to constant and continual exertion as an athlete running a race. A Christian people are to be dedicated to this. They are to think about how to use their house as an instrument that will enable them to pursue hospitality in a strenuous way."

 - Douglas Wilson, My Life For Yours

A Bit of Friday Wisdom From 1913

So I have this awesome little book "Don'ts For Husbands, Don'ts For Wives, 1913", it is quite an entertaining read with plenty of solid bits of wisdom thrown in. As I was looking through it I had such a hard time picking just *one* bit to share with you, but I did, so here is a don't for wives on decorating:

 "Don't expect your husband to want to spend evenings at home if you don't make home the most comfortable place. Don't stuff your drawing room with priceless knick knacks that he will knock over when he stretches out his hand for an ash tray. Don't have chairs that look nice but are not comfortable to sit in, nor cushions that may only be looked at. It is a mistake to suppose that a man likes best the home of the 'pattern' housekeeper. He doesn't; it makes him want to kick things about."


(Okay, okay, I couldn't do just one. I laugh every time I read this: "Don't let your husband wear a violet tie with grass-green socks. If he is unhappily devoid of the colour sense, he must be forcibly restrained, but-- Don't be sarcastic about your husband's taste in dress. Be gently persausive and train his sense of fitness.")

~Noble

(I got mini-pumpkins for our house this fall as poor Noel is allergic to flowers.)

Jack of All Trades

"She should have not one trade but twenty hobbies; she, unlike the man, may develop all her second bests. This is what has been really aimed at from the first in what is called the seclusion, or even the oppression, of women. Women were not kept at home in order to keep them narrow; on the contrary, they were kept at home in order to keep them broad." ~ G. K. Chesterton, What's Wrong With World


(In case anyone needed justification for the 20 unfinished projects she has going at any one time.)

Shall I tell you mine to sooth your guilty conscience (using the phrase "at least I don't have as many as Candis")?

A cross-stitch sampler I started when my oldest was 2 years old (truly my oldest unfinished project)

A summer dress for my youngest daughter (all that is left to do is the pesky zipper)

A crocheted lap quilt

A knitted baby blanket

An awesome wooden lazy susan that I hope to repaint and freshen up

A photo collage (need to collect and print out the photos, of course)

A recycled sweater blanket (who has taken my large acrylic ruler?!)

I love that I can be at home learning to be cook, nurse, counselor, housekeeper, seamstress, knitter, and teacher, etc. And I thank God and my husband for the opportunity to do so.

Food-for-Thought on Friday :)

"We can find a book bad only by reading it as if it might, after all, be very good." 

C.S. Lewis, An Experiment in Criticism. 

(Don't you think that might be true of people, too?)

Happy Friday!
Courtney

P.S. Check back tomorrow for a new Saturday List!