SPRING CLEANING - a time for renewal and finding serenity

I have been bit - or should I say stung - by the cleaning bug.  It has taken so long for the snow to melt and the air to warm up here in Northern Michigan, and that is Northern as in "above the Mackinac Bridge" that I feel like a child going out to play!

I don't know how you feel about cleaning or other household tasks, but when I am in the mood to do so, I don't want to let anything else get in my way.  I finally had a week with very few commitments, and since the sun was shining, and it was above 60 degrees (F), I got right to the task at hand.  When I was working, I didn't have the energy (or interest) in cleaning my house, room by room, from top to bottom.  But I'm finding that in the few years that I've been retired, I am really interested - shocked, actually - that I enjoy and take great pride in cleaning my house.  I never would have thought that washing the dishes was therapeutic either, but I have been pleasantly surprised by this too.  It is a time for renewal.

When I am cleaning or doing up a few dishes that don't go in the dishwasher, my mind is always wandering.  I'm thinking about things that matter, and often things that don't.  Perhaps I'm remembering the conversations of the past day, or planning what I'm going to do next. 

When I was spring cleaning my bedroom yesterday, I found some

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

WHAT IS A MOTHER?

A mother can be almost any size or age, but she won't admit to anything over .....thirty.
She has soft hands and smells good.
A mother likes new clothes, music, a clean house, her children's kisses, an automatic washer and Dad.
She doesn't like having her children sick, muddy feet on the carpet, temper tantrums, whining, loud noise, or bad report cards.
A mother can read a thermometer and like magic! can kiss a hurt away.
She can bake good cakes and pies, but likes to see her children eat vegetables.
A mother can stuff a fat baby into a snowsuit in seconds, and can kiss sad faces and make them smile.
She is underpaid, has long hours, and gets very little rest.
A mother worries too much about her children, but she says she doesn't mind at all.  And no matter how old her children are, she still likes to think of them as her little babies.
She is the guardian angel of the family, the queen, the tender hand of love. 
A mother is the best friend anyone every has. 
Yes, a mother is love.

                       --Anonymous

 

I have been duly blessed with a wonderful mother and Godmother who was a second mother to me.  

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers and grandmothers.  Happy Mother's Day to all daughters, and others who's Mother they celebrate today. 

On this special day, set aside for Mothers, it is my prayer that you know you are loved.  May our Lord Jesus bless you and keep you for all eternity.

YOU ARE SPECIAL - LOVE BEARS ALL THINGS!

I've been rather busy these days, but enjoying every moment of making decorations and preparations for two special events - a surprise birthday party and a ladies fellowship night at church.

Here are some of the decorations I made for a friend's surprise 60th birthday party May 4.  She has been a guest for tea at my house, so I knew she would love the cups and flowers.  Louise and I played in the junior high band in our earlier days, and now I am blessed to have her part of our family, as my daughter's mother-in-law.

 A surprise wasn't as easy as you might think.  My daughter and son-in-law live within a stone's throw through the woods from Louise and Chuck, so getting all the cars on the road and behind the house, without leaves on the trees yet, wasn't something they could hide.  And four little voices under the age of 9 might have been the biggest challenge.  "Gramma, Mom's making rolls for something, but I can't tell you what."   Later she told us she didn't understand what was said, and didn't question it.  Even when she saw all the cars, and recognized them, she claims she didn't know it was for her. 

 You are special - happy birthday!

 

May 7 was our Ladies Fellowship Night at my church.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, love never fails.”

 

  My crafty friend, Suzy helped me cut out the paper doilies, and with the many other helpful and generous hands, we shared an evening of fellowship, focused on "Love Bears All Things," from 1 Corinthians 13:7.  Here are some of the decorations.