Outside my window...
Our street and sidewalk are smooth and white. The lawn is substantially white with winter-brown grass and leaves poking through. The patio in the back is beautifully patterned with prints of bird feet, thanks to the scoop of seed I tossed out there this morning.
I am thinking...
about birthday gifts for nephews Thunder and Lightning next weekend.
I am thankful...
for refuge from the elements;
for the peace of a sleeping puppy a foot away;
for the way he smells like Fritos corn chips when he sleeps;
for joy in gathering with Bible study ladies, including my mom, yesterday.
In the kitchen...
A big pot of water, lemons, and cloves is simmering to humidify the air dried out by central heat.
I am wearing...
black fleece pants, a periwinkle blue hoodie over a black turtleneck, and a wool crocheted hat.
I am creating...
a black hat from the same pattern as the one I'm wearing.
I am going...
nowhere today, not even the Starbucks on the corner.
I am wondering...
how tricky Amore's commute home will be.
I am reading...
The Antelope in the Living Room by Melanie Shankle,
Kept for the Master's Use by Frances Ridley Havergal (free Kindle book),
and Pursue the Intentional Life by Jean Fleming.
I'm listening to An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers.
{Those are Amazon.com affiliate links.}
I am hoping...
the amaryllis I've been tending for a friend's February birthday survives and blooms for her.
I am looking forward to...
listening to North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell with the CraftLit podcast community. I read and enjoyed Cranford. Podcast hostess Heather Ordover brings her years of English instruction to a friendly, informal weekly hour of bookish and crafty talk. I always learn from the extra literary and cultural information she brings to the book discussion. (This book starts tomorrow, in case any of you wish to join us.)
I am learning...
Ephesians 5:22-33, ESV:
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of your love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Around the house...
We are trying to get our new Simple.TV DVR solution working. The dust awaits my Swiffer and me. My home exercise regimen also awaits. Something about a snow day kills productivity.
I am pondering...
the mystery that the "light and momentary affliction" we endure today is actually producing for us a weight of glory so inexpressible that Paul actually uses the Greek word huperbole twice to try and convey it. Glory so over the top that it's hyberbole squared? Count me in! (It's καθ’ ὑπερβολὴν εἰς ὑπερβολὴν, if you were wondering.)
A favorite quote for today...
"The antidote to fear is to anchor our lives in the character of God."
One of my favorite things...
the Texas Bible Chrome plug-in to replace "you/your/yours" in the English Bible (in online Bible apps) with "y'all/y'all's" whenever the original language indicated a plural "you." Granted, I'm a native Texan who does say "y'all," but this is truly beneficial in terms of Biblical interpretation. Both Greek and Hebrew have distinct pronouns for second person singular and second person plural. Once upon a time, English did too (thou vs. ye), but now "y'all" is the best alternative available to make explicit in the English Bible what is explicit in the original languages.
A few plans for the rest of the week:
to finish dusting;
to watch the Olympics' opening ceremonies;
to complete days 2 and 3 of my Bible study homework (Beth Moore's To Live Is Christ);
to try and learn the last couple of verses of Ephesians 5;
perhaps to begin to catch up on correspondence;
& to work with Amore on filing our taxes.
(Sorry, but there's nothing exciting planned the rest of this week unless you count this evening's snowy commute for Amore. Of course, God may have other plans....)
A peek into my day...
Sharing with Peggy Hostetler's The Simple Woman's Daybook today
