Doing the Next Thing

I don't take any credit for this. My sweet longtime friend, Wendy, introduced me to Nancy Wilson's blog a couple of years ago. Yesterday we were discussing this post and I was telling her how it made a big impression on my heart and how I've been applying it. Mrs. Wilson wonders if Paul had mothers in mind when he wrote I Thessalonians 5:14 "Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all." Don't you agree with her that's a very good description of mothering? I made myself a sign out of the verse, printed in one of my new favorite colors (orange :) and mounted on a slip of scrapbook paper. It now hangs prominently in my kitchen, where I see it often - to serve as a reminder of my job description. It's been posted for about a week now. I find it interesting that each time my one of my children has a need - a need that "interrupts" my "work" and I'm tempted to get frustrated - meeting the ne

I had much puttering to do around the house this afternoon. The Little Ones were napping and the Big 3 were doing schoolwork, so the house was quiet. I was thinking how nice it would be if Gateway to Joy were still on the radio - and on at this time slot - and wishing my Elisabeth Elliot talks were not all on worn-out cassettes hidden away in boxes b/c I no longer have a working tape player. My Sweetie suggested I look for mp3s online and guess what? They exist! I found a website called Blue Letter Bible that has more than a dozen Elisabeth Elliot talks available for free to stream or download. Go check them out here . The one I listened to today was called "Sulking." I was attracted to the title because it's something I never do. Har har har. It was SO good to hear the voice of my old friend again, a spiritual mother whose writings and talks have encouraged me since I was a teenage girl. (The BLB webste, along with this one , this one , and this one , are going to come i