John 10:7-10
New International Version (NIV)
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.[a] They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."
In the event you missed church this past Sunday at Troy United Methodist Church, Pastor Dennis Price delivered a sermon entitled "Simple: Life." The overall theme as I understood it was the need to simplify our lives and make Jesus our number one priority. One of the examples Pastor Dennis used to demonstrate his point was, "What did you do with that extra hour last week?" Did you use that extra hour to fit in three more items on a to-do list? Did you use the hour to sleep? Did you use the hour to replenish yourself by reading the Bible or praying?
Today being Veteran's Day, my two girls were off of school. Although sleeping in was on my to-do list, it was not on theirs. Instead of running errands or taking in an activity outside the home, we decided to simplify our lives today. Opting to stay in our pajamas for the duration, a leisurely (not necessarily healthful) breakfast of homemade Nutella waffles started our day. My oldest daughter had written a thank-you letter to a Veteran for a school assignment, so we folded said letter after the breakfast plates were cleared and addressed it to her Great Grandpa O., a radio operator on a B-17 during World War II. In the meantime, my youngest daughter dug in our craft box and found a soap making kit given to us by our thirteen-year-old neighbor. We proceeded to create soap (for the first time) and then wrapped it in order to gift it to the same thirteeen-year-old neighbor. Even I managed to walk a mile with Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home video; yes, I should have walked the 5 Really Big Miles as the subtitle suggests, but, hey, one is better than nothing. After a stint in the kitchen making cake balls out of bundt cake which failed to fully release from the pan, the three of us snuggled in and watched a movie.
While the hub was downstairs directing the girls in clean-up duties, I took an Epsom salt tub (suggested long ago by woman blessing Jessica Dudley via Faithful Fitness Friends) by candlelight and prayed for some women blessing friends.
After I finish this post, I plan to load the dishes before the hub and I catch up on a missed episode of Homeland. Then, I am off to bed with a novel I have been meaning to finish for a few weeks now. Although my family and I spent the day living simply, I feel as if this kind of simplicity allowed me to appreciate the richness of my life.
By Courtney Winkler
In the event you missed church this past Sunday at Troy United Methodist Church, Pastor Dennis Price delivered a sermon entitled "Simple: Life." The overall theme as I understood it was the need to simplify our lives and make Jesus our number one priority. One of the examples Pastor Dennis used to demonstrate his point was, "What did you do with that extra hour last week?" Did you use that extra hour to fit in three more items on a to-do list? Did you use the hour to sleep? Did you use the hour to replenish yourself by reading the Bible or praying?
Today being Veteran's Day, my two girls were off of school. Although sleeping in was on my to-do list, it was not on theirs. Instead of running errands or taking in an activity outside the home, we decided to simplify our lives today. Opting to stay in our pajamas for the duration, a leisurely (not necessarily healthful) breakfast of homemade Nutella waffles started our day. My oldest daughter had written a thank-you letter to a Veteran for a school assignment, so we folded said letter after the breakfast plates were cleared and addressed it to her Great Grandpa O., a radio operator on a B-17 during World War II. In the meantime, my youngest daughter dug in our craft box and found a soap making kit given to us by our thirteen-year-old neighbor. We proceeded to create soap (for the first time) and then wrapped it in order to gift it to the same thirteeen-year-old neighbor. Even I managed to walk a mile with Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home video; yes, I should have walked the 5 Really Big Miles as the subtitle suggests, but, hey, one is better than nothing. After a stint in the kitchen making cake balls out of bundt cake which failed to fully release from the pan, the three of us snuggled in and watched a movie.
While the hub was downstairs directing the girls in clean-up duties, I took an Epsom salt tub (suggested long ago by woman blessing Jessica Dudley via Faithful Fitness Friends) by candlelight and prayed for some women blessing friends.
After I finish this post, I plan to load the dishes before the hub and I catch up on a missed episode of Homeland. Then, I am off to bed with a novel I have been meaning to finish for a few weeks now. Although my family and I spent the day living simply, I feel as if this kind of simplicity allowed me to appreciate the richness of my life.
By Courtney Winkler
