Still Life With Roses, by Abbott Fuller Graves (mid 1800's)
The perfect solution for stress and uncertainty is found in this Psalm. Notice the things it gives you to do, and notice who will take care of the rest! This is quite applicable to any homemaker or any do-it-yourselfer. There is a poem called "Somebody said it couldnt be done," and it told how there is always someone to tell you it can't be done. I think the verses are very positive in their approach.
Psalm 37
A Psalm of David
Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.
The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.
Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.
The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.
For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.
The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.
The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.
The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.
But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
But the salvation of the righteous is of the LORD: he is their strength in the time of trouble.
And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
23 comments:
Dear Lady Lydia,
what a beautiful psalm, so helpful and reassuring. Thank you.
It's nice, that you also add inspirational posts from time to time. Please don't feel stressed because of your readers! You must also do your housework and sewing of course. When you don't have so much time, then it's also very fine to give us some pictures to look at ore some inspirational quotation.
I have also started a sewing phase, because I'm so inspired by you. I have been watching some of my period dramas on DVD for inspiration for colors and details ("North and South" by Elisabeth Gaskell, "Jane Eyre" and of course "Sens and Sensibility" etc.).
I will think of you during the day, when I'm sewing, knowing, that I'm not the only one, who is at home making her own garments. This is a great comfort to me. I feel so much less lonely as a homemaker.
Blessings
Blessings
Speaking of period movies : I am so excited to be sewing something from Wives and Daughters, from some fabric I found...will try to post it in the near future!
I studied the clothes on Lady Windemeres Fan the other day and found them so interesting.
Fret Not. (I have some health issues that are concerning me so this is just what I need to meditate upon..) Thank you.
I am certain I am not the only one who can use some inspiration and I appreciate this. Thank you for this wonderful blog. The lack of respect I receive as a homemaker vs. when I worked outside the home is disheartening sometimes. I have been a homemaker for over 10 years, but even now, the negativity can get to me. Posts like this and your wisdom help so much.
I have serious medical issues (cancer is still being tested for and has not been ruled in or out) and I fear sometimes I may not live to see my children to adulthood. No matter what happens, I hope they will remember me as a good homemaker who took good care of them, tried to look nice, etc. despite many challenges, financial, medical (they go together all too often these days) and otherwise. I am trying to be a good role model and I am well aware I don't have forever to make a good, lasting impression on my little ones. None of us do, really. I can't let those who don't approve of my occupation or who are jealous of my husband's support bring me down and I come here for ispiration. You are such a godsend. Thank you.
I am still finishing some sewing projects and would like to say again how glad I am I was introduced to a hundred percent cotton. Synthetics melt under the iron,and they also collect body odors that will not come out. I have always felt hot in them. Also I am finding that cottons are easy to repair and easy to sew. The needle does not get as dull. They are soft and over time, get softer. It is a great help to the cotton industry in America. Sew cotton, as it is a healthy, breathable fabric. I also sew linens and woolens, which are better for the machine and the body. Raw silk is nice but you should know it sews like paper, and not be concerned because it reallly is easy to sew.
Thank you, Lydia. This is my favorite passage of Scripture. I needed to be reminded to "fret not".
So true!! Your words of encouragement are balm to the soul. As for dresses; I am so excited, the ladies at 'The King's Daughters' are nearly finished on my order; I'm sending the payment tomorrow; they'll have it by next week, then a week after that, I'll have four beautiful new dresses and three lovely new vests for Summer!! I can't wait!!
My husband and I are off to a wedding of one of his best friend's sons this Friday; The dress will be a simple, long sleeved, tie-back full length dark burgundy worn with a burgundy and gold thread wrap (Lydia, it is a carbon copy of the blue and gold one I've worn in the blue dress pic) (feel free to post such on your site) as fancy courts are notoriously expensive not to mention almost impossible to buy in my very small shoe size (can't wear childrens'; too wide across the toes), I'll be polishing up my munroes till they gleam. I wore this combination to the combined 18th and 21st birtday celebrations this May just past; the older of the two plus another nephew complimented me on this combination; myself and their mother were the only ladies in dresses (my SIL dresses beautifully and doesn't give a hoot about what anyone else thinks).
God bless everyone here!
How uplifting! Thank you so much. (o:
TOday I would like to do something a little different and welcome the women employed outside the home, who visit my blog from work:
To the lady at the Broward County Public School in Miami, Florida
To the lady at Pacific Life Insurance Company
Tp the lady at Maple Tronic Computers Inc
to the lady at Guilford Technical Community College
to the lady at University of St. Andrews in Scotland
I am glad you are using your tea time break to spend time on my blog! Welcome!
Mrs. Shereman: Ha ha! Those same people also spend their 3 hour tea time break and their 5 hour coffee break on my blogs!
Lydia,
yes, i see many people taking 7-hour tea breaks on my site, too!
i wanted to make you aware of something called "cyberstalking."
it is where people that spend hours on your blog can get obsessed with you, and go all over the web finding places you have commented, signed up for, posted on message boards, etc. they collect photos of you & your house & family and publish them on websites and publish your address and phone number. they encourage others to join in and harrass you, then if you ask them to stop they claim you are harrasing them.
they also will take your photo and create false identities with it on blogs and such.
there are laws against cyberstalking and cyber-bullying on the books in several states already, and in australia as well. i would encourage your readers to keep abreast of the law regarding this and watch over their blogs, and keep copies of isp numbers and site meter statistics. i believe that feminists are going to become more militant and some bloggers will need to take legal action.
welcome to the lady at United Healthcare Corporation in Hopkins, Minnesota, who spent 5 hours here already today.
also if you see anything unusual on your visitors recorder, such as long long visits and lots of downloading, they are stealing photographs and violating copyright and cyber stalking laws. Yes do take the isp number. Might be a good idea to publish it on your blog to warn others. When they are caught, they will owe a great deal of money for each stolen photograph, and even more for the copyrighted ones.
Yes there is a ring of people doing this. For those being threatened by cyber stalking, the law is on your side.
I love the beautiful dresses here and am looking forward to the next one! God bless you as you work. I love the variety of colors you use in the clothes. So much better than the drab colors sold in the stores.
The internet has become a haven for gossip circles all over, and these women who supposedly won their right to work, do not work at all. They give their work to lower class workers, while they spend their time gossipping on the internet. Their works will be found out. I used to work, and cannot imagine getting away with what is done today, and still draw a paycheck. My blog counter also shows some of these people, from universities to health departments to insurance companies to school administrations, downloading all my pictures and articles. Later I see them on someone else's blog or used for a bad purpose. I think everyone should be aware of the laws these days and keep records if there is any suspicious activity.
The sewing is something I am very interested in and will be checking back from time to time. Thank you so much
These people are getting paid to do the internet snooping and snatching of private internet property? How? Their employers, whether they intend to or not, pay the price. They pay a salary to these women who sit and mess around with other people's lives and thieve all day long. These women are taking a salary and cheating the employer.
Lady Lydia,
I have been enjoying all of your inspirational and sewing postings. The first thing I do when I get to work is see if you have posted anything new and read all of the comments.
Today I was so hot during the commute home that when I finally got home I thought about putting on jeans (as if that would make me cooler ha ha) but I am glad I changed into a new skirt and did my hair in a french twist.
Your blog is an encouragement to many ladies!
Lady Lydia, I hope I'm not thought of as a snoopy, evil person....I keep looking for great ideas!!! I love it here and since the computer is too readily available, I check here probably way too much! As I'm typing here, I have a bible study playing on another great site!! Truly your friend, ANONOMYmouse!! ;)
(Keep up the excellent work! BTW, since reading your site, I actually have more time to play...since I'm not eating all the time! I'm the one who started a good diet so I can wear all these beautiful dresses! I'm 1/2 way there! THANKS!)
No you arent snoopy! I am trying to get a picture of the next dress before it gets awfully dark, and then I found I wanted to do some other little thing with it but hopefullly it will be up in an hour or so!!
Thank you so much for your posts about being inspired by beautiful dresses. I have always loved dresses but sadly wore what everyone else did. After a time I began to abhor shopping because I could never find anything that would make me feel pretty and feminine unless I paid an arm and a leg.
Since becoming dresses only I have had many challenges with persecution. But my husband encouraged me that he knew this was the Lord's hand and told me to continue on. He is so glad that our little 3 year old daughter dresses like a little princess.
One nice thing about the current styles is that since no one really wears their modest dresses and skirts if they have any, they tend to give them to goodwill or such stores - and I find loads of them now. I recently found a long flowy pink cotton skirt that had some beautiful patchwork on it. My son stopped me to tell me that I looked like a beautiful princess. It brings my children joy when I look pretty and feminine.
I have also gathered some material to start sewing but find it hard to find time. I have four young children. However, your blog has really inspired me to start. So I pray I can order my time better and as I learn to do so, I could maybe fit in some sewing.
Thank you for this post about not fretting. Just choosing to wear dresses can bring lots of fretting because more often than not other christians are the worse at persecuting you over it. Modesty is out the window for most christians, but I believe I can be a light if I can press on. Thanks for the encouragement. Blessings!
Oh, Lady Lydia, I'm so glad you are doing this and hope you won't stop even if you are being pestered by unlovely women. There are many of us who spend time here really, truly looking for help and encouragement. Thank you so much for what you are doing!!!!!!
Awesome how the Psalms help lift you and give focus. Thanks for sharing this one. My last comment was not posted anonymously because I did not read the fine print. Sorry about that.
Fret not! ahh, thank-you for posting that passage. Something I need to be reminded of on a regular basis.
I also wanted to thank you Lady Lydia for your Home Living blog. I visit it regularily and find it most valuable to my soul. It's such a great sources of wisdom, encouragement and support for me. I've very proud to say that I quit my career to been a SAHM when child #1 arrived. That was 12.5 years ago, and I plan to continue to SAH for as long as possible. I'm a mother of 4 blessings, and after a successful vasectomy reversal(which we regretted most horribly), we're very proud to announce that god willing, we will be adding our #5th blessing to our family in about 6 months time.
I've heard it all when it comes to redicule about being at home, yet this is what has always worked, and what I know will continue to work best for our family. I'm proud to say I've been happily married for almost 14 years (together for 21),and have some of the best behaved, well mannered, thoughtful, and kind spirited and healthy children there is. I know this as we're complimented on them regularily. I know that if I were to work outside the home, everything over time would begin to slide and suffer. How would my husband and children continue to be my #1 priority?
When you look at the people who are being the critics, I often as myself how they define "success" "content" and "inner happiness" in life? Obviously not the same way I and my husband do. ;)
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