A Tea Cup in Sisters

We visited Sisters again this week. My apologies to any readers who live in that town, for not giving  earlier notice. There does not appear to be a Tea Room there but the town certainly should have one; maybe something with a 19th century western theme.  We did take a little snack and hot tea with us, and were pleased to find this pretty cup. It possibly was made in the 1970's.

Here is the tea cup I found in an antique store. I was not at all familiar with the Crownford Giftware Corp. brand

A few hints about buying teacups:

When buying to actually use daily in your home and for serving hot beverages to other people, do not buy teacups that are too old. 

 I avoid rare brands and rare teacups because they will be too precious to use, and it will end up just being a collection. 

 I like to use the cups, so I collect the most common, and newest that are considered fine china.  Cups made in the 60's and 70's are very pretty and strong enough, not too delicate for using. 

People have asked me what is the best kind of teacup to buy.

After years of experience serving tea, I have to say the best kind are NEW.

 I get these from discount places (where they sell salvage and seconds) like TJ Max (Home Goods), Marshalls and Ross. These are often under $5.00 for a cup/saucer set.

 The older tea cups are an average of $15.00 in antique stores, but I have seen them for $5.00 in resale shops and charity shops.   

Without consulting a book, you may be able to tell how new the cup is by the type of printing on the back. The newer it is, the clearer the print and the more uniform.  There are other markings that indicate how old a cup is. If a tea cup is made in Japan it is probably older, and I would not buy it unless it were recently made, because I want to use it. 

Not all new cups are good.  Avoid the ones that feel heavy, weighed down with lead.  If it is light weight and feels delicate, the tea tastes good in it. 

I like the new teacups because they do not have the gold rim on the drinking area, as this often can be worn off or chipped.  I do not mind it on the 1970's cups, though, and tea is good in them and they are easy to wash by hand. Make a paste of baking soda and water, and rub away stains with a wet dish rag.

The new cups on the market are very pretty and are dishwasher safe. They do not break as easily as older cups, and if broken, it is is no great loss and they are easily replaced. You can have a very handsome set of China from the discount stores I mentioned, and they make really good wedding gifts, and friendship gifts. 

I wash teacups by hand using soda bi-carb and a dish rag to remove any tea stains.

Usually I buy them locally because I can touch and feel for any flaws along the rim. I notice if the glaze or shine is worn on the rim.  Online, if a seller is not really a tea person and does not use tea cups personally, they will not notice everything. They will say the cup is without cracks or chips or stains, but sometimes not recognize how faded the picture on the cup is, because they never saw an original, new set of that pattern.  

Another thing I look for in choosing a teacup is the handle.  Some handles are too small to grasp, or too delicate. The handle is usually the first thing to break.

Sharing an indoor scene here at home....

....and an outdoor one. 

Update on Susan Kissinger whom we have been praying for:

Here is her Fund page https://www.gofundme.com/azwd3a-cancer-treatment

If you want to send her an encouraging card, please email me for her mailing address or email. My email is on the contact area on the left of this blog.

She would appreciate some encouraging cards, if any of you have time.

Thank you all very much for the prayers.

Tea Cup from Home Goods/TJ Max, approximately $3.95. It is t fine china but you can use it and not have to worry about it being too rare or delicate.

For Your Relax Time

A few pictures from Pinterest:

Relaxation

I cannot emphasize it enough: the importance of relaxing..

We learned to do this by the minute. Make a minute into a vacation. Think on things that are lovely. God never intended for us to be in a continual state of tension, agitation or depression. 

 Relaxing and enjoying the home and regular life can:

- keep the tension away, 

-keep memory alert, 

-increase patience and kindness.

Use tension as a signal. The minute you feel it, go back to a pleasant thought.

Learn to relax while you do anything, even the unpleasant tasks, and find that your feeling of well-being and happiness improves.

Mentally go on vacation and renew your mind, and you will find your face relaxes and the worry frown decreases.

When tempted to flare up, puff out your breath as long as you can, with short puffs through pursed lips.  Remember the midwive's coaching through childbearing, to breathe in slowly and then out in short puffs. Breathe away the pain, they said. Breathe away the pressure. Do you have someone to coach you? Maybe you can get a friend on the phone or on Skype or a personal visit, where you can excercise breathing away the tension.

It isn't good to be on stress alert all the time. It can cause health problems from kidney infections to headaches and worse.

Treat the moments and the hours and the day as if it were a holiday, in the sense that you relax more. I do not mean neglecting your family or your love to others, but a physical state of relaxation.

I asked my stalwart husband once how he managed to be so relaxed all the time in spite of being busy, having deadlines, with so many tasks to accomplish and people to please. He thinks on things that are pleasant and has a song in his heart. I am more of an active type. People tell me to get a cat to help me relax, but I would make the cat nervous.  

I like to be busy and I have to include rest and relaxation on my list of things to do. It has been hard to include it, because it does not seem like something to accomplish. But when I realized it was part of keeping a sound mind, I had to relax as a matter of ritual.  I encourage you to do it.  

Sadly we live in a crazy world that does not permit anyone to relax unless they are on vacation. They have compartmentalized relaxation. It does not need to be that way. Relaxing can be in every part of your life. 

This is why I have always taught about making your appearance uplifting, the home cheerful and your words gentle.  If ugliness surrounds you, create beauty for the sake of relieving tension.

Here are some scriptures I found today that might make sense to you, depending on the way you look at them. You can look up the context and the background.

"...nourished on the words of the faith, and of sound doctrine, for which you have been following." 

First Timothy 4:6

"...bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ..."  2 Corinthians 10:5

Most of us are nourished on anxiety. Anxiety produces fear, which produces a false perception.

Painting by Susan Rios

Dear Victoria Magazine

Here is a letter I sent to Victoria Magazine:

Dear Victoria Magazine,

Because my first issue is time-worn, faded and torn, I have been searching for a better copy. To my dismay, a good copy is sold for $35.00 and the ones in perfect condition are much more.

Would your editors do us the great favor of reprinting the original and selling it at a normal price?

That will give people today some insight into the reason the publication was so well-liked by all generations, and inspire more!

I know you have already produced this on disc, but I want the paper copy. Would you consider doing it on better quality paper with more "tooth" in it?  Your readers will respond in greater numbers than you can predict.

Noise-ic

Some updates in my life:

Housewife Radio is still in the works. I am trying to get some people scheduled for this.

Videos with Stan will be forthcoming. It is hard to catch him. He gets busier as he gets older. 

More sewing sketches and paintings.

A sewing project.

A homemade book or magazine--I could have fun with this.

Right now I want to talk about music, or Noisic, that so called musical racket that assaults our ears every day in the market. Are you sick of it?  A lot of people are suffering from hearing problems because of the constant roar.

We have noise pollution laws for the outside (car motor mufflers, airplane, industrial noise laws, and other public noise restraints). Some neighborhoods and motels have restrictions on loud music (Noisic). People aren't even permitted to have loud arguments in public!  When the loud screaming is recorded and broadcast and it is done by a famous musician, it is not considered unethical.

What about mall and shop, restaurant and transportation music? They used to broadcast soft elevator music -- annoying, too, but have you noticed the screaming in popular music ---Noisic, now, in stores?

 I was in the grocery store and thought I was in a place of agony! The screaming was so awful. I asked the customer service about it and they said the local store had no control over that noise, and that it all came from headquarters in another state.

You can hardly get your car filled with fuel without being assaulted with this Noisic. During a car trip we had to stop for a quick bite at an inexpensive place. The Noisic made me feel insane. On the way home we went to a more expensive restaurant and the Noisic was worse. Another lady sitting nearby said it made her sick.

It's awful to see little babies and children exposed to this noise-ic in stores. These innocent sweet things having their minds polluted.  Sometimes I wonder if the reason children in stores scream and cry a lot is because of that awful music being piped in.  The pregnant women must suffer nervous exhaustion from it when they are out, and that has to have an effect on their babies.

Do you recall smoking being banned in public because of the health danger of second-hand smoke for children?  That music, or noise-ic is also a health hazard for children's hearing.

I cringe when I am with my grandchildren and their tender ears are exposed to all that screaming and crashing of so called music (noise-ic).  When the words of the music (noise-ic) can be deciphered, they are always counter to our Christian beliefs. You can research this yourself. I won't go into it here because there is already so much evidence about the harm of this "music" and subsequent undermining of the human mind.

Imagine if we were to take our family into our favorite discount stores and start singing loudly as a group as we rolled our cart through the aisles. We would be drowning out their noise. Do you think anyone would complain, and ask us to shut-up?  Yet we are forced to listen to their choice of music.

I very much appreciate The music in Hobby Lobby.  If I go in there feeling tense, and as stiff as a board, it takes a few paces and my whole body relaxes. Feelings of tension, terror or panic dissipate. (Maybe panic attacks are connected to horrid music.)  If only Hobby Lobby could also be my grocery store, gas station, and restaurant.  I could come home unscathed. With the other stores, I feel like I have returned home from battle.

We have smoke pollution laws and you can not smoke in restaurants or stores or airports. It is much better than 40 years ago when smoke was everywhere. Noise is limited in many areas, but the stores have increased it.

No one is allowed to drink alcohol in public places. You can't walk around in a store or on the street drinking. You can't go near a school with alchohol or cigarettes. Also, there are restrictions of radio music within certain distances of people's homes. 

Of course you can always tell me if I do not like it, I can just stay home. I realize the stores are owned by someone else and are not publically owned and the shoppers have no control over it. The noise is apparently none of our business. I can pack lunches and eat in the car. Yes, I know that. But part of the  enjoyment of a day out is to stop in at a favorite tea room or inexpensive place to eat.

What can the righteous do?

Before you tell me to order online or just use catalogs, please let me say that I already know that.  I do that. But there comes a point where we do have to go out and some of us used to love going to town, to walk the sidewalks of our pretty little community and enjoy life. Why should we be run out of town? We are decent people who do no harm. We spend money. Without us, these places cannot survive. 

So here are some ideas.

1. Contact the stores, and other types of businesses you frequent and politely ask them if they would consider having a quiet time without music in the stores. Tell them the more music you have to hear, the less you spend and the faster you want to get out of there. If you have children, express concern about damage to their hearing. You can do this online or by filling out a customer card.  Keep in mind, however, they have the upper hand. I rarely have had lasting results from this, but it is worth a try.  

Personally I dislike spending my valuable time as an activist. I need to shop and get home and be happy. I do not want to fill out cards or go online and fill out more things in order to change something in the public.  I also don't like saying rude things to people and most of the time the store employees do not know what to do about it. I do not want to  ruin my own day by complaining.  But these are a few suggestions for brave hearts.

2. Go out in the early mornings. They don't rev up the music as bad til later in the day. 

3. Say emphatically at customer service area and to the check-out clerk, and any manager you see, "That music is TERRIBLE! I would have stayed longer and bought more things I needed but I feel like running away!   They often complain about it too. I was talking to a man cutting fabric at JoAnns the other day and he said the music drives him nuts and he can't get away from it. So even the employees hate it. There is another man who cuts fabric at WalMart who says he hates the music, too.

4.  Create a sound barrier.  I thought about wearing earphones while out doing necessary shopping, getting gas, etc., and listening to my own preferred music, but that costs money, and why should I have to?  Besides, they are inconvenient because you have to remove them when anyone talks to you.

 Why not just hum? It is more portable and less stuff to pack. The next time I went to a public place I started to hum and sing. I managed to block out the noise-ic for myself at least.

In a restaurant I encouraged my grandchildren to hum tunes as though they were playing a fiddle or a guitar. If they did it together they could hum at the table with just enough volume not to disturb any other customers, but still create a barrier from the piped-in music.  

5. Converse with no air space. When in stores or other public places, if you are with someone, talk about the products, the menus, the shopping list, or anything else, without allowing enough space between sentences for the offensive music to get in to your head.  I have tried this and it works.  The only problem is: there goes your plans for a nice quiet excursion.

6. Talk to yourself as you read your list. Read the label aloud, read the price aloud and say things like, "Now let me see what else is on my list. How am I doing for time? Only 15 minutes left? I better hurry along quickly now. Oops, I forgot the North Dakota Mountain Unbleached, unbromated flour in the blue bag."

7. There are now services for shoppers where you shop online and go pick up your groceries later at a drive through. This is nice but we are missing something. The market system goes way back to the beginning of time when people got out in public to trade and buy and sell in a vibrant and energetic way.  We are being cut off of the enjoyment of trade, the stimulating of our intellect and our creative ways.

  I grew up on a homestead, using catalogs and ordering case-lots, but I sure looked forward to going to town because it was a lot prettier and the merchandise could be compared and touched and selected by using all my senses.  That is what is missing when ordering online: using all your senses. Besides that, getting into town gave us a chance to see other human beings and have a reason to look our best and to socialize.

We have no choice in the music that is forced in our heads. No wonder we are so tense and so upset. And now I see why there is so much hearing loss, even in the very young. Our ears are thumping and vibrating and so rattled, we cannot hear the small, sweet noises of nature. We cannot concentrate on our shopping.

  I remember when shop owners wanted your visit to be a pleasant experience. They knew you would come back, if it was a good memory.  But now,  because of the noise of the rotten music, we shop with a grim attitude, as an unpleasant duty we want to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

I recall a man who was always asked to offer the closing prayer at church services. He would say, "Dear Lord, help us to enjoy every moment of this wonderful life you have given us."  I thought about that a lot, and when raising my children, tried to make shopping and working and learning and family enjoyable and not grueling and unpleasant like the world wants life to be.  

Of all the suggestions I listed for reducing the noise-ic, what do you vote for? I vote for the humming. I absolutely enjoy a good hymn or humming my thoughts. I can hum a thought-song. (Is that like a thought-crime? I do not know.)  Do you not remember when an annoying sibling hummed unspoken words? "You were wrong and I was right?"  never saying the words aloud? He knew he could not get in trouble for it. You can hum a prayer, hum a hymn.

This was a long discourse to get one point across, and I do appreciate the time and effort you have taken to read it,  If you suffer from the Noise-ic, please let me know in a comment below.

If you do not know a song, just make up your own and hum it. People used to hum and sing when they were out in public -  did you know that?  

My second choice is reading the name of the product aloud and the price.   I was listening to one of the younger grandchildren humming and singing his own tune.  I really enjoyed that. There is so much noise-ic in public places we must of necessity be in,  that young mothers are innudated with noise, so much so, that the noise of their own children irritates them.

Some people are absolutely not bothered by the music.  I understand that. Just as some people are more sensitive to scents and smells, and sights, there are those who are very sensitive to noise. 

A Reminder Not to Let Worry Steal Your Time

Ladies do you remember when Christ told his disciples they could not change anything by worrying? Well, I found out it is true.  Now that I can look at history, I see there is always going to be some kind of fear or worry produced by the world, which usually does not happen. Getting you to worry produces a kind of reaction: what you buy, how you spend your time, where you live, etc. 

 About 40 years ago I remember a constant story on the news about the safest, healthiest place to live.  Young people were breaking the hearts of their own kin, leaving their parents and grandparents to go to utopia.  That news was broadcast to mobilize the youth and change the dynamics of the population.  It separated generations of families that were interdependent and edified one another.  Many old people lost the one thing they loved the most. The youth suffered too, as they lived without their grandparents.

Today the housewife is terrorized by the news. There is going to be a shortage of something. Remember the rice shortage? Remember Y2K when everything was supposed to break down? Whatever happened to the other scares, where people were supposed to leave their houses and go to a big gathering center? Remember the scare about living near the ocean with all the poison gas? People left their homes and fled into the mountains where yet another "disaster" awaited them.

If you are raising children, your moods and your tension may be very detrimental to their sense of well being. They deserve to feel safe and have a happy, carefree childhood. You need to focus on them and your home. If you feel you have to have news, make your family and your life your news.  We used to write our own newspapers with home headlines cartoons, photographs, stories, weather and seasonal information, things to do, menus for the week, and good news of things being accomplished.  

When you decide to quit following the news, your friends will accuse you of living in a bubble. I say you should make your home a bubble and live in a different world. The home is like Noah's Ark, made as a shelter from the rain and wind and storm. Keeping the upheaval of the world outside is what makes the ship a place of refuge.  If you let the winds and the waves inside the ship, it is no longer a refuge.  I would suggest keeping it all out. Your home is a place where you can enjoy your family without the world's help. When Grandparents come, turn off all outside distractions and concentrate on your love for each other. This is your current event. This is your history in the making. This is your spiritual development, and your education.

With the Ark plan, you will soon understand how you don't need the upsetting news in your children's lives. I have learned it is  all obsolete information by the time the children are grown. It will not have any relevance, and you will have wasted a lot of time worrying about it.  

General Douglas MacArthur said, 

"Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear — kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor — with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant funds demanded. Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real."

Such news was designed to change the way people live, to undo their contentment and make them feel insecure. A friend said, "For myself, I wish I had not known half the worrisome stuff on the news. My children never knew me as a happy, relaxed mother in her element of home and marriage."

When you read the old fable called "The Sky is Falling" about Chicken Little who was afraid of everything, you will realize the-sky-is-falling technique has gone on in every generation to keep people in fear.  Later, they learned that many of the broadcasts they heard were manufactured by the news media and could not be proven, but the reports did their intended damage: to make people feel insecure and to keep them in a perpetual state of anxiety. Many people left their countries and their homes, to move to better places, only to be followed by the same terrorizing news. 

I grew up with parents who were born in the 1920's and they regarded all the fearful news with skepticism, and went on with their own personal interests.  I was talking to one of my friends about this, and she said, "The best thing we can do to alleviate all this fearful news is to start writing our own news." We could also write stories about real life, where  the good people actually accomplished their goals, invented things, and made towns prettier.  

What is so debilitating about the news is how it replays in your mind and controls your thoughts, robbing you of your concentration on your children, parents and family members who love you and need you.  

Ladies you do not have to add worry about the world while your children are young. You can create a world of love for them in your own home. Have you ever wanted to be in a different era, a beautiful era and a more gentle time? You can have that in your world at home.

A Reminder to be Patient and Kind in the Home and to all Your God-Given Loved-Ones

I have said this before, but it does not hurt to be reminded and reinforced of the importance of kindness in the home.  Our manners and temperament are developed at home, by the love we show to family members.

Some may say we must be polite to everyone in public, and it does not matter how we let-down at home, insulting one another, or being critical. I am speaking of myself, as well!  What good will it do to be kind to everyone in public whom you do not know and may never see again, and practice a sour disposition at home with people you will need and rely on throughout your life? The strangers you were nice to will not be there when you are lonely, sick or in distress. 

Be sweet to your family members and it will flow outward to the public. If you are kind and loving at home you will not have to remember to put on your company manners in public. Good manners flow outward to the public. Love and be kind at home and the public manners will be taken care of.

We should avoid hasty, sharp replies especially to our loved-ones at home, because they are the ones who will share all your life's joys and sorrows. I have some suggestions for how this may be accomplished. Much harm is done, and alienation occurs when the tongue is unleashed with the Pandora's Box of accusations, resentments, labelling and so forth. Responding to conflict with violent shrieking resolves nothing, makes things worse, creates more strife; does not improve character of either party, nor does it help anyone in their spiritual walk.

This is a lovely poem but it applies to adult children as well. We must be patient with all family of all ages and remember they are not all trying to destroy you with their requests and pleadings. 

Example: Someone in the home asks you to reconsider a decision that is not of great consequence. To keep from getting angry, you may say, "I know you want to do that, darling, but right now we are in a lot of hurry and we will have to decide that later, or leave that til tomorrow." You might get very creative with substitutes that will soothe a request without changing your plans drastically. This kind of solution reduces the anxiety on both sides.

Another thing that is good to think about regarding your temperament in the home is having an accountability time at the end of the day. Gather your family and ask them to recite a good thing about the day.  If they know they will be embarrassed to remember their outbursts at the end of the day and bring darkness upon a lovely day at home, they will check themselves. Teach yourself and them to think before they speak. Will this outburst be remembered for the rest of my life? Will I be creating a history in my family that will grieve me later, and later and later?

With each word, you are creating memories. I am saying this from experience. What will your family remember about you? You have the power to change, through prayer and self-control. Note that  human beings are more important than things or plans or accomplishments or even education. These are people with souls that you want to help in their eternal destiny. Instead of blowing up when your plans are thwarted, think of the PERSON, the living, breathing human being created by God, and their soul that you may be sullying with your anger.

Remember to love others in the family as valuable human beings, because one day they may not be in your life, having passed on to eternity, and your memories will bring heartache that will come back on you at unexpected times.  

As my mother told me when her mother-in-law passed away, "Always remember to love. It is more important than any issue, any belief or any misunderstanding. Love and give the benefit of the doubt."

I will add: Give your loved-ones grace and favor. We forgive our children for their tantrums because we know they are learning to grow up and their minds are not fully developed.  I will quote an old saying: "Be more grown-up than they are and use your mind to develop their minds."  Avoid responding with a tantrum. Remember the family is learning from your reactions. Forgive your grown children for their immaturity and tantrums, as well, and continue to use your mind to develop their minds.

If you learn to substitute a yes for a no, you can avoid a lot of frustration when you are tense. You can say, "We cannot do that right now, but what we can do is...." 

If you realize the family consists of human beings with souls, you will not be so inclined to herd them like animals or command them like dogs. As the old saying goes: Some people raise their children in the nature and admonition of the Lord, but other people who are too impatient to do that, just jerk them up. Wouldn't you rather be gently taught than jerked (yanked, harshly pushed) up?

There was a preacher of the 1800's who wrote "When commanding comes in the door, loves goes out the door." If your child or parent, brother, sister, grandparent, father, is standing still or sitting still, there is no reason to be in a panic or be impatient.  You can get their attention without a lot of drama and instruct them in a reasonable manner.

While your rights and your authority are God-given, they are not more important than patience and kindness and love. If you exert the former without the latter, the impact is lessened considerably because you will not have the heart of your people. They will not be hearing your points because they will be so distracted and traumatized by your erratic and flamboyant lecture. You will become more desperate to get them to cooperate with you. You will have to command and yell and scream and push and shove when you do not have their love.  

When people become harsh, we tend to look more at their harshness than at the things they are telling us. We see them as untamed and obsessed with their own rights.

I speak from experience on both sides!

 Napoleon once said of Christ, that though he had no commanding armies, he had the voluntary love of his followers:

"Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him."  

People who do not understand the concept of alienation, empathy and love will be forever demanding and commanding, and subsequently frustrated and bitter that no one seems to be cooperating with them. Love, kindness and patience will draw more respect than screeching.

Without practicing love and kindness, you will be forever commanding, but if you appeal to your families hearts, they will comply with you in many ways and go the second and third mile. 

This is not applicable only to those who have children at home. It is for everyone, any age, in a home.

 In summary, it is very effective to study the word "empathy."  It is more than sentimentality. It is the way Christ wants us to love one another by sharing each other's  sorrows and hopes and desires and honoring their requests. My husband always says, "If you can possibly be kind, do so. No thing, no personal offense and no purpose is more important than love.  Be a possibility thinker by looking for ways to make love possible."

Also, study the word "alienation." People are alienated by harsh words, accusations, and bossing. 

Just a reminder to be kind in the home and to your own parents, brothers, sisters.

We mentioned at the marriage retreat we both attended, that bad manners ruined more marriages and family relations than almost any other kind of distress or upheaval. Substitute patience and kindness for bad manners.

  Something my husband has said in sermons: After a person forgets himself and goes into "the far country"(referring to the prodigal) he is always headed for a fall.  We always suffer the consequences of our temperament. Do you want life at home and with your parents and grandparents to be sweet? Then let go of your own way and allow God to give you back your sweet temperament.

The far country, he said, is also a state of mind. When you reject the manners, tact, and  the values you were so graciously endowed with, you enter a state of mind like the prodigal, and go to "the far country" in a spiritual way. You lose your sweetness and develop harshness.  

It will help to keep in the foremost part of your conscience that your husband, children and parents and grandparents and grandchildren are all in Christ, and being in Christ, they are your brethren, all connected by the blood of Christ. When you see them as members of the Lord's body, not just family members, your treatment of them takes on an important light. You must treat them as kindly as you would any member of the church, for you know you must face them the next day.  Besides, when you blow up, you have to go around picking up all the pieces of offense, apologizing, asking for forgiveness, reconciling, and all those painful things. Then you are stuck with embarrassing-moments memories. It is better to restrain yourself.

Just a reminder.

The Road to Emmaus

On the Road to Emmaus

Luk 24:13  And behold, two of them were going that very day to a village named Emmaus, which was threescore furlongs from Jerusalem.

Luk 24:14  And they communed with each other of all these things which had happened.

Luk 24:15  And it came to pass, while they communed and questioned together, that Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

Luk 24:16  But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

Luk 24:17  And he said unto them, What communications are these that ye have one with another, as ye walk?And they stood still, looking sad.

Luk 24:18  And one of them, named Cleopas, answering said unto him, Dost thou alone sojourn in Jerusalem and not know the things which are come to pass there in these days?

Luk 24:19  And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people:

Luk 24:20  and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.

Luk 24:21  But we hoped that it was he who should redeem Israel. Yea and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things came to pass.

Luk 24:22  Moreover certain women of our company amazed us, having been early at the tomb;

Luk 24:23  and when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.

Luk 24:24  And certain of them that were with us went to the tomb, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

Luk 24:25  And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

Luk 24:26  Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory?

Luk 24:27  And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Luk 24:28  And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they were going: and he made as though he would go further.

Luk 24:29  And they constrained him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent. And he went in to abide with them.

Luk 24:30  And it came to pass, when he had sat down with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking it he gave to them.

Luk 24:31  And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.

Luk 24:32  And they said one to another, Was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures?

Luk 24:33  And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them,

Luk 24:34  saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon.

Luk 24:35  And they rehearsed the things that happened in the way, and how he was known of them in the breaking of the bread.

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

Luk 24:36  And as they spake these things, he himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Luk 24:37  But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they beheld a spirit.

Luk 24:38  And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and wherefore do questionings arise in your heart?

Luk 24:39  See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having.

Luk 24:40  And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.

Luk 24:41  And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here anything to eat?

Luk 24:42  And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish.

Luk 24:43  And he took it, and ate before them.

Luk 24:44  And he said unto them, These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me.

Luk 24:45  Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures;

Luk 24:46  and he said unto them, Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer, and rise again from the dead the third day;

Luk 24:47  and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name unto all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.

Luk 24:48  Ye are witnesses of these things.

Luk 24:49  And behold, I send forth the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed with power from on high.

The Ascension

Luk 24:50  And he led them out until they were over against Bethany: and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.

Luk 24:51  And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven.

Luk 24:52  And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy:

Luk 24:53  and were continually in the temple, blessing God.

I like this account by Luke because it explains from verse 43-49 the purpose of the death, buriel and resurrection of Christ. 

"The Gospel" is the death, the buriel and the resurrection of Christ, described in these verses. The word "gospel" is in verse one, and the death buriel and ressurrection are in verses 3 and 4. 

1Co 15:1  Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand,

1Co 15:2  by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain.

1Co 15:3  For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

1Co 15:4  and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures;

Romans 6:34 shows how our baptism (immersion) into Christ when we become believers is a re-enactment of the death, buriel and ressurrection of Christ:

Rom 6:4  We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

Rom 6:5  For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection;

Rom 6:6  knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away, that so we should no longer be in bondage to sin;

Rom 6:7  for he that hath died is justified from sin.

Christ rose on the first day of the week, and so with all the sermons and celebrations going on the first day of the week, today, our obligations do not end with that. We go on to obey the gospel, which is the death, buriel and resurrection of Christ, and then proceed on our journey of living a new life in Christ, loving, forgiving, as Christ also forgave us. We want to be careful what we say and do, that God is glorified in our bodies, in our speech and attitudes, our actions and our lives.

Some Reasons This Blog Will Not Be Monetized

Just as I was formulating a post outlining the reasons this blog is not being monetized, I received this lovely letter. It explains some of the issues I have considered regarding advertizing.

One reason I avoid advertizing is that the products are from companies and brands that are already super-rich. They offer the blogger less than a pittance per click, erstwhile promising to help you make money. It would take me years to make money, and if I advertise for them I am making them even richer while they pay so little.  A big advertising company would charge much, much more to run ads, but the companies pay a tiny bit to the blogger.  

If you do not make over, say $100 a month, the amount you earned does not count, and you have to start your earnings all over again the next month. If any employer did that to an employee, no one would work for him. It's not honest and definitely not Biblical. 

When these rich businesses keep your earnings unless they are $100 it drives you to seek more attention to the ads to get more clicks, and when it is all analyzed, it will take a year to get $100. In my case, a year of ad clicks will result in less than $20, which I will never get. Each click represents only a fraction of a dollar, and in some cases, a fraction of a cent. It isn't worth the time from a busy homemaker. It may also cost you money, since it takes up so much time.

Thinking they are helping me, ladies have bought art posters from Allposters, or tea sets from Amazon, two things I have featured for sale.  If I make a commission of five or ten dollars, I never receive the money unless my sales commission goes over $100 or some other required amount. That is why I put the donate button on the side bar. If you want to give me $5.00 I am happy to receive it and at least you know I will be getting the donation.  

That being said, I do not mind helping friends sell the products of their own hands.  I just do not like advertizing for the corporations that are already rolling in wealth. If they want to run their ads on my space, they will have to pay me a lot more. How about $100 a click. They can afford it.

Another reason is that I do not like endorsing things that make us focus on buying and selling all the time. The ads make the blogs ugly, they are a nuisance to click off, they are not really about making a home. They are about their companies making more money. These companies also donate huge sums to things that cause trouble., and the products often contain caustic ingredients.

Please enjoy this letter:

Dear Lydia,

It has been several years since I last wrote to you.  Sometimes it will be many months between visits to your blog, and then when I have a moment to sit down and look for edifying things to read, or, when I am trying to write words of encouragement to my daughters-in-law or to other young ladies in the church I will type in http://www.homeliving.blogspot.com/ to do a little bit of reading.  As I'm typing in the address for your blog, I'm usually thinking:  "How is Lydia doing and what has she been writing about lately?"

When I walk through the door of your blog it's like I get to visit with a dear kindred spirit.  The sights of lovely portraits and vignettes of domestic glory delight the eyes of one who is hungering and thirsting for righteousness.  And then to take the time to read what you have written is like filling one's cup with the wonderful word of life applied to homemaking.  

Before it sounds like I am gushing I'm going to reign myself in and tell you one of the reasons for writing this little email note to you.  Like you, I'm in my sixties and I remember when I first started to read blogs written by ladies filled with delightful inspirational articles on homemaking and homeschooling and encouragement to live a sweet, contented Godly life as sisters-in-the-LORD.  In the last several years I've gone from homeschooling my three sons to now helping my daughters-in-law to homeschool my grandchildren so I've had very limited time to browse the old places I looked at several years ago.  Many of them are no longer there and some of the ones I used to go to have changed drastically.

Now, when I walk through some of their doors I still see some of the things that drew me to their blog in the first place.  However, I don't feel so much at home anymore because the ladies who author those sites have turned their blogs and websites into a money making business.  And to top it off some of the ladies who started out encouraging other ladies to "come home" from their jobs downtown to learn contentment in homemaking, relying on God's means of provision through their husbands - Now those same ladies are tutoring other ladies on how to make an income through blog writing.  And they are making a profit while teaching the other ladies how to do it, too.

So, the reason for my writing to you is to not only thank you for your work that you've done over the years in writing good sound counsel for other ladies on your blog, but also to thank you for not turning your "Home Living" blog into a "Business Making" blog.

It is true that the ideal woman described in Proverbs 31 is a shrewd industrious woman who re-invests her husband's capital to make a profit, but I believe she acted more as a steward of her husband's provision than the women in the church today who work to bring in a second income to add to their husband's provision.

The resulting message of all this is confusing to our daughters and granddaughters because we tell them to come home and focus on homemaking and then we set before them examples of homeschooling moms who are making thousands of dollars on their computers.  The only thing we've done is to change the geographical location of their work desk from downtown to their office at home.  Their attention is divided and they certainly aren't learning contentment and how to trust in God's means of provision through their husbands.

And, now I must abruptly bring this letter to a conclusion because my husband has finished working on the taxes and is about to go to bed.  I beg your pardon for a hastily written note which hasn't been proofread before sending it, but I won't be able to get back to this until toward the end of next week because I'm going to be at my daughter-in-law's house helping her keep her house going.  She just had a baby eight days ago.  So Olivia now has a sister named Evelyn.

May God bless you as you seek to walk faithfully in The Way that He has laid out before you.

Vivian