Sunflower Faith

So we’re all sitting here, watching the news and waiting to see if the inevitable will happen…snow.

Currently the forecast is calling for maybe an inch to 3 inches of snow and for our area, snow is a pretty big event and novelty, since it’s not the norm, at any time, to expect snow.

The downside too, is the fact that if we do get snow tonight, tomorrow’s drive for many will be both ugly and difficult, due to ice on the overpasses and we live in an environment, that since snow isn’t the norm, many aren’t prepared for the freeze that comes with it.

Unlike homes in the northern areas, homes here weren’t designed for cold weather, so naturally the concern about pipes bursting  is due to not being insulated or needing to be insulated from cold weather, icy patches on overpasses and driver’s not accustomed to driving in freezing/snowy situations.

Many of the schools have closed down and for those who can or are able to stay home or work from home, that is the alternative.

For us, snow will be a novelty, IF, it happens, though right now, it’s more of a cold chill and dark skies. So who knows what will happen after midnight?? Maybe we will get some snow….even if it’s just an inch.

Credit: Free images from acobox.com;Snow on Branch by Soxred93

That’s what we’ve been doing….surprisingly the forecast is calling out for snow, which for our area is beyond unusual and nothing like the blizzard that many are experiencing right now, but still, for our area, any snow is excitement.

So who knows..maybe we will see ice..maybe we will see just a lot of wind or maybe…just maybe…hoping..we can see some snow!

Amydeanne of “The 160 Acre Woods” created this work from one of the many books she read and this one particular is by Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe for one of his many books, “Be Authentic”.

What a great thought to think about isn’t it!

Okay, it’s technically not the first day of the New Year, but it is a New Year…..and last year, is well…last year.

I’m not big on making New Year’s resolutions, because with the busyness of lists and everyday life, as is, it’s bound to be broken, but I do make resolutions, in and through our Heavenly Father.

They’re nothing grand really, but just the simple things in life.

• Commit to read through the Bible, particularly since I find Leviticus (a huge stumbling road for me all the time), a lot easier to read these days.
• Try to be a lot less fearful, God IS in control, no matter what.
• Gain a little more confidence in myself and what our Father has blessed me with
• Breathe…..just breathe
• Laugh. It’s funny how easy it is we forget to laugh and it reminds me of a quote that I shared via Facebook , by Jerry Bridges, from “Pursuit of Holiness” that went,”God intends the Christian life to be a life of joy – not drudgery. The idea that holiness is associated with a dour disposition is a caricature of the worst sort.” It’s so easy to focus on the doom and gloom in things that in the process, I think, we miss out that our Father also wants us to enjoy the world He has created. We are so quick to point out, “Yes, but….” and one wonders, as G.D. Watson did,”?”Without tenderness of spirit the most intensely righteous, religious life is like the image of God without His beauty and attractiveness.”

Then there is this: It’s the Resolutions of John Edwards, that was passed around, during the New Year, and as I read them, while listening to the video, thought, hey…these are pretty good:

We’ve been blessed with a New Year dear friends!! Prayers our Father blesses you and your family with overflowing blessings!

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning;great is your faithfulness.”The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”Lamentations 3:22-24 (English Standard Version)

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Image by sundstrom

There’s a pro and con to clothes line drying.

The pro is that we are using a renewable energy source (wind and sun),and  it’s cost effective due to a significant drop in our electricity bill, however the only cons I’ve discovered have been:

• No last minute drying-if you need it and it hasn’t been washed and dried….well….need to find an alternative though there are a few times, we’ve had to run to the laundromat instead, but that is rare.
• If you let the laundry accumulate it leads to a very busy day.

However, because of a conscious effort not to let laundry accumulate, it’s really made a significant change in how often we do laundry as well.

Over time, I’ve notice that not only do we have an established schedule (woohoo, always a good thing) in when we do laundry, but our load has dropped considerably due to the turn around rate.

See.

Clothes dry faster on a line and there is a fast turn around rate, but with it, there is a significant drop in loads to be cleaned and dried (unless you have a big family then that will not apply).

I  wonder if it’s because we are more conscious of when and how we do the laundry ,that we are being more conservative.

I mean that ,in the sense, clothes just aren’t left to pile in the laundry basket anymore to be cleaned but are often done,  in small loads, quicker and reducing the amount of laundry that needs to be done.

Now if it’s large scale, say bedsheets, yes…that’s a day out of that, but for the most part….smaller loads are done on shorter spans and then quickly brought outside to dried.

The argument could be, we are still using the washer and consuming energy, but here’s the thing.

The washer isn’t running as often.

We found we could do more with less (i.e. cut our water consumption so another side effect is we noticed our water use has dropped) and also by being more conservative how and when we wash.

In the beginning,we were talking big loads…but we made it a day (or two) of just doing the laundry, getting them hung, hanging the clothes, repeat, then I noticed a trend.

Clothes in the laundry basket dwindled.

Laundry day(s) reduced to a laundry day and even then, we are talking one day out of the week versus maybe one, two or three.

For the size of our family, that worked.

But, it’s funny the reactions.

“It’s the 21st century…..”

Well..yes…yes it is, but there are communities who out of necessity still use clothesline.

I’ve had shared, that when people go out hiking, they “gasp” use a clothesline to dry their clothes. It’s using a renewable power source,plus I thought being green was cool.

Did I miss out on the what’s cool thing again?

“You can buy a dryer that is environmentally friendly and conserve energy….”

Thank you.

Are you offering to buy one for us?

How is using a consumable, finite, power source we have to pay for better really than a renewable, free, non-costly (except for time and energy I spend hanging and taking down and folding) better?

Confused.

Thought not having to pay an arm and leg for electricity was a good thing. Not to mention. Cool thing. Did we miss out on something again?

Confused.

Not to mention….why pay for the “fresh linen” or “outdoor breeze” fabric softeners when we are getting the real thing….for free…

Would love to hear from anyone else who uses clothesline in the 21st century.

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