my day off

Today was such a blessing. Amazed once again how much can actually be accomplished with a full day at home! We cleaned, sorted, scrubbed and swept. It's never finished of course - but we gained quite a foothold!

The thing that helps me accomplish the most is when I am willing to throw old things away. Why do we think we need SO much? We pulled old clothes from closets preparing them to be dropped off - old worthless costume jewelry in the trash and now tackling the last pile of papers from the table.

The pace at which I live often makes my house feel only like a place to sleep. Today it felt like home - clean, organized with competing smells of Clorox and homemade vegetable soup and brewing tea. I breathed it all in and a deep thankfulness for God's goodness and provision filled me.

As the day moved toward darkness I took this picture of the fading day as it fought for attention one last time with brilliant pink streaks announcing the end to our day off...