Remembering the Best

For a man who can't remember if he just had dinner five minutes before, my husband has remembered all week that we discussed going to church today. So I couldn't deny him the opportunity to attend the early service at the large college church this morning. I purposely only mentioned it that one time and waited to see if he would remember our conversation.

He mentioned it last night again for the first time in many days since we first discussed it, so I knew we would be going. I just couldn't deny him something that he has missed so much. Church attendance with him has proven very stressful for me in the recent past, and he has basically stopped attending our home church because of it.

But he wore his dress pants, street shoes, even tucked his shirt in today, like I requested. As a matter of fact, he was on his best behavior the whole time. We got there just as the service started, and left immediately afterward in order to meet the bath aide who was to arrive at the house at eleven o'clock. I, for one, breathed a sigh of relief when we pulled back into our driveway at home. All potential disasters averted.

What thrilled me the most though was the fact that he remembered that we talked about attending church today. For a man who forgets almost everything, even important things like food, it shows where his priorities lie. There is a portion of Dean's brain that isn't damaged or showing signs of old age. And that is his desire to worship God.

Oh, that we all had that priority straight in our lives. Forgetting all else, let's all remember God.

Filthy Rags

While Dean was occupied in the living room today, I sneaked off to the bedroom to arrange his clothes to wear for tomorrow. For years now, I've had to put his clothes in the hamper on the sly because he never thinks they're dirty enough.

As I was changing the suspenders on his jeans and transferring his pocket contents to the clean pair, I thought of how many times Jesus has probably taken care of me when I wasn't aware of it, when I didn't trust Him enough with my care, or when I thought I knew what was best for me when I really didn't.

Dean is so vocal about telling people what a good wife and caregiver I am. I need to do likewise and let as many as possible know what a wonderful Lord and Savior I have.

Jesus has changed my filthy rags to clean ones more times than I can count. But only because of our love for each other. My love for Jesus and Dean's love for me. You have to love and trust your caregiver.

Wardrobe Changes

There's one good thing about seasonal weather changes, and that's the wardrobe changes that it requires. At least in my part of the country--the good ol' Midwest. I especially love switching to the warm weather clothes in the spring because it means no more winter for awhile. But the changes for cooler weather are almost as welcome.

I've recently called my long jeans into service again. And the exciting part is how loose they fit around my middle. Summer is usually my time for dropping a few pounds, but this summer I have really made an effort to slim down and get fit. www.myfitnesspal.com has been a big help in providing an excellent online food and exercise diary. Check it out and see for yourself. It's a free account.

Another fitness tool to check out is called your Bible. It will help you be fit for heaven, a much worthier goal. And you guessed it, it's free. Don't wait for the weather to change though. Just like we see signs of winter approaching, we see signs of Christ's Coming already here. But it's not too late to start getting fit. Let your Bible be your guidebook for better spiritual health.

Organized Clutter

Yesterday I cleaned out my clothes closet and drawers. I had a big bag of clothes for the trash, one for donations, and one to try to sell on consignment. And today it was the bookcases in the living room. When I was through, I had one bag of trash, one pile to give away, and another pile of things to relocate.

Now here's the kicker after all that work. My closet looks just as full. And my bookcases don't look any emptier. I thought I was going through them with a fine tooth comb, but evidently it must have been one of those wide tooth shower combs for getting out tangles. All I can say is that my clutter is more attractive now. The librarian in me mandates if you have to have clutter, it must at least be organized.

Something tells me that God doesn't see our lives that way though. Clutter (sin) is clutter with Him, regardless of how it's packaged. I pray that I can clean out my ugly habits and character traits with that fine tooth comb called the Ten Commandments. I'll be glad then when I move into my heavenly mansion. It'll be a nice, clean move. No work involved. Piece of cake.

We know where the clothes disappeared TO, but where did they come FROM?

Leftover Gifts

I donated some clothing today. Some sweatshirts, scarves, caps, and gloves for winter. As worthy as that may have been, I feel no satisfaction, because there really was no sacrifice in the gift. If I were to add some food to my donation basket, I doubt if that would have been sacrificial either. I confess, I give leftovers.

Face it, most of us give leftovers--things that don't fit or that we've lost our fondness for or that we have too much of. The sad truth is our gifts benefit us as much as the recipients, because they leave us with more closet space, which we can quickly fill up again by another fun shopping trip.

Instead of thinking about that shopping trip or that clean-organized closet though, I'm going to try to think of the person who got the sweatshirts and other things today. It would be so worthwhile for some homeless person, who's struggling to stay warm to get these items. I'm hoping the people I gave them to would be servicing just that kind of client. The gift may have seemed insignificant to me, but somewhere someone may be thrilled to get something different to wear. If nothing else, I pray it lifts their spirits just a little.

Perhaps my real gift today was not the clothes, but the prayers.

What Shall We Wear?

My thoughts this afternoon went to the weather again. My 3-yr.-old granddaughter has to trust me and her mother on what to wear that will keep her warm, but not too warm, on these unpreditable autumn days. She has to trust our judgment for what are appropriate clothes for the day's outside activities. She, however, is very obstinate about making these choices herself, as all mothers of toddlers can attest.

We adults, on the other hand, are at times just as distrustful of God's judgment when it comes to our inward and outward attire. But God, in His infinite wisdom, is totally trustworthy because He KNOWS the future. Even the best weather forecasters can't match His predictions.

Where are God's forecasts, you might be asking? In the Bible, of course. And the Bible clearly points us to appropriate seasonal attire in Ephesians 6:10-18. Dress yourself in the armor of God and you will be ready for the vilest weather this earth can produce!