Redemption......

I redeemed something today.

This is Summer's book bag from her school days back in the 1970's.

It's been redeemed more than once.

This bag first represented a deeply painful period in my daughter's life.

She carried her school books home in this bag and then back to school again. ALL her books. Every.single.one. Every.single.day.

It was a long difficult time. However, God gave her grace and the perseverance to survive the things she went through during  childhood and even gain strength to overcome other adversities later in life. While this bag symbolized trauma and pain in my heart for the pain my daughter experienced - I decided that, instead of throwing the bag away, I would redeem it. Give it another chance for happy memories instead of sad ones. That's when I started using it for my art bag. It was 1976 and I had just signed up for my first art class. I loved and embraced art and when I painted my first landscape, I cried when I stepped back and saw that the canvas really DID look like sky and mountains and trees.

Never mind that 20 years later - when I was teaching landscape painting to a class here at my dining room table - I promised to show the ladies MY very first landscape at the end of the class. 

I will never forget what one of the ladies said when I displayed it......

"Well! All I can say is that I'm surprised you continued to paint!"

There's always SOMEONE around to keep us humble!!!

The second time I redeemed this bag was when I decided to paint art ON it instead of carrying the art supplies IN it. I hang this now decorated bag up on a doorknob somewhere every fall. And it makes me remember that God can redeem anything and everything and he gave US that gift as well.

Today was this bag's THIRD redemption.

It is old. Summer is now 53 and she used this bag when she was in her young teenage years.

The seams have come loose and the straps began to fray.

This morning I sat down at the sewing machine and repaired every bit of that.

It is now as sturdy as ever.

They don't make things sturdy anymore. Things are not made to LAST as they used to be.

This bag has many more years of use fullness left in it!

Just because we get frayed and worn and old - God still has a purpose for us being here.

Not only does he have a purpose for us - he delights in our delight in Life!

I think I have finally shed the last bit of the mully grubs that had me down.

I wasn't feeling good about myself for a little while there.

That's when I need to remember that I have the grace of God available to me.

I never want to be ungrateful or mean spirited - but sometimes those feelings come even unbidden!

As I sewed this morning, I thought about this verse.....

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.

Hebrews 12:15

The thing about memorizing scripture - it will come back to your mind when you need it!

Oh, MY!!! I did not mean to 'wax elequent' as I call it!!!

So - in other news!

Louis Dean slept late again - for the third morning in a row!

Tuesday he woke up at noon - Wednesday it was 11:30 - today was about the same time!

I took advantage of the this time to clean and decorate the 'main' bathroom.

He asked me to NOT say 'Louis Dean's' bathroom!

I was thinking 'outside the box' when I staple gunned a fall table runner up over the shower/bathtub!

I like it!

The lights stay here year round but I 'falled' it up!

I love putting fall 'debris' in EVERY single room of the house!!!

The bathroom won't always look as nice as I made it today.

Louis Dean has a tendency to mess it up and leave all the things he takes out of his pockets on the counter and his clothes on the floor.

No matter. He has ME! And when we are expecting guests, I will pretty it back up.

Do you think he can find his stash of Pepsodent Toothpaste in here???

He FINALLY woke up and I fixed breakfast for lunch!

My sister, Nita, fixes the best Breakfast Burritos when we spend the night over there!

I have learned to make them, too! I whisk the eggs with some cheese, a little milk, some peppers and seasonings...... rolled up in those awesome Hatch chili tortillas and served up with some Island Salsa from Trader Joe's and a side of diced watermelon - really GOOD watermelon from Central Market! - oh, YUM!!! All that was missing was a dollop of sour cream! I THOUGHT I had some - but I didn't.... It was a good meal anyway!

I decided to clean our bedroom today and one thing led to another and before I knew what had happened......Louis Dean made the decision that TODAY was the day that we would get a new bed! Mattress and box springs!

We have talked about getting one but just kept putting it off.

How much trouble is it when you turn over in the middle of the night and roll into the middle of the BED??? Or how hard is it to wrap your foot around the edge of the mattress to hang on for the night on your own side of the bed??? Well, that time is over!!!

I have been washing every single piece of our bedding all afternoon! 

So WHAT do you do with an old and extremely HEAVY mattress and box springs?

It was a real chore getting it out of the bedroom this afternoon!

To take it to the city dump would cost $40 - because Louis Dean's truck is a one ton. And they charge by the axle if it's a ton or more. $10 per 1/4 ton.

When I married Louis Dean, over 12 years ago, he simply threw it over his shoulder and hauled it IN!

This afternoon, he bagged it up and hauled it OUT!

I have never seen anyone break down a mattress and box springs and  sack it up in heavy duty trash sacks and take it to the curb!

But, then again, we are talking about LOUIS DEAN!!!

This is my favorite pic of the day!

Every chance I had to take a break, I sat here and listened to my music and played my games or sent emails or checked Facebook or Blogger.

As I write, Louis Dean and I are in the gazebo visiting over a glass of wine before we CLIMB into our new bed for the first time.....

I close my journal post tonight with thoughts and prayers for my dear friend, Reaoma, and her daughter, Pam.

The next two photos and words are from Pam's post on her mom's Facebook page.

just a short update: mom is under hospice care now, she is still at the same place where she has been living. She is still eating and drinking, but does sleep a lot. Prayers for her to pass peacefully in her sleep one night.

Mom sleeping with her "baby Oma".

This is the rest of the "family". Her grandmother June, Little Reaoma, her uncle "Tom Tom", her daughter Pam.

Reaoma made all these wonderful porcelain dolls.

Saying a prayer for both Mother and Daughter tonight as I close.
Ruth Ann and I will be visiting Reaoma tomorrow on our way to Fort Worth.
There is always more joy than sadness when it comes to times like this.
Thinking of and praying for my friend......
and remembering all the wonderful times we shared together.