Where Are My Possessions?

 
I spent some time today caring for my possessions. 

Tidying them. Dusting them. Mopping. Vacuuming. Washing. 

As I vacuumed around the piano, I glanced up at the hymn calendar and read these words: 

On Jordan's stormy banks I stand 
And cast a wishful eye
To Canaan's fair and happy Land
Where my possessions lie.

And as I read I was reminded of where my true possessions lie. 

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:2

Winter Decorating Goes Orange

Even though I love decorating my house for Christmas (warmth . . . color . . . cheer!), I also enjoy quieting the house after the season ends.  

But some years it can seem a little too quiet. And this year was one of those years. 

I decided to decorate with citrus for the month of January. My sister had given me an orange spice candle for my birthday at the end of August and, although I had burned it in the fall, I had saved a good bit of it for winter. The candle became the inspiration for my winter décor. 

I put a few of my Christmas pomanders along with some (faux) cedar into a pewter bowl on my dining room table. I swapped out the red table square I had used for Christmas for a navy runner. 

You can see the orange spice candle burning on the sideboard. Mmmmm...

I scattered some of the dried oranges that were on the Christmas tree onto the tea service tray and added a few pinecones. 

I wanted a pop of color on the mantel, so I decided to put some pomanders there too. (These were also on our tabletop Christmas tree this year.) I dug out a trencher that I had not used since we moved into Pineapple House. Ron had made it several years ago using a beam from a barn that once stood on our Farmhouse property. (I told about it ~here~.) I was delighted to see that it fit perfectly on the mantel! I bought a set of battery operated candles from Target, placed them in the trencher, and filled in with the pomanders, faux cedar, and some pinecones. 

The candlelight is so cozy on these winter evenings! 

P.S. This has absolutely nothing to do with décor, but when a friend came for coffee last week, I made a batch of orange scones. 

I guess I'm feeling citrusy this winter. 🍊

Hidden In Its Mighty Depths

Words from this poem have been coming to my mind the past couple of days. Words about The Word . . . the Book of books.

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord, with flowers bright and fair;
And everyone who seeks may pluck a lovely cluster there.
Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine; and jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in its mighty depths for every searcher there. 

Thy Word is like a starry host: a thousand rays of light
Are seen to guide the traveler and make his pathway bright.
Thy Word is like an armory, where soldiers may repair;
And find, for life's long battle day, all needful weapons there.

Oh, may I love Thy precious Word, may I explore the mine,
May I its fragrant flowers glean, may light upon me shine!
Oh, may I find my armor there! Thy Word my trusty sword, 
I'll learn to fight with every foe the battle of the Lord. 

I have learned that this poem is also a hymn (you can hear a version ~here~ or ~here~). If I was still homeschooling, I would choose this as one of our Morning Time hymns. 

Perhaps I will listen to it each morning on my own . . . 

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Walking Into the New Year

Last January as we stood on the brink of 2020, we could not have imagined what the year would bring. 

A global pandemic. 

The loss of Ron's mom. 

The loss of my aunt. 

Social upheaval. 

So many changes of plans. Postponements. Cancellations. Endings. 

Plan A, then B, then C . . . Plan R? 

Changes of lifestyle. Changes in how we do the basics. 

Disappointment. 

Grief. 

Misunderstanding. Strained relationships. 

And yet . . . 

There was precious new grandbaby Caleb, and the news of two more grandbabies on the way! 

There were answers to prayer . . . for Caleb's restoration to good health, for safe travels across many miles, for big and small requests.

There was the birth of my cousin's sweet baby girl who has been such a gift to a family in grief. 

There has been the settling into a church home.

There has been financial provision with the ability of Ron to do his job from home. 

There has been the unfailing faithfulness of our God. 

Would I have changed any of those things, if it was in my power to change them? Absolutely! Yet my trust is in the One who knows all things and does all things well. 


So again, I stand on the cusp of a new year, not knowing what will be, and I pray this prayer with Moses of old. God had directed Moses to take His people into the Promised Land, and Moses pled with the Lord for direction, and for assurance that he had found grace in His sight. God answered him, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest." Then Moses said, 

"If your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here."

That is how I feel, here on the edges of a new year. I don't know what the days will hold, but I know that I don't want to walk through any of it, the pleasant or the uncomfortable, the easy or the difficult, without His presence.

" . . . and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." Matthew 26:20

" . . . For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you." Hebrews 13:5

The Present of Presence

The gift of time is a wonderful gift! 

This is how I've been spending mine the past week-and-a-half.

Loving on this sweet boy and his parents!
❤️❤️❤️

I'll be back to share more. But today I need to give the gift of time to my house.
(But I probably won't be able to clean the precious little handprints off of my storm door glass for a while.)

Pineapple House | Christmas Tour 2020

As I do each year, I am inviting you into Pineapple House today for a look around. We have certainly not had many house guests during this strange year of Covid-19, so I am glad that I am able to invite you here online. You'll just have to take my word that the house smells like pine (thanks to a pine candle), the coffee is on, and there are a few treats to choose from while you visit. Let's turn on some music, shall we? We have listened to this album a lot this December!   ~ click here for music ~

From the back door, you will come into our kitchen. 

You can read all about our kitchen remodel ~ here ~ ,
but if you're just here for the Christmas house tour, have a look around!

This corn husk nativity is one of our oldest Christmas decorations, older than a couple of our children! 

I love its rustic charm.

The island holds the beginnings of my newest collection: stone fruit.

These hand-carved trees were made by my 10-year-old grandson Peter!

Now we're talking! We've made it to the coffee station.

Bring your coffee into the dining room. You can sit and sip at the table as you look around.

You can read about the sideboard that Ron made ~ here ~.

We still love our stepback cupboard and I looked forward to decorating it for Christmas again this year.

You may remember me talking about this pesky wall? 

Well, after five tries, I think we're finally happy with it! (I'll be sharing more about that in January.)

I cannot wait until we're able to gather and sing around the piano again!

If you've finished your coffee -- or even if you haven't -- come on into the living room and find a comfy chair.

Yes, we switched to a tabletop tree this year and I'm not sorry about it!

The stockings are new too. (Finally.)

I treasure the olive wood nativity that our son Ryan brought us from a trip to Israel.

Now I'll stop talking and let you wonder around a bit. 

Thank you, friends, for joining me at Pineapple House today! 

I don't know about you, but our Christmas plans have changed multiple times, even this week. Who knows what each day will bring? And that is one lesson that keeps coming home to me during the past nine months: the fact that we must hold our plans loosely. Of course, that has always been the case. Life is uncertain and we are not, and never have been, in control. The events of this year have simply illuminated that fact! But the beauty in that lesson is that our loving Lord is, and always has been, in total control. There is nothing that has caught Him by surprise, and nothing that He will not use for the good of those who are His. That brings me great comfort. 

He is trustworthy. 

He is Immanuel. "God with us."

Merry Christmas to you and yours as you celebrate Immanuel! 

{All of my Christmas house tours can be found ~ here ~.}