Sunday, August 16, 2020

The Adventures of Being a Wife



Connie's Kitchen


{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. May 16, 2011.}


(Part 1)

Why do we think that we should have a perfect marriage that goes along with the world without a hitch?

 Really, the Bible says that we as wives should sacrifice as Christ did on the cross. . . And the husband too is to be as Christ to the wife. . . He is as the priest of the home.  We are to become one with our husbands and one in Christ. . . And that don't come overnight.  

Jim and I really never understood each other or communicated very well in the flesh.  But in the area of faith we moved freely. . . We saw many miracles. . . Not that Jim was religious, but he seemed to understand faith for the impossible.  He pushed me in the spirit to believe and I pushed him. . . I feel I have a lot to say on this, but to put it into words?  I followed Jim. . . And even now, as he went to Heaven, I seem to want to follow him. . . Well I do follow him.  I loved him in the spirit. . . And my spirit is always with him.

We weren't perfect. . . We saw in part dimly, but in heaven we will see it all clearly.  Jim used to sing this old song.  Here are the words:  "My Prayer is to linger with you. . .At the end of the day. . . for as long as we live."  I have been singing this song this morning.  I am sure Jim hears me.  Jim always said I saved his life.   And the truth is, he saved mine too. . . We were called for each other. . .


(Part 2)


I hear many women say, "Well, I married the wrong guy.  No wonder it didn't turn out right."  But God hates divorce . . . The Lord says to stay with the one you are married to.  Why do we think our marriages have to be perfect to be blessed? We are called as helpers to each other. . . To fit into each other. . .  to fit into God's plan for our lives.  

Out of my marriage to Jim, I became a Titus 2 mother. . . Jim became a loving, endearing father.  We pushed and pulled on each other's spirit for many years.   The bottom dropped out many times. We had to believe for the possible out of impossibilities. But it was good for us.  God called us, to tell us,"All things are possible to those who CAN BELIEVE."

We were called to live out a life of miracles.  The hard times are when we learn to use spiritual muscles we forgot we had. . . Reading books on faith is a good thing.  But you can't learn how to use faith until you have to.  

I think the message here is, "All is well."  All things work together for good to those who love God, and are called according to His purpose. . . Also, "be sure to dance with whoever brought ya."


Love Connie



{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }






* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.* 





















Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Homemade Housewife Book



Connie's Kitchen


{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. May 11, 2010.}



  I used to write my housework ideas down.  If you can make an old fashioned, housewifery book. . . it will come in handy. . . Maybe just take notebook paper and bind it with ribbon or brown string.  Make a cover for it out of maybe a brown sack.  On a Sunday night, in the evening, write ideas for the following week of housewifery.  

Make a general idea of a 7 day menu, mainly for the family meal for each day. . . Such as Monday:  goulash. Tuesday: hot dogs and beans, etc,. Just a general idea.  Then write a grocery list for your week . . Then top clean each day and do deep cleaning after naps. .  . from like 2:00 to 4:00.

 Have a special project like Monday: wash bedding. Tuesday: do extra baking, etc,.  But write down each day what the special project would be.  Just make a schedule of ideas and try to follow them or bounce off of them.  If you get distracted, at least you still have your housewifery ideas to look back on.  

  And ya know, I am just making suggestions.  If you try some of these ideas and you can't get them to work, just tweak them to fit your life.

  Basically top clean in the mornings and get the family meal started by 9:00 a.m. and the kitchen cleaned.  Then fix lunch and rest with the children.  Then, in the afternoon, do your special project, like sewing or doing extra baking, or cleaning out closets, or under your bed.  Or a special day to do extra gardening, or paint the porch.  

But by like 4:00 start supper.  Then free time after supper to do family things.  Then put the children to bed with plenty of kisses and hugs and prayers.



Love Connie



{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }






* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.* 





















Friday, August 7, 2020

Faith and Homemaking



Connie's Kitchen


{From the Archives of Connie's Letters. May 23, 2012.}


 Ya know Mary L., my mentor, was so spiritual. .  . She spent
a lot of time laying face down before Jesus' feet praying. . . She was a great woman of prayer. . . And through her I met a lot of women of prayer.  I do feel a great urgency to talk to you about spiritual things, along with the homemaking spirit. 


 I think we need to know our way around the spiritual realm too. . . Things seem to get worse by the day for our country.  We need to
be strong in the Lord and in His power.  I remember when Jim was first saved and we were trying to make it as a family.  I felt so absolutely lost. I know some of you feel that way too. . I hear ya. 


Well anyway, Mary L. started these classes called, "The Philosophy of Womanhood." We ladies would get together at Mary's house every week and listen to a tape. Then we had worksheets to do each class too. . . Every week I felt washed in the Word of God.  I wouldn't be here today, I don't think, had I not had those tapes. 

Well then later on a friend copied these tapes for me and I listened to them every day here at home.  I wore the tapes out.  I would have 2 tape recorders going: one in the kitchen on homemaking, and one in the living room on faith.  So I could hear the recordings all over the house at different times.  And that's what it is all about. . . Faith and homemaking. . . It isn't all homemaking and it isn't all Faith.  They have to go together.  And Mary L. loved her homemaking and her family.  She loved her dishes and enjoyed having folks over for a meal. She would make wonderful recipes.

She was sick for just a short while before she died at, I think, 78 years old.  But right up to the end she was cooking and cleaning, ironing and sewing.

 Russ, her husband,  still goes to work every day. . . He is 84, I think.  But when she was alive, they lived like they did in their 40's or 50's.  Every day they got up at 4:30.  Mary fixed Russ's lunch for work and a big breakfast.  While Russ was at work, Mary was at home doing her homemaking. Mary said when she would get mad at Russ, she would tell Jesus about it. . And she said the Lord would say to her, "Mary, do you have all of Russ's laundry done? Do you have all of the buttons sewn on his work shirts? And are they ironed?"  Mary was so sweet.   I sure do miss her.
 
Love Connie



{Note from the administrator: This writing has been gleaned from the archives of Connie's letters. Find out more about the posts on this blog by reading this introduction. }






* Order Connie's book, "Dear Kitchen Saints," available on Amazon. It is autobiographical and tells the beautiful story of her marriage testimony! You will be encouraged in old time homemaking.*