Bathroom - Part 3

Did you ever get excited watching paint dry? Well, ok neither did I - but I am excited to see the painting done in the bathroom. I know it doesn't look like much, but I am happy. Dale had never done sponge painting before but he did a fantastic job and it looks great! Next we (meaning my darling husband) gets to start doing the tile work - floors, lower half of the wall and the tub surround all the way to the ceiling. Every thing is one step closer to being back to two bathrooms!!

36 Wonderful Years

Here we are on May 17, 1974. I was 17 (almost 18) amd Dale was 19 (almost 20.)

Here we are Dec 2009, standing at the edge of Lake Michigan. We were freezing on the outside, but our hearts were warm with love on the inside.

I praise God and thank Him for the 36 years of joy together.

Perseverance

Every morning I get on the treadmill before I get ready for work. It amazes me how different mornings bring different physical feelings. There are some mornings I begin my workout and jog easily for the allotted time and the time goes quickly. Then there are some mornings I feel like I am running with hundred pound weights on my legs and time drags. I have wondered about what is the difference between one morning and the next.

But it also brings me to consider what Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:7, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith." My spiritual life seems to be similiar to my physical workouts. There are days when my prayer time seems to soar - I am focused on Christ, I truly meet with Him and rejoice in the time. Then there are days when I am distracted and struggle to keep my mind focused and have to plead with God to keep my eyes on Him. My daily desire is to serve Him and keep my thoughts and desires focused on Him but there are days when "For that which I do I know not: for not what I would, that do I practice; but what I hate, that I do." Rom. 7:15

Bathroom - Part 2

This is the cement board around the tub. You can see the plumbing for the faucet, knob and shower.

This is the plumbing for the sink. You can see the edge of the tub on the bottom right. The vanity will run from the tub to the wall.

The hole in the wall to the left is for a 7 inch deep cabinet. Storage has been a major problem in this bathroom but the toilet sits beneath the window you see on the right so we didn't want a cabinet sticking out making it so we would bump our heads. Dale came up with the great idea of recessing the cabinet so it will only stick out 3 inches. Didn't I say he was wonderful?

He only has one more thing to do before he can start on the flooring. I get more nervous as we begin finishing. Decorating is not my forte' and I worry that I will not like the granite top with the tile we chose. We will have 12" tiles on the floor and 6" tiles on the wall going about half-way up in the room and to the ceiling in the tub area. We chose a light tile (vanilla) since the bathroom is small but chose a darker color (mocha) to do accent lines.

Commitment

Today my mother and father have been married for 61 years. A young man I know asked me if they still liked each other. I had to laugh. My mom and dad are wonderfully in love with each other. Momma doesn't see well, so daddy is her "seeing eye dog." Daddy hasn't felt well this winter with all the really cold weather and momma has worried over him. They are a blessing to me - and a lesson in what true commitment is.


There are so many levels of commitment in our lives. I have to ask myself: Am I faithful in all the commitments I have?

First, I have my commitment to the Lord. He has to be first and foremost in my life. I was nothing, a worm in the filth of my sin and He reached out to me and saved my soul. My only true worth is found in Him. As an extension of that commitment is my commitment to my church. God has placed me (and I hope placed you) in your church. Each of us are a vital part of the church body. Are you an eye? an arm? maybe just a little toe. It doesn't matter, you are a part of a body and I have no part of my body that I want to live without - not even my little toe. In this day and age the commitment to the local church is almost non-existent. I pray you will seek God and beg Him to make you a vital and serving part of your local church. Ask Him to give you commitment to His bride.

Second, I have my commitment to my husband. He is my friend, my sweetheart and the love of my life. God has blessed me with a Godly man who truly loves me with a sacrificial love. Even if your spouse does not love you with such a love, I encourage you to love him in a Godly manner. Along with this commitment is a commitment to my pastor. (I am blessed that my husband is also my pastor. So I get two commitments covered for the price of one.) To uphold that commitment, I pray daily that God will bless his time of study and grant him great wisdom as he leads the people of God.


After this the commitments are not as clearly lined out as far as order of importance. I have a commitment to my children and grandchild (soon to be grandchildren.) I pray for them, love them, encourage them and enjoy the blessing they are to me.


I have my commitment to my parents. I see them every week but I sometimes wonder if that is enough. I need to call and check on them more often. I need to make sure they know how much I love them and pray for them.


Then there are commitments to my more extended family, to my boss, to my neighbors and friends. All of these commitments listed here are important and deserve time and energy. Most of all, they are commitments given to me by God. I can only pray that He will grant me the time and energy to keep each and every one.