A Weekend Of Overflowing Cups

I started doing spring cleaning last week, getting rid of the dust and the dog hair that has accumulated over the winter. It's been wonderful to open up the house, air things out and really do a deep cleaning of our home. Until you're really in the thick of things, you don't realize how a little bit of dirt and clutter quickly spread.

Part of the process for me has been getting rid of things we haven't used since we moved back to Iowa, paring down things I have duplicates of and organizing everything that is left. I truly believe that a cluttered home leads to a cluttered mind, so with how cluttered my brain has felt lately, apparently this needed to be done.

But when I attacked the kitchen this week, there was one cabinet I couldn't thin out. This isn't the only cabinet that has coffee cups in it, but it's the one with the most coffee cups in it. The problem, I think, is that they each hold a memory — they are places we've been, people we knew and moments we want to remember. I don't mind giving up a cabinet if it makes me smile when I open the door.

 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anoints my head with oil; my cup runeth over. Psalm 23:5

As I pull out my favorite mug in the morning, I'm often reminded of David's prayer in the 23rd Psalm. He speaks of God in such a personal way, using "I, Me Mine" words throughout. And when he gets to the fifth verse, his heart is so full of praise that it spills over into a victory anthem. The Lord had provided for David in every situation, both for his body and his soul. It wasn't almost enough or just enough to get by — his cup was filled so full that it ran over and flooded the cup as well.

Make this a weekend of overflowing cups. Even if you're in the midst of a heart-breaking trial, God is still blessing you in countless ways. If you'll look at the saucer under the cup of your life, you're sure to find plentiful provision, not just a scattering here and there. You may need to write all the blessings down, just to make sure you remember them all. Get a book — a BIG book — and make note of the ways God has made your cup overflow with His love, mercy and grace.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Holland Creme - That Amazing White Stuff In Donuts

Image
I remember going to the grocery store every Saturday morning when I was growing up, and my favorite place in the entire store was the donut case. All the glazed, powdered and filled baked goods drew me like a magnet. My favorites, far and away, were the ones filled with that beautiful white, fluffy creme. At the time I didn't know it was called Holland Creme - I just knew it was the most amazing concoction ever. Ever. Here is my version of this sweet treat. You can make your own fried donuts and fill them, or like I did here, you can cut a crevice into store-bought donuts with a knife and fill them with creme in a piping bag. Either way, you're going to love it. Ingredients: 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup water 1 cup vegetable oil 1 cup shortening 1 cup butter 1 Tbsp vanilla 7 cups powdered sugar 1. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar and water in a sauce pan over medium heat until boiling, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow to cool complet...
Read more

Recovering An Old Card Table And Making It Usable Again

Image
This card table recover project has been on my to-do list for months. I've been using it as my workspace in the craft room for quite some time, and it sees a lot of abuse. Here it is now, with a neutral cover on it so I can take better pictures for my tutorials. There were dents and dings in the old blue covering from metal tools. And yes, I've used my embossing heat tool on it several times, leaving pretty good scars. The padding underneath the blue cover also made it difficult to keep paper crafts flat when adhering them together, so it was time for something new. That's where a simple vinyl tablecloth comes in handy. The process to recover the table is pretty simple, but I learned a couple of lessons the hard way. I share them with you now. First, don't do this on any surface but a carpet. I tried it on the deck int he sunshine to get better pictures, but all it did was tear up the cover. Second, get a second pair of hands to help you kee...
Read more

Crafts For Teen Girls To Make

Image
In our teen girls Bible study, we're studying our way through the Proverbs 31 woman and it's been such a blessing to me, as I hope it's been to them. Every month we spend an afternoon or an evening together studying Scripture, making something amazing in the kitchen and creating something that corresponds to the verse we're in. Choosing the crafts each time can be a challenge for several reasons. It needs to be something they can completely finish (or do most of) because once they leave they're probably not going to work on it themselves - that's just the nature of teenagers. Remember? It also needs to be a project that keeps they're attention, is age-appropriate and is cool enough that they'll want to keep it or give it to someone special. But hey, no pressure on the Bible study leader, right? Here are just a few of the projects we've done together in the year we've been meeting. * This month's craft will be the adorable cross stit...
Read more