There Came a Great Spider, Who Sat Down Beside Her...

Who remembers this nursery rhyme….“Little Miss Muffet, she sat on a tuffet; Eating her curds and whey; There came a great spider, who sat down beside her, and frightened Miss Muffet away.” ? I do so wish that I had, like Miss Muffet, SEEN the spider who sat down beside me and had been frightened away! HOWEVER, I did not see him and evidently I sat on him and got two bites on the back of both thighs! Grrrrrr!

It happened on a Thursday night. I did not see a spider but did see the saucer sized rash/whelps that appeared several hours after I felt just a little burning sensation on my legs. Thinking it was just some kind of reaction to using a different laundry detergent, I tried putting anti-itch medicine on my legs over the weekend but was miserable. The rash was red and raw and "weeping"...and spreading! I could not stand to sit for very long at a time so had to miss Sunday night church services.

First thing on Monday morning I called my doctor’s office to see if they could work me in. Yes! Be there at 10:15 ! When my doctor came in and asked what my problem was I began to tell her I thought I must have had an allergic reaction to the detergent. Then she looked at my legs and said with a gasp…”Oh honey! Those are spider bites!!!” I was in shock! That had not even entered my mind! She started naming off all the things she wanted to give me…..antibiotics by mouth, antibiotic ointment, steroid crème, Benadryl, and a Tetanus shot!

Well, it was a pretty uncomfortable week but God has been good and I’m almost healed up I think. I still have two very large pink blotchs that itch some on both legs but it’s SO much better than it was last week that I can’t complain!

Several people told me they were surprised that I got bitten by a spider IN MY HOME ! Well, I have 2 explanations. 1)I guess I'm not getting rid of spider webs in all the corners like some of my friends must do. And 2) spiders can be ANYWHERE, as documented in Proverbs 30:28 which says, "The spider taketh hold with her hands, and IS IN kings' palaces." So I guess it happens to the best of us sometimes. lol

As I said, in contrast to Little Miss Muffet, I never saw the spider but I did see the results of the spider being there! Sometimes we’re like Miss Muffet….sin is blatant and easy to see and we are frightened by it and so steer clear of it and the harm it will bring. But sometimes we’re like I was and don’t see the danger that is right in the chair with us! Sin may sneak up on us and we are bitten and suffering the consequences before we know what happened!

I guarantee you that I have been very diligent in trying to get down every spider’s web I have seen in the past week and a half. I have taken pictures down and dusted behind them. I have pulled out furniture and dusted and mopped. I scan the shower before I get in. I LOOK before I sit down. I’m counting on that old saying of Ben Franklin’s… “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

And so it is with sin. We should always be on the lookout for it. Sometimes it’s out in the open. But all too often it hides in corners. In dark places. Or in places where you least expect it. Don’t let it sneak up on you!

Many thanks to all of you who have been praying for me! May God bless you and I hope that every one who is reading this has a wonderful Thanksgiving !

Marilyn

What Happened to Thanksgiving?

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations. Psalm 100: 4-5(KJV)

A few nights ago I was watching the local news when the news anchor made a statement that made me both mad and sad. He remarked that although many people still had jack-o-lantern pumpkins sitting on their front porches, the department stores already had their decorations out for “our next holiday”. Well, I knew very well that he was talking about Christmas but that is not our next holiday. What happened to Thanksgiving?…the oldest, purest, truly American holiday we celebrate? And, please!…..don’t call it “Turkey Day” either! It’s true what the news anchor said….the stores are all getting ready for the Christmas rush. Why is that? Why do people decorate for Halloween and Christmas but almost totally ignore Thanksgiving?

I think that the main reason may be that so many people have become self-sufficient to the extent that they believe they have made themselves what they are and don’t owe any thanks to anyone. More and more people are forgetting that everything they have ultimately has been given to them by a loving God. (“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1: 17)

We have such a high standard of living in our country that many people have never had to do without the basic necessities and therefore are not grateful for the things they have. Even many of the ones who do live in poverty believe that someone “owes” them a better life and may not be grateful for the things they do have. (“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy” II Timothy 3: 2 )

God has been gradually pushed farther and farther in the background in the past twenty-five years or so and now this great day that was set aside to give thanks to God for all He has done for us is reduced to nothing more than parades, football games and “Turkey Day”. (“Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100: 3)

As Christians, let us truly give thanks as we celebrate Thanksgiving this year and remember that all our blessings are because of the wonderful mercies and love of our Lord. We don’t want our children and grandchildren to ask us some day…”Can you tell me the story of how you used to have a Thanksgiving Day?”

Let’s keep the day alive!“For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Psalm 100: 5

May each of you have a blessed time of giving thanks this year is my prayer!

Marilyn

(I've posted this in years past so you may have read it already....but it is SO much the feeling of my heart this Thanksgiving season!)

Recycling My Wardrobe

I've been doing some sewing. Last year about this time I bought the striped material you see in the picture to make a skirt to match the maroon blouse. And I'm JUST NOW making it! Can you say S.L.O.W.?? I'll blame it on age! ha

The outfit needed something gold at the top to balance it out I thought. I tried a gold necklace but that didn't seem right. A scarf was what I wanted. I looked at all my scarves but none of them were the right color or else they were some kind of print that would never match a striped skirt. The ivory scarf (above)with the metallic gold stripes was the "kind" of scarf I wanted for this outfit, but the wrong color. It was too light!

Then I had a bright idea! Why not recycle it and make it the color I needed? Sooooo....I decided to do it the old fashioned way! I got a pan of water, a large teabag, and some turmeric spice and prepared my homemade dye. A little brown from the tea, a little yellow from the turmeric and I should have just about the color I was looking for!

After the mixture came to a boil, I put the ivory scarf in and let it "steep" for about three minutes.

Then out came the new golden colored (recycled) scarf!

I need to press the wrinkles out but am safisfied with the color I have now! (What do you think?) I feel like a pioneer woman almost with my naturally colored scarf! ha

While looking for a verse with "yellow" in it to use here today, I came across this one in Psalm 68:13 "Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."

This verse always reminds me that it doesn' matter where we come from....whether we have been cast aside to lie "among the pots" or even what some would call the garbage heap....that when Jesus comes into our lives we are changed completely and forever to be as beautiful in spirit as though we had wings of silver and feathers of yellow gold! I will be reminded of this as I wear my "new" scarf this fall !

Marilyn