Jars

Canning jars filled with delicious fruits and jellies always fill my heart with joy. It must be a trait handed down from my grandmothers of many generations. The contentment of a full pantry; evidence of a bountiful harvest and provision for the winter ahead.

Well, I'm not a farmer and I hardly have time to put up even one batch these years, but last weekend we did something that gives me the same wonderful feeling that all is well. It is so silly! We gathered up all our gallon, wide-mouthed jars and starting filling them with the random things in our pantry. Cereal, nuts, marshmallows, raisens, candy, crackers. Once we got started we ran out of jars and had to go get more. Michael spearheaded this adventure and when the day was over he called me to admire his handiwork. WOW! Not only does it look orderly and give us oodles more space, but you can see what you have in a glance. All this for the whopping expenditure of $12. Why did we ever give up glass?

Move over Rubbermaid and Tupperware, glass rules!

New Year's Plans

I am a planner! I suspect I have been one since day one. I like to know where I am going and how I am going to get there. It seems logical to me, in fact I have started work on a book about God's Plan for my life. The first part of writing has been to research what the Bible has to say about Plans. I went to my favorite verse:

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

How it blesses me to know that God has plans for my life. That even 'over-the-hill' I have a future in His eyes. More than that what I saw in this verse is that He Knows the plans. He doesn't say he is going to share them with me, or that I have to figure them out. But He knows. And that is more than enough.