A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

#fmfparty

A Shift in Perspective

By 10 Comments

Hey, hey, look at this!   I’m going to get my five minute Friday post actually written on a Friday!!   Ha world!  Look at me go!!   God has been very gracious this somewhat wayward child of his today, giving me the focus I need to get things done in an organized manner today.  Perhaps I need more of a shift in perspective more often eh?  

Join me and others as we work through Kate’s word prompt of Shift! 

text a shift in perspective image of brick sidewalk against blue sky

Shift in Perspective

a shift in momentum
saw the car scream
to a halt, a beer can
spotted in the ditch,
it’s time to hop out!

A shift in demeanor
public health visits the
store, staff scurry about
making sure things won’t
cost a good score.

This shift in attitude
earned a compliment.
I told a manager
“I appreciate your lack of
stress, it’s calming”

Led to further conversation
About being too tired
to worry about changing
his attitude over externals
that he has no control over.

A shift in speed as
the end of day approaches and
my promised extra half
hour of work looked to be
pushed a bit too tight.

An extra 15 minutes
despite increased speed,
made the work day longer
but the pay will be sweet! 🙂
And a boost to my co-worker too!

A shift in perspective
helps me to see
how Lost am I when
I consider only me
A larger family I need.

Families hold you
accountable and offer
support, showing God in
action when sometimes
he’s harder to see

Do you need a
shift in perspective?

Affording Emergencies

By 6 Comments

Having recently dealt with some cats choosing not to eat, and dealing with emergency vet bills, when I saw the word from Kate being Afford, coming up with a post was easy.  Affording Emergencies fits so well don’t you think?

For my part, I put aside 5% of every pay cheque into an emergency fund that every once in a while gets emptied.  Usually for emergencies!   Car purchase, house repairs, and more recently partially emptied for vet bills.  Five percent seemed to me to be a good amount to hold back.   It’s less than what I put aside for investing, and less than what is set for tithing, but emergencies don’t pop up THAT often in life (thank goodness). 

text affording emergencies Image child holding injured teddy bear

Affording Emergencies

There’s one I know who
has a vehicle with loads of
issues. Costing a bit to fix,
and we chatted today about it.

I asked, “are you emptying
your emergency fund?
Cause remember, my cats
emptied mine by $1000″.

She laughed and said
that they had it covered.
and so the conversation
moved forward to other things.

It’s hard sometimes talking
money with co-workers.
A number of us are annoyed
since corporate changed something.

It seems that vacation pay
will now to be paid bi-weekly
rather than once a year.
We all said “it’s harder to save!”

And it is.
It’s easier to sock away one
yearly lump sum payment,
then to figure out the rate.

The current hope is it
will be clearly delineated
on our pay stubs to make
the figuring just a bit easier.

Vacation funds, emergency funds,
long-term savings, or just spend it.
It’s easy to spend if not
planned out well.

How do you plan it?
Funds planned for various
things? Do you do a set amount
or a percentage?

Do you include
God in the discussion?
Does trust enter the
conversation at all?

I’ve an acquaintance
who loves God dearly and
plans not at all, since
“God will provide”.

I have a hard time
with that since God
also provides us with the
intelligence to plan.

So in our planning, do
we still leave room for trust?
Or does planning negate
the need for trust?

Something to think
on perhaps? To make sure
you are affording emergencies in a
God-approved way.

Just a Phase

By 6 Comments

I had a yardsale this weekend, the second one I had this year.   I did not expect to do as well at the second as I did at the first.  You see, I didn’t have the “draw people in” items for this sale.  BUT I still sold a fair amount of stuff and met some fun people.  Afterwards I started to wonder, as I was packing stuff up and thinking, I’ll not do this again.  Is this just a phase?  Will I choose to never have a yardsale again and just post stuff on facebook? Or kijiji or  just give stuff away?

I would miss the funny people.   Like the lady who came through and talked to herself as she went through what I had out. “oh, this is a pretty quilt, oh look, she has Christmas stuff… what fun. Oh no, remember, you don’t have money for Christmas stuff. ‘ and then when she reached my books “OH DELIGHT!  She must have been an educator, just look at all these books!?!?!?”   To my delight she actually picked some of them up.  🙂   

Or the lady who obviously came from a background of bartering.  She and I had a whole lot of fun bartering back and forth about the value of an obviously fairly new purse from my mom.  She tried so hard to get me to completely drop my price but she alas didn’t succeed.  🙂  But to thank her for giving me so much fun I let her take a small plant home for free.   Her poor hubby got kinda caught in the middle and left looking a little shell shocked but… he bought the knife he was interested in.  🙂 

I will never miss the nickle and dimers, or the sour looks of people not getting their own way, or the people who refuse to have a bit of fun.  It’s a yardsale, a time to have brief connection with folk, not a time to get mad or mean.  Be friendly, smile, and realize it’s the best way to get a deal.  🙂 

So whether or not how I’m feeling right now is just a phase or not.  There are pros and cons to holding a big sale all a once.  So time will tell how it is in the long run eh?  🙂 

image of random items at yardsale on a table. text Just a Phase

Just a Phase

i have to wonder
is it just a phase,
is it something that
everyone goes through?

but then i think no,
i have a sis who would
rather give something away
then to try to sell it.

for i know another lady
like me (but a few years
ahead) who loved to
sell her stuff.

and now in her older years
would rather give things
away then deal with
the buying public.

and i am finding myself
reaching for that
same mind set.
people are weird,

do i really want
to deal with the
weirdness of people
being anywhere near my house?

still though, i love
that barter aspect, the
people knowing, smiling,
the joint satisfaction.

my lands, at the same time,
all the work and the prep,
and all that “other” that
goes with it all.

there i feel it and
think it’s best to copy my
friend and just give anything
i don’t need/want away.

it is so much
easier to do that eh?
to find a thrift shop of
choice and say done.

Contemplating….

being in a contemplative
mood this of course makes me
ponder, do i do the same
with my faith?

starting with the strong desire
to connect and make smiles,
life changes, and what not, and
then overtime say meh, it’s easier

to not worry about connecting
with people or helping them
discover needs yet unmet
it’s easier not to you know?

so hmm….what now?
i was challenged today by
a Instagram post about
defining self-control

and how easy it is to
turn our lack of it into
something that truly it
isn’t so…. isn’t this

kinda the same?
not working out our
faith in fear and trembling
but it’s easier not to.

it’s easier to rephrase
it as “i’m getting older”,
“it’s not my gifting”,
and such like.

shouldn’t we continue
pressing on? remembering
it’s a race we’re in and
every step counts in the winning.

What Route Should I Take?

By 11 Comments

Kate has had a bit of a week according to her post to us. Switching around her servers, dealing with a heat wave (with smoke from fires) and more. All that to say she’s given us the word route. I started this post Friday night but was falling asleep so here I am on Saturday morning trying again. I’ve come up with what route should I take?

text what route should I take Image of winding road with vehicle on it

What Route Should I Take

Yesterday afternoon I
had my route planned out.
First I’d go to mom-in-law’s
and then to the mission store.

Delighted to know of course
the store was open til 7!
The mission store you see
has a large homeschool section
I thought I’d boost
the area a bit.

Let’s just say, things
did not go as planned.
Turns out the Mission
Store does not accept
donations after 5 p.m. and
I’d missed by just a bit.

ANNOYING.
Even more annoying that
the girl at the desk
didn’t tell me this.

Oh the way home I had
a chance to reflect.
Was there a better
route I could take?

Should I have gone
there first?
Should I have perhaps
called first to confirm
all the details?

Did I spend too long
talking with mom?
Could I have, even though
I didn’t talk to the girl
afterwards, considered better
my frustration with her?

What route I take in how
I handle myself and the
world around me matters.
God calls me
“Be holy as I am holy“.

Can’t say my frustration
was a fine example of
holiness…. now was it?

So now’s the challenge
of improving myself
for the next frustrating
event in my life….
can I do better?
More reliance on God
is a necessity for sure.

The Long and The Short of It

By 4 Comments

Shakespeare’s 1602 comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor, first gave us the line “the Long and the Short of it”.   What does this line mean? Can it lead us to discern a greater truth? Or does it just leave us living in the now?  

Anyways, it’s an idiom.  I remember having a French student once who was struggling with Canadian expressions or idioms.  I looked up a bunch of well known expressions and had him research them.  Discovering the history behind expressions such as “throw your hat in the the ring” helps us to better understand the expression itself. 

Do you truly understand what’s behind this particular idiom?   Let’s suss it out a bit eh? 

Photo of eye of needle with thread going through. text: the long and the short of it

the Long and the short of it

The long and the short of it
is how to start a tale,
a story with a bit of fib,
and a lot of truth to tell.

Or the long and the short of it,
could simply be sounded
out reasoning for why something
may or may not work.

Renovating the bathroom
we need to know the
long and the short of it
Ordering enough material important.

The long and the short of it
is sometimes an idiom used to
define the salient points of
an argument or a meeting.

The Long and the short of it
is made clear to us when
Jesus spoke to Nicodemus
“you must be born again”.

Without rebirth,
salvation is not possible.
Without being born again
We cannot truly know God.

The long and the short of it
is God wants no person to
be without him, but the truth
remains, we MUST be born again.

Make that choice today
Thread the eye of the needle
Be smarter than a camel
And find your salvation today.

sewing needles
Photo by Nic Wood on Pexels.com

John 3:1-8

 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”

4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[

What’s the Outcome?

By 10 Comments

Okay, so it’s like 10 p.m.   I’ve had a long day and tomorrow might be busy too!  🙂  I didn’t want to wait until Sunday to suss out an appropriate response to Kate’s word prompt Outcome.   I got to thinking how funny it was at work today when I rearranged the pickle section at work.  I maintained the same spacing for everything, and yet I ended up with 3/4’s of an empty shelf.  It made no sense!  My manager (not feeling well today) came walking by and asked how I was doing.  I said “I’m done and I’m so confused.  Why do I have empty space?”   She double-checked everything and agreed it made no sense.  What’s the outcome?  The most favourite pickles got more shelf space.  I’m still shaking my head over it…. 

image of baby pickles in glass bowl. Text: what's the outcome?

What’s the Outcome?

What’s the outcome
I have to ask
What do you want to see,
as a result of this task?

Today I decided
pickles needed to move
I thought it was funny
helping them to groove.

All that moving
and shuffling about
Lots of empty space so
My manager used her clout!

This makes no sense
was her confused cry!
You moved them about,
This change makes me sigh!

It was decided that
despite exact spacing
We’d give the pickles
an increase in their spacing.

It’s made me think
at the end of long day
what other shuffling
needs to have sway?

Are there things in our lives
that aught not to be
things that God
might find unsightly?

Just like the pickles
that had to moved
Give God a chance
to help you find the right groove.

Vibes of Sadness and Joy

By 8 Comments

Okay, let me preface this piece with some news.  My mom has recently passed away, and my sister asked me if I could read one of my poems at her funeral.  The poetry style I use has changed over the years, becoming more of a pause in thoughts commentary as opposed to lyrics/sonnets/rhyming style.   My mom used to read my poems before her health started to fail and it’s been about two years since she’s said “I liked that one”.   So the thought of having to search back two years for something that she liked feels rather daunting to me while I am currently running short on sleep.   Therefore, today I’m going to try to write something she would have liked, but I’m not entirely sure I’ll succeed.  The word of the week is Vibes.   Not the easiest word to work with, but let’s give it a shot eh?  Oh, I didn’t really succeed with the old style of writing with this piece: vibes of sadness and joy

Vibes of sadness and joy

text: vibes of joy and sadness image: yard sale sign

Running through my body,vibes
start on Thursday with
the news that mom has passed.
Vibes of sadness and joy.

The home will need her room
cleaned and ready for a
new occupant, I have a yardsale
on the weekend it seems so
vitally important to me that mom’s
stuff is cared for well and placed
into new homes.

Friday, pack everything up.
Hubby and son lending a hand
giving me moments to pause
in memory, remembering mom’s
love for different things,
taking moments with her neighbours
to chat a moment.
Mom would have loved that.

Mom loved people
oh my, but she did.
It’s the thing everyone says
how nice she was to
everyone and the love she
always tried to show.

I saw it you know, in myself,
with her stuff. Talking to people
at the yardsale, welcoming them in,
chatting and bargaining.
I love to bargain, and I love
to make people smile.
And the number of people who
I made smile… mom would have
been pleased as punch.

A lady saw mom’s lawnchairs
and stopped to make conversation
before making an offer for them.
I could just see mom sitting down
with her to have a cup of tea
and having a good ole’ conversation.
She would have loved knowing
they went on to be useful
in conversation with others.

A young gal came by needing
something for her knick-knacks,
/>counting her change, and<br />a white knick-knack shelf freely
found it’s way into her backseat.

Another lady stopping by
to chat about plants.
Not that I had any from mom,
but it reminded me of mom’s
love for plants and helping
others grow their own.

It’s good you know?
To see the past lived
out in the future and to see
how one’s faith helps mold that.

handshake after buying house
Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com

HA!   Surprise, I thought I’d try again and see if I CAN do an older style of poetry in memory of my mom. I’m not completely delighted with Vibes of Connection, but this tired mind is just done.  🙂 

Vibes of Connection

It’s yardsale season again
I adore this season,
it doesn’t take much
Looking for a deal a reason.

This year a huge one at my place
Loads from my mom’s and my house
I brought out the bunnies,
and guinea pigs too, but not the mouse.

“I love to barter,
prices are in my head.”
a happy greeting to all
visiting my little homestead.

Connections made, dealers seen,
“I remember you a couple years back!”
Chatting over deals and profits made
there was plenty, not a lack!

A Chinese lady came, captivated by
beauty, seeing a vase
marveling at it’s shine.
It travelled off to her place.

I saw in her smile,
something of my parent
rejoicing in beauty
it’s so very apparent

Another couple came,
irritatingly so, looking for towels
to wash up their floor.
Taking the bargaining hard, but
no lower quality would meet demand.
bargaining done, finally walked out the door.

A teenager came,
trinket shelf on her mind
She took mom’s white
shelf, and thought I was kind.

Teacups, towels, clothes,
small tables, knick knacks and more
It was good and yet sad
the leaving of stuff mom adored.

But I know she would smile
that it wasn’t in vain
the keeping of stuff became
another person’s gain.