The Messy Towel Drawer

When we built our house eleven years ago, we planned the kitchen to be efficient and productive. One of those enhancements was two large drawers beside the sink where items that are normally used with the sink could be stored. One of the drawers holds our dish-drying towels.

For all my married life, I folded dish towels after laundering them and neatly put them in the drawer or on the shelf where they belonged. We go through several dish towels each day so we wash them two or three times a week.

One day, one of our sons questioned why I went to all the work of folding the dishtowels when they were stored in a drawer, out of sight. It didn’t matter if they were wrinkled since they were used again so quickly. My best answer was that the drawer looked nice with neatly folded towels.

Pondering that discussion, I decided it was worth trying dish towels going directly from the dryer to the drawer. Practically speaking, it was great. Aesthetically, it left something to be desired. I enjoyed the five or ten extra minutes I gained by not folding the towels, though. In the end, I decided a tidy drawer where it didn’t matter, wasn’t worth the time.

Our current towel drawer!

I think that was about three years ago. If I spent 20 minutes a week folding dish towels and haven’t had to do that for 3 years, I just figured out that netted me 52 hours of time to do things that do matter.

What about you? Any things come to mind that you might be doing that have outlived their reason to do them and that you could gain time if you let go of continuing to do them?

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri


“Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
(Ephesians 5:16)

An Update from Anna Marie

This is the beginning of an important week for us as Christians, remembering Christ’s death and Resurrection! We pray you consider Christ’s sacrifice. Sarah

My hernia surgery recovery has gone amazingly well! I have hardly any bruising and the pain since even just a few days after surgery is less than it was before surgery. I still have a couple more weeks of restricted activity (until April 10), but then I’m looking forward to being able to run and jump and skip and anything else I want to with the children—something I haven’t been able to do for years because of aggravating the hernia.

Not much news on the cancer front; I will have an appointment with my oncologist next Tuesday and find out timing on when I finish the Phesgo injections and switch to Nerlynx (the oral targeted therapy).

Praising Him for His great love!
Anna Marie

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

Bench Seating for Large Group Dining

As we looked for creative ways to seat more of our growing family (grandchildren) for meals when we all gather, we were pleased to find easy-to-use-and-store benches, Titus2’s Amazon affiliate link–see our privacy policy. (NOTE: We purchased two of the single-units because the double-pack wasn’t an option then.)

We started out looking for picnic table benches, knowing that a bench would hold more children than chairs that would take up a similar amount of space. However, picnic table benches are not as versatile as these benches are. Because these benches collapse, they store in a small space, and they are lightweight. They have a nice carry handle and set up quickly.

We purchased two of the benches before Christmas, and we are very pleased with them. We planned to use them when we needed to set up a second table for seating, but have also been using them when we only have one very full table. Two benches are much less work to set up than carrying six or eight chairs from the basement to the main floor and then back downstairs again.

Trusting in Jesus,
Teri

What could be better? They are compact and don’t take up much space in a closet!
Or here, you can see, next to an upright freezer, they don’t take much space.


“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in
Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us
in every place” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Remembering Susannah, 14 Years ago

14 years ago on March 21st, Nathan and Melanie’s firstborn daughter arrived, Susannah Joy Maxwell. But her stay here on earth was only three days. She bypassed all the sorrow and hurt in this world and went straight to the presence of Jesus. Although we grieved our loss, Heaven gained a beautiful jewel.

It’s hard to believe Susannah would turn 14 today. But time in Heaven isn’t the same as time here. “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night” (Psalm 90:4). May we have such an eternal perspective to see time here is short. We must share Christ with a lost and dying world.

We love you, Susannah, and we miss you! But we’ll see you again. One day. Maybe soon.

Love,
Sarah

If you want to see a slideshow of Susannah’s short life, you can find it below or at this link if you are receiving this via email (music was written by Joseph, along with the other siblings accompanying).

“… the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21).

How I Started in Bookkeeping, Part 1

Gaining income-producing skills has been something my parents encouraged since I was a teen. I did odd jobs such as picking up mail and papers for neighbors while they were away on vacation, yard work for my grandpa, and contract work that involved proofreading and collating binders. Then, along came a small bookkeeping job for a local dentist.

I was 16, and two years from graduating, when Christopher, who already had QuickBooks experience, asked if I wanted this work. I said yes! I was to transfer a hand-written checkbook ledger into QuickBooks, along with reconciling the account and printing out reports for the dentist. This was real-life experience, and something I began under Christopher’s direction before I became independent. I’m sure I studied a book on QuickBooks, although it’s been so many years, I don’t remember the name. I worked for the dentist for almost 3 years. During this time, Titus2 began, and we needed a financial solution to track everything from sales receipts to business expenses. Although I had some experience in QuickBooks, new doors opened as I learned to set up and run a company with inventory! All of this happened before I turned 18.

We’ll continue with Part 2 in this series.

Learning a skill has never been easier than today with all our technology. I just did a Google search “how to learn QuickBooks” and countless options came up.

Love,
Sarah

“And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have
oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much
more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you”
(2 Corinthians 8:22).

Don’t Homeschool Without it

Happy Monday, everyone! This is a really important post, and I encourage you to share it with your friends. –Sarah

Do you have medical insurance/assistance? Almost everyone does because it is a very wise choice. Similarly, we strongly encourage each of our homeschooling readers to consider the wisdom of being a member of Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Our family was a member for our homeschooling years. 

We are thankful we never had a situation where we needed HSLDA’s legal help. Hopefully, you will never need their legal help either, but if you encounter a difficult situation, you will be glad to be a member. Lawyers are incredibly expensive, and if you have to pay for one out of pocket, it might be just as devastating as a medical emergency. 

If you aren’t an HSLDA member, please critically evaluate why not? Maybe you feel comfortable in not joining, but friends, times are changing. Even if you don’t need their legal services, they have lots of homeschool resources for all stages.

We asked HSLDA if they had some small gift should you join as a result of this blog post. If you join within the next thirty days as a result of our encouragement, you will receive their Constitutional Literacy resource free. 

In this Constitutional Literacy series, you will “join Michael Farris as he delves into the nation’s most important document and provides the training to turn America back to a proper understanding of liberty.” 

We find it amazingly generous that they would offer this, and we hope you will join. Also, we receive nothing from promoting them; it is simply our heart’s desire to help you in your homeschooling journey. 

Once you enroll, forward Matt ([email protected]) a copy of your membership receipt, let him know you heard about this offer on Titus2, and he will see you get the resource. Please allow thirty days to receive the resource. 

Trusting in Jesus,
Steve and Teri

“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:
but the simple pass on, and are punished.” Proverbs 22:3