June 2007
In this issue:
Micki's Corner
Shoestring Organizing Solutions
This Month in History
Thots and Things
Micki's Corner
I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. (Col. 1:24)
I’ve often wondered about this verse. Christ did everything necessary for salvation, so what could Paul mean?
Then I think of all the suffering of God’s children. We accept Christ, but that doesn’t make life perfect or painless. His children still have to deal with the affects of abuse. Or they live in families where the people who are supposed to love them don’t. Some lose children that they would have dearly loved to have loved into adulthood and beyond. They are cheated, lied to and taken advantage of. His children still deal with illness and physical handicaps—things that won’t be fixed until they go to Him or He returns for us.
We are His children and He is preparing a place for us. But for now we still live here—in a world under a curse. He asks us to remain and work with Him. He asks us to shine a light in this dark place. And He asks us to suffer. He asks it because He has more children, children who have yet to believe.
He doesn’t ask it lightly. He knows exactly what He asks of us. He lived here. He knows pain. He knows sorrow. He has felt them. I believe He feels every hurt with us. He cries with us. And He will end the pain just as soon as the last child is in His arms. When that person believes, He’ll come running. The pain won’t last even one second more than it has to. He’ll run.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)
Until then we fill up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. Micki Parkinson
Shoestring Organizing Solutions
It's my job as an organizing coach to help busy women find the balance between organizing career and family. However, most of us don't want to invest much time or money to accomplish this goal. Some of the best organizational tools are very inexpensive and can be found at most discount stores. Often developing a personal system involves just a bit of creativity rather than a substantial investment in a professional product or service.
In a Bind? For bills and other correspondence, buy a notebook with twelve pocketed dividers, one for each month of the year. Label each with birthdays, anniversaries, and billing due dates, then fill with correspondence. The binder can be used as a portable desk, or can be stored at your work area. Minimize organizing product costs by clipping articles and recipes, then discarding the remainder of the magazine. Store in magnetic photo albums, or a notebook with dividers.
Hangers, hooks, and bins: oh my! Closet organizing ideas can be implemented for storing clothing, crafts, sporting goods, and just about anything else you can shove into a closet. Use dowel rods hung at multi-levels for clothing on hangers. Plastic bins and shelf dividers keep folded items stacked. Hang ties and belts on a plastic coat hanger, buy cardboard cubbies for shoes and purses (or make your own by decorating divided grocery store boxes). For quick retrieval, hooks for caps, bags, umbrellas, and purses keep things in sight. A hanging storage closet system purchased at a home store or discount store is a portable alternative to built-in organizers. (These hang by hooks over your closet rod and have multiple milk crate cubes suspended below.) If you live in small quarters or move frequently, this is a cost-effective solution to custom shelving.
Hanging organizers with divided pouches store and display at the same time. These come with small pockets for jewelry, or larger pockets for shoes, pantyhose, or scarves. I've used them in lieu of junk drawers for office supplies. The large sizes can be found at dollar stores, and the smaller sizes are featured in mail order catalogs or home furnishing stores.
Secret Hideaway. Use a bedroom closet to create a niche for hobby work; the doors close to hide work in progress. Folding screens are decorative and disguise a work area. A folding card table or banquet table can be stored under the bed when not in use, which is convenient if your hobby room doubles as a guest bedroom. Find a large piece of plywood to place over the spare bedroom mattress as a workspace, which can then easily be stored when guests visit.
Keep your eyes open for creative ways to contain clutter. Be only as organized as you NEED to be. This means establishing a workable system for yourself that you know you can follow for a long time. Remember that being organized is an ongoing process, not an end result. Tackle those paper piles and cluttered areas ten minutes a day until you finally see light under all those stacks. It will get done, and just think of the sense of accomplishment you'll feel every day as you do just a little bit more to organize the clutter in your life.
by Debbie Williams
(used with permission)
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This Month in History
June 1, 1954 - Debut of Linus' security blanket in the Peanuts cartoon strip.
June 4, 1937 - The shopping cart made it's first appearance (in two stores in Oklahoma City).
June 7, 1786 - First day ice cream was sold in the US
June 15 - Smile Power Day
June 22 - National Chocolate Eclair Day
Thots and Things
Summer Salad Tips
- Consider blanching raw vegetables for 30 seconds to a minute before adding to the salad. Everything from carrots to broccoli really benefits from this. The vegetables are still crisp, but have more color and moisture and seem to absorb the flavors of the dressing better when they have been blanched.
- Consider placing your salad in a bowl that can easily be nested in another bowl or decorative container, especially for potlucks or outdoor dinners. Fill the larger bowl partway with ice and the salad will stay cool and safe for longer.
- If you are making a pasta or potato salad ahead of time and it seems like the amount of dressing is perfect, thin it with a little milk, water, oil or other liquid ingredient used in the dressing or add another 1/4 recipe of the dressing to the salad. Potato salads especially are notorious for soaking up dressing and drying out when stored for any length of time.
For more tips and recipes go to: Perfect Entertaining.
Air Quality and Allergy Levels
Go to http://www.pollen.com/Pollen.com.asp to see the national map of air quality. If your familiy has breathing probems, you may want to sign up for their two-day allerlgy alert emails
How Long Will it Last?
Wondering about how long to keep things like foundation, lipstick, windex, etc. Real Simple website gives the expiration dates for 77 foods, beauty products, and household goods. Here are some examples:
- Foundation, oil-based
2 years
- Foundation, water-based
3 years
- Lipstick
2 years
- Mascara
Unopened: 2 years
Used: 3 to 4 months