This is the spine. I printed out an outline of the words "Joy in ALL Things." I was out of colour ink, hence the colouring. LOL
The cover... I chose a picture by Paula Vaughn (she has SUCH beautiful work, many of them primitive & in keeping with my desire for simplicity). It has the title of the binder, along with a Bible verse I found. The Bible verse represents how I feel about my job as a keep of my home. "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it. Ps. 127:1"
Inside the spine, I have the Bible verse "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. Gen 2:18" This helps me remember that I am an help meet to the Hubba!
Next is a picture of the open binder, spread out. In the left pocket I keep things like Hubba's work schedule, extra paper & misc things that are very temporary. I start my binder with several sheets of blank notebook paper. If I need a scratch sheet of paper quickly, I can just grab one of these. If it's notes on something included in my binder, I can just remove the sheet and place it in it's proper section.
After my blank paper is a pocket pouch. In this I keep things like pens, pencil, wet-erase marker, a rubber eraser, white out, highlighter, post-its, etc.
Next is my copy of Proverbs 31:10-31:
10Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
31Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
Next is a story I found on the internet called "Even This?"
Though early morning is not my best time of day, after a couple of cups of coffee, I managed to fix breakfast, wash the dishes, and usher six children out the door to school before heading for the laundry room.
I stopped abruptly at the door and stood gazing in disbelief at the mountain of dirty clothes. Hadn't I just washed three loads yesterday? Sudden tears of frustration stung my eyes. I quickly brushed them away, a bit ashamed of myself, and put the first load in the washer.
Then I continued to tidy up, picking up the morning newspaper and various cups and glasses left from snacks the night before. Soon I found myself in my son's bathroom, scrubbing the tub. Once again the tears insisted on imposing themselves against my will. This time they found little resistance. I was frustrated and discouraged, and my self-esteem was about as low as it could get.
It was still morning, but I was tired ---- tired of the same mess day after day ---- of washing clothes that only yesterday I had folded and returned to their proper places; of doing the dishes, only to get them out a short time later to reset the table. I was sick of spending hours cooking a meal that was consumed in minutes.
Sitting in the middle of the bathroom floor, sponge and cleanser in hand and tears streaming down my cheeks, I found myself fussing, crying and praying all at the same time.
God in his loving -kindness came to meet me: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me." (Matthew 25:40).
"Lord, even this?" I asked. "Especially this," He replied. "Who else is going to do it for Me? In all these small ways, you are serving Me."
Lovingly reassured and encouraged, I dried my tears and continued to scrub the tub.
Then my table of contents (I had a monthly tab system, so I just used that!)
Each section begins with a page like this. They all have the same image with different titles:
- Schedule- My daily & weekly schedules
- Cleaning- What clean, when & how
- Menus & Shopping- My weekly and/or monthly menus (sometimes I'm more organised & the freezer is full so I can plan a month instead of a week or 2) and my grocery lists
- Emergency Info- This has the numbers for 9-1-1, of course, along with a list for the local sheriff's office, police dept., fire dept., etc. I've also included a list here for the kids, so that they have access to family numbers they can call in an emergency.
- Important Phone Numbers- This has a list of friends', families' and other frequently called numbers
- Projects- If I have big projects, it goes in here- painting, planting, sewing, etc.
- With the Kids- Self explanatory- learning trips, pics with Santa, etc.
- Gift planner- I think this is self-explan as well. I write who I've got what for & who I need to get what for
- Weight Loss- Self explan. I log my trials & tribulations in my weight loss journey.
- Buying a House- My dream is to one day own a house. Anytime I find good info on how to buy, I print it or take notes & in this section it goes.
- Inspiration, Devotions, Etc.....- Self- explan. Prov. 31 & "Even This?" are my faves and hit home the most, so they stay up front as a constant reminder. But since there are so many other stories, poems, verses, etc. I like to keep them here.
- Misc.- Um, misc stuff, yup! LOL
Handwritten notes from when I was redoing my special dates lists.
(BTW, I'm down 25lbs from that!!! YAHOO!!!)
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