Shipwrecked on Mondays?

How many times have you heard people say that they hate Mondays? How many times have you said it? I know that in the past I have often said how much I hate Mondays. But really in hating Mondays, have you stopped to think what you are really saying?

Monday is typically the start of the working week and it heralds the return of the everyday week day routine. We return to outside paid work, or our husbands do and with that comes the responsibility of getting to bed early so as to rise early and not be late for our boss.

For the homemaker, it signifies the rushed iron-a-shirt, cut-a-lunch, prepare-school-uniforms and pick-up-the-kids part of the start of our week. And it says that the more relaxed pace of the week-end has drawn to a close for another week. Misery.

But really we shouldn't be miserable just because it is Monday. Monday is just the start of a week. Each day is a day of unsurpassed beauty- if we take the time to see it. Just ask someone who is dying if they hate Mondays, and I am sure that they would love to have a whole lot more Mondays to live. I know this is true because I lived that for three long months of a misdiagnosis of a terminal disease. Every day is a gift and is special. Even Mondays!

But really we shouldn't be miserable just because it is Monday. Monday is just the start of a week. Each day is a day of unsurpassed beauty- if we take the time to see it. Just ask someone who is dying if they hate Mondays, and I am sure that they would love to have a whole lot more Mondays to live. I know this is true because I lived that for three long months of a misdiagnosis of a terminal disease. Every day is a gift and is special. Even Mondays!

It may be hard at first to be grateful and thankful for not only Mondays but all days, but seeking out happiness will make it easier. Joyfulness will bloom and Mondays will become a blessing and not a curse. A day a week is too many days to waste in a life to feel  shipwrecked. 

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

If the Lord wills

Over the past twenty years or so that I have been ill,  it has become totally apparent that we chronically  ill  women can never make plans.   By it's very nature,  chronic illness  is unpredictable and we do not know from day to day, or indeed, moment by moment how it will effect us..

Nearly every day I write lists of things I need to get done and places I have to go, then something will happen that tosses my plans into the rubbish bin. I run out of spoons, or I become dizzy or feel faint or want to vomit, have angina, or mostly, I just collapse and need to take a nap..

Even planning for a restful day can go awry as sleep doesn't come and we find ourselves staring at the ceiling whilst going cross-eyed with fatigue..It's very frustrating..

I have only recently been able to say to people that we will go to a certain event or do something "if I am able" and not worry too much about the reaction. Because we Sisters all know that we can't please people when we can't jump to their command. I have gotten to the stage that I no longer care about their reaction because I am not doing it wilfully..their reaction is their problem..

None of us want to be chronically ill and it does us no good whatsoever to blame ourselves for not being able to attend a function or do something that we have promised to do. Our life is not our own when it comes to chronic illness..

I think what works best for me now is when I realised that God is in control of my life, my days and my nights. Unless He allows my body to co-operate, I am at chronic illness's mercy.. 

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." James 4:15

Sacrificial home keepers easy meals

We all know that good nutrition is important for our health and the health of our family. But as sacrificial home keepers, cooking can prove to be a big challenge.  Our energy often precludes cooking elaborate meals. We need to find some recipes that our family likes and that won't take a lot of effort and time. Keep it simple.

I am not the worlds' best cook, and it isn't necessary to cook cordon bleu or gourmet food, but it *is* necessary to cook nutritious food.. Here is a link to most recipes for the straight-forward dishes that I cook.

It is a good idea to plan a menu: this is something most of us can do even on bed rest. Here are some meals that Chris and I  like that are not difficult to cook and that are nourishing: I have a menu planned for dinner each week. This week it is:

Wednesdays' Dinner:  Corned beef, cabbage, carrot and mashed potato.

Dessert:  Cake or biscuits and tea

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Thursdays' Dinner:  Roast chicken with peas, sweet potato, pumpkin, onions and potatoes.

Dessert: Instant blancmange pudding

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Fridays' dinner:  chops, salad and mash.  Buy the salad already washed. You can also purchase frozen mashed potato that is cooked in microwave and that tastes exactly as if you have done it at home. A little dash of salad dressing and you're done. We like 50/50 balsemic vinegar and olive oil which is just added together and tossed over the salad.

Dessert: a can of mandarins or any fruit with instant custard

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Saturdays' Dinner: fettucine bolognaise with store bought garlic bread.

Dessert:  Icecream and banana

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Sundays' Dinner:  Swiss steak (done in tomato puree), veggies and mashed potato.  The veggies are just frozen ones.

Dessert:  Pancakes from an instant mix: just add water and shake the bottle. I top them with sugar and lemon juice.

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Mondays' Dinner:  Rump steak and veggies and mashed potato

Dessert: Ice cream and kiwi fruit.

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Tuesdays' Dinner:   Chow mein and rice.  This is easy to cook in the slow cooker.  I cook the rice in the microwave.

Dessert:  Tinned fruit and custard

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

 

“Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he loveth:” Genesis 27:9