The importance of fresh air

There are two modes of nourishing the body, one is by food and the other by air. In the stomach the food is dissolved, and the nutritious portion is absorbed by the blood, and then is earned by blood-vessels to the lungs, where it receives oxygen from the air we breathe. This oxygen is as necessary to the nourishment of the body as the food for the stomach.

While the bodies of men and animals are filling the air with the poisonous carbonic acid, and using up the life-giving oxygen, the trees and plants are performing an exactly contrary process; for they are absorbing carbonic acid and giving out oxygen. Thus, by a wonderful arrangement of the beneficent Creator, a constant equilibrium is preserved. What animals use is provided by vegetables, and what vegetables require is furnished by animals; and all goes on, day and night, without care or thought of man.

American Woman's Home published 1869 ~Catharine Esther Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe

Blessings, Glenys

“Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. Genesis 9:3

When your world is turned upside down

When one is first diagnosed with an illness, it is quite common to be in disbelief or even denial. After all, some illnesses come as a shock and have the potential to change our life forever. This requires us to rethink how we will cope with the illness, its treatment and life in general.

Sometimes we struggle to get a grip of the ramifications that illness makes in our life, but sooner or later, we are going to have to get our head around the fact that things will change. To function, they have to.

If diagnosis of an illness has caused a depression which lingers for more than a few weeks or causes panic attacks, I suggest that a doctor is seen for antidepressants. These may be needed only short term until the illness is accepted. And it must be accepted sooner or later.

Only in coming to terms with being chronically ill, can we make plans to handle the changes that being ill will bring. We will need to plan our days as wives, mothers and homemakers. (See Lists)
We must cling to Jesus and allow Him to minimise the shock and help us regain our focus. We must also plan our treatments and care.

Scary as it is, chronic illness must be addressed as soon as we are able... our future and our family's future depend on us accepting our illness so that we can move on. Easier said than done when your world has been turned upside down.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

"So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom" Psalm 90:12

Change and fruit

Change can take time and is subject to many influencing factors. For example, in changing a house hold routine and disciplining yourself to do more housework, you may have many outside distractions- most unavoidable but necessary, that chip into your plans and time table. Or you may become ill. But if you persist and work toward change, eventually you will succeed.

Old habits sometimes take time to change, but they can change! It is not immediately obvious either. Take trying to stop using unsavoury language. Years of using certain words never bothered you, but God has convicted you about your speech and you have repented and responded. Suddenly, one of those expletives bursts forth and you find yourself discouraged. But take heart and don't give up on your resolve. It is like a path in a field. By walking in the same place over and over, you find it has become a path and is easier to walk. So it is with changing bad habits and being victorious over any sin. You will overcome in time.

Change can take time and calls for patience. Take planting some fruit trees for instance...you may not see any fruit on your tree, but there is still change and growth. Eventually if you persist in your desire and efforts to change, you will see buds of growth. Eventually there will be fruitful blossoms and then there will be fruit!Continue in your path of change and don't let yourself become discouraged!

I believe a person can change in a grand way if she or he so wishes. With repentance, the right attitude and prayer, we can do it!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:7

Recognising false guilt

As a chronically ill woman, I know too well the false guilt we all feel when we can't get enough energy up to do what we long to do. We know what we should be doing, and we want to but our bodies are tired and hurting. Although God reminds us and shows us what direction we should be taking, He does understand that our bodies are but dust and has compassion on us. The false guilt comes from the Evil One. Listening to him brings on depression and compounds our problems...

Likewise, we often get in a spin trying to work out how to serve the LORD and we feel that we come way short of the mark during times of illness. We often miss the fact that we are serving Him in our homes and in our family life in spite of not spinning our wheel as fast as we would like. Service starts with a heart choice and doesn't depend on perfection. We can serve God even as we battle illness or fatigue. It's not about how fast we spin our wheel, but if we want to and then try to! And as FlyLady says, "Housework done imperfectly still blesses your family!"

Because I battle with illness constantly and walk that weary path every day, I see that you can have a servant's heart but can still bear an extra load in false guilt. For those of you who do, I pray that you can talk kindly to yourself and learn to have more compassion on yourself- the road is not easy and you will find many others who have fallen along the way, giving up the battle and feeling overwhelmed. I do not believe the LORD wants that for us...

I highly recommend Sylvia of Christian Homekeeper's lists on homemaking for the chronically ill woman. I follow that closely (adapted for my own home) and it helps me no end.... Physically and emotionally. Through following Sylvia's lists, I can usually lay down the burden of false guilt and still have a reasonably clean and tidy home.

May God bless you as you purposely and diligently serve Him in your home, in spite of your pain.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you!  I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.  Isaiah 46:4

Without a vision

"To the contemporary mind, the idea that happiness depends on good housekeeping might seem quaint or odd. A century or two ago, and in fact until the past few decades, it was taken for granted, and the quality of housekeeping was not beneath the attention of such great novelists as Jane Austen and Leo Tolstoy." -Cheryl Mendelson, Home Comforts: The Art & Science of Keeping House

I think this true in my own life anyway. When my house runs smoothly and is in order, I feel in control but when it is disorganised or dirty, I feel irritable and unhappy. It is true that most people don't notice housework until it's not done, and that in itself doesn't bolster the home keepers' spirits. However, I have learnt to focus on the end result. It helps me get through the mundane cleaning.

There is a scripture that says that without a vision the people perish and I often equate housework with this verse. Unless we visualise the finished result of a clean house, we will often neglect doing it and miss the mark completely as regards being a good home keeper. Like it or not, good housekeeping creates happiness. If we lose sight of that, we will be people without a vision!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Where [there is] no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy [is] he. Proverbs 29:18

The trial of faith

Ruth and Orpah

…verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence...and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Matthew 17:20

THE STORY IN THE PAINTING

This painting depicts Naomi's widowed daughters-in-law, Ruth and Orpah, as they prepare to depart Moab after the death of their respective husbands. Though both girls initially decide to follow Naomi to the land of Judah, Orpah heeds Naomi's persistent entrities that the two return to the land of their nativity. Orpah's descision to turn back cuts her off from the precious opportunities afforded Ruth, who endures the trial of her faith, refusing to leave Naomi in her time of need. Ruth is "steadfastly minded to go with [Naomi]" (Ruth 1:18) and completes the journey to Beth-lehem, willingly accepting the suffering and privations of Naomi's life of poverty. Because of Ruth's faithfulness and virtue "full reward [is] given [her] of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings [she had] come to trust" (Ruth 2:12) and she was privileged to be among the ancestors of the Savior of the world.

Note: Some may wonder at the youth of the girls depicted in the painting, but the scriptural narrative refers to Ruth as a "damsel" (Ruth 2:6) and a "young woman" (Ruth 4:12). Both words are derived from the Hebrew word "naarah," denoting a girl between infancy and adolescence (Strong 79).

SYMBOLISM OR SIGNIFICANT ELEMENTS IN THE PAINTING

RUTH (pictured right)

The viewer sees the artist's interpretation of the differences between the two girls' decisions: Ruth's steadfastness to the God of Israel allows her to completely divorce herself from her previous, familiar circumstances and way of life and, instead, "come unto a people which [she] knewest not" (Ruth 2:11). She leaves her previous religious beliefs and culture behind and trusts in the Lord whom she has come to trust. That willingness to accept the trial of her faith and step into the uncertainty of her future life with Naomi is represented in this image through the visual darkness which surrounds the figure. Indeed, Ruth seems more distant from the viewer than Orpah, as though she is already separating herself from Orpah's decision to turn homeward.

Ruth's willingness to "lose" her life for the Lord's sake (see Luke 9:24) allows the Lord to endow her with eternal blessings. This principle is represented in the image by the enveloping golden robe she wears, simple compared to Orpah's finery, but more rich in the material itself and not outwardly showy, symbolic of the "robe of righteousness". Her jewelry reminds the viewer of the Lord's words to Malachi, that those that fear Him “shall be [the Lord's] in that day when [He makes] up [His] jewels” (Malachi 3:17). Ruth's future abundant blessings from the hand of the Lord are represented by the large bunch of grains lying before her. Included among the grains are barley, the grain Ruth is willing to glean from Boaz' fields, and millet, a grain also grown anciently (Woods 42).

ORPAH (pictured left)

Orpah, on the other hand, is not firm in her decision to follow after Naomi and is content to go "back to her people, and unto her gods" (Ruth 1:15). Like Lot's wife, Orpah "looked back" (see Genesis 19:26) to her familiar past and shut herself out from the rich blessings made possible for all those who "trust in the Lord will all [their] heart; and lean not unto [their] own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5). Therfore, the artist depicts her surrounded with the culture of her past, decked in her dowry (the gold coins encircling her forehead) and ornately embellished clothing, clinging to Ruth's hand instead of distancing herself, like Ruth, from her past using faith to give her courage to face the future. Unlike Ruth's abundant sheath of grains, Orpah is separated from this abundance by an empty vessel which symbolizes the principle taught by the Savior Himself, that "whomsoever will save his life shall lose it" (Luke 9;24) and that "whomsoever receiveth, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whomsoever continueth not to receive, from him shall be taken away even that he hath" (Matthew 13:12 JST added). The Trial Of Faith by Elspeth Young

Blessings and comfort, Glenys

True vintage housewife

Growing up, I have observed both my grandmother and my mother's housekeeping practices. Practices which have not changed much in routines, but definitely in convenience.

There are better appliances to shorten laundry duties and I can remember my Nana washing her clothes by hand after boiling them up in an old copper. She would then place them in a centrifugal spinner and grind it by hand. My earliest memories of her are of an old woman propping up her washing on an outside line with a wooden pole, attaching the clothes with wooden dolly pegs.

She cooked in an outside kitchen on an old stove called a Metters. No electric toaster, my fondest memories of her food were jaffles: toasted sandwiches heated with a jaffle iron. Her fridge was an ice chest.

My mother on giving birth to my twin and myself, boiled up our nappies in an old kerosene tin, hand washing them and hanging them out to dry, sharing Nana's old clothesline and dolly pegs. There were no disposable nappies in her day, in fact here in Australia, they didn't become available until the early 1970's. 

When we moved out of Nana's, my memories of her housekeeping were replaced by those of my Mum's as she took care of her own home. Mum had a definite routine.

Monday mornings were her do through day. That rarely took second place to anything else, in fact the whole week was organised round it. Polishing furniture, mirrors and linoleum floors with an electric polisher (twice, once to spread the polish, then again with lambswool pads to buff it) and bath cleaning were uppermost in her routine.

Everyday was wash day. Mum boiled up her copper and transferred the water and clothes into her wringer washing machine. She then rinsed them out in her concrete laundry sink, wringing them out again, then she hung them out on the Hills hoist clothesline. She didn't have a dryer.

Also everyday was maintenance day. Mum never ever left dishes unwashed or beds unmade. The bathroom and toilet were attended to daily as well. Mum ironed clothes as soon as they came off the line. Carpets were swept with a carpet sweeper, vacuuming done on Mondays.

We children always dried the dishes and Mum first had to boil the kettle as she had no hot water service in the early days. She used Velvet soap to wash her dishes whilst the kettle boiled a second time to rinse them. Then we would be called to dry them. We made our own beds with Mum changing them on Monday.

Mum cooked everything from scratch as there were no easy instant packets back then. She made lambs tongue for our sandwiches, pressing them under the heavy kitchen table leg, in a bowl with a saucer as a lid overnight. In the morning they were set in lovely gelatin. We  were happy to eat tripe cooked in onions and milk and even enjoyed the occasional treat of lambs brains on toast.

Although we were classified as poor, Mum refused to feed us dripping but brought butter for our sandwiches. Like her own mother, she kept a good table.

Most of the housewives in my childhood had their children off to school and their houses clean by 9am and only then would they socialise. There was a different attitude to home making than today, with women having a generally contented feeling in looking after their home well.

I am grateful for all our labour saving devices today, but I lament the chats over the fence that we still enjoyed when I was a young mother and homemaker. If one runs out of sugar, no one is home now if you want to borrow some!

There was a supportive camaraderie that is hard to find these days as a stay at home wife. It's times like that that I envy the vintage housewife.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage. Isaiah 41:6

An unborn baby's prayer

I love being so close to you Mummy,
I was lulled to sleep when you were walking today, the gentle warm waters rocked me so.

Did you feel me kick today Mummy?
I have been practicing so long for you to feel me, I want you to know I am well and growing.

I have hiccups tonight,
I just can't stop them coming and it feels so strange-I hope they don't keep you awake too.

I did a somersault for you Mummy,
I turned over and back again cos I found I can still do it, I won't be able to soon but I s'pose that will make you glad!

Today I heard for the first time, Mummy-
I heard your heart beating slow and steady next to mine; will your heart always be close to me?

You have a lovely voice
that I will recognise at once, for I woke and heard you singing-will you sing to me when I'm cradled in your arms?

You must have been in sunshine today,
for I saw red colours shining through my fused eyelids. I want so much to see you and the colours you wear.

O how I wish I could always be this close, Mummy,
protected and stretching and growing under your heart, but I know you tire easily so I must be in your arms!

I want you to love me forever, Mummy-
I've prayed God will make my skin really velvety soft, so you will want to touch me and cover me in kisses.

God's told me He's preparing me as a gift for you,
He's shaping me in a secret place known to just us three…

I've asked God to help you love me, Mummy,
to make me the best baby just for you- He whispered," Just relax and be yourself, that's all you have to do"

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

"The Work Of His Hands" © 2004 Gary B Clark www.garybclark.com Used With Permission

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee.." Jeremiah 1:5a 

Cheating fingertips

Flirting is always dangerous for unmarried people trying to stay pure, to engage in, but for married couples, it is often an enticement to commit adultery. Never before has it been easier than with the internet!

Online chat groups and mixed gender pool rooms etc promote not only flirting, but immorality. Two of our family members have been divorced because of online chat room romances. They were left by their errant spouses because their spouses had found someone else online. It is a sad state of affairs! Literally!

Online or cyber sex is *sex*... it is just as damaging as real life sex to the emotional and trusting side of marriage and is sin! For this reason, Chris and I never go into online chat lines or strike up cyber friendships with the opposite sex. We are aware of the dangers! But a lot of people aren’t apparently. They become attached to someone online and sometimes this can lead to a rendezvous or an affair and sometimes, as in our family, sometimes a divorce.

Often when an online friendship is struck up, it starts off innocently enough, but can often escalate. Especially once flirting and innuendo takes over. Which is often. So, because we value and protect our marriage, we never go online and chat, except to our family.

Flirtatious behaviour is sinful, especially when done trying to entice someone else's husband! It is not proper behaviour for a Christian. We are wise to avoid chat rooms, messaging etc and any other behaviour that entices someone to sin and/or lust over someones’ marriage partner.

In marriage our whole body and mind should be devoted to our spouse. That includes your fingertips!


© Glenys Robyn Hicks

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matthew 5:28

They suffer in silence

I write to encourage chronically ill women, but I know there are many men who follow with us, walking the long weary journey of pain with all its' ramifications. 

Men are often the butt of jokes regarding "man flu" and so on, making out that  they can't cope with pain or illness like we women. They are made out to be babies when it comes to illness: but I beg to differ.

I have seen chronic illness in men first hand with my own father and later step-father. Dad died at 50 and in his short life he battled through 8 heart attacks and 3 strokes. Even feeling at his worst, usually only a few weeks after a heart attack, he would front up to work in order to keep Mum and us 4 children. Even when taped up with broken ribs, Dad still went to work every day. He was my hero!

Forever stoic, he amazed the doctors when just days after his open heart surgery he raised his arms high during physio, ignoring the pain. He was determined to work through it all and get on with his life. Sadly this didn't happen and he died just 6 weeks after from complications. 

My step-father fought a brave battle with emphysema, forever cheerful through gasped breaths. He too worked through pain to keep his family with 3 children and took on the role of carer for his first wife as she fought a brave battle with breast cancer. It was very rare that he bemoaned his twisted hands with arthritis from working outdoors filling petrol tanks on cars docked on the wharf and walking miles every day up and down those wharves.

So stoic was my step-father that the day before he died when he felt a bit agitated, I massaged his feet and cut his toenails, only to find the most deformed and gnarled feet that it took my breath away. Not a word of complaint all those years at work! 

I sometimes wonder why ill men often don't make a fuss about their illness. I believe it is because men have been portrayed as strong at all times. And they certainly never cry. Yet to me, it would be somewhat therapeutic if they could cry, even in private. 

Tears could come for all the physical pain involved in illness, all the anxiety of tests or chemo or surgeries or even needles. And surely a tear could expel some deep fears of not being able to earn enough to provide not only for family, but medical aid. But you rarely find a man will allow himself to break down, even momentarily.

It is common knowledge that most men won't see a doctor until they are truly ill. They continue steadfastly working and hoping that what ails them will pass. They are no sissy as jokes proclaim.

I do not like jokes about sick men. They (you if you are a man), carry not only the burden of their illness, but the burden of being a provider. They carry the burden of society's stereo-typing of their gender. Tough. Unbreakable. Superhuman. A big burden which causes tired shoulders to wilt. 

To the sick men out there, I pray that you will find someone or somewhere to let down your guard and facade.  I pray not only for your healing physically, but emotionally. I am praying for you to be respected as worthy of compassion and care. I want those who you serve and for whom you strive every. single. day. to appreciate your sacrificial love for them. And I want validation for you as chronically ill people. 

 You guys rock! So thank you from all of us who know you and love you. May the LORD richly bless you as you suffer in silence. For despite the jokes, reality says that you really do.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3 John 1:2

Do you enjoy life?

In a world where there is this ‘dog eat dog’ mentality and everyone from the time they learn to walk is pushed to produce, enjoyment in life has dwindled. It is replaced by an undercurrent of anxiety that diminishes the potential any experience or act has for plain old enjoyment.

How many times have you asked someone if they play a musical instrument? Most times, if the person does play, they will tell you- and then follow it with an apology for their lack of true talent.

The hostess of a tea party may fret over the food she has served you- even though it is the most scrumptious of fare! And the young football player berates himself for the lost goal even though his wonderful efforts helped his team win the game.

We modern-age people have generally lost the art of enjoying life and having fun. Our competitiveness and the constant urging of our peers for perfection makes a lot of people not only anxious but irritable and lacking in confidence. No longer are we satisfied with doing our best- we constantly want to excel and outshine others.

Watching the animal kingdom can teach us to relax and enjoy life. A cat for example, is quite content with being simply, a cat. She lives as a cat, seems to enjoy her lot and seems to be generally content. She does not exhibit traits of anxiety as she tries to outdo the cat next door- she lives her life well according to her ability and does not compare herself to other cats. We see this in all the animal kingdom.

I believe we would do well to take a leaf out of the animal kingdom’s book and learn to be content with our best. It is not necessary to outdo everyone in life. The older a person gets, the more obvious it becomes that there will always be someone smarter or dumber than yourself. We have to learn to do our best and then relax a little.

Jesus Christ died that we might have an abundant and full life. We are to do our best and leave the rest to God. Seeking to outdo and excel others in matters brings us into the sphere of conceit and this causes discontent, envy, jealousies, arguments and strife- the complete opposite of holy living.

I believe that not enjoying one’s life is a sad state to be in and is not God-honouring. Doing one’s best and being content is the path to peace and enjoyment of the life God redeemed for you. Accepting your strengths and weaknesses will help you live a free life. Do you enjoy life?

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. ’ Gal 5:22-23

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