Use It Up Update

It is time for the "Use It Up" Update.  First, I will report on items I bought this month. I bought a new lotion.  It was 50% off, so I could not resist.  Besides, the type of lotion (Maximum Moisture/Whole Foods brand) is great for winter.  It is thick and rich and really helps with that winter itch.  Here is a picture of the lotion from the internet.

The scent I picked is Sugar Plum and it smells delightful. 

As for using my supply up.  I did use up a bar of peppermint soap (pictured below in the glass soap dish).  I got that bar of soap as a birthday gift. 

The next items that are close to being used up are pictured below.

Andalou Aloe Mint shower gel is halfway gone, and the lotion is nearly gone.  Maybe by the end of the month both will be all gone.

Remember the pump on the above pictured soap broke?  Well, I put the soap into a different bottle and have been using it in my kitchen.  I just poured the last of it into the new bottle, so it is on its way to being used up.  Hopefully by the end of this month.

Oh, I have forgotten to mention, another thing I purchased this month, pictured above.  This is a perfume I use.  Kuumba fragrance oils are all natural, very fragrant and long lasting.  A little goes a long way.  I get many compliments, so if you want to try them I recommend it.  I get mine at Whole Foods Market.  I have been using this one little bottle of Arabian Rose for about a year or more and it is finally gone.  I bought a new bottle in the scent Lavender Lace (hubby approved).

So that is my update for this month.  I hope that I have inspired you and that you are using up what you have.  But most of all that you are enjoying what you have.

Where has the beauty of life gone?

"And who is the greatest liar?  The one who says that Jesus Christ is not Christ.  Such a person is antichrist, for he does not believe in God the Father and in his Son."  1 John 2:22.

There seems to be a gloom that has taken over the earth.  Have you noticed?  I can hardly describe it, but to say it seems something out of a book written by C.S. Lewis titled, The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe.  He wrote about a country called Narnia, where winter had taken over and would not leave.  And I suppose that is what has happened in our world for it seems the hearts of men have grown cold in this day in age.  Many people have chosen to believe a lie and in that lie is darkness.  Thus as the world grows darker it also grows cold.  But the good news of the story is that there is a hero named Aslan, a mighty lion.  In the story, Aslan's servants are waiting for him to return.  When he does, winter melts away.  So in real life those of us who have a renewed heart wait for our King, Jesus, who will burn away all the darkness.

Right now though, we weep for the beauty of life that has faded away. Many of our Christian brothers & sisters are suffering or have passed away.  This breaks our hearts, but the happiness is that the Lord adds to His church daily.  Many are yet being saved!  And still yet, as the gloom grows deeper and tension grows tight, it is our time to shine.  We are salt, the city set on a hill, a light reflecting His glory.  We are ever His servant, ready to do whatever He places before us.  And we can be sure that He will provide whatever we need to shine His light.  And we can also be sure that He is with us always, even to the end of the world.  (Matthew 28:20)

Beloved, it appears, our redemption is drawing nearer than ever before, so look up.  Look for our bridegroom, for in Him there is salvation, strength, wisdom, love and peace.  Everything of beauty is with Him and this is where the beauty of life resides. 

Happy 2016!

I hope you are enjoying the first day of 2016.  Mark and I are just relaxing and enjoying eating.  We have been sick for weeks, especially me.  Mark took 3 weeks of vacation and we had plans to have fun, but that got dashed.  First our grandson came down with Hand, Foot & Mouth disease.  He got sores in his throat and on his body.  Mark was not affected by the HFM, but it did affect me in that I got white blisters in the back of my throat.  That lowered my immune system enough that I then came down with a bad cold and was very sick on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.  A week later I am still feeling weak, blowing my nose and coughing.  Our grandson has recovered from the Hand, Foot & Mouth, but now has a bad cold.  We took him to the doctor and the doctor said the cold does not have anything to do with HFM.

Anyway, I was thankful I got my Christmas shopping done before I was so ill.  I was scheduled to meet with a couple friends and go to a Christmas party, but had to cancel all.  Instead I stayed home for days working on getting well.  We had to reschedule Christmas with Everett due to being so ill.

Okay, back to the new year!  Here we are at the beginning of 2016 a whole year of wonder ahead.  A new calendar on the wall, a new date book to fill up.  I wonder what this year has in store?  As I look forward, I know where my strength comes from.  It comes from the one who I have given my heart to...Jesus.  Without Him there is no meaning, no joy & no strength to carry on.  So with that, I wish each and every person who visits my blog a blessed 2016.