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You Did It!

Can you believe that we've completed our first month of Small Things??  It has been so much fun to do the activities, knowing that I have Company Girls doing them right along with me!  You girls have made each day an adventure.  And we've only scratched the surface of the Small Things that will continue to make our homes true sanctuaries for us and our families.

Now, for today's Small Thing, I'm asking you to leave a comment so I'll know:

• What your score is, even if you know you're not going to have the most points.  Hey, points are points!  Be loud and proud! Or,

• Even if you didn't keep score, but participated at least 5 times (and have the CG button if you're a blogger)  so you can be eligible for the Random Drawing.  Or,

• You just want today's points,  Or

• If you're new or a lurker and are thinking you might give this Sanctuary/Company Girl thang a whirl...we want to try and talk you into it!

And just to review:

The "Most Points" winner will receive a 16 x 20 "gallery-wrapped" canvas print of January's verse, Psalm 90:17.  This is will be a beautiful reminder of our Sanctuary prayer for this entire year.  16 x 20 is a great size because it's big enough to stand on its own as a piece of artwork and small enough to be put in a wall arrangement with your other decor.  It comes ready to hang.

Our Random Drawing winner will receive a signed copy of He Speaks to Me, by Priscilla Shirer, my famous friend and very own Company Girl.

If there is a tie for Most Points, each will receive a canvas print!

Give yourself 20 points for leaving a comment today...to go toward January's final tally! You'll have until I post again at 7 am tomorrow(Central Standard Time, or GMT - 6) to leave a comment to be entered.  I will announce the winners by Monday.

Start typin'!

I've got a headache just thinking about this

The other night my husband, Tom, was up with a bad headache at 2 am.  Apparently, he had rummaged through our medicine cabinet without any success in finding Tylenol PM. (It was sitting right in front.....but that's not my point.)

In the morning he kindly suggested that I ought to post about discarding expired medicines for a Small Thing. 

"Step ahead a ya, buddy," I said cheerfully.  "It's already on my Small Things post for Wednesday!"

He is learning that if he wants things done around here, he should appeal to my Small Things mentality.

See, I'm a simple gal.  Give me one thing to do at a time and I'll find a way to blog about it.

Today's Small Thing is to purge your medicine cabinet of expired medicines and vitamins.  (Tom held up a vitamin bottle from 2003 as Exhibit A.  I hang my head in shame.)

POINTS: 30 for cleaning out the medicine cabinet!

What's the oldest thing you're throwing out?

PS Don't forget! Tomorrow is the day we will report in our points and/or participation! You won't want to miss out on your chance to win the prizes!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

There's nothing like getting a real-deal, snail-mail letter in my mailbox.  What joy!  What serendipity! 

Unfortunately, I am TERRIBLE about writing them to other people. 

I have several people on my list of loved ones I really should drop a letter to.  I have stacks of blank note cards in my desk drawer.  I have plenty of stamps.  I know where my address book is.

So why is it so hard to write one dang card??

Maybe because I've never gotten points for doing so.

UNTIL. TODAY.

Today's Small Thing is to write a simple note or letter to someone who could use a real-deal, snail-mail card in the mailbox.  I'm going to write a thank you note to a friend who did something really nice for me and I just never "have time" to sit down to write it.

How about you?  Is there someone you've been putting off writing a short note of appreciation to?  Someone who could use an "I'm thinking of you" card?  Perhaps someone in your own home!

I'll make this easy.

POINTS: 40 for a card or letter that gets mailed.  "May-jah" points (said in my best "Posh" British accent)

OR,

20 for a card that gets put into a lunch box, under a pillow or given to someone in the family, no stamps involved.  Easy and simply wonderful.  You'll make someone's day!

Then let us know:  who are you writing to today, and why?

Get Free!

Today we're gonna get free, baby!

Whatcha got laying around your house that is pulling you down?  A pile of laundry?  A stack of mail?  A bunch of bills?  A mountain of dishes?

Today's Small Thing is to get free of ONE PILE.  It can be a pile of anything, you name it.  Clutter, receipts, clothes, newspapers, office papers, toys....it doesn't matter.

You only have to do ONE pile.  Getting rid of one pile of something is enough to tell procrastination that you are getting FREE!  So put it away, organize it, throw it, DEAL WITH IT!

Tell it you're through being shackled to it!

Then you oughta turn this song up and do a freedom dance.  Oh, yeah!

POINTS: 30 for getting free of one pile

BONUS POINTS: 20 for freedom dancing afterward!  Get up and do a little praisin!

50 max.

Then tell us:  what did you get free of today?  Let us give you a Woo Hoo!

Heaven help the hounds

How does your pet's area look today?  My dog's outside feeding area is a mess from the marauding raccoons who raid his food and water dishes every night.  They leave his water dish a muddy mess from dipping their little hands in it to wash their stolen morsels.  Naughty bandits!

But our Lab is a messy eater and a slobbery drinker anyway.  His dining area doesn't look very good even without help from the masked intruders.

And the area where he sleeps....well, let's just say he sheds a lot.

Today's Small Thing is to tidy up your pet areas.  Those nasty bowls could use a good scrubbing and a sweep around them to pick up the crumbs.  If you have a dog or kitty bed, give it a good shake or vacuuming if you can.  And should we talk about cat litter boxes???  Nah, I didn't think so.

Somehow I think our four-legged friends appreciate our efforts to spruce up their domains, even though they keep quiet about it.  There's something classy about seeing them eat from a clean dish and I think it helps their self image. (Not that cats need help feeling even more superior!)

POINTS:  20  for cleaning up the dishes and food area

BONUS POINTS:  20 for cleaning up any other pet mess.....

40 pts max, (this is for any pets, not just dogs and cats)

Sorry, non-pet people!  I'll make it up to you somehow....

P.S. I once had a friend whose dog was on Prozac for depression. Ooooh kaaaay.  Maybe all he needed was a clean dog dish to eat from to lift his spirits!

Fix It

One of the things that really frustrates me around our house is the amount of things that are broken and need fixing.

A quick glance around the house reveals: necklaces with a broken clasps, pieces of a shattered teacup, a watch that doesn't work, screws from something (?) that need to be replaced.  Things missing battery packs.  A broken clock.  A broken door handle.  Lamps with broken on/off switches.  Sunglasses without the little nose-thingy.

Not to mention clothes than need hemming or mending.  And of course the "old house" issues of iffy plumbing and leaky faucets.  Sigh.

I can't fix all of those things today, but I think I could fix one of them if I tried.

So today's Small Thing is to fix something that's broken! Maybe it's a Barbie that needs her arm replaced or a toy car that lost a wheel.  Maybe it's something that just needs a little dot of super glue to bring it back to life.  I know I can't tackle our plumbing, but I could glue that cracked plate that's been in the junk drawer for 5 years.

While you're fixing something at your house, think about the small ways YOU being mended.  After all, we're each just a little bit broken and in need of healing.  But God is working in us in small, yet wonderous ways--healing what hurts and fixing what's broken.  It's happening, even when we don't feel it.

These Small Things are giving me confidence to do more than I thought I could.  I'm being fixed a little bit each day just by doing them.  I'm grateful to my Company Girls for being along for this adventure!

POINTS: 30 for fixing something that's broken

BONUS POINTS: 20 if you use a power tool!

Tell us:  What are you fixing today?

Baby, You're No Good

(My playlist is having troubles today....sorry)

As I was rummaging through my vegetable bin in the fridge yesterday, I came across a moldy mass of oozing mushrooms and mushy zucchinis. 

How does this happen?? 

I try to be vigilant.  I try to stay on top of things.  But apparently things go bad before I can get to them.

I found some yoghurt that had expired in the Clinton administration.  It was pretty much petrified. 

But it's the unlabeled containers of leftovers that are stacked 3 or 4 high way in the back that scare me.  Was that turkey dressing from Thanksgiving or Christmas??  Please tell me it was from Christmas!

Why, then it would only be one month old...

Today's Small Thing is to get your heads into your refrigerators and then throw out all that stuff that's no good.  Take a minute to examine the expiration dates on packages, and check for the veggies that will never make it to the table as a steaming side dish because they were forgotten in the bin.

I like to do a quick wipe of the shelves while I'm at it and it really feels nice to see clean glass.  The sticky jelly and ketchup spills in there are so uninspiring.  When it looks good, I feel like I'm a person on a cooking show, so professional!  Bon appetit!

POINTS: 40 for getting rid of the stuff that's No Good

Get out those platform shoes...or not

There's nothing worse than walking barefoot in the kitchen and feeling the crunch of crumbs beneath your feet.  Plus, a dirty floor just doesn't make you feel like disco dancing!

Today's Small Thing is just to sweep up the kitchen floor.  You could run a mop over it and it would take you only about 10 more minutes, but then that would be TWO small things in one day.  You don't need to overdo.

Even if you do decide to get ambitious and add mopping today, save some energy for a little boogie fever and get someone to dance with you on your nice, clean floor!

POINTS: 30 for sweeping the dance floor

BONUS POINTS: 30 more for mopping to a nice shine (better for reflecting the disco ball)

Have a Bubbly Day

With 9 Small Things left this month, there is still time to get counted in to compete for this month's prizes!  Remember, you only have to complete 5 little small things to be entered into the random drawing for the signed copy of He Speaks to Me.   As for the "Most Points" award, you might be surprised by how many you can pick up between now and the end of the month!  If you haven't already emailed me to become a Company Girl, do it today!  We will post points and participation on Jan. 31, through comments and/or Mr.Linky.

Today's Small Thing is all about Bubbles!  I'm going to let you get creative and come up with something, ANYTHING to do with bubbles!

Here are a few ideas:

Hand-wash a delicate item you've been putting off washing!

Take (or give) a bubble bath!

Make some hot, bubbly soup!

Suds up your car!

Suds up your dog!

Blow bubbles with your child!

Borrow someone's child to blow bubbles with!

Pop open some bubbly champagne!

Use your imagination.  Whether you do up a sink full of dishes or do something silly, focus on the bubbles and figure out how your chosen activity fits into creating Peace, Order or Beauty for your home sanctuary! 

Have fun with this one and then let us all know what you did with bubbles today!

POINTS: 30 for doing something bubbly

Fire up your Life!

Did you know when you decided to try out the Small Things that they would be so easy?  If you're still sitting on the fence trying to decide whether or not you can do this stuff, today's "challenge" should remove all doubt.  It's CHILD'S PLAY!

Well, maybe not.  Matches are involved.

Today's small thing is to take out one or more or those gift candles you may have gotten for Christmas, or one you've had sitting around looking all pretty (and useless), and

LIGHT IT UP, BABY!

There's nothing like a little flickering flame to remind us that we are to enjoy the simple pleasures that life brings.  In the midst of a busy world, a simple candle brings to mind friendship, kindness and warmth.  I love that!  Light it up and savor what it does for your sanctuary.

It's Friday and I'm feeling generous with the points today.

POINTS: 40 for just this teeny-tiny little small thing!