Doing things you love.....

Well, we have gone from wet to wet and COLD. This is definitely autumnal weather and I am so not ready for autumn. Today started humid, and then got colder by the minute, and we all ended up with multiple layers. In August.

There was a moment when I walked round the house, and there was Mum, crocheting away, in the lounge, Jean baking scones (divine) in the kitchen, and Marge working in her garden. Each of them doing what they loved doing most. And when you do something you love doing, you are happy. There are smiles. Contentment.

And if you think about it, each of them was doing something which brought a huge amount to pleasure to everyone else. I can confirm that the scones brought me a great deal of pleasure. Jean failed to make enough. They were gone in minutes. But then, there is always tomorrow and the possibility that the baking urge will strike again!

There are freesias from the garden in a vase, and people stop to take photos of the house with all the flowers everywhere.... geraniums hanging from the balcony in profuse numbers.....hanging baskets and beds overflowing with plants. A riot of colour. The dilemma of the day was trying to find places for the plants Marge bought yesterday. We may have to create new beds. I use the term "we" loosely here. I may supervise.

And piles of beautiful blankets. Crocheted with love by my Mum. Just waiting for homes. Another riot of colour, and something she loves to do. She also loves crossword puzzles. this is possibly why she is so on the ball for an 84 year old lady! We just have to suggest a combination of colours we fancy for changing the decor in our homes, and the hook starts flying, and we have beautiful blankets to match.

Contentment. Oh yes. Space. A jigsaw puzzle out on the table again. The murmur of voices as people chat. Spaghetti bolognese brought from Peter's restaurant over the road for supper..... another example of someone doing something he loves and bringing the 5 people back at the house a great deal of pleasure. (Not just because we didn't have to cook dinner ourselves!)

In fact, thinking back on the day, just about everything everyone did was for someone else. All bringing joy to the one doing it, because it was something they loved doing.

I nearly forgot the feeble attempt at a puppet show on skype for Missy. There was a great deal of laughter, and all I will say is that it involved a toy dog, a boat which played music, a bath towel, a lighthouse, a fishing rod made from a twig and piece of string, giant fish and wooden birds, and a cardboard shark fin attached to a ruler with an elastic band. And David and Marge on the floor of the study, with Jean and me holding a towel in place and all 4 of us trying to manipulate dogs, fish, birds and boats. As I said, a great deal of laughter. Missy laughed too, so it was wonderful. We made a little girl happy.

And the Purpose Driven Life devotional for today was about rejoicing in doing menial or mundane things for others, as the need arose. Serving. I can't tell you how apt the devotionals have been in the past few weeks.

And then there is the fact that my friends are living in my house (looking after things for me) and at the same time, I am providing somewhere for them to stay while their home has building work done. See? If you start thinking, the list just grows.

It really is quite simple.