Gracious Living by Design

Would you offer a glass of milk?

A GLASS OF MILK

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from
door to door to pay his way through school, found
he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next
house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely
young woman opened the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of
water. She thought he looked hungry so
she brought him a large glass of milk.

He drank it slowly, and then asked, How much do I owe
you?

" You don't owe me anything, " she replied.
" Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a
kindness."

He said..... " Then I thank you from my heart. "

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only
felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and
man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and
quit.

Many years later that same young woman became
critically ill. The local doctors were baffled.

They finally sent her to the big city, where they
called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the
consultation.  When he heard the name of the town
she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.

Immediately he rose and went down the hall of
the hospital to her room.

Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see
her.  He recognized her at once.

He went back to the consultation room
determined to do his best to save
her life. From that day he gave special
attention to her case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won.
Dr. Kelly requested the business office to
pass the final bill to him for approval. He
looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the
bill was sent to her room. She feared to open
it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her
life to pay for it all.  Finally she looked, and
something caught her attention on the side of
the bill.  She read these words.....

" Paid in full with one glass of milk " (Signed)
Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy
heart prayed: " Thank You, God, that Your love
has spread broad through human hearts and hands."

There is a scripture which goes something like
this: Bread cast on the waters comes back to you.

The good deed you do today may benefit you or
someone you love at the least expected time.

If you never see the deed again at least you will
have made the world a better place - And, after all,
isn 't that what life is all about?

The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge
to cross and which to burn.....

"Where do I start with organizing?"

A potential client asked me this recently. I remembered a common-sense answer I read in the article archives of a great site: www.organizen.com

The author of what follows is Rachel Claret, who owns the site and puts out a fine newsletter.

Choosing a Room
My entire house is cluttered, top to bottom. I'd like to get organized, but where do I start?

First of all, congratulations on asking for help. The first step of any large project is usually the hardest one. My recommendation is for you to choose either your bedroom, or the kitchen - whichever one drives you the craziest. Don't pick a guest room or the garage, or any other room in which you can easily close the door and avoid.

The reason why, is that you live in these two rooms. Not only are they where you spend the bulk of your time, they are the places in your home in which you nurture yourself (or don't). They are where you rest, clothe and feed yourself. In order for you to experience peace in your home, these two rooms must feel good to you. If you feel happy and cared for in your bedroom and your kitchen, working on other rooms will not feel so daunting.

Once you have chosen which room will give you the most satisfaction to organize, the next step is to begin removing everything that doesn't belong there, and/or getting rid of stuff in which you know you have too much (plastic containers, for instance). Don't get distracted by trying to put things away elsewhere. Just work on the elimination of what doesn't belong in this room. Happy organizing.