🤎 Thankful Thursday - The Work of My Hands

🤎 Thankful Thursday - The Work of My Hands

Some days, these hands spend a whole lot of time on a keyboard.

Typing. Clicking. Figuring. Fixing.

Trying to convince the computer that I do, in fact, know what I want it to do.

We occasionally disagree. 😂

Then I get home, and my hands switch gears.

Chop a little. Stir a little. Feed the starter. Check the dough. Move the thing I just set down because now I need that spot.

And somewhere in between, another idea.

A recipe. A bracelet. A project that starts with, “This shouldn’t take very long.”

Clearly my reality is skewed at times. 🤣

🧭 Compass Heading: Finding Gratitude in the Making

This Thursday, I’m thankful for the work of my hands—the everyday tending and the creative making.

And let the household record show: Mike does the laundry and most of the dishes.

Proper credit belongs to the man washing the bowls after I’ve decided one recipe requires nearly every one we own. 😂

I handle the cooking and cleaning. Together, we keep this home going.

Apparently, living here is a recurring event.

🤎 From My Kitchen Table

Making things gives my busy mind somewhere to settle.

Give me a problem, and I can think it around the block and back. Then take another lap, just to be thorough and land on a potential solution.

But dough to fold? Vegetables to chop? Beads to string?

Right here.
This is where my heart thrives.

Although threading that tiny hole in a bead does require better lighting than it used to.

We turn on the bright light and carry on.

I love watching simple things become something we can eat, use, or share. There’s satisfaction in figuring it out, feeling it come together, and learning when to help things along—or leave them alone.

Still working on that last part.

In several areas I might add.

Be kind in the comments here…constructive feedback preferred! 😂

🪡 A Little Making, a Little Meaning

Some work, of course, comes right back around.

Wipe the counter; somebody makes a sandwich.
Clean the floor; the dogs deliver a backyard field report.
Finish dinner; start thinking about tomorrow’s.

We just did dinner.

I don’t always feel grateful while cleaning up. But I’m thankful for the life being lived here—the feet and paws, the food to share, the room for another plate.

And occasionally, a clear counter.

😂😂😂 Lies. You’ve seen my projects.

Between the chores and the projects, there’s usually something in progress around here. I’m learning to enjoy that part, too.

🧭 Compass Thought

With The Twisted Compass, I can hurry toward the finished thing: recipe written, photo taken, gift wrapped, label straight.

That last one may take a second label.

But there’s joy before anything is ready to show.

In the smell coming from the oven. In choosing the beads. In that little moment of, “Oh, I like how this is turning out.”

I can enjoy making supper without photographing it. Learn something without mastering it by Saturday. Finish one project without assigning myself six more before bed.

Mike may want that last sentence framed. 😂

Ecclesiastes reminds us that seeing good in our labor is a gift from God. Today, I want to slow down enough to receive it.

To enjoy what my hands are doing while they’re doing it.

What have your hands been busy with lately, and what part brings you joy? 🤎

📖 Compass Verse

“moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the gift of God.”

— Ecclesiastes 3:13, NASB 1995

🙏 Compass Prayer

Lord,

Thank You for useful work, creative joy, and the life we’re tending together.

Help me enjoy the good in what I’m doing, even while it’s still unfinished. Give me patience in the learning and wisdom to know when I’ve done enough for today.

Bless what I make and the people who receive it. Thank You for Mike and the work we share.

Keep my heart grateful, and help me receive the everyday joys You place before me.

Amen. 🧡

Find Your Way Home.
~Karen
The Twisted Compass

Notice More. Love Well. Gather Often.