So it is finally spring and what does that mean? Spring cleaning! Yes, that time of year to freshen everything up after a long, long winter.
My mom and I were talking about this the other day: the need to do some deep cleaning and do some decluttering. I was talking to her about all the space in my kitchen that I am taking up with dishes. I love pretty dishes. Although not all complete sets, I do have a variety of dishes stacked in my cabinets.
Then I said, “All these beautiful dishes and I hardly get them out to use.” What a sad, sad statement. I have collected what I think are beautiful dishes and I don’t take the time to use them nearly enough. I seem to be waiting for some special occasion or for company to come over. Waiting.
Waiting for what?
I have decided that this attitude of mine needs to change. I need to make the conscious decision that each and every day deserves to be celebrated. Sitting down to a meal with my husband, no matter if it just happens to be leftovers, is special. That is important. It doesn’t have to be a holiday, we don’t need to be celebrating a birthday, the house doesn’t need to be perfectly clean and we don’t need to have company over. These moments are what matter. These moments are worth celebrating and savoring. These moments are worth my time.
I have come to realize something that has been the truth all along. Today is a special occasion. Today. Now.
What good is it for me to say I have a stack of “good” dishes in the cabinet just collecting dust? I want to use them. What is the point in waiting to use the good stuff? There is no better time than now to use it.
It is easy to think we may not have time for the “good” things with all we have going on in our busy days. But it is so worth it. I remember all the times when my mom let us drink from the fancy crystal glasses over the years. And not just on special occasions, but just because we thought it was special. She didn’t worry we would break them, which I do believe happened a time or two. But those memories were worth more than some broken glass.
We can treat today as the special occasion it is. Stop waiting to celebrate life. Get out the good dishes for tonight’s supper. Use the guest towels for your own family. Wear that pretty outfit you bought for special occasions. Use your beautiful things for the people you love the most. Rejoice in the everyday because these moments are what we have right now and they will be gone before we know it. Allow yourself to enjoy and celebrate in this gift of today from the Lord.
This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
I hope this free printable reminds you to rejoice and celebrate the ordinary days. You can click here {free 5″ x 7″ PDF printable} and you will be able to download it to print. Personal use only, please.
Is there something you have been saving for a special occasion? Do you think you might go ahead and make today special by using it?!
Created just for you, by Jennifer at StudioJRU.
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Jennifer,
I have lots of nice table cloths and placemats that sit in drawers. Lately, I’ve been using them to change up the table at which we eat most of our meals and make it a more “festive” occasion. So what if they get drips or stains…those are proof that life happened here. It’s also been fun and a mood lifter for me. After reading your post, I’ll have to get out the fine china to go with it. Thanks for a great reminder to celebrate today!
Blessings,
Bev
Love it, Bev… proof that life happens! I totally agree, it is fun and a mood lifter. So happy to hear you are using the fine china to go with it!
Beautiful printable, Jennifer! I’ve missed you! My mama has a cabinet full of china from her wedding over 50 years ago that I don’t ever remember her using. Maybe we did once or twice, but I don’t remember it! That’s why I use the dishes we received as wedding gifts. We have broken quite a few pieces, yet it doesn’t matter. I do have to admit I have dishes in my cabinet from grandparents that I need to use more. Thanks for the nudge to put it to use.
Thank you sweet Renee! I love hearing that you use the dishes you received as wedding gifts. Awesome! And I hope those grandparent dishes get brought out as well… I am sure they are beautiful!
My mom always told me about going to clean out her grandmother’s house after her grandmother had died. They found drawers and cabinets full of things she was saving for a special day. Many of them had rotted because they had been there so long. My mom always wondered what she was saving those things for rather than enjoying them every day! I’ve always remembered that story and strive to use my prettiest things all the time!
So sad that many of those treasures were lost in the ‘saving’, Holly. How wonderful that you have used that as a teaching lesson through your own life and that you use your prettiest things! 🙂
I have a bunch of Pampered Chef cooking gadgets that I never use. I have been waiting to use them “until I have time” – you know, until the Perfect Housewife In Me emerges and I get to stay at home and cook and clean all day, instead of going to my 8-5 corporate job. I should get them out and try to use them. Who knows, maybe they’d save me time and make my Non-Perfect-Housewifery easier. 😉
Enjoyed the post!
Oh yes, get those gadgets out and have some fun with them, Jamie! I know they make some pretty cool gadgets!
We are trying to sell our house and downsize. When we do, I am only moving my 4 place settings of Corelle and my china. Any time I have more than 4 people we will use it. (Right now it is packed up and waiting for the move! 🙂
Happy to hear you already have a plan to use the china, Karen! Best of luck with your move… what an exciting new journey to begin!
Yup. Today is the day.
🙂
Yay! Happy to hear that, Karyn!
🙂
Well said Jen ! It’s today!
It’s today… love hearing that, Sarita!
Very well said. I have some antique dishes and tea cups that I need to use more. TODAY is so important. My husband passed away suddenly a week ago. Death does not wait. We should not wait to celebrate life every day!
Oh Lorilee, I am so, so sorry to hear that. We just never know. Praying for you during this difficult time.
Lorilee,
Prayers for you as you grieve. May God comfort you and shower you with love and hugs!
Blessings 🙂
Tonight we will eat our Green Soup (Blended Broccoli, Cauliflower and Organic Chicken Broth…as we cleanse our bodies) in my Lenox bowls!!!! Thank you for this post, we do need to cherish our loved ones and cherish each day! <3 Thank you for the blessing 🙂 I just took a break from cleaning and vacuuming, guess I needed to see this.
Oh that sounds wonderful, Cindy… yummy soup from pretty bowls! Love the timing! 😉
I don’t have china, but I do have some pretty crystal glasses, candlesticks and tablecloths we could use for meals themed ‘today is celebration day’. When my flowers bloom, I also have pretty vases to hold beautiful bouquets for the table.
My three and four year old boys would also like to use my china tea set from when I was a little girl. We could use it on our carpeted floor with water and cookies for a picnic. All it is doing is sitting in a box. I rarely was allowed to use it while I was growing up. Even being boys I know they would love to have a tea party with mom.
Thank you for this post!
Yes, yes, yes! That all sounds wonderful, Joanne! “Today is celebration day” is perfect! I can just imagine how excited your little ones would be to use such a special set with mom. I also can not wait for things to start blooming in the garden so I can bring them in to enjoy. Makes such a difference in the home!
Jennifer – thank you for reminding us that every moment is the best moment to use, be, and show our best for God’s glory! I actually read this and went and changed my ratty ole mama’s t-shirt and put on one of my favorite “nice” shirts for the rest of the day.
Missy… love, love, love it! 🙂
Amen! Great post, Jennifer!
Thank you, Jeanette!
This is a great reminder. It is so easy to slip through time and life without even noticing, and then when we get to the end, we wonder what happened.
Thank you, Marytoo! It is so easy to let those days slip by without noticing!
Oh, this is so true! When my great aunt died (aged 85) there were packets and packets of sheets and tablecloths in her drawers, still in their wrappers, that she had been saving for best. As an artist I am learning to use up those expensive paints/papers/inks/whatever to create something (I hope!) beautiful today. Thanks for the reminder.
Oh… still in their wrappers. That is such a motivation to use the good stuff, isn’t it?! Love that you are using up those good art supplies in your work, Tracy!!
When living overseas sometimes we all had a tendency to save something special. Okay, we hoarded. These were food items until one of us found the chocolate all dusty and cloudy looking and over one year old. She shared and we changed a little bit that day. I use all of our special dining items. It is a practice my mom had and now I do too. Even my little granddaughters get special table setting though not the crystal yet only because it is lead and too heavy, for now.
That is just wonderful that this is something that has passed through the generations in your family! I am sure your granddaughters love their special table setting and it will be something they will carry on. Thanks for sharing, Linda.
Thank you for this post, Jennifer, it was needed today. You inspired me to serve dinner on our fine china tonight. I hope you have a blessed week.
Yay! So happy to hear that, Nicole! I hope your family enjoys it… I am sure they will!
You would like the book, “Living A a Beautiful Life” by Alexandra Stoddard. I read it thirty years ago and is probably my favorite book. It is a well written book giving suggestions to add joy and grace to each day. Example, pretty glass with colored pencils at your desk. She has numerous suggestions. I have met her several times and her books are a pleasure. You might find it at the library.
Thanks so much for the suggestion, Debbie! Sounds wonderful. I will have to look that up!
I say this every morning. Most mornings it is easy but some mornings I have to work at it.
I hear you, Patricia! Some days are definitely easier than others to rejoice in. It does take work.
Jennifer, you are so on target. Thank you for the reminder! For the past 20 years, every Sunday is China day – even though most of the time it is just my husband and I. When there is company, we use the dining room, which a lot of times is just a ‘catch all’.
I am struggling to downsize and declutter. Need prayer here!
Thanks again!
That is such a neat tradition, Sue! I love it. Thanks so much for sharing! I struggle with decluttering too… work in progress! 😉
Jennifer, thank you for this post!
I love having sabbath day tea parties with my girls. We use my Grandmom’s china tea set and they sip with their little fingers pointed all “proper” and “fancy” and call me “madame” and the snacks “crumpets”(though they have no idea what that is.) (I don’t either.)
And yes, the dishes get chipped and broken but their smiles and the memories are more than worth it!
Oh Elise… that sounds just perfect! I can just image your sweet girls having so much fun. What precious memories you are creating. Thanks so much for sharing!
I treasure each day. While I don’t have fancy dishes or such I value dinner time or any time with my hubby. It is very special to me as you don’t know when they will be taken away from you! Each day will be celebrated in some special way–not saving anything for “that day”.
Blessings 🙂
Yes exactly, Beth… not saving anything for ‘that day’. Dinner time together is so special. Happy to hear it is something you do in your home!
Hey Jennifer. How about I come to visit you when I’m in your neighbourhood? You can bring out your beautiful dishes, I’ll come wearing my Sunday best and we’ll have a jolly time together. 🙂 This brought a smil to my face, touched my heart, and made me want to get up and celebrate “this gift of today from the Lord. Thank you for reminding me that today (and every day) is a special occasion and there’s no better time than now.
Oh that sounds wonderful, Maria! It would be a jolly time! So happy this post brought a smile to your face and makes you want to celebrate! 🙂
Jennifer, this is such a timely message. A friend of mine just lost her mother and she wrote about a bottle of truffle oil that she bought in Italy years ago. Her post “Choosing to Live Your Best Life” is a tribute to not waiting, to living your life fully TODAY. Here is the address to this sweet message: http://tracyline.com/2014/04/09/choosing-to-live-your-best-life/.
Thank you, Jennifer, for reminding me to enjoy the best the Lord has given me TODAY. To share the special things with my special people on this ordinary day and not wait for a “special” time. TODAY is the special time…a priceless gift. We may not have tomorrow to share.
So sorry to hear your friend lost her mother. We just never know when our time will come. Today is special! Thank you, Sabra!
I have one set of China that “survived” a tornado! My home was destroyed with me in it and I use that china EVERY day. That’s all I want… What I love and use. No more!
Oh Bonnie… how terrifying! We have had our brushes with tornadoes living in Nebraska, it is so scary! Grateful you are ok and that you use that special china every day!!