Spring Has Officially Sprung

Although here in Texas it never really felt like we had Winter this year, we did manage to somehow act as if we did. We wore our nice warm scarves, our high top boots and carried our dark colored purses. Now, finally,  we can honestly say it is Spring.

For those of us living or visiting here in the Lone Star State, that means Bluebonnets galore!! Oh how we love our state flower. We take road trips to the perfect areas to see them and we plant our babies in the middle of a patch for that oh so perfect photo op.

The word "Spring" is also sometimes followed by the not so pretty word "cleaning".  Nooo!   Yes! It's that time again.  Last year I wrote about a way to use this dreaded task to cheerfully Be Prepared To Bless in the future, so before you tackle your home this year please read my post Spring Has Sprung Part 1 from last year and as always.......

BE PREPARED TO BLESS!

Johnna

Spring Has Sprung.....Part 1

Spring is my favorite season of the year here in Texas. To me it brings so many of the things that I love.  Beautiful weather.  Not so beautiful weather (I love thunderstorms), the commemoration of our risen Savior, outdoor festivals, patio meals, weekend road trips, and I could go on and on.  Like I mentioned earlier, it is my FAVORITE time of year.

Spring, like most seasons brings the good, the bad and the ugly. The ugly being the severe weather. We are known for large hail and our share of tornadoes.

 So what is the bad? Cleaning!! You know, the Spring Cleaning, where you clean out closets, cabinets, garage, attic etc.

For this post I am going to focus on the dreaded closets. Changing out the clothing to coincide with the new temperatures.  That means out with the heavy coats and jackets.  Bag them all up and away we go to the local thrift store, Goodwill or whoever will take these items off of our hands.

Now, let me fast forward to November.  The weather is getting cold and several local charities, churches, schools, civic organizations, you name it, they're having a COAT DRIVE for the homeless. We begin calling up all of our friends and neighbors, posting messages on our social media of choice, advertising in the church bulletin.  We do a number of things to gather up coats, only to be met with the same answers from so many people that we are giving ourselves, "Oh, I wish I had known earlier in the year when I was cleaning out our closets.  I got rid of a whole bunch of coats and jackets that you could have had."

Now, here comes the part about "being prepared to bless". Right about now, when you are packing up all of the coats and jackets to get rid of, find a place to stash them, THEN when coat drive time comes you have a lot to share.  I know, we just want to get rid of this stuff now!! I'm the same way, but there's always room in the back of the closet, top of the closet, under the bed, in the garage, an outside storage unit or somewhere that you can store that extra bag away for a few more months.

Wouldn't you feel better if you were prepared when the time rolls around instead of having to give excuses as to why you can't contribute again this year?  I know I would.

So let's get creative.  Find a place to stash and be ready.

Blessings,
Johnna