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February 9, 2019 1:12 pm
A pastor called the show to talk about his mother-in-law's declining health and her spiritual condition, but the conversation quickly returned to him better caring for his wife by tackling the laundry, cooking, and cleaning.
1. Washing clothes (with fabric softener, bleach or color-guard detergents) is not that complicated. Separating clothes by color doesn't require much training and practice. Folding laundry is not only a simple task—it can even be done while watching sports.
Garment manufacturers go to the trouble of placing labels in their products. Reading those labels requires little if any effort. If there is any doubt on a blouse, skirt, pants or dress belonging to your wife, put it aside and take it to the cleaners—but by all means learn how to properly wash those items at another time. Don't overfill the washer or dryer, and always clean the lint tray of the dryer before starting a new load. A dryer sheet is not only inexpensive, it's easy to toss into the dryer and helps soften the clothes, reduce wrinkles and static cling, and improves the smell of clothes.
2. A short distance away, the dishwasher can be emptied and loaded with dirty dishes in only minutes, and is one of the simplest machines to operate. Simply scrape off food and so forth, and place the dishes in the washer in a way that corresponds with the shape of the rack. Glasses usually go up on top, and try to not to wedge glass material in too tight. The goal is not to win the award for the most dishes fitted inside, but to allow them to be properly cleaned. With a myriad of cleaning products, counters and appliances can be quickly (and thoroughly) cleaned, and grabbing a broom, the floor (and specifically under the cabinets) can be effectively policed and ready for mopping.
3. The bathrooms and other areas of the home are just as easy to clean, and only require a commitment to serve as a good steward for the castle where one lives.
4. Grocery shopping is not hard; you simply make a list. If your budget needs it, use coupons and buy generic. If you spend $500 on your first trip to the grocery store, you probably went a bit overboard. Vegetables, cooking/baking supplies, cleaning supplies, paper products, meat, dairy, juice are the main things you will buy, and most grocery stores lay those products out in an organized fashion. Familiarize yourself with what's in the pantry, cleaning supplies' closet, and under the kitchen sink—and replace what needs replacing.
5. Cooking can be as joyful or as miserable as you choose for it to be. When it comes to preparing a meal, many guys opt for fast food, pizza or, at best, car-side to go from a favorite local restaurant. That's acceptable only in a pinch, but not to be bragged about like a mighty hunter who bagged a deer and brought it home draped across the shoulders.
Planning a meal requires just that: planning. Think about a favorite dish, and then make it. If you can imagine a dish, there's already a recipe online. Don't simply do steaks and potatoes with a sliver of broccoli. Make a well-balanced, heart-healthy meal. Orient yourself with the spice cabinet and the pantry, and remember where things go. Silverware has a place, and so do all the cooking utensils. Set the table properly, and after dinner—make sure the kitchen is thoroughly cleaned.
6. The iron is not a mystical or enchanted appliance. It has limited settings that correspond to the label inside the garment. Adjust the settings as needed, and then place the iron on the garment and move back and forth until wrinkles disappear. Steam can be used as needed (with distilled water found on the bottled water aisle of the grocery store), but if you see smoke—you're doing it wrong. Spray starch (look in the laundry room/cabinet) is effective when ironing shirts or other cotton or cotton/blend clothing.
7. Change the bed, put out clean towels, vacuum, mop and take out the trash. If your wife is taking care of her parents or working a stressful job, this is a great way to care for her. For teenagers/students living at home, don't wait to be asked—look for things to do.
With a massive number of caregivers for vulnerable loved ones, everyone will need to step up their game and pull together. If you aren't serving as a caregiver, then you can at least care for the one who is.
This go to Nick in Virginia Nick and Virginia. Good morning.
Welcome to the show how you feel Nick, I'm feeling great. I like it old for minimum wage limited abilities among that which you got all your heart month. Well I background I either by vocational pastor at a very small church and I your program for a few months now. You went on their pride back late summer early fall and I started into the American family. Okay that's that's what I got started I die.
Driving to work on Saturday morning and at and I usually listen to any fill him in the month I got my Bluetooth I hear you baby I hear. Talk okay well and here's what happened just recently we found out my wife and I found out that the per mom has advanced cancer. She's been in the hospital a couple times and they've pretty much up determine that it's it's chemotherapy would be very very devastation and so you know it's kind of a situation where where my mom, my wife and her dad are are caring for a you know my mother and it's been a very unique situation. My wife is is over there a lot and I encourage you to do that because she's the only daughter of the family and you know knows about women things and end, and it is very good for her and forget about that.
She's an excellent pastor's wife. She is as great job with things and much yell. Basically her dad and my wife are caring for my mother law and it's been a real wake-up call me.
I'm glad to see them doing it. And there's a great job you not a lot of people coming over to to bring meals and just get from their church they they go to different church that I pass wrapped just recently started passing at this at this up a small church but it's been a very unique situation.
You know people have different mindsets about the treatment, chemotherapy is your vision is its place in this without where is your headspace in this well not very well why I think that that you know he accepted Christ the Savior. She's above Boardman creek born-again Christian and switch to switch back a little bit what are you doing to help your wife to the Lord doing the cleaning while I work full time at pastor for time and I do much as I can at the house unless you straight up in the are you doing laundry, no I have Modesto distorted and that's a good idea. That's how do that you will be a caregiver in helping the caregiver doesn't have to be all spirituals and make sure everybody heard these the four spiritual laws. A list of sometimes just doing laundry and cleaning up and clean the toilets and in making meals. I been doing this now for a long time and I can bring home the bacon brought up in a panic, never let you forget. I'm a man you I I get I get the journey.
Okay, I get what it's like to work I get what it's like to care for children and I get what it's like to care for sick wife right now. Your wife needs you in the game while she focuses on her mother. She needs to come home to a clean house. She needs to come home to the iron is not some enchanted device. It really is a very easy thing to work in. I am on a mission to help men learn how to do things around the house and not somehow take on stereotyped roles that do there is there is nothing wrong with picking up a vacuum cleaner dishrag doing the laundry. By the way, when you do the laundry. Nick separate the whites and colors.
Okay, I know how to do that lately and then asked her which of the items she wants dried and not dried because some things need to be hung up and not dried and you do this for your wife and you look at the you just look at the beauty that will come on her face when she sees her husband serving in this manner. Okay because she's tired she's emotional. She stressed learn to cook. You know how to cook.
I learned how to cook some and what what I'm really more worried about it is her father who is taking care of up my mother-in-law who doesn't do anything that my wife is all that pretty much a lot of the cooking and in all the laundry there unfortunate as well as most wanted our house. You know, so if you will and your wife is that's good change today. She's only going to do laundry for one household that you can't fix your father-in-law situation okay. He's a grown man he's gotten this point and she and her dad have to work at this arrangement, but what you can do is that when she does come home and she will be tired and she will be emotional and she will be frustrated. She can come home to a clean home made up bids to all the above, and these are things you can do this is being a pastor. This is being a pastor and week you know and and at that you're not can get a lot of it's a different role for you, but you serving your wife because this is how Christ loves the church he stretched out his arms for and he Christ is in love with a with a wounded Brian I been saying this for years now and not to care for one to broaden myself and our Savior, metaphorically speaking, does all the things that were talked about for us. He just serves.
And that's what he's done for us and now you can a model that for your wife and you watch what happens to her face and she will look at you with the most beautiful gratitude because she will see that her husband is truly caring for her tracking with me yes or that matter You are spot on her that that's that's that. I plan to do those things you you you may be able to expand it into what with her dad that may or may not happen right now I am. I know that she is pulled in six different directions in her heart is heavy. Her mother is dying. You can't fix that. You can't change that but what you can do is you could care for her in a way that she's probably never been cared for, because obviously her dad didn't do that kind of stuff and now she's good to see her husband do it and it's going to be astonishing. You can administer this woman. And then what's gonna happen. I promise you this, Nick. You can follow back with the use of the show Wrigley a promise you this will happen, it'll change the way you pastor and I promise you that I promise you this, it will, it will open your level of ministry up in ways that you've never even dreamed of. Because you can learn to serve in the deeper capacity, the more we learn to serve in this in this manner, the more effective ministry will be and your sermons will change everything about you will change because you will then share the sufferings of Christ in this and Sprite. This part of the sufferings of Christ, as he serves. He lays out himself. He played it without asking anything in return, and you're not doing this for any other reason other than you just love this woman and you want to care for her to wait that is that tangibly communicates to her how much you love her, you do not expect anything from her. And I mean what I say that it was a family show. But what I say you don't expect anything from you.
Don't expect anything from. Anything you just give the way your heavenly father what your Savior has given to you and you watch what happens in both of your lives.
A promise you it will, it will it's it's a game changer that help men that you heard that, and I want to say that you know are the reason why have become very interested in this. Before we got the news about my mother-in-law's answer is, the folks at the church that I've been called a pastor at have done huge caregiving assignments with you know some of their loved ones and it is for what they've done that they made gone like you know being awake with with focus 24 seven. You have to take turns being exhausted. You and I know how you you done the 30 years it can be exhausting and because you you got any time go out looking delectable to the caregiver look at the picture I'm only 30 look at what it did to me just getting the swell like I admire you this, my white here. You know it is. It's exhausting.
It's exhausting and so for those of us who weren't physically in the trenches staying by those bedsides vigils.
The rest of us who care for us in that circle in our orbit can learn to do things the way that that really ministered to a caregiver. That's what this show is all about. Let's change the way we interact with ourselves as caregivers and with those who we know who are caregivers don't don't just put your armor as a brother will pray for you none on the laundry regular net iron to learn how to cook dinner recipe book start making heart healthy meals is not that hard, you can do it.
I believe that hey thanks for the call Nick. This is hopefully caregiver, hopefully caregiver.com.
I'm Peter Rosenberg relating 589-8840 888-589-8040 will be right you have the strength to trust God when things I'm gracing the 1983 I experienced a horrific car accident leading 80 surgeries in both legs and became I questioned why God allowed something so brutal to happen to me. But over time, my questions changed and I discovered courage to trust God that understanding along with an appreciation for quality prosthetic limbs led me to establish standing without more than a dozen years we been working with the government of Ghana and West Africa, equipping and training local workers to build and maintain quality prosthetic limbs for their own people on a regular basis. We purchased ship equipment and supplies and with the help of inmates in Tennessee prison. We also recycle parts from donated lambs. All of this is to point others to Christ. The source of my help and strength, please visit standing without.com to learn more and participate in lifting others@standingwithout.com. I'm Gracie. I am staining without
