“The wise woman builds her house; but with her own hands, the foolish one tears hers down.” Proverbs 14:1

This verse has been bouncing around in my head for about a week now. There are so many ways to tear your house down. My own personal issue is guilt paired with reluctance to let things go.  It usually involves waste — wasted money in particular. You’d think I was a child of the Depression.

I was at my worst after I bought the amazing, and expensive, apple peeler-corer-slicer-oh-my-gosh-glorious-gizmo that my sister raved about.  Fast.  Efficient.  It makes preparing foods, like apples, a snap.  But between set up and operation, it took forever.  I could just as quickly quarter, core, peel and Cuisinart the silly things. But I had spent so much on that gizmo.  

Finally, reluctantly, I bundled the whole contraption up and dropped it in a box for the church rummage sale.  Do I miss it?  Nope.  I gave its space to an immersion blender that I can actually use.  My son and I have been making soups, shakes and yogurt banana smoothies. We just use the tools at hand to build kitchen memories together.

Sue Bradford Edwards (SueBE) is an original member of the Prayables Pray Maker Council. She is a professional writer, teacher and speaker. Her website   is home to her popular blog: One Writers Journey. You can contact SueBE at .

Brick by Brick

Help me be the wise woman,
the woman who builds her home
brick by brick,
memory by memory.

Help me to realize
when I am tearing down
these carefully constructed walls
with harsh words or
harmful habits.

With Your help,
I can love myself
as You love me.
With Your help,
I can look at my mistakes
and then work beyond them.

I can hold my head high.
I can take this self-respect
and this strength
and use it as You would,
building
brick by brick.

"WHAT DO YOU HATE TO WASTE?"