A Beautiful Picture of God's Love
Now, this is fairly new to us. She was just recently big enough to receive this kind of treatment. At first, it was kind of fun for her. But, can you imagine keeping an almost two year old occupied, while sitting still and beeing shaken like a polaroid picture for half and hour! No easy feat, I tell you. We do books, songs, movies, show, WHATEVER we can to make this a bearable, if not fun, time. She usually does okay for the first 10 minutes at the low speed, then with the next 10 she starts getting a little ancy, as it speeds up some, by the time the last 10 minutes comes around and we are at full speed, she is a very unhappy a camper a lot of times. We typically spend a good portion of that time in tears, sometimes with her all out screaming.
It is often a fight to even get her to put it on. She knows what is coming. What is the point of this? As I was fighting with her to put it on this morning, firm in my resolve knowing that though it broke my heart to see her go through it, it was necessary for her to live a healthy life. She doesn't understand that yet, she just knows she HATES it. Aren't we like that with God often times? We fight Him tooth and nail, get angry, and all out scream sometimes that we don't want to do or go through something. But He knows it is necessary for our spiritual and sometimes physical, mental, and emotional health. Then, in the middle of it, we still kick and scream. We want out of whatever circumstance, or "vest" we may be in. But you know what, He is holding us all along. Just as I am always there, holding my little one. Hugging, kissing, and comforting. I CAN'T let her out, she has to finish, but I hold her tight and get shook and cry right along with her. She is my child, just as we are God's children. How much more does our Heavenly Father love us?! And you know what, most of the time now, when she starts to get upset, she reaches up, grabs my neck, buries her face in it, and want sme to hold her tight and sing in her ear. I hold her as tightly as I can and sing and kiss and rock, and she makes it through. She does not always make it through happily, but she makes it. She knows drawing me closer to her is what is will take for her to be okay with this. When we are in the midst of strife, if we will just grab God around the neck, draw him close, and though he can't let us "out" (because he knows it is in our best interest to finish), let Him comfort us and know He is right there with us, weeping for us and comforting us, allowing Himself to "shake" right along with us, we WILL make it through! :)
If you are interested, you can read more about my baby girl and how God has lead us through this here, here, and here.
God bless,
Housekeeping Guilt and Organization
But, truthfully, as far as housework goes, we are barely surviving. As much as I LOVE to kid myself when things "feel" put together, like right now. I mean, when you go from DISASTER to moderately livable, you kinda feel good about that, right? But a closer inspection yields that the baby's room in not so picked up, and picked up only means throwing toys in a basket. Her clothes are not hung because something else seemed more pressing and she doesn't care anyway. Son's toys are thrown haphazardly in the toy box and on shelves, and in, GASP, a cardboard box!? The appearance at a glance is much improved, as everything is off the floor, but seriously? A cardboard box?
There are piles of "stuff" everywhere, stacked neatly of course, that have been moved from the straight line of vision to give the illusion of "lack of chaos." Hey, out of sight out of mind, right? This does not even TOUCH the closets and cabinets.
Why is it like this? Well, part of it is lack of time. Part of it is priorities, I would just simply rather be with my kids and husband and not keep telling them to go away so I can do a "decluttering" project. The time I do have, while they are occupied or sleeping, is spent on what has to be done to survive. But a HUGE part of it is lack of organizational tools. A laundry basket, a toy box, and 3 shelves cannot hold it all. A basket on the bar is nice for papers and mail, but my husband has banned it saying it is a catchall, in which case it all just sits, along with backpacks for the next day. I asked for nails for the backpacks by the front door, and was asked why we just couldn't put them in the room of the person they belonged too... I just thought it would be easier to just have them by the door and grab them on the way out...
Anyway, all the neat little organizing "tools" cost money, money that I can see put to better use elsewhere. So, today I would like to know a two things from you:
1. Is it just me? Am I the ONLY one who can't make this work?
2. Please, please tell me someone out there has some low cost or free organizational tips!
Have a blessed day guys,
Salt
1. It makes food yummy! It brings out the flavor.
- God’s chosen people give this world a little spice, bring out the “flavor” of life and make it “yummy” by bringing the hope of Christ to the world!
2. It is a preservative.
- Believers act as a preservative for the Gospel. How long has the Word survived on the earth? Thousands on thousands of years! Of course, God has ordained His Word so that is can NEVER be destroyed, but His people continue to spread it to this day!
- Believers are to take a stand to preserve goodness on the earth.
3. It is an anesthetic. It cleans out infection.
- As children of God we are to be diligent in seeking out and destroying the infection of the enemy, sin! In our own lives first!
4. Salt creates thirst!
- Our lives should create a desire, a “thirst” for the living water, Christ!
One last thought about salt. 100% pure salt does NOT lose saltiness. We need to strive hard to stay pure. How? The usual, but oh so true... time with the Lord, prayer, study, and meditation. But also, what do you watch, read, and listen too? Keep that in mind… ouch, I just stepped on my own toes!
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But HOW?
I’m all about practicality, right? That is the point of this blog, to bring together resources and practical ways to be the women, wives, and mothers that God created us to be. Of course, part of this is keeping our homes. Do you think the Proverbs 31 Woman ever had laundry up to her ears, dirty dishes in the sink, toys EVERYWHERE, and couldn’t get to any of it because the baby REFUSED to be put down from her hip? Probably… I mean, let’s be honest. I know, I know, she didn’t work outside the home, right? Well, technically, yes, she took care of her children WHILE she did her work. I, however, work outside of my home while someone else cares for my children. (That’s another post.) Also, she had servants, right? Right. So do we… dishwasher, washing machine, microwave, etc., etc., etc. But how oh how do we honest to goodness keep a clean, if not perfect, home on little sleep and little people running around demanding our attention? (Not to mention the big guy who would love our attention, and he deserves it!) I contend we have to do as much as possible in the time we find, and possibly find more time. Impossible, right? Well, we will save the priorities post for another day, but think about how much you could get done in just 1 hour after the kids go to bed. “Her lamp does not go out at night.”
I read “A Life that Says Welcome” by Karen Ehman a few years ago, and I am currently re-reading it. I mentioned her book before in my post here. She talks about a cleaning system that I have yet to be able to try fully, but I am very much considering it again. She swears it cuts cleaning time drastically. The system is laid out by “The Clean Team.” She discusses how she followed as best she could until she saved enough to buy the kit, which included a heavy duty apron, some cleaning supplies, and their cleaners. It is based on the premise that you wear your tools on you body, via the apron, and clean each room completely from top to bottom as you work your way around it, therefore only walking your home one time, rather that doing all the dusting, then all the floors, then the bathrooms, then the kitchens, or whatever order, hence walking around your home NUMEROUS times. Pretty clever, huh? Though I haven’t tried the products, the ideas make sense. Still, it would all be hard to do one handed, that is my season of life. But, if I could cut my cleaning time, say baby goes down at 7:30, then one night in the week I could set aside and possibly have the house clean by 9:30 (except for her room of course.) That’s not bad…
Do you have any practical tips for getting things done in the different seasons of life? I mean, everyone says things have to be done, but no one ever tells you HOW to do these things when life happens.
Encouragement for Today
Hundreds Just Like It
Rest, Rejuvenation, and the Sabbath
Still, rest is not always sleep. We definitely need sleep, and the blog post here discusses this better than I ever could. So check that out. For my post I am going to talk about rest. Exodus 33:14 says that having His presence with us gives us rest. Isaiah 63:14 and Jer 31:2 both declare He will give us rest. My favorite is Matthew 11:28! How reassuring! Obviously, these verses are discussing spiritual rest, and my whole point in starting to post about this was to consider how to practically get the physical rest we need. Well, what if they go hand in hand?
Consider this, say you cannot get the Sunday afternoon nap, but you can occupy your children for a small bit after lunch. Resist the urge to spend the whole time doing laundry, and take a small amount of time, even if only 10 or 15 minutes to have a cup of coffee (or tea, or whatever) and sit, quietly, with His word. Read, study, pray, meditate, let His word sink in… and see if you don’t come away feeling refreshed.
We are in a season in our lives where we have a one year old, who still naps, and a five year old who does not. I do not feel comfortable leaving him awake on his own while both my husband and I indulge in a Sunday afternoon nap. Occasionally my husband and I will take turns with short (1/2 hour) naps, or sometimes he doesn’t want a nap, and he will let me doze longer. Mostly, we cherish anytime we have at home together to really be together. What you do will depend on your season in life, but the following are some practical tips for finding rest on the Sabbath that work for us in our current season.
• Prepare the day before as much as possible. Whatever it takes to making getting out the door for Church peaceful. I don’t know about you, but Satan attacks us on Sunday morning before Church more than ANY OTHER TIME. I strive to have the shopping done and to not have any household chores left that cannot wait until Monday. This is not always possible, but it what we shoot for. I also try to have a plan for a simple breakfast and lunch, utilizing the crockpot, toaster, freezer meals, and cold cereal! We try to have the offering ready and in place in the wallet or purse the night before also, as well as clothes for Church ironed and ready to go. Seriously, whatever you can do to make getting to Church easier will go a LONG way toward making this a day of rest.
• For this season in our lives, we are foregoing eating out after Church, or having company after Church. This is an aspect of Sunday’s that I miss dearly, but our baby girl is VERY ready for a nap by noon, and the time usually isn’t enjoyable anyway and she is NOT a happy camper when she is sleepy. Inviting others over after Church is an important ministry, and I cannot wait until we can do it again, but sometimes we have to cut things out to maintain peaceful, restful atmosphere for our family depending on the season of life.
• For this season in life, we have also, after much prayer, decided not to go to Church on Sunday night. I can hear the uproar now. However, our Church has Sunday night services beginning at 7 pm. My baby is MORE than ready for bed at 7:30. The chaos that ensues trying to get my young children to sit through services at this time of night, and the repercussions the next morning are not conducive to spiritual growth, and my husband and I have prayerfully made this decision with the Father… not in spite of Him. This is NOT forever. We may move and end up at a Church with an early evening service, or when my children our older, our Church’s schedule will not be such and issue, but for now, this is how it is. I am not advocating not going to Church, I am just saying PRAY about what you need to do to best bring glory to the Father.
• We have Sunday afternoon quiet time. My son may not nap, but he can understand quiet time. He can sit quietly with a video (and when he is older, an age appropriate Bible Study) and understand he is not to bother mommy or daddy until it is over. We do this while our baby is napping, and my husband and I use this time to reconnect after the week. This is often the ONLY time we get to watch a show together, do a couple’s devotional, or whatever.
• After quiet time comes family time. This usually involves some sort of “wrestling” or “tea party/ dance party” in the living room floor. As the kids get older it might involve a board game, Bible drills, Bible trivia, etc. The point is, UNPLUGGED time together.
These are merely things my family practice/ try to practice in order to practice the “day of rest” as we believe it was intended. I would love to hear some tips from you guys on this topic. Also, remember, rest and rejuvenation for our souls comes from Him alone, and we should be spending time with Him EVERYDAY… not just Sunday
Is Your Prayer Life Overwhelming?
The tip was this: keep a prayer calendar. You purchase or make a planner specifically for prayer and schedule when you will pray for what. You keep a "permanent" list in the back for your daily prayer requests. Mine included my husband, my children, those for whom I was praying for salvation, and my own personal issues. Then, you can schedule the rest however you like. I also had a list for weekly and monthly prayers. (Yes, I said "had." I have been lax...:( ) Prayers for my Church were on Mondays, the Sunday School prayer list on Tuesday's, and so on. This way, you are praying for everything you promised, nothing is slipping through the cracks, and you aren't overwhelmed or rushed. The author really explains it better than I do, and she covers a TON of other prayer topics. I am seriously thinking about giving this one a re-read:)
What the Word Says about Sleep and Rest
I mentioned that I really, really like sleep in my post on sleep and responsibilities. I also mentioned that I wondered where the line was between getting sleep and taking care of responsibilities, as it often seems impossible to do both. What better place to get a question answered than in God's Word?! I started by researching verses about sleep, slumber, and bed. Sometimes this included verses about death, as sleep is used as another word for death in God's word sometimes. After studying and reading through, this is what I came up with.
First, God doesn't sleep. (Ps 124:3-4) However, Jesus, God on earth, did sleep while he was here. (Matthew 8:24) Since we know that Jesus NEVER sinned, sleep is obviously not a sin. I know that seems like a silly thing to say, but I felt I needed to get it out there before I get into the meat of this post.
There are not very many positive things said about sleep, or slumber in God's word, and a LOT of positives are related to lack of sleep, (or not sleeping too much.) For example, there is the whole scene in the garden when the deciples could not keep their eyes open (Mt 26:40-46). Before that, there is the declaration that sleep makes you poor (Pr 6:9-11). Also, the person who stays in bed too long is lazy, or a sluggard (Pr 26:14).
I want to camp on that verse in Proverbs for a second. Proverbs 26:14 says:
so a sluggard turns on his bed."
" When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. "
Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Woodrow Wilson. All opinions are 100% mine.
Have you ever thought about teaching? Do you already have a degree, but want to change careers to teaching? Maybe you have been staying home for awhile, but now that your kids are in school you would like to teach. Maybe you just want a change, and want to make a difference in the lives of children. Well, if you live in Ohio, Indiana, or Michigan, have I got a deal for you!
This amazing program provides either recent college graduates or career changers with $30,000 to pursue a masters degree in teaching from selected programs in the fields of math, science, engineering, or technology.
Fellows will have a mentor, and will have to commit to teaching at least three years in a hight need school. "The Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowships seeks to recruit, prepare and retain effective teachers for the students and schools who need them most. "
I think this is excellent as it not only helps those who decide after the fact that they want to become teachers, but it also encourages teaching in the schools that need them the most:) Please let us know if you check it out!
Check it out and apply if your interested at http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=469162&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwteachingfellowship.org%2F%3Futm_source%3Dizea%26utm_medium%3Dizea%26utm_campaign%3Dizeablogs
Upcoming CSN Stores Review
Stay tuned to see what I picked out to review.... there is so much to choose from, it could take forever, but I already have some ideas:)
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Sleep, Rest, Laziness, Resposibilities, Where do we draw the line?
Do you like sleep? Boy I do! I am one of those who could sleep all night, wake up to eat, and sleep in between meals… seriously. At one point in my life sleep was a slight form of entertainment even. Give me a few minutes with no other obligations, and off to sleep I would go. I was TERRIFIED that when I had children and suffered from “mommy sleep deprevation” I would not be able to take care of my children, let alone work! However, the Lord equips us for what he gives us, and I was blessed with fairly restful children (notice I didn’t say they slept well), but I was able to rest when they were awake, and I was given what can be explained no other way than a supernatural ability to function on less sleep. Also, I firmly believe that God created coffee for mommies! (Coffee can only do so much though, the rest is supernatural!)
The issue began weighing on me heavily when my oldest child was a few months old. As I was putting him to sleep one night I was OVERCOME with sleepiness to the point that when he fell asleep, I went with him. He had been playing and there were toys all over the living room. I went to sleep and left them there. My husband had been working late and when he came home I could hear him picking up. The next morning we had an “altercation.” Please keep in mind this is not a “husband bashing” post. Imagine how he felt after working late and coming in to find the house a wreck while I was sound asleep. He is human and not perfect, and I can totally see where he was coming from. I tried to explain that I was so very tired from not sleeping through the night and working all day, then coming home to make supper, get the baby bathed, and get him put to bed. By the time he was asleep I was too tired to do housework. I should explain that this was the norm. The housework was not getting done on a regular basis due to the reasons I just stated. He made the comment that if “we” would just not go to bed when the baby did, we could get most of the work done after he went to sleep. I told him I did understand that, but by the time I finished the baby would be awake again and I would have to put him back to sleep, which would cause me to get even less sleep! The next comment is what cut deep, and caused me to ponder, cry out, question, be angry, and finally study and seek answers over the next 5 years. My husband said to me “Sometimes you have to do the work even though you are tired.” Ouch. Obviously I knew that, but this was a special kind of tired. I HAD to have some sleep… seriously. And yet, he was right. Where was the line? At what point do you just “push through?” As a new mom the world tells you that you need rest, to rest whenever the baby does, the house will wait. Doctors tell you that your body needs so much sleep per night to function properly. Magazines remind you to not forget time for yourself. However, responsibilities will not be met if we take all of this advice. Then again, our bodies were CREATED by the CREATOR to need sleep/ rest, right?
In the interest of not making this post too long I will stop now. I am studying some verses on these topics to see what the Lord will reveal. Jerimiah 33:3 says 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.' I fully believe this and expect Him to answer. Also, I plan to buy a copy of Rachel Olson’s new book “It’s No Secret.” Read more about that here. In the linked interview she is asked about topics covered, and one of them is learning to view rest not as a “have-to” but as a “get-to.” I cannot WAIT to see what she has to say about what God’s word reveals about this topic!
Bear with me for the next few posts as we unpack what the Lord has to say about this topic. In the meantime, let me know what you think, or what may have been revealed to you through all the ways God speaks to us, through His Spirit, other people, circumstances, nature, and of course, His Word!
Mindfield Online
I'll be honest, when I first joined Mindfield last year, after I was laid off from a full time job, I was hopeful. I got surveys all the time for $5 and up... however, I NEVER qualified. I finally got a couple this year that I qualified for that paid $1 each. They lowered their required balance to cash out to $5, so I was hopeful again. Nine months later I had $3, lol! Sooo, I wasn't too hopeful again, and I never got the big survey offers anymore. That is, until earlier this week. I got a $3 survey, and at the end they told me they were gonna send me a product to test. So, I am really, really excited again. I will finally be able to cash out, and I get to test something. Also, typically with these companies, once you get to the point where they are sending you the "good ones", and they see that you are going to participate, you get more and better offers. We shall see. If you enjoy that sort of thing, go sign up, and to give a little extra security that you will get mostly surveys you qualify for, fill out the questionnaires. That way they are more likely to send you surveys that relate to interests you have and you are more likely to qualify for the ones that you get. That part can take a little time, but you do not have to do it all at once and it really helps. I will say that they are VERY slow in crediting your account, but it has FINALLY paid off. Maybe it will for you too:)
Check it out here.