I want to cry!

Why? You ask. Well, let me tell you!  I have 2 very good friends that happen to be married to each other and after a very long time of me waiting patiently, they are finally having a baby.  We are having the baby shower at my house this Saturday!!!  Yeah, I can't wait.  My friend's sister and I have been planning it for months now and I am so excited.

I have also been desperately cleaning my house - remember post concerning acceptance and how I feel like I am always behind.  Yes, I'm trying to get the house in shape to have this baby shower that celebrates the fact that I no longer have to wait patiently for my dear friends to have their baby (the one I have been patiently waiting for).  So my house is probably the cleanest it has been since the one day after my parents moved out and the day before we moved in. I'll explain that in another post soon.

My laundry room floor is the least muddiest it has been for months,

and look no toys in the living room!

So why do I want to cry? At 4am this morning, my hubby and I were awakened by a ruckus outside - meet the reasons for this ruckus:

Yes, my  4 legged children - and what was said ruckus at 4am.  These precious creatures that God so lovingly bestowed upon our household had in fact discovered a black and white animal of the skunk nature and had decided to chase said animal of the skunk nature and get sprayed!  Then they preceded to run past me (who was running outside in my pj's with my trusty flashlight) and they ran into my house and into my bedroom.  Now I want to cry!!  My house- the very one that has never been cleaner now smells like skunk as do my dogs.  So at 7am this morning my daughter and I were catching these skunk smelled dogs and washing them out front in the plastic pool.  I am now in the process of re-shampooing my carpets, mopping the floors, and airing out the entire house so that by Saturday when we have dozens of people over to celebrate the baby that I have waited so patiently for - my house will not stink!  I know, you now want to cry too, don't you?

The Lies We Believe

We are doing The Truth Project by Focus on the Family at our Wednesday night Bible study.  After this weeks lesson (which is the second time I have seen this study) something really hit me.  I know that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  I know that the Holy Bible is the Truth.  I know what spiritual truth is. 

However, what hit me is the fact that we are faced with untruths constantly and don't even know it or pay attention.  Just look at the television or read the newspaper, internet stories etc.  Everything from diets to political issues these days are possibly lies.  How often after reading an article about the latest health study or diet do we consult the Word about whether or not this is true.  How often do we really pray about the latest products that are out there, what they can do for us, what companies are they supporting, etc.  How often have we been suckered into buying things because we think that it will make our lives easier when all that we really need is to look at what is written in the Bible.

The Bible talks about us being deceived - I know this is true in spiritual matters but what about those areas that we don't really think about as being areas that really matter.  Groceries, clothing, household items - let's face it, we live in a sinful world and people will tell you anything to get you to spend your hard earned money to buy their products.  Is that food really healthy?  Will those jeans really make me look thinner?  Will that cleaner really help me clean better? 

What about society?  Society really puts a lot of pressure these days on people, what your home should be like, what your children should involved in, what constitutes success.  It's no wonder that we live in a stressed out world.

What are the lies that you have been believing?  After asking myself this question, I got really depressed at first as I looked into my life and thought about what I accept these days without praying about it.  But then I felt God's peace come over me and remind me that we are not here to make these decisions alone.  Matthew 7:7 -  "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

This applies to life-changing decisions and little daily ones.  God does not want us to be deceived in any part of our lives. ASK - He may tell us that our decisions are ok, but at least we are learning to ask first just in case His answer is "no" on something.

Acceptance

I have had a hard day, actually I have had a hard month, alright - I have had a hard year! There I admit it, I am not Superwoman.  I think I lost my cape somewhere between motherhood and well, life.

I had a realization today, right about the time that I popped the second dose of aspirin for my migraine, which was after returning home from town with the girls and car load of groceries.  I walked into the kitchen to survey the disaster that had taken over - it was actually clean a mere 24hrs ago.  I think that I am an utter failure at this whole home manager position.  I can run a church but I can't seem to run my home.  The to-do-list seems to get longer every week, I haven't opened my school work in months (thank goodness it is self-paced), my clothes just move from one laundry basket to the one that is the next size up, I'm scared to look behind the milk in the refrigerator, and I honestly can't remember the original color of my carpet.  I don't think they make a brown/blue carpet but that is what I have. I was close to tears and reaching for the bag of Oreos when it dawned on me.

If God can accept me for my shortcomings why can't I accept myself.  No, I don't get everything done on my list (who am I kidding, I don't even have a list) but I make an effort to try and keep things cleaned up, I don't read my Bible everyday - but it is sitting there open on the table because at one point before the "Mama's" started that morning, I had intended too.  I do have my school work in an organized location so that if the chance to sit down for serious study time permits I won't be searching all over to try and find it.  I am desperately trying to raise my children to be conscious of cleaning up after themselves and to take initiative, just ask my neighbors, they hear me loudly explaining these concepts all the time.

I have good intentions but I realize that I make choices.  I choose to be outside working in the garden enjoying God's creation vs washing dishes. I choose to play hide-n-seek with my kids outside vs vacuuming or mopping.  I know that these tasks are important but I also need to remind myself that they can wait a little bit until a more manageable time.  No, my house isn't in tip top shape but then again I live in the country for a reason and with that glorious view and space comes dirt and bugs and weeds and weather.  So I have to accept that my house will need to be painted, that there is always weeding to be done and repairs made.  And yes, dust in my house and a brown/blue carpet. 

I need to work on accepting myself and accepting each day as it happens.  I need to decide each day what is important for that day and concentrate on that.  I have to learn how to relax instead of always thinking about what needs to be done and getting frustrated.  I need to accept that it is ok that the dishes don't get done every night, shoot just throw them in the oven if someone comes by unexpectedly, not that I have done that :) and I need to put the box of new knobs and handles for my newly painted kitchen cabinets in the laundry room instead of leaving them on the counter and beating myself up everyday that they are still not attached to the newly painted kitchen cabinets. I need to let go of the frustrations and grumpiness and accept the choices that I make.

Acceptance, that is what I need to strive for, acceptance of myself.  God Bless!

The Lion of The Tribe of Judah

You are probably wondering what this means - Jesus was named "The Lion of The Tribe of Judah" in the book of Revelation.  I have been reading a book about praying the names of Jesus.  "When you pray to Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, you are praying to the One with the power to banish all fear, to the One who watches over you with his fierce protecting love..." excerpt from Praying the Names of Jesus by Ann Spangler.

I have been praying this name of Jesus over our football team.  My husband is the head coach at the high school that both of us graduated from.  There was a time when this football team was a power house in 1A football here in southern AZ.  My husband was an assistant coach at that time and we were awesome.  After a few years we moved away to pursue college & careers and so did the other coaches.  Later the school hit hard times with budget issues and so forth and now the school is barely there.  When my husband and I moved back home a few years ago I could tell that he really wanted to get back into coaching.

Last year he was approached by a friend and asked if he wanted to be an assistant coach for the team.  I once again saw a light in his eyes that I hadn't seen for many years.  This is his passion.  This year he was asked to be the head coach, not surprisingly because frankly, he knows his stuff.  He has a football mind.  It isn't going to be easy. We, I say we because I also love H.S. football and I have a special place in my heart for this team, are pretty much rebuilding the football program from nothing.  We currently have 14 players, no booster club, no cheerleaders (I'm shocked because I was a cheerleader for this school 20 yrs ago), and no money. 

But I believe in miracles!! I believe that the Lord brought us back to this school for a reason and victory will be ours.  Not without hard work, ups & downs, and most assuredly tears along the way.  But we will be victorious.  So I pray LEON EK TOU PHYLES IOUDA over this team!  He will be glorified just like in the story of David & Goliath. Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah and He will lead our little team to victory - victory not just in winning games but in winning hearts for Him, in giving these kids determination in their hard work, humility in winning, confidence in being the underdog, and realization that others care!  But most importantly that With God All Things Are Possible!! Amen

Tomatoes

I have tomatoes, you might think that is a strange statement to make.  Let me tell you about my garden, last year I got the urge to see if I could start a garden.  I picked the perfect spot in the yard and decided to plant pumpkins - why pumpkins, I have no idea, I just liked the thought of planting pumpkins.  So I did - what a mistake! Granted I did get 3 good sized pumpkins out of my little plot of a pumpkin patch, but I didn't realize how much space pumpkins needed.  I spent a good portion of my fall months trying to keep pumpkin vines from completely covering my drive way and from growing into my garage.

I was not to be deterred however, so this year I decided to do smaller crops - I tried lettuce, peas, various herbs, strawberries - nothing, absolutely nothing.  Then my dear friend brought me 4 tomato plants, 2 died within weeks of planting them.  But the other 2 held on for dear life in the AZ winds and beginning of summer.  I didn't have much hope and had pretty much decided that my life as a prudent homemaker who grew her own veggies to feed her family was pretty much over.  But every morning I would check on my garden and those two little plants would still be green.  Then monsoons started and OH MY GOSH those little tomato plants exploded with life, in 2 months I now have about 20 tomatoes growing on them and this morning my girls and I saw RED. 

Yes! I have tomatoes and they are actually turning red! Success, sweet success.  I was so giddy this morning that I took pictures with my un-smart phone and texted them to my husband, brother, sister & friend!  I took the prettiest one to my friend who gave me the plants to begin with.  My 5yr old carried it around like it was a trophy, while my 12yr old followed her worried that she would drop it.  It made my day - I actually grew something that my family can eat - not that we will now be self-reliant or anything, my kids don't actually like tomatoes unless they are in spaghetti sauce.  But who cares, I did it (with God's help of course - He supplied the plants, rain, sunshine and dirt) woohooo, salsa anyone!!!!

My Four Legged Children

I finally figured out pictures (it wasn't really hard, I was just intimidated).

These are my doggie children, we are absolutely dog people.  We have four, and that is currently the limit because I made the rule in a moment of clarity that animals cannot out number the people in our family.  That was probably the most sensible decision I have made in a long time.  So without further ado please meet:
Tyler -  Jack Russell mix
Maggie Mae - Lab mix
Maxwell - Boxer mix
Tilly - Bull Mastiff

All but Tilly are rescues, Tilly is from dear friends whom we just fell in love with their dog - Tilly's mama and when she had puppies, I fell in love with Tilly!

Tyler is actually mine, Tilly is my husband's, Max is my 12yr old's & Maggie Mae belongs to the 5yr old.  Our friends crack up at our cozy little household.  These dogs are all unique also and how I ended up being mama to 4 dogs all with special needs is beyond me. Tyler is neurotic: scared to death of thunderstorms, wind, loud trucks and shiny water dishes.  Max is OCD: he has a major licker problem.  Maggie is ADHD she gets so hyper that she runs through the house and slides across the flooring, she jumps on people and if she wanted too she could jump right over our fence, I've been trying to talk my husband into entering her into dog racing - she is fast! Then there is sweet Tilly who is incontinent these days, she has the sweetest personality but because of her size (97lbs @ last check-up) she has spay incontinence.  Luckily she stays on the floor instead of the carpet and she is being treated for it so it is getting better.

We laugh at their personalities and how they interact with each other and all of us.  They know the rules and we are working hard at training them.  Otherwise my house would be in total chaos.

So now you have met the animal side of our family and when I blog about their crazy antics you will know who they are!

Family

I know, you thought I would call this "My Third Post" huh? 

I still haven't figured out how to do a picture yet.  Maybe tomorrow I'll mess around with it some more.

We had a great BBQ at my brother's house today,
my little brother's house,
my little brother-who is taller than me's house,
my little brother-who is married to one of my best friend's house, whom I will refer to as "sister"
 (so really it is her house). 

We had a great BBQ with a lot of family that we really hadn't spent time with for awhile.  We had seen this part of our family twice this summer, both times at funerals, both within a few weeks of each other.  I think it really hit us how sad it was that we really only see each other at funerals and weddings (and there hadn't been any weddings in the last few years).

My brother and sister (see above) hosted us all today and it was really special to reconnect.  I thought about how God does everything for a purpose, including His creative way of putting families together.  It isn't an accident, a coincidence, or even a mistake that you and I have the family that we have.  It is God's plan for a purpose.  We are the ones who mess it up.

So why am I saying all this (in a not so great because I am really tired way), because I realized this evening on our way home that I am truly blessed, and my family is truly blessed. We encompass a wide variety of personalities, educations, careers and personal situations and yet we can come together as a family and really enjoy spending time together. We've had ups and downs like all families, but as we grow older and mature we can accept each other for our differences and not let it interfere with just being a family. A family that God put together for a purpose.  Thank You Lord for my family!