Crafty!

There was a time in my life in which I was really crafty!  I don't know where that little bit of me went.  But a couple of weeks ago, I agonizing over the fact that one of my favorite necklaces was tangled up with one of my favorite dangle earrings when I got this idea.  I remembered that I had an old picture frame carousel sort of thing - that I'm not real sure how it got into my house, and I have a lot of pieces of "screen", you know, for windows and screen doors and such.  So I made this:

I started with taking the frames off the carousel

Adding pieces of Screening to each - I used a hot glue gun, which wasn't perfect but was all I had

And Yeah!!! This is what I ended up with

Now all my earrings are neatly kept and arranged, so I don't have to scrounge around for the matching set anymore - I hung all my necklaces and bracelets from an old banana hanger doohickey thingy.  I love being organized!

If you want to see more of my crafty ideas - well don't hold your breath, I have no idea when craftiness will hit me again :(

It's April already!

Oh my gosh, I just realized that I haven't posted since February!  Apparently, I'm slacking at this whole blog thing these days.

In my defense, a lot has happened since my last post (way back in February).  I have started teaching a Bible study - called Lioness Arising, it is awesome!  However, just like when I have preached, it takes me forever to prepare.  I am working on the whole confidence thing, which Wednesday night's first class went really well so I am doing good now.

I have also become a member of an Executive Team for a ministry called The Company, which is a group of women from many different churches. We have a conference every year and this year it is going to be wonderful.  So I am attending those meetings every other week now also.

So add those 2 new duties to the list and I actually don't feel bad that I haven't posted in a while :).  The Lord has been working mightily in my life lately and once I am able to put it all in perspective and write it out, I'll share! 

The Garage

Finally, I have remembered to go out and take pictures of my garage.  What is so great about a garage? Well, this garage is the thorn in my side.  It has huge potential and yet all that I end up doing is putting junk in there until it gets to the point that you can't even walk through the door.  It makes me feel like an utter failure at times.  So this December/January I took the time to clean it out, organize it and try my best to come to terms with the fact that it is here and I will love it.

Before - the front room, where most would park a car.

Before - the back room, where most would like to be able to move around for various reasons, none of which matter since you cannot move around.

After - still can't park a car, but that is only because there is a current cabinet job occurring.  Bet you didn't know that there was a whole slue of tools in there did you.  They belong to my father, the cabinet maker/Preacher Man.

After - our new workout room, YEAH! Now we just need to workout :(

I am so proud of myself, I actually completed something!  And now this garage can actually be useful.  What a great feeling to do something constructive and productive.  Next up - the yard!

Ephesians 3:20

For the last few years I have been selecting a word and a scripture to concentrate on for that year.  2011 was my year for the word "See" and I chose  Psalm 131:1 - Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.  I don't concern  myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.  By the end of the year I was amazed at how much I had seen and how much I realized what was too great or too awesome for me to grasp.

I spent a good part of December praying about what my word would be for 2012.  It came to me one day when I was out organizing my garage (pictures to come in another post soon) the word for this year is "Simplify" and a few weeks ago the Lord showed me my verse for the year - Ephesians 3:20 - Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Already this year I have turned to this scripture several times and it gives me such peace that He is capable of things that I can't even imagine and that I have a part in that power.  Wow, I think we are in for an exciting year.  As far as the word "Simplify" - He is showing me that I must simplify my life in many areas, spiritually, emotionally and physically and boy am I ready.  There is way to much clutter in my life causing me to loose focus, time and energy.  I am going to prioritize and focus on those things that really matter to Him for me.  What is your word and/or scripture for this new year?

Technology

Technology and I have what we would call a love/hate relationship.  I have been without Internet at home for most of the week now and it has been one of the most frustrating yet productive weeks I have had in ages.  There were so many things that I couldn't do and yet it made me realize just how much time I spend on the computer.  Whether it is looking up issues/topics of interest, checking emails, Facebook, recipes, school stuff etc.  it is amazing how much time is eaten away.  Now there is a lot of benefit these days to having access to all this information, but my eyes were opened to the amount of time spent here at my desk vs. the kitchen, the laundry pile, outside. No wonder I'm always behind!  Anyways, I'm going to strive for balance in the future.  I also discovered that when I don't have Internet I eat a lot of chocolate, or maybe that is because we still have a lot left over from Christmas, no, I think it was due to the fact that I didn't have Internet :)

Serenity?

I am sitting here at my desk and it is almost 9pm, which is about half an hour past my bedtime these days.  But despite my tiredness, I just had to share with you my little story of this evenings events.  We will title this little drama - "The mom, the bath, and the 6yr old".  Now you might be thinking that it is about a mom trying to give a 6yr old a bath; WRONG!

It is about a weary mama who has been working extremely hard at trying to get this house organized and cleaned, who decided that she would like to take a hot bubble bath this evening and have some alone time.  I know, what was I thinking!

I have spent the last two days cleaning out my garage, I am still not done but didn't get as far as I thought I would today because I believe I have given myself a hernia.  Seriously, I have a pain right below my belly button.  So I called it quits and walked back into the house with a forced smile on my face and quickly shoved the dogs off the couch and laid down to see if said pain would subside. It really hasn't and after awhile I did confess to my husband that I think I have pulled a muscle or possibly given myself a hernia and mumbled something to the extent of "While moving the full-size refrigerator in the garage by myself".  The look on his face was a mixture of "I'm sorry your hurting" and "You were doing what by yourself?".

Anyways, after I made it through dinner, I decided to try and take a relaxing bath and have some quiet time.  I honestly don't remember the last time I took a bath, probably at least 6 years ago and that would be if you count sitting in a few inches of hot water while very pregnant trying to ease the hemorrhoids.  Sorry, but I must speak the truth, you read this at your own risk.

I started the bath, put in my new bubble bath that I got for Christmas from my 6yr old, applied a great facial and slowly climbed in. Ahhh Serenity!!! I had my eyes closed for maybe a minute when this odd feeling came over me. I slowly opened one eye and realized that I was not alone.  How can this be? I specifically announced to the entire family, dogs included that I was going to go take a quiet bath and have some alone time and try to figure out if I had in fact given myself a hernia.

I look over to the side of the tub and there sits the 6yr old, with her bangs in her eyes, wearing the nightgown that she had put on at 4 o'clock this afternoon because she decided that she wasn't going to leave the house again and therefore it was a good idea. "Hi Mama" she said with a huge smile on her face, "Are you enjoying your quiet and alone bath?"

I smiled and gently reminded her that I wasn't alone if she was in there with me.  Her reply was "But I love my mama" now some of you rookies may think that those little words would melt my heart, not!  This was a total manipulation move on her part and both of us knew it.  The little twinkle in her eye was the dead giveaway, now before you think that I am ruthless, I know that she loves her mama and she knows that I know she loves her mama and we both know that this is the statement that she makes when she doesn't want to obey!  I gave her the look and pointed towards the exit and she pushed out her lower lip and headed for the door.

About 5 minutes later, I am trying to relax in the now warm water when I hear the door open and hear something crawling along the floor.  Yes, the 6yr old trying to be sneaky.  I lift my head so that I can see her and she looks up and says "I love you mama".  I take a deep breath and again try to explain to her that I need sometime alone.  By the time I am done explaining this fact she has made her way into the tub (well, at least her feet).  I then realize that the water is now tepid at best, there are no longer any bubbles remaining and we both can see all my fat rolls under water and I am pretty much convinced that I do have a hernia. This is when Daddy walks in and looks at me with sympathetic eyes and I shake my head to scolding he would have delivered and say "Never mind, it's not going to happen"

I am not mad or even really frustrated, that goes to show how far I have come in my quest for peace, in fact, as I am sitting here typing this out I have a smile on my face.  Even if I don't get that alone time very often I do have serenity in my spirit.  Now, who do I see about hernias?

Christmas

I am very much in the Christmas cheer mode right now.  I am realizing that all these steps that I have been taking - stepping back, seeking wisdom, taking time to be with the Lord, prioritizing my life, all these things are helping me to have an attitude of peace in my life.

Last year, I seriously dreaded this month.  But I realize now that it was because I was so focused on the negative stuff in my life - what we couldn't afford, what I wasn't getting done, who was irritating me the most :) etcetera etcetera.

I am definitely in a better place emotionally this year and I can be totally honest with you when I say - not much has changed since last year other than my attitude.  We are in the same place financially, same busyness (just a little bit different in tasks), and yes, some people still do irritate me :) etcetera etcetera.

But my attitude is a positive one - instead of focusing on what we can't afford, I am seeing what we can do; instead of being overwhelmed and frustrated, I am prioritizing and deciding what really needs to get accomplished (don't count on any Christmas cards going out!); instead of being irritated with others, the Lord is really giving me the spirit of love in my heart and reminding me that we are all God's children and need to treat each other that way, even if someone isn't treating me the way I want to be treated, I need to treat them the way God wants me to treat them.

It really makes a difference when we make these changes in our attitudes and refocus on what this season is really about.  Merry Christmas