I realize this is Wednesday, but wanted to write about Monday. You know when you go to bed with all the expectation of starting the week off right, but wake up the next morning with the alarm chasing away all the positive energy you might have had? Of course, God has been impressing on my with all the subtlety of a 2x4 that I need to watch what I say and be thankful. I need to keep my words positive and have an attitude of gratitude. So of course, Monday morning arrives with its usual cheeriness, exhaustion from a busy weekend, cranky kids, coffee maker just not fast enough and my Bible Study on James and a fiery tongue taunting me. As if that wasn't enough, I barely had enough time to get a short work out in at the gym before going to work since everything took longer than expected and the snooze button was on repeat mode (hmm, wonder how that happened?!). I arrive at the gym, put my bag in the locker room and see an aquaintance. I giggle as I remember the stories she has told of people forgeting their undergarments and inconvenience and discomfort it creates. Then that niggle in my head went off, followed by a sick feeling of dread in my stomach. Yep, you guessed it! For all my trying to plan ahead and pack my bag the night before, complete with 2 tops to choose from and jewelry, I forgot my underwear. Fortunately, rather than my head spinning off its axis and spitting pea soup all over the locker room, I managed to laugh (more now than then) and calmly walk back out of the gym to go home. I had just enough time to take a shower and get fully dressed before rushing off to work. All this and it was only 9:30 in the morning.
I can now say (on Wednesday), "thank you God" for holding me together, cause this cracked pot was about to fall to pieces by Monday evening. And thank you that I have another funny story to tell.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
No More Perfect Homes
Welcome to the Third Thursday Blog Hop with Hearts at Home!
So we are supposed to write about not having perfect homes. That is almost too easy to write about. Now I admit I do try to pick up and put "my best foot forward". The Mommy Monster does show up when the kitchen has exploded for several days and the dust bunnies are large enough for saddles! But for several years now I have told people that my gift is hospitality, not entertaining. I realized if I stressed out and wanted my house "perfect" before inviting anyone 1) I wouldn't enjoy the company when they came and 2) I would never have anyone over. Life is much more fun when you share it with people.
I also come from a long line of "starters". I am very good at starting projects and getting them "mostly done", but then seem to move on before it is completely done. I am working on that and with God's help I have actually completed a few projects around the house, but there is still a constant stream of unfinished items around the house.
Most of all, embracing my imperfect house allows me to tell some great stories and practice making lemonade out of lemons. A few years ago we noticed our bedroom ceiling sagging 6-7 inches over the bed. Our response...quick, turn the lights out and pray, "now we lay me down to sleep, please God don't let the ceiling come crashing down on us tonight!" In order to more fully apprectiate this situation, I need to tell you that we have a radiant heat system in our home and the ceiling is several inches of concrete with copper pipes full of water runing through it. It would leave a mark if it fell! The next day, my husband had some friends come over and they devised a system of 2x4s and 4 metal poles to hold the ceiling up until the best way of fixing it was discovered. I had an indoor pergola in my bedroom! After a few months, I decided I had to make the best of it and that wasn't going to include music and a trench coat (way too many comments about the poles from friends, wink, wink). So I went to Wal Mart, purchased some silk flowers and ivy and proceeded to decorate the pergola using the staple gun and some pretty blue gauze material as an accent! Then at Christmas, I went to the Dollar Store and got some glitter snowflakes. They almost made it for 2 Christmases.
After about a year and a half, we said good-bye to the pergola and re-attached the ceiling using screws about every 3-4 inches along every beam. You can still see all the screws and the crack in the ceiling and we also have the raw sheet rock around the sliding glass door to the porch from over a year ago. Add to that, we recently moved the door into our bathroom over to accomadate a new closet so we have raw sheet rock on the other side of the bedroom and missing tile going into the bathroom. I honestly don't remember what my bedroom looks like without holes in it!
During this whole time, we had many cookouts with friends and even hosted a wedding reception in our backyard (we did plant a lot of new plants and didn't let anyone upstairs!) My house is not perfect, but it's a perfect place to live and enjoy with friends and family.
So we are supposed to write about not having perfect homes. That is almost too easy to write about. Now I admit I do try to pick up and put "my best foot forward". The Mommy Monster does show up when the kitchen has exploded for several days and the dust bunnies are large enough for saddles! But for several years now I have told people that my gift is hospitality, not entertaining. I realized if I stressed out and wanted my house "perfect" before inviting anyone 1) I wouldn't enjoy the company when they came and 2) I would never have anyone over. Life is much more fun when you share it with people.
I also come from a long line of "starters". I am very good at starting projects and getting them "mostly done", but then seem to move on before it is completely done. I am working on that and with God's help I have actually completed a few projects around the house, but there is still a constant stream of unfinished items around the house.
Most of all, embracing my imperfect house allows me to tell some great stories and practice making lemonade out of lemons. A few years ago we noticed our bedroom ceiling sagging 6-7 inches over the bed. Our response...quick, turn the lights out and pray, "now we lay me down to sleep, please God don't let the ceiling come crashing down on us tonight!" In order to more fully apprectiate this situation, I need to tell you that we have a radiant heat system in our home and the ceiling is several inches of concrete with copper pipes full of water runing through it. It would leave a mark if it fell! The next day, my husband had some friends come over and they devised a system of 2x4s and 4 metal poles to hold the ceiling up until the best way of fixing it was discovered. I had an indoor pergola in my bedroom! After a few months, I decided I had to make the best of it and that wasn't going to include music and a trench coat (way too many comments about the poles from friends, wink, wink). So I went to Wal Mart, purchased some silk flowers and ivy and proceeded to decorate the pergola using the staple gun and some pretty blue gauze material as an accent! Then at Christmas, I went to the Dollar Store and got some glitter snowflakes. They almost made it for 2 Christmases.
After about a year and a half, we said good-bye to the pergola and re-attached the ceiling using screws about every 3-4 inches along every beam. You can still see all the screws and the crack in the ceiling and we also have the raw sheet rock around the sliding glass door to the porch from over a year ago. Add to that, we recently moved the door into our bathroom over to accomadate a new closet so we have raw sheet rock on the other side of the bedroom and missing tile going into the bathroom. I honestly don't remember what my bedroom looks like without holes in it!
During this whole time, we had many cookouts with friends and even hosted a wedding reception in our backyard (we did plant a lot of new plants and didn't let anyone upstairs!) My house is not perfect, but it's a perfect place to live and enjoy with friends and family.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Job Experience
Why is it that even after over 17 years of experience, I can still feel clueless as a mom? After several years of doing other jobs, most people atleast feel competent, if not close to comfortable or maybe even expert. Somehow motherhood does not work the same way.
I love my kids and they are good kids, normal, but good overall. Every now and again I start feeling like I am doing okay, and then it happens.... Maybe God thinks I am getting prideful and need some humility or maybe my kids want to keep me on my toes, but something new comes up and I am dumbfounded again, feeling like a complete idiot and nominated for the Worst Mom Award.
I want so much to be a great mom and raise confident, independent young adults. I want to be able to handle situations with such grace and wisdom that my kids and husband will sing my praises. Then I get out of bed or the kids come home from school and reality strikes. Interesting thing is, those things I struggle with myself (weakness, issues, flaws...), bug me the most when I see them in my kids. Logically one would think if I have not "gotten the hang of it" after 29+ years (no I am not sharing the actual years), I would be understanding and patient with my kids. Oh no, just the opposite. I want to scream, smack them and shake them and say "Get rid of this NOW! You don't want to deal with this when you are older!!!"
I still want to be a great mom, but I am getting better at forgiving myself for blowing it. After all, I have had A LOT of practice blowing it. Then I remember a phrase I learned early on in my mothering. I will trust God to fill in the gaps where I mess up, because I will mess up. Someone else said the other day "If Iwere normal, my kids would have no character."
Maybe when I am a grandma I will feel a little more competent as a mom, but until then I will keep doing my best and praying that God will fill in the gaps.
P.S. The book No More Perfect Moms will be great anytime, but you get lots of extra freebies when you order Feb 4-9.
I love my kids and they are good kids, normal, but good overall. Every now and again I start feeling like I am doing okay, and then it happens.... Maybe God thinks I am getting prideful and need some humility or maybe my kids want to keep me on my toes, but something new comes up and I am dumbfounded again, feeling like a complete idiot and nominated for the Worst Mom Award.
I want so much to be a great mom and raise confident, independent young adults. I want to be able to handle situations with such grace and wisdom that my kids and husband will sing my praises. Then I get out of bed or the kids come home from school and reality strikes. Interesting thing is, those things I struggle with myself (weakness, issues, flaws...), bug me the most when I see them in my kids. Logically one would think if I have not "gotten the hang of it" after 29+ years (no I am not sharing the actual years), I would be understanding and patient with my kids. Oh no, just the opposite. I want to scream, smack them and shake them and say "Get rid of this NOW! You don't want to deal with this when you are older!!!"
I still want to be a great mom, but I am getting better at forgiving myself for blowing it. After all, I have had A LOT of practice blowing it. Then I remember a phrase I learned early on in my mothering. I will trust God to fill in the gaps where I mess up, because I will mess up. Someone else said the other day "If Iwere normal, my kids would have no character."
Maybe when I am a grandma I will feel a little more competent as a mom, but until then I will keep doing my best and praying that God will fill in the gaps.
P.S. The book No More Perfect Moms will be great anytime, but you get lots of extra freebies when you order Feb 4-9.
Monday, January 7, 2013
The Knots Prayer
This spoke to me today as I was picking up my messy office and thinking of all the things I "had not gotten to".
May it encourage you.
The Knots Prayer
Dear God.
Please untie the knots
that are in my mind,
my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots,
the can nots and the do nots
that I have in my mind.
Erase the will nots,
may nots,
might nots that my find
a home in my heart.
Release me from the could nots,
would nots and
should nots that obstruct my life.
And most of all
Dear God
I ask that you remove from my mind
my heart and my life all of the "am nots'
that I have allowed to hold me back,
especially the thought
that I am not good enough.
Amen.
-Author Known to God
May it encourage you.
The Knots Prayer
Dear God.
Please untie the knots
that are in my mind,
my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots,
the can nots and the do nots
that I have in my mind.
Erase the will nots,
may nots,
might nots that my find
a home in my heart.
Release me from the could nots,
would nots and
should nots that obstruct my life.
And most of all
Dear God
I ask that you remove from my mind
my heart and my life all of the "am nots'
that I have allowed to hold me back,
especially the thought
that I am not good enough.
Amen.
-Author Known to God
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Happy New Year to Imperfection!
I just finished the book No More Perfect Moms by Jill Savage and look forward to embracing my imperfections this year. This is not going to be easy, since I am a perfectionist at heart and put way too much pressure on myself. I do a pretty good job of looking like I have it together in front of most people, but I still struggle with feeling "good enough".
(The funny/sad thing is, I am already falling short in my "Perfection Infection" because I am trying to write the "perfect" blog about this book, go figure!)
Jill does a beautiful job of sharing her imperfect life and her heart in a way that comforts and inspires you. We can still be great moms, even when we have huge red zits on our chin (sore, too), Christmas letters that still have not been sent, dirty dishes in the sink, kids with some bad grades and less that stellar choices, holes in our bedroom walls and emotions that make roller coasters look like the Great Plains. We can embrace the interuptions, the differences and inconveniences in our life and enjoy the moments. Imperfection does not give us license to be lazy, but we should accept grace.
I'm taking the 31-day No More Perfect Moms e-mail challenge and growing. Why not jump in?
I know you are itching to get the book yourself, but wait until Feb 4-9. Lots of extra freebies, if you do.
Last but not least, check out the Hearts at Home website (www.hearts-at-home.org ) for all kinds of resources, information and encouragement or Jill Savage's website (www.jillsavage.com ).
Most of all... have a Happy Imperfect New Year!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Audience of One
I started singing in the church choir this year and we had our Christmas concert on Sunday morning and again on Monday evening. My family attended on Sunday, but not on Monday. I told several friends about the concert, but for many reasons, they were also unable to attend the concert on Monday night. So as I am looking out over the crowd and not seeing faces I had hoped for, the pity party began. You know the one. "All those plays, concerts, and games I go to and my kids won't go to 2 concerts for me. Nobody cares enough to come to MY concert! blah, blah, blah". Did I mention my husband asked if Iwanted him to come, but I said, "No. It's fine. You don't have to come, no big deal."?
So then that voice in my heart reminds me I started singing in the choir because I enjoy it and I wanted to participate for years. Also, the music is beautiful (I could listen to that Irish pipe for hours!) and there was a nice crowd including some other people I knew. Most importantly, God was there and I needed to sing the best I could if only for an audience of One.
Isn't that a picture of what mothering looks like most of the time? Picking up crumbs, cleaning toilets, cooking dinner, driving kids to and from activities day after day with little to no recognition, let alone thank you. After all, that is my job as a mom, right?
No matter how many times we recognize something in our head, sometimes our hearts have to be reminded that whatever we do: singing, writing or mothering, we are to do it for God. We are to be obedient to what He wants of ut and He sees what we do and loves us. He is the Ultimate Audience of One.
So then that voice in my heart reminds me I started singing in the choir because I enjoy it and I wanted to participate for years. Also, the music is beautiful (I could listen to that Irish pipe for hours!) and there was a nice crowd including some other people I knew. Most importantly, God was there and I needed to sing the best I could if only for an audience of One.
Isn't that a picture of what mothering looks like most of the time? Picking up crumbs, cleaning toilets, cooking dinner, driving kids to and from activities day after day with little to no recognition, let alone thank you. After all, that is my job as a mom, right?
No matter how many times we recognize something in our head, sometimes our hearts have to be reminded that whatever we do: singing, writing or mothering, we are to do it for God. We are to be obedient to what He wants of ut and He sees what we do and loves us. He is the Ultimate Audience of One.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thanksgiving Thoughts
Welcome to the Third Thursday Blog Hop with Hearts at Home!
Hearts at Home
We are supposed to share our thoughts about Thanksgiving today. First of all, I love the idea of Thanksgiving, giving thanks to God for all His blessings and being purposeful in our gratitude. I wish Thanksgiving did not get lost in the commercialism of Halloween and Christmas. I also feel convicted that I do not always stress the importance of gratitude to my children or set the best example at times.
Growing up, I mostly remember getting together with my grandparents, aunts and uncles on Thanksgiving Day and eating lots of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. My grandmother would also have creamed onions and mincemeat pie, but I never liked them much. I prefer the broccoli/cheese casserole and sweet potato casserole. I remember Thanksgiving being a day to hang out with the extended family. It might be the only time I got to see some of my aunts and uncles and cousins that year.
Even now, it is one of the few times I get to see several members of my extended family. I love how the only real expectation of the day is to share fellowship with friends and family over a big meal. We usually have the big meal early in the afternoon and stay together until later in the day, when we can get out some of the leftovers. My children look forward to the week of turkey leftovers the week after Thanksgiving. My husband introduced me to turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce on them. Yum!
This year, I pray we can all enjoy the time together, since you never know what the next year may hold. I am so beyond blessed to still have 3 living grandparents, and I cherish the time I have with them.
Blessings to all and give thanks to God for them!
Hearts at Home
We are supposed to share our thoughts about Thanksgiving today. First of all, I love the idea of Thanksgiving, giving thanks to God for all His blessings and being purposeful in our gratitude. I wish Thanksgiving did not get lost in the commercialism of Halloween and Christmas. I also feel convicted that I do not always stress the importance of gratitude to my children or set the best example at times.
Growing up, I mostly remember getting together with my grandparents, aunts and uncles on Thanksgiving Day and eating lots of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. My grandmother would also have creamed onions and mincemeat pie, but I never liked them much. I prefer the broccoli/cheese casserole and sweet potato casserole. I remember Thanksgiving being a day to hang out with the extended family. It might be the only time I got to see some of my aunts and uncles and cousins that year.
Even now, it is one of the few times I get to see several members of my extended family. I love how the only real expectation of the day is to share fellowship with friends and family over a big meal. We usually have the big meal early in the afternoon and stay together until later in the day, when we can get out some of the leftovers. My children look forward to the week of turkey leftovers the week after Thanksgiving. My husband introduced me to turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce on them. Yum!
This year, I pray we can all enjoy the time together, since you never know what the next year may hold. I am so beyond blessed to still have 3 living grandparents, and I cherish the time I have with them.
Blessings to all and give thanks to God for them!
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