Category: daily life

Happy Homemaker Monday 6/2602017

Posted on by Mary

Good evening, I usually write these first thing in the morning but as of late we have been traveling at break neck speeds.  All I have really had timer is Homemaking….and ministry stuff!  why work so hard all the time well our vacation is just around the corner and I REALLY want to tie up loose ends before we leave.

well let’s not put off this post any longer, because honestly I am ready to CRASH!

The weather::: Stormy…like big huge thunderstorms and really in the mid 70’s.

On my reading pile:::  well my reading pile has dwindled.  I have finished 6 books this month and I hope to finish One Thousand Gifts and I am starting  A Woman’s Call To Prayer tomorrow July holds a whole new stack BUT it’s not July YET!

Movies or Shows I watched this weekend::: Fixer Upper The Donna Reed Show

On my TV:::Not a bLooming thing 🙂

On the menu for this week:::

Monday  Pasta

Tuesday Chicken and dumplings

Wednesday Chicken Broccoli and Rice bake in the crockpot

Thursday  Taco Salad

Friday Pizza

SaturdaySoup and salad

Sunday Meatball subs

On The To-Do List Bahahahahahaha the better question is what is NOT on the to-do List.  But the run down for tomorrow looks like this

Devos, blog, read 1,000 Gifts, Best Yes Bible study, A Woman’s Call to Prayer, Kid’s work folders (yep Im that mom who keeps er kids up on their studies during the summer), I need to write up our pack lists (everyone gets their own),I need to declutter the top of the piano, I also need to declutter the top of our stairs,3 loads of laundry, 3 loads of dishes, mop downstairs, grocery shopping AND hang out with my friend AMY!

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating::: I  created last week an art journal of sorts with a table of contents with prompts in the front.  I will be working on that for the rest of the year,

Happening this week:::All the normal church stuff with connect groups, and Bible study and so on…and also this is my last week at the pregnancy center  tip after vacation

Looking around the house:::everything is much better after todays marathon of cleaning.  I only have a few loads of laundry left. then there is our room…CYCLONE CENTRAL! yeah That NEEDS to be dealt with on Thursday and Friday !

From the camera:::Homemaker s in training

Ladybug with her friend L….they did some baking while I was sleeping….Ummmm rumor has it that they wore more flour than they used 😉

What I’m wearing today:::  Jeans and a pink collared short sleeve shirt with sneakers

One of my simple pleasures::: Summer rains in the mountains of Pennsylvania (where I grew up)  It just smells different then the mountains here in NY

Bible verse, Devotional::: Psalm 139:11-18 NIV

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.

For More Happy Homemaker Posts Check outDiary of a Stay At Home Mom

Book Review : The Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell

Posted on by Mary

TurquoiseFirst things first, ARE YOU A FRONT YARD PERSON? That is the question you will need to answer as you read Kristin Schell’s book The Turquoise Table.  In the Turquoise Table Kristin takes us on her journey to build community in her Texas town.  She chronicles he ups and downs  of being front yard people  as they began doing every day tasks at the turquoise table.  She gives practical advice on how to stock a simple basket to grab and go as you go to sit at the turquoise table , like crayons, coloring books, a can of mixed nuts, plastic cups and a water pitcher.  BUT Kristin ALSO includes family tested recipes at the end of each chapter !!  The chapters are short and sweet.  They get right to the point and there are many testimonials of others as they have embarked on their turquoise table journeys.  It was an easy and encouraging read that really makes the reader feel as though you can accomplish what is a seemingly scary risk, but with ease Kirstin melts away fears and doubts!

I  had heard about the turquoise table movement through blogging friends over the last few years but I had not been to Kristin’s Blog   or read anything official concerning the concept.  And even though I had never read anything by her I had decided that my carpenter hubby was going to make some picnic tables for our outdoor space, I new one of them would bee painted TURQUOISE!!!!

When I saw I had the option to review Kristin’s Book I knew I just had to and it did NOT disappoint.  I couldn’t stop reading!!!  Each chapter addressed different ares the Turquoise table touched in her life…even the table wearing out…WHILE SHE SAT ON IT!!!   Did I mention she was on camera as it happened?  SOOOO FUNNY!  The turquoise table has changed her, her family, her community, TEXAS and many around the world…no I am NOT kidding!!!   Being a front yard person may not be my personality type, BUT Im certainly going to give it a whirl!!!

This is definitely 5 star rating plus some!

Thanks BookLook Bloogers for giving me a free copy of this book to review and not expecting anything in return!

Life Unexpected: Living Outside the Normal Everyday Crazy

Posted on by Mary

Unexpected things happen ALL the time…Have you every heard the expression

“When it rains it pours”

Well, yesterday it was a monsoon.  I laugh now as I look back at the unexpected happenings.

So yesterday started out in its normal crazy fashion…Up at 5:30 (First day back after Spring Break I might add) Yeah that was easy!!   Ha!!  Lunches made kids fed, three of them on the bus at 6:25. Whew!

Finished up my study Questions from “You Are Loved No Matter What” by Holley Gerth (THAT BOOK IS AAZING)

Bus alarm goes off a second time ..Fourth child out at the bus for a 7 50 pick up.

Back inside:

Blogging

Bible Study

Reading

Normal household chores

Then I did something that is completely normal and it led to something SOOOOO completely Unexpected.  I went out to the garage to get chicken to thaw for dinner….the unexpected was that the upright freezer door wasn’t shut all the way….UH OH!  yep, so the rest of the normal plans out the window and I collected all the thawed gross things from the freezer that now resembled that of the abominable snowman fro  Monsters Inc….WELCOME TO THE HIMALAYAS was all that ran through my mind!  well after my hands we frozen and completely sticky…my sweatshirt and my pants doused int the  conglomeration of mystery liquids……I had all the Ick taken care of….found chicken in another freezer and thawed that, put it in the crockpot and what’s that?  the alarm for group #1 of our kiddos returning from school with #2 returning soon after group #1.  Did I mention I was having Bible study with a teen from our youth group around the same time?  Hubby was picking her up.

Hubby and I had realized that the freezer had been ajar since we left to visit family on Thursday YAY! Hubby also informed that while he was on a run to deliver a tractor (normal) His glasses broke and feel apart while he was driving (UNEXPECTED and dangerous)  he made it taped them together BUT now had t run to the eye place we get our glasses prescriptions filled.  At that point he offered to take the kids with him and to pick up groceries (Normal and AMZING) But half way through his trip the fan in our van  wouldn’t shut off…even when  the van was shut off and key removed (UNEXPECTED but isn’t can trouble almost always)  I finished my bible study, her dad picked her up, I finished dinner and I sat down on the couch.

Everyone cam rushing in and quite frankly if you have read  Hope for the Weary Mom or seen Mom’s Night Out  you will get what I am about to say.

I had a moment…..And my kids ate  dinner  in silence…and I felt horrible (after all hubby’s sermon was coursing through my brain….Saying” you blew it”!!

Hubby left for a meeting, saying that if it ended before a certain time he was going to run to the store to get the part for the car. Ok off he went I gave the 45 minute warning till bed….

Homework

Chores

Reading

Child #3 asks “mom can I get my shower?” (NORMAL)

” Yep you can”

10 minutes later….As he stands at the top of the stairs , “Mommy why do you have your razor in the shower?”  Ummm because it’s my shower and it’s hanging up above your reach!

Umm no it’s not and I think Im bleeding everywhere .  (SO UNEXPECTED  that it took a few seconds to register, but I snapped into  nurse mommy mod) e. let’s add to this that this is the child with Autism AND he is JUST out of the shower.

So after some minor freaking out (on his part) my little army of three non injured kids snapped into a well oiled machine f helpfulness.  And I could not with all the pressure I could get the bleeding to stop.  I had to call hubby.

Hubby came home….Off to urgent care….To sit and sit and sit some more .  Usually our urgent care is very quick….Not last night.  They finally got him in at 10-ish.    due to how his foot was cut they had to create  an imitation scab.  When they left, the battery in the car was dead from the constantly running fan (Unexpected, kind of) they came home at 12:30 am.  (UNEXPECTED)

SLEEP (normal)

Now this morning had a few unexpected things like oversleeping and leaving child #4’s math homework on the table, but compared to yesterday it was a breeze!

Thankfully in all of the UNEXPECTED events of yesterday, it could have led to major strife and minus the MOMENT I had unrelated t all the rest going on, it’s those moments that show our true colors.   Does our responses point to a Savior who is in control of every detail, or do we get bent out shape and let everyone know it , that it didn’t go according to our plan.  I know it wasn’t in my plan to smell like a garbage can. Do we moan and groan about how awful these circumstances or do we whisper a prayer and say ok LORD it’s not about me.  There has been a lot in my life that has been UNEXPECTED, soon good, some not so good and some just horrible things.   Thankfully God doesn’t expect us to be perfect through it all, he wants us to rely on Him, for everything!

My Brain, My Filing Cabinet : Confidence Uncluttered

Posted on by Mary

Confidence

This is my journey to finding my confidence.  I’m not sure I have  really experienced true confidence.  I can fake it well enough! Not the kind of confidence that I have in myself with, but the confidence I should have in my relationship with Christ!  This is a journey I am currently on.  I have not arrived, nor do I have complete understanding.  Will you join me on this journey and we will begin by unflattering confidence?

I have this filling cabinet, it sits in my living room.  It looks all nice and neat around it.   BUT I almost never open it.  Do you know why?   BECAUSE I knew what the inside looked like!  It looked like two years of paperwork crammed inside of it.   It was overwhelming to even consider the amount of work it would take to get back into it and make it use-able again.   It haunted me …it called to me from deep within me. There was no more room in it so the papers that were most recent were siting in mostly neat stacks…on the piano, on the couch, on my desk…and on the floor.  That is until last week.  And as I sat for HOURS every day,Sorting, and tossing, a thought crossed my mind….

The thought was this

This filing cabinet is really as my mind and heart have become over the last two years as I stuffed emotions, and  thoughts and…well anything else you shove into every crevice of our hearts and minds saying, “I will deal with this tomorrow or not this week I’m just too busy! ” It’s not a matter of it being to busy, it really is a matter of being too uncomfortable.    It’s too painful to deal with the hard places so we stuff it.  Just like my filing cabinet, I stuffed so much stuff into it that it started overflowing other areas. And that is what happens with our hearts and minds, stuffing things leads to negative overflow in the rest of our lives….It can lead to angry outbursts or even negative health effects llike high blood pressure and physical illness.

as I prayed the beginning of this year for God to show me my word for the year I asked Him for it to be one that would change my life, change me for the better and that at the end of the year I would be closer to Him than ever before. About a week after praying for that, the word CONFIDENT came to mind.   All the other years words were already set in my mind in November BUT this year it wasn’t until the second week of January.  I felt lost. I felt as though I no longer knew who I was…at all.  I felt as though I had to be all things to all people and I just could not do that anymore.  I was at a crossroads with a slippery slope straight ahead of me .    So as soon as I got my word I was off digging in scripture.  It took me two days searching God’s Word looking up verses and cross referencing them.  I went deep and I continue to do so.     My verses for the year to go along with my word landed me in the book of Jeremiah.  Here is what it says:

Jeremiah 17:7-8

But Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water, that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

But my study hasn’t ended there.  God directed me to various books.   Stripping away the years of clutter that had accumulated in my mind and heart muddying the waters of understanding as to who I was in Christ and who he created me to be.  I had lost my creativity.  I had lost my passions to pursue things that I loved.  I have asked God to reteach me , to show me who I really am  in Him,  And  to show me who He created me to be. I’m learning a lot and I have found a new sense of peace.

Am I there yet?  BY NO MEANS!   But where I am at this moment in time is knowing that I AM HIS.  My circumstances do not define me…HE DOES! And that is exactly where he wants me to be at this moment.

As for my filing cabinet, it is organized and back to working order!

How about you?  What is your word for the year?  Do you have some heart and mind clutter that needs to be stripped away?  And if so, have you taken that to God and given it to Him?  If not I challenge you to do so TODAY!

Next week We will discuss what the difference is between Confidence and “Godfidence”

Random Ramblings: CRAZY weekend

Posted on by Mary

Actually its been a super crazy week since I last wrote a Random Ramblings….. Crazy Crazy CRAZY!!!!

Let’s Start with last week.

J was home from school on Monday because he had a fever the night before..and the school holds to a 24 hour policy without meds. T, K, and S went to school, but we were all very aware about the storm heading our way.  Hubby had a meeting Monday night.  Snow showed up Early Tuesday morning and we quickly realized that things had changed over night…our original 12 inches was upgraded and by Tuesday evening we had 29 inches of snow.  did I mention the kids had a snow day Tuesday )YAY)…..and then Tuesday afternoon a travel ban was put into place…… so Wednesday no school….Thursday rolled around and the roads were much better excluding the drift spots, but no AWANA that night.  J’s respite care worker came Thursday and Friday instead of Tuesday and Wednesday…. Hmmm I wonder why. Hubby  was at church from 10-4-430 and then we had some errands to run and dinner out together (Are you getting tired yet, cuz I am just writing it.  THEN Friday Happened….Initially all the kids had off school for Friday but since they exceeded their 5 allotted snow days T, K, and S all had school on Friday  so it was just J home.  Hubby and J went to church to finish up the previous days project.  When they came home J’s service coordinator came for a brief meeting and his respite care worker came…we ate a quick lunch and were off to visit a church person who also had her gall bladder out last week (That is 3 of us from our church in about 3 months), then we had to pick up the kids from school (OOPS almost forgot that detail…thanks J for reminding us at lunch) had to o pick up K’s friend, whose parents are our church’s youth leaders, from her grandparents house so she could come spend the weekend with K while her parents, I and two teenagers went to a youth rally….. BREATHE!!! We drove home that night, stopped at Walmart  and came home….. slept….. then left AGAIN the next morning to head back.  We were there till 5ish and then headed home again… IN MORE SNOW.  I didn’t get to go right home though I had a meeting at church that took a while because it involved some artistic work… and you know artists, we are our own worst critics!   Yep OCD was strong!!  I came home to my children (T & K) preparing dinner for us!  What a blessing those two are!  And that leads us to Sunday with all the normal Sunday stuff for a pastor’s family.

This life is crazy and we all go through crazy times but in the end we have choices.  As the speaker at the youth rally I attended this weekend shared as he spoke through 1 Corinthians 13, we all have a choice in being loving we can be kind or we can be rude….. So in these times of  Crazy it’s very easy to become self absorbed and rude, I mean ungrateful… and much more or we can CHOOSE  to look beyond our crazy, our horrible, our circumstances and be who God has called us to be…… LOVING!   It’s not easy and it takes a ton of practice.  I know I’m not there yet.  I’m not perfect and I most certainly DON’T have this all figured out. So start small. That’s what I am doing. I’m picking one thing….. and I’m choosing to pay attention to others rather than my crazy! How about you? What keeps you from being loving when THAT is what God calls us to do?