For Real?

I have just as much going on as ever. I noticed this moment however, that I am just not sitting down to write about it. (Also not sitting down to do much reading.) I really enjoy the medium of blogging for relieving my brain of my thoughts, and also to keep people up to date on what's going on with our world. So - it seems that sometimes I just need to be more intentional about it. Which is the case with a lot of things in my life. I'm certain I am not the only one. There are only 24 hours in a day - you can't change that so you have to choose how you would like to use them. Anyway.... maybe I'll write more about that later. Right now, I wanted to tell you about this cow....





We are continuing the renovations in our home (no I have not forgotten to give the final reveal of the master - I am just still working on making it swanky) and the current major work has been taking our 13 year old daughter's room down to the studs, reconfiguring, rewiring and rebuilding to beauty and ever so cute teenager domicileness. My daughter is a saver of things. Like; everything. Empty rolls from papertowels. Shoe boxes. Things, things and more things. No clue where she gets that from. "PURGE IT" is what I always say.

Anyway....

The rule is that nothing is going back into that room if it does not have a place to be. I mean NOTHING. And there were a few things that went straight into a box labeled, "Not even if it has a place!" The cow was one of those items. It's atrocious. It is a bank. And as you can notice, the giant hole next to the giant purple udders is missing its plug. Therefore it can't even be functional. It's just a blight on my view.




My daughter noticed the cow in the, "No way on God's green earth" box and promptly proceeded to make a case for it. Really? For real? I tried to talk with her about how really and truly ugly it is. Unphased. How she couldn't possibly care for it as much as she thinks because she didn't use it for anything. Unphased. How the fact that it has 2 inches of dust on it tells me that she really doesn't love it at all (yes those are dust streaks from the cow on the table). Unphased. She is certain that this cow must remain in her room. She has promised that she WILL give it a prominent place of display and she WILL keep it clean.

What's a mom to do? The cow stays. However, the girl has been informed that the first time I swipe dust off it, it goes straight to the trash. Not.even.a.yardsale.

God help her future husband.

The Color of Money And Hoarding

This is the color of money. The color of fear. The color of hoarding. The color of loving things. The color of my Father's love for me.

Anxiety over getting rid of stuff. This is what I have been struggling with since we have begun putting the newly renovated rooms back together in our house. God has been prompting me for several months to simplify. And I was even able to make an agreement with my husband that if I purge now and a project or a need came up, I could purchase the supplies I needed ~even at full price ~ at the time I need them. So what is the problem? I know that my Father loves me and wants only good for me. I know that my husband loves me and will keep his word. WHY am I having stress over getting rid of embroidery floss? I don't know all of the psychology of it. I do know that God has made me to be a person who thinks to the future and prepares. He intends me to be preparing for the return of Jesus, and preparing for situations here on earth. . Satan has been working to twist this into a fear of being found lacking and into stockpiling things I haven't touched in three years(or - gross truth - longer)until there is no room to walk .
"But S4J, you are being too harsh on yourself. Don't you still do cross-stitch? Why get rid of that box of embroidery floss?? It's SOOO pretty!"

Because. I also have this





And I also have this


It has to stop. Even if we were in a fallout shelter for 17 years, I could not possibly use all of that floss for the projects that I am inclined to do. Yes, perhaps, I could use it for my whole family to floss their teeth with - but seriously - I will have enough of actual dental floss in the fallout shelter to handle that too.
After going through my crafting supplies, ONLY the cross-stitch related items, I found that I had 3 bins of floss. Approximately 8 pieces of AIDA/Linen fabric. TWENTY-SIX complete and unopened kits. And EIGHT opened and begun projects. I cannot possibly fit all of my stuff into the new space allotted to crafting by our renovations. I figured out that I had somewhere around $200.00(at full price) worth of unopened kits.

I have now Nine unopened kits (2 of which are specifically gifts for others)(Plus 9 that are going to the forever house in Texas that are the sweetest garden markers for herbs ~ which I can work on when I am visiting there), Five started projects, 1 bin of floss (which is the bin that my Aunt and my Cousin gave me as a Christmas gift many years ago where they meticulously wound and labeled the floss themselves) 1 gallon size Ziploc bag with whatever fabric would fit in it, and various hoops.
That was a really really difficult process(although it shouldn't have been) (I was actually physically shaking last night while going through my things), made easier by prayer, tough talk and sometimes patient and encouraging decision assistance from HisGirl.

I'm still working on going through my craft supplies and figuring what I really want to keep and how to fit it into the newer, prettier-but-smaller space we have allotted for it. And just thinking of that is making me breathe harder and tense up. Chill out girl! Look at this promise and claim it!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11