The Things I Don't Want To Do

The things I don't want to do....

Too many to list, really. I was reminded today that I am forever telling my kids that we all have to do things in this life that we don't want to do. Then when it comes to the things that I don't want to do, well, let's just say that there are lots and lots of them that I am pretty good at not doing.

I have changed my schedule up at the mat in an experiment to be able to take care of things that I need time to take care of, like nurturing my growing business and taking care of hearth and home and the things that God has blessed us with. Also *cough* carving out time for physical activity. Bleck.

I was going to tell you that today, I did one of those things that I didn't want to do but as I am writing this, I realized that I did THREE things, NO, FOUR things I didn't want to do. Praise the heavens, there is hope for me yet! I 1.)Got up and took the kids to school 2.)Went to the gym 3.)Ate fruit 4.) Cleaned the van. This is a big task when you live in a normal place, but when you live in a place that does not yet have a proper driveway - it can be pretty daunting to clean up after all the getting in and out of dirty feet. Not to mention eating on the way to here or there and just general living.

As I was doing my best to do that which I don't want to do, God was kind enough to show me a stack of opportunities that I miss when I decide not to do that which I do not want to do.

As I put my hands on things to clean, move, stock or listen to, I was blessed with the memory of where they came from and prompted to send up special prayers for each. I had to refill my Tissue Cozy and prayed especially for the friend who made many of these in the wee hours during her heaviest grief after losing her daughter. I changed out my mirror dangly and hung the lovely wooden cross and prayed especially for the friend that gave it as part of her testimony after losing her husband. I keep the mirror danglies aka my 'sparklies' in a lovely wood box with a verse from Joshua and I sent a special prayer up for the friend who led me in a study of Joshua. I prayed especially for a friend who is touched by music and knows that I am too so she felt compelled to gift me her favorite new CD (2 actually). Finally, I prayed especially for my favorite worship leader who writes and sings songs that are straight from and for my heart ~ one of the rare instances I actually buy a CD rather than download the album.

And +of course+ the music was blaring the entire time! You are welcome neighbors.



Today, my special prayer for you is that you find the blessings in doing the things you don't want to do.

Let Your Light Shine - 2012

My friend GeorgiaGirl has prompted us to pray about assigning a life verse (of God's Word) to this year; for ourselves, for our families or both. I guess I've always been intimidated by mission statements because you have to first quantify what it is that you want to accomplish and then you have to set about doing it. It's not like a to-do list of practical, needs-based action. It's about what you want your life to mean. What you want your life to stand for. That's pretty deep territory my friends.
I'm feeling compelled to this idea. Perhaps because I am getting older and the meaning I see in things, places, people, actions is changing. Perhaps because in my growing older, I have more to look back on and more of a view of what my legacy is. When you're 19, you look back to see how many things you've gotten to do YOUR way since you became an adult. When you're 39 you look back to see what the things you have done YOUR way have gotten you and how they have impacted others. That reflection is for another post, but it does cause you to question, "Where do we go from here?"

We go to Matthew as he recorded Jesus.

Matthew 5:16 (NASB) "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

This is a little ironic considering that this was part of the theme verse for PWOC last year. What can I say? This is my verse "for such a time as this".

And, because I am who God made me to be, I must have a theme song as well!




We Are by Kari Jobe...

Every secret, every shame
Every fear, every pain
Live inside the dark
But that's not who we are
We are children of the day

So wake up sleeper, lift your head
We were meant for more than this
Fight the shadows conquer death
Make the most of the time we have left

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine
Let the light shine, let the light shine

We are called to the spread the news
Tell the world the simple truth
Jesus came to save, there's freedom in His Name
So let his love break through

We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine
We are the light of the world
We are the city on a hill
We are the light of the world
We gotta, we gotta, we gotta let the light shine

(she wrote this song based on 1 Thessalonians 5)

I'm going to live in the light, make the most of the time I have left, remember that I am meant for more than this so that my light will shine in such a way as to glorify my Father in heaven.

I plan to live this out by:


*Getting more acquainted with the Bible. The format this will take in 2012 is reading it through in a year. Since my beautiful day planner has it all laid out for me, I'm hoping that will help me stick to it.

*Taking time to pray. I mean, I pray. Every day. However, I often miss the opportunity to stop and pray over decisions. Big and Little. I tend to use logic first. Jesus gave us a model of prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and that helps me incorporate the current PWOC theme. :)

*Getting healthy. Mainly through losing *cough* 50lbs. But also, by eating well and being active. (Let's face it, unless you actually ARE expecting, it sucks to be asked when you are expecting.)

Blessings on your 2012 my friends,

Backdoor Bluebird

Saw this little cutie out my new backdoor...





Blessings on your day,

What Do You Do When....

....you have a 2-car carport that weighs a ton and needs to be moved a couple of acres away?

Dismantle it and put it back together where you want it? NO! Of course not. Silly.


You chain it to itself and then hook it to the John Deere and drag it where you want it!




Here you can witness hubby pulling it backwards and already about 1/4 of the way to where it needed to be...











WHOA Nelly!! A little too close for comfort. (Don't tell the parents - that's their trailer.)




Then hubby had the idea to pull from its sides...it was just like tractor skiing!




Here's where it ended up. Yes, it did bow in a little bit but was easily corrected once the chains were removed.



Blessings on your day,

A Lesson In Godly Friendship ~ A BFF Chat Transcript

BFF: .....when you look at it through God's eyes
you are going to be able to see that 'greater love has no man than this... that he lay down his life for a friend"
you are getting to sacrifice for your husband.
you have the honor of laying your life down for him
and what satan would have you do is to focus on getting your needs met
instead of trusting that God will meet all your needs according to his riches in Christ's glory

S4J: you are being rude.

BFF: (that was a bunch of stuff that earns me a punch in the nose)

but honestly, that is the truth and you know it
every time it goes through your head that people aren't meeting your needs or considering you, you need to take those thoughts captive because satan is trying to take from you the joy of serving your husband

S4J: you have left me with no choice but to order pizza
with extra cheese
and pepperoni

BFF: of this great sacrifice you made for him...

HAHAHA

...and he is using the same thing that you did to bless your husband as a device to make you bitter toward him
so remember that you are not fighting your husband
you are fighting satan
when hubby asks you to walk one mile, you are going to walk two.
and then satan loses
and God can be in charge of what you need

S4J: you have lost your mind

BFF: hahaha. i have not.
you know i am right.
you know it as well as i know you would say the same to me
because i love you




Blessings on your day my friends,

116 Degrees And An Epic Update

Hi y'all! It's been a long time hasn't it? I know you mostly know the bits from being friends on facebook, but I thought I would dust off the old virtual stationery and sit down and give an update.
The weather here in North Texas (as in everywhere else in the nation) has been hot! Yesterday the thermometer on the back porch read 116 degrees! It's all that people can talk about (including me.)
It has been about a year since the kids and I moved from Fort Polk while hubby was finishing up his final months of a 20 year career in the Air Force. When he retired, we had been married for 15 years. Added all together, the deployments and separations due to his job equaled 4 solid years. 4 years of our 15 year marriage spent apart. This past year has been such a blessing of having him home and the sure knowledge that we won't be facing those kinds of separations anymore. I would never undo those years and I am thankful to be in a new phase.
During the past year we saw many changes. We have already moved 3 times. Our second Daughter joined the Air Force and was medically disqualified and sent home after several months of making a go of it. She moved in (next door) with Grandma and Grandpa and is working several jobs to save up to get her own place and waiting for school to start this month so she can work on getting a degree in physical education. 18 is proving to be a lovely and difficult age for us to watch her be. I say, "watch" because that is all we can do now. She's a precious girl, finding her way and making some choices that make us wince and duck and get on our knees in prayer. I remember those years in my own life and thank God every.single.day that He pulled me through and out of those onto a solid foundation of believing and trusting in Him.

Our oldest daughter will be leaving her teen years behind next week. You want to talk about pulling through. Her son is 2 1/2 and she is a good, good Mommy. Again ~ a child making choices that sent us to our knees. Of course, we would love for her to be married and we are very fond of her boyfriend. Even so, we are ever thankful and proud that they are working together in love to raise their son and making him a priority.

The twins. Oh my the twins. They are starting their sophomore year in High School. And their second year in North Texas. They will be 16 in November and will be learning to drive soon. TWO of them. Learning to drive. Aaaaannnnnddddd back to my knees I go. :) Boy twin stands 6'3" and girl twin 5'4". No, they are not identical. Yes, people still ask me that.

Along with our daughter, Hubby will be attending college in the fall to earn a degree in welding. He has been wanting to do this for many years, and thanks to the GI Bill, he will begin working that dream into reality in just a few weeks.

We are coming upon a challenging life situation, which, of course, is nothing new. We have been living in the rental house next door over to our property for the past year and we received a letter stating that we are required to sign another year rental agreement or move out. We will be moving out.

We are making some bold choices about what to do next that will certainly take dedication, patience and prayer. (Is there a theme here?) The ideas that we had about what life would be like on the outside aren't the reality that we are living. Although I do have 3 jobs, they are not providing the income that we thought I would be able to achieve once I could work outside the home full-time and although Hubby's retirement pay is enough to live on if one has no debt and is not trying to build a new home, it is not enough to live on if you do have debt and are trying to build a new home.

So, we are now entering the beginning phases of plan "D". We are outfitting the barn with some living space and looking into bringing a travel trailer to our property to supplement that living space and we are moving onto our own land. Finally. Plan D allows for us to be investing back into our own future, rather than the neighbor's future and will allow us to easily live within our means. The plan is to work our debt elimination plan to completion and then build our house. Now don't get all wound up about, "Living in a barn?? Living in a trailer?? With four people and two dogs???" I did say it was going to be challenging. We have agreed that we will do it as long as we can possibly stand it and we are trying to make it as comfortable and doable as possible while staying within the budget we have for this endeavor and when the day comes that we can no longer deal, we will make other arrangements.

I celebrated my 39th birthday. I tell you what folks, I have really enjoyed my 30's. I will live this last year of them with joy and look forward to my 40's being even better!

I have had amazing blessings in this last year that I have been able to travel for photography and worship and although these trips have not been money-makers, how many people get to go to Hawaii for free and spend a week taking pictures of their friends and making new ones? And how many people get to say, "I got to travel to lead women to Throne of God in worship and all needs were taken care of." Well, I suppose a lot of musicians get to say that, but not me. 'Til now.

We have been attending a local church for some time now and I have begun to sing with the Praise Team. This is a church in transition and we are treading carefully on letting our hearts get too deep until we know for sure this is where we are supposed to be, but the people are so dear and the doctrine is sound. We shall see.

Blessings on your day my friends,

Cohabitation

How cute is this?




Blessings on your day,