Monday, March 28, 2011

Hot Spots

I have been taking part in Simple Mom’s Project Simplify. Each week this month she has focused on an area of the home, starting with the closet, then paper clutter, last week was kids cloths and toys and this week is Fridge and Pantry. What I love about this blog is that she provides simple ways to make the clutter disappear. She doesn’t say “look in your closet and toss what you don’t wear” she says “try on each item, see how you feel in it, if you don’t like it or don’t feel comfortable get rid of it.” This takes my idea of cleaning the closet one step further.

The funny thing is that as she posts each hot spot, as she calls them, I laugh as I have ‘just done them’. But as I read her suggestions of how it is done, I realize that I have only done half the battle. About a week before she posted hot spot number one, I had already gone through my closet. But as I followed her guide lines, I filled one large garbage bag full of my cloths, and another full of my husbands. I really thought about each item and tried on several of my old favorites (the ones I had before I had my son who is now two). I used to like the way I looked and felt in them, but not anymore, I tossed some, and placed some in the resell bag. As I moved on to paper clutter, I again laughed as I had already tackled several months of paper work. I did not have as much to do, but she suggested ways of preventing said paper clutter in the future, that was my main task (and yes I still have a box of old stuff that I am working up the courage to get to.

The only hot spot so far that I have actually been successful with before she wrote about was the kids cloths and toys. I am constantly going through my sons cloths and either getting rid of or storing them. Several people in my church and family have children younger than my boy and I give most of the stuff away, saving only the stuff I love, incase we have another boy. The toys was my husbands idea, we are storing most of those for now, but as I went into my son’s room to see what I could get rid of, I realized there was very few items that he did not play with that we kept out.

Now for the fridge and pantry… (insert big sigh here) I cleaned out the fridge last week. I laughed as I read the hot spot this week was fridge an pantry. I read the blog further and laughed as she spoke about thinking through the lifestyle choices we make. Several months ago I got this wonderful book called “Simple foods for busy family’s” which addresses the same things that she discusses. It opened my eyes even further to the way that we in America eat today. A lot of people are trying to eat healthier, which is wonderful, but I know for a fact that is can be difficult getting some family members to jump on bored. I pray everyday that my husband will just one day eat veggies, any veggies and say “wow I never knew how good they were.” Of course that is unlikely to happen, but a girl can dream.

So, this week I clean out my pantry, and attempt to get things in order there. Wish me luck.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Making God time more important than Me time

What about God time? As a Christian mom it is so easy to just go about my busy day wondering when I can have a little “Me Time” throwing out little prayers to God as I go about my day. I often forget that he wants to spend time with me, feeding me spiritually and emotionally. They days and weeks go by, and I wonder why I feel drained. I am praying, right? I occasionally read a devotional… but the days between those readings can be more than I care to share. What is wrong? The answer, I am not taking God time.

What does this mean to me? It means that I sit, quietly, listening… listening. Those prayers that I throw up to him are not what I am talking about. God is not there to just answer our prayers; he is there to renew us.

I need not ask why I forget this, but what I can do to fix it. I have yet to find the right fit for me. So, readers, what works for you, or if you haven’t found the right fit for you, what are you trying to do to fix it? God is awesome; he is big (bigger than the boggy man according to Veggie Tales). He can fix our problems, so one of those prayers I throw out during my day will be to help me find the time, or maybe a better word is ‘make’ the time.

How do you make the time?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

What do you Think?

Some days I wake up and well, I don’t really want to be awake. Not just because I am tired, but because I have no motivation. Some might call it depression, but I have a hard time with that word. Not that I am saying it is a bad word, I just feel as though that word does not correctly describe what is going on. Yes, I have had days where I was depressed, but to label myself as someone who suffers from depression on a regular basis does not seem accurate.

I feel the need to purge my mind of this ‘issue’ that I am sure so many suffer from; lack of motivation, and its source. There is so much that I want to do, the list fluctuates from day to day, but overall there is so many things I want to be when I grow up (yes I know, 33 is already grown up). My lack of motivation comes from this desire to be so many things. It seems counterintuitive, but there you have it.

When someone has so many dreams, where does she start in achieving even one of those dreams? That is the question that holds me back. Some of my dreams are wonderful, but require more than I currently have to achieve, another thing that holds me back…

I am looking for encouragement. I am looking for an answer to that question, the one that haunts most of us, What am I. I have the easy titles, Daughter, Friend, Wife, Mother. Those are part of my essence, things that are constant and require very little from me to accomplish. But beyond that, What am I?

Since the recent loss of my job, I have enjoyed the title, Stay at Home Mom. I love that title, but with the economy the way that it is, and the possibility of a major paycut in my husbands income, this wonderful title will not last longer than my unemployment checks. I get the privilege of staying home for 2011. But once that is up, it is back to the grindstone… I get to become that dreaded title of “working mom.” In many ways this title is easier than Stay at Home Mom, but I want to be the one to raise my child, not the lady at daycare (all though she is a wonderful woman, and loves my child, she doesn’t love him like I do).

My mind keeps working out what I can do as a “working mom” that would make it something I do not dread. I want to work from home, but have no idea how to do it, especially with a toddler in tow. I have thought about selling my crafts on Etsy… but. I have thought about tutoring… but. I have thought about catering… but. I have thought about writing… but. But… that word is my enemy here. I want for so many things to happen. I want to be my own boss when the times for me to bring in some money, but… How.

My current journey is to remove the but from one of those above sentences. To find the thing that I am supposed to do. If it is not one of those above sentences, then I want to find the thing for me. And, I intend on focusing on God through it all, so that the stress level is gone. I have 9 months left before I must figure out how to replace my income.

My requests are prayer and recommendations. Please pray that God reveal to me his will for my life right now, and that he give me the confidence I need. Please feel free to leave recommendations and helpful suggestions. I don’t know how many readers I have, but if you read this, leave a comment. If you are new, and don’t even know me, please, leave a comment… I want to know what others are going through, what they think. I want to have a conversation.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

The True Children of God

“The True Children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them.” Romans 8:14

I am in ever constant state of attempting to find the “perfect” way to organize things. There is no particular thing that I tend to focus on (I am ADHD so I think that is impossible). Whatever strikes my fancy is what I attempt to make perfect.

Being relatively new to the stay at home mom scene, my latest project perfection is how I organize my day. Simple Mom’s Daily Docket has been a life saver, and a curse… yes I said it, a curse. It is just one more thing for me to attempt to make perfect. If my life were a novel, and I the heroine, perfectionism would be my fatal flaw. Yet, there are moments, like when I read the above scripture, that I realize that I am not perfect. God is perfect… amazing, wonderful, awesome. I know this because as I was going about my morning ritual, (hazily making coffee, forgetting for the umpteenth time to give Ronin his cup of milk) I prayed that God would speak to me through the scripture today. And so he did.

True Children of God… I consider myself a true child of God… are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. And still, I go about my day, often not necessarily as planned, but as I see fit. I forget that sometimes God wants me to do something other than what is written on my Daily Docket… Sometimes he has an unexpected appointment for me that will benefit not only me, but the people I come in to contact with. If I remember this, if I remember that God is bigger than my perfectionism, my fatal flaw, then I am doing good.

Lord, help me to move beyond the flaws of my humanity, and listen to your plan for my day. Help me to see that I am your child, and that I need to let you lead me. Remind me on a daily basis YOUR plan for my day, and that it is PERFECT, because you are PERFECT.

Monday, March 7, 2011

My Relationship to the story of Joseph

As I am sure I have mentioned in previous posts, I have been using organizational tools provided by the Simple Mom. Ofcourse being the obsessive compulsive person I am, and one who loves to ‘tweek’ things, I have taken it and made it my own.

The basic idea is that at the top there are the ‘most important things’ followed by what’s for dinner and ‘work’ then Today’s to do list, and Today’s general plan, then the daily cleaning. ( I have another sheet with the menu plan and total cleaning list for the week. I write down in my today’s to do list those things from the weekly list that I have chosen to do, some weeks it is by room, others it is by type of surface or task. This “daily docket” is my accountability tool. It asks me to write down the must do’s, the should do’s, and the want to do’s, so that I have a guide for my day.

Next to the most important things is possibly the most important thing for me to focus on. It is the “Daily Scripture”. I changed what she had written, at this moment I do not recall what that was. I have been using a book that was given to me years ago, written by Max Lucado. “Grace for the Moment” provides a scripture and experts from Lucado’s books pertaining to the scripture. My main goal in life, and especially right now, is to focus on those scriptures. Not only to read what Lucado has to say about them, but to make them my own.

Today’s scripture was “May the God you serve all the time, save you” Daniel 6:16.

The awesome thing about God is, his love is unconditional. Although I may not be there 100 % of the time, he still loves me. I get so caught up in my life, (getting things done, getting frustrated at things) I often forget to serve him.

It is my prayer Lord, that you save me from this pit I have fallen into called distraction (by things). Do for me what you did for Joseph, and as I move closer to the throne, help me to be a faithful servent, as you did for Joseph. Help me to see those you surround me with as a blessing, even though it may not be where I want to be. Help me to be faithful in serving them, and to be a light to them.

Followers