12/30/13

It is the sunset of another year.

I look back on this year with fond memories.

Steve and I celebrated 20 years of marriage and took an international trip that neither one of us ever thought we would do.

I ziplined and LOVED it.  Would do it again in a heartbeat.

I continued to learn how to LIVE in this life and not just sit back and watch it go away without trying new things.

I learned to accept change even more.

I increased in my knowledge of the Lord.

So many things... I honestly cannot remember them all because they have now become a part of who I am.

In reflecting on this past year, though, I couldn't help but think of hard times.  I know of many people who have suffered much worse things than Steve and I this past year and I cannot begin to say I know what they have faced.   One thing I have been thinking on more and more recently is when we go through the storms of life in a year, are we thankful for them or are we just ready for the year to end?  I can remember saying in past years, "I will be glad when {insert year} is finished so that I can move on to another year.  It HAS to be better than this year was!"  

In reading my book on Job (Beginning at the End: Finding God When Your World Falls Apart by Cherie Hill) and studying about Job in Sunday School recently, it has caused me to reflect longer and harder on the trials, or storms, in my life.

Everyone hears that trials are what draw us closer to the Lord.  It is easy to SAY that statement, but harder to live it.  When you are going through a trial and you have no idea what is to come next, it is like walking alone in the dark and feeling that the next step will cause you to plummet to your "death."  I have been there.

Thankfully, God understands our weaknesses.  He knows that many of our reactions in those trials and storms of life cause us to become angry and bitter; we try to have self-sufficiency (control and manipulation); and they can also cause us to fear or worry.  That is why He tells us repeatedly in His Word to "Fear Not." 

So, truly, why DO we have to endure storms in this life?  What IS their purpose?  Recently, one of the pastors at church preached on this topic.  It was a wonderful reminder to me as to why the Lord sends those trials.  Here are a few snippets from what I learned:

Storms uncover areas in need of spiritual growth.

Storms calibrate or re-calibrate your view of God.  

(Renewed reverence for His Person and His Power.)

Storms prepare you for future ministry.

In short, storms in life force you to see you are only human and you NEED the Savior.  If everything went "just right" all of the time, we would forget our need for Him. 

We would forget Emmanuel - God With Us. 

We would forget what He did for us on the cross of Calvary. 

We would forget that He is alive today, having conquered sin, and is there for us every step of this life.

I can honestly say that, although my trials in this life have been hard, what I have learned from them have grown me more than any "good day."  They are some of my sweetest memories only because of how I clung to the Lord and He was always there, just as He is every day, but I chose to be still before Him instead of my do things my own way.

As I reflect on this year I keep coming back to what I read in my book on Job by Cherie Hill:  "[God's] bringing us to "The End," so that He can "Begin."

How do you view 2013? 

How do you plan on viewing 2014?

Forget resolutions... we hardly ever keep them anyway.

Take each second, minute, hour, day, week, month of this next year of 2014 and allow the Lord to guide you.  The way might be rough at times, but He will NEVER let you go and He always has a purpose.

12/07/13

Missed me much?

Yeah, yeah, I know.... been a while.  No words.

Literally.

I just have not had the right words to write about as of late.  I have been given lots of examples of things in life to share, but the Lord just did not give me the words.

For today, I am back.  I had to share the newest journey.

Earlier this year I talked about my weight.   I also shared what the Lord gave me this summer at a workshop about doing hard things.

Put those two things together and you now have one determined 40-something Mama on your hands.

The above picture was taken on our 20th anniversary trip in June to St. Lucia.  Whew... I can't believe it, but I actually gained about 6 more pounds after that picture was taken.... OY. 


My journey actually started in September when I began walking with my best friend.  We both decided separately that we needed a change.  The Lord was working in both of our lives about the same thing and we didn't even know it!  We began talking seriously about our eating choices and then started out walking around 2-3 miles and now we are up to 6 miles when we walk together. 

Fast forward to the first of October.  Steve had his yearly physical and the doctor saw some numbers in his blood work that were too high.  Now the Lord had Sweet Man going through the same need for a change.

At the beginning of October Sweet Man and I both began the journey of our health.  We both have high risk of heart disease and diabetes in our families and we knew we had to get control of our choices.

We have done this weight loss thing many times before, but this time has been different.  I can't explain it exactly.  The first time I lost weight I did it through exercise only.  The second time I lost weight it was through eating choices only.  Now, I am combining both... exercise and eating choices.

It has been both liberating and difficult.  However, DO HARD THINGS has been on my lips to my children and students, so why should it not also be to myself!

Since October, Sweet Man is now down 35 pounds.  Men can blink and weight comes off.  HOWEVER, he has worked VERY hard to get to this point.  He has changed eating habits and worked out almost daily.  I AM BEYOND PROUD OF HIM.

I have lost 11 pounds since we began the first of October.  I realize women lose weight differently... I get that.  Those 11 pounds have been hard-fought and have required much discipline.  I am thankful for what I am learning and how I am regaining who I am.  I have been walking with my bestie, doing Just Dance on the Wii, Zumba on the Wii, and Leslie Sansone Walk at Home videos.  (Let me just say that Leslie knows how to kick your tail.)  I love it. 

This journey is by far from over.  I still have a long way to go to reach my goal and Sweet Man does, too.  What I have found is having two of the people I love the most along this journey with me has made even the hard times easy.  Their encouragement, and the encouragement of others, really means a lot.  I have learned to be a cheerleader for others who are struggling in this same area.

Losing weight requires hard work.  It isn't a quick fix.  If you are looking for that, as I was earlier this year, you are missing out on what is truly important.  Anything worth doing takes time.

As Sweet Man heard on the radio - "Sweat is fat crying." 

Below is our latest picture together.  Sweet Man is wearing the same shirt he was wearing in the above picture in St. Lucia. 

I am learning it takes work and discipline to have a healthy body.  My desire is to continue to "do hard things" so that I may help others do the same.

I'll keep you posted as the journey continues....

10/21/13

So, how did we fare at the fair?

Not too badly, for the frenzy of food preparation we had last weekend.  :)

 Mikayla earned Honorable Mention for her layer cake.

She earned First Place for her brownies.  :)

 And she earned Second Place for her chocolate chip muffins.

Wesley blew us all away and earned First Place and Best of Show for his caramel oat bars.  We knew they were stinkin' good, just didn't realize how much!

 He was a little excited.....

 Wesley also earned a Fourth Place for his Honey Banana Bread in the Honey Food category... just haven't gotten to that picture yet on my long list of pics to process....

I was so proud of Mikayla for placing in all of her entries.  She worked hard!

I earned Second Place on my Chow-Chow... I was pretty excited about that since it was my first year doing it.  Many thanks to Kevo, my brother, for his help with understanding how to do that this past summer.  

My photograph, cheese straws, and fudge walnut bread did not place.  I am determined to conquer those cheese straws.  lol  

There is always next year to try those again!

Love this time of year and the memories we make together.  I wouldn't trade those for any ribbons out there.  Thanks for always supporting us as we carry on this tradition!

09/29/13

I love raindrops/water droplets....  love them more than I can describe.

Some people don't appreciate them and I understand that.

Every time I see them they catch my eye and I am so sad if my camera is not with me... as it has not been as of late.

Tears are another water droplet.

Those can be ones of joy or ones of sorrow.

Most of us have shed plenty of both.

In our humanness, we would much rather they be tears of joy, not sorrow.

I was talking with a friend yesterday and we began to share what the Lord has been doing in our lives.  We began to talk about obedience to the Lord and the blessings He has for us in return.  Suddenly, something I have been chewing on for a couple of months now came in full view in front of me as we were speaking.

I have been reading a book on Job.  Job had everything someone could want... a huge family, riches and material possessions beyond our comprehension, but the Lord allowed it to be taken away to refine him.  God saw the END even though Job was overcome with grief at the BEGINNING.  

God's blessings were actually tears.

God's blessings were actually heartache.

God's blessings were to help Job see how small he really was and how big God really is.

God also went THROUGH this WITH Job.  Job didn't learn patience until it was past him.  While he was sitting on his ashes he was questioning God and not understanding, just as we would.  However, God in His omniscience allowed Job to go through those times because He knew Job would be doubly blessed in the end.

Do we see that in our own lives?

I still struggle with this at times.

I know God sees the END while I am sitting in the dark, but He only desires me to have faith that will stand.  Faith that will trust that He has a perfect plan.

What if my blessings from the Lord were that He would allow me to go through something difficult?

It may never be that my blessings will ever manifest themselves into something of prosperity or riches, but in the simple fact that I am closer to the Lord and have more faith than I did before I sat in my ashes.

He lifts me up from those ashes once He carries me through the fire.

He is there, holding me.

He will never let go.

This song has been running through my head consistently the last few weeks.  I am reminded of it daily as my heart may hurt for a friend or loved one... or something the Lord is allowing for me alone.  May the Lord use it to be a blessing to you as it has been to me:

09/21/13

Has it seriously been a month since I have been on here?

Sorry.

"MIA" is my middle name as of late.

I talked about this at the beginning of school this year in this blog post:  Do Hard Things.  Feel free to re-read/read to refresh your memory.


"Do Hard Things" has become a mantra in my head. 

It is easier to complain (myself included here) than to go out and do it.... whatever "it" may be.

I am being challenged by the Lord daily to get out of a mode of complaining and into a mode of getting something accomplished, whether it is hard or not.

It has also been something I have been using with Wesley and Mikayla.

The Scriptures are full of people who did hard things... with God.

Our society in general today is not expecting as much as did our generations previously.

Whereas children aged 6-11 were working full time in fields and cooking/learning about living life, we now just want children to play without responsibilities.  We don't want things to be "too hard" for them.  We don't want them to face hardships.  We hate it when a project or homework overrides any "fun."

How do we expect our children to grow into adults who can cling to the Lord during the hard times if we do everything for them?

How can we expect our children to mature and grow if no struggling occurs and they do not learn how to work through hard things?

God's Creation is full of wonderful examples of this!

Just as a butterfly has to struggle out of its chrysalis to be able to fly, so to do we need struggling times so that we will be stronger for it and "fly" to give glory to the Lord.



Here are some ways the Lord has been showing me to do my best to glorify Him, even in the hard things:

I am a teacher but homework stinks sometimes.

Do Hard Things.

I don't want to add another thing to my plate of work.

Do Hard Things.

Why do we have to do another project?

Do Hard Things.

My house looks like a tornado struck.

Do Hard Things.

How am I going to fit that in with teaching and being a Mom/Wife?

Do Hard Things.

I am expecting my precious ones to help clean the entire house even though they have other things they want to do.

Do Hard Things

I just got bit by fire ants, have taken Benadryl and now have to run a cross country meet.  

(actually happened this past week...)

Do Hard Things 

(and he did and got an excellent time)

Every night I have to work on school things for teaching... I am weary.

Do Hard Things.

You mean I have to get up in front of kids when I feel like staying in bed?

Do Hard Things.

You get the point.


 

The other side of the point is this:  BALANCE.

You still need time to refresh and rejuvenate yourself.... especially time with the Lord.  He alone is Who gives you what it will take to "Do Hard Things."

Don't believe Satan's lies that you can't.

Don't give in to his lies of saying your children can't do hard things.

Believe with God's Strength that you CAN and your children CAN do hard things.

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

08/20/13

In my last post I shared how we did a few changes around the house that were small, but a great change to the look of some rooms.

My kitchen has always been a place that I have tried to keep the old farm feel.  I miss my days on the dairy farm and the border I chose 17 years ago is just as precious to me now as it was then.  It is of a country farm theme that repeats.  It is simple and not overbearing.

Over the years I have worked on the kitchen to make the farm life become more a part of what I originally wanted.  Seventeen years ago we didn't have Pinterest, or think of using spray paint as much to cover things that normally we would just give away.

I knew it was time to update the top of my refrigerator... it was in need of serious help.  I felt like for the longest time it was just stuff stuck up there that I had gotten as gifts, but there was no rhyme or reason for them being there.

I began to look around shops for things that looked old and farmhouse charm.  I had thought about going to antique stores, too.  Money WAS an option so I needed to keep the purse strings tight as I looked.

One afternoon it hit me... I should ask my MOM what she might have that was antique.

HELLO... where have I been?  She WAS the dairy farmer's wife and was raised in the country herself!

Well... let's just say I hit the jackpot with her.

She had things I remember from childhood that she had put away and was not using anymore.  I was ecstatic... a kid in a candy store... beyond words.  

My aunt passed away a year ago and many of my grandmother and great grandmother's items were given to Mom (and my other aunt).  Mom had just gotten them and was trying to figure out what to do with them.

I was so willing to take them off her hands.  :)

LOOK at all I was able to get!  PLUS, they have family/sentimental value that made me love them more.

• The egg basket was my great grandmother's.  She put eggs in it daily from the henhouse.
• The plate to the left (in the stand I had painted black from my previous post!) used to hold my great grandmother's fish when she fried fish.
• The tea cups to the left were my grandmothers.
• The spoons were my great grandmothers.
• The jar with the dried peppers in it were my grandmothers... some of her last she put up before she died.
• The percolator was my great grandmother's... and one of her coffee cups is in that area somewhere.
• The little house is actually a butter dish that was my grandmothers.  Mom said she remembered it being on the counter at their home all of the time.
• The potato masher was my great grandmothers.

This was my great grandmother's enamel wash pot.  I fell in love with the red rim, white inside, and the rust.  Yes, the rust.

Here is what I did on the fridge... 

the egg basket, enamel pot, grandmother's last pepper jar, an antique blue Ball canning jar, and another jar Mom had....

Look below to see what I did with some of the other things.  

This antique piece is in the kitchen near the farm table.

I have on it my great grandmother's percolator and coffee cup that she drank out of every morning.  (I percolate my coffee every morning, too, so this has double meaning to me!)

My great grandmother's potato masher, her bread bowl (already had), my grandmother's house butter dish, a green jar I had that I just liked for the color, and my Mom's old sifter.

I often wonder how my great grandmother liked her coffee... and was that one cup enough?

May I just say that every time I look over on my antique piece in the kitchen now or on top of my fridge I get a smile on my face?  So glad the Lord prompted me to "go shopping" at Moms!!!

08/17/13

I have yet to share with you some of the things we did around the house this summer.  These were not large-scale changes as I was in front of the computer most of the time, but changes that have made me quite tickled.

In 1996, when we were building this house, brass/gold knobs were the "thing."  Well, not so much anymore in my house.  We have changed many things around and the gold is looking out of place.  These knobs are in our kitchen and both bathrooms.  I have pictured our cabinet knobs below:

I also had this plate stand that I "inherited" when I cleaned out a room at school and it was no longer needed/ wanted.  I thought it had character and it has been good for some time, but the color was blah and needed some help.

I began looking around for new knobs.  

NEW KNOBS ARE EXPENSIVE.  

We had over 20 in the kitchen alone and I knew I would be breaking the bank over knobs.  I was also finding the pulls were not  matching up with the ones we had now.  Either the holes were closer together or farther apart.

What is a girl to do?

She does what she has learned from her friend, Gretchen.... she gets out the spray paint!

Here are the knobs and plate stand ready for the spray paint to begin.....

While I was getting Steve to help me spray paint (he was also helping me with a project I was doing at school), I decided we would spray paint one of Mikayla's old lamps.  It was adorable when she was two... now, at 13, not so much.  I had looked all over for a new lamp but didn't find one with the same height and shape for the area she needed it.  Then we began looking for a new lampshade but couldn't find one, either. 

Spray paint became the answer.....

So after the spray paint, we have our "new" lamp.....

.... and we have our "new" knobs.... (in kitchen AND bathrooms!)

While this may not be huge for some of you, it was for us and it only cost us the spray paint.  I could not believe the difference it has made in our kitchen and bathrooms.  To me, it makes my kitchen more country/farm feeling than before.  That has always been my desire.

There are some other things I did in the kitchen that I will show you next time.  More things to bring out the "old" into "new."  (You'll have to see the plate stand in those pics as I forgot to take a picture of it afterwards... haha)