Focus

What does it mean when you feel like you are being besieged on all fronts, yet to ask for prayer from any fellow warriors feels like complaining? And, if you asked for prayer, would they stand beside you and fight? Or, lend a sympathetic ear and then go about their day? How often am I the one who hears a plea for help and then becomes focused again on myself and what to fix for dinner? If you do stand in the trenches with them, how DO you somehow balance that with all the “have tos”, the 3 meals a day, beds waiting to be made, Mount Washmore climbing ever higher by the washer. And the things that are so very much more important- standing with my husband and children in the middle of this war raging, teaching academics as well as character and life lessons, and all the rest. Can I teach those things when I don’t have a clue?

Does God get tired of questions?

The alarm went off at 4:00 a.m. The love of my life rolled out and headed off to exercise. Disciplined man that he is. Ug, I am so tired. And so many things bombarding my brain. 

Ok, time to push out all this stuff that I have no answers for right now, and focus on the day. Maybe, I can get up and get enough done that I can make it to the tax office by eight and get back in time to start science with Mason at 10, then History. Gotta get Marissa to art by 1....pick her up by 3...and then leave for Mason's game by 4:15 ish.....oh, ya, supper...what can I fix in that amount of time so he can eat by 4?.....that will make 3 trips out, 2 into Alb if I do that....so much time driving, not to mention the gas.  Hah! stay at home mom. That's a good one. 

"God, could you install a "pause" button on my brain? Or even just a "mute" so I don't have to listen to it ALL the time? Thanks."

Then, I  catch a glimpse of the most glorious sunrise ever. And the clouds, the birds singing up the sun. As I begin to focus on the gifts, the list goes on and on, scampering ahead of my thoughts so that I can't even catch up with them. Too many to count.

Thank you for listening, Lord. And for grace.

Wednesday-bring it on!

Deuteronomy 33:12 "Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between his shoulders."

Listening...

Have you ever been truckin' along, in that "do the next thing that is screaming to be done" mode, and then something really get your attention?

Last Sunday in the midst of sharing an experience, our pastor said something that keeps popping up in my thoughts. He was explaining that he was with a group and they were hiking along a river. The water was loud and he was bringing up the rear. The guide gave instructions, but he didn't hear them. Then he said, "I didn't intentionally disobey-I wouldn't have done that. But I didn't hear. I just wasn't listening."

Ouch. This resonates with me. I wouldn't intentionally disobey.  I just wasn't listening.

I LOVE quiet. I love early morning, the sunrise that I feel like God gives just to me each morning. (Egocentric, I know.) Our family is quiet. We don't yell or scream or really even talk loud. I used to unnerve Clay and Jennie's friends because they wouldn't hear me coming and then they would notice I was in the room with them. (heh, sneaky!) Yet, my life feels loud.  These words by Ann Voskamp jump off the page as I read them, "The world I live in is loud and blurring and toilets plug and I get speeding tickets and the dog gets sick all over the back step and I forget everything and these six kids lean hard into me all day to teach and raise and lead and I fail hard and there are real souls that are at stake and how long do I really have to figure out how to live full of grace, full of joy--before these six beautiful children fly the coop and my mothering days fold up quiet? How do you open the eyes to see how to take the daily, domestic, workday vortex and invert it into the dome of an everyday cathedral?"

Pondering this for the last several days I have been reminded of a parenting principle I learned when my kids were little. Often, as I spoke to them it might appear that they were just not obeying. In the middle of a game or project they were distracted. They might even acknowledge that they heard me, still no response to the instruction being given. However, I could call their name, say "Look at me," and get them to look in my eyes. I would then repeat my instructions and off they would go, happily carrying out my request.

So, on my "read this everyday until I die and maybe it will soak in" list, this is what I want to add.
Sit with Jesus. Seek His face. See the gifts he pours out on me. Thanking him continually for everyday grace. Stay there until the chaos stills, and the loud quiets. Listen.

What WERE we thinking?

I walked through my house late this evening and began to get the giggles. You know those, "there is nothing amusing but this is hysterical!" giggles. :)  My day had gone something like this: up early, breakfasts made, lunches made, laundry done, beds made, grouched at the kids to get their chores done, bills paid, paperwork done, calls answered.  Grabbed stuff and headed out the door so the kids and I could go use their putt-putt coupons for a free game which we have literally had for years.  Putt-putted and headed to the airport to pick up Jennie.  She had gone to spend the weekend with Clay (Yay!) and was flying home.  Her plane was early and we grabbed her bags and stopped by the grocery store on our way home.  Unloaded and put away groceries and threw together supper which was rotisserie chicken I grabbed at the store (there was nothing to leave cooking in the crock-pot :( ) and veggies. Sat down to watch the news with my hubby and did one of the things I do best. Crashed out.  When I woke up a few minutes later and began walking through the house I began to get the giggles.  I just had to share what my house looks like!

We are in the middle of a remodel. A growing bigger all the time remodel.  We really ARE trying to find a place to stop! It started with two goals. The booth we used for sitting at the dining table was worn out and due to a dishwasher leak the flooring that has needed to be replaced was now a priority.

First, the booth.  Checked around to see about recovering it. It's very large and I knew there would be NO WAY we would have time ourselves. (Oh, the irony) Discovered we could get a whole new dining set for the cost of recovering the booth. Okay, move the booth out. Wow, the walls will have to be painted in what we call the office-where the booth and dining table was-don't ask. If we are going to paint in there we should go ahead and paint the kitchen and the dining room as well.   Never really cared for the striped wall paper in the dining room anyway...

Striped wallpaper gone and painted-except for the bottom where the wainscote  will go

Jimmie working away on yet another "little" project that cropped up

Only half of the light fixture works so it has to go

A work in progress.......?

Can't paint here yet-replacing this window and the new one isn't in yet

Oh, yeah. Went and looked at this table that was advertised on Craig's List. It's too tall for what I needed. When I said so and the girl  who was selling  it was so despondent, I bought it. Guess I'll cut off the legs and paint it. :)

There was a wall heater here.  Jimmie took it out and patched the drywall. He's getting really good at it!

The wall heater was also included in the wall of this room. Another room to include in the remodel.:)

The patch and paint job turned out okay in here.

Many layers later, we are down to the subfloor.

We had to put tarps down so the adhesive left on the sub floor won't have us stuck to it like mice on those sticky papers.

 REALLY?!  Could we not have just gotten the booth recovered and put down new tile flooring?  NO, no. Way to easy.  Actually, it has been kind of fun. I'm a really good tearer upper.  Now to see if we can get it put back together!!

Overwhelmed

I am overwhelmed this morning.  This is nothing new. So many things can bombard us and overwhelm us, it seems.  Particularly when we become convinced that we have to live life with all of its challenges in our own strength.  Yes, I am overwhelmed, but not in a bad way. :)

I learned this morning that a friend had her baby and my heart is singing with their family at this precious gift! No, this is not her first child or even her second, but the eighth child in their family!  Many people shake their head and say something like, "That's crazy!  Who would want eight kids!?"

Soon after Jimmie and I were blessed with Clay and then Jennie people would often counsel me that I needed time away from the kids.  They meant well and only had my best interest at heart, but as I began to look around and study this thing called parenting, I came to a different conclusion.  Time spent WITH my children was really what was needed!!  Time spent teaching, loving and enjoying these little precious people was what we ALL needed.  No, my children are not a burden.  They truly are a gift...a reward in fact. :)

This morning I am listening to Clay's new recording. And marveling at the gift of music that he has been given. Jennie is out the door to work. She has her apartment all set up and is starting UNM in the fall to pursue her passion in theatre.  Today is Marissa's 12th birthday. She has been blessing our family for 12 years now.  Mason got up early and worked and worked on a Happy Birthday poster for his sister. I am so thankful that God has allowed me to be "Mom" for each of these precious people.

Overwhelmed.

Psalm 127 :3  "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward."

I'm no Martha Stewart!!

Yes, I'm sure most of you who read my last blog post have read that before. :)  It's supposedly Martha Stewart's letter to Erma Bombeck.  It just made me giggle as I thought about how ridiculous it is.  As I watch myself running around in a tizzy trying to accomplish necessary?....required?.....desired?....tasks, it causes me to pause and ponder a bit. I find myself more able to relate to what is supposed to be Erma Bombeck's response:

Dear Martha,
I'm writing this on the back of an old shopping list, pay no attention to the coffee and jelly stains. I'm 20 minutes late getting my daughter up for school, packing a lunch with one hand, on the phone with the dog pound, seems old Ruff needs bailing out again. Burnt my arm on the curling iron when I was trying to make those cute curly fries, how DO they do that? Still can't find the scissors to cut out some snowflakes, tried using an old disposable razor ... trashed the tablecloth. Tried that cranberry thing, frozen cranberries mushed up after I defrosted them in the microwave. Oh, and don't use Fruity Pebbles as a substitute in that Rice Krispie snowball recipe, unless you happen to like a disgusting shade that resembles puke! The smoke alarm is going off, talk to ya later.

Ahhhh, making memories! :)

Christmas Greetings!

To all my perfectly wonderful family and friends,

This perfectly delightful note is being sent on paper I made myself to tell you what I have been up to. Since it snowed last night, I got up early and made a sled with old barn wood and a glue gun. I hand painted it in gold leaf, got out my loom, and made a blanket in peaches and mauves. Then to make the sled complete, I made a white horse to pull it, from DNA that I had just sitting around in my craft room.

By then, it was time to start making the place mats and napkins for my 20 breakfast guests. I'm serving the old standard  twelve-course breakfast, but I'll let you in on a little secret: I didn't have time to make the tables and chairs this morning, so I used the ones I had on hand.

Before I moved the table into the dining room, I decided to add just a touch of the holidays. So I repainted the room in pinks and stenciled gold stars on the ceiling. Then, while the homemade bread was rising, I took antique candle molds and made the dishes (exactly the same shade of pink) to use for breakfast. These were made from Hungarian clay, which you can get at almost any Hungarian craft store.

Well, I must run. I need to finish the buttonholes on the dress I'm wearing for breakfast. I'll get out the sled and drive this note to the post office as soon as the glue dries on the envelope I'll be making.

Hope my breakfast guests don't stay too long, I have 40,000 cranberries to string with bay leaves before my speaking engagement at noon. It's a good thing.

TTFN!!

When an Artist/CEO and an Encourager Hit the Road

My Artist/CEO and My Encourager had a very special time with their Aunt, Uncle and two of their bestest friends/cousins.  They traveled to southern New Mexico and spent about a week:

                        exploring old cliff dwellings,

                                            fishing,

                                 camping,
 ( Noni is hiding in the back. She got to go camping, too)

                                                
                               doing manual labor,

                                  playing games when it rained,

(just had to add these, aren't they great? :)),

and, a great time was had by all!!!!!

Thanks, Aunt Nita and Uncle Beau for taking the time to make such special memories!!