Wordless Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

God Spoke Through My Iron

Jesus speaks to me in a language I understand.

This week He spoke through my iron... more or less.

(and I hardly used it all week.. hee hee)

Paul said...
"I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the 
heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
Phil. 3:14


PRESS 
The greek word means "aggressively chase, like a hunter pursuing a catch" 


I don't relate to hunting. Nor do I usually chase after anything too aggressively.
(unless my kids are hurt, then I may bust into a sprint... don't laugh!)


But thankfully I speak the language of the other kind of press...

      IRONING!

1. Ironing - takes what's already washed & improves it
Yes, Jesus washed away my sin, but He's always wanting
to change me & make me better.


2. Ironing - flattens puffiness... pride


3. Ironing - smoothes the bumps & creases...
the inconsistencies in my life & character


4. Ironing- requires heat that is "ouchy" but totally

necessary.  Painful times are needed.

5. Ironed Garment- reflects the one who is inside of it... 
JESUS! 


I will not fight against difficult times, but walk through them
knowing that Jesus is ironing me into a reflection of Him.




(Now, take one of these points and insert it into the verse above
in place of the word press.  For example, #2, 
"I will flatten my pride so that I will reach the end of the race...")

Has God spoken to you through anything usual lately?

Not-So-Wordless-Wednesday

Sometimes on Wednesday's I just post a picture...
Not today.


OOOh NO, today is whole big fat day full-a words, baby.

Photo snapped right BEFORE the
following events took place.
HA!

Lots of our friends are getting the flu, 

so..
We purposely started our school day a
little later than normal
since we could all use an extra bit of sleep...
But that backfired...
people were draggin around,
having a hard time getting into
the task at hand. I was the worst.
So the morning was a bust.






Then, in somewhat of a random order...

-child bombs quiz

-same child bombs another quiz

- child pees pants (note: not the same child as the one taking tests!)

-another child informs me that yesterday's school work didn't actually get
done as they'd said, so they're a day behind in 2 subjects

-toilet clogs (but I fixed it)

-Soup from a can (for tin can day) is weird... no one eats it...

including me

-water puddle appears in the basement

-this above mentioned basement is filled with the mounds of laundry
that I have fallen sorely behind in washing

-another water puddle is discovered under my kitchen sink

- the Mom (that'd be me) realized that the little pipe under the sink
is causing the basement puddle & fixes it (thanks to instructions from
our friend Zach who'd warned me about it several weeks ago)

-piano practice brings out the stubbornness that my kids may have
inherited from their Mom

-child melts into tears regarding above mentioned quizzes

- above mentioned Mom sheds a few tears of her own & asks
Jesus to please help her with Homeschooling & to show her
who to go about this process with greater ease... and joy


BUT THEN....
-the kindergarten-aged boy volunteers to do his chores and some
extra one, too

- the child with "pee-pants" takes a nap & wakes up acting like
himself again

- I "stumble" into a timely blog about homeschooling and Jesus whispers
wonderful encouragement and practical ideas into my heart

- I take a deep breath (why do I hold my breath when I'm tense?)

-formerly upset children make conscience efforts to calm down &
move forward

- youngest children are playing nicely together & enjoying Christmas toys

- I grab a Diet Coke & some Multi-Grain tortilla chips (they're practically
health food, you know),  and  I write this blog



- Smile (see the picture at the TOP of the blog)

Talk-To-Myself... WEDNESDAY?

My family says 

I talk to myself, 

but actually I'm 

just thinking out loud! 

Here's what I've 

been thinking...)

I started typing out several things on my mind for this post and then

suddenly realized that it's Wednesday... not Tuesday.

O dear. This realization fits perfectly with several other 

things listed below.  Some of you may now feel the deep

calling in your heart to pray for me.... Please... do!  :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

- When my kids were using an online dictionary that says

the pronunciation of the word out loud.. it's hard to scold them

for looking up words like "poop" and "fart" for several reasons:

1. It makes me laugh , too

2. I spilled hot tea down the front of me and proceeded to

blurt out, "Oh, Poopy!"  

(Maybe someday I'll grow up!  ha!)

- My friend, Nancy, informed me (while laughing hardily)

that the phone message I'd left her last week saying, "Sorry

to call you on a Wednesday evening..."  was actually left

on THURSDAY!  What?  I'm losing it!

- Our Christmas letter that never happened was going to be

a "New Year's" letter, but now I'm thinkin' that Valentine's Day

is highly underrated & that I nice family letter would be most

appropriate.  (Good Grief)

- A Christmas Tree that's decorated in all Red & White

would make a nice Valentine's Tree, don't you think?
(UGH! It's coming down tonight!!!)

- Yesterday was National Clean Off Your Desk Day... so I 

started doing it this morning... and found a Thank You note

that I thought I'd mailed TWO months ago.  Oh Dear. 

- Oh NO!  While finding the link to the "Nat'l Clean your Desk"

thing (above) I realized that the official day was actually NOT
yesterday, but the day before that.  This is getting serious? right?

- I used to joke that my motto was, "Why do anything the easy way

when you can make it more complicated."  It's apparently not

as much of a joke as I thought.  (Help!) 

- As I walked down the stairs from my little boys' very cool

and incredibly toy-littered bedroom my frustration mounted

(maybe it was the Planet Hero that jabbed the bottom of my

foot... again!)
But, whatever the reason, I was complaining/apologizing

to God (you know how we do that...
 the whiny pathetic "Help-me-Jesus-cuz-I'm-really-letting-You-down" stuff) 

and He quietly asked me,

"Are the important things in your life in order?"

Well, I did a verbal rundown (I talk to myself, remember) of my 

walk with Jesus, my marriage, our children... etc....

OK, for real, Lord, please forgive me for complaining & putting

emphasis on what is NOT lasting & for putting myself down. 

(smile!)

- Summary... maybe I'm a little sleep deprived... or something... Ha!
Either way, I'm spending wonderful time with Jesus each morning as
always, laughing like usual and loving my life!!!

So, it's all good.  

hee hee 

I'm on a Mission... so are YOU!

If you're alive you have a purpose.
(My husband says this often)



Having a personal relationship with our Creator, Jesus Christ,
is the only way to find our real purpose.

Then, we live it.
Everything BIG or little thing we do should fall under
that purpose...therefore giving even the most mundance
task a deeper meaning & value.

That's why I've revised my missions statement.
Sometimes having a reminder of what's most important
and the guidelines to keep things in the right order is
what I need... it keeps me sane & free from guilt of
"not doing enough." (and the mistake of doing much)


Here's how I've done it for years. It's a combo
of things I've learned & been taught over the
years... it's certainly not original.

1. List the various things that I am
Example: God's daughter, Wife, Mom, a person,
homemaker, Pastor's wife/mentor, daughter, friend, etc...

2. Stated my main purpose in that role
Example: "I am alive to love God, to know & enjoy Him
and to serve Him always in all areas of my life."
Example 2:  "I am completely devoted to my husband..."

3. State several specific things under each point that
I'm committed to doing that will carry out the stated purpose
Example: "Continue AM time w/God, Memorize weekly,
fast monthly," etc...
Example 2: Cheerfully encourage & help..."

4. Keep Statement in my planner & refer to it each week
as I schedule my time.
This keeps me on track, doing what is MOST important
and of greatest value.


Be encouraged.
Be purposeful.
Everything holds meaning when it falls into the greater
scoop of God's purpose for our lives.

How do you stay focused on the important?

The Best Seats

Serving

UGH! I keep hearing/reading that word.

Don't I already serve you, Lord?
Don't I already serve those around me?
Don't I usually take the back seat?

But..
When I'm serving, my heart is the happiest...
if I'm doing it out of true love for Jesus, that is.

Yet, honestly... it feels like I miss things sometimes.

John 2 proves otherwise.
Jesus performed His first miracle at the wedding.
The big shots at the wedding didn't have a clue
what was going on behind the scene....
 ONLY the servants knew about it.

Miracles. The Power of JESUS at work.
I wanna see that!!!!

Of course... Serving is worth it.
It's where JESUS is!
I'll keep serving... I wanna be with Him!

More Kitchen Pics

A few weeks ago I posted pics of our "old kitchen"
and only one pic of the new kitchen. Some of you
asked for more pictures. I REALLY Love this room!

The floor:
No longer has 2 layers of horrid cheap tile,
thanks to our friends!

Next project: paint the floor RED!

Old & New- Walls, Dressers & Floor

Pictured above is how the room looked when we

bought the house. Ugh

But then...

HUGE, MASSIVE THANK YOUs
 for our many friends who
helped out in various ways as we redid
this room:
- rip out old carpet & 4 million staples
- strip horrid wallpaper
- rip off strange tile that was under carpet
- sand furniture
- tape the room for painting
- lay NEW flooring! (Friends did 100% of this job)
- Drill holes for new drawer pulls

( I learned alot from these projects and
still have a fascination for power tools,
though my knowledge has only
grown slightly!)

THANK YOU, FRIENDS, for sharing
your time & giftings with us.
We LOVE this little room!
We LOVE YOU MORE!

A Strange Fast

The first week of every month our church has fasting & extra prayer.

Sometimes God asks me to fast:
- sweets
- carbs
- Diet Coke (Oh, that's a tough one)
- a particular meal every day
- etc...

This month was different!
One evening BEFORE the Week of fasting our family was sitting
in the dining room & I asked my husband, "What color in that
 'inspiration painting' over there do you think I should choose to
paint the walls of this room?"

His reply:  "Please, can we stop painting & redo-ing things &
just live for a while."

Ouch!

It was at that point that God asked me to fast...

ALL things associated with home decorating & improvements...
which included-
- HGTV (tough, cuz that's really the only TV I enjoy)
- Home magazines of any kind
- All decorating blog sites & websites
- All e-newsletters regarding improvements or projects
- conversation & thoughts about "what project to do next, etc"

The result...
I had NO idea how much of my time & energy has been spent
on this.  All week long I was catching myself starting to think
about all this... numerous times a day. Numerous.
Now, we just moved, and it's OK to improve your
home... but I was thinking about it ALL the time!

My brain was constantly pondering, deciding, planning,
calculating, etc... it was ridiculous!

So now...
well, I still have lotsa things I want/need to do with our home,
but I'm gunna put "obsession" on a self, lower the number
of things I read, keep my thoughts in check... focus on what
is lasting!

My home is TOOL in God's hand.
I work for God!
I don't work for my house.

In the OT, when God blessed people they'd sometimes
turn that blessing into a shrine & worship it instead of the
Lord who gave them the blessing. When I read that I think,
"Wow, how dumb is that?"
Then I started doing it.

I will not do that.
Thank you, Jesus (and Chilly) for pointing it out to me!
I serve JESUS!

My First... Church building

I'm in my hometown of Greeley, Colorado this week
to be with my Mom while she's recovering from a knee
replacement surgery. (She's doing well)

Between visiting relatives & going to physical therapy
we've been driving past some old familiar places.

Below are pictures of my very 1st church... it used to belong to
First Assembly of God. When I was about a week old my
parents brought me to church for the first time, and from
then on I was there "every time the church doors were open."
When I was in Jr. High we moved to a bigger building.

Inside this building I ...

-experienced the power & love of Jesus

-heard the wonderful stories of Jesus from incredibly

loving & dedicated teachers & Pastors

- was baptised in Water

- was filled with the Holy Spirit

- learned how to communicate during sermons w/out talking

(hey, I loved Jesus, but I WAS a kid, too!)

- learned how to read the "evil eye" from my Mom that meant

I'd better be quiet or I'd be in serious trouble

- learned what real friendship is like

- made decisions that would affect the rest of my life

Truly, I'm grateful for parents who serve(d) God wholeheartedly

and for the dear Pastors, teachers & church family who invested

in my life!

(If You've ever been encouraged by anything I've ever said or done,

then you, too, can be thankful for the beautiful Christian people

who were part of my first church!)

Wordless Wednesday, August 24, 2010

This REALLY is in DETROIT!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday, August 18, 2010

PURGE

Wordless Wednesday @ 5 Minutes for Mom

and

WordlessWednesday.com

You know you live in the city when... Part 2

(Click here if you haven't read Part 1.)

The very first thing you do after you get out of bed each

morning is peek out the front window to be sure that

your car is still there.

You're careful to stay in your house at the stroke of Midnight

on New Year's because your neighbors are shooting their

guns in the air... just cuz they can. (not legally, I'm sure)

When you get a random knock on your door at 1:04 AM

from strangers who then stagger into the street & on to a

another door (probably looking for their own house).

When you LOVE to use your horn because people drive

SO stinkin' crazy!!!! (Horns are not an anger outlet,

they are life-saving tools!)

It's only 6:58AM and the "call to prayer" blasts through

the streets from the local mosques for the 1st of 5 times

each day. Grr.

(I thought they had to wait until at least 8am.)

When you can capture your entire backyard in one photo.

When you find yourself twitching because it's so difficult

to resist the urge to constantly correct other peoples'

grammar usage.

You take your kids to the wonderful zoo filled

with exotic animals from around the world,

& your youngest kids beg,

"Can we please just go see the farm animals."

Your 3 year old puts up the hood on his hoody sweatshirt,

saunters into the kitchen and throws his hands in the air...

"awwh yey!"

Everytime you drive way out into the suburbs & your kids

see lota trees & grass...your youngest kids ask you,

"Are we in another country?"

When your teenage daughter is better at parallel parking than

regular parking cuz street park is all we have!

When it's snowy outside & you have to shovel out the

Street parking spot in front of your house... and then,

knowing that some "less-motivated" neighbor wants to take

your cleared parking spot you "Mark" your spot by

putting a lawn chair and/or plastic milk crate

in front of your house!

When it's really hot & humid outside you really do see

people sitting in the doorways of building on those

same milk crates!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

But, like I said in Part 1 of this post...

When you're out of town & people ask when you're from

and then after you answer them they sorta gasp & then

just stare at you... they stare out of awe, or respect or

pity or just straight disgust that we'd be so foolish to

move our family to that city.

When you totally love this city and the people!

And find it amazing how God has turned His calling into

the desire of your heart.

You know you live in the city when... Part 1

(I've been writing these ideas down for months...

and this is first of two blogs. The statements in here are real,

and the purpose is for entertainment and encouragement

only!)

You know you live in the city when...

Your 3 year old puts a baseball cap on the Potato Head, tips it

sideways and starts to beat box!

When you show up at a McDonald's just as the police

drive away & you find out that there was a huge fight

and two people were arrested.

(This is the point where I say,

"Oh man, I always miss the good stuff!")

During the quiet morning time that you're hanging out

with Jesus you suddenly hear a low rumbly noise...

"boom, boom, kaboom, chaka boom boom." At first

you think maybe your heating system has gone nuts,

then you realize that the neighbors (only feet away)

are playing music... loudly! already!

whatever!

I can just block it out.

When the library is more of a tutoring center

& place to use the internet than anything else.

(Our local library has really kind & caring employees!

I give them huge props for all the ways they help

the kids of this area!)

When you give your 3 yr. & 5 yr. old boys a little toy

farm tractor and truck and they pick it up, turn it

around and then say,

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

When you get text messages from ladies in your church

that begin with, "Wat up?"

When your 3 year old asks you "What's a Driveway?"

When you give money to a person on the street

and then dive into a "You- forgot- to -say- thank-you"

speech after they roll their eyes at the "small amount"

you gave them.

(Where is this sign when you need it?)

When your kids ride their bikes in the alley cuz there's too

many cars on your street & the sidewalks are actually used

for walking.

You're thankful for even a little snow (in the winter) cuz

it makes the views outside your windows much "prettier."

When you're out of town & people ask where you're from

and then after you answer them they sorta gasp & then

just stare at you... they stare out of awe, or respect or

pity or just straight disgust that we'd be so foolish to

move our family to that city.

When you totally love this city and the people!

And find it amazing how God has turned His calling into

the desire of your heart.

Netta's NICHE- Use THAT for WHAT?

These are NOT original.

Truthfully, I have no idea where I got most of these ideas.

Perhaps one or more of them will save you time and/or money.

Gel dishwasher detergent is good for...

- Cleaning tiles & grout in bathroom (rinse well)

- Cleaning inside toilet bowls

- Bleach for Laundry (Can apply directly to stain

on WHITES only! or add to water for whites)

Rubbing Alcohol works well in a squirt bottle for...

- cleaning mirrors

- cleaning windows

- cleaning sinks, countertops, tiles

- cleaning toilets

- Add 1 pt Peroxide to 1 pt rubbing alcohol & spray

on cuts & scraps (kills infection)

- Add above mixture to swimmers ear or ear aches

(the bubbly noise is kinda fun, too)

NOTE: a well ventilated room is needed when using

this to clean... the strong smell doesn't last long, but

it IS strong.

Happy Weekend!

House Hunting in The D

We've been house hunting in Detroit (the city... not a suburb)

for 13 months now & have seen over 50 houses. Now we're

currently in the process of buying one... but there's lotsa ducks

that still have to line up. (to coin a corny phrase... hee hee)

Walking through all these bits of history has taught me more

about Detroit, then & now. I've learned lots from our friend,

Tim, who's basically a walking Detroit-Housing-Historian.

Thanks, Tim!

As frustrating as "house-hunting" can be, it serves to enrich

my understanding & love of Detroit!

Here's a tiny sampling of the many interesting things we've seen.

(I've taken an average of 30 pics per house. That's 1500 pics.

Most are deleted, but I saved a few.)

(historic but poorly functioning kitchen)

(elevator, built in 1920's)

(Missing furnaces, water heater, copper pipes)

(bathrooms with nothing in them)

(historic beauty... and secret rooms!)

(Remains of a kitchen in a 5 yr. old house)

(If only the inside reflected the same care as the

outside of this showed)

We continue to pray for GOD's plan...

not our's!