All the Pretty Little Christians...

Lined up in a row. Wearing our Sunday Best. Smiling. Laughing. Trying to impress...

It has become very apparent to me in today's society and in Christianity alike, ONE thing goes Hand in hand...the popularity contest we are all out to win. Don't step on toes, don't make me uncomfortable and whatever you do, don't scare the 'HELL' out of me...

When we step out of our homes and into our Church, what is the goal?

To make as many friends as possible? To impress Leaders, Pastors and Deacons? To be known as the ' Spiritual one'? Or is our goal to be the ear that listens, the smile that invites the new person in or the heart that beats like Jesus'.

Pew warming is out of style!

I challenge you, Sisters in Christ, to break out of your comfort zone and take your church, town, state...heck! Go BIG! Your WORLD, by storm for Jesus!

I know life gets busy, I know seasons in our life make it perfectly easy to sit back and say, " I can't right now..." but, you CAN! The smallest acts of kindness can bring the lost soul to Jesus, if you are a willing vessel.
Days when you know you'll be stuck home. PRAY! Ask God to send you a single mom who needs a sitter. Make a batch of cookies for a shut in. Email a friend some encouragement. DO SOMETHING with this life God has given you to glorify HIM! No more excuses! He didn't BLESS you with a husband so you could use him as an excuse to stay home and never reach out. He didn't BLESS you with children, so you could use them as an excuse to piddle away your days! He blessed you above and beyond, be a blessing!

God has BIG, HUGE, GIANT things for your life- when are you going to strap on the safety belt, throw your arms up in the air and enjoy the ride?! Now is the time!

" The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few."

Reap the harvest! Go out and change your world! Even if it's the small 'world' around you! And next time I see you, I'll be asking, " How have you changed your world, for Jesus today?" 

Don't waste another second twiddling your thumbs and being bored.  God is busy kickin' butt and saving this world from the evil sin that ensnares us. Saddle up, get ready and kick butt, too!

My Kid's have been...(gULp!) ...FRAMED!!!

It's true. I am ONE proud momma of my little 'framed' babies! 
One thing when you have kid's that you will learn is; Paper, paper and more paper! You will get more paper than you knew there where tree's to produce it! 

I really, really love my kid's art work! I am not claiming that they are the next Van Gogh, I would actually compare some to Picasso...it's slightly abstract...but, as a mom, I love watching there different art ( can we call it that?!) styles, but finding a way to display them has been a chore. My mom used to joke that she would display ours, "Nicely behind the couch! Where the sun can't fade it!" Thanks mom, for the good - old fashioned self- esteem booster!

I seen this idea at a friends house and swooped in like a seagull spying on box of spilled fries in an Arby's parking Lot!

Finding random and unique frames in my basement or at garage sales, I popped the backing and the glass off and spray painted the desired color. The glass removal makes it super easy peasy to remove art work when you want to display the latest best seller!

Behold...the 'Hall of Fame' as I would like to call it!
( I have this in our hallway, so I couldn't get a good camera view of the whole thing, but basically randomly placed picture frames and other art/crafts adorn this wall, here's just a few individually)

My kid's LOVE showing off the 'Hall of Fame!' They are as proud as a peacock to show off all their 'cool' art and crafts! I'm pretty proud, too...so, if you come over...HUMOR ME! Haha!

This frame was for sale for 2.50 at a garage sale and after I practically died laughing at the guy and his piece of junk, started to walk away, he changed his tune to .50 cents! 

I would like to add, the TOP picture in that frame is 'Yours Truly' by the talented hand of Halle girl...Aren't I a sexxy beast?! ;)

 Noodles!
You seriously don't want to know how many times my kids asked to eat this!

 
This frame rocks my brains out! Found it at Goodwilliam ( that's long for 'Good Will') and I LOVE the shelf on it! Perfect for displaying dinosaurs (obviously!)

 You may not want an entire hallway to dedicate to your blooming artist, but for real folks, rejoicing over their little awards, ribbons and scribbled pictures makes a teeny heart burst with joy!

p.s. our fridge and dishwasher are also covered! What?! We have super talented kids! Hahahah!

Housewife FairyTales....

Shhhhh! Don't tell my hubby, but I've been dating! It's not what I expected it to be. Not as much fun as I once thought it was when I was a girl. Well, here's the scOoP!

I made a date with the duster...
But, was less than impressed! And for some strange reason I kept sneezing! I must have been allergic to something he was wearing!

I made a date with the Dishes...
But, Boy O' boy! What a greasy mess! I had to always clean up after him, and he was always," Too Hot!" or "Too Cold!" Never happy and no matter how hard I tried, so spotty!

I made a date with the laundry...
It was exhausting keeping up with mis-matched emotions and sorting things out! Under pressure, he folded. He was so frumpy when we went out, and all ready had wrinkles! I was glad I quit him, it really took a load off!

I made a date with the toilets...
But, I couldn't stand the crappy language and potty mouth! And the stench! I flushed that dream real quick! 

I made a date with the vacuum...
Finally, I thought I found TRUE LOVE! But, turns out he sucked just like everyone else! 

I made a date with a dark, smooth stranger...
It was BLISS at first! I loved his KISSES and felt every time we where together we where flying off to MARS or the MILKYWAY! But that relationship was bringing me down with baggage and heavy feelings, so I  stopped seeing him and got a membership to the gym.

I think I may go make a date with a warm bath...

P.S. dark, smooth stranger is chocolate! Just verifying!         

But, why does it have to hurt so bad...?

Sometimes things happen. You run out of gas. You stub your toe...really hard!(What?! We've all done it!) You lose your job, money get's tight, you have a bought with sickness, your heart gets broken, your child dies...wait...

Yeah, bad things happen. Horrible things. Things that you don't want to ever imagine, things that make it hard to get out of bed and face another day, things that make you feel like you can't get your head above water, things that make you wonder, ' Is there even a God?! And if there is, WHY is He letting these bad things happen?!"

I can write this with tears streaming down my face because I know loss. In just a short few years we lost my husbands Grandpa, Aunt & Grandma. We lost  2 of my Uncles, Grandpa and Grandma, and we lost our baby. (explained in my blog titled, 'He knows your Name, He sees each tear that falls'/October 2010) 

We where good people! We loved each other! We went to church and served! We where trying to raise our kids right! Why? We never hurt anyone...we don't deserve this...

I can assure you, nobody does. I recently heard a well known minister speaking on this subject, "Why Does God allow suffering" www.harvest.org  and he said three very powerful words that I think sometimes us religious uppety uppers, don't want to say. He said, " I don't know!"

WHAT!?!

You mean God isn't punishing you for being a bad, bad person?! Don't act as if you've never kicked the dog! And He knows what you where thinking when your covetous heart lusted after your neighbors stainless steal appliances( Were all woman here! You know you want some!;) 
But I do know, God has a plan.* He has a plan to use your sufferings if you will allow him. He can make all things beautiful in his time.* He can take your broken heart and piece it back together, ever so gently, making sure he gets every tiny, broken piece and use your once broken heart to change a life. He breathes life into what feels like your heart that has stopped beating. He can hold you in *perfect peace and give you just the strength you need to calm your *anxieties and shush your fears. He can. And He will.

Beautiful Sister, there is a love that reaches down, past our filthy hearts, into our souls, that's says, *" Quiet. Know me." He's there. Even if the pain and questions are overwhelming you to the point where you can't even see through your tears.He's there. He still loves you when your empty words are screaming, "Why?!" And you wish you could just see the answers and know there is a reason. He knows.

He's there and He knows. 

Lay it at the foot of the cross. Come to Jesus. Feel His peace and be wrapped up in His everlasting love and give the pain that is crippling you and the hurt that you are suffering through to him.* He will carry your burden and make your load light.

* "The Lord keep you from all harm - he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going  both now and forevermore" Psalm 121:7-8

* "...So also through Christ our comfort overflows..." 2 Corinthians 1: 6

* " You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the rock eternal." Isaiah 26:3-4

* " Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

* "Cast all your anxiety on Him, for He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

* " Come to me, all you who are weary and  burdened,  and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest in your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11: 28-30

 

   

 

Breakfast at Tiffany's...or My house!

I used to sleep until the last minute, drag my buns outta bed, when the first little peeper started yelling, begrudgingly moan that I need, TEN MORE MINUTES ( ok! I still moan about that!) and plop some sugar flakes with red dye #5 and high fructose corn syrup things called marsh mellows, into a bowl, let the kids eat infront of morning cartoons(maybe that's why I was crabby, Barney at 7:30 a.m. just ain't happenin'!) and wondering why they became so hyper after breakfast! Hmmmm....I wonder?!?! 

Since my oldest started full days at school, my time with her has become very thought out and precious! I have really wondered how I can make sure she starts her day out right, here's what I came up with;

1. A good breakfast!
Some people may say it's spoiling them, but I want my kids to eat good, so for breakfast, I become a Restaurant! I know! I know! Bad mommy!!! But, I love it , so judge me! 

I ask the girls the night before what they would like for breakfast, and mark it down on a little chart I have. The options are magnetic and stick to the fridge, so they can be easily changed daily.

 Here's the chart.

 The different breakfast magnets are super easy to take off and put on! And that way , I remember in the morning what they wanted! 

 I made this chart awhile back, I have added and taken away some things. No more pop tarts. The eggo's are home made , whole grain waffles, and sometimes I don't let them pick, I just make a batch of muffin's or a bunch of cheesy scrambled eggs!

This is the shopping bag! When I run out of a certain item, I put that magnet into the bag, so next time I run to the store, I can see what I need to grab quickly, without digging through the freezer or cupboards!
 

 This is the back and the little piece of magnet I used to keep it easy to replace!






I love knowing that I sent her off for a long day of school with a healthy breakfast! I also cook ahead if I have time. Pancakes/waffles freeze really well! I will also prep eggs at night or bake muffin's once the kids go to sleep! That way, I may, if God's smiles down on me, get that extra TEN MINUTES!

2. Time at the table...
I challenge the kids everyday with simple questions like, " How can you be a blessing today?" " Who can you show God's love,too?" " Tell me one friend that you want to be extra kind, too?" "How can I pray for you today?" Things like that get their mind going and they LOVE to share how they are going to let God use them that day and how I can pray for them! And then at night time, I ask them if they did what they said they where going to do! And surprisingly they DO!

3. Read God's word...
I keep a little devotional Bible for "God's Little Princesses." by the table and read a page or two out of that at breakfast and dinner. Again, it keeps us at the table longer and gets them thinking about things other than themselves. And we all need that little reminder,to think of others and not ourselves! 

4. RUSH! RUSH! RUSH!
I'm not joking...sadly!
Then we usually quickly get ready and leave! That is why you will see me, driving like Cruella De Ville, but less puppies and more babies, swerving into the school parking lot, watching mothers grab their children and run for safety. Jump out in pajama bottoms and messed up hair, maybe matching shoes? If you're lucky! And drop my full bellied and hopefully full spirited child off for a day in the world!

* SIDE NOTE: Sunday mornings ALWAYS DONUTS! Nothin' say's, " Can't wait to get up for church!" Like knowing there is a big box of favorite donuts waiting in the kitchen for my kid's! Easiest way to get them moving on a cold, Sunday morning! PLUS- I get to send them to Sunday school and let the teachers deal with them! Mu Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!! 

Train them in the way they should go...

As a mom who loves the Lord, I also want my children to grow up in the knowledge and grace of him, as well.
I am not a trained child-hood expert, rearing,bible study leading professional, so by trial and error, I have thought of a few different ways to make learning about Jesus exciting! And why shouldn't it be? He healed the sick, raised the dead and best of all gave us the free gift of * eternal life if we believe on Him! I'm so excited, just from writing that sentence!

Many of us relate church and Jesus to boring rituals, sitting for too long and being jabbed in the ribs by mother if we start to doze off...Let's show our kids just how powerful God is, by making His word more understandable to little ears.
 Aside from dinner time, family devotions, I try to incorporate Jesus into all we do. Even craft time!

As I wracked my brain, trying to figure out how best my kids would learn the Bible and enjoy it; I came up with this idea.  I thought I would share it with you. And I know some of you probably allready have done this, but forgive me, I'm a slow learner :)

Bible History Books:

I say 'History' because the words 'bible story', don't sound factual to me! Gods word is our History! Be glad about that with your kids.

We created a History book about 'Noah's Ark.' We read the story together, then each of us set out to color a picture of the story. It was just me and 2 of our girls working on this, so I got assigned with a few more pages, because they are little and it takes a bit longer for them to complete one of their masterpieces! So, ignore my child like drawings! Haha! Here's how the finished product turned out! The girls are so proud of it and read it over and over again!

This last page breelia added as an extra! But, I thought it drove home a good point! Gotta love that child like faith:)  



*Romans 3:23 " For all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ..."

I have more bible time crafts and idea's I will share with you all occasionally, so stay tuned for more easy idea's that you can do with your kiddo's!

Share with me your idea's! I would love to learn what your family does to build up little Soldiers for Christ! And if you are just starting out, Don't worry! God can use whatever we give! Your kid's are never too young ( or old) to learn about Jesus.

Perfectionist...I am NOT.

For those of you who have stopped by unannounced ( It's okay - I still love you!) you can find my house in 1 of 3 states;
1. Disaster.
2.Messy
3.Messy, but trying to get clean!

With 4 kid's under 1000 square feet, messes are just going to happen! I have tried to learn a few tricks (still learning!) and although I am farrrr from an organizational guru, or anyone for that matter that should be even talking about this, I know I always appreciate when I learn new things that help our family function, so I thought I would share what I have implemented in our house.

My dear friend, Tara ( Dubbed 'Queen Organization' by me!) has great tips at her blog www.coleplace.blogspot.com under tidie whities. I have stolen a few tricks of the trade from her as well! Hey! Who says you can't teach an unhouse broke, messy old dog new tricks?

Cupboards: Not enough cupboards for how much I need to cram into them!

In my pantry I found stacking my cans for cooking/ veggies/ fruit was getting me no where, as our pantry was deep, but not wide. I was always re-buying things that I still had, hidden behind the can of tomato soup no one ever wants to eat! So, at a garage sale, I picked up a few lazy suzannes( I feel bad calling her that! :) and VOILA! I can stack a couple high, and spin to see what we have on the shelf! I would recommend grabbing a few lazy's. I also have used them in our cabinet that keeps our medicines, vitamins and spices! Makes finding things much, much easier!

Next, I too, enjoy clear plastic storage containers, labeled, so my kids can see what snacks are available. I also have an old fruit basket, I set boxes and such things that I haven't got any storage containers left for, in the basket, that way, in the deep pantry, I can reach in and slide out the bin and see whats back there!

 You can see, I use 'Hello My Name Is..." labels. My sister in law, Abigale gave me that idea and I LOVE IT! It's very easy to just slap another sticker over top of the old ones when changing out snacks, plus they are about .97 cents at walmart, much cheaper than any other label you can find!

 this is the fruit basket, pulled out, that you can see in the above picture, to the right.

 Our hallway acts as a storage space, with a small shelf that stores some of  the kid's fun stuff. Mr & Mrs. Potato head neatly stashed in a clear container, nail polishes and play dough! Since our bathroom has no linen closet, a basket of pull ups and some t.p dawn the bottom shelf!

 

The girls bedroom is very, very small and with three of them sharing  a room, we lack space and organization! These little pink tote store different play.  I was sO pumped to find this 'horsie bin' at Fleet Farm last Christmas, to pile all their barbie horses in!

 I label ( and attempt ) a drawing on the tote. That way if they are unable to read, they can see by the picture, what goes in the tote. This works great and provides 'No excuse's' for the lazy gal, who would love to claim," I didn't know dress up and my lil' ponies didn't go in the same spot!"

 If you have a sticker with what is in the box, I would recommend that as well- Dollar Tree has just about any sticker for any character known to man ( and some that are not! Gotta love Dollar Tree!)

 The top box is all their small Disney Princesses, and even tho it is not labeled this, they know because of the sticker :)

 I LOVE THESE!
 Hobby Lobby, will be the death of me, but I could not resist these HOT PINK trunks on clearance! They work great for storing the girls' fake food and dishes and grocery store stuff!

It's SO much more fun to play when the toys are right there, and you don't have to dig for hours to find all the pieces! Makes clean up so simple too. If ( IF! I mean, it always is!!) the room get's really bad, being that sometimes all 3 girls take a different tote out, I set the totes out on the floor, open the lids and they run around, dropping toys into whichever tote that toy belongs too! Has cut cleaning room time from about an hour to maybe ten minutes! Hope you can use some of these tips and I would LOVE to hear your tips as well!!!