I have discovered it is really hard to be Queen in a household with 3 princesses! Somebody is always borrowing my tiara! Well in between hunting my stuff down I am the proclaimed Queen in the Land of fluff (where my husband swears one day that he will die from glitter lung (you get the picture!) Besides that I am a dieting, exercising, crafting, biblestudying kind of girl.
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” (Joshua 4:4-7 NLT)
- These are my "visual" reminder of God's promises to me over the years.
I primed the rocks, with a dark primer. Then spray painted the rocks the oil rubbed bronze. Then I used a gold paint pen to write the verse and year that God used the verse to speak into my life. A great visual to use as a natural conversation about our relationship with God.
Well I am a "Gilmore Girls" fan. I loved the shows quick banter, the characters of the small town, the relationships and interaction in between all those characters, it was a clean show so I could watch it with my girls. Well I think I have found a new show that is filling in the gap that Gilmore Girls left. It is called "The hart of Dixie" it's on Monday nights. Cute, funny, and so far pretty clean.
- The second thing I can't get enough is this EOS lip balm.
Loving this!!! After reading Several reviews in magazines about how great they are I finally broke down and on impulse bought one. Now I am going to have to go back and buy several of them to store around the house and car where I store all my reading glasses. (I tried the mint flavor but I can't wait to try the rest!) i love when you try something out that has received good review and you agree with it! Hope you all have a wonderful Thursday!!!
I love to post special bible verses around the house where I can see them, and hopefully learn them like the back of my hand. However, when I went to run my bathwater the other night this is what I found.
Needless to say, a little one had splashed it while playing in the tub. Hum! So I tried out the cricut machine, and cut out a special verse. So this is what I will now see when I sink into a bubble bath.
I am pleased with it. (it did take a little while to stick on each letter, but well worth it!)
I love fall! It's my favorite season of the year. Charm sweaters, apple cider, hot chocolate, a trip to the pumpkin patch, colored leaves, brisk cool air. I just love it! What better way to enjoy Oklahoma than to pile into the car for a day trip. This last weekend we found ourselves in Clevland, Oklahoma. They were having pioneer days so the streets were pretty crowded so we decided to keep on driving. (However we did see a very cute large bulldog dressed in an OSU jersey with a large orange bow on her hair. She was adorable, but I forgot to snap a picture. We saw that Hominy, Oklahoma was 10 miles up the road and none of us had been there so we decided to "drive on!" was the vote in the car. So off we went. Hominy, Oklahoma has a quaint downtown. Small with what looked like a sodapop and ice-cream counter store -just like in "It's a Wonderful Life" starring Jimmy Stewart. Where he works as a kid. Unfortunately for us it was closed. However we did spot a sign for a historical site in Hominy, Oklahoma for the "Drummond Home". Which for you bloggers out there might be familiar with that last name because the "pioneer woman" Ree Drummond" married into this famous ranching family of Oklahoma.
My girls were thrilled to stop by and take a peak around the historical home not because of the ranching history, nor the Oklahoma history that the home represents -sorry! (more info on the Drummond family here: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/D/DR007.html
But because the have tried a lot of the yummy recipes from her cookbook, and have seen her new cooking show on the food network with me. Hominy, is proud of their Indian heritage and history because paintings were seen on almost every building side driving through the downtown area.
We did not find a place to eat in Hominy though I did see some sign about fried catfish, the kids out voted hubby and me. So we drove on into the town of Skiatook, Oklahoma where we ate at "Señor Salsa". Good prices, the food was however just ok, not memorable. Then we headed back home after some more site seeing, however that is a post for another day.
Well I thought I would post about some of the things that I have tried from the highly addicting Pinterest site
I made the above cinnamon pull apart bread from plainchicken.com. My family loved it, I thought it was just ok, but my family would strongly disagree.
Oh my gosh!! The above dessert just may be the cure for PMS!! A girlfriend made this for girls night in, she found the recipe at kevinandamanda.com. It is so bad I did not even calculate the calories for it, any way I am sure it was calorie free since I had it on girls night in.
A perfect fall muffin: spiced apple sauce crumb muffin. The yummy recipe is from blueeyedbakers.com. A wonderful spice packed muffin to enjoy with a cup of coffee!!!
I spruced up the veggie tray at my daughters family birthday party. Just like the above picture shows the veggie dip in a bowl sat down into a hollowed out pumpkin.
I made the jalapeño bites from: aisletoaloha.blogspot.com. Family found them very yummy. I was however when made again, I would recommend just rolling them up for ease. (by the way I found out I was allergic to touching raw jalapeno's -ugh!! Effected my breathing scary! Needless to say, the hubby will be preparing anything that calls for jalapeño's himself from now on.).
I tried to re create the above spruced up 7 layer dip ,but ugh! I made my lines for the spider web the wrong direction. Thank goodness the mess up was on the sourcream level so I was able to fill in with sourcream and it was good to serve and no one but you know that I tried to make it fancy.
I decided to take down the wall paper in my bathroom and paint my "flat" wall instead of hanging more wall paper. When, what do my anxious eyes see- a texture in the drywall: Oh My!!
So below you can see a picture of me re-texturizing the wall as I smooth joint compound on the wall. Once it dried I went back over it with a fine piece of sand paper to make sure that the surface was smooth and flat. This was not hard, but VERY time consuming. Once the cabinets are painted I will finish up painting the walls and post a final picture.
Well if you like to dance, if you love to shake your thing step class might just be for you. I love step class! However, It has taken me 60 pounds down to be able to really to be able to start taking step class without making my knees hurt.
The low down of losing weight and taking step class is this:
1. Try it! if it makes your knees hurt, stop!
2. When you lose 20 pounds try it again, if it still makes your knees hurt -stop, wait for another twenty pounds down and try it again.
3. you have to be comfortable with yourself to not try to keep up with aerobic barbie in your class, and just do what you are able to do. If it gets to hard, just do what everyone else is doing on the step on the ground.
(*now I will be honest with you when I first tried step class I was not at this place. So what resulted was my knees hurt, I could barely get out of bed the next day- which in the end cost me 3 days of moving my body and burning calories -ugh!)
4. Remind yourself "It is not about being perfect, It's about effort". Yes, I have to remind myself this fact oh, about 30 times about half way through class when I am sucking wind, and aerobic barbie is bouncing around like we just got started.
5. It does not matter what you look like while exercising all that matters is that you are moving your body, burning calories. You are getting stronger, and improving you!
6. If you start back up and your knees just barely ache, come home ice them while watching TV, and take a few ibuprofen and hopeful you will feel fine in the morning. That's the key, and when you know you can add something to your regiment. (Some classes I am still sore the next day, but as the day wears on the soreness works itself out then it is a good type of soreness.)
However, like the old saying goes "The best exercise is the exercise that you will do!" So if you try step class and it is not for you. Hey, it's not for you, go try something else! Just keep moving!
So I ask you again, what is your "purpose" as a mom?
We went and watched the movie "Courageous" this past weekend. (see movie poster below)
"Courageous" is a great movie that challenges the men of today to stand up and be Fathers. I loved this movie. However one line that talked about are you being "Purposeful" in fathering or in my mind I switched the word to "parenting" or "mothering" your child?
So I went home and looked up the definition to purposeful. Was I parenting my child by being meaningfull (definition: having a meaning or purpose, full of meaning or significant) and two was I being intentional (definition: done by intention or design.) (by the way intention means: a determination to act in a certain way or resolve)
So what are you as a parent, mom, dad, or both maybe-
What are you by intention or design teaching or conveying or modeling for your child that has meaning, purpose and is full of significance?
I know for me, this has sent me back to the drawing board to look at
what I am doing:
1. Intentionally or by design?
2. The time spent each week to "Intentionally" convey or teach this purpose -is it enough time, or is more time needed to devote to this?
3. Is what I am trying to purposefully teach my children does it has meaning? Is it "Significant"?
4. Am I living out that "significant" or meaningful lesson in my own life? (after all if it is important enough for them, is it not important enough for me?)
Which to really give the time to live out what I want to be "purposeful" to my children to know. To convey to their hearts the significance and God. I need to focus on what the bible instructs in Deuteronomy 6:4-9
"4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.[a]5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates."
It's a day in day out activity. I am to model to my children how amazing God is, how I stand in Awe of what a mighty God we serve. How to love others through actions and deed, how to forgive other when our heart is bruised, how to give, how to put others first. How to glorify him, how to praise him, how to love a husband, how to be a mother, how to be a daughter, how to be sister, how to be a friend. I fall onto my knees when I realize what an awesome job I have been entrusted to. That God trust me enough to show and teach those things to my 3 precious daughters. Me, an imperfect, shallow, person to take part in this. I guess when your children who are always watching see your flaws, can really see the Glory of God when he shines through such imperfection and weakness of our own humanity.
I would love to hear what God has placed on your heart to purposefully teach or model to your own children? Or what you wished you would have been more purposefully of teaching?
Wow! Why is it that it is so hard to forgive others? Why is it so hard to let go of the hurts we feel? Why is it so hard to let go of the anger that those hurts have bubbled up in our heart? I guess for myself I feel justified to be hurt or angry. I want the offender to recognize and acknowledge that they have hurt me and I want them to say they are sorry and ask for forgiveness. Why is that? I have struggled with this question for the last 2 weeks. I guess because 1) the offender recognizing that they have hurt my feelings would "justify" or at least acknowledge that my heart was hurt. It validates me as an individual. Secondly when someone says they are sorry, it allows me to be in a place of control where I get to choose to forgive them.
However, God has been speaking directly to my heart this last 2 weeks. That 1) he (God) knows my heart and sees the hurt that was inflicted on it. 2) Whether or not the "offender" ask for forgiveness- I always have the right to "Choose" to forgive that individual.
So what is my decision? Will I give up my right to be hurt, mad, and upset? Will I "choose" to forgive the person who has hurt my feelings? (And not just my personal feelings but someone who has hurt 2 of my 3 kids feelings, and is about to hurt the feelings of some of my additional families feelings by their actions-ugh!!) However like my theme word for the year "Cultivate" (you can go to that post by clicking here.) God is definitely trying to promote growth in me by me letting go of my rights, my feelings, and choosing to forgive and love others through actions, letting God tend to my bruised heart.
For those of you who do not know the exact definition of "cultivate" it is as follows:
cul·ti·vate(klt-vt)
tr.v.cul·ti·vat·ed, cul·ti·vat·ing, cul·ti·vates
1.
a. To improve and prepare (land), as by plowing or fertilizing, for raising crops; till.
b. To loosen or dig soil around (growing plants).
2. To grow or tend (a plant or crop).
3. To promote the growth of (a biological culture).
6. To seek the acquaintance or goodwill of; make friends with.
God reminds me that I am a role model for my 3 daughters who are watching me, and how I deal with "my feelings", "my hurt", "my rights" and seeing if I hold tightly to them for my glory to be right, orif I surrender them to God by letting go, choosing to forgive others. Choosing to love them and forgive them regardless "if their" actions and behavior does not show love. (because if actions speak louder than our words. Then that is a truth that goes both ways. So what if their actions are not loving, what are my actions going to be?) God allows me to choose, will I turn from my own ways and my own desire? It has been a struggle! I will be honest. I have wrestled with this hurt for about 2 weeks now. (And truthfully I have been struggling with a portion of this since my oldest birthday in August) However I have decided that God wants me to humble myself and let go. It does not matter that I am right. What does matter is that I reflect the love of God and forgive others. I can not tell my daughters to forgive others that hurt them, to let it go, be the Bigger person -do not let their actions determine their behavior "IF" they don't see me doing the same. I am just praying and leaning on God to deal with my bruised heart and feelings and deciding and choosing to stand up to be the kind of person God wants me to be, that I want to be, and that my daughter's need me to be.
I choose to forgive others, I choose to Love!
So here I am an insignificant,woman a mom, wife, with hurt feelings but because of who God is, and because of Who he is, that is shaping and refining me. Because of Who he says I am, I am able to love others and forgive others way beyond the capacity of my little heart.
For you are about to cross the Jordan River to take over the land the Lord your God is giving you. When you take that land and are living in it, you must be careful to obey all the decrees and regulations I am giving you today. (Deuteronomy 11:31, 32 NLT) Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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