Will I ever learn????

Oiy Vey!! Such a stupid cycle I do, over & over & over again! Does anyone else do the same? It's like this...things are fairly good at home, my focus is Christ, house is fairly tidy cause I'm making something of an effort, I'm into the Word & worshipping daily, I'm not over FaceBooking....then I get comfortable, hey its all good, I'm happy let's just relax - those aren't my actual words but that sure becomes my attitude...life gets busy as usual, devotions are forgotten, my focus slips to the business around me, we're away & so miss church...a week goes by & I'm getting grouchier by the hour, depressing-discouraging-frustrating-angry thoughts abound!...another few days go by & I FINALLY realize what the problem is!! Duh! So I repent & refocus...so on & so forth.
When I read over all that it just seems really silly! How can I possibly make the same mistakes over & over & OVER again? Arg! Well, apparently I'm not alone.

1 Peter 5:7-9 ...casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

So here I am again, making a stand & choosing to be vigilant...choosing to not be stubborn like a donkey!!

Psalm 32:1-11
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³ When I kept silent, my bones grew old
Through my groaning all the day long.
⁴ For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
My vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Selah
⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

⁶ For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You
In a time when You may be found;
Surely in a flood of great waters
They shall not come near him.
⁷ You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye.
⁹ Do not be like the horse or like the mule,
Which have no understanding,
Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle,Else they will not come near you.

¹⁰ Many sorrows shall be to the wicked;
But he who trusts in the Lord, mercy shall surround him.
¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

God has given me &/or made available the tools etc that I need. Whether I choose to pick them up & use them on a daily basis is up to me. I have free will & He won't make me follow Him. He's not forcing me, but He IS waiting for me, cheering for me, urging me, encouraging me, working on my behalf, blessing me, preserving me, teaching me......

pic from http://uniqueboutiquenz.blogspot.com/2010/07/well-we-have-moved-i-have-gone-from.html

...but joy comes in the morning

I'm really enjoying the read-thru-the-Bible-in-a-year plan that myself & a GF are following. We're using the printable 12 month reading plans found here. Last week it was Psalms 30 & wow, thats a gooder!! & it reminded me that I had also wanted to share about Psalms 18. Well, today I got some news that was extremely upsetting & made me think of Ps 30 so I'll share that now & save Ps 18 for another day.

I will exalt you, LORD,
for you lifted me out of the depths
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
² LORD my God, I called to you for help,
and you healed me.
³ You, LORD, brought me up from the realm of the dead;
you spared me from going down to the pit.
⁴ Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people;
praise his holy name.
⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.
⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
⁷ LORD, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain^[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
I was dismayed.
⁸ To you, LORD, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me;
LORD, be my help.”
¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
¹² that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
LORD my God, I will praise you forever    (text taken from the NIV & online here)

The study note for this chapter in my Bible says "One-night Guest: The Bible never ignores the emotions of the moment. Here, the psalmist acknowledges the tough times that come with living as God's child. But the Bible also insists on a long-range perspective. Difficulties don't last; God's care does. This psalm pictures "weeping" as a guest who comes to stay just for a single night.

My AMP Bible gives II Corinthians 4:17-18 as a cross reference for vs 5. It says:

¹⁷For our light, momentary affliction (this slight distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!],
¹⁸Since we consider and look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible are deathless and everlasting.    (text taken from the AMP & found online here)

The study notes for II Cor 4:17-18 in my AMP Bible say "This too shall pass: ...As you consider how many times you have already made it to the other side of pain, you can be confident you will make it again through Christ, Who strengthens you (Phil 4:13). And on the other side of trails, you will see how God turned those experiences into good for your life (Rom 8:28). Paul says here that the seasons of trials pass. It is tough when we are going through trials, but Paul learned to keep his eyes on the prize of heaven & trusted God to prepare him so that God's glory was revealed through his life. When you are tempted to become discontented, remember: "This too shall pass." Your afflictions are "light & momentary" from the perspective of eternity. No matter how bad your current situation may look, never let go of the truth that God loves you..."

The news that had me so upset today was that my DH's cousin's 10yr old son has been given just 2-3 weeks to live. He had been diagnosed with muscle cancer & had been going thru treatments & procedures for the past 7ish months. His grandparents are Christian missionaries & they think he might have accepted Christ, but as far as we know his family (parents & a 8yr old brother) are not believers. Reading the email I couldn't stop bawling. Other than grandparents (who had obviously lived a full life), I've never had anyone very close to me die & I simply cannot fathom the pain that the family would be feeling right now. I cried for them & the pain that they are going thru but also out of guilt. Guilt that everyday I take my own children for granted. My current troubles are truly "light & momentary afflication" compared to theirs. The pending death of a child & a mountian of medical bills. Yet even their troubles are "light & momentary" from the perspective of eternity, and though it seems blasphemy to say that the death of a child is anything close to "light & momentarty", that is how big the eternal awesomeness of God really is.
Reading Palms 30 I identified with the victoriousness (that a word??) of the 1st few verses & really saw myself as the psalmist went from that to feeling God had turned away & being pitiful, lost, discouraged  & sorrowful. An emotional roller coaster. Up & down. Thru God's strength I'm victorious, but then something goes wrong, God turns away (actually its me taking my eyes off of Him) & I'm drowning in dispair & a messy house. Eventually, I realize what is happening & cry out to God & of course He answers. My evening of weeping is over & joy comes with the morning. After I heard the news of my cousin-in-law's son, I was reminded that my own sorrows truly are light & momentary.

pic from www.agodman.com

My Party Planning Itch

Before & between having my 3rd & 4th babes I organized a number of events for our church & it's been quite awhile so I've been really itching to do some organizing/party planning! I do tend to go overboard on all the kid's b-day parties every year but that just isn't the same! Just in time a girlfriend had a baby & viola! needed a Baby Shower, yeah! I'm sure you can agree that it's very sweet feeling to be able to use your God-given gifts to bless others.

DD#1 recently celebrated her 8th b-day with a Cupcake party (which I'll post about soon) & I was still excited about my new cupcake cake pan so that decided the Baby Shower theme. Mix that with more time than I'd like to admit on Pinterest & I had plenty of inspiration!

I went with colours picked by the babe's Momma: teal, pink, yellow with a side of orange & no muted colours pls! 

My BFF scrapper-extraordinaire made GORGEOUS name banners for each of my kids for Christmas (her etsy store link soon-to-be-inserted here!) so I was inspired to try my hand at banner making, plus I got to use my cricut for the 1st time so it was win-win!

The pic is deceiving - the cupcake is pretty big! For the base, after I iced all over, I dipped my icing spatual thingy into hot water & carefully smoothed inch by inch all the way around. ugg, I think it would be worth the time to just do fondant next time! I agonized over how to do the top & in the end I just thickly iced all over & then used the rounded end of the metal spatula & swirled all the way around up to the very top, simple but elegant (did the little cupcakes the same). After that I added all the beading & ribbon. The cake stand is just a plain white dinner plate, a tall glass upside down & a plain white salad plate all hot glued together. It worked fine but I'll eventually make it to the Sally-Anne for pretty plates & glasses & have my DH silicone them together!

I'm sure you've all seen the amazing (expensive) cupcake wrappers that are everywhere now. Well, I refuse to spend much $ on something that will be thrown out so quickly!! These are made from paper doilies! I found a good tut here. Mine turned out ok, not shaped to the cupcake as much as I'd like but good enough to give the desired effect!

We played 3 games - Shower Gift Bingo, the don't say "baby" clothes peg game & the poopy diaper game (identify the melted choclate bar!).

Mainly decorations were 3 doily banners which were easy-peasy to make & looked SO cute!! I found this banner online & added mine own creativity. Plus, the name banner, a few balloons, $ store plastic tablecloths (to cover bulletin boards) & sweet table centres (large white paper doilies, small $ store polka-dot gift bags with a puff of tissue paper, again easy-peasy!)

Whew! Well, now that DD#1 & DS#1's b-day parties (soon to be blogged) & this shower are all satisfyingly completed, I feel like my organizing/party planning itch has been sufficiently scratched to last me quite awhile! (at least till the rest of the family b-days in late Spring & Summer!)

Week 4 - Fridge & Freezer

A little late but none the less, here are my results from the Week 4 challenge. Because of my previous de-cluttering & organizing efforts I didn't have to do anything with our small chest freezer (plus its WAY too full of food right now). When DH has the PC fixed I'll post those pics, but basically I had taken everything out & then fitted 3 sturdy sm/med boxes into the freezer. 2 stay on the bottom & 1 rests on top of the bottom 2. I then divided all the meat into my new Chicken, Beef & Pork boxes. The rest of the food was organized into catagories - the pizzas stacked vertical on the bottom, all freezer suppers put into the hanging basket etc. (I didn't defrost the freezer then but need to do that reeeally soon). At the same time I had organized the up & downstairs freezers. So anyway back to Week 2, the fridge freezers got a quick once over & were done.

I use a thick plastic bin to hold all the sausages, hot dogs etc & the bottom drawers holds veggies on the right & fruit on the left. There is also a stack of freezer meals behind the yellow bucket that just don't fit in the chest freezer right now. The door holds all the juice cans & freezer mugs. The downstairs fridge freezer has all the bread & when there's room some freezer meals.

The fridge got a thorough cleaning & purging. I put some some condiments etc that are rarely used in the downstairs fridge. We go thru an amazing amount of yogurt, cheese strings etc & they are usually strewn ALL over the fridge! After putting boxes into my freezer I realized I could put bins into my fridge! Voila! There is room in the bins for about 1 week worth of each & the rest is kept in the downstairs fridge. I will also be labeling the door bins "jams/jellies", "sandwhich stuff"," dressings" to help the rest of my family keep all the various bottles & jars in approx the right place!

Well, that is it for Week 4 until the PC is up & running & then I'll insert the Before pics for you to gasp at!

Where O Where is Week 3 & 4??

I have to say the past couple weeks have been interesting, crazy, trying, stressful & lots of fun!  DD#1 celebrated her 8th b-day with her friends, my DS#1 turned 11 & we had family friends over, DS#2 is teething to the max & xtra grouchy, my mother-in-law flew in for a 1.5wk visit, our PC crashed, I started organizing a baby shower & the list goes on!So through all that I didn't blog at all & only half heartedly worked at the weeks 3 & 4 challenges. And I must admit I've been hit & miss with my devos & prayer times... & sure noticing it!!! BUT today is a new day! As I creeped about on Facebook this morning I saw this on a friend's status "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 4:6-7
So, Satan get thee BEHIND me! Lord, I accept your forgiveness, grace, strength & joy. I now move FORWARD.

No Sympathy for Esau

Because I started the read-thru-the-Bible-in-a-year plan almost 2 weeks into January I'm still playing catch-up & right now I'm cramming Genesis. I love a good historical novel & so I am thoroughly enjoying Genesis, although pls don't quiz me on who begat whom! Today I read about Esau & Jacob, a story I have heard many times over but today I had an aha moment! (you know the story about how Esau comes in famished hunting & wants some of Jacob's tasty stew. Jacob offers to trade the stew for the birthright & Esau agrees) The study note in my Bible says "No Sympathy for Esau. Esau's birthright, which he sold for a meal, was his inheritance as the firstborn son. He stood to be head of a large extended family and it's property. Though his brother Jacob took advantage of him, the Bible gives Esau little sympathy for his role as victim. He "despised his birthright" (25:34) by letting his hunger overwhelm his concern for things of lasting value. Because of this, he was later labeled "godless" (Heb 12:16)".  I wasn't completely sure what "scorned his birthright" meant so I read that same verse in the MSG & AMP versions. The MSG says "...That's how Esau shrugged off his rights as the firstborn." & the AMP says "...Thus Esau scorned his birthright as beneath his notice." Wow, how many times have I done this? I (we) have SO many blessings, rights & privileges as God's children...I don't want to continue shrugging them off!  This aha'd to me not just about my relationship with Christ but also with my home & family. I can choose to do my best in God's strength to keep a tidy home so it will be a haven for my family OR I can choose to allow feelings of being overwhelmed & "accept defeat". Also, I can choose to keep my temper, change my own attitude & build close relationships with my kids OR I can choose to be that yelling, frustrated hag I despise. Hmmm, what a choice! Unlike Esau, I desire to make the correct choice, do the work (in God's strength & joy) & reap even more of God's blessing.

pic from: http://www.cookingnook.com/beef-stew-recipe.html

Week 2 FINISHED!!

This was a very crazy but also very satisfying week. I finished 1 drawer early in the week & then nothing til towards & through-out the weekend, but wow did we (the whole family was a big help!) ever accomplish a LOT! I posted the before pics (click here) on Friday, excellent motivation btw, so now here's the after pics:

This, of course, is our "junk drawer" & it was probably the hardest to finish with all it's little bits & pieces! I had DS#1 take everything out & vacuum the drawer. Then we sorted it all in related piles, turfed the actual junk & viola! 

Next is the lazy susan baking cupboard. This was truly a frightful mess as we'd been simply chucking stuff in & quickly closing the drawer! While I was sorting & purging, my DH was repairing the lazy susan (she had become a little too lazy). I had heavy stuff that needed to go elsewhere plus lots of glass jars taking up way too much room, so I put the brown sugar & icing sugar into iceream buckets & into another cupboard, trading spots with the lighter cake decorating supplies. Then I put the baking powder, soda, salt, corn starch etc into stacking plastic containers I already had on hand & take much less space (they are just the ziploc type so I may buy some tupperware type to give a better seal).

This is the kid's craft/colouring drawer. When we built our kitchen I made sure to have enough drawers to have things like this handy in the kitchen. It really just needed a good clean & re-straightening with a touch of purging. The crayons, markers & colouring books get used the most so I stacked the colouring books at the front & used the 3 sections of the carry caddy for crayons, makers & pencil crayons. Perfect for little hands!

The spice drawer was the 1st drawer I tackled this week & I was beyond thrilled with the results (technically this should have been in next week's assignment, but I got too excited to wait!). The spices were originally in with the cooking utensils in the drawer pictured below. I switched things up & put the spices in a smaller drawer by themselves, put all the bagged spices into lrg baby food jars, used a shoebox to corral them, gave away some stuff I never use & chucked the yuckies!

Now that the cooking utensils had a drawer to themselves I had the perfect spot for my potholders etc. I made a utensil organizer by cutting the sides off cereal boxes & taping them together.

Hopefully this will inspire some kitchen purging, de-cluttering & organizing in other kitchen! :) And now onto Week 3 - Pantry, Spices & Food Storage