40 bags in 40 days...

I'm not even sure how I came to follow her on Instagram, but at the mention of eliminating 40 bags of stuff over the next 40 days, I immediately became a follower.  One of my goals this month was to eliminate 5 unnecessary piles in our home. Piles form and then slowly seem to become part of the furniture that I simply walk around. Gradually though it becomes like a heavy weight on my shoulders rather than an ugly piece of furniture.  

Ann Marie planned for this major purging to coincide with the 40 days of lent.  I have tried to do lent in the past and usually fail, so I will not claim this as a spiritual endeavor.  But I do think with the letting go of stuff, there will also be much freedom.  If you're interested in minimalist living, check out this podcast with Tsh Oxenrider and Joshua Becker, called Freedom from Stuff. 

Emily Freeman just reviewed this podcast as well and wrote on Becoming a Soul Minimalist.  I resonated with her words, "When our souls are filled with clutter, which is meant to be complex and awe-inspiring, it can become complicated and exhausting.  When that happens, I crave simple."  

Simple... it's become a motto of sorts.  I've been told that my generation seeks that more than those in the past.  Perhaps it's due to the insane amount of information and ideas so readily available at our fingertips.  Much to ponder...

But back to the task at hand!  40 bags in 40 days.  If you're interested in joining in, check out her printable to fill out and her blog.  You never know, it could change your life.

Halfway Goals for January...

It's almost the middle of January, which may seem too late to set goals for the month.  But better late than never...  Laying out goals often seems like I'm setting myself up for failure, which may be true to some degree.  But in writing them down, there comes a form of accountability and a challenge to complete something, anything!  So these goals are nothing spectacular, just simply areas of my life that I hope to tweak throughout the year.

January Goals

1.  Try and implement a new daily schedule (not exactly sure the details yet...)

2.  Finish The Best Yes and read more of Notes from a Blue Bike (working on my "words")

3.  Fill out the paperwork and get pictures taken for passports (#operationokinawa - more info to come)

4.  Declutter our storage area (I must purge!! Girl clothes, school stuff, etc overflow from every crevice of our home. Starting with the storage area this month.)

5.  Order a photobook of 2014 Instagram photos. (I took more pictures with my phone this year and it's the everyday pictures that I cherish the most.  I'll share how it turned out.)

6.  Love the people in my life and show it through my words (an ongoing goal...)

"Now is the blessing.

Now is the time to love.

Now is the time to be."

by Eileen Spinelli in Now It is Winter

Loving Leaves and Letting Go...

There are seasons where life never seems to stop.  You struggle to catch your breath, getting ahead seems impossible, and moments disappear before you realize their brevity and beauty.  In ministry, this season is frequent and often a struggle, yet God is so good.  He allows late Saturday afternoons for us all to get away, to intentionally take time to catch those moments, and to stand in awe of His creation  

He is so good in allowing us the privilege of witnessing our second daughter take a step of faith.  Our little middle, who has struggled for years to even talk to others, chose to stand in front of an entire church and profess her faith in our Lord.  We have prayed again and again the verse in Deuteronomy, "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you." (31:6)  He is so good!

 

And when the leaves turn and fall, and school work calls to be done, God is good in the raking, the jumping, and even in the arguing of sisters.  Their mama needs reminding again and again to slow down...

- to "wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord." - Psalm 27:14

- to "be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." - Psalm 46:10

- that it is "not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit," says the Lord. - Zechariah 4:6

"When we make the choice to let go of distraction, perfection, and societal pressure to grasp what really matters, that's when our life although a bit unbalanced and imperfect - tastes sweeter than we could ever imagine." - Rachel Macy Stafford (Hands Free Mama)

31 Days of Praying for our Children

The last two years I have joined bloggers around the world in an effort to blog every day in October, all 31 days.  This year, instead of blogging every day, I want to focus on praying everyday for my girls.   There will not be daily posts, maybe not even weekly posts, but I want to encourage any parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc, to utilize this amazing privilege in coming before our creator to lift up these little (& getting bigger) creations that He has entrusted us to care for and invest in.

I have this calendar folded and tucked in my scripture journal, and it's nothing I've made.  Thank you, Kat Lee & Bob Hostetler, for compiling such a great list based upon scripture to pray over our children daily.  Click on Kat's blog, Inspired to Action, to print your own calendar.     

The first day is praying over our children's salvation.  "Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory." Isaiah 45:8, II Tim 2:1

It has been an incredible honor to witness two of my children come to know the Lord, yet I still pray for our littlest one, that she may one day understand the amazing grace of our God and the incredible sacrifice that He paid on our behalf.  For my older two, only God knows their hearts, so I pray for authenticity in their faith. May their salvation be their own, not contingent on mom or dad's. May it not be based on works, but upon a heart who truly loves our Lord.  

To read my last two years 31 days series (which I need to reread myself...), click below:

31 days of Homeschooling

31 days from Insanity to Sanity

To read more about what 31 days is all about, click here.

Time, Questions, and the Thoughts of Others...

Time... It's what we all say "there's not enough of," yet how serious do we really take it?  How much of it do we throw to the wind?  How much is spent on tools of convenience and communication, all in the name of "time savers"?  When I choose to put down the phone, close up the laptop, and mute the ding of the Ipad, will my time expand?  Or will it just become more alive?  Maybe that twenty-seventh handstand will actually be the best and I can sincerely clap and shower with praise or perhaps it will simply be the assurance given by having my eyes focused on my little one who needs her mama.  May I be more focused...  

As our school year rapidly approaches, so many questions have been swirly around my head. 

Am I giving my all to this calling of teaching our children at home?

Am I lining everything I do for my family in accordance to scripture?

Am I serving and loving my husband wholeheartedly?

Am I focusing so much on myself and my needs that my eyes are blinded to those in my community around me?

Am I judging the lives of others because they may not be exactly like mine?

Many of these questions have already been answered (and will be) through spending time in God's Word. Some of them have been approached through the eyes of others in which I glean wisdom from.  These are some of my favorite bloggers/writers and some of their recent posts.  

Sit back with a cup of coffee (as I am with mine) and enjoy some weekend reading.  Maybe ponder with me through at least one of these articles.  

A Diet of Distraction by Unfiltered.me - One source to my initial thoughts on time and all the distractions around us.

The Great Challenge Facing All Women by Ann Voskamp - Nuggets of wisdom.  "Every yes automatically says no somewhere else."  "Heaven forbid any woman would try to go around and try to make all women into an image of herself... Christ makes us a body, not a faith factory.  He calls us to be Christ followers, not cookie cutters."

How Women Can Stop Judging Others by Ann Voskamp - The plea for us to stop judging one another, to stop expecting Pinterest perfection, and to be "key women who will link arms with other sisters in Christ and release each other from judging our mothering, our cooking, our cleaning, our clothing, and our kids."

On Gathering Women  by Living Learning and Loving Simply - The call for us women to be inviters, to reach out, and encourage.

The Hard and the Holy by Annapolis & Co - The reminder from a mama of almost 4 little ones that motherhood is hard, yet God calls us to be holy, not perfect.

Focusing on Freedom

July is usually one of my least favorite months of the year due to the intense heat of the south and the absurd amount of insects attacking my face.  My focus on what is important can so quickly grow dim, while the thorns and worries of life seem to stare me in the face.  Even with those distractions, this month has begun with rest in my soul and a desire for freedom from the thoughts that fill my mind with anxiety.  

The summer months resonate with community coming together. Friends and neighbors keeping it simple with lawn chairs, popcorn, and a last minute movie in the back yard.

Family becomes more precious.  Spending time with my nephews and niece has become more intentional knowing that our family will spread even farther in the near future. Even short phone calls with my sisters seem more precious.

Glancing back on Independence day causes me to breathe deeply, longing for more days like it.  When one side of me wanted to fill the day with plans and people, God gave me such peace in reminding me of the people He has put right in front of me:  my sweet little family.  That day in which we remember the freedom given to us years ago, also brought freedom to my soul, allowing me to choose to rest, to choose the simple, and to choose my family above the busyness that seemed enticing.  

A relaxed breakfast with one of my sister's and our families, weeding the front flower bed, baking a blackberry cobbler, turning off the social media and lounging in the backyard pool, Friday night movie and pizza...  All of those things gave such freedom, freedom to rest and give thanks for the blessings God's placed right in front of me. 

Filling Up our Summer Bucket

For the past several summers, I've written out a summer bucket list of sorts. Last year was more organized, systematic, perhaps too ambitious, so this year we're going a little more low key.  It will still be fun, but a little less formatted, yet some new summer ideas for my imaginative girls to look forward to.  My greatest desire this summer is honestly to become more disciplined on a daily basis.  My prayer is to spend more time reading, training my girls in His Word (Psalm 15), and catching up on projects that have been put off for the last year.  Hopefully, there will be a little purging of stuff, simplifying of rooms, and focusing on what God has for our upcoming school year.

 

Summer bucket list for 2014:

• take each girl on a date
• farmers market
• road trip to Greenville, SC and Atlanta, GA with my girls
• go to museums (Life & Science Museum in Durham and the planetarium in Chapel Hill)
• outdoor movie night
• print pictures from the past year & put them in photo albums
• memorize a Psalm
• teach the girls something new
• finish Sophie's baby scrapbook
• a week of summer camp for all three girls
• watch Anne of Avonlea
• go camping (backyard again?)
• summer reading
• free summer bowling
• $1 movies
• swim with friends at the pool
• ABC's of summer writing
• Morning Mind Stretches
• outdoor photo scavenger hunt

These free printable lists allowed the girls to write (or draw) their own summer bucket lists as well.  Sophie got a little happy with the red marker.  Her four items are #1 Go camping #2 Beach #3 Go to Japan to visit Nana & Papa (how I wish!) #4 Go hunting (for butterflies).  My favorite on Naomi's list was #5 Family Shopping (not sure what exactly that means, but it sounds good to me).  Chloe was a bit more ambitious.  Her's involved lots of reading (200 books to be exact), skateboarding, handstands, and splits.  But my favorite is #7 Get into the habit of doing my devotions.  Let it be real, Lord!

Summer Movie Schedule

Barnes & Noble's Summer Reading Program

Free Summer Bowling

Printable Summer Bucket Lists

ABC's of Summer Writing