practice pausing & be intentional

Yesterday, the sermon that i had heard at church wafted in and out of my mind all day long. for the last several months, our series at church has been about "choices." we all make choices, some better than others. some choices are made out of fear, franticness, and emotions, while other choices are made because we are following what God as called us to do. one of the things my pastor said was really thought provoking. we need to wait for a "green light" from God before we act on or do something. he explained that if we just took time to pause, that the pause would allow us to hear Him, allow us to really ponder the choice we are about to make, and more often than not, we would probably proceed in a matter than might produce a different outcome. i think we live in a society that doesn't like to pause. i'm guilty of it myself.
do we really take the time to pause and see if God wants us to do this our that?
or do we let ourselves do most of the shot-calling?
hmmmmm...i need to pause more in my life.

i love when God brings two or more things together to grab my attention. over the last year, i've been learning a lot about myself and the way i want to live out my life. i've been really focusing in on the choices that i make for myself and the choices for my family. the word "intentional" has been popping up in my head, my conversations, and what is at the core of who i am. i desire to be intentional. this comes after a season of intense busyness,where i was doing too much. all good things, but just too much.

the last 6 months have been an unraveling period and filtering through what i should be doing and what i shouldn't be doing. all good things, but just too much. so much that it prevented me from being as intentional as i wanted to be. i talked about it here.

so when i saw this book, i quickly checked it out from my library and read it in a few days. the subtitle drew me in "The art of living intentionally in a chaotic world." the author and i have a very similar past...we both lived oversees, trying to slow down in a world that says do more, go faster, and making daily choices so that our lives line up with our passions and values. this book is not a how-to book, because really how do you write a book about being intentional, when it will look different for each person and each family? rather, it's her experience, as her and her family gradually took steps to live a more intentional life. i love that she took the time to pause and really thought about how they wanted to live out their lives.

it's caused me to dig deeper into what i want and desire, and what God desires for me. ultimately, i want what God wants. i think we miss some of the things God has for us, because we are too busy or not as intentional with our time. living intentional requires us to slow down. it's not the easiest thing to do when we are swimming against the cultural current of fast-paced, have-my-kids-in-every-activity, do more, sleep less, and hold it all together with a nice smile and gentle voice. somehow we all fall into this trap. a trap that wears us out. are we really fulfilled living this way?

at the end of last year, i felt worn out. i felt lonely, even though i had lots of friends. my friendships weren't the deep relationships that i was craving for. i wasn't very patient with my kids over the little things that really shouldn't bother me. i came to the conclusion that it was my own fault. i was too busy and had let too much busyness fill our lives and there wasn't time or energy for the things i really wanted to be intentional about. this caused me to pause and really examine where i was going. i'm blessed to have a heavenly Father that waits for me! He waits for me to pause so that He can speak to my heart and show me where i need to be intentional and where i just simply need to let go.

preparing for Easter

Palm Sunday

we began a new tradition this year.  at Christmas we always buy a real tree.  when Christmas was over, we kept our tree.  a few weeks ago, my husband cut off all the branches, so we were left with the trunk.  he cut the top off the trunk to make it into a cross.  at Christmas, we have a tree in our house to remind us of Christ dying on the cross, even though we celebrate His birth.  at Easter, the tree becomes a cross as we prepare for Good Friday and what Christ did for us on the cross.

i'm a doodler...always have been, always will be.  i love sketching things out, things that inspire me.  sometimes i do something with them, other times i don't.

this sketch made it to my chalkboard.

they are ready and waiting to be dyed.

feed my starving children

on saturday, we went to a feed my starving children event.  we packed meals for children around the world!  we are so blessed in this country to have more than plenty, and it's nice to give to others in need!

we wore stylish hair nets.

my little lady and i were in charge of sealing the food packets.

there were 216 volunteers for our 2 hour block and we packed 58,000 packets of food!

this was an amazing experience and we can't wait to do it again!

check out the website to see if a mobile pack is coming to your town and get involved!

2013

as i look back at this year, i can't help but describe it as busy...wait...no,very busy! we managed to do a lot in one year.

it was filled with...
a lot of good
a lot of hard work
new projects
new adventures
a little one that touched our hearts
and God answered many prayers.

we began 2013 with a couple of months spent on updating our kitchen.

a little before & after of our kitchen.

we added 5 girls to our family and built them a coop.

we built a bigger garden in our backyard.

we spent spring break in Cali, visiting my sister and meeting her boyfriend.

summer was filled with hiking, fishing, swimming...lots of fun!  we had some fun visitors too!

we went on a road trip to Oregon and saw some of our best friends!

we began homeschooling our children, a new and big task!

fall was crazy busy and almost sent me over the edge. we had a little foster baby come stay with us. God really used that time to speak to us. it was the hardest 7 weeks of my life. our family was blessed to take care of a sweet little baby, but God also answered our prayers that we are only to be a family of 4. being a foster parent is not for the faint of heart, it's down right HARD. taking care of the little girl was the easy part, but dealing with the flawed social services, now that was darn right painful!
at the beginning of December, we said goodbye to her and prepared for Christmas.   i felt really wiped out and emotionally drained.  however, it was a great end to a busy year.

at the end of each December, i like to look back on the year and reflect on what God has done for us, lessons we have learned and blessings that we have received.

here's a few things i've learned...
God doesn't always answer prayers in the way we expect, but i'm glad He still answers them.  He gave us closure that we are to be a family of 4 and for that i'm truly thankful.

we were too busy this year!  all good things, but it was too much!  we are going to slow down next year and invest more into the things that truly matter.

it's so hard to watch someone you care about make choices that aren't the best.  it's hard and painful  letting go, but i trust that prayer is powerful!

God calls you to things even when they aren't on your radar. case in point...homeschooling.  it's been such a blessing and i love that my husband and i are are able to be their teacher!

just some of the blessings i experienced...
one friday, i got to spend the entire day with an amazing friend, Darci, as we sat on her front porch and chatted for hours.

the support of family and friends during the difficult times.

the amazing counsel i received one afternoon when i skyped with Mandy.  thanks for your years of listening to me!

the fun and adventure that i experienced with my family this year. from hiking Multinomah Falls, to playing at the beach, to reeling in fish after fish, to the dirty faces of my "Popeye kids."

B.I.B.L.E.

there's nothing better when you come down stairs for breakfast and get a sneak peak of these two guys doing their devotions together.

it's priceless!

i'm blessed to be married to a Godly man that wants to train up our children in the ways of the Lord!

awana awards night

the other night, we went to our kids' awana awards night.  my little guy completed his first year of cubbies and my little lady completed her second year of sparks.  i'm very proud of all their hard work and how many bible verses they have memorized.

mandy...the picture in the lower right corner is of Charles Fay,  Mr. Love & Logic.

secret keeper girl

my little lady and i went to secret keeper girl this weekend. it's an event for girls my little lady's age, to remind them that they are God's masterpiece.   it was a pajama party, so we went in our pj's. one of my friends came along with us and her daughter.
i found out about secret keeper girl, when i read Dannah Gresh's book, "Six Ways to Keep the "Little" in Your Girl" last summer. she is the creator of secret keeper girl and i think her book should be a must read for all moms of girls.

what i'm reading wednesday

i'm always on the lookout for books about parenting and Love No Matter What by Brenda Garrison caught my eye. my kids are still pretty young but there are going to be times that my kids will make decisions that i don't agree with. i enjoyed this book because not only did i read the author perspective, but the book includes her daughter's perspective too. the author gives some great practical tips and great stories of her own family and some stories from other families too.

i received this book for free from Booksneeze in exchange for my personal review.

Avenged by Janice Cantore is the third one in the series.  i haven't read the first two books and i think it would have helped understanding some of the back story with the characters.  it's an easy read and i liked that the characters are believers within the law enforcement field.  i enjoyed the twists and turns as the novel progressed, but i feel it would be best to read the series in order.

i received this book for free from Tyndale Fiction in exchange for my personal review.

Palm Sunday

yesterday morning at church, the kids came into service, waving palm branches and singing. i love seeing all the beautiful faces and hearing their sweet voices as they sing.

what i'm reading wednesday

i'm always looking for ways to help mold my kiddos into the people that God desire them to be.

this book caught my eye right away when i saw it.

my heart's desire is that we will raise our children to become generous, loving and humble adults. i think we all struggle with wanting to put our needs first and we live in a culture of me, me, me. one of my pet-peeves is when i hear the phrase, "i deserve it" or "i've worked hard, so i deserve to get whatever i want." i'm not saying i've never said this, i know i have. but i also know, that all i really deserve is nothing. however, my loving God has blessed me with tremendous grace. i want my kids to learn the concept of hard work and the blessings that follow when we buckle down and give our best to something. i don't want them to live in the land of entitlement. it's through the daily monotony, of cleaning the house, picking up toys, doing laundry, cooking meals, that great lessons of responsibility can be taught to my kids.  just like the author shares in this book, it helps us to dislodge our kids from having, "i'm the center of the universe" mentality. i have enjoyed reading this book a lot. it reads almost like a journal. i also enjoyed Kay's list of what she and her kids learned each month as they completed this experiment to rid themselves of youth entitlement. i think it is important for us to reflect on what we have learned, even when we are in the midst of something. there is always a lesson God is trying to teach us. the lesson may be for the child, but it also might be for the parent. God uses my kids to teach me more about myself, than anyone else.

what i'm reading wednesday

do you ever feel like you are coming unglued in your life?

i know there are days that i let my emotions get the best of me and instead of letting the holy spirit guide me into making wiser choices, and i become unglued.   i've been wanting to read this book, "Unglued: Making Wise Choices Midst Raw Emotions," by Lysa Terkeurst, but i haven't gotten around to it.  however, when i was asked to review the "Unglued Devotional" and i jumped at the chance.

the 60 day devotional include daily scripture verses, a "thought of the day," along with a message and prayer at the end.  i love that each day is packed with a bit humor and application.  i think the "thought of the day" was really thought provoking and i found myself thinking about it throughout the day.  it was an easy read and i feel like the devotional could stand alone, since i had not read the book first.   this past several weeks, i've been challenging myself to maintain a peaceful home for my family and i think this book really helped me focus on that and dealing with all the emotions that flood us as women.

week 2 of 40 days

this week was a bit harder for me.

we didn't memorize our verses, well, the kids did, but we didn't.  busyness got in the way.

i tried to find items i would need to make different meals from third world countries.  i went to several stores and couldn't find anything i needed. so, i've decided to revamp this one.  we will read about different countries and the harsh conditions they have to live in and i will make a very simple meal to go along with it.

i did get rid of 8 pairs of shoes.  i originally thought i would get rid of a total of 7 pairs of shoes, which were from all 4 of us.  but, when i went through my closet, i found 8 pairs that i need to let go of.  most of them i hadn't used in awhile and they will be far better off in someone else's care that will wear them more often.  i really have an excess amount of shoes.
 
lastly, i cleaned out some of our clothes and took them to a friend who is collecting items in a barrel to send to Africa.

i'm still a trash digger, but getting better at it.

week 1 of 40 days

last week i wrote about our 40 days of Lent.  we are one week in, and here's what has happened.


my name is melissa and i'm a trash digger.
i've been daily digging in the trash.  i'm so used to putting everything in one trash can and i often forget that we now have a compost bin, a bin for paper, a bin for plastics, etc.  this one definitely is going to take some time for me to break my bad habit of everything goes in one can.  in the meantime, i'll be digging through the trash.

this week, i also switched trash companies.  the old company, you had to pay to recycle and my new company it's free.  i also, will be saving $29 on my quarterly bill, because the new company is cheap and includes recycling.   i'm saving money and helping our earth out by recycling.  my little guy will enjoy seeing a new trash truck too.

we spent $44 this week.  my little lady decided to give herself a haircut one night and the next day, we had to go get it fixed at great clips.  she owes me $14.  she decided to work off the money by helping me out more around the house.


we worked on the area for the garden.  all the grass is out.  too bad snow is in the forecast, because i would really like to build the raised beds.

i turned off all technology on sunday.  i was worried that i would go through some kind of withdrawals or need to get something off the internet.  but i didn't.  in fact, it was so nice to not get sucked into the black hole of cyberland.  we went to church, i read, did crafts with the kids, and had a friend over in the evening.

preserving family traditions

during Christmas i did a photo challenge, where i captured a lot of the things we do during the Christmas season. i knew i wanted to compile some of it and make it into a book. a book that we can pass onto our children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren...  since, Christmas wasn't that long ago and still fresh in my mind, i made it last month and it just arrived a couple of days ago.
there are several special things we do throughout the holidays and traditions that i want to pass along to my children.  they may choose to do them or may not, but i think that it is important to pass it along to the next generation.    i also put several special recipes in the book, so that they will always know how to make some of our family favorites.
i found a great deal on groupon and made it through shutterfly.

40 days

yesterday, was Fat Tuesday and we celebrated with our usual tradition of crepes. i also set everything up for the beginning of Lent, which begins today. 40 days (not counting Sundays) as we wait for the arrival of Easter. Easter is my absolute favorite holiday, so this time of year is always so exciting to me.

if you read my blog every so often, you know that i loved reading the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker. it challenges you to really examine your life and the world of excess that we live it. i read the book last summer, and really began to implement some of the things the book talks about. however, i wanted to do more and after talking to a friend about it, i decided that i wanted to really focus on implementing some of it during the Lent season, leading up to Easter.  just like Jen says, "less of my junk, more of You." Jen focus' on 7 issues of excess and so we are going to focus on how we can reduce our excess and focus more on Christ. we had a little family meeting to discuss what we would do and here's what we came up with for the next 40 days...

food
we are going to eat what we already have.  i'm going to get creative and try and use up what we already have.  i still will buy a few kitchen staples when we need them like milk, eggs and produce, but we will reduce our excess of buying so much stuff.

we will eat 7 different meals from 7 different third world countries.

possessions/clothing
clean out our closets/room and get rid of anything we don't use or need.

get rid of 7 pairs of shoes.

waste
we are going to recycle and compost and are only allowed 1 bag of trash per week.

get our garden ready and begin to plant.

use no ziploc bags.

spending
live on $7 a day...$49 a week.  this will include all groceries, clothing, shoes, personal items.  this will exclude bills, gas, trips to any hardware store (we are in the middle of redoing our kitchen, and we don't want to stop our progress.)

media/stress
keep the Sabbath- no work, no computer (emails, Facebook, etc.), no phone (texting, talking...except for emergencies) on Sundays.

daily devotion during the Lent season.

learn 7 verses a week.  my husband, my little lady and i will each learn 2 verses each per week and my little guy will learn 1 verse per week, totaling up to 7 verses a week.

i'm also going to be watching these videos throughout the next 40 days.

a good read

i've just finished reading this book and really have enjoyed it. i was immediately attracted to the book by it's tag line..."one woman's quest for a slower, simpler, more sustainable life."  plus, the cover is absolutely beautiful and eye-catching!

The book is about simplifying our lives, to slow down and make faith and family the focal point.  she talks a lot about the Amish culture and how well they have done to keep things simple and keep their faith and family as a priority.   although the author and i will not becoming Amish anytime soon, there are some great traits they have that really are beneficial for my life too.  Here are some quotes from the book that i'm still pondering...

"our homes reflect our values.  they reflect who we are inside and what we hold most precious.  if our houses are cluttered, our hearts are too."

"whatever the reason, careless spending adds up.  on average, Americans consume twice as much as we did fifty years ago."  

"God owns everything.  we are his appointed managers."

this book reminded me of another book i read recently, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.

the book covered everything from finances, nature, community, family, faith to service, simplicity and security.   i love books that really challenge you to think about how you are living and if there are things God is laying on our hearts to change.

goals for 2013

i'm kinda of weird and like setting goals for the year to come. i've collected some books to help me along the way. it helps me to stay focused on what i should be doing. i don't always accomplish all of my goals and i'm perfectly fine with that. however, it does help me to re-evaluate and plan for the upcoming year. i have learned over time to hold my plans loosely, because often times God has taken me in a different direction. the effects of this have caused me to become a much more laid-back and relaxed person and one that is much more flexible. i'm thankful that God has grown me in this area, that if plans change, it doesn't bother me like it used to. i'm thankful that God's plans are far better than my own. there are a lot of things i desire for this next year. some will happen, and other things won't. ultimately, i desire to be used by God and do whatever He sees fit for me. i'm sharing some of my goals, but holding them loosely, because i know that God may hold a different direction. i'm excited to see which of these things will actually happen and what new things will be added to the list, because of what God brings into our lives.

a list for 2013...
physical goals
exercise 3 times a week
continue to eat healthy and find more gluten-free recipes
get new glasses
spiritual goals
do daily devotions with the kids
read the bible in one year with my little lady
memorize more scripture
do dinnertime devotions
family goals
date night with the kids once a month
date night for me and my man once a month
do 2-3 family fun nights each month
go on a road trip
home projects
build a chicken coop and get chickens
finish painting the outside of the house

hello 2013!

i got this amazing journal for Christmas and i'm so excited to start using it. it's not your typical journal with blank pages waiting to be filled. it's a daily journal, where i can write a sentence or two about something that happens each day.  i made the journal at papercoterie.  yes, i made my own gift that my man gave to me, but it was really what i wanted!

i love that it also has pictures of my family throughout it.

on Christmas day, we share with each other the gift we are giving to Jesus for the following year.

my gift to Jesus is...playing with my kids more.
it's not always easy for me.
lots of stuff competes for my attention...laundry, cooking, cleaning, emails...the list could go on and on.
but this year, i want to capture moments with my kiddos more often.
try not to say..."maybe later" or "just a minute" when they ask for my time because often times it doesn't happen.  i know i won't get it right all the time but i'm going to work hard to make it happen most of the time.

i'll also be documenting it in my journal.  i'm going to try and also take a picture to go along with each of the days.   by the end of the year, i hope to have a journal filled with memories and 365 pictures to go along with it.