WEED's

I hate weeds. Not hate in a mild way but I am talking hate in a major way. There is nothing to like about the things!!!

We have a beautiful flower bed outside our big picture window in the family room. It is our natural art wall. You know the one that you look out at and instantly feel yourself releasing an "AHHHHH" Well lately that "AHHHHH" has been an "EWWWW". The weeds have broken through the earth and unleashed themselves in this flower bed in a major way. The beautiful shrubs and flowers were being so invaded that the life was literally being choked out of them. It was time to step out of my comfortable, air-conditioned, living room and out into the hot, uncomfortable flower bed.

For hours the kids and I pulled and sweated. We were dirty, sore, and hot. We would complete a section and stop to look up and the difference would be overwhelming between the section that had been cared for and the section that still needed a firm hand. We continued well into the next day to complete the whole process. There was such a sense of satisfaction to restore the beauty back to that flower bed. We were able to release the flowers, trees, and shrubs from the choking hold that the weeds had on their roots and branches. The plants are now free to stretch and grow once again.

As I pulled in that flower bed the visual picture of what the weeds of sin would look like inside the beauty of my creation. What branches of my character were at that moment being choked by the sin that was creeping up through my landscape. What landscaping was showing? The one that releases an "AHHHHH" or an "EWWWW"?

The past few months have been very challenging for me. You see back in February I made a commitment to weed the flower-bed of my heart. Some of the weeds were easy to pull. It didn't take too much effort to get them out as their roots were shallow. I haven't minded that little bit of housekeeping. Then there are the weeds that have the big daddy tap roots on them. They are the ones that make the job challenging.

I am writing to share 3 little principles that I have found while on this process.

1. Weeding is necessary to save and protect the good in the garden. We need to keep the weeds at bay so that good healthy growth can continue.

2. The beauty in the garden is dependent on clearing out the ugly weeds. We are the beauty of God's creation. It is our jobs as Christians to draw people in and show the "AHHHH" that He continues to make of us.

3. The job may be extremely challenging but there is always a reward at the end. The reward of the beauty of the garden once again showing through, the rewards that lay in store for us in Heaven.

I encourage you to get out there and get dirty. There will be rewards waiting for you at the end.

Happy Weeding All!

Weariness in well doing

We all go through periods of weariness. Where we are just plain out, worn out. We all at some point grow weary of doing good. Where we question our worth, or success at this thing called mothering.

Growing weary in doing good is a heart condition. God allows all circumstances in our lives to challenge, change and shape us so that we can become everything He wants us to be. The weariness that we feel comes as a reminder that we are fighting, ignoring, or being shaped by the changes that He is trying to make in us.

Soooo how does mom climb out of the slump and shed the coat of weariness?

Step 1: Prayer, Renewing your mind

Spend time with the Lord daily, so that you can begin to hear from Him again. Learn to recognize His voice so that you can learn to obey it. Spend time reading the Bible. It is guaranteed that if you start to spend time with the Lord and meditate on His will for your life that He will begin to restore all the reasons why you do what you do.

Romans 12:2 says “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Notice the line that says “by the renewing of your mind, then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.” Satan’s number one desire for us is to believe the lies that he daily tries to plant in our heads. If we daily renew our mind we can test Satan’s words vs. God’s and see which one is approved and aligned with scripture. Recently I was directed to look at the great commandment with new eyes. Most of us can recite it off the top of our heads. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Our minds are traps. If Satan has sent us down the trap of weariness and frustration in doing good, than we are no longer fulfilling the great commandment because our minds are no longer fixed on Him. It is this huge reason that meeting Him daily to renew our minds is so vitally important.

Second step: Just say NO!

Once you are hearing the Lord’s voice again, ask Him to show you what needs to be trimmed. Ask Him to show you what is valuable activity in your days and what is not. Then obey Him. You may need to cut back on church activities, your children’s extra outings or something similar, to make space for new growth the Lord wants to do in your life.

Third step: Mentors

Wisely choose one or two godly Christian woman who you know walk with the Lord. Seek their accountability. One of the greatest blessings and seasons of growth in my life has come from meeting weekly for a time of study and prayer with another Christian woman.

Fourth step: Time out

Make sure you find ways, each day, to do something for yourself. This may mean that your children have a period of time where they are quietly playing or reading in their rooms in the afternoon. Or after your husband gets home you go for a walk around a local park or do a workout video or just take a bubble bath at the end of the day. Whatever your favorite break looks like make a commitment to talk with your husband and convey the necessity of it. This is a time of recharging your battery.

Isaiah 40:31 "They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint."

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Aidan's big Day

It was Aidan's birthday yesterday. My baby boy turned 8. We found ourselves in a bit of a pickle as it was a school day but also a day to be celebrated. So being the good homeschool family that we are we declared it Field Trip Day and took the kids into Philly to look through the Natural History Museum. We have been studying Dinosaurs in Science and knew that they would love the hall of dinosaurs. We began our tour through the diorama exhibits. We all loved seeing the animals and were amazed at the size of some of them.

Brea and Aidan enjoyed pretending that they were going to be the polar bears snack after he polished off the seal that is under his paw.

Emily being ever so patient waiting for the two little hooligans to finish goofing around.

Next stop the hall of dinosaurs.

This was our first sight of the dinosaurs. Needless to say the kids did not use their inside voices and throughout the entire hall you could hear the kids shouting "it's Rexy!" of Night in the Museum fame. At least we provided entertainment for the guards.

It was awesome to be able to put a visual picture to all the words we have been studying.

The final stop on the tour was the Outside In room. In this room they have all sorts of animals that you can see and touch. Everything from hissing cockroaches, to turtles, to a bee colony, to the rabbit and snake that we were able to touch.

Yes that is a skunk you see. Yipes!

Did you notice that a kid was missing in these pictures?? Where is Brea??

This was definitely not her favorite stop on the tour. So she put herself in the corner and waited until we had all seen enough of the "yucky stuff". It was a great time! The kids loved being in the city. We took time for one last stop to visit the fountains and gardens across the street from the museum.

The bee colony from the outside in room has a tunnel through the window allowing the bees to leave the exhibit and return back. The gardens across the street were filled with the bees gathering to take back to the colony. It was just another exciting find for the kids.

I hope that this will be a birthday memory that last's forever.

LOVE - Jaeson Ma

Legacy

A Legacy or legacies is what someone or something is remembered for or what they have left behind that is remembered, revered or has impacted current events and the present day.

It is no secret that I love facebook. The one thing that I both love and hate are the memories of me that have stuck in the minds of old friends. There is this one embarrassing story that involves a zip line, a certain broken cable, and a declaration of stupid teenage love shouted loud enough for an entire campground to hear, that will forever live in infamy. I have one friend that loves to remind me of said indiscretion and every-time I hear it, I cringe. For quite a long time before I set up an account I fought joining the Facebook bandwagon for fear of that very thing happening. I didn’t want people to remember my indiscretions, or the crushes I had, or the many stupid things that I have either said or done in my lifetime. But not joining wasn’t going to keep people from remembering the unfortunate things that I have said or done.

In Psalms 90:9, it says that we live our lives as a story that will be told. What is your story? Each of us has our own idea of what a legacy is and how we will go about establishing one. Some set up trust funds, others build monuments, donations to charity. Many pass on family heirlooms to the next generation. Unfortunately so many of us forget that we daily add to the legacy we will leave. Every action, decision, and word spoken adds to the legacy. How sad would it be if the only thing you were remembered for was having a bad temper.

Now I can’t go back and un-do every mis-spoken word, or slight, but I have an opportunity to show those around me how beautiful a life changed through the power of Christ can be. I have the ability to help lead my children to a stronger relationship with Christ.

I will close with this story. I received a “friend request” through someone that I had gone to church with for a very brief time. I accepted, interested in where and what they were up to now. Shortly after I accepted her request I received an email from her. In the email she thanked me for my kindness to her and for how welcomed I had made her feel. Truly I hadn’t even realized that I had done anything out of the ordinary for her. When I woke up that day I didn't stop to think, hmm this is forever how so and so is going to remember me. It is only through staying close to Christ and allowing him to work through us daily that will allow us to leave a Godly legacy. That is the legacy I want to be remembered for! I want those around me to see Christ in and through me.

It’s time to think about the legacy you are leaving.

There will be one-whether you plan it or not.

So, what's for dinner in April ?

It is the beginning of a new month!  This month's meal plan is ready and waiting.  Check out the google calendar box.  There you can scroll through the days of the month and see the meals.  I have transfered over the meals from last month that were scheduled and for whatever reason were not made.  This is an easy tip because you know that you will already have most if not all of the ingredients already on hand and it makes one less meal to plan.

There are a couple of new recipes for us to try.  The Picnic chicken, cinnamon biscuits, parmesan bundles, and the banana pancakes are all new recipes.  I encourage you to give them a go and then lets compare notes.  Let me know if you think adding or deleting  something to these recipes would make these meals even tastier.  You can leave comments directly in my cookbook.  On the recipe page, you will see a link in the top right corner that will allow you to leave a comment about that particular recipe.

The old family favorites of this month are the chicken fried rice with crab rangoon dip, harvest pork chops, and the empanadas.  If you want to wow your family, try these meals.  To get any of the recipes for this month just click on the meals matter cookbook link (under the google calendar)  and it will take you directly to my online cookbook.

I hope you enjoy! 

The state of the estate???

I feel that being organized and neat helps in every aspect of my life. If my house is in shambles or my to-do list is multiple pages long, anxiety starts to kick in and everything else suffers as a result. If you're the same way, it might be time to get a head start on your Spring cleaning. Now I'm not just talking about scrubbing your floors and cleaning your windows; I'm talking about getting your life in order so you can successfully put disorder behind you and move on into a more productive life.  

You may be muttering, “yea, but you haven’t seen my disorder!”  Oh yes I have, not your exact disorder, but I have seen a great many disordered homes.  The funny thing is that there is no mess that cannot be cleaned if you garner the right amount of determination and discipline.  If you are tired of the disorder in your home,  have hope that you can turn a total mess into a place where you can have total rest.

So develop a can-do attitude and lets get to work.  Below you will find a list of helpful hints to get you on your way.  

Let’s get started!

 1.  Assemble a traveling catty of cleaning supplies and tools that you will need.  This catty will travel with you as you move from room to room, saving you the time to go get each cleaning item as you need them.  Glass cleaner, clorox wipes, paper towel, dusting rags, magic eraser, toilet cleanser and a brush for scrubbing, are all items I keep in my catty.

2.  Before you begin develop an organizational plan.  Focus on one room at a time.  Write down on a sheet of paper the things that need to be done to put the room right.  

*What are the problems in the room? Are there things that need to be repaired or re-painted?

*What needs to be removed from the room? clothes, toys, clutter, old papers???

*What organizational tools might help tame the mess?

This list is not to overwhelm or discourage you, but to give you a map of where you want to go and to help keep you focused on that path.

3.  Once you have done your checklist, begin working it!  Again starting on one room at a time!  Do not leave that room until you have completed all the items on your checklist.  Tackle the rooms in bite sized pieces, organization first then clean!  Take it one drawer or one cabinet at a time.  When making your plan do not forget bathroom drawers, medicine cabinets, closets, and under the beds.

4.  Keep several bags or boxes marked “trash”, “store”, and “give away”.  As you work on the room immediately put the items in these bags.   Deal with these bags!  I will stress again the system will only work if you do.  Leaving the piles will only add to your disorder.  I love the saying “don’t pile it, File it”  be sure that at the end of each organizing session you take the bags and deal with the items inside.

Underneath the endless piles of laundry, dishes, forgotten toys, and overdue library books, is your house.  A house that I am sure you would desperately love to be proud of.  If it stresses you out just thinking about the work before you remember Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  Tackle your disorder through His strength.  Pray and ask the Lord for the determination to see this project through.  If you are diligent there may actually come a day when someone will yell, Mom have you seen my.... and you’ll be able to answer, YES!  

For more detailed spring cleaning tips and tricks check out the website http://www.debra4homes.com/f/spring_cleaning_tips.htm