Yes, she’s beautiful on the outside, but not as beautiful as she is on the inside. (image from .lucillezimmerman.com)
Oh…she’s gorgeous. My heart sank a little as I saw Ann Voskamp’s words, so inspiring and life-changing on the pages of her book, come to life in her small group study DVD. Her book, One Thousand Gifts, has been life changing for me. But her voice, decidedly sultry, didn’t match the one I heard in my head as I’d turned those pages late at night. Her hair, a beautiful chestnut color, sat atop her head perfectly coiffed, not a strand out of place. And I’m ashamed to admit, I grew a bit jealous.
I had a hard time really hearing her words, as the video artfully moved through images of her hand crafting scratch loaves of bread, children …
Do I really expect to hear choirs of angels singing when the right window is flung open? Yes. Yes I do. (image from homesteadishome.blogspot.com)
When the door of opportunity has been slammed shut in your face (or on your foot as you were trying to stick it through just in time), friends and loved ones are quick to remind you that “God will open a window.” And it sounds simple enough. When one opportunity doesn’t work out, something else will, right? But how do you know if a window is really open, or if it’s just so clean that it looks open, only to leave you with a smashed face and bruised ego.
I’ve found myself in this position lately, doors unopened, or closed at the last minute, and I’ve been left wondering where I should go next. Is …
Relationships aren’t perfect, but if continually makes you feel like crap, RUN away as fast as you can. (image from teendating.blogs.sapo.pt)
Hello there. You may not know me, but I know you. Yes, you look at me, and see a worn-out young mom, navigating the aisles of the grocery store with two small children in tow. My cart is bulging with cereal, apple juice and produce, while you’re simply popping in to snag a pack of gum. We live very different lives. In your eyes, I’m probably irrelevant. And that’s okay. But you know what? I was just like you, not so very long ago. I had the same problems, experienced the same emotions, and lived to tell about it.
And while you may disregard what I have to say, I wish you would listen to this …
One of my goals for 2013 is to organize those areas of my home that I consider “rat’s nests.” The closets, junk drawers, etc. So, for inspiration, I turned to the one, the only, Pinterest. As I browsed storage ideas, organization tricks, “thrifty” home decor options, something happened. I started to feel…insecure. Inadequate. Less than. My home, not one square inch of it, looks anything like the pictures I see. It’s cluttered, dated, worn, scratched and definitely not a “Pin-Up” home. But you know what? It’s our home. And it’s full of love. It more than meets the needs of my little clan. So why, then, do I let a site like Pinterest make me feel dissatisfied?
So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Why not bring a little reality to Pinterest? Why …
Easier said than done. But it must be done.
The last thing on my mind this morning was gratitude. In fact, the first thing on my mind was a string of curse words. While I didn’t let them escape my lips, I felt that if an innocent bystander were to view my body language, they would probably be offended. I was stressed. Angry. Irritated. I slammed doors. I barked commands at my daughters. We had to get out the door NOW! We were going to be late for the doctor! Shoes ON! Coats ON! I was frustrated with the situation, not with them. We’re going on week number three of illness in my house, and the pressures of care taking are starting to wear on me. Little sleep. Constant demands for attention. To-do lists with little actually done. …
THIS is why I am not going to attempt to clean/organize my entire home. This is AFTER the girls “cleaned” (aka destroyed) while I was in the kitchen doing the dishes.
I don’t believe in resolutions. I’ve rarely kept any of my own, and don’t know anybody who has experienced a major life change after making such a claim at the beginning of the year. But I suppose I believe in hitting “reset” on your own internal agenda. I think the beginning of a new year is a good time to evaluate what’s working and what’s not in your life. So with that, here are a few things I hope to accomplish in 2013.
1. A better smelling house. With two children under four, a dog, a cat and a man living in this house, it’s often …