Cinderella Style

May I apologize in advance for the irritating lines? Blogger refused to allow me to have paragraphs. I have a tendency to run on (and on) I know, and I feel it is important to have a little space between all those sentences. That is the best I could do! Blame it on Blogger...
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I don't mind cleaning my bathroom. I know that is many people's least favorite chore, but I guess I find it satisfying. I don't keep clutter in the bathroom (isn't that what the "linen" closet is for?!) so it is not a "clean before you clean" task. Also, it is gratifying to know that when it is clean, it is finished. Not like laundry or dishes, the never-ending tasks. I usually clean the mirror, sink and toilet 2-3 times, sometimes more, a week. I clean the tub on Mondays. I clean the floor once a week, too. That is the only part of the job I HATE! Much of the time I cheat and just Swiffer around the rug (which covers most of the floor in our tiny bathroom). Sometimes I drag out the real mop and do it. And when I am feeling particularly ambitious I fill up my trash can with ammonia (why use a bucket when I can multitask and clean the trash can at the same time?) and hot water, pull on my trusty rubber gloves, grab an old rag and get down on my hands and knees.



Whenever I am being good and doing this chore the right way it always brings to mind memories of Cinderella. It particularly conjures up where she on her hands and knees mopping the huge foyer floor. She is singing, and dreaming. Then along comes Lucifer, the cat. Spying an opportunity to make trouble, he trots through the dustpan (anyone else wonder why her dustpan is so full, even when she supposedly cleans all the time? Seems just like real life!) and proceeds to track paw prints all over the clean floor, right around daydreaming Cinderella. When her bubble bursts (literally) she realizes that Lucifer has just added more work to her already seemingly impossible to-do list. However, since Cinderella is mild-mannered, she simply scolds, "Lucifer, you mean old thing!" and goes back to mopping. Besides showing off my ridiculous knowledge of Disney's "Cinderella", I do have a point.
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I know something else I should do on my knees that most often I try to take the easy way out of: pray. I took Beth Moore's study "Stepping Up" and she challenges you to pray on your face, in a prostrate position. I have done that and it is crazy how it changes your perspective. Just like spending the time on my knees mopping the bathroom floor, it puts me in touch with how things really should be. Standing up with a mop in my hand, or glossing things over with a wet Swiffer, doesn't really show me all the dirt and grime that needs to go. Praying is like that, too. I can definitely get the job done with my eyes open in the car, driving down the highway. God hears me no matter where I am. However, it doesn't give me the same clarity, honesty and focus that praying on my knees does. It doesn't show me what really needs my attention.


When I put ALL my focus into praying, and not trying to do anything else, it changes how I am praying. I am not saying all your prayer time should be laying down on the floor, but I know in my own life that days go by when prayers are said in the shower, at the table, with my kids before bedtime, and yes, even in the car going down the highway. But they are tacked on with my other activities. My conversation with God is part of my multitasking plan: do more, be more. But that is one thing that needs singularity of focus.




I have kept a prayer journal off and on over the years and last month I decided to start keeping one again. I have discovered that it is imperative that I schedule this time before my darling children pop their heads out of bed, because it is all downhill after that. Devoting time specifically to praying and ONLY praying, has opened my eyes. First, I am a very "selfish" in my prayers. They are mostly about me, my needs and the needs of those I love. Second, I have the attention span of a goldfish! Third, I can talk the hind leg off a donkey, but when it comes to talking to the Creator, I am at an amazing lack for words. Spending time on my knees (literally and figuratively) isn't something I am very good at, so I have to work at it.



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Which brings me back to Cinderella-told you I had a point! She is on her knees focused on her task. She is diligently attending to her responsibility. When an attack comes, she is not thrown off course. She deals with the distraction and resumes the task at hand. I want my prayer life to be like that. I want to be where I need to be so that when things beyond my control occur, I am not distraught. I do not allow a temporary distraction to consume my focus. I realize what I am doing is the right thing and I can't let other people or things keep me from accomplishing my task. It helps me see what I should be paying attention to and it shows me all that I have to be grateful for. It shows me how small I am before the Creator, but how important I am in His eyes. Being on my knees gets the job done right.:)

What I Learned About Books and Wreaths

Because anything I do I have to do to the zenith this is yet another post about something I made. Don't worry-I am not planning on turning this into a craft blog. I just have to do anything new obsessively until I am (and you will be, too) absolutely sick of it! Don't hate me, just skip through this post. I PROMISE that my next post will not be crafty-as a matter of fact, I am working on something right now that does not involve Mod Podge, a glue gun or scrapbook paper. Still love me?

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Since I obviously have nothing better to do with my time, I have spent many hours scouring craft blogs. I kept seeing the same project over and over (there is nothing new under the sun!) and at first I didn't think much of it. But after a while it grew on me. I finally decided that, because it was relatively cheap and required precisely my talent (little to none!) I would tackle it. So, I made a Book Page Wreath!

The supplies are simple, but most are needed in large quantities. I used:
-a 10" wreath (I used straw-mistake!)
- hot glue gun with approximately a million glue sticks (I actually used over 12 short ones)
-a book that you don't mind tearing up, with lots of pages
-time I didn't believe the tutorial when it said 2+ hours. Another mistake-it took me almost three!


The supplies. They don't look intimidating, but these fellows conspire and ugly things happen! I was being cheap and went with a straw wreath. What a mess and it was soooo hard to get the pages to stick. If I am ever possessed and try this project again, I will definitely spring the $5 for a foam wreath.


I didn't think that I would feel this way, but tearing up books is kind of fun. This copy of "Shakespeare, Volume 2" cost me a measly $2 at Goodwill. It had that kind of very slightly yellowing look I wanted. However, I will say that again, I would probably change this. First I would have ripped the pages a little more aggressively. I think that would have made it look even more "ruffledy". Second,this book was not quite wide enough and because of that it took a lot more pages to get it covered. Pain!

Looks weird doesn't it? The first couple of rows went on really quickly and I was fooled into thinking it wouldn't take that long. I was wrong-filling in the bare spots took waaaay more time than anything else. As a matter of fact, I got so sick of it I left it overnight.

However, I was pretty satisfied with the end result. It is really pretty in person. It also adds a nice 3D quality to my walls. I think it would look great on a painted wall, but Joel says I am not allowed to paint.:( Fun ruiner!
Anyway, I found the tutorial here. Let me know if you want to make one, I will come help rip out pages. Or, I could just sell you mine for $500!:)

I shared my project at Jones Design Company!

Contemplating Contentment

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything who through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13

I have a mistaken concept of "content". I think about that word and I think it means to not complain, but really it means satisfied-not desiring more than one has. Please hold. I think I am doing really well when I don't run around crabbing about all the things that I want, all the things I think I deserve. I really can't imagine being in true need. I have so much more than I really deserve-I think Romans 6:23 covers that pretty well-I don't deserve anything more than the wages of my sin. But, because I live in a fallen world, and I was born with a sin nature, I crave things that I really don't need. Things that if I had them, I probably wouldn't even want them!

I am not just talking about physical things: money, clothes, home decor. I am talking about intangible things. Being a "perfect" wife and mother, having it "all together". I think as believers we have bought into this notion that it is okay to never be satisfied with who we are in Christ. That we are to be constantly striving to do more and be more. Pause: I am not saying that we do not need to continue to grow and mature in our faith. I am saying that to live in a continual state of feeling like you are never good enough, that you just have to try harder, stay up longer, be more, do more-isn't pleasing to the Lord. He made you who you are for a reason. I don't deserve to be a perfect wife or mother. Then I wouldn't have to rely on the grace of God. He can make me content because then I know that He will provide anything that I need to get to where He wants me to be. I have an imaginary list that I keep in my head about what I should be doing. It goes something like this:

1. I need to always have a clean house.
2. I need to be dressed modestly, yet fashionably. This goes for my kids, too.
3. I need to manage my finances, yet look like I have more money than I do. Plus, I should never tell anyone else that I can't "afford" something.
4. I need to be a fantastic cook.
5. I need to have a wealth of Biblical knowledge, have tons of Scripture memorized and constantly be involved in a Bible study.
6. I need to write witty, wise, meaningful posts.
7.I need to always be patient with my children, never raising my voice.
8. And on, and on, and on....

I am not satisfied with where I am. I am not satisfied with who God has made me and the place He has given me to serve. So few of the things on my list are truly noble goals, and the ones that are usually have poor motivation. Do I really want a wealth of Biblical knowledge so it will please the Lord, or I can show off during Bible study? I want to be content-not wanting more than I have. Knowing that each challenge in my life is an opportunity for the Lord to reveal His glory through me. Not doing it on my own strength. I can be satisfied with where I am at, knowing that anything additional that is required of me will be accomplished through Him, not me. I can be thankful that I am a somewhat patient mother of two great kids, acceptable wife to a wonderful husband, renter of a semi-clean house, often a participant in Bible study, and occasional author of a decent blog post. The Lord will make up the difference if I am relying on Him. I am allowed to be content where I am. Not in where I am going, or who I will be, but right here, right now. And that makes me thankful-and CONTENT!

This post is part of the Mom's 30 Minute Blog Challenge and is linked up there.

Frame Fun

I am sorry that I am slightly craft obsessed at the moment. I have never felt "creative" or "crafty" but after doing TONS of blog-hopping I discovered a secret to crafting: there is no secret! You just have to get in there and do it and make it work for you. I struggled because I am such a perfectionist that I would rather do nothing at all then do something that is not perfect. But I have finally been able to move past that and I am really enjoying making things. The good part for you, all six of you who read my blogs, is that anything I do can be duplicated by your average elementary school student. Yes, they are that easy!

One of my new favorite blogs is Little Birdie Secrets. They do a lot of really complicated sewing projects that I could only dream of. However, they also do plenty of things that are really accessible. That is where I found my latest "project" that took me all of not-quite 10 minutes. :) I don't know why I never thought of this! It is so easy, you can find out what they did differently here. I love a white board and often use my dry erase markers to write notes and Scriptures on my bathroom mirror. I also love the long lined notepads for the fridge but they often fall off and I am such a list maker I can use one up pretty quickly (and they are not free!) so when I saw this personalized menu/list space I was all on board.


These are my simple supplies: a 12x12 frame ($5 at Hobby Lobby this week!) a 12x12 sheet of scrapbook paper (that is where you can make it so personalized) and two flowers to make it a little more 3D.
I learned how to make these adorable flowers here. She has several other cute projects I would like to try, but I needed a little color for my board and these worked great! After putting the paper in the frame I hot glued the flowers on the front. Ta Da!
The finished product. Please ignore my poor handwriting. I was in a hurry to take photos! The "Little Birdies" used fancy vinyl cut letters to put the days of the week permanently on their board but since I can't decide if I want to use mine for menus or to-do lists I didn't want to put anything on mine. You could use stickers or even print it on if you wanted to make it last. But I think it will go well in my kitchen and I am sure I will get lots of use out of it no matter what!

Educating Decisions (and Consequences)

Doing what is right is often not what is popular. It has especially hit home for me since this will be our first "official" year of homeschooling. I have not had anyone make any conspicuously negative comments but "going" to school is so ingrained in our culture it is impossible not to feel the (often unintended) little barbs. We were at the doctor the other day and Josie proudly announced that she was homeschooled. Later in the conversation the doctor made a point to say that I didn't need to worry about any immunizations until "she goes to school next year". As if it was a complete given that I would be sending her to school. It is also really hard to read everyone's Facebook status updates saying that they are looking forward to all the free time they will have once their children are back in school, how summer was too short, and what they are doing in preparation. It makes one feel a little left out.

Please DO NOT think that this is a post on how everyone should homeschool! That is a personal decision-one that requires a lot of prayer and discussion in your family. However, I know that is God's will for MY family. I didn't necessarily want it to be. I didn't give any of it too much thought. But, a multitude of factors, not limited to: hating being separated from my children for any length of time, strong desire to limit the outside (negative, unspiritual) influences to the best of my ability, and ensuring (because I can't afford private school!) that they received a Christ-centered education. Also, I am a little bit of a control freak and I like to be in charge! Just being real here....

But it still doesn't make it easy, or alleviate the feelings that I am being evaluated. If something goes wrong, it all falls on me. There is no teacher or board to blame. I feel like I am swimming upstream- people ask Josie when she will get to "go" to school. Even my four year-old knows that doing her work at the kitchen table is not the same as "real" school. Just because you are firmly committed to something doesn't always make it easy. My kids don't need a lunch box or a backpack-and sometimes that makes me feel like a bad mom. No mother wants their child to feel left out, but homeschooling does exactly that. I know, because I was homeschooled. I longed to be part of the "in-crowd" of public and Christian schooled students. I constantly worried that I was not as smart as a traditionally educated kid. I missed out on so many things (that while they have nothing to do with actual education, are a huge part of the school experience) like prom and football games and eating in a cafeteria.

As an adult, I still sometimes deal with that insecurity. And I get a little jealous of the moms who can blithely send their children to school for 6+ hours a day. What in the world would I do with all that free time? Have the cleanest house ever? Moms who don't have to worry that they are ruining their children to learning forever, who don't have to ponder whether or not they are making their children social/educational disasters. No, I do not take the commitment to homeschool lightly.

But in the end, I can't get around what God has asked me to do. I don't know why, I wish that I had been released to turn this responsibility over to someone else-someone more confident and competent than I will ever be. Like a trained professional... However, I take great comfort in the fact that, just in my family alone, I have so many people who support my decision. That I have great friends who don't judge my choice. That my mom, my aunt, my sister, can all give advice and encouragement when I feel like the only freak who has ever decided to bizarrely sequester her children in her home...

And I will just have to learn to deal with the comments. I suppose it is, in a way, like my decision to not include Santa in our holiday celebrations. I just have to politely explain my choice-what your family does with St. Nick is between you and God. Don't ever think that I function under the delusion that I am better than you. I am muddling along on this journey only by the grace of God. Sometimes it does frustrate me that it isn't acceptable for me to be more proud of this choice-people seem to think that is my way of trying to make them feel guilty. I will challenge you-if you do feel guilty (about this, or anything else that comes along) then could that possibly be the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart? If it isn't because you need to change something, then let it go. That is really what I need to do-there is no condemnation in Christ. I need to just rely on Him for the strength and affirmation that I crave. "This world has nothing for me...". Opinions are just that, they are not fact and they cannot determine who I am in Christ. He alone can give me the strength to do His will, and they are not really my children anyway, right?